Red Phoenix (6 page)

We stopped at a plain concrete three-storey village-style house on the main thoroughfare. John pushed the door open.

The lower floor of the house was paved with pale green tiles and had bare concrete walls. The living room was minimally furnished with old-fashioned rosewood furniture and a stained coffee table, with a folding mah jong table. A set of rusting metal bunk beds with faded silk quilts folded at the feet stood against the wall on one side. It appeared to be a typical island village house, like many rented out for holiday weekends. John led us up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor was plushly decorated with smooth cream Italian floor tiles and textured wallpaper. A comfortable leather lounge and a wide-screen television stood to one side and a rosewood six-seater dining table to the other. A well-fitted kitchen was at the back of the house, and Monica was already busy in there.

John opened the French doors onto the balcony. The balcony overlooked the main street of Cheung Chau, a perfect location for watching the parade. John gestured for me to sit at the outdoor table there, on one of the comfortable plastic chairs. Simone climbed into John’s lap and leaned on the railing. Monica brought us iced lemon tea; the day was already very warm and humid.

A lion dance led the procession, with three lions: one gold, one black and one red. The drummer did his best to bring down the houses, banging for all he was worth. A martial arts troupe followed, performing acrobatics as they passed us on the street.

‘Any of them ours?’ I said.

John shook his head.

A small altar followed, carried by four proud young men. I peered down to see inside; it held an effigy of a god seated on a throne with his hands on his knees, his black robes flowing around him and his long hair over his shoulder. His face was square and dark, and his bare feet perched on a snake and a turtle.

John squeezed Simone. She whispered in his ear and he nodded. She leaned back to stare at him, incredulous, and he nodded again. She collapsed over his lap laughing.

John and I shared a smile.

About twenty people followed, all holding lanterns with good-luck characters on them.

The next altar contained a serene goddess sitting on a lotus flower, wearing flowing white robes and holding a small bottle in her hand.

‘Aunty Kwan!’ Simone yelled, pointing.

‘That’s right,’ John said.

The next altar contained a goddess with colourful flowing robes and a benign smile. She wore a hat with a square brim with beads that hung in front of her face.

‘Tin Hau?’ Simone said, naming the Goddess of the Sea.

John nodded.

‘Do you know her?’ she said more softly, barely audible over the noise of the drums and gongs. John nodded again.

Simone turned back to the parade and jiggled with excitement in John’s lap.

The final altar contained Guan Di, the red-faced God of Justice, holding a huge halberd and glaring fiercely.

‘He’s actually a very nice man,’ John said into Simone’s ear. ‘But he doesn’t come for this. This is mostly for me.’

‘Why you, Daddy?’

‘A long time ago, a vicious band of pirates was attacking this island. The peaceful fishing folk here had no defence against them. The pirates attacked again and again. So I came down and had a small chat to them about their behaviour. They went away, and the people of the island built the temple for me, and hold the festival every year.’

‘I heard you cured a plague,’ I said.

‘That too,’ John said, smiling. ‘I’m not sure if any of us remembers the exact origin of the festival. There were a few things. But the talk with the pirates is the one that sticks in my mind the most.’ He gestured over the balcony railing. ‘Here come the Floating Children.’

‘Floating Children?’ Simone squealed, standing to see better.

The five- or six-year-old children wore elaborate costumes and make-up. They were poised on the end of long steel poles, making their feet level with the heads of the crowd. But the poles were invisible, camouflaged by complicated accessories that matched the children’s costumes. The children appeared to be standing, but it was obvious that they sat on chairs inside the costumes.

The costumes depicted traditional mythical characters as well as modern celebrities and politicians. One little boy dressed as a fireman sprayed water into the crowd from his miniature fire hose, making the audience scream with delight. Many of the girls were dressed as fairies and spirits in flowing robes.

‘Uncle Sun!’ Simone yelled, pointing to a little boy who was dressed as the Monkey King.

It was dusk by the time the procession ended. Simone yawned furiously. We moved inside and Monica presented us with a vegetarian meal that we ate at the dining table next to the upstairs living room.

