Red Phoenix

by Kylie Chan

  ‘Pleased to meet you too,’ my father said loudly and clearly.

  Leo and I both flinched.

  ‘Please don’t talk to him like that, Dad,’ I said softly. ‘Leo’s not deaf.’

  ‘Oh,’ my father said. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘The Snake Mothers hurt his mouth,’ Simone said, helping. ‘He can’t talk well now.’

  ‘What’s a Snake Mother?’ my mother said.

  Nobody said anything, not even Simone.

  ‘Okay,’ I said briskly. ‘Next to Leo is Michael. Trainee bodyguard.’

  Michael nodded to my father then turned to me. ‘Can I go out after dinner, Emma?’

  ‘Who with?’ I said.

  ‘Na Zha,’ he said defiantly.

  ‘Certainly,’ John said, and I glared at him.

  ‘Can Na Zha take anything that Wong throws at him?’ I said.

  ‘Na Zha is the best person he could be with in the current circumstances,’ John said. ‘He is a better demon killer than you and Leo put together.’

  My parents shared a look.

  ‘All right then, you can go,’ I said. ‘Take your phone…’ I cut him off before he could protest. ‘I know you don’t need it, but I do, so take your phone and be back by ten.’

  ‘My Lady,’ Michael said with a grin.

  ‘What do these demons look like?’ my father said.

  ‘You’ve seen them already,’ I said. ‘The guy at the airport was one.’ Ah Yat came in. ‘Here’s another.’

  My parents looked around, bewildered.

  ‘Ah Yat here, the housekeeper, is a demon,’ I said.

  Ah Yat smiled and bowed slightly. ‘I am honoured to meet you, sir, madam,’ she said. ‘Yes, I am a demon.’

  ‘You look like a perfectly ordinary person to me,’ my father said.

  ‘Oh, thank you, sir, you really are most gracious,’ Ah Yat said.

  ‘They can take different forms,’ I said. ‘They can take human form.’

  Ah Yat took the teapots into the kitchen with her.

  ‘She’s a tame one, she joined us,’ I said.

  ‘I see,’ my father said.

  ‘That’s everybody,’ I said.

  John and the Tiger focused on one another.

  ‘Oh no you don’t!’ I said. ‘Out loud!’

  ‘What do you mean, Emma? “Out loud”?’ my mother said softly.

  ‘I’ll explain later,’ I said.

  ‘We’re discussing what we should do, Emma,’ John said. ‘Maybe your parents shouldn’t be involved in this.’

  ‘We’re involved now,’ my father said. ‘I want to know what your plans are. We’re in this now. We have a right to know.’

  ‘He’s right, John,’ I said.

  ‘People have died, Brendan,’ John said softly.

  ‘Even more reason for us to know what you have planned,’ my father said.

  ‘We will not let them control us. We are not going to hide,’ John said. ‘We will go to Emma’s graduation, and we will show you around Hong Kong. After that, we will ensure that you are safe.’

  ‘They can stay with me,’ the Tiger said.

  ‘But we will eat first and discuss this later,’ John said. ‘Dinner is not the time to be discussing this. Tell me about yourselves. I want to know everything. Emma is a remarkable woman, and I’d love to know where she gets it from.’

  ‘Me too,’ my father growled softly.

  After the plates had been taken away, Monica appeared at the door from the kitchen. ‘The Chinese helper will clean up for me, sir, ma’am,’ she said. ‘May I spend some time with Simone?’

  ‘I was going to ask you to take her anyway, Monica,’ I said. ‘You two go and do something together.’

  Simone hopped off her chair and took Monica’s hand. ‘I bought some new toys with my birthday lai see money, Monica. Come and see.’

  Monica nodded and smiled around the table, then let Simone gently lead her out.

  Michael rose and saluted around the table. ‘My Lord, my Lady.’ He nodded to my parents. ‘Mr and Mrs Donahoe.’ He turned to me. ‘By your leave, my Lady.’

  ‘Off you go, Michael, but remember what I said.’

  Michael patted his father on the shoulder as he went past him. ‘Dad.’

  ‘Three One Five,’ the Tiger growled. ‘Don’t get yourself into any trouble with that little bastard, he can be bad news when he wants to be. Don’t go near any dragons with him.’

  Michael silently went out.

