Red Phoenix

  John watched the Tiger go with amusement. ‘He is absolutely incorrigible.’

  ‘And very wise. Up for it?’

  ‘I am a Turtle.’ He smiled gently. ‘Don’t you know about us?’ ‘What?’

  His eyes crinkled up. ‘We always are.’

  He brushed his hand over my back as we lay silently side by side. His hair had come completely out and I twisted it through my fingers. The dark purple silken bedcovers were exquisitely comfortable and I dozed in his arms. Despite the warmth of the afternoon, the room was shady and cool. A fountain splashed outside the window and a bird sang some distance away.

  ‘Tell him about the shen,’ the stone said.

  ‘You are not supposed to be listening,’ John said. ‘Go back to sleep.’

  ‘I really will flush this thing down the toilet and ask you for a diamond instead,’ I said. ‘Imagine. A little green voyeur on my finger.’

  ‘I am not a voyeur,’ the stone said crisply. ‘I am not at all interested in what you animals get up to—’

  ‘Animals!’ I squawked.

  ‘I am,’ John said, amused.

  ‘—but you really should tell him about the shen,’ the stone said, ignoring us. ‘It is quite important.’ ‘Which Shen?’John said.

  ‘I did a Yang tai chi set while I was waiting for you last night. I thought I was working with chi, but then I saw I was working with shen.’

  ‘You did shen work?’ John pulled himself up and threw his long legs over the side of the bed. ‘Show me.’

  I hesitated; then, what the hell. I went to the middle of the room, moved into position and began.

  It happened again about halfway through the set. I didn’t need to see it to know; he went very still. It felt absolutely marvellous. I was one with the universe; all of history stretched before me. His presence shimmered dark and cool behind me. The warmth of the desert smouldered outside the window. It was exquisite.

  I finished the set, moved my hands through the final position, and put the shen back. Then I took a deep breath and stood still for a moment, revelling in the wonderful feeling.

  ‘You should not have been able to do that,’ John said quietly.

  I turned to see him. ‘What?’

  ‘Only Immortals can work with shen, my love.’ His voice went strange. ‘Come here.’ I went to him and sat next to him. He put his hands on my face. ‘Open up, love.’ I relaxed and let him in.

  He shuffled through all my feelings. He looked in all my corners. It was much easier this time; I was accustomed to the feeling of him inside my head. I relaxed and enjoyed it.

  He sighed when he felt the after-effects of the shen work. ‘That really does feel wonderful, doesn’t it? I haven’t been able to do that in a long time. I miss it. But why can you work with shen?’

  I imagined myself holding my hands out. I hadn’t even known ordinary humans couldn’t do it.

  He hunted through me. ‘Same as before, nothing special, ordinary human.’ He hesitated for a moment, then said, ‘Stone.’ ‘Yes, Turtle?’

  ‘I looked inside her before, she is an ordinary human being. Something dark emerged when the Demon King saw inside her; it was enough to push him out. It must have been something very powerful, but when I look now, I see nothing. But she just worked with shen, which ordinary humans can’t do. Why is this?’

  ‘To tell you the truth,’ the stone said in its best BBC voice, ‘I have no idea either. All I know is that you have chosen a most unusual female—’

  ‘Female!’ I squawked again.

  ‘—and that she has talents that will only grow with time. There is a great deal of hidden power in this one. Immense destructive capability. It is a shame you will not be around to guide her to full realisation of her potential. When you return, you will be astounded.’

  ‘Destructive capability?’ I said.

  ‘Immense. When you realise your potential, I think you will be the most destructive thing the Dark Lord has ever seen, and he is the power of yin himself.’

  ‘Is she dangerous?’ John said quietly.

  The stone hesitated. I heard it hesitate.

  ‘Answer the question, stone. Am I dangerous?’

  The stone didn’t reply.

  ‘Tell me right now,’ I said. ‘I don’t want to be a danger to Xuan Wu, Simone, or any member of the family.’ The stone still didn’t reply.

  I took John’s hands from my face and put them on my throat. ‘Kill me now, John, please.’ I looked straight into his horrified eyes. ‘Kill me!’

