Kylie Chan - Red Phoenix

The power grew inside me until I couldn’t hold it. My skin was too tight. My eyes were too small. I was huge and dark and merciless and I wanted blood and slaughter and death. Blood. Darkness. Destruction.

Something at the base of my skull quietly went click.

Ceiling. Lying on the floor.

John’s head appeared above me. He smiled. His hair fell over his shoulder and brushed my face.

‘Come and help her up, Leo,’ he said, still smiling.

There was silence. Simone whimpered. I sat up and looked around. Leo and Simone were curled up together against the far wall. She clutched him. He appeared to be clutching her just as tightly. When they saw me look at them they both flinched away.

‘Don’t be ridiculous, it’s just Emma,’ John said matter-of-factly. ‘Come and give her a hand up, Leo, she looks dazed.’

‘I’m okay,’ I said. The demons were gone. John knelt on one knee next to me, still with a broad smile on his face. He looked relaxed.

I must have been knocked unconscious. ‘How long have I been out for?’ I rubbed my hand over my forehead. I didn’t feel like I’d been knocked out; I wasn’t dizzy and I didn’t have a headache.

I pulled myself to my feet and had a proper look around. All the demons were definitely gone. Then I felt a shot of anguish. My parents were gone too. Jade and Gold as well. John rose to stand next to me. He was still smiling.

‘Where’s my mum and dad?’

John’s smile disappeared. ‘Worry about them later.’

‘No!’ I shouted. ‘Worry about them now! Where are they?’

‘They are fine. Jade and Gold took them back to the Peak in your car. It was better not to take them directly considering the state they were in.’

‘They’re not fine and you know it,’ Leo said. ‘Her mother was in hysterics and her father was almost catatonic with terror. Gold will probably have to heavily sedate them when he gets them home. I hate to think about the long-term psychological damage of what they just saw. Nobody should have to see what we just did.’

‘They were terrified by the demons?’ I said.

‘No,’ Leo rasped. ‘The demons were nothing compared to what they just saw.’

My legs suddenly felt weak. I leaned against the wall.

‘You know I can’t touch her, Leo,’ John said. ‘She won’t hurt you. You saw what she did. She couldn’t possibly harm you. Come and help her.’

Leo’s voice was a low growl. ‘Is that an order?’

I heard what they said. I felt a shot of panic. Leo glowered at John. He rose and Simone clutched him around his legs. Both of them took a step back when I looked at them.

‘No.’ I sagged down the wall to sit on the floor. I wrapped my arms around my knees. ‘No.’ John’s face was full of compassion; he obviously wasn’t worried. But Leo and Simone were terrified. Of me. ‘No.’

‘We need to go home and help your parents,’ John said mildly.

‘I am not going in the car with that ,’ Leo said fiercely, pointing at me.

‘Simone,’ John said. Simone’s head shot up. ‘Come here.’

‘You are completely crazy,’ Leo growled, pulling Simone closer to him. ‘You saw what that thing can do. You’ll let your daughter near that ?’

‘That thing is your Lady and you have sworn allegiance.’

I rested my head in my hands. ‘Someone please tell me what happened.’ I looked up. Leo’s face was rigid with a combination of fear and hatred. ‘Leo, it’s me. Please don’t look at me like that.’

‘You sure that’s Emma?’ Leo rasped.

‘That is one hundred per cent pure Emma, my Lady and my love,’ John said calmly. ‘And I guarantee that she will not harm either of you. Did she harm you before? When she changed?’

I’d changed. I collapsed over my knees. Oh my God.

‘Look at her, Leo,’ John said. ‘I won’t order you, but you can see she needs you. Go to her. Simone, go to her. She won’t harm you. She’s just Emma. You love her and she loves you. She’s family. She needs you.’ His voice was strained with anguish. ‘She protected you. Help her!’

I didn’t see her come but I heard her little feet. Simone threw her tiny arms around me. I lunged forward and grabbed her. She stiffened, then realised that I was just clutching her in a huge hug. I pulled her down into my lap. ‘I would never do anything to hurt you, Simone, you know that.’ I looked up at Leo. ‘You too, Leo, you know I love you both dearly.’ I held Simone tighter and buried my face in her hair. ‘For God’s sake, will somebody tell me what happened?’

John came and sat next to me. He put his arm around my shoulders. ‘Do you remember anything?’

I shook my head into Simone’s hair. ‘We should take you home. You are probably exhausted.’

I shook my head again. ‘I’m full of energy. I’m just fine. I don’t feel like I blacked out. I changed ?’ My voice thickened even more. ‘Dear God, John, please tell me. What happened to me ?’

Simone’s voice was tiny on my chest. ‘You turned into a big black snake monster, Emma.’

We went up to the car in silence. Nobody said anything as John paid for the parking ticket. When we reached the car Leo stopped. ‘I’ll sit in the back with Simone.’ He gestured to John. ‘You drive and keep that thing next to you.’

My insides twisted as if the demon’s sword was inside me. ‘It’s me, Leo. I wouldn’t hurt you in a million years.’

Leo glowered at me as he opened the door to put Simone carefully into the car.

‘Mercy is waiting at home for you. Don’t panic, Emma, you will be fine,’ John said.

John drove the car down the ramp and we merged into the tunnel traffic.

‘What did I do, John? Did I destroy all of those demons?’

John made a soft sound of amusement. ‘You were remarkable. I couldn’t have done better myself. You used both energy and physical attacks. You were lightning fast. They didn’t have a chance. You took out a level sixty-five with energy and then blasted six level fifties. Then you took out all the others in a physical attack that was so fast that even I had trouble following you. I couldn’t see the demons, but I could see what you did to them.’

‘Did I at any time threaten to injure any of you?’ I said, my voice small. But I knew the answer to that question.

‘You knocked Simone off her feet,’ John said mildly.

I suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

‘A demon went for her. You knocked her out of the way and bit its head off.’

‘Yuck.’ I wanted to wipe my mouth. ‘So I was no danger to any of you?’

He could hear me begging for reassurance. ‘Emma, it was you. Of course not.’ He grinned. ‘Leo’s just prejudiced.’

I turned back to look at Leo. His face was taut with restraint. He had his arms folded over his chest. I turned back to the road. ‘How much me?’

‘Interesting question,’ John said. ‘One hundred per cent of you. But that was less than half of it.’ He glanced away from the road to look at me. ‘We will perform some tests when we return home. I’ll have the Tiger look at you. I’d love to have a look inside you myself, but that may not be a good idea. This should be interesting. Oh.’ He stopped and his face filled with wonder. ‘You are very powerful. I may be able to touch you after all.’ His face lit up with a huge grin. ‘Excellent. We must try when we have you home. With Mercy and the Tiger present, we can try under very controlled conditions.’ He banged the steering wheel with his palm. ‘Excellent!’

‘I cannot believe you are pleased,’ Leo said from the back of the car. ‘She was a goddamn snake.’