White Tiger

  The doctor gestured towards the ward. ‘Don’t stay too long.’

  A couple of policemen waited for us inside the ward. Leo and I shared another look.

  ‘Go and see him first,’ one of them said. ‘Then we’ll take statements.’

  I took a deep breath and followed Leo into the room.

  Mr Chen’s hair was a mess, tied back roughly out of the way. He appeared to be asleep. His left arm was in a cast to above the elbow, and a drip fed into his right forearm. Pieces of tape covered the cuts on his face. He was very pale.

  Simone clambered onto the chair next to the bed and whispered, ‘Daddy.’

  He didn’t move. She took his hand. ‘Daddy.’

  His eyes slowly opened. He saw her and smiled. ‘Simone. Thank the Heavens.’ He saw Leo, then me. He breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Are you all right? Everybody’s okay?’

  ‘We’re fine,’ Leo said, moving to stand behind Simone.

  ‘Leo was great, Daddy,’ Simone said. ‘He killed the demons for me.’

  Mr Chen glanced up at Leo.

  ‘House. Shape Shifter. Snake Mother,’ Leo said softly. ‘A Mother,’ Mr Chen said. ‘A challenge for you. Well done.’

  Leo hadn’t mentioned Wong. I didn’t mention him either.

  Mr Chen raised his good hand. Simone scrambled onto the bed and held it.

  ‘Careful,’ I said. ‘His foot is broken.’

  ‘I have stitches in here too,’ he said, pointing at his abdomen.

  Simone carefully eased down to lie on the bed with her head on the pillow next to his, and held his hand. ‘I’m glad you’re okay, Daddy.’ She touched his hair. ‘You need to wash your hair. There’s mud in it.’

  He smiled sadly. ‘I know. When I come home tomorrow.’

  He turned his head to see Leo. ‘Take her home. Guard her well. It’s finished. Major damage—not just to me—but the attack was fended off.’ He gestured with his head towards the police and lowered his voice. ‘What are we going to tell them?’

  ‘You were kidnapped,’ I said softly. ‘We paid the ransom. They gave you back. You fought them and they did this to you.’

  ‘Well done, Emma, that’s perfect,’ he whispered. He raised his voice loud enough for the police outside to hear. ‘I don’t remember anything. They must have broken in and knocked me out. I don’t even remember what they looked like.’

  Simone snuggled next to him. He stroked her hair with his good hand.

  The doctor came in. ‘The police want to talk to you, Mr Chen. Then your family should go home and let you rest.’

  ‘Can one of us stay with him?’ I said. The doctor nodded. We all shared a look.

  ‘You take Simone home,’ I said to Leo. ‘I’ll stay here and watch him.’

  ‘I wanna stay here with my daddy!’

  ‘Your daddy needs to sleep without any wriggling lumps jumping on him,’ I said. ‘Go and help Leo get the house ready for him to come home tomorrow. I’ll stay here and look after him.’

  ‘Go, Simone,’ Mr Chen breathed.

  ‘Okay, Daddy,’ Simone said. ‘We’ll make sure everything’s ready for you.’ She clambered off the bed and took Leo’s hand. ‘Daddy will be all right with Emma.’

  ‘I know, sweetheart,’ Leo said. He moved closer to me and spoke softly. ‘Call me if anything happens. But I don’t think anything will; it’s all finished.’

  I turned to see the police. ‘Let’s talk to them and get this over with.’

  Mr Chen tried to pull himself upright and failed, falling back onto his pillow.

  Leo grabbed the controls for the bed and raised Mr Chen’s head. I went to let the police in.

  ‘Don’t talk to them for too long,’ the doctor said. He clipped the chart to the end of the bed and went out.

  The police glared at us but had to accept our statements. They seemed accustomed to wealthy people fabricating stories for them. They made us promise to go back and tell them more if we remembered. They also made us promise to take Mr Chen to the police station as soon as he was well enough. They wanted to catch the perpetrators of this particularly brutal crime.

  The irony wasn’t lost on either me or Leo. The last thing these guys wanted to catch was a Mother.

  The dim hospital night-lights and the warm hum of the equipment lulled me and I dozed in a chair next to him, holding his hand.

