Red Phoenix

I raised my hand to stop him. ‘It’s quite possible, Leo, children that young may not have had any exposure to it. Think about it. They’ve only seen children’s television, and that’s all.’
    Leo subsided. He thought about it. He nodded without speaking.
    Simone’s eyes were wide. ‘Never heard of the Arts at all ?’ she said, breathless. ‘Not even tai chi?’
    I shook my head. ‘And if you show them anything, you’ll probably completely freak them out. So as far as we are concerned, as long as you’re with them, you can’t do anything. Nothing physical, and definitely no energy work. If you do any sort of energy work at all, it will scare them to death and they won’t want to be your friends. Okay?’
    Simone was obviously overwhelmed. She nodded, eyes wide.
    ‘It will be the same at school, sweetheart. None of the kids there will know much about it either. Next thing…’ I saw Michael’s face. ‘Bear with me, Michael, okay? You’re next, and we all need to have our stories straight.’
    Michael nodded.
    ‘They won’t know what a Shen is, and even if they did we wouldn’t tell them that your dad is one.’
    Simone glanced at her father. He smiled encouragement.
    ‘Don’t tell them he can change his form, don’t tell them he can do things with the weather, don’t tell them he can do things with water. In fact, it might be best if you don’t mention your dad at all.’
    You make me sound like an embarrassment, Emma, John said silently.
    I rounded on him. A great many inappropriate comments jumped onto my tongue and I swallowed them all. Not in front of the kids. His face lit up with a broad grin and he leaned back to smile sideways at me.
    ‘Your dad works for a company in Beijing, and we live in Hong Kong. That’s all you need to tell them. Okay?’ I turned to Michael. ‘You’re her cousin and your dad works in the same company. Your parents are divorced and we look after you while your mother’s travelling for business, and you came with us to see London and Paris. Okay?’
    Both of the kids nodded.
    ‘Have I missed anything?’ I said.
    ‘Simone,’ John said, still smiling encouragement, ‘if you are concerned that you may say something wrong, or if you don’t know the answer to a question, just call me silently and I will tell you the answer silently. I’ll be able to help you.’
    Simone studied her little hands. ‘Thank you, Daddy,’ she whispered. ‘I hope I can do this right, Emma. What’s a cousin?’
    ‘It’s when your dad and his dad are brothers. That means that Michael is your family, not a Retainer.’ I made my voice more stern. ‘So don’t you go ordering him around in front of people, okay?’
    Simone glared at Michael. ‘I don’t order you around anyway.’
    Michael glowered at her. The animosity between them made them appear perfectly normal and would be the icing on the cake if they could pull it off.
    ‘Michael,’ I said, ‘please try to refrain from calling me “my Lady”, or any other honorific term, while we’re there. If you do slip up accidentally, make it sound like a private joke between us. Got it?’ Michaelnodded and his blond hair flopped over his forehead. ‘I’m the nanny, guys. Leo is the driver. Michael, call Lord Xuan “Mr Chen” or “Uncle John” the entire time we are there. But don’t worry too much, I’d never heard of Xuan Wu before I met him.’
    Leo smiled. I smiled too. I remembered as well.
    ‘ Now have I missed anything?’ I said.
    ‘Simone,’ Leo lisped. He winced and continued. ‘They don’t think demons are real, as well. Okay?’
    ‘Why do you talk funny, Leo?’ Simone said innocently. ‘You’re doing it all the time.’
    ‘The Snake Mothers hurt my mouth. I can’t talk properly now.’
    ‘They’re really mean,’ Simone said. ‘Those Snake Mothers are really bad.’
    ‘Yes, they are.’ His face softened. ‘You have no idea.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
    A small yard at the front of the house had been covered with gravel to accommodate visitors’ cars. Leo parked the van, we all hopped out, and I led the way up sandstone steps to the front door. Simone was very stiff and her eyes were unseeing. John was silently coaching her.
    I rang the doorbell. There was silence for a moment, then the sound of feet coming. The door flew open and there was Jennifer.
    I hardly recognised her. My sister had always been a little drab and dowdy, but now she looked like an English lady. Her hair was blonde