Later, as we shared a pot of tea and discussed the parade, a chorus of thumps echoed on the door downstairs. John nodded to Monica, who went to open it.

John rose and stood to one side, his face fierce. He gestured for me to stand next to him, and I did.

Monica led a Taoist priest up the stairs. He wore the full regalia of a senior practitioner: vividly coloured robes with yin-yang symbols on them, and a high, square black hat. The face under the hat was mid-forties, with a kind, jolly expression, and I liked him immediately.

When he reached the top of the stairs he took two steps into the room and then fell to his knees and touched his forehead to the floor. ‘Man shui, man shui, man man shui.’

‘Hei sun,’ John said, his voice clipped.

The priest rose, then bowed slightly from the waist, very serious. ‘Celestial Highness. Welcome.’

John gestured towards me, still very formal. ‘This is my chosen, Lady Emma.’

The priest bowed slightly to me as well, saluting. ‘Ma’am.’

Simone didn’t bother with the formalities; she ran to the priest and raised her arms. ‘Uncle Ming!’

The priest lifted her, sat her on his hip, and kissed her on the cheek. He reached into the folds of his robe and pulled out a bun for her, which she accepted with delight. It was one of the buns from the three bun towers outside the temple; it had been stamped with a red good-luck motif. He carefully lowered Simone.

John gestured towards the couch and we all sat. Monica brought tea, and the priest poured. John nodded as he was served. Now the formalities were over we could all relax.

‘It’s a tremendous honour to have you back here with us, Highness,’ the priest said. ‘It’s been a while.’

‘Circumstances are quite difficult right now,’ John said. ‘Even worse than ‘78. But in a couple of years I will be gone for a very long time.’ He lifted his tea cup and gestured towards me with it. ‘Emma will be Regent.’

The priest was obviously taken aback. ‘The Celestial will permit a wedding in these circumstances?’

‘No. But she will be Regent regardless.’

‘You always were one for breaking the rules, Highness,’ the priest said, shaking his head with disbelief. He smiled at me. ‘Did you have any idea what you were getting into?’

‘No idea whatsoever, until it was too late.’ I shrugged. ‘And now it’s definitely too late.’

‘Kwan Yin herself has sponsored the Lady Emma,’ John said. ‘She is one of the most talented practitioners of the Arts I have seen in centuries. She loves Simone as her own. She is my chosen.’

I glanced at John, but he concentrated on the priest.

The priest bowed his head slightly to me. ‘I will be honoured to serve you, my Lady.’

John relaxed almost imperceptibly. He’d obviously been worried about the way the priest would receive me, but there didn’t seem to be a problem. I was relieved as well.

‘Come up to the temple after the noise has died down and we’re not so busy,’ the priest said. ‘Say hello to the acolytes. The renovations are finished, as well.’

‘Do they know too?’ I said.

The priest smiled. ‘I’m the only one who knows, my Lady. It is a trust handed down to each senior priest of the temple as they take the post.’

‘One of the most fun parts of the job,’ John said with amusement.

‘Oh, definitely,’ the priest said. ‘My Master took a photo when the Dark Lord revealed his true nature to me, and had it over his desk for a long time.’

‘That was the look I normally get,’ John said.

I was dying to ask about the arrangements that John had with the temple but it wasn’t the polite time to talk business yet. Small talk for a while, still.

‘How go things on the Celestial?’ the priest said.

‘All is well. But,’ John leaned back slightly, ‘there is a particular Demon Prince, number One Two Two, who has decided to make a bid for my head. His human name is Simon Wong.’

The priest’s face went rigid as he thought about the consequences.

‘I will give you an identikit photograph that Emma has created, and we will reset the seals on the temple every six weeks. I don’t want any of you held as hostages.’

‘My Lord,’ the priest said, nodding. ‘How powerful is this particular demon?’

‘Right now, not a threat,’ John said, raising his tea. ‘We will have to wait and see what his plans are.’