  ‘He’s your son?’ my father said.

  ‘One of the best,’ Bai Hu said.

  ‘How many children do you have?’ my mother said.

  ‘I have absolutely no idea,’ the Tiger said with a grin. ‘Right now, something in the region of about six hundred, six hundred and fifty—boys and girls. Couldn’t tell you the exact number, they keep dying.’

  ‘Dying?’ my mother said with a gasp.

  ‘Most of the children are mortal. The Tiger isn’t,’ I said, explaining. ‘They grow old and die. He doesn’t.’

  My mother’s eyes were wide. ‘How about you?’ she asked John.

  ‘Simone. One. That’s it,’ John said. ‘One human child.’

  ‘Don’t ask,’ I said.

  ‘I cannot believe you let yourself get mixed up in this,’ my father said softly.

  ‘Me either, sometimes,’ I said.

  ‘She does it all for Simone,’ John said.

  ‘And she’s worth it,’ I said.

  ‘Okay.’ John put his hands on the table and addressed my parents. ‘When you came to Hong Kong, there were probably things you wanted to do. Shopping, sightseeing, things like that. Where would you like us to take you? What would you like to do? Stay for a while after the graduation. Let us show you around.’

  ‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’ my mother said weakly.

  ‘We will protect you. You’ll be safe,’ I said.

  ‘I don’t think we should be out sightseeing with all of this happening,’ my mother said.

  ‘You are perfectly safe as long as you are with us,’ John said. ‘Please. Take the time—you are here anyway, enjoy the sights. Let us show you. We will protect you.’

  ‘Well, okay, if you’re sure,’ my father said. ‘I saw the tourist stuff on the way in. I wanted to have some suits made, Hong Kong is famous for that.’

  ‘Mr Li,’ I said.

  ‘Good idea,’ John said. ‘I need a new dinner suit. Get him to make it at the same time. Get a couple of new cheongsams made as well, Emma, you’re wearing those ones you bought last year to bits.’

  ‘What’s a cheongsam?’ my mother said.

  ‘Traditional-style Chinese dress,’ the Tiger said. ‘Suzie Wong.’

  John stiffened and glared at the Tiger. Leo’s expression darkened but he didn’t say a word. The Tiger grinned at John. ‘Black Turtle.’ Leo silently shot to his feet. John’s face went completely rigid. His eyes blazed. ‘Leave it for later, John, Leo,’ I growled softly. ‘He’ll keep.’

  ‘You are an extremely offensive little cat with a great big mouth sometimes, Ah Bai,’ John said softly, his eyes still blazing. ‘And you will mind your manners in front of my Lady and her honoured parents.’

  Leo sat back down, his eyes not shifting from the Tiger.

  ‘What, Emma?’ my mother leaned over to whisper. ‘I get the Suzie Wong thing, but the turtle thing?’

  ‘I’ll explain later,’ I said. ‘Or maybe the Tiger will,’ I added pointedly.

  ‘Sorry, Emma,’ the Tiger said without a hint of remorse. ‘Too good a chance to miss.’

  I looked the Tiger right in the eye. ‘You have offended the honour of myself and my Lord, and if my parents weren’t here I would call you out, Tiger.’

  ‘Damn,’ the Tiger said softly, his eyes wide with admiration.

  ‘I’d like to see some temples, if I could,’ my mother said, changing the subject. ‘I’d like to see more of the Hong Kong Harbour too—I’ve heard about it. Some of those
handicrafts you brought back last time were wonderful, Emma, I’d like to see more. I’m very interested in Chinese culture, you can show me while we’re here. Things like that.’

  ‘There aren’t many temples in Hong Kong,’ the Tiger said. ‘Not many at all.’

  ‘That’s something people say all the time,’ I said. ‘But there are temples everywhere. You just don’t notice them because they’re part of the scenery. How many temples on the Island?’

  ‘None at all,’ the Tiger said with a grin. ‘There’s a couple in Kowloon, and a couple in the New Territories, that’s all.’

  ‘There’s the Man Mo temple in Hollywood Road, and the Tin Hau temple in Tin Hau,’ I said. ‘And that’s just the big ones.’

  ‘How about the Pak Tai on Kennedy Road?’ John said.

  The Tiger roared with laughter. My parents were bewildered.

