White Tiger

  He was right. The blood would never come out of the gold lamé. I’d have to throw it away. ‘Not important,’ I said.

  ‘That dress cost a small fortune. It was a designer original.’ Leo sighed with exasperation. ‘I don’t know why I bother. With either of you. Where’s Mr Chen’s dinner jacket?’

  ‘Screwed up on the floor in the back of the car,’ I said.

  Leo sighed again.

  ‘Go out and let him rest, Emma,’ Gold said. ‘He’s fine.’

  I rose and turned.

  ‘Emma,’ Gold said behind me.

  I turned back. Both of them were watching me with admiration.

  ‘You were fantastic,’ Leo said. ‘You stayed calm, you helped—any other woman would have freaked out.’ ‘He’s right,’ Gold said.

  ‘You are a pair of sexist pigs and you will both keep,’ I said, and went out.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Simone and I were putting a jigsaw together on the dining table the next morning when Mr Chen came into the dining room. He was wearing his scruffy T-shirt and torn pants and holding a sheaf of papers under his arm. He was barefoot as usual, with his hair falling out over his shoulder.

  ‘Pack up, please, ladies,’ he said, ‘I need to use this room for a meeting.’

  Simone and I scooped the pieces back into the box. ‘Did you find everything in your office?’ I said. ‘Thanks for that. The Sanskrit texts are in the wrong order, but everything else is terrific. I must have you go through my office more often.’ ‘My pleasure.’

  ‘What happened to Journey to the West?’ I gestured towards the dining room’s side table where I’d placed the scrolls open on display. I glared at him. ‘They should be under glass. Even better, they should be in a museum where they can be cared for properly.’

  He saddened. ‘About fifty years ago, when China was becoming more politically stable, I donated a large part of my collection to museums in Beijing. Many of the treasures were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Some were sold to overseas buyers. I keep the most valuable things here with me now, where they are safe.’

  ‘You’ve had to live through a lot, haven’t you?’ I said.

  ‘I am a part of China. It hurts me when China suffers. Right now things are not perfect, but in such a large and varied land they never can be. The people are fed and housed and have hope for the future. Often in the past they did not even have that.’

  The doorbell rang.

  ‘Why are Jade and Gold here, Daddy?’ Simone said. ‘Just for a meeting.’

  ‘Come on, Simone, let’s move out of your dad’s way,’ I said. ‘He has an unpleasant job to do.’

  ‘Thanks, Emma,’ he said softly. ‘You understand.’

  I put the jigsaw on the coffee table in the living room and we sat on the carpet together to finish it. Monica let Jade and Gold into the apartment and they went into the dining room.

  I listened carefully for him shouting at them, but I never heard a thing.

  About ten minutes later the dining room door flew open. Gold charged out of the room, down the hall and out the front door without stopping to collect his shoes. He closed the front door and the gate behind him.

  Jade walked stiffly into the living room and sat on one of the sofas.

  Mr Chen came out of the dining room, closed the door softly behind him and went into his study.

  I checked Jade; she sat motionless on the sofa. Simone and I shared a look and decided to continue the jigsaw as if Jade wasn’t there.

  I heard a soft sound behind me and turned to look at Jade again. She sat rigid on the couch with her hands on her knees. Tears ran down her face as she shook with silent sobs. Simone’s face filled with concern and she opened her mouth to say something.

  I put my hand on her arm to stop her. ‘Go and practise your piano.’

  Simone nodded, rose and went out.

  I sat on the sofa next to Jade. She didn’t appear to notice my presence.

  My heart went out to her and I put my arms around her. She buried her face in my shoulder and let go. She cried for a long time.

  When she quietened I grabbed a box of tissues from the coffee table and passed it to her. She nodded her thanks and wiped her face.

  ‘Do you want a drink of water?’ I said.

  She shook her head. ‘Thanks, Emma. Do you know what happened?’ She raised her hand. ‘Of course you do. You were there.’

  ‘It worked out all right in the end,’ I said.

  ‘We are not capable,’ she said. ‘We cannot do this. He has left his beloved Mountain in the hands of two incompetents.’

  ‘He trusts you, Jade.’

