‘He knew you had to stay here to care for Simone after he’d killed Michelle, and took advantage of it,’ I said.
‘Then they saw how close we were becoming. They saw their chance to cultivate a spy. Too bad you had already joined me.’
‘Those labs were full of snakes.’
‘And birds. I wonder if they built the fire things there.’
‘Simone saw me as a snake, John. What if this has something to do with it?’ I sighed with despair. ‘I don’t know how you can keep me around, knowing what you do about me.’
He shot to his feet and banged his hand on the table so hard that I jumped. ‘Don’t you even think about leaving me!’ he roared. ‘We need you!’ He sat down again, his voice still fierce. ‘I know everything there is to know about you. I have seen inside you. I have loved you. I have seen all of your body and all of your mind. I have seen you, shen, ching and chi. There is nothing I don’t know about you. You will grow with time, but you will never hurt any of us.’ He studied me intensely. ‘Trust yourself as much as I trust you, Emma. Look inside yourself.’ He smiled. ‘Study the nature of serpents, and do not be concerned.’
‘God, I hope you’re right,’ I said.
‘Do you want me to call the Lady? You want to throw yourself onto a demon’s sword again?’
‘No, I think I’d better move and take Simone and Michael to school.’
He checked his watch. ‘You’d better go. If they’re late for school I’ll dock your pay.’
‘Try me,’ I said. ‘I’ll dock yours. I have more control of the finances anyway.’
‘Good,’ he said as I went out.
Halfway down the hallway I froze. Oh my God. April. Kitty had arranged for April to have the baby at a clinic in Dongguan.
I called April’s apartment in Discovery Bay, but the domestic helper didn’t know anything. April’s mobile had been disconnected. I didn’t know Andy’s number, and it wasn’t in the phone book.
There was no way I could contact April or her family. There was nothing I could do.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
That Saturday the intercom on my desk popped and I pressed the button. ‘Emma, it’s me.’ Leo’s voice was thin and tinny. ‘I need you, I’m in a hand-to-hand on the third floor. Come and help out, please.’ ‘Okay, on my way.’
When I arrived at the third floor I entered the room quietly. Some of the students saw me and moved to stop working, but Leo ordered them to continue. I stood next to the door and watched them. They didn’t talk to each other as they worked; obviously my presence was intimidating. They didn’t even give each other tips.
Leo moved silently down the middle of the group then stood beside me at the back of the class and crossed his arms over his chest.
We spoke to each other quietly without looking away from the students.
‘You see the problem?’ he said, his voice soft and even.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘What’s his name?’
‘Nguyen,’ Leo said. ‘Vietnamese. Really talented.’
‘I can see that.’
Nguyen was lightning fast. Incredibly fast. Leo had paired him up with an African girl who was also fast, but he was light years ahead of her. He had an arrogant grin on his face as he blocked her punches with ease.
‘Let me show you,’ Leo said under his breath without turning away from the students. ‘Swap!’
Nguyen and the African girl swapped. Now he punched and she blocked. But he was through her. It didn’t matter what she tried to do, his fist always ended up a couple of centimetres from her nose.
‘Is he human?’ I said.
‘One hundred per cent. That’s the first thing I checked. Watch him.’ Leo’s voice remained soft as he studied the young man. ‘He’s so damn cocky that his moves are all over the place.’
Leo was right. Nguyen was incredibly untidy. He was so fast that he thought it didn’t matter that he was doing it wrong most of the time.
‘Did you try having Mr Chen sort him out?’
‘He knows that he won’t ever face a goddamn god, so it didn’t worry him that Mr Chen is faster,’ Leo said, still low enough that the students wouldn’t hear. ‘He knows I can take him, but that doesn’t worry him either. He knows that with more training he’ll be able to take me too.’
‘I’d dearly like to do this in front of the whole class, but at this stage probably just him and me would be enough to sort him out,’ I said. ‘Let’s do it.’
