White Tiger

CHAPTER EIGHT

Once again Mr Chen did something to the airport staff and they didn’t notice the bag as it went through the X-ray machine.

A van with a driver was waiting for us at the airport and took us into the city of Paris. Simone stared out the window, delighted, as we drove past the elegant, old-fashioned buildings. We pulled into a side street on the edge of Montmartre, around the corner from the Moulin Rouge. Five-storey town-houses stood either side of the tree-lined street, with curved façades and elaborate windows.

The driver parked the van outside what appeared to be an apartment building. Inside, it was a house. The large entry had sweeping Art Nouveau stairs and a glittering chandelier.

A slender, middle-aged Chinese lady came down the stairs to meet us. She wore a flowing pantsuit of white silk, and had an enormous amount of hair piled on her head. She moved with the grace of a princess and her smooth oval face was angelic.

Simone ran to her and clutched her around the legs. ‘Aunty Kwan!’

Ms Kwan crouched and pushed a stray lock of hair out of Simone’s eyes. ‘Simone, Simone. You are more beautiful every day, and more and more like your mother.’

Simone kissed her loudly on the cheek.

Ms Kwan rose and went to Mr Chen. She put one slender manicured hand on his shoulder and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.

I’d never seen him blush before. It was charming.

‘Hello, old Wu,’ she said. ‘Keeping well?’

‘All the better for seeing you, my Lady.’

‘You have left it a long time, my friend.’

‘I know.’

‘Jade and Gold?’

‘Coping.’

She sighed. ‘Next time I will come to you.’

He shook his head.

‘Fine then, be stubborn.’ She saw me. ‘Who is this?’ Her eyes widened. ‘I don’t believe it. Haven’t you learnt your lesson?’

‘No, no, this is Simone’s nanny. Miss Emma Donahoe.’ He looked into her eyes. They concentrated on each other, then both snapped out of it.

‘I see.’ Ms Kwan glanced down at Simone. ‘And is Miss Donahoe a good nanny?’

‘Emma’s great,’ Simone said. ‘She’s fun.’

‘Then Emma is a welcome guest. Welcome to Paris, Emma.’

I had the irrational feeling that I wanted her for my mother. ‘Thank you.’

Ms Kwan patted Leo’s arm. ‘Make sure he comes sooner next time, Leo.’

‘That’s very easy for you to say, Ms Kwan.’

Ms Kwan raised her arms in welcome. ‘Shall I show you to your rooms?’ She took Simone’s hand, then linked her other arm in mine. ‘Come, let me show you where you will stay, Emma. Tomorrow Leo will take you and Simone to see beautiful Paris while I talk to Ah Wu. And then you, Leo and I will have a little chat.’

I was too awestruck by her graceful presence to say a word.

Simone adored the Eiffel Tower. There was a long queue for the lifts, but she was happy to wait, hopping from one leg to the other with excitement until she fell over.

‘Try to stay on your feet, Simone,’ I said with mock exasperation.

‘I know, I keep “doing a Simone”,’ she said. ‘I can’t help it.’

Leo studied the crowd around us carefully.

‘What?’

He shook his head.

I moved closer to him and spoke more softly. ‘We’re a long way from home, Leo. I don’t think anybody around here even knows who she is.’

‘You can never be too careful,’ he said.

When we reached the top of the Tower we had to run to keep up with Simone. She raced from one side to another, showing me all the landmarks: the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe.

‘How come you know Paris so well?’

‘Because I come here all the time, silly Emma. We used to come here a lot before. Now we don’t come as much.’

‘Before what?’

She ran away.

‘Is Ms Kwan Mr Chen’s sister?’ I asked Leo.

‘Nope.’

‘But they’re related, then?’

Leo turned to follow Simone without answering me.

It was already dusk by the time Simone had finished with the Tower. By then Leo and I were thoroughly sick of it.

‘Wait until the Science Museum,’ Leo said. ‘She likes it even more than this.’

