Red Phoenix (7 page)

‘That’s awful, sir,’ Charlie whispered.

‘The demon took all of us down, and went into the house to kidnap Simone.’

Charlie’s eyes were huge. ‘No. How did you stop it?’

‘We couldn’t stop it. It took Simone into its nest. Do you know what Emma did?’

Charlie glanced at me, her eyes still wide.

‘Emma went with them. Into the demon’s nest. She knew exactly what would happen to her if she went, but she went anyway. To be with Simone. To the very end.’

Charlie stared at me. ‘You willingly went into that demon’s nest?’

‘I don’t know why everybody is making such a big deal of it,’ I said. ‘Anybody would have done the same. I couldn’t let Simone go with that monster alone.’

‘The King of the Demons himself went in and tried to take them for himself,’ John said. ‘Emma negotiated with him to release them instead.’

Charlie gasped. ‘The
King
’? She turned to me. ‘You faced down the
King
?’

‘If she hadn’t had the courage and intelligence to negotiate with him, it is quite likely that Emma would be dead, Simone would be in the Demon King’s hands, and my head would be gone,’ John finished.

Charlie studied me appraisingly for a long time. She didn’t move at all and her face was rigid with restraint. I waited, mystified, to see what she would do.

She rose, and John smiled.

I just watched her, wondering.

She carefully lowered herself to one knee before me. ‘My Lady. I pledge allegiance.’

I threw myself to my feet. ‘Will you people stop doing that!’ I banged the table with frustration. ‘John, will you
please
tell your staff to stop doing that. It drives me completely nuts!’

Charlie rose and threw her arms around me, tearful. ‘I’m your staff too, my Lady.’ She smiled at John with her arms still around me. ‘Congratulations, my Lord, you have chosen well.’

John put his hands out. ‘I didn’t choose her, Charlie. Fate chose us for each other.’

I gently pulled myself out of Charlie’s arms. ‘I have had absolutely enough of this.’ I gestured impatiently. ‘Go and unpack, Charlie. Have a rest and settle in. You can start helping with Simone tomorrow, if you’re not too jet-lagged.’

Charlie bowed. ‘Yes, my Lady.’

‘Dammit, will you people stop doing that!’ I shouted, and stormed out.

They laughed as I went out. They were all enjoying this
far
too much.

‘May I use the phone and call London, my Lord?’ Charlie said behind me. ‘I would love to tell James and my mother.’

‘Be my guest,’ John said. ‘Tell everyone you know.’ ‘You all hate me!’ I yelled over my shoulder.

I
checked the phone number: Leo. ‘Hello?’ ‘I know it’s Sunday, my Lady, but I was wondering if you and Mr Chen would like to see the kid. I have him here at the martial arts school in Causeway Bay, and his mother’s out of town. Can I bring him up for you to meet him?’

‘John’s not here, but bring him up anyway. John’ll be back soon, he went out with Simone. What’s the kid’s name?’

‘Michael. Michael MacLaren.’ ‘Bring him up.’

Just as I put the phone down the front door slammed. I went out to the hallway. John and Simone had just come in and were kicking off their shoes in the entry.

‘Leo’s bringing his student up for us to see,’ I said.

‘If they’re here before I’m out of the shower, look at him for me,’ John said.

‘You don’t need a shower every single time, Daddy,’ Simone said patiently.

‘Yes I do,’ he said, and headed past me towards his room.

‘He really hates the summer,’ Simone said. ‘He hates being all sweaty like that.’

‘He’s probably not used to it,’ I said. ‘Shen don’t get sweaty in summer.’

‘He does. He’s a Shen.’

‘He’s in human form. He’s human all the way through.’

‘He hates it.’

‘Too bad for him, he’s the one who has to wear black all the time,’ I said unsympathetically. ‘He’s a big wussy boy.’

She grinned. ‘Yeah. He’s so weak!’

I can hear both of you,
John said into our ears. Simone and I giggled together.

