Red Phoenix

wouldn’t have to throw him out; he was really very good.
    ‘Go,’ I said.
    He moved through the series of punches and I blocked them easily. His grin didn’t shift; not going full speed.
    ‘Faster,’ I said.
    He moved faster. I blocked them. His smile was still there.
    ‘Faster!’ I berated, trying to goad him.
    He threw himself into it. Obviously the goading worked: he started to move untidily again. Again I blocked his punches with ease.
    ‘Right,’ I said after we had done the series a few times, ‘I want to see this all out. Go as fast as you can. Come on, I know you can go faster than this.’
    His fists were a blur. His grin was still fixed on his face. He was very, very fast.
    I blocked his moves easily and his face fell. He tried again; I blocked easily again. He tried to go even faster but he slightly lost control and I blocked him without difficulty.
    ‘Swap,’ I said brusquely when I had made it completely obvious that he wouldn’t be getting through me.
    We measured up again, and both moved into guard stances.
    ‘Ready?’ I said, and he nodded.
    I moved through the four punches slowly, letting him block me. His grin returned.
    ‘Now,’ I said, ‘I will do the series slightly faster each time. Let’s see how fast you can go.’
    When I was up to about half-speed he began to lose it. The third punch was getting through.
    I sped up again, and I was through him. I could do all four punches and have them end up less than a centimetre from the end of his nose. His face froze into an expression of disbelief.
    I did it full speed. His face shifted to bewilderment. He couldn’t even see them coming. All he could see was me readying myself, and then the fist right in front of his nose.
    ‘You’re not human!’ he choked.
    ‘Yes, I am,’ I said quietly as I pressed the advantage home. I did the four punches, but I didn’t stop. I kept the punches coming, finishing each one right at the end of his nose.
    ‘Stop anything you can,’ I said as I continued the flurry of punches. His face became a mask of horror as he tried to block the punches, always ending up miles behind them.
    I stepped back, did a spinning kick that knocked his feet out from under him, flipped him onto his belly, grabbed one arm and twisted it behind him, and put my knee in the middle of his back. I tapped him lightly on the back of the neck.
    ‘You are now officially dead, Mr Nguyen.’ I released him. ‘Stand up.’
    He stood and faced me, stunned.
    ‘Am I fast?’ I said.
    ‘You are amazingly fast, ma’am,’ he said, his voice full of wonder. ‘You’re the fastest thing I’ve ever seen.’
    ‘Leo can take me. I can only handle up to about level thirty demons bare-handed. Once you’re past level fifteen, demons are faster than any human alive, even me. How many levels of demons are there?’
    ‘One hundred, the King himself is at level one hundred,’ Nguyen said with a touch of humility. ‘Snake Mothers start at level fifty. You can only take level thirty?’
    ‘What level have you faced so far?’
    Nguyen glanced, disconcerted, at Leo.
    ‘None yet, they’re too junior,’ Leo said.
    ‘Tell me, Nguyen, how far do you think you need to go,’ I said, trying not to put any emotion into my voice at all, ‘before you are ready to face your first demon?’
    ‘I need to go through the basics again,’ Nguyen said. ‘I need more than just speed if I want to be able to handle anything at a reasonable level.’ He looked up at me. ‘I think with a few more weeks of training with Master Leo I may be able to face something at a very low level.’
    ‘Thanks, Emma,’ Leo said behind me, and I nodded without turning. Leo moved to stand beside me. ‘I can defeat the Lady Emma in hand-to-hand without difficulty,’ he told Nguyen. ‘I can take up to level forty bare-handed. Speed isn’t everything, Nguyen. That was the whole point of this lesson.’
    ‘You are not being singled out for special training, Nguyen, just because you’re fast,’ I said compassionately. ‘Leo brought me up to teach you a lesson, and I hope you’ve learned it.’
    Nguyen saluted us both, the smile gone. ‘I have learned a valuable lesson, Masters, and I thank you. I will work harder at the basics and improve my style.’
    ‘Dismissed,’ Leo said softly. Nguyen saluted us again and went out.
    ‘Your own style is incredibly untidy and you really need some work,’ Leo growled, his brown eyes sparkling. ‘You’ve been