  ‘And see how we betrayed that trust!’ she cried softly, bent over her knees with pain. ‘We allowed a Demon Prince to study on Wudang! We gave it a Wudang sword!’

  I didn’t know what to say so I just held her hand.

  She wiped her face with the tissues. ‘Simone needs you. And I have work I need to do.’ She rose and straightened her green silk jacket. ‘I’ll see you later, Emma.’ She cast around. ‘My briefcase. My briefcase.’ She dissolved into tears again and went out the front door without looking back.

  ‘Emma!’

  I raced to the hallway entrance.

  Mr Chen stood in the doorway of his office, leaning one shoulder against the frame. ‘All of you are to meet me in the training room at five this afternoon. Dress for training.’ He stopped. ‘Does that fit with Simone’s schedule?’

  Piano lesson was at four. She would have plenty of time to change into her little Mountain uniform. ‘Yes. Shouldn’t be a problem.’

  ‘Good. Tell Leo.’

  He went into his office and closed the door.

  At five o’clock I took Simone to the training room. Leo met us there, looking as bewildered as I felt. Mr Chen usually trained us alone or in pairs, not all three together.

  ‘Come in,’ Mr Chen called from inside.

  We went in. Jade and Gold were already there, dressed for training. Jade wore a pale green cotton pantsuit and her braided hair fell to her knees. She smiled sadly at me and I smiled back.

  Mr Chen gestured towards the long wall. ‘Line up.’

  We all took places along the wall, facing the mirrors. Small stacks of hand towels sat on the floor next to the wall behind us. There was only just enough room for the five of us to stand side by side.

  Mr Chen walked out of the room without saying a word.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Leo whispered. ‘Demon training,’ Gold said. ‘I can see why.’

  ‘I am so sorry, Leo,’ Gold moaned.

  ‘We have failed. We have failed together. We have failed most miserably,’ Jade said.

  ‘Yes, you have,’ Leo said. ‘Both of you are supposed to be much better than that.’

  Gold moaned again, a soft sound of misery.

  We heard Mr Chen coming down the hall.

  ‘Master present!’ Leo bellowed.

  As Mr Chen came in we all fell to one knee and saluted, even Simone. He carried a huge jar, about waist-high on me and at least 30 centimetres across. Its top was held down with a complicated metal seal and it appeared to contain large black beads.

  It was the jar from the storeroom.

  Mr Chen placed the jar carefully in the corner of the room and turned to face us, linking his hands behind his back. ‘Emma is the only one who has not had this training before. Apparently,’ his voice gained a slight edge of irritation, ‘Simone is the only one who does not need it. I was hoping to hold off this training until I was sure you were ready, Emma, but as we are doing it now I thought I might as well include you.’

  ‘I’m ready,’ I said.

  He smiled slightly. ‘We’ll see. I won’t ask you to do anything at this stage, just watch and learn. Now.’ He opened the jar with a hiss of escaping air. ‘Let’s see just how bad things have become.’

  He carefully removed three of the black beads and tossed them onto the floor next to the mirrors. Each bead grew
and stretched and became a young Chinese man wearing plain jeans and a T-shirt. They stood immobile in front of the mirrors.

  ‘Number them left to right, Western style,’ Mr Chen said.

  ‘Which is left, Emma?’ Simone whispered quickly. I pointed for her.

  Mr Chen frowned, but his eyes lit with amusement. Then he glared at Gold. ‘Gold!’ Gold straightened. ‘Number One.’ ‘Jade!’

  ‘Number Two.’ ‘Leo!’

  Leo hesitated, then, ‘Number One.’ ‘Emma.’

  I hesitated, confused. He stopped me with a raised hand. ‘I know at this stage that you won’t be able to tell the difference. Come forward.’

  I stepped up to him.

  He gestured towards the three young men. ‘One of these is a demon. The other two are shadows. Study them carefully. Touch them if you need to; they’re bound and they can’t hurt you. Try to tell the difference.’

  ‘How do you tell?’

  He smiled without humour. ‘How do you explain colour to a blind man? It is something you must learn from experience. Try.’

  I studied each of the young men carefully. I did touch each on the hand, and none of them moved. I couldn’t see any difference. I stepped away from them and shook my head.