Leo called the driver to collect us from one of the side streets bordering the Tower gardens. As we walked through the darkening city, he put his mouth next to my ear. ‘Don’t stop, keep walking, don’t look back.’

I did as he said. We walked on a few metres without him, then Simone stopped dead. I pulled her hand, but she refused to move. She shook my hand free and ran back. I hurried to follow her, but she had stopped.

Leo was facing off against three young Chinese men. All of them appeared strong and muscular and they were concentrating on Leo.

‘Move back, Emma,’ Leo said without looking at me. ‘Take Simone back out of the way.’

I did as he said. I thought about running, but I didn’t know how many more of them might be waiting for us in the shadows.

In martial arts movies, the villains take on the hero one at a time and he defeats them individually. All three of these guys threw themselves at Leo at once.

Leo grabbed one and lifted him easily, then pushed him into the other two, knocking them backwards. Then he raised the man he held with one hand and smashed him into the ground.

The young man hit the pavement with a crack, then exploded into black streamers that dissipated quickly.

‘Bad people,’ Simone whispered. I pulled her closer to me.

Leo straightened. The other two guys held back, watching him. He gestured a come-on.

They both threw themselves at him. He caught the first one’s hands and crossed them over his chest, pinning them, then turned him to block the other guy. He smashed his fist through the first guy’s face. This one also dissipated into feathery streamers.

The last guy held back, smiling at Leo. Leo lunged forward, grabbed him, and hoisted him by the scruff of the neck with one hand. The young man struggled, then went still. Leo carried him to us.

‘Check if this is one as well, sweetheart,’ Leo said. ‘I want to be sure.’

‘Okay, Leo.’ Simone shook my hand free and went to him. I tried to stop her, but Leo raised his free hand.

‘It’s okay. Let her.’

Simone touched the young man’s arm. He screamed and his arm went black. When Simone moved her hand away, his arm returned to normal.

‘Thanks, sweetheart,’ Leo said. ‘I just wanted to be sure. Next time, tell me if any are nearby, okay? I’m not as good as you.’

‘Okay, Leo,’ Simone said. ‘You’d better take it to Daddy, he’ll want to see.’

‘I know. That’s why I didn’t destroy it.’

Simone came back to me, took my hand and smiled up at me. ‘Leo’s really good, isn’t he?’

I was speechless with shock.

‘You okay, Emma?’ Leo said.

I recovered my voice. ‘What the hell is going on?’

‘I’ll explain when we get back to Ms Kwan’s house.’

I opened my mouth to protest and he raised his hand to stop me. ‘I promise. I’ll tell you all about it when we get back. Right now,’ he glanced at the young man hanging limply in his hand, ‘we need to take this one back to Mr Chen.’

It was an uncomfortable ride back to Montmartre. Leo put me in the front passenger seat and the young man in the middle seat in the back, between himself and Simone. Leo’s trouser legs were covered in black sticky foul-smelling goo, from when he’d destroyed the other two men.

At Ms Kwan’s house, Leo hoisted the young man out of the van and carried him into the house. The driver didn’t seem to notice.

Leo stopped in the entry hall. ‘Mr Chen!’ he called.

Mr Chen hurried out from the back of the house. He stopped dead when he saw the young man. He sighed. ‘What happened?’

‘Three of them attacked us. I thought I’d better bring this one back here for you to question,’ Leo said.

Mr Chen glanced at me.

‘Yes, I saw a great deal of very strange stuff,’ I said, ‘and if you don’t tell me right now what’s going on, I’m out of here.’ Mr Chen and Leo shared a look.

Ms Kwan came out of the back of the house. ‘Is there a problem, Ah Wu? Why is there a–’ She saw Leo holding the young man and sighed. ‘Dear Leo, you are such an idiot sometimes.’

The young man struggled and freed himself from Leo’s grasp. He threw himself to lie at Ms Kwan’s feet. ‘Protect me, Merciful Lady!’

‘Shit,’ Mr Chen said under his breath.

‘Chen Wu!’ Ms Kwan scolded.