  He snapped awake and cast around, waking me. He gripped my hand so tightly it was painful. ‘Simone!’

  ‘Simone’s safe,’ I said. ‘She’s at home with Leo.’

  His eyes were wide and unseeing. ‘Michelle?’

  My heart twisted. ‘No, John, it’s me. Emma.’

  He relaxed, his voice full of warm relief. ‘Emma.’

  ‘I’m here.’

  He shifted, trying to be more comfortable, and grimaced.

  ‘Are you in pain? Do you want me to call the doctor?’

  ‘No.’ His voice was very soft. ‘No more drugs. More drugs could push me over the edge. I don’t want to lose it.’

  I grasped his hand. ‘Hold on.’

  ‘I am. For Simone. And for you.’ He smiled up into my eyes. ‘My Emma.’ He raised my hand to his face and kissed it. ‘Dear Emma.’ ‘I’m here, John.’

  He released my hand and pushed it away. ‘I can’t hold it. Don’t. Touch. Me.’

  ‘Why not? Why can’t I touch you?’

  ‘I will tell you when we’re home,’ he said, his voice thick with sleep. ‘I should have told you a long time ago. But I didn’t want to lose you. I will tell you. I should tell Emma, but I don’t want to lose her.’ His voice was very soft. ‘Dear Emma. Don’t leave me.’

  ‘I won’t leave you, John.’

  He drifted away.

  Leo and Simone returned the next morning to pick him up. The doctor tried to make him stay longer, but he insisted that he was fine and wanted to go home. Leo backed him up and together they bullied the doctor into releasing him.

  He couldn’t use crutches with a broken arm. The hospital lent us a wheelchair. Leo wheeled him down to the car, but he climbed clumsily into the passenger seat himself. He wouldn’t let Leo carry him. Leo shook his head, folded the wheelchair up and put it in the boot.

  Mr Chen was mortified when he was wheeled past the smiling security guards back at the Peak. ‘This is not fitting.’

  ‘Deal with it,’ Leo said unsympathetically. ‘You won’t need it after you call the Lady.’

  Mr Chen’s face went rigid and he didn’t say anything.

  Leo wheeled him into his room. I hung back in the hallway, but Simone dragged me in with her.

  Leo bent to assist Mr Chen into bed, but Mr Chen raised his hand. ‘Leo, I need your help. This is not an order, this is a request.’

  Leo stopped.

  ‘The hospital staff tried to clean me up, but there is still mud and blood on me. There is also demon venom and it needs to come off. Will you help me?’

  Leo silently watched him.

  Mr Chen’s face was full of regret. ‘I would understand if you declined.’

  They looked at each other for a long time.

  Leo turned to me. ‘Emma, have a look in the kitchen and see if you can find some plastic bags and rubber bands. We’ll need to keep the plaster dry.’

  Leo came into the kitchen later. Simone was noisily slurping the ramen that I’d made for her.

  “Bout time you ate something,’ Leo said.

  Simone slammed her chopsticks onto the table. ‘I want to see Daddy.’

  ‘Daddy’s sleeping.’ Leo pulled a coffee mug out of the cupboard. ‘Leave him alone.’

  Simone returned to the noodles and ate them more slowly.

  ‘Where’s Monica?’ I said.

  ‘Gone to the market,’ Leo said.

  When Simone had finished the noodles I took her for a nap. She fell asleep almost immediately; she’d been awake most of the night with Leo. I went into my room, showered and changed, and returned to the kitchen. Leo was still there
, glowering at his coffee.

  I sat across from him. ‘He’s not out of the woods yet, is he?’

  Leo shook his head without looking up. ‘He needs Kwan Yin.’ He nodded.

  I inhaled sharply as I understood. ‘He’s too damn proud to call her.’

  ‘He drives me completely crazy sometimes.’

  ‘Do you have the number for the house in Montmartre?’

  He smiled at me. ‘That house doesn’t exist.’ ‘What?’

  ‘Ms Kwan made it for him. It’s not real. It’s about as far from the demons’ power centre as you can get, that’s why they do it there. But the house isn’t real at all.’

  ‘What about London? Charlie? James?’