Okay, now I could talk business. ‘Exactly what arrangement do you have with the Dark Lord regarding the management of the temple?’ I asked. ‘I’ll be helping out after he’s gone. You said the temple had just been renovated? It looks terrific, they did a great job.’

The priest smiled with appreciation. ‘I think I
will
enjoy working with you, Lady Emma. Let me tell you about the management of the temple, and what your part will be.’

John sipped his tea, his eyes sparkling over the rim of the tea cup as we talked about administration and funding.

Simone was still heady with excitement as we took the boat back to Hong Kong Island. It was well past midnight, but she was full of nervous energy.

She eventually couldn’t hold it any longer and whispered in my ear, ‘Now?’

I nodded and she wriggled with delight. She went to the galley of the boat, opened a cupboard and pulled out a red-wrapped gift.

She took it to her father and held it out to him.

‘Happy birthday, Daddy,’ she said, very serious, then kissed him on the cheek.

John shot me a delighted glance and then grinned broadly at the gift. ‘I think this is the first time for me.’

‘Open it now, Western-style. We want to see your face,’ I said.

Simone came and sat next to me to watch. ‘Yeah, Daddy, open it.’

I quickly pulled a camera out as John proceeded to undo the tape that held the gift wrap. He pulled the wrap away, held the box up, turned it the right way up, then stared at it with shock.

I took a photo just as he lit up with a huge delighted grin and then roared with laughter. Got it.

‘Do you like it, Daddy?’ Simone said. ‘You can put it on your desk next to your computer monitor.’

‘Was this your idea?’ John asked Simone, still grinning broadly.

Simone glanced at me then back to her father without saying anything.

John turned the Ninja Turtle figure around so that we could see it. In Hong Kong the Ninja Turtles were called the Hero Turtles; the word ‘Ninja’ had too many unpleasant connotations. It meant ‘assassin’ in Japanese and was associated with stealthy murderers with no honour, completely at odds with the Western image of the powerful Ninja fighter.

‘Two swords,’ he said. ‘I only have one sword.’

‘You have two,’ Simone said. ‘Seven Stars and Dark Heavens.’

‘I suppose I do.’ He turned the box back around and studied the turtle figure. ‘It looks just like me.’

‘That’s the idea.’ I couldn’t hold it any more. Simone let go as well and we clutched each other and giggled with delight. That photo was very, very precious.

The minute we were home John took the turtle out of the box and put it carefully next to his monitor. It stayed on his desk, guarding his mess, for a long time.

J
ohn tapped on my bedroom door. ‘I’m in the middle of something,’ I growled loudly. ‘Can’t it wait?’

He poked his head around the door. ‘I have something to show you.’

I glared suspiciously at him. ‘Not
another
priceless antique weapon.’

‘No. Something for you.’ He gestured with his head. ‘Come and see.’

I pushed myself away from my desk. ‘Oh, all right. But I need to finish this tonight.’

‘Don’t worry, it won’t take long.’ He opened the door for me. ‘It’s downstairs.’

He couldn’t control his expression as we went down in the lift together. I had never seen him looking quite so smug.

‘What have you bought?’ I said. ‘You’ll see.’

We went out of the ground-floor lift lobby and into the car park that surrounded the building.

He raised one hand towards the mid-size black Mercedes parked next to his.

‘That’s for you.’

I stopped dead, then spun to face him and pointed at it. ‘I don’t want this. Why didn’t you ask me first? This is totally unsuitable.’

He was taken aback. ‘What’s wrong with it? Is it too small?’

I sighed with exasperation and dropped my hand. ‘No, John, it’s much too big. I’d really prefer something much smaller, that’s easy to drive around and park. And black is too hot, a nice light blue would be much better. And not a Mercedes, that’s too much of a target. A cheap little Japanese hatchback would have been much better.’

‘You want a
small, blue, cheap
car?’

‘That would be perfect, yes. If it’s small enough, Leo won’t fit in it to drive it. And if it’s not black and luxurious, you wouldn’t be caught dead in it. I’d have it all to myself.’

