Blue Dragon

.’
    ‘Not no sex,’ he said, grinning.
    I stiffened. ‘How the hell do you know about that?’
    The grin didn’t shift. ‘Obvious. I heard you two sneak out. Gone all night.’
    I dropped my head. ‘That was the last time, Leo.’
    He leaned across the table and took my hand. ‘You can’t be sure of that, sweetheart. You two might have another chance. Remember what the Tiger said.’
    ‘No,’ I said, looking up into his eyes. ‘That was the last time. I know. You know those kids—Scott and Tymen? They’ll be like brothers one day. I know .’
    ‘How do you know?’ Leo said, his face becoming sterner. ‘What do you mean, you know ?’
    ‘I just know,’ I moaned, leaning my chin on my hand. ‘I know absolutely for a fact. Scott and Tymen will be like brothers, and John and I will not have another chance before he goes.’ Suddenly I knew something else, and I was so sure of the feeling it took my breath away. ‘And we will accept the girl from New Zealand and she will do remarkable things.’
    ‘You had that look on your face again,’ Leo said, studying me.
    ‘I had that feeling again,’ I said. ‘I know .’
    Leo dropped my hand and pulled his own away. ‘You really are becoming an Immortal.’
    I ran my hands through my hair. ‘I hope so, Leo, and I hope you do too.’
    ‘Eat your dinner,’ he said, picking up his steak knife and slicing into the enormous slab of bleeding meat. ‘I can’t become an Immortal. If I had to go vegetarian it would kill me.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
    M y parents insisted on coming down from the palace to attend Simone’s end-of-school concert. Simone was delighted, and my parents were too. She really was becoming like a granddaughter to them.
    I drove my parents and Michael in my car, and Leo drove John and Simone. Before we left, Leo jokingly told me that we needed to buy a van to carry our growing family. I glared at him.
    We parked at a nearby shopping centre; our special parking treatment wasn’t valid on a night where everybody would be attending. A couple of the Tiger’s Horsemen met us at the car park—my parents’ guards.
    We were all alert as we walked over to the school, even my parents. They’d been attacked by demons before while out with us. John was doing his best not to limp, but it was obvious that the ankle was still giving him trouble, even after a week. Regina had taken the stitches out that morning.
    Simone was entirely unaffected by the danger. She held my hand and skipped beside me, prattling excitedly about her part in the performance. Her class was reciting a poem in Putonghua about tigers, complete with tiger masks and costumes.
    When we reached the school, the White Tiger was waiting for us at the door with a satisfied grin. He wanted to see Simone’s class recitation too. Simone was thrilled and ran to him. He hoisted and spun her, making her squeal.
    We went inside and sat without incident. The Tiger made himself invisible and stood near the stage, guarding. The Horsemen guarded the doors, and Leo leaned against the wall at one side of the auditorium, dark and unmoving.
    Michael was doing something behind the scenes with the lighting for the production so we didn’t see him, but Simone’s little class doing their tiger poem were delightful. John had a proud smile a mile wide as he watched his daughter perform. I glanced at him questioningly a few times and he silently shook his head. About halfway through I began to relax; obviously they weren’t willing to try us with so many people around.
    When the show was finished we all met outside the auditorium.
    ‘Do you want to come back to the West now, or go up to the Peak for a while?’ the Tiger asked my parents.
    ‘Is it safe for us to stay?’ my father said.
    ‘Should be okay if you’re with me,’ the Tiger said.
    ‘Ah Bai,’ John said, ‘it would be better if you take Simone directly to the Peak. I will take Emma. Leo and Michael can take Brendan and Barbara. We know who they’re after.’
    The Tiger gestured and the Horsemen approached from where they’d been guarding the perimeter of our little group. ‘One in each car.’
    ‘My Lord,’ the Horsemen said.
    ‘I’ll see you at the Peak,’ the Tiger said. He glanced down at Simone. ‘Come on, little tiger. I’ll take you home and you can play with the big tiger.’
    ‘She’s really getting far too old for this,’ I said as they disappeared together, Simone wearing a cheeky grin.
    All of us were tense