  ‘Oh, they’re real all right; he’s had that house for years. But they’d have even less chance of contacting her than we would.’

  I ran my hands through my hair. ‘Jade? Gold?’

  ‘Yeah.’ He grimaced at his coffee. ‘I asked him why he didn’t want Gold to help clean him up instead of me.’ He shrugged. ‘The demons killed them. They’re dead.’

  ‘No!’ I rubbed my hands over my face. ‘No, Leo, they’re Shen, I know they are. You can’t kill Shen. They just go away for a while and then come back.’

  ‘He says about three or four months.’

  ‘That long?’

  He nodded.

  ‘What are we going to do?’

  He studied his coffee, full of misery. ‘Hope that he has the sense to call her before he fades away.’

  I crossed my arms on the table and flopped my head on them. ‘No.’

  He sighed with feeling, finished his coffee and rose. ‘I’ll be in the training room.’

  When Simone woke she was listless and uninterested in everything I tried to do with her. Eventually I planted her in front of the television and she watched it, eyes wide and unseeing.

  I pulled a book out and attempted to read. I kept reading the same page over and over without comprehension.

  I jumped; I’d heard a noise. I rushed to the door and looked outside. Nope; not Ms Kwan at the door.

  I went to Mr Chen’s room, opened the door slightly and checked on him. He appeared to be asleep, his face peaceful. He looked very, very old. He didn’t move.

  I returned to the television room and tried to read the book.

  A couple of hours later Monica prepared lunch for us and we sat around the table looking at it.

  Simone picked up some vegetables in her chopsticks, then put them down again.

  I sipped my tea.

  Leo threw himself up and went back to the training room without saying a word.

  Simone and I returned to the television room.

  Half an hour later I heard another sound and rushed out. Ms Kwan wasn’t there. I sat on the couch in the television room and put my head in my hands. Leo was still in the training room doing a level one sword kata over and over. I’d had enough.

  I grabbed Simone and took her into his room. I dragged a chair from beside the wall, jammed it next to the bed and sat in it. I pulled Simone into my lap.

  He turned his head to look at me without saying anything.

  ‘You see this?’ I hissed. ‘This is the reason all of us are here.’

  His eyes flicked to Simone and something changed in them.

  ‘Think of what would happen to her if you were to go now.’

  He didn’t say anything. I wanted to slap him.

  I half rose so that I could get closer to him, still holding Simone in my lap. ‘Call her. Get her here now.’

  His eyebrows creased and he turned his face away.

  Simone obviously didn’t understand, but didn’t say anything. I stood and gently lowered her to the floor. ‘And you think we’re stupid!’

  The doorbell rang and Simone shrieked with delight. ‘Aunty Kwan’s here! Aunty Kwan’s here!’ She raced out the door.

  I poked my finger into the air at him. ‘I am not finished with you.’

  He ran his good hand over his forehead and smiled with some of the old sparkle. ‘I sincerely hope not.’

  Ms Kwan appeared in the doorway. ‘Out, Emma.’

  I went to her and took her hands. ‘Thanks for coming.’

  She pushed my hands away. ‘Go. Quickly.’ I went out and closed the door behind me. Leo came out of the training room, the sword still in his hand. ‘Was that her?’ ‘Yep.’

  He fell to lean against the wall and wiped his hand over his face.

  ‘Get some rest,’ I said.

  ‘After I have something to eat,’ he said. ‘Suddenly I’m starving.’

  ‘Me too!’ Simone said.

  ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘I wonder if Monica’s thrown our lunch away yet.’

  ‘She doesn’t throw food away, Emma, you know that.’

  ‘Let’s go and see.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Iheard them coming and sat upright on the sofa, groggy. Leo was sprawled across the living room’s other sofa. I checked my watch: 5 a.m. They’d been in there together for more than twelve hours straight.

  Ms Kwan led him into the kitchen, her face like thunder. The plaster was gone and he could walk by himself.

  Leo woke, and we opened the kitchen door to check on them. Mr Chen sat staring at the table, expressionless. She pulled a saucepan out of the cupboard and found some ho fan in the refrigerator. She poured some vegetable stock into the saucepan and put it on the stove. She didn’t look at us. ‘Out.’