  ‘Can’t tell?’ he said.

  It hurt to admit that I’d failed. ‘I’m sorry.’ ‘No, that’s fine. You have all the time in the world to learn this valuable skill. Move back.’ I moved back to the line.

  ‘Don’t worry, Emma, it’s hard,’ Simone whispered. ‘Simone!’

  Simone stiffened and squeaked. Then she realised she’d been asked. ‘Number One.’ Jade sagged slightly.

  ‘Jade and Emma, come forward. Have another look.’

  I studied Number One carefully. As far as I could tell, there was no difference.

  ‘Move back, Emma,’ Mr Chen said. He gestured towards the demon. ‘Jade.’

  I moved back. Jade shifted into a defensive stance in front of Number One and nodded.

  Numbers Two and Three disappeared.

  ‘Ready?’ Mr Chen said.

  Jade nodded again without looking away from Number One.

  Number One threw himself at her. She was ready for him. She ducked and used his momentum to throw him over her shoulder. He rolled and spun to face her.

  I moved back further; the demon was very close. I overbalanced on the towels behind me and Leo caught me before I fell.

  The demon lashed out with its right foot in a spinning roundhouse kick. I didn’t see what Jade did; she was too fast. Inhumanly fast. She was a green blur. Somehow she tipped the demon over to hit the floor. She was on top of it before it could move, and she quickly rammed her fist through its face. She backflipped and landed on her feet in a long defensive stance, again so fast she didn’t seem to move at all.

  The demon dissipated.

  Jade held her right hand away from her; it was covered in the black gooey demon stuff.

  ‘Towels next to the wall,’ Mr Chen said.

  Jade nodded, returned to the wall and picked up a towel to wipe her hand.

  Mr Chen selected three more beads from the jar.

  After about forty-five minutes of demon-spotting, Jade and Gold became very good at it. Jade missed most of them at the start, but after about fifteen minutes she had all of them right. Leo could pick about three-quarters of them. Simone never failed.

  True to his word, Mr Chen didn’t ask me to identify the demons, but he gave me plenty of chances to study them.

  After the demons had been identified, Jade, Gold and Leo took turns destroying them.

  Mr Chen put his hands behind his back. ‘We will revise this in one week’s time. Jade, Gold, dismissed.’

  Jade and Gold fell to one knee and saluted Mr Chen. Jade shot me a small smile as she went through the door and I smiled back.

  ‘You are doing very well, Leo,’ Mr Chen said.

  ‘Sir,’ Leo said, his voice soft and deep.

  ‘Well, Emma?’ Mr Chen said. ‘Are you beginning to tell the difference?’

  ‘I think I am,’ I said. ‘It’s impossible to describe, but I think I can see it.’

  He gestured towards the jar. ‘Would you like to try?’

  I shrugged. ‘Sure.’

  He pulled two beads out of the jar and they materialised into women. Half of the demons he’d used were male; half were female. All appeared in human form of different sizes and ages, but all Chinese. These demons were in their mid-thirties.

  ‘Any idea, Emma?’ he said.

  I studied them carefully.

  ‘Touch them if you wish.’

  I moved forward, touched each of them on the hand, then returned to the line. ‘Number One,’ I said, sounding much more confident than I felt.

  ‘Leo?’

  ‘Number One.’ ‘Simone?’

  Simone smiled up at me. ‘Number One.’

  I whooped with triumph and clapped my hands. Then I remembered where I was and ducked my head with embarrassment. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Leo,’ Mr Chen said.

  I broke in. ‘Let me do it.’

  Everybody stared at me.

  ‘Let me destroy the demon.’

  ‘Do you think you are ready, Emma?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Very well.’ Mr Chen went to the rack and selected the short sword he’d been teaching me to use. ‘You identified it; it is your privilege to destroy it.’

  I took the sword, pulled it from its scabbard, tossed the scabbard to one side and readied myself. I nodded without looking away from the demon.

  ‘Go, Emma,’ Simone said softly behind me.

  Leo hushed her and she squeaked with indignation.

  The shadow of the demon disappeared. Something changed in the demon’s eyes and I knew she was free.

