Red Phoenix

head shot up. ‘Come here.’
    ‘You are completely crazy,’ Leo growled, pulling Simone closer to him. ‘You saw what that thing can do. You’ll let your daughter near that ?’
    ‘That thing is your Lady and you have sworn allegiance.’
    I rested my head in my hands. ‘Someone please tell me what happened.’ I looked up. Leo’s face was rigid with a combination of fear and hatred. ‘Leo, it’s me. Please don’t look at me like that.’
    ‘You sure that’s Emma?’ Leo rasped.
    ‘That is one hundred per cent pure Emma, my Lady and my love,’ John said calmly. ‘And I guarantee that she will not harm either of you. Did she harm you before? When she changed?’
    I’d changed. I collapsed over my knees. Oh my God.
    ‘Look at her, Leo,’ John said. ‘I won’t order you, but you can see she needs you. Go to her. Simone, go to her. She won’t harm you. She’s just Emma. You love her and she loves you. She’s family. She needs you.’ His voice was strained with anguish. ‘She protected you. Help her!’
    I didn’t see her come but I heard her little feet. Simone threw her tiny arms around me. I lunged forward and grabbed her. She stiffened, then realised that I was just clutching her in a huge hug. I pulled her down into my lap. ‘I would never do anything to hurt you, Simone, you know that.’ I looked up at Leo. ‘You too, Leo, you know I love you both dearly.’ I held Simone tighter and buried my face in her hair. ‘For God’s sake, will somebody tell me what happened?’
    John came and sat next to me. He put his arm around my shoulders. ‘Do you remember anything?’
    I shook my head into Simone’s hair. ‘We should take you home. You are probably exhausted.’
    I shook my head again. ‘I’m full of energy. I’m just fine. I don’t feel like I blacked out. I changed ?’ My voice thickened even more. ‘Dear God, John, please tell me. What happened to me ?’
    Simone’s voice was tiny on my chest. ‘You turned into a big black snake monster, Emma.’
    We went up to the car in silence. Nobody said anything as John paid for the parking ticket. When we reached the car Leo stopped. ‘I’ll sit in the back with Simone.’ He gestured to John. ‘You drive and keep that thing next to you.’
    My insides twisted as if the demon’s sword was inside me. ‘It’s me, Leo. I wouldn’t hurt you in a million years.’
    Leo glowered at me as he opened the door to put Simone carefully into the car.
    ‘Mercy is waiting at home for you. Don’t panic, Emma, you will be fine,’ John said.
    John drove the car down the ramp and we merged into the tunnel traffic.
    ‘What did I do, John? Did I destroy all of those demons?’
    John made a soft sound of amusement. ‘You were remarkable. I couldn’t have done better myself. You used both energy and physical attacks. You were lightning fast. They didn’t have a chance. You took out a level sixty-five with energy and then blasted six level fifties. Then you took out all the others in a physical attack that was so fast that even I had trouble following you. I couldn’t see the demons, but I could see what you did to them.’
    ‘Did I at any time threaten to injure any of you?’ Isaid, my voice small. But I knew the answer to that question.
    ‘You knocked Simone off her feet,’ John said mildly.
    I suddenly found it difficult to breathe.
    ‘A demon went for her. You knocked her out of the way and bit its head off.’
    ‘Yuck.’ I wanted to wipe my mouth. ‘So I was no danger to any of you?’
    He could hear me begging for reassurance. ‘Emma, it was you. Of course not.’ He grinned. ‘Leo’s just prejudiced.’
    I turned back to look at Leo. His face was taut with restraint. He had his arms folded over his chest. I turned back to the road. ‘How much me?’
    ‘Interesting question,’ John said. ‘One hundred per cent of you. But that was less than half of it.’ He glanced away from the road to look at me. ‘We will perform some tests when we return home. I’ll have the Tiger look at you. I’d love to have a look inside you myself, but that may not be a good idea. This should be interesting. Oh.’ He stopped and his face filled with wonder. ‘You are very powerful. I may be able to touch you after all.’ His face lit up with a huge grin. ‘Excellent. We must try when we have you home. With Mercy and the Tiger present, we can try under very controlled conditions.’ He banged the steering wheel with his palm.