Leo nodded without moving. ‘End it there!’ The students stopped and faced us. ‘Dismissed!’ All of the students saluted us neatly and turned to go. ‘Nguyen,’ Leo said as the students filed past us, some of them smiling shyly at me.
Nguyen came and saluted Leo and me.
‘What class do you have next, Nguyen?’ I said kindly.
‘Saturday extra study group,’ he said with a sly grin. ‘Doesn’t matter too much if I miss it, my Lady.’
Leo didn’t shift beside me but I knew he was thinking the same thing I was: arrogant little bastard actually thought he’d been singled out for special training because he was so good.
‘Do you know who I am, Nguyen?’ I said, still being very kind.
‘I know who you are, Lady Emma, and I’m honoured by your attention,’ he said, the sly grin not shifting.
‘Good,’ I said, and moved forward to the centre of the room, waving for him to accompany me. ‘Do you know what I am?’
He seemed confused. ‘I’m sorry, ma’am, but as far as I know you’re an ordinary human being, just like Master Leo.’
‘That is perfectly correct, Nguyen,’ I said. ‘Leo tells me that you are one of the fastest things he has seen in a long time. Do you think that’s true?’
‘I know I’m fast,’ he said confidently, and Leo made a soft sound behind me.
‘Are you the fastest human you’ve ever seen?’ I said.
‘I am,’ he said with complete confidence.
‘Oh, very good,’ I said. ‘You’re faster than Master Leo?’
The kid just nodded.
‘Good,’ I said. ‘Have you heard that I’m fast?’ The kid nodded again.
‘Answer the Dark Lady’s questions when they are asked of you!’ Leo snapped.
For a fleeting instant Nguyen’s face screwed up into a grimace of rebellion, then the smile was there again. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘Well, then,’ I said, ‘let’s see exactly how fast I am. Left guard.’
Both of us moved into a guard stance.
‘I want a face hit right, chest left, left uppercut, then another right face. Got it?’ I said. ‘Measure up.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ he said, the smile still there as he measured out the length of his reach and moved back into the guard position.
I realised with a shock that he thought he could take me. He must have heard them talking about me. The level of arrogance this kid displayed was disturbing. I hoped we wouldn’t have to throw him out; he was really very good.
‘Go,’ I said.
He moved through the series of punches and I blocked them easily. His grin didn’t shift; not going full speed.
‘Faster,’ I said.
He moved faster. I blocked them. His smile was still there.
‘Faster!’ I berated, trying to goad him.
He threw himself into it. Obviously the goading worked: he started to move untidily again. Again I blocked his punches with ease.
‘Right,’ I said after we had done the series a few times, ‘I want to see this all out. Go as fast as you can. Come on, I know you can go faster than this.’
His fists were a blur. His grin was still fixed on his face. He was very, very fast.
I blocked his moves easily and his face fell. He tried again; I blocked easily again. He tried to go even faster but he slightly lost control and I blocked him without difficulty.
‘Swap,’ I said brusquely when I had made it completely obvious that he wouldn’t be getting through me.
We measu
red up again, and both moved into guard stances.
‘Ready?’ I said, and he nodded.
I moved through the four punches slowly, letting him block me. His grin returned.
‘Now,’ I said, ‘I will do the series slightly faster each time. Let’s see how fast you can go.’
When I was up to about half-speed he began to lose it. The third punch was getting through.
I sped up again, and I was through him. I could do all four punches and have them end up less than a centimetre from the end of his nose. His face froze into an expression of disbelief.
I did it full speed. His face shifted to bewilderment. He couldn’t even see them coming. All he could see was me readying myself, and then the fist right in front of his nose.
‘You’re not human!’ he choked.
‘Yes, I am,’ I said quietly as I pressed the advantage home. I did the four punches, but I didn’t stop. I kept the punches coming, finishing each one right at the end of his nose.
‘Stop anything you can,’ I said as I continued the flurry of punches. His face became a mask of horror as he tried to block the punches, always ending up miles behind them.
I stepped back, did a spinning kick that knocked his feet out from under him, flipped him onto his belly, grabbed one arm and twisted it behind him, and put my knee in the middle of his back. I tapped him lightly on the back of the neck.
