Red Phoenix

way.’
    When I arrived at the third floor I entered the room quietly. Some of the students saw me and moved to stop working, but Leo ordered them to continue. I stood next to the door and watched them. They didn’t talk to each other as they worked; obviously my presence was intimidating. They didn’t even give each other tips.
    Leo moved silently down the middle of the group then stood beside me at the back of the class and crossed his arms over his chest.
    We spoke to each other quietly without looking away from the students.
    ‘You see the problem?’ he said, his voice soft and even.
    ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘What’s his name?’
    ‘Nguyen,’ Leo said. ‘Vietnamese. Really talented.’
    ‘I can see that.’
    Nguyen was lightning fast. Incredibly fast. Leo had paired him up with an African girl who was also fast, but he was light years ahead of her. He had an arrogant grin on his face as he blocked her punches with ease.
    ‘Let me show you,’ Leo said under his breath without turning away from the students. ‘Swap!’
    Nguyen and the African girl swapped. Now he punched and she blocked. But he was through her. It didn’t matter what she tried to do, his fist always ended up a couple of centimetres from her nose.
    ‘Is he human?’ I said.
    ‘One hundred per cent. That’s the first thing I checked. Watch him.’ Leo’s voice remained soft as he studied the young man. ‘He’s so damn cocky that his moves are all over the place.’
    Leo was right. Nguyen was incredibly untidy. He was so fast that he thought it didn’t matter that he was doing it wrong most of the time.
    ‘Did you try having Mr Chen sort him out?’
    ‘He knows that he won’t ever face a goddamn god, so it didn’t worry him that Mr Chen is faster,’ Leo said, still low enough that the students wouldn’t hear. ‘He knows I can take him, but that doesn’t worry him either. He knows that with more training he’ll be able to take me too.’
    ‘I’d dearly like to do this in front of the whole class, but at this stage probably just him and me would be enough to sort him out,’ I said. ‘Let’s do it.’
    Leo nodded without moving. ‘End it there!’ The students stopped and faced us. ‘Dismissed!’ All of the students saluted us neatly and turned to go. ‘Nguyen,’ Leo said as the students filed past us, some of them smiling shyly at me.
    Nguyen came and saluted Leo and me.
    ‘What class do you have next, Nguyen?’ I said kindly.
    ‘Saturday extra study group,’ he said with a sly grin. ‘Doesn’t matter too much if I miss it, my Lady.’
    Leo didn’t shift beside me but I knew he was thinking the same thing I was: arrogant little bastard actually thought he’d been singled out for special training because he was so good.
    ‘Do you know who I am, Nguyen?’ I said, still being very kind.
    ‘I know who you are, Lady Emma, and I’m honoured by your attention,’ he said, the sly grin not shifting.
    ‘Good,’ I said, and moved forward to the centre of the room, waving for him to accompany me. ‘Do you know what I am?’
    He seemed confused. ‘I’m sorry, ma’am, but as far as I know you’re an ordinary human being, just like Master Leo.’
    ‘That is perfectly correct, Nguyen,’ I said. ‘Leo tells me that you are one of the fastest things he has seen in a long time. Do you think that’s true?’
    ‘I know I’m fast,’ he said confidently, and Leo made a soft sound behind me.
    ‘Are you the fastest human you’ve ever seen?’ I said.
    ‘I am,’ he said with complete confidence.
    ‘Oh, very good,’ I said. ‘You’re faster than Master Leo?’
    The kid just nodded.
    ‘Good,’ I said. ‘Have you heard that I’m fast?’ The kid nodded again.
    ‘Answer the Dark Lady’s questions when they are asked of you!’ Leo snapped.
    For a fleeting instant Nguyen’s face screwed up into a grimace of rebellion, then the smile was there again. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
    ‘Well, then,’ I said, ‘let’s see exactly how fast I am. Left guard.’
    Both of us moved into a guard stance.
    ‘I want a face hit right, chest left, left uppercut, then another right face. Got it?’ I said. ‘Measure up.’
    ‘Yes, ma’am,’ he said, the smile still there as he measured out the length of his reach and moved back into the guard position.
    I realised with a shock that he thought he could take me. He must have heard them talking about me. The level of arrogance this kid displayed was disturbing. I hoped we