He grinned broadly. ‘You’re quite correct.’ He eyed me sideways with delight. ‘You are very evil sometimes, Emma.’

I bowed slightly. ‘Thank you, Dark Lord.’ I gestured towards the car. ‘So can you swap this monstrosity for something more suitable?’

‘If you really want me to, I will. But Leo will be sharing it with you. Both of you will go to the Academy to teach, and to the school to watch Simone. Will you really force him to squeeze into such a tiny car?’

I sighed. ‘Okay. I’ll put up with this monster if I have to. But please don’t make me drive the other one; it’s enormous.’

‘Very well, my Lady, I thank you.’ He handed me the keys, very careful not to touch me. ‘Go up and find your Australian driver’s licence, and take it out for a run. Once you’ve had a drive in it, you may find you like it.’

‘I can drive with that licence?’

‘Yes. You just need to sign a statutory declaration to
apply for your Hong Kong licence. Gold can organise that.’

‘Do you own the Mercedes dealership or something? Why only Mercedes?’

‘One: it’s the most common luxury car in Hong Kong and therefore less of a target, despite what you said. Two: I may not own the dealership, but I am very good friends with the Tai Pan of the company that does.’

‘Okay, whatever you say. Want to come with me?’

His face went expressionless.

‘Oh my God, you are such a typical male sometimes. Bad driver, and worse passenger.’

‘I have been driving automobiles for nearly seventy years,’ he said stiffly. ‘During the 1930s the Tiger and I took European form and raced each other on the Grand Prix circuit. He kept winning because it was easier for him to stay white. I had to concentrate to keep the shape, and it ruined my performance. We only stopped because the competition became too professional. I am
not
a bad driver.’

I turned away. ‘Leo has a completely different opinion on that.’ I wondered what he looked like as a European. Probably not nearly as attractive.

‘Leo thinks that everybody else in the world is a bad driver,’ he called as I walked to the car. ‘He will never let you drive him anywhere.’

Simone jumped up and down with excitement as we waited at the arrivals hall for Charlie. She fell over and I helped her up.

‘Try to stay on your feet, Simone.’

‘There she is!’ Simone squealed, and raced to Charlie who stopped, crouched and threw her arms out to catch her.

Charlie rose with Simone held tightly in her arms and smiled over the top of the little girl’s head. She
hadn’t changed at all; her cheerful soft face was still rosy, round and smiling. Her greying light-brown hair had come out of its bun but she didn’t seem to care. She rocked Simone in her arms. ‘I missed you, Princess.’

Charlie lowered Simone and pushed her trolley as I led her towards the car park. ‘I love this new airport.’ She bent to speak conspiratorially to Simone. ‘Have you been on the little train inside yet?’

Simone shook her head, eyes wide. ‘We’re not allowed in there. We have to take the
silly
small plane.’

Charlie laughed. ‘I missed you, darling.’ She patted my shoulder. ‘I missed you too, Emma.’

‘Let me take your trolley.’

‘No, Leo can do that.’ She looked around. ‘That’s not like Leo to leave you alone, Emma. Where is he?’ ‘Leo’s teaching at the Academy.’ ‘What Academy?’

‘Oh, dear Lord, John hasn’t told you anything, has he?’

‘John?’ She continued without waiting for an answer. ‘All Mr Chen said was to come to Hong Kong, help look after Simone, and brush up on my cooking while I was here. That’s all, Emma.’

‘It’s
Lady
Emma now,’ Simone said with relish.

‘No it isn’t, Simone, not for Charlie.’ I saw Charlie’s face. ‘Don’t worry about it, Charlie.’ I paid the parking ticket and guided Charlie to the car. ‘We need to talk. But we should wait until we have you settled in.’

When we reached the car Charlie stopped.

‘Daddy bought it for Emma,’ Simone said proudly.

Charlie glanced sharply at me.