  ‘Oh my God,’ I said with a huge grin. ‘I completely forgot. I go past that all the time.’ I explained for my parents. ‘It’s a temple in Wan Chai. Very pretty. The temple is dedicated to the Dark Lord of the North, the god who can control the water and keeps the fishermen safe.’ I gestured towards John. ‘Him.’

  My parents stared at John, eyes wide.

  ‘Hey, I’m in there too,’ the Tiger said.

  ‘One more crack like that last one and I’ll have you taken out,’ I said.

  The Tiger didn’t say anything, he just grinned and saluted, shaking his hands in front of his face.

  ‘It’s a lovely clear night,’ John said. ‘How about we go down to the Peak Tower and have a look?’

  ‘If you don’t mind, John,’ my father said, sounding weary, ‘I think we’d just like to settle in, talk to our daughter, and work out what we’ll do.’

  ‘I understand completely,’ John said. ‘We’ll need to rearrange the schedules so that Emma can spend time with you. I can do that, don’t worry about it. Leo and I will work something out. Go. Spend time with Emma. You probably have questions. She can tell you the whole ridiculous story.’

  ‘Come on, guys,’ I said, rising to lead my parents out. ‘Let him mess up my schedule, I’ll fix it tomorrow.’

  ‘She’s right, my Lord,’ Leo said softly.

  ‘My Lord, by your leave,’ the Tiger said, and disappeared.

  ‘His tail is in serious trouble,’ John said. ‘Unacceptable level of insubordination.’ He sat quietly, musing. ‘I think

  I may order him to clean out the basement of Wellington Street. Far too many rats in there, despite the best efforts of the pest-control people.’

  My parents stood frozen, staring at where the Tiger had disappeared.

  ‘Come on, I’ll explain everything. That’s a great idea,’ I said over my shoulder to John. ‘You know he hates the taste of rat.’

  ‘Don’t know why,’ John said with a grin. ‘My Serpent really likes live rat. I used to spend hours in the basement gorging on them. Since the Serpent left we’ve really had a problem in there.’

  ‘If I start dreaming about eating rats, your shell is in very serious trouble,’ I said quietly to myself as I took my parents out.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  The graduation was being held in a large hall in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, right next to the entrance to the Central Harbour Tunnel on Kowloon side. It was a huge squatting mass of brown-tiled buildings beside the five-lane entrance to the tunnel.

  There was no parking on the grounds of the university for us; instead, we parked in the enormous ten-storey affair right next to the Hung Hom KCR railway interchange and the Hong Kong Coliseum. The Coliseum was a towering upside-down pyramid used for canto-pop concerts.

  We took the pedestrian overpass from the car park, walking over the entrance to the Central Harbour Tunnel to the university on the other side. The centre of the campus was open space with the buildings flanking us on all sides. John glanced around appraisingly as we walked through the gardens to the auditorium. I knew what he was thinking.

  ‘Just remember,’ John said as we parted outside the changing room, ‘we’ll be able to sense anything coming in, and will send either Jade or Gold right to you.’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ I said. ‘Go back to the auditorium. Look after my parents. They’re the ones that they’re after.’

  ‘We are all the ones that they’re after,’ he said. He smiled into my eyes. ‘I am so proud of you.’

  ‘Just go,’ I said impatiently.

  The changing room was packed with people talking loudly and getting ready. I stopped inside the door and checked carefully. As far as I could tell, everybody was an ordinary human. I lined up, received my robes, and then found a corner to drop my gear.

  ‘Once you are robed, please take your place in the line for the procession. The ceremony will commence shortly,’ Jan said loudly from near the door.

  I was right after the Chows. There were about a dozen of them collecting awards. Everybody stopped and carefully smiled for the camera as they received their certificate. I made sure that I did too; John had demanded that I stop so that he could take a photo.

  When the ceremony was finished, everybody met and mingled in a reception room. John took photos of me with all the members of our family, even Jade and Gold. Leo gave me a huge hug. Simone was overexcited and starting to tire. My parents couldn’t stop grinning.

  ‘Time to go home,’ I said to everybody. ‘Enough. Let me return my robes, and we’ll head off.’

  I made a quick detour to thank Jan, then went back to the changing room to return the robes. Jade went with me, just in case. Absolutely nothing happened.