‘Protect me,’ the young man said again, watching Mr Chen like a rabbit caught in headlights.

‘Leo, you have broken every seal in this house and ensured that we will gain no information,’ Mr Chen said. He gestured towards the young man. ‘The Lady’s nature is mercy to any creature that requests it. Even one of these.’

‘Uh-oh,’ Simone said.

‘Oh no, damn!’ Leo said. He ran his hand over his bald head and turned away. ‘I am so sorry.’

‘What’s done is done,’ Mr Chen said, still watching the young man cowering at Ms Kwan’s feet. He glanced sharply at Leo. ‘You destroyed the other two?’

‘Yes, sir. This is the only one left.’

‘But I must release it, Ah Wu,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘It will return and report, and there is nothing we can do about it.’

‘Damn,’ Leo said again, softly.

‘Emma, please take Simone upstairs to wash for dinner,’ Mr Chen said.

I opened my mouth to protest.

‘Just do it, Emma,’ Leo said gently. ‘I’ll tell you everything after dinner. I promise.’

I glared at him. ‘I’ll hold you to that.’

I took Simone’s hand and led her up the stairs. We looked at one another quickly, then crouched at the top of the stairs to watch the little drama below.

Leo brightened. ‘How about you let it go and I nab it again?’

‘That is not possible, Leo,’ Ms Kwan said stiffly. ‘He has asked. I must give.’

‘Thank you, thank you, Merciful Lady,’ the young man said, still not shifting his eyes from Mr Chen.

‘Go,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘The Dark Lord will not follow, neither will his Retainer. Go far, go fast, they will not follow. I will not tolerate you, I detest your kind.’ She raised her hand towards the front door. ‘Go.’

The young man turned, flung open the door and ran through it.

Ms Kwan closed the door as if nothing had happened, then linked her arm in Mr Chen’s. ‘Dinner time. I have employed a wonderful French chef to prepare something special for us.’

‘Western food?’ Mr Chen said suspiciously.

‘Oh, come, Ah Wu, French food is very good. You may learn to like it.’

She smiled over her shoulder at Leo. ‘Go and change, dear Leo. Once again your clothes are ruined.’

Leo frowned down at his goo-covered slacks. ‘Yeah.’

‘And you two ladies had better wash for dinner as well,’ Ms Kwan called up to Simone and me. ‘Hurry, or it will be cold when you come down.’

‘She’s right, Emma,’ Simone whispered. She pulled me to my feet. ‘I need to wash my hands after touching that thing.’

I followed her into the elegant bathroom. ‘What was special about that man, Simone?’

Simone carefully washed her hands. ‘That was a bad person.’

‘The kind that can hurt you, like you said?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did his arm really go black when you touched him?’

‘Yes.’ She grinned. ‘It hurts them when I touch them – that was cool.’ She wiped her hands on one of the towels.

‘It’s not cool to hurt things, Simone,’ I said automatically.

‘It’s okay to hurt them. You have to destroy them, otherwise they’ll hurt me, and you, and a lot of other people besides.’ Simone opened her mouth to continue, then gave up. ‘I think you need to talk to my dad about it.’

‘I think I do as well.’

Leo had already changed his slacks and was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. Simone ran ahead to find her father. I stopped in front of Leo and glared up at him. ‘Well?’

‘Dinner isn’t the time to be discussing this, Emma. After dinner, I’ll tell you the whole story.’

‘Promise?’

He smiled slightly. ‘Cross my heart.’

‘Good.’ I stormed past him into the dining room.

CHAPTER NINE

The dining room was as elegantly furnished as the rest of the house. I sat at the table; Leo followed me and sat as well.

Ms Kwan smiled compassionately. ‘Dear Emma, I know you have no idea what is happening, but we will tell you all.’

‘My Lady…’ Mr Chen began, but she waved him down.

‘Don’t worry, Ah Wu. Emma, after dinner Leo will explain everything for you. Now…’ She raised her hands. ‘Let’s see what Jean has prepared for us.’