‘You are now officially dead, Mr Nguyen.’ I released him. ‘Stand up.’
He stood and faced me, stunned.
‘Am I fast?’ I said.
‘You are amazingly fast, ma’am,’ he said, his voice full of wonder. ‘You’re the fastest thing I’ve ever seen.’
‘Leo can take me. I can only handle up to about level thirty demons bare-handed. Once you’re past level fifteen, demons are faster than any human alive, even me. How many levels of demons are there?’
‘One hundred, the King himself is at level one hundred,’ Nguyen said with a touch of humility. ‘Snake Mothers start at level fifty. You can only take level thirty?’
‘What level have you faced so far?’
Nguyen glanced, disconcerted, at Leo.
‘None yet, they’re too junior,’ Leo said.
‘Tell me, Nguyen, how far do you think you need to go,’ I said, trying not to put any emotion into my voice at all, ‘before you are ready to face your first demon?’
‘I need to go through the basics again,’ Nguyen said. ‘I need more than just speed if I want to be able to handle anything at a reasonable level.’ He looked up at me. ‘I think with a few more weeks of training with Master Leo I may be able to face something at a very low level.’
‘Thanks, Emma,’ Leo said behind me, and I nodded without turning. Leo moved to stand beside me. ‘I can defeat the Lady Emma in hand-to-hand without difficulty,’ he told Nguyen. ‘I can take up to level forty bare-handed. Speed isn’t everything, Nguyen. That was the whole point of this lesson.’
‘You are not being singled out for special training, Nguyen, just because you’re fast,’ I said compassionately. ‘Leo brought me up to teach you a lesson, and I hope you’ve learned it.’
Nguyen saluted us both, the smile gone. ‘I have learned a valuable lesson, Masters, and I thank you. I will work harder at the basics and improve my style.’
‘Dismissed,’ Leo said softly. Nguyen saluted us again and went out.
‘Your own style is incredibly untidy and you really need some work,’ Leo growled, his brown eyes sparkling. ‘You’ve been concentrating far too much on the energy stuff lately, Emma. When was the last time you did some hand-to-hand with Mr Chen?’
I shrugged. ‘Last time we tried, we were only five minutes into the lesson when he had to run out the door. We’ve given up.’ I had a brilliant idea. ‘Find time in your schedule to work with me, Leo, we’ll brush me up together.’
‘Waste of time, my Lady,’ Leo lisped softly, and I winced. ‘Ask one of the more advanced Masters to teach you; you’re already way past me. I lied. You could probably take me now.’
‘No way! You have always been better than me at hand-to-hand!’
Leo went into a guard position. ‘Let’s see.’
I raised my hands. ‘No, Leo, you can take me, don’t waste your time.’
Leo performed a magnificent roundhouse kick straight at my head and I ducked underneath it.
‘Chicken,’ Leo said.
‘Oh, come on, this is a total waste of time,’ I said. ‘I have things I need to do. I was in the middle of my thesis.’
Leo threw another roundhouse at me. I ducked. He spun and did it again. He kept coming at me, forcing me back as I ducked under the kicks.
‘Stop it, Leo!’ I said, becoming irate.
Leo stopped, then stepped forward and lightly tapped me under the chin with his fist.
‘Ouch. My face still hurts, you know.’
‘Come on, Emma, good practice. What’s wrong? Frightened you’ll beat me?’
‘No,’ I said as I took a guard position, ‘I’m frightened I’ll hurt you.’ I grinned. ‘You’ll cry like a little girl.’
‘No, I won’t,’ Leo said as he went for my head with his foot again. ‘You will.’
I didn’t duck under his foot this time. I blocked his leg with my left, swept it down, gave it a good push in the direction it was already going, and then kicked his other foot out from underneath him.
He jumped with my movement and somersaulted backwards. He was incredibly lithe and graceful for such a big guy. He landed neatly on his feet and came right after me again, this time with his fists.