The door opened and Leo came in, guiding Michael.

Michael was tall for a fifteen year old, about five eight, and obviously still had some growing to do. He moved with muscular grace as he kicked off his shoes, but the first thing I noticed was his hair; he had dyed it blond.

‘Michael, this is Miss Donahoe,’ Leo said pointedly.

Michael bobbed his head. ‘Ma’am.’

I nodded back. ‘Mr MacLaren. Leo’s told me good things about you. How about we go into the dining room together and talk?’

‘I’ll take Simone,’ Leo said. ‘Where’s Mr Chen?’

‘In the shower,’ Simone said. ‘
Again
.’

Leo grinned. He held his hand out to Simone. ‘Come on, Simone, let’s play on the Playstation while we wait for Emma and your dad.’

‘It’s your day off, Leo,’ Simone said, concerned. ‘You don’t have to work.’

‘This isn’t work, sweetheart,’ he said. He nodded to Michael. ‘You’ll be fine.’

‘Come with me, Michael.’ I opened the dining room door and took him in.

He sat at the table, carefully serious and respectful. He was obviously very nervous. His half-Chinese
heritage gave him golden skin under his blond hair. His eyes were a light shade of brown, and his Eurasian features were stunningly good-looking.

I sat across from him. ‘Leo tells me that you might be suitable for an opening we have here. We’re looking for a trainee bodyguard, full-time, live-in. Could you do that?’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

I leaned back. ‘Tell me about yourself.’

He paused and looked down at his hands where he had them clasped on the table. ‘I finished third form, and I don’t want to go back to school. I want to do something with martial arts.’

‘Well, you’ve come to the right place. Why do you dye your hair blond?’

He grimaced. ‘I don’t. Sometimes I think I should dye it black or brown instead. It’s natural.’

‘You’re a natural
blond
?’

He nodded.

‘Well, that’s not unheard of, I suppose. I’ve seen other blond half-Chinese kids around. Have you been looking for work? Have you had any previous jobs?’

‘I wanted to work at Mr Pak’s martial arts studio when I was able to leave school, but times are tough and he can’t pay me. My mom won’t let me work for nothing, otherwise I would. I go in there and help anyway, but Mom says I have to find a real job that pays.’

I didn’t say I agreed with her. ‘Have you asked your mother about moving in here?’ He shrugged. ‘Not yet.’

‘I suppose we can cross that bridge when we come to it. How good are you at the Arts?’

Michael shrugged again. ‘Leo says I’m good.’

‘How about we see.’ I rose and gestured. ‘Come with me, I’ll try you out.’

‘You’ll
try me out?’ I smiled grimly.

When Michael reached the training room he stopped and stared at the weapons on the wall.

I moved to the centre of the room and gestured for him to face me. ‘I’ll try you. Ready?’

He moved about a metre away from me and stood uncomfortably. ‘I’m not sure about this, ma’am.’

I straightened. ‘Are you worried I’ll hurt you?’

He grinned, he was confident. ‘No, ma’am.’

‘You’re worried you’ll hurt me?’

He nodded and his blond hair flopped over his forehead.

‘Good.’ I moved into a standard short defensive stance, left guard. ‘All I want you to do is pin me. See if you can have me immobile on the floor. You’re taller than me and stronger than me; if you have a reasonable amount of skill it shouldn’t be a problem. If you can do it you have the job.’

He hesitated, unsure.

‘Don’t worry about hurting me. If I’m injured I’ll take full responsibility.’

He shook his head. ‘I won’t hurt a woman, Miss Donahoe.’

‘If you’re a good student of Leo’s then you can probably best me.’ I waved a come-on. ‘Try me.’

He was lightning fast. Leo had taught him well. He dropped to perform a spinning kick, trying to take my feet out from under me.

I just stepped over it.

I rose and he hesitated, then lunged and tried to grab my arms. I twisted my arms up and away and stepped back out of his grip. I dropped and spun and took his feet out from under him. He fell on his behind with a thump.