‘I needed it,’ I said. ‘Simone starts school soon, and I’ll be taking her. I’ll be sharing it with Leo.’

Charlie nodded, but she was obviously unhappy. We put her bags into the boot and she sat in the back of the
car with Simone. ‘How are you, my little Princess? You’ve grown so much. Starting school soon, eh? You’re a big girl already.’

‘I’m really good, Charlie. I’m learning energy work with Emma. Emma’s teaching the Disciples. She’s really good too. She’ll be in charge.’

‘Don’t worry about that, Simone,’ I said, not wanting to take the conversation in a difficult direction. ‘We’ll talk about that later.’

Charlie appeared very uncomfortable.

‘Charlie, I’ll tell you all about it when we’re back at the Peak. In private,’ I said pointedly, and she nodded. But I could see she was concerned.

When we arrived at the Peak I took Charlie into one of the student rooms behind the training room. ‘Is this okay? If it’s not good enough, you can go in with Simone, or you can have my room. I don’t mind.’

‘You can’t do that, Emma,’ Simone squeaked. ‘You can’t give Charlie your room, it’s not fitting.’

Charlie didn’t miss that. ‘This will be fine, Emma, I’ve had this room before.’ She put her bag down and folded her arms over her chest. ‘Please tell me what’s going on.’

‘Simone, could you go to Monica for a while?’ I said. ‘Call me if you need me, I’m right here.’

‘Okay, Emma.’ Simone waved one hand as she went out.

‘She’s very grown-up for such a little girl,’ Charlie said.

‘She’s been through a lot lately. We all have.’ I gestured for her to sit on the bed and I sat on the student chair next to the desk. I leaned my elbow on the desk and rested my chin on my hand.

‘I heard about the Attack,’ Charlie said. ‘I heard that most of the Mountain was destroyed. It’s awful. I hope Mr Chen is okay.’

‘We nearly lost him, but the White Tiger helped and managed to pull him back. It was a very bad time for all of us.’

‘How is he now?’

‘He’s fine. We moved the Wudang Academy from the Mountain to here in Hong Kong. The students are staying and learning in buildings that he owns here.’

‘That’s wonderful! It’s fantastic he can teach again.’ She became serious. ‘He’s teaching you?’

‘Apparently I’m very talented. He already has me teaching energy work to the juniors, as if I didn’t have enough to do already.’

‘Well, a nanny’s job is never easy,’ she said cheerfully.

I stopped and thought about what to say. This would be hard. I dropped my head and didn’t look at her. ‘I’m not the nanny any more, Charlie. He asked me to marry him.’

‘He can’t marry you. He can’t marry anyone.’

‘He promised to come back for me. And I promised to wait for him. When he comes back, we’ll be married.’

‘And in the meantime?’

I dropped my head even lower and mumbled, ‘I’ll be Regent, Charlie. I’ll be in charge of the Mountain, of Simone, everything.’

Charlie’s face screwed up with fury. ‘I
knew
it!’ She threw herself out of her chair and stood over me, shaking with rage. ‘You
cow
? I knew you were after his money!’ She stormed into the hallway. ‘I don’t know what you did to him, but I’ll find out!’

I rushed to follow her. ‘Wait!’

She ignored me. She charged straight out the front door and slammed it behind her.

I poked my head into the kitchen. Simone sat at the table with Monica. ‘Simone, could you call Jade or Gold for me?’

Jade appeared behind me in the hallway and I closed the kitchen door. ‘Jade, you know Charlie? The housekeeper from London?’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘She just raced out the front door, furious with me. Could you follow her and make sure she’s okay? Don’t let her know you’re there. If she doesn’t come home by herself, bring her home in about an hour, but she needs time to think so leave her alone.’ I hesitated. ‘Also, could you ask Lord Xuan to come home? I think I need him.’

Jade bowed slightly. ‘My Lady.’ She disappeared.

I sagged. Nothing I could do now except wait. I went back into the kitchen. Simone and I could read a book together or play with Lego until Charlie came back.

