Red Phoenix. Kylie Chan
beginning to lose patience. He’d done well to let me take him this far without becoming irritated at the seemingly pointless nature of the questions.
‘Okay.’ I leaned back. ‘They’re real. They’re all real.’
‘Of course they’re real,’ he said. ‘People put altars up for them all over the place.’
‘No, Michael. They’re extremely real. In fact, you just met one of them.’
He went completely still.
‘Mr Chen, the gentleman you just met? Your prospective employer? He’s Pak Tai. He’s Xuan Wu.’ I smiled. ‘That was the God of Martial Arts.’
His expression didn’t shift. The kid was good.
‘Lord Xuan Wu married a human woman, and had a child with her. That child is the little girl you saw. Her name’s Simone. Her mother was killed by demons, and they’re after her as well. We will teach you the skills you will need to protect her against demons. You should be very good at it with some training, considering who you are.’
‘I don’t think . . .’ His voice trailed off. ‘What’s who I am got to do with it?’
‘You are the son of the White Tiger of the West, Michael. You are half god yourself. You are also half tiger. Let me tell you about your father.’
He stared at me. He gave me rope and I took it.
‘Your father has a palace in the Western Desert, in Heaven. He has a great many women there. Your mother fell for him and he carried her away to join his harem. She obviously grew sick of sharing him and left. She’s highly unusual in this regard, because he’s claimed, in my presence, that none of his women ever leave. Your mother must have a very strong will.’
‘She does. But —’
I cut him off. ‘There’s more to it than that, Michael, but I think that’s enough for now. Let me summarise. Your employer will be Lord Xuan Wu, God of Martial Arts, Dark Lord of the Northern Heavens, the North Wind. He will teach you to use your skills to defend his daughter, Simone, against demons. Your father is Lord Bai Hu, the White Tiger God of the West, the West Wind.’ I wondered how much had gone in. ‘Any questions?’
Michael rose. ‘I’m sorry, Miss Donahoe. I appreciate the attention, but I don’t understand why you’re doing this. It’s obvious you’re good, but there’s really no reason for you to spin this story. And I can assure you,’ he said sharply but politely, ‘that I am not half tiger. That’s a slur on my mother, you know, but you’re obviously crazy, so I’ll let it pass.’
I clapped my hands with delight. The kid was perfect. He hadn’t believed a word I’d said. ‘You are truly very impressive. Come with me, I’d like to show you something.’
He eyed me suspiciously.
‘Would you trust me if I brought Leo along?’
He nodded. He trusted Leo. Good.
I took him to the training room. Leo was there already, working with Dark Heavens, the sword that resided in clips next to the front door. As soon as we entered Leo fell to one knee and saluted me.
I sighed with exasperation and Leo grinned as he pulled himself back to his feet.
Michael glanced sharply at me.
‘Leo, do you know who Michael’s father is?’
‘No, my Lady,’ Leo said. ‘No idea.’
Michael didn’t miss the honorific and glanced at me again.
‘Lord Xuan says that he is the son of Bai Hu.’
Leo reeled back. ‘Whoa. What a good choice. Half Shen. Half tiger. Son of the West Wind. I couldn’t have chosen better.’ He glared at Michael. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ He raised his hand and grinned. ‘No, don’t worry, of course you didn’t know that I’m familiar with Shen.’
Michael looked as if he was about to fall over. His face was ashen.
‘He didn’t know who his father was until about five minutes ago,’ I said. ‘His mother never told him. He has no idea about anything, and didn’t believe me when I just told him.’
‘Even better.’ Leo studied Michael appraisingly. ‘I can’t believe what a good choice I made here.’
‘How about we pull out the demon jar? Could you get it for me, please?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Leo grinned at Michael and put Dark Heavens back on the rack. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll believe the Lady Emma soon enough.’
Poor Michael just stood there, stunned, and watched Leo go out.
‘Remember, Michael, you are sworn to secrecy on this,’ I said. ‘Don’t bother trying to tell anybody, anyway. Nobody would believe you.’
‘I stand by my word,’ Michael said absently.
Leo came back with the jar. I took it from him and put it in the corner of the room. ‘You guide him, I’ll get the demons out.’
‘Demons?’ Michael said.
‘Lady Emma told you everything, didn’t she?’ Leo said.
Michael nodded.
‘Well then, select a weapon.’ Leo picked Dark Heavens from the rack.
Michael’s face was full of scepticism, but he took the white katana from the rack anyway.
Leo snorted. ‘Did Lady Emma tell you to take that one?’
‘No,’ Michael said, ‘I chose it myself. Is it the wrong one?’
Leo glanced at me. ‘You know that sword’s name?’
‘Nope.’
Leo grinned broadly. ‘That sword is the freaking White Tiger.’ He gestured for Michael to stand next to him in the centre of the room. ‘Here.’
I opened the jar and the air hissed. Michael’s expression was priceless. He didn’t know whether to believe us or not, but he was beginning to worry.
‘Don’t be concerned, you are in absolutely no danger here,’ I said.
Leo readied himself. Michael did too, obviously just in case.
I threw a low-level demon onto the floor in front of the mirrors and it formed into a twenty-year-old Chinese man wearing plain slacks and a shirt.
Michael took a step back, his eyes wide.
‘What level is that, my Lady?’ Leo said.
‘Four. It’s bound right now, Michael. I can release it if you like. It will attack you if I do. Do you want me to?’
Michael took a step forward and studied the demon carefully. ‘That’s a demon?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’ve seen them before. I wondered what they were. They look like ordinary people, but they’re different somehow.’ He grimaced. ‘I thought something was wrong with me; the minute I see one I want to tear it to bits.’
‘Good God, he can spot them already,’ Leo said with awe.
‘You are a true son of the White Tiger,’ I said. ‘You will be extremely valuable to us. I’m glad you came, Michael, we can help you to realise your full potential.’
Leo turned to Michael, full of approval. ‘You’re more than an ordinary human, Michael. You’ll probably be able to do some amazing things with training from Lord Xuan. What a stroke of luck for all of us.’
Michael grinned. ‘Really?’
‘Do you want to try the demon?’ I said. ‘I can release it, and it will attack you.’
Michael hesitated,