  We threaded our way back through the gardens to the overpass that would take us back to the Hung Hom car park. There was nobody for miles.

  ‘Stay alert,’ John said quietly.

  ‘Can you sense anything?’ I said.

  ‘No,’ John said, looking around. ‘Anybody else?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Simone said. Jade and Gold shook their heads silently as they walked beside us, guarding the flanks.

  We walked over the Cross-Harbour Tunnel. There were a few people on the overpass, and some hawkers selling fake CDs and designer handbags.

  ‘Nothing,’ John said softly.

  The other end of the overpass turned left into a long, enclosed walkway lit with glaring neon. There weren’t many people there. I began to feel extremely nervous. Our footsteps echoed eerily through the tunnel. It was unusual for the underpass to have so few people. It was normally very busy with people walking from the Polytechnic and Tsim Sha Tsui East to the Hung Hom station.

  ‘Anything?’ Leo said under his breath. ‘Something doesn’t feel right.’

  ‘If anything happens,’ John said, ‘Jade, take Simone, Gold, take Mrs Donahoe. Get them out of it.’

  Jade and Gold were silent.

  ‘What?’ I said.

  ‘Simone is already too big for either of us to carry,’ Jade said, miserable.

  ‘I suppose I should be pleased,’ John growled. ‘But this is not exactly the best time for you to tell me this.’

  ‘Don’t be silly, Jade,’ Simone said. ‘I’m much smaller than Mrs Donahoe.’

  ‘On the inside you are already bigger than a human being, my Lady,’ Gold said. ‘You are a very special person.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Emma’s parents, then,’ John said under his breath. ‘If you have to, get them out.’

  My mother made a small gasping sound and I moved to take her hand. ‘We’ll be fine.’

  The entrance to the Hung Hom KCR station was directly ahead. We turned right out of the tunnel into a dead end. It was the lobby for the lifts to go up to the car park. John glanced around the lift lobby. ‘Something does not feel right.’

  ‘Can you sense any demons nearby?’ I said as John pressed the button for the lift.

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘Jade? Gold?’

  ‘Nothing, my Lord,’ Gold said. ‘But something definitely does not feel right. Something feels…’ He hesitated.
‘Something feels very wrong.’

  My mother clutched my hand so tightly it was painful.

  ‘You’ll be fine, Mum,’ I said. ‘If anything happens, you’ll be right out of here.’

  ‘But what about you, sweetheart?’ she said. ‘I can’t leave you here alone.’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ I said. ‘We can all take care of ourselves.’

  The lift doors opened and my mother screamed.

  It was definitely some sort of demon hybrid. It appeared to be made of stone, about three metres tall. It had to bend to come out of the lift. It was roughly human shaped, but it had no recognisable features. It was brown and coarse and seemed to have been put together quickly.

  We moved to put my parents and Simone behind us. The demon walked casually out of the lift and stood menacingly over us.

  I felt them before I heard them. Their footsteps made the ground tremble. More of them. A lot more of them. They appeared on our left, coming out of the tunnel. No wonder John had not sensed them coming. They were earth elementals. Fake ones. Water was destroyed by earth.

  ‘Shit,’ John said quietly. ‘I can’t see them at all. How many are there?’

  ‘Jade, Gold,’ I said, ‘do it. Get them out of here now.’

  ‘We can’t,’ Jade said. ‘The way out is blocked.’ ‘Simone,’ I said, ‘call a Celestial Master. We’re getting you out of here.’

  ‘I’m calling a few Masters,’ John said. ‘Damn!’ ‘Blocked,’ Simone said. ‘Can’t call anybody.’ ‘Stone?’ I said.

  ‘Sorry, my Lady, they have us silenced,’ the stone said. ‘There are about thirty of them, my Lord, ranging from about level thirty to level sixty or sixty-five.’

  ‘I killed its Mother!’ Leo said desperately. ‘How could it make things that big?’

  ‘They are fake stone elementals,’ the stone continued. ‘They have used sacred stones from circles in Europe to make them; they are extremely powerful Eastern-Western hybrids. The Jade Emperor is going to be monumentally pissed.’

  ‘Not as much as I am,’ John growled. ‘I can’t see them at all. Wait.’ He stopped and concentrated. ‘Not even with the Inner Eye. Emma, take the others and run. Get out of here. I’ll try to hold them off.’