‘Wasting your time, Leo,’ I said as I blocked the blows. ‘You’ll have to be cleverer than that, I really am faster than you.’
He suddenly spun under me and tried to take my feet out, but I leapt right over the top of his head, somersaulted, and landed facing him.
‘Whoa,’ Leo said. ‘Good one.’ He came at me again, this time with both fists and feet. He threw everything he had at me.
He was through me. He hit my feet, and I could feel myself falling forwards. I put my hands out, landed on them hard, and then pushed away from the floor with them. I did a handspring, but I didn’t stop. I used the energy centres and lifted myself until I hit the ceiling. I bounced off it, somersaulted, and landed lightly on my feet behind Leo. He still faced the other way. I spun and quickly took his feet out from under him.
He fell with a thud. He obviously wasn’t expecting it. He didn’t even know where I was.
I stopped and stared at him with wonder.
Suddenly a round of applause burst from the doorway. At least two dozen students of all levels were grinning and clapping. There were even a couple of Masters watching as well.
Leo pulled himself up and performed an elaborate bow for the audience. They cheered and wolf-whistled.
I didn’t say anything. I went to the door, pushed through the students and took the lift back up to the top floor. I went into my office and fell into the chair behind my desk. I put my head in my hands.
Leo came in after me and sat in the visitor’s chair, which protested under his weight. He studied me silently. Eventually he said, ‘I thought you’d be pleased.’
‘Leo.’ I looked desperately up at him. ‘I really should not have been able to do that.’
‘Why not?’ Leo said. ‘You’re damn good, you know that. I’m not surprised you can take me.’ He grinned. ‘But I won’t cry like a little girl.’
I turned away. ‘How long has Mr Chen been teaching you?’
‘Nearly eight years.’
‘Did you do self-defence in the Navy? And when you were a bodyguard? And a bouncer?’
‘Yeah. Sure. I did about six years of martial arts before I came to Mr Chen. But what he’s taught me is light years ahead.’
‘How long has he been teaching me?’
Leo paused. ‘Damn, Emma, you’re really talented. Only about…what? Fourteen months? Is it really only such a short time? You’re incr
edibly good. Damn.’
‘I am inhumanly good, Leo. Before I met John, I’d never done anything like this.’
Leo leaned back without speaking.
‘You are the greatest human warrior of your generation, Leo. Mr Chen told me that himself. It’s taken you fourteen years to get this good, and you’re almost as good as an Immortal. Look at me. Fourteen months, and I can take you.’
Leo still didn’t say anything. I could see what he was thinking.
‘Simone saw me as a snake.’
Leo flinched.
‘Leo, can I confide in you?’ I said softly. ‘What are you going to tell me? I’m not sure I want to know.’
‘I have these dreams. All the time.’ ‘What, Emma?’ he whispered.
I ran my hands through my hair. ‘I dream…I’m a snake.’
‘I don’t know what to say,’ Leo said quietly, looking down at his hands.
‘All the damn time. I dream I’m a snake. Killing demons. Fighting. Moving fast. Killing things. I dream I’m a snake.’
‘I think you should talk to Mr Chen.’
‘You know what he says?’
Leo didn’t say anything. His face was rigid.
‘He says: Good. He says: Don’t worry about it. He says: Some of his best friends are snakes.’
Leo was silent.
‘And now I can take you. I’m inhumanly fast. I’m inhumanly good.’
I could see what he was thinking.
‘You remember Kitty Kwok? The woman I used to work for?’
‘Yeah. At the kindergarten. Total bitch.’
‘She lured John away from me at that first charity function. Remember? The concert? The first attack by Simon Wong?’
‘What’s that got to do with it?’
‘She was working for Simon Wong, Leo.’
Leo inhaled sharply but didn’t say anything.
‘She owns the biotech company. The one that’s been making the hybrids for him. Did you see the paper? The Chinese paper?’
‘No.’
‘The lab. In Dongguan. Where they were making the hybrids. Had aquariums. Full of snakes.’
‘Snakes.’ ‘Yes.’
‘Damn, Emma,’ Leo said.