  ‘No!’ the stone shouted. ‘There is absolutely no need for this.’

  We sagged against each other.

  ‘Am. I. Dangerous,’ I said very slowly and clearly.

  ‘Yes, you are,’ the stone said.

  We snapped our heads up and gazed into each other’s eyes.

  ‘But not to your family, Emma. I should have made myself clearer,’ the stone said.

  John visibly relaxed. I put my hands on his shoulders. He brushed his hands over my back. We touched foreheads and sat motionless.

  ‘What the hell are you talking about, stone?’ I said, quietly exasperated. ‘You make absolutely no sense whatsoever.’

  ‘Let me elaborate,’ the stone said. ‘You are very unusual. Very talented. Right now you are an ordinary human being. That will change as time passes—’

  ‘Of course it will. I will Raise her when I return,’ John said.

  ‘Don’t interrupt me!’ the stone snapped. ‘You may not need to. She is a long way there herself already. Look what she just did. She is extraordinary.’

  ‘That’s what Ms Kwan is always saying,’ I said.

  ‘I will stop talking if you keep interrupting me,’ the stone said. ‘Lady Emma Donahoe, I don’t know quite what you are or where you’re going, but I would like to come along for the ride. Lord Xuan Wu, Dark Lord, listen to me.’

  ‘I’m listening,’ John said.

  ‘Teach her as if she is Immortal. See how far you go. Don’t push her too hard, you could kill her. Until you leave her. When you return, you will be astonished.’

  John raised his head to gaze into my eyes. ‘I’m looking forward to it.’

  ‘And now I think I will stay quiet and watch. Except when you’re doing your animal thing, because then I’ll be asleep. Understood?’

  ‘I love you, Xuan Wu, and I wish I knew what the stone was talking about here.’

  ‘I love you too, Emma, and so do I.’

  ‘Animals!’ the stone snapped, and went quiet.

  ‘I think you should talk to somebody about this death wish that you seem to have,’ he said.

  ‘Excuse me, doctor, could you help me, please? When my fiancé, who is a turtle that I can’t touch because it would kill me, went to fight this demon, I offered to fall on my sword rather than into the demon’s hands. And then later, when my engagement ring said that I might be dangerous to my family, I asked the turtle—who, by the way, is missing his snake half—to kill me. Oh, and all of this happened at the house of our best friend, who is a tiger.’

  ‘I see your point.’

  ‘Maybe an animal psychologist would be more help.’

  ‘I think the Tiger has one or two here in the palace,’ he said, perfectly serious. ‘Would you like me to make an appointment for you?’

  I giggled and pushed him over. He grinned and pulled me on top.

  ‘Not again already.’

  ‘Emma, I thought you did some research on me. If you knew about the nature of turtles then you would not be surprised.’

  ‘John Chen Wu, you never cease to surprise me, every day of my life.’

  ‘Good.’ He ran his hands over my back and his face became intense.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  After we’d changed into the swimwear the Tiger provided for us, John led me out of the room and into the long outdoor hallway. He took me down carved wooden stairs to the ground floor, and along the breezeway through the gardens. The demon gardeners looked
up and smiled as we went past.

  ‘How much time did you spend here before?’ I said. ‘Were you here often?’

  ‘I honestly miss it.’ He stopped and looked around. ‘When I wasn’t on the Mountain, or in the Northern Heavens, I spent quite a lot of time here. The Tiger and I shared some good times.’ ‘He misses you.’

  ‘Yes, he does.’ He took my hand. ‘Come on, let’s go for a swim.’

  We continued through the gardens. ‘I have not seen a single one of these notorious women that you both carry on about,’ I said. ‘I’m beginning to think it was just pure bravado on his part, and a careful scheme by you to keep me out of his paws.’

  ‘You have found me out. I just didn’t want him to have a chance with you.’ He smiled sideways at me. ‘Not even I am permitted into the women’s quarters. He’s probably hunted them away from the pool as well. He’s very protective of his females.’ He nodded. ‘Here we are.’

  It was more like a country club than a swimming pool. Palm trees and red rocks surrounded the freeform lagoon; a couple of demon servants waited attentively next to the deck chairs that flanked the pool bar.

