Red Phoenix

Here.’ She raised her hand and another elemental appeared next to the demon. It looked identical for a moment, then I saw that it was the real thing and not bound.
    ‘Will I hurt it if I look inside?’ I said.
    ‘No,’ she said with a small smile. ‘Go right ahead.’
    I looked inside it. ‘It’s really beautiful.’ The flames were pure and bright and shot through with gold and silver. At its heart was a core of clean, blistering heat. I could sense its awareness; it returned my gaze with amusement. It had a rather wicked sense of humour and was quite intelligent.
    I examined the other one again. It was sullen, stupid and evil and wanted to destroy everything around it.
    ‘The difference is very obvious when you look closely at it. Thanks for showing me,’ I said.
    ‘You are very welcome,’ Zhu Que said with a smile and small bow. ‘I am impressed. Most humans cannot do that.’
    The real elemental disappeared.
    ‘I will unbind it. We’ll see if you can make it talk,’ John said.
    ‘Don’t count on it,’ she said grimly.
    He unbound the fire demon, but it didn’t move. Zhu Que’s face went taut with effort. She stared at it. She raised her hand towards it. She walked to it and grabbed it by the throat, completely unharmed by the flames. Her red eyes flashed. Her scarlet hair floated around her head. The demon exploded into feathery red and black streamers. Zhu Que lowered her arm and sagged.
    ‘Anything?’ John said.
    Zhu Que shook her head. ‘Nothing. It had a selfdestruct mechanism.’ Her voice became fierce. ‘What a despicable piece of work. Whenever I find who made this, I will make them suffer.’ She raised her arms. ‘I suggest you contact the Lady. She may be willing to sortie for you. Otherwise…’ She smiled sadly. ‘Otherwise you will just have to take each day as it comes.’
    ‘How are the eggs?’ John said. ‘Are they close?’
    She smiled and her face lit up. ‘They are very close. I should return to them, they will be getting cold. I have fire elementals on them, but they are not warm enough.’
    ‘Let me know when they hatch,’ he said. ‘I’d love to see the little ones.’
    She saluted him. ‘My Lord. By your leave.’
    ‘Go South, little Sparrow,’ he said gently.
    She saluted me. ‘Lady Emma. I believe that I owe you a gold coin.’
    ‘A look at the babies would be enough, I think,’ I said.
    She smiled kindly and disappeared in a flurry of red. I went to John. ‘Would Qing Long be the father?’ ‘Her business is her business. Her eggs are her eggs.’ ‘I’d still like to see the babies.’
    ‘They are usually adorable,’ he said. He looked at me. He didn’t say anything.
    ‘Negative,’ I said. ‘Probably for the best anyway. You won’t be around.’
    His smile didn’t shift but I saw the disappointment in his eyes. ‘You’re quite correct. Probably for the best.’
    I changed the subject. ‘Do you have water elementals?’
    He nodded. ‘Right now I cannot summon them. They miss me terribly.’
    I dropped my head, then shook myself out of it. ‘Let’s go and talk to Jennifer and Leonard. I would havethought Leonard would be taking this better. He knows who you are.’
    ‘None of my staff has ever been this close before,’ John said. ‘This is the first time any of them have been in danger. They have been brought up with the assurance that, as long as they serve me, they are safe.’
    ‘This will be very hard,’ I said as we went through the door. ‘I’d rather face a battalion of demons.’
    ‘Me too, love.’
    The return flight was uneventful. We were all subdued, even Simone. We only had a couple of weeks until school started. The demons would probably have another try at us then.
    John and I were in agreement. We refused to let this demon spoil our lives. We could handle him. Simone would go to school like a normal little girl. We would be careful.
    But we did lock the security down tighter around ourselves. We tried to avoid feeling that we were under siege.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
    T he interior of the Science Museum was dark and deserted. The airplane exhibit loomed around me. The propellers on the huge engines to one side looked like grinning teeth against the dimly glowing windows.
    ‘I don’t like you,’ Simone said in the darkness. I moved to follow her voice.
    ‘I don’t care,’ he said, and my blood went cold. ‘I’m coming,’ I said loudly. ‘Emma?’ Her sweet voice was full of hope. ‘Oh good,’ he