  She raised her hands, palms up. ‘I am unarmed. Are you that much of a coward?’

  No, I wasn’t. I stepped back and passed the sword behind me to Leo without looking away from the demon.

  ‘Be very sure, Emma,’ Mr Chen said.

  I moved forward, faced the demon and moved into a left guard stance.

  I felt uncertain for a moment, then it hit me like a lightning bolt. I’d been waiting all my life for this moment. It just felt so damn good. I couldn’t hold back the huge grin that spread across my face. I didn’t feel a hint of fear; only the thrill of battle.

  The demon didn’t move. I gestured a come-on. Leo hissed under his breath and Simone hushed him.

  The demon wasn’t trained in the Arts. She threw a fist at my face and I blocked it easily, and tried to hit her in the face with the other hand at the same time.

  It didn’t work. She was faster than me. She somehow thrust through me but I blocked it again. I did a spinning kick to take her feet from under her, and she fell onto her back.

  I lunged forward to hit her in the face but her palm lashed out and struck me in the nose. My eyes were full of blood and my face was a mass of pain but my fist went through her and she dissolved.

  I straightened to stand upright and the floor moved under me, making me stagger. I tried to wipe the blood out of my eyes, but before I could, strong hands grabbed me and tipped me gently onto my back. A towel swept over my eyes, clearing the blood, and I saw Mr Chen. He was holding me with his hand behind my neck.

  He put his other hand on my forehead, took it away and smiled gently. ‘It’s not broken. You’ll be fine.’ He looked up. ‘Leo. Icepack.’

  Leo went out the door.

  Simone appeared over her father’s left shoulder. ‘Is Emma okay? She’s bleeding!’

  ‘Emma will be fine,’ Mr Chen said. ‘Go to Monica. Change out of your uniform. We’re finished now.’

  Simone pulled herself up and went out.

  ‘You have the makings of a fine warrior, Emma,’ Mr Chen said. ‘You have a great deal of raw natural talent, combined with the courage of a tiger. It is just a shame that you have come to me so old.’

  ‘Positively geriatric
,’ I quipped. ‘I’ll be thirty soon.’

  He stroked my hair.

  Leo reappeared with the icepack and Mr Chen put it on my face.

  ‘You were terrific,’ Leo said.

  ‘Yeah, look what I let it do to me,’ I said. ‘It nearly broke my nose.’

  Leo grinned over Mr Chen’s shoulder. ‘The first one I faced broke my nose, my jaw and my left arm. I win.’

  ‘I remember,’ Mr Chen said without looking away from me. ‘You threw your sword away as well. You two are as bad as each other for heedless valour.’

  Leo and I shared a smile. We were probably both thinking the same thing though: how stupid we were.

  Mr Chen moved the icepack away. ‘It’s stopped bleeding now. Do you think you can stand up?’

  ‘I can try,’ I said.

  Leo took one arm and Mr Chen took the other. They raised me easily. They released my arms, then stood ready to grab me if I went down again.

  I swayed slightly and steadied myself. I raised my hands as they moved to help me. ‘I’m all right.’

  ‘I’ll call Monica,’ Mr Chen said.

  I shook my head. Bad move: stars sprang up around me, but they cleared quickly. ‘I’m okay.’

  ‘Have a shower. Have a rest. We will mind Simone,’ Mr Chen said.

  ‘I’ll be fine.’ I moved to the door. Once I started walking I felt okay. ‘I am fine.’

  They followed me to my room anyway. When I reached the door I turned back. ‘I’m all right, really.’

  ‘Tell me if you need help. I’ll call Monica,’ Mr Chen said.

  ‘You sure, Emma?’ Leo said.

  ‘I’m fine!’ I turned and opened the door, went in and closed it in their faces.

  I stormed to the bed, grabbed the fake rat off it, went back to the door and slammed it open. I shoved the fake rat at Leo, who took it sheepishly.

  ‘You left the demon jar open,’ I said.

  Both of them cursed and ran.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  One morning in mid-November, we all sat down together for breakfast. The men didn’t usually eat breakfast with us girls; Mr Chen, particularly, was a very early riser. But that morning he smiled indulgently at Simone as she sat at the table.