  ‘Geez, this is the life.’ I looked around. ‘This is like a five-star resort.’

  ‘He’s a tiger. He likes his swimming.’

  ‘With his women, as well. Shades of the Playboy mansion.’

  John laughed softly. ‘You are very perceptive sometimes.’

  ‘You can’t swim though, John, it’s chlorinated.’

  ‘It’s not. It’s kept pure by some sort of Celestial thing. I can go in.’

  ‘Some sort of Celestial thing? Is that a scientific term?’

  He stopped, his face completely blank. Then he spun, grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder. He ran to the pool and threw me in, towel and all, then jumped in after me.

  I lay back on the deck chair with the crossword on my knees. I sipped the rich, ice-cold fruit drink, then returned the glass to the table and the demon waiter refilled it for me. John was at the bottom of the pool; he’d been there for some time. The occasional bubble rising from his dark shape was the only sign he was alive.

  ‘Damn if he hasn’t gone and fallen asleep at the bottom of the pool again.’ The Tiger strolled over to me and sat down next to the deck chair. ‘He does that every single goddamn time.’

  ‘Is that what he’s doing? I was wondering. How come he can stay so long under the water? He’s in human form, doesn’t he need to breathe?’

  ‘He’s in his element. Even drained and in human form, it’s his element. Even when I’m drained I can still do things with metal.’

  ‘That’s right, your element is metal. What can you do?’

  ‘Just about anything.’ He looked around. The spoon lifted out of my drink and floated to him. He sat up, held it in front of his face and closed his eyes.

  The spoon changed to gold.

  ‘Take it,’ he said.

  I plucked the spoon out of the air. ‘Really gold?’

  ‘Yep. Not worth anything here on the Plane, but on Earth it’s quite handy. I have to be careful not to do it too much, don’t want to upset the world economy. Let it go, I have it.’

  The spoon lifted from my fingers and I released it. It floated in front of his whiskers again. ‘Note, my Lady Emma, nothing up my sleeve.’ The spoon changed to copper. He concentrated, and the spoon folded up into a ball slightly smaller than a golf ball. He changed the copper ball to gold, then to silver, then it changed shape again until it was a little silver tiger.

  ‘Stop.’ I took the tiger out of the air. ‘This is really sweet.’

  ‘You like it? It’s platinum.’ He concentrated, and the little tiger floated off my hand. A tiny loop grew out of its back. Another spoon floated off the table next to me, went shiny, and turned into a matching chain. The chain threaded itself through the loop, and the platinum tiger drifted back down to settle on my hand.

  ‘It’s delightful,’ I said. ‘I’ll give it to Simone. She’ll love it.’

  He was speechless for a moment, his tawny eyes glowing. ‘I’ll make one for you as well if you like. It would flatter your pale skin.’

  ‘No need. One for Simone is enough. I don’t need anything.’ I glanced at the bubbles rising from John’s dark form. ‘I have everything I could possibly want in the whole world.’ I had an inspiration. ‘Is Louise here?’

  ‘Nope. You just missed her. About twenty of them went shopping in Paris this morning. Not to worry, you’ll see her there. Look around Rue du Faubourg St Honoré. They always go crazy in there, costs me a fortune.’

  ‘You should buy shares in the fashion houses, if the others are anything like her. She won’t buy anything for months, then go berserk and spend a fortune on clothes and shoes.’

  ‘I already did. Bought a couple of hotels for them to stay in, as well. Wherever they are, they stay with me.’

  ‘You said they never want to leave. You lied to our faces.’

  He looked blank for a moment, then understood; his mouth opened to reveal his gleaming fangs. ‘No, my Lady, I said they never want to leave.’

  ‘Why would Rhonda leave if she didn’t want to?’

  ‘Because she is quite remarkable.’ He glanced at the pool. ‘He’d better get his shell into gear, I have a big dinner planned for you two. And I want you both looking halfway neat.’

  ‘Oh no, Tiger, please, you know that neither of us does neat.’

  ‘Not a single hole in any of the clothes that you wear. And try to keep your hair tidy for at least the first five minutes.’