He flipped back onto his feet; strong abs. Good. He was obviously feeling inadequate, because for the next move he just threw a fist at my face.

Extremely bad idea. I grabbed his wrist, twisted it, and threw him over my shoulder onto his back, knocking the wind out of him. He lay on the mats and panted for about half a minute.

‘All you have to do is pin me, Michael.’

He grimaced and flipped onto his feet again. He performed a roundhouse kick at my head. I ducked underneath it. ‘I don’t think Leo taught you that. Roundhouse kicks are useless against somebody who has a decent amount of skill.’

He ignored me and performed a series of roundhouse kicks, forcing me back as I ducked underneath them. Eventually I tired of it, grabbed the foot as it sped towards my head and tipped him over onto his back again. ‘Enough, Michael. I can see where you’re at. You’re very good.’

He lay on his back on the floor and stared up at me. ‘Who taught you, Miss Donahoe? You’re incredible. I’ve never seen anybody as fast as you.’

‘Leo’s better than me at the physical stuff,’ I said. ‘If you learn diligently from him, then you’ll probably eventually be able to best me.’

‘Leo taught you?’ he said with new respect. ‘Hold on,
physical
stuff? What other stuff is there?’

I ignored the second question. ‘Leo and I learned from the same Master. Up you get, Michael, and we’ll see how you do with weapons.’

He rose, brushed himself off, and saluted me. I nodded back, Master to student. He didn’t miss that.

‘Who’s your Master? He must be really famous.’

‘You’ll find out if we decide to take you, Michael. For now, prove yourself.’ I stepped back and gestured
with one hand towards the weapons on the wall and the racks on the floor. ‘Anything here you can use?’

He pointed. ‘Sword. Staff. Chucks. Spear.’ He moved closer to one of the more esoteric weapons. ‘What the hell is that?’

‘Don’t worry about that for now. Choose a sword.’

He lifted a few swords from the rack, then selected one. It was one of the Celestial weapons, a white and gold Japanese-style
katana.
An elegant weapon, well-balanced and sharp, and wrought with demon-killing essence.

‘Good choice.’ I picked my own sword from the rack, pulled it from its scabbard, and readied myself. ‘Tell me when you’re ready.’

He took the sword from its scabbard and stopped dead. ‘No way, Miss Donahoe, I chose the wrong one.’ He tested the edge with his thumb. ‘Wow, this is really sharp. It’s real, not a training weapon. It shouldn’t be on the rack at all, it belongs in a display case.’ He moved forward to return the sword to the rack. ‘I’ll get something else.’

I raised my hand. ‘No need, Michael. They’re all real. They’re all sharp. We don’t mess around here.’ I raised my own sword. ‘If you’re not up to sparring with real weapons, then just say the word.’

He hesitated, then returned the sword to its scabbard. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m up to sparring with real weapons. I don’t think I’m good enough.’ He shook his head as he returned the sword to the rack. ‘Thanks for talking to me, though. I appreciate it. Maybe another time.’

‘Good.’ I put my own sword back. ‘You know your limitations. Instead of a spar, how about you just perform a set for me? Anything you like, any weapon you like. I just want to see how you move.’

‘Can I use this?’ he said, raising the white
katana.

I nodded. ‘Sure. Nobody’s using that one right now.’

I leaned against the short wall and watched as he performed a very elegant level four Shaolin long sword set. He finished and saluted with the sword in his hand.

‘Did Leo teach you that?’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

I smiled; this time he’d called me ‘ma’am’ with real respect. ‘How long did it take you to learn the full set?’ ‘About six weeks, ma’am.’

‘That’s exceptional.’ I pulled myself away from the wall. ‘Come and have a chat to Mr Chen, the Master. I think you’re perfect. Leo’s chosen well.’

He grinned broadly, then became shy as he returned the sword to its scabbard. ‘Thanks, ma’am. Mr Chen?’

‘That’s right. Come with me.’