The meal was everything that Ms Kwan had promised, but I was bursting with so much curiosity that I could barely touch the food.

As we ate, Simone chattered about the Eiffel Tower and Ms Kwan listened indulgently, asking questions to keep her talking. Ms Kwan also questioned me about myself: where I had come from and what I did in Hong Kong. She seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. Mr Chen and Leo were quiet and morose.

When Simone had finished her ice-cream, Ms Kwan gently led her out of the dining room, with Mr Chen following. The maid brought a pot of coffee for Leo and me.

The minute she was out of the room I exploded. ‘What the hell is going on, Leo?’

Leo smiled slightly as he poured the coffee. ‘Yeah, I was wondering how long it would be before you worked out that things aren’t completely…’ he put the coffee pot back on the table normal in the Chen household.’

‘That’s the understatement of the century.’

He turned the coffee cup in his hands. ‘Let me work out where to start.’

‘How about you start at the beginning and tell me everything?’

‘Yeah, if you want to be here all night.’

‘Just tell me!’ I hissed.

He put the cup down and pushed it aside, then took my hand in both of his and looked into my eyes. ‘Before I tell you anything, I want you to understand…staying with us may be dangerous.’

I jerked back.

‘Don’t worry. As long as you’re with Mr Chen or me, you’re safe. You’re not involved in this; it’s us they want. But if you feel at all worried, then go. Go now, before I tell you anything.’ He gazed into my eyes. ‘We’ll put you on the next flight back to Hong Kong. You can forget about all of this, you can go back to the kindergarten, you can go home.’

I stared at him for a split second, then pulled my hand away. ‘No way!’

‘What?’

‘I’m staying here with Simone,’ I said fiercely. ‘Now tell me what this is all about.’

He sat straighter and drank some coffee.

‘Okay,’ he finally said. ‘You remember when we went to Repulse Bay and you saw the statue of Kwan Yin, Goddess of Mercy?’

I nodded.

‘That’s her. That’s Ms Kwan, the lady we’re staying with. She’s a goddess.’

I stopped and stared at him, then put some pieces together. ‘Oh my God, that’s why he calls her Mercy.’

‘Yes. It’s not her name, it’s what she is.’

I decided to give him some rope and see where the story went. ‘Okay, so she’s a goddess. And he thinks he’s Xuan Tian Shang Di.’

Leo nearly dropped his coffee. ‘What?’

‘Dark Lord of the Northern Heavens,’ I said. ‘Zhen Wu, Chen Wu, Xuan Wu. God of Martial Arts. Always wears black. Controls water. The Cheung Chau Bun Festival is held for him. Pak Tai.’

Leo was obviously astonished. ‘How the hell do you know all that?’

‘Oh, come on, Leo, both of you deliberately left those books in my room. And I got curious and did some research. It’s obvious that he thinks he’s a god.’

‘No thinking about it. He really is a god, Emma. Believe me.’

I leaned forward and spoke fiercely. ‘Why should I?’

He snorted. ‘Don’t think I didn’t believe it either when I first joined them. Didn’t take him long to prove it to me though; he just showed me his True Form and then did some unbelievable things with water and…’ He hesitated, searching for the words. ‘Some of the stuff he can do is like magic.’

‘His True Form?’

‘This form, the human form, is only temporary. He has a True Form that he’d prefer to use most of the time. But back to the topic. If I could prove it to you, would you believe me?’

‘Sure, go for it. Let’s see something truly godly,’ I said, my voice thick with derision.

He rose and went out without saying another word.

Before I had a chance to react, he was back with Ms Kwan, who sat next to me. Leo sat on the other side.

‘How to prove to Emma?’ Ms Kwan said. ‘How did he prove to Michelle?’

‘He showed her his True Form,’ Leo said. ‘Animal, not Celestial. It completely freaked her out and she hid in her room for two hours, crying. I had to go in and console her, she was nearly hysterical. She made him promise not to do it again.’

‘He always was one for making foolish promises,’ Ms Kwan said.

