Red Phoenix

eight—’
    ‘Stop. How come you can do that?’ ‘Do what, my Lady?’
    ‘I’ve noticed that. You can do enormous sums in your head.’
    ‘Not in my head, and it’s part of my nature, my Lady. Can we return to the logistics of the accommodation?I’d like to finish it before Simone wakes and starts pestering you.’
    ‘Simone can go to Leo,’ John said.
    ‘Use your super Shen mega-powers, John, and see that Leo’s taken Monica out to the market,’ I said. ‘When Simone wakes up she’ll be right in here annoying us.’
    ‘Mega-powers. You make me sound like something out of a Japanese superhero show.’
    ‘You are ten times weirder than anything on those shows, and that’s saying something.’
    Gold grinned. ‘Even the Beetle Boys?’
    ‘It’s close, but even them.’ I checked my notes. ‘Okay, junior Disciples, twelve floors. How about we give the seniors their own units, or let them share? Is that acceptable?’
    ‘Quite acceptable,’ John said. ‘It will be smaller than the Mountain, but that’s Hong Kong.’
    ‘How many floors, Gold?’
    ‘Probably about ten; plenty of room.’
    ‘There will still be room for you and Jade?’ John said.
    ‘Yes, my Lord. That leaves the top four floors.’
    ‘The mortal human Masters can go there,’ John said. ‘I’ll take the walls out; they’re not supporting walls at the top. We’ll make some big penthouses for them.’
    ‘I’ll get right onto it,’ Gold said. ‘I’ll move in some tame demons to clean up the empty units and prepare them. Next item.’ He checked the agenda in front of him. ‘Armoury. My Lord?’
    ‘That’s your area of expertise, John.’
    John sighed, pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. ‘Only a handful of the most robust Celestial Weapons made it. Some of them are very special. I don’t like the idea of them staying on the Mountain without the Celestial Masters to guard them.’
    ‘Do we have room here for them?’ I said. ‘The seals are set. The answer is: yes,’ John said. ‘Gold.’
    ‘My Lord.’ Gold nodded and scribbled some notes. He glanced up at John. ‘Seven Stars?’
    John leaned back. ‘Seven Stars is the most destructive weapon ever forged. But it was forged for me. It will not shine for another. Leave it where it is. Only my most trusted lieutenants have access. It is safe.’
    Gold was silent for a moment. Then he spoke softly. ‘I really am most profoundly honoured, my Lord.’
    John waved him down. ‘The forge is undamaged. Gather the forge staff and put them to work. I want them replacing weapons as soon as possible.’
    Gold nodded and scribbled some more. ‘My Lord.’
    ‘Also, go shopping for me. Hunt around the Earthly suppliers. I don’t want anything too poor in quality, it would be a waste of time teaching with rubbish. See what you can turn up.’
    ‘My Lord, I’ll see what I can do. I’ll go to Japan, they have always made quality blades. Don’t expect too much though. The art of crafting a fine weapon that isn’t a firearm is becoming lost.’
    ‘I know. Search out the antique weapons markets as well; there are some excellent old blades that could serve us well. We may even be able to pick up some more Masamunes—anything from that school would be worth having. Don’t worry about the expense, the cost is worth it. If you’re not certain about authenticity, let me see the blade. How is work proceeding in Hennessy Road?’
    ‘Very quickly. The demons work day and night. Only noise restrictions are holding us back.’
    ‘This really is working out very well.’
    Four weeks later we met in the new conference room on the ninth floor of Hennessy Road.
    ‘Happy Valley,’ Gold said without any preliminary meeting nonsense. ‘The residents are complaining about the noise of the renovations. They are cancelling their leases and moving out.’
    ‘Good,’ I said. ‘Offer the remaining residents a reward to leave.’
    ‘I already did,’ Gold said. ‘The building should be ours by September.’
    ‘That fits perfectly,’ I said.
    ‘We need to employ people to look after the units,’ Gold said. ‘Cook, clean, things like that. I thought at first the Disciples could do it themselves—’
    ‘Of course they can’t,’ John said. ‘They’re exhausted at the end of the day. And some of them are studying as well. We can’t expect them to cook and clean for themselves on top of that.’
    ‘The Dark Lord is quite correct,’ Gold said. ‘So we need to hire