Kylie Chan - Red Phoenix

Leo nodded. I sat down next to the Tiger. He took my hand and squeezed it affectionately. Leo glared at me, then spun and left.

‘I think we should move to the dining room. We can put the elements on the table,’ John said.

‘Good idea.’ The Tiger raised my hand and guided me up. He put his arm around my shoulders and led me into the dining room. ‘You’ll be fine,’ he said into my ear.

‘What are you going to do to me?’ I said. ‘Water? A knife?’

‘We will just test your compatibility,’ Ms Kwan said gently as we sat. ‘We will not hurt you, don’t worry. The knife is just for the metal.’

‘First the Tiger will have a look inside you,’ John said. He leaned his elbows on the table and gestured towards the Tiger without looking at him. ‘Bai Hu.’

‘No way ! You didn’t tell me you wanted me to look inside her! You said we were just testing her compatibility!’

‘What’s the problem?’ John said. ‘Just have a look inside her, see if you can find the snake, have a look at it, tell us what it looks like. You may even be able to get it to talk to you.’

The Tiger glowered. ‘I am not looking inside Emma.’ He gestured. ‘Mercy, you do it.’

‘You know I cannot,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘It is not in my nature.’

‘I am too drained, even with Mercy’s assistance,’ John said.

‘Get South or East then. Not me,’ the Tiger growled.

‘What’s your problem?’ John said. Then his face cleared. He grinned with comprehension. ‘I don’t believe it.’

‘Believe it.’ The Tiger glowered under his white brows at John. ‘Blind old Turtle.’

‘You are very offensive sometimes, Bai Hu,’ Ms Kwan said softly.

‘Fuckin’ A,’ the Tiger said, and she snorted delicately at him.

‘Watch your mouth,’ John growled.

The Tiger shook his hands in front of his face, first to Ms Kwan and then to me. ‘Worth it.’ He dropped his hands onto the table with a slap. He eyed me appraisingly. ‘Don’t make me do this, I don’t want her to know. You’re going and you’ll be gone for a long time.’

‘I know already, Bai Hu,’ I said gently. ‘I’ve known for ages. You are a very big white furry fool.’

‘You have him thoroughly worked out, Emma,’ John said with amusement. ‘Only ever wanted things he couldn’t have. He has a hundred. I have one. So of course he wants mine.’ He grinned at the Tiger. ‘Nothing to hide, my friend. Have a look inside her. It will be good for you. You’ll see the way she truly feels. Should make you know exactly how big a fool you are.’

‘No big ceremony, Tiger?’ I said. ‘Rhonda said no?’

The Tiger studied me for a while without saying anything, and then obviously gave in. His shoulders sagged and he sighed. ‘Okay.’ He glared at John. ‘You owe me one.’

‘I know what to do,’ I said.

He put his hands on my shoulders. ‘Just relax.’

The Tiger’s essence was completely different from John’s. John had been smooth and dark when he walked around inside my head. The Tiger was fierce, sharp and bright. I was concerned for a moment that the sharp edges of his consciousness would hurt me, but he seemed to slide through my brain without harming me. I relaxed.

‘A good balance of yang and yin,’ the Tiger commented quietly as he walked around in my head, his soft paws padding. ‘Quite a yang female, but she has learned well.’ He shuffled around, and I blocked him out from some of my deeper thoughts despite myself. ‘Sorry, Emma, has to be done,’ the Tiger said ruefully. ‘I need to see everything. Believe me, I would prefer not to be here as well.’

I relaxed and opened up to let him in. But I still wasn’t very happy about him exploring some of my darker corners.

‘Whoa,’ he said, and stepped back. ‘Genius-level intelligence.’ He grinned inside my head. ‘Scary.’

‘You have no idea,’ John said from the other side of the table.

The Tiger plunged back into me. He came to my feelings for John and skirted around them. ‘None of my business. Very strong, very true though.’ He chuckled and stole a quick glance. ‘Okay, Ah Wu, I see what you mean.’ He froze, then stepped back. His Tiger eyes widened inside my head. ‘You are one hell of a lucky man, Ah Wu,’ he marvelled. ‘Whoa.’ He was aghast. ‘ What a chick ! How did you two get anything else done in the palace? No wonder you fell asleep in the pool. I must get you two back there before you go. Hot damn,’ he added with envy, ‘none of my women are that flexible. And she likes it when you let go? Unbelievable.’

‘Stop looking at that,’ I snapped. ‘That has nothing to do with you.’

‘You forget yourself, sir,’ the Lady said.

‘You are walking a very fine line, Ah Bai,’ John growled menacingly.

‘Sorry.’ He grinned wryly and winked at me. I huffed at him in response, and imagined myself putting my hands on my hips and glaring at him. Sorry, he said silently to me. He asked me a silent question with a cheeky grin and I imagined myself slapping him hard across the nose. He rubbed his nose and smiled.

He went back to the inside of my head. ‘Nothing there.’ He shuffled around. ‘Hold on, what’s this?’ He started to burrow, and I winced. He really began to dig, and it hurt.

‘Ease off, Tiger,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘You may injure her.’

‘There’s something down here,’ the Tiger said as he burrowed. ‘I think I’ve found it.’

The pain became excruciating. He tore through my brain, making every nerve alive with pain. ‘Please hurry, Tiger, you’re really starting to hurt me.’

He stuck his claws right into me and I shrieked with agony. I couldn’t see anything but I heard John moving. ‘Don’t touch me!’ I shouted. A red veil went across my vision, even though I had my eyes closed. My ears filled with roaring. My head was full of razor-sharp steel knives. Then something went click. Everything went quiet. It was perfectly dark and silent.

‘Broke through,’ the Tiger said softly. ‘Will you look at that.’

‘Stay very still, Emma,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘Don’t attempt to move, physically or mentally. Just stay very still.’

‘What is your name?’ John said.

‘Emma,’ I said softly, and gasped. I heard two voices say the same thing.

‘Stay very still, Emma,’ Ms Kwan warned me again. ‘Try to keep control.’

‘You are a Serpent?’ John said.

I didn’t say anything. Then I had to. ‘I’m your Lady, Xuan Wu. I love you.’ Those two voices again. Mine and somebody else’s. I realised: the snake was talking too.

‘Why are you here?’ John said.

‘To look after Simone, of course, silly,’ I said impatiently. I didn’t have any control over what I said. It just came out.

‘Have you ever seen anything like me before, guys?’ the Emma part of me said.

‘We are all shaking our heads: no,’ John said. He knew I couldn’t see.

‘What do I look like right now, John?’ I said quietly.

None of them answered.

‘Make sure Leo doesn’t see me then,’ I hissed. Both voices hissed.

I had a sudden thought. ‘Are you a demon?’ I asked myself, and Ms Kwan gasped. ‘I said no,’ I said.

‘Whoa,’ the Tiger said, his voice full of awe. ‘She really did do that, Ah Wu, I felt it. She asked herself a question, and then answered it truthfully.’

‘ Are you my Serpent ?’ John said fiercely.

I stopped at that. ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I have no idea what I am.’

Suddenly I was filled with such anguish that I felt I would burst. Kwan Yin moaned in sympathy. She felt it too.

‘I don’t know what I am. I’m not a demon. But,’ my heart twisted, ‘I’m lost. Can you help me find my way home?’