I understood completely how she felt. I would have been that protective of him as well. John was so insensitive sometimes; he hadn’t even considered what Charlie would think, or warned her about the situation. He’d just expected her to follow orders.

Half an hour later Simone and I had nearly built a complete castle on the living room floor when my mobile phone rang. It was John.

‘I’m going to be late, Emma, I’m stuck in traffic at the bottom of Stubbs Road. There’s some construction work at the bottom here and the traffic is banked back to Ruttonjee.’

‘That’s fine, John, whenever you’re here is okay.’ I dropped my voice. ‘This is all your fault. You could have at least told her what was going on.’

‘I know.’ He sounded sheepish. ‘I’ll make it up to her. I keep forgetting that Westerners need to be treated differently.’

‘What, with a reasonable amount of respect and care?’

‘Exactly,’ he said with a smile in his voice, and hung up.

About half an hour later I heard arguing outside the front door and sent Simone into the kitchen with Monica. The front door opened and Jade entered, holding Charlie’s elbow.

‘She’s hypnotised all of you!’ Charlie said. ‘I don’t know what she’s done, but I’ll get help!’

Jade wore her usual pale green tailored suit but her hair had come out of its tight bun and fell over her shoulder. ‘Charlie, it’s true. Everything I’ve told you is true. She’s worthy.’

‘Worthy my eye.’ Charlie saw me and glared.

‘Come into the dining room and talk, Charlie,’ I said. ‘I really do have everybody’s best interest at heart.’

Charlie didn’t move.

‘Go with her,’ Jade said gently. ‘Let her explain. It’s true.’ Her voice softened. ‘She loves him, Charlie, a truer love than any love I’ve ever seen before. And you know how old I am. She loves our Lord and his daughter more than her own life.’

‘Thanks, Jade,’ I said.

Jade smiled slightly. ‘Go with her, Charlie. Listen to her. Ask what she did in Guangzhou.’

I gestured towards the dining room. Charlie sighed with resignation and went in.

‘Good luck, Emma,’ Jade said, and disappeared.

I followed Charlie into the dining room. She sat stiffly at the table and glowered at me.

‘Please believe me, I’m only doing this for them,’ I said. ‘This was all John’s idea.’

‘John!’ she said sarcastically. ‘Lovely.’

‘It was his idea. I didn’t want to teach, I don’t have time.’

‘I’m sure it was his idea about you taking over everything as well.’

‘I don’t want this at all.’ I looked her right in the eyes. ‘You have no idea how hard this has been for me.’

‘It wasn’t hard for you to order Jade to come and get me.’ Charlie leaned back and folded her arms over her chest. ‘You had her follow me around without any trouble at all.’

I sighed. She had a point. I put my elbows on the table and my chin on my hand. She glared at me as if I was some sort of demon.

‘Charlie, listen to me. I love Mr Chen more than my life. I love Simone more than that. All I want is for us to be happy together. But you know the situation.’ This was very hard; normally I didn’t talk about how I felt for John. ‘He can’t even touch me. But he’s promised. And I’ve promised. And that’s the way it is. He wants me to mind everything for him while he’s gone. I don’t know why, there are so many people who would be much better at it than me—’

‘No, there aren’t,’ John said. He was leaning on the doorframe and listening, holding a teapot and some tea cups. He came and sat at the table, and poured tea for Charlie, who tapped the table in thanks. ‘You are absolutely the best person for the job.’

‘Oh, give it a rest, John.’ I wanted to slap his arm, but I saw the way he looked at me.

Charlie studied John carefully. He smiled at her.

‘Did you tell Charlie what you did in Guangzhou, Emma?’

‘What, the energy work? The sword stuff?’

John leaned back. ‘Charlie, while we were in Guangzhou, we were attacked by a demon. It was the same demon that killed Michelle.’

Charlie gasped and her eyes went wide.

‘You know how Michelle died. You know how her family died. The same demon broke into the White Tiger’s stables in Ireland, and raped and mutilated two of his women. Emma heard the Tiger describe what had happened.’