  Leo and I shared a look and closed the door.

  Leo rubbed his eyes. ‘Thank God.’

  I grabbed him and held him tight. He buried his face in my hair. We held each other for a while, then separated and returned to our rooms without saying a word.

  About an hour later, Leo and I came out for breakfast. The kitchen was deserted so we sat at the table together and waited. Monica appeared, bustled through the kitchen and made breakfast for us as if nothing had happened.

  Ms Kwan came in and sat at the table with us. Monica made a pot of tea for her and she nodded her thanks. The three of us sat together for a long time without looking at each other.

  Eventually she stirred. ‘Leo and Emma—here is something I should have given you a long time ago.’ She held her hand out, palm up, and a soft glow appeared. It coalesced into a pearl so large it filled her palm. She placed the pearl on the table with a soft metallic click.

  ‘If he should ever be this bad again,’ she said, ‘hold this and call me. I will come.’

  ‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘You don’t know how much we appreciate it.’

  Leo nodded, speechless.

  ‘I will need to stay at least a week, day and night,’ she said. ‘Do you have room for me?’

  ‘You can have my room, I’ll take one of the student rooms,’ I said.

  ‘I don’t want to put you out,’ she said, concerned.

  ‘I would be honoured.’ I hesitated, but I had to know. ‘How bad is the Mountain?’

  ‘We all knew this was coming. It was inevitable. The Demon King led an enormous army of demons to attack the Mountain. The other three Winds and the Elite Guard of the Jade Emperor fought side by side with the Dark Disciples. All of the Dragons in the Heavens rallied to his aid. The Tiger’s Western Horsemen cut through the demons. But they were overpowered. Every demon in Hell joined the attack.’

  ‘All of them?’ Leo whispered.

  ‘Every single one. Even though he was nearly incapacitated in his own weakness, the Dark Lord donned his black armour and led his disciples under their black banners. He must have destroyed hundreds of demons by himself. Eventually they overcame him and threw him from his own wall.’ Leo looked away.

  ‘He fought his way back up and defeated them. It was a mighty battle, and I was unaware. I was in retreat. I did not know.’ She smiled sadly. ‘I am sorry. They cut through the Mountain Palace of Yuzhengong. They desecrated the temples and killed the clergy. Much of the Palace has been burned to the ground.’

  ‘No,??
? I whispered.

  ‘When the battle was over, he came directly here. But he knows that his Mountain, his Palace, is ruined. He has been building the Mountain for centuries, adding to its elegant halls and pavilions. Even its Earthly shadow was magnificent. And now it is all gone. It is breaking his heart.’

  I took her hand and she smiled sadly at me. ‘I will spend the rest of the day with him. Do not disturb us. He was very close, and we should not be interrupted.’

  ‘We understand,’ I said.

  She released my hand, rose and went out.

  I woke and cast around, confused, then remembered. I was in a student room. I rose and went into the hallway. It was very late.

  I went to the small picture window at the end of the hall. The carpet was soft under my feet.

  The window overlooked the eastern part of Hong Kong Island. The ridge that was the top of the island stretched in front of me, leading down to Causeway Bay and North Point. The lights were still on; Hong Kong buzzed with activity, even though it was so late. The streets of Central were a flurry of traffic.

  A lone car drove past, going down the tree-covered hillside of the Peak. The Peak Tower had closed up for the night. The shopping centre next to it was dark.

  The hills and highrises of Kowloon shimmered over the harbour in the distance. The clouds were low overhead, and glowed in the reflected light of the city.

  I touched the glass. The surface was cold; the temperature would be less than ten degrees outside. It was warm inside.

  I turned and looked along the hallway. Closed doors in the darkness. Shadows. Quiet. I was right next to his door.

  I went to his door.

  I touched the handle.

  Wong had asked me: why don’t you go to him? And I asked myself: why not?

  I knew he felt it too. Something was holding him back. If I went in and slid into bed beside him, what would he do?

  I wanted so much to climb in with him, pull the covers over both of us and run my hands over his golden skin. To feel the muscles of his arms, his back. To run my mouth over his silken shoulders and bury my face in his neck. To feel his hair slide between my fingers, fresh with the smell of the sea.