‘I don’t know of any famous practitioners named Chen. Chen or Chan?’

‘Definitely Chen,’ I said with amusement. ‘And you probably have heard of him. Come with me.’

I led him to the dining room and sat him at the table, then went into the study to find John. He sat in front of the budgeting spreadsheet, his noble face intent on the work. He looked up and smiled when he saw me.

I leaned on the back of his chair and checked the sheets over his shoulder. ‘You forgot something. Remind me to go through these with you later. You men have no idea how to budget for female needs.’

‘Too close, Emma.’

I moved slightly away.

He grinned over his shoulder. ‘And?’

‘Oh. Yeah. The kid’s in the dining room. He’s only first or second grade black belt in anything, but he has a lot of talent and Leo’s started him well on the right path.’ I heard myself. ‘I sound like an expert, and I’ve only been learning myself for about a year.’

‘A year with me is worth a lifetime with any other Master. You
are
an expert, Emma.’

I shook my head. ‘I’m just a beginner. Anyway. Michael. He has a lot of talent. He can’t best me at hand-to-hand—’

‘I doubt if anyone who has learned from any other Master could best you at hand-to-hand,’ John said.

‘—and he turned down weapons when he saw how sharp the blades are. Very sensible, lot of discipline, and smart. I like him, he’s a good kid.’

‘That’s enough for me.’ John pulled himself to his feet and pushed his big executive chair away from the desk. ‘Let me see him.’

We went into the dining room together. Michael rose and shook John’s hand, obviously intimidated, but still trying to work out who John was.

When he took Michael’s hand, John stopped and concentrated, having a quick look inside. Then he dropped Michael’s hand and roared with laughter.

I watched him with bewilderment; I’d never seen him react like that before. Michael shot a querying look at me and I shrugged.

John gestured for us to sit and flopped into a chair, still chuckling. He leaned his elbow on the dining table and rubbed his chin. ‘I know your father. He’s one of my best friends.’

Dear God, that explained the hair. And it made the kid an even better choice for the job; well done, Leo. But also a riskier choice, if Michael followed his father in other directions as well.

Michael stiffened. ‘How do you know my father, sir? My mother won’t tell me who he is.’

John stopped laughing and studied Michael intently. ‘You don’t know who your father is?’

‘No, sir.’

‘Do you know where you were born?’ ‘Somewhere in China, sir. My mother left when I was two. She didn’t go back to the States, she stayed here.
She won’t say why. I’ve been to school here, but I want more.’ He hesitated, then grimaced. ‘Sometimes I think there has to be more than just this. This life in Hong Kong.’ He glanced up at John. ‘Something more, you know? I think my dad may be someone important, and I want to know who he is. He provides well for us, we have plenty of money. I’ve asked Mom about it, but she won’t tell me. I looked for him for a while, tried to trace the finances back, but I hit a dead end and gave up. Then Leo said you wanted someone to work for you and learn martial arts, so here I am.’

‘You have no idea who your father is?’ John said.

‘No. But you do?’ Michael said, his intelligent face full of hope.

‘If his mother doesn’t want him to know then I think we should respect her wishes,’ I said.

‘I want to know!’ Michael looked from me to John. ‘I’m old enough to decide for myself, and I want to know!’

‘I think he should know,’ John said. ‘He may have abilities beyond the norm that we could bring on before I go. It will make it easier for him to fit in, being the same as Simone, half Shen. Besides, the Tiger said that none of his women ever wants to leave, and I would love to rub his wet pink nose in this one.’

Both of us laughed quietly at that. Michael looked from one of us to the other, bewildered.

‘How could she have left?’ I said. ‘You said they’re content to serve him forever.’

‘This one must be exceptional. It would take a tremendous act of will. Both of Michael’s parents are exceptional, Emma. Leo really has chosen very well.’

‘Do you think the Tiger would like to come down and meet him?’ I said. ‘He may be interested in seeing his son after so many years.’