White Tiger

‘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.