  ‘Yeah, why is his hair always coming out? It’s like it has a life of its own. And he hates wearing shoes, he’ll always go barefoot if he has the choice.’

  ‘Ask him. It’s a long story.’ He pulled himself up and stretched, his tail shivering. He yawned widely, making his whiskers stand out from his face. ‘Time for the Turtle to move his shell.’

  He loped to the pool, jumped in and disappeared under the water.

  The water swirled, exploding into a huge whirlpool with the Tiger at its centre. The water expanded and rose like a water spout with the Tiger on top, a look of horror on his tiger face.

  The column of water carried the Tiger to the edge and unceremoniously tipped him off. He landed gracefully on his feet at the edge of the pool.

  ‘You bastard!’ he yelled. ‘This is the thanks I get for looking after your Lady while you sleep your ass off in my pool! You are a lazy piece of shit and should get your fucking shell moving!’

  ‘I think you are in big trouble, Tiger.’ I rose from the deck chair, still holding my drink. I leapt, somersaulted, and landed lightly on the roof of the pool bar about twenty metres away. I knew what was coming.

  ‘Would you like me to freshen your drink for you while you’re up there, ma’am?’ the demon servant said from the bar below.

  ‘No, thank you,’ I called down. ‘I think we’ll be leaving soon.’

  The entire contents of the swimming pool lifted like a huge watery brick. It rose in a single glistening transparent lump and hovered over the Tiger. John stood on the bottom of the empty pool and grinned.

  ‘Holy fucking shit!’ the Tiger roared, but it was too late.

  John dropped the entire pool of water on the Tiger. The Tiger crouched like a cowed house cat as the water poured over him. The noise was incredible; it seemed to go on forever. Finally the deluge stopped, and there was complete silence except for the thin noise of the water trickling back into the pool.

  Suddenly the water on the paving rushed together and cascaded back into the pool where it formed watery steps. John casually walked up the stairs and stepped out. He saw me on the roof. ‘Told you that move needed work. That was much more like it. Did you spill your drink?’

  That was it. I fell off the roof laughing.

  We walked back in the glowing late afternoon sun. ‘I like that swimsuit. You should keep it,’ John said.

  ‘I won’t keep it because you like it. I
dress for me, not for you.’

  ‘I can tell. Most of the time you dress like a street sleeper.’

  ‘Oh, that’s very good coming from you,’ I shot back. ‘You didn’t even know I threw those awful old pants away.’

  ‘I found them in the trash and took them back. I like them. They’re comfortable.’

  ‘I found where you’d hidden them and threw them away again. Face it. You will never see those awful old pants again.’

  He stopped with his hand on the doorknob. ‘I may put a hole in one of the new pairs that Leo bought me, just to annoy you.’

  Two smiling demon servants waited for us inside with a portable rack of clothing. We immediately sent them out.

  ‘Most of this is designer gear,’ I said as we flipped through the rack. I handed him a plain black cotton shirt, and he swapped it for a black cheongsam embroidered with silver good-luck bats. ‘He hates us.’

  ‘He loves us.’ He took the plain black slacks from me and pulled his swim shorts off. ‘Thanks.’ He reached around the rack, grabbed me and pulled me in for a lingering kiss. ‘Let’s do it Japanese-style.’

  ‘I hope you mean have a bath Japanese-style.’ I released myself and pulled my swimsuit off. We went into the bathroom together. ‘Can you fill the bath quickly?’

  ‘Right now I can only work with water once it’s there. When I’m not drained I can make it rain in a focused area, but it’s too hard right now.’ He threw our swimsuits into the linen basket and they disappeared. ‘We’ll have to fill the bath normally.’

  ‘Damn. That bath’s enormous. It’ll take a while to fill up. Having it Japanese-style is a good idea.’

  ‘Not washing here.’ He started the water into the bath. ‘This bathroom isn’t set up for it. Have a shower first.’

  He pulled me into the shower. ‘I should have shown you this in the pool, but I fell asleep. Hold your head under the water and breathe it.’

  I tried it. He was right. I could breathe the water. It was a most remarkable feeling.