‘Animal?’ I said, and hesitated. Then, ‘You think he’s an animal? What the hell sort of animal is he?’

‘Trust me,’ Leo said. ‘You really do not want to know.’

‘It wasn’t that bad, was it, Leo?’ Ms Kwan said. ‘He didn’t even have the Serpent then.’

‘Serpent?’

Leo ignored me. ‘It was pretty bad, Ms Kwan. Freaked me out too. To tell the truth, I’m glad he can’t do it now.’

‘So I must,’ Ms Kwan said. She rose and moved to the end of the room. She gazed compassionately at me. ‘Do not be afraid. I will not harm you.’

I opened my mouth to say something sarcastic and stopped. She was glowing. A gentle white light was emanating from her. Then she grew. She spread and rose and her pantsuit turned into flowing white robes, with a hood over her shining mass of hair. She was nearly ten feet tall. Her face changed into a beatific mask of serenity. She was the image of the statue at Repulse Bay.

No way; had to be an illusion.

No illusion, she said straight into my ear, her beautiful face not moving. Approach, Emma Donahoe.

I rose and walked towards her. As I moved nearer, a warm feeling of comfort filled me.

‘You’re not frightened, Emma?’ Leo said behind me.

‘No,’ I said, turning to look at him. ‘Should I be?’

Leo didn’t say anything so I turned back to her. She held her hand out and I took it in mine. The feeling of comfort spread and filled me until I thought I would overflow. She was vast and wide and wonderful; compassion and help and mercy.

I sighed with bliss.

‘It’s real,’ Leo whispered behind me. ‘She’s Kwan Yin.’

‘It could just be an illusion,’ I said. ‘Or you could have hypnotised me.’

She shrank and pulled inwards and the glow disappeared. My eyes went blurry and she became an ordinary graceful Chinese woman again. She held both her hands out, palms up, and a glowing ball of pure silvery energy appeared above them, about the size of a volleyball. The energy floated towards me and I inhaled sharply and backed away.

‘Do not fear it. It will help you,’ she said.

It took all my courage to stand still while the ball of glowing energy approached me. As it neared I felt her consciousness inside it and relaxed. It was as wonderful as she was. I reached out tentatively to touch it, then looked to Ms Kwan for confirmation.

‘Touch it,’ she said.

I moved my hand carefully towards it. When my fingertips brushed the energy, the charge jumped across to me. It was a wave of pure joy at being alive, as if nothing bad could ever happen to me. It was uplifting and euphoric. The energy drifted away from me and I reached to keep contact.

‘Let it go,’ she said softly.

I dropped my hand, disappointed.

The energy drifted towards the doorway where Mr Chen stood leaning with one shoulder against the door frame. I hadn’t seen him come in. He raised one hand and the energy drifted towards him, then entered his hand and disappeared into him. He nodded to her, his dark eyes full of amusement, and she nodded back.

‘You are very brave, Emma,’ Ms Kwan said.

‘Yes, you are,’ Mr Chen said. ‘So now you know. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anybody.’

I opened my mouth to say that it could all be an illusion, then closed it again. Yes, it could all be an illusion. But the guys that attacked us had exploded into black stuff. Simone had touched the one Leo had captured and his arm had gone black.

I had an important decision to make. Either they were insane and delusional, all of them, or Mr Chen was a god. Either way I could stay or go.

I couldn’t leave. I was much too fond of Simone to leave her. And I could bring a degree of normality into the poor child’s life. I made the snap decision to play along with them for the sake of Simone, regardless of whether he was a god or not. I’d watch and wait and see what happened, and I’d look after Simone. The rest was detail.

‘She is not fully convinced, but she will stay for Simone’s sake,’ Ms Kwan said.

I stared at her, speechless.

‘We don’t expect you to believe it at this early stage, Emma,’ Mr Chen said. ‘As long as you stay and care for Simone, that’s all that matters.’

‘Let us tell you more about it and you can make up your own mind,’ Leo said. He turned and nodded to Mr Chen. ‘I can handle the rest.’