Red Phoenix

set with tea, on a tiny promontory. The tea was still hot. I sat and drank for a while.
    I walked back along the beach. The lake became rice fields. I didn’t even see it change. The water glittered through the rice stalks. I was still alone. On the other side of the rice fields were the mountains of China; all vertical, straight up and down, thousands of them, just like a traditional Chinese painting.
    I walked further and found myself beside another lake, this time with the vertical mountains in the distance. A zig-zagging walkway guided me to a pavilion in the centre of the lake. The edge of the lake was draped with willow trees. Some ducks flew in and landed next to the pavilion. I sat in the pavilion for a while.
    I went back along the walkway to the edge of the lake. A couple of storks eyed me warily from the bank, but didn’t fly away.
    My heart leapt. I was on top of a mountain. I could see clouds halfway down the slopes a long way below me. The brilliantly blue sea glittered at the base of the mountain.
    A pavilion with a table and chairs was set for tea. Ms Kwan gestured for me to sit with her.
    The sound of children at play wafted from below. Simone played with some other children in a playground in front of us.
    ‘Thank you,’ I said softly.
    ‘You are most welcome,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘Any time.’ She watched the children. ‘She will be fine now.’ We sat in silence for a while.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
    ‘ S o your trip to Europe was quite eventful,’ Ms Kwan said as she put down her tea cup. I watched Simone playing and sighed. ‘You could say that.’
    ‘Your family were unharmed?’
    I nodded. ‘But the things that attacked us were apparently very strange.’
    She sat slightly more upright. ‘Strange? In what way?’
    I hesitated. She was obviously concerned. ‘Zhu Que said something about asking you to sortie. But Xuan Wu said he didn’t want to endanger you.’
    Kwan Yin refilled her tea cup, and then mine. ‘What attacked you, dear?’
    ‘Red humanoids, about level fifteen. Low-level birds. And fake fire elementals.’
    She stiffened as she raised her tea. ‘What do you mean, fake ?’
    I took a sip of the tea, trying to remain calm. ‘Zhu Que said that they were some sort of new demon hybrid. Created specifically for John.’
    ‘She must have been furious.’
    ‘I’m surprised my sister has any grass left in her backyard. Some parts of it were quite badly scorched.’
    ‘Zhu Que was right. I should go and have a look.’
    I suddenly realised that she was talking about visiting the demons on their home turf to gather information for us. ‘Wait! What if they catch you?’
    She smiled. ‘They haven’t caught me yet.’
    I quickly reached out to grab her hand. ‘Please don’t do this unless we don’t have any other alternative. I hate to think what they’d do to you if they caught you.’
    ‘They’ve been compiling a list of what they want to do to me for over a thousand years,’ Kwan Yin said mildly. ‘You have no idea.’
    ‘And if they caught you down there, they would have you?’
    She nodded, smiling sadly.
    ‘How do you make sure they don’t know you’re there, Ms Kwan?’ I said, then stopped. ‘If it’s a secret, you don’t have to tell me.’
    ‘I take the form of a demon myself,’ she said. ‘My demon form has become rather famous. Occasionally I travel the Halls to comfort some of the longer-term residents. I must be very careful.’
    I dropped my head onto my hands. ‘I should never have mentioned this to you. If I’d known what it meant, I would have stayed quiet. No wonder John was so loath to call on you.’
    ‘I would love to know where the hybrids came from though, Emma,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘Whoever managed to create a false elemental is certainly worth watching.’
    ‘Zhu Que said that Simon Wong…that One Two Two wouldn’t be able to do it, and that he had to have had help.’
    She sighed and took a sip of her tea. ‘She was quite correct.’
    Simone came to me and wriggled into my lap. Kwan Yin gestured slightly and a cup of apple juice appeared on the table in front of us.
    ‘Thank you,’ Simone said and took a noisy slurp.
    ‘You sound like a blocked drain drinking like that, Simone,’ I teased.
    She lifted the cup and slurped it as noisily as she could.
    ‘You are a little monster,’ I said. ‘Are we all right to go home now? School will be starting tomorrow.’
    ‘Simone,’ Ms Kwan said, ‘call me if you need me. Any