Red Phoenix

me. ‘The bad demon has Charlie!’
    I pulled her into my stomach. ‘I know, sweetheart.’
    ‘No,’ Leo whispered.
    ‘That nurse and the doctor weren’t demons, were they?’
    Simone shook her head into my stomach. Her shoulders quivered. ‘Charlie.’
    ‘This is very bad,’ Leo said. ‘Let’s get home to Mr Chen right now.’
    ‘Should we grab that doctor and nurse and take them with us?’ Michael said.
    ‘That wouldn’t be a good idea,’ the voice said. ‘You can’t go around kidnapping drugged human doctors.’
    Simone jerked her head away from my stomach and stared up at me. Everybody’s mouths flopped open.
    ‘It does sound like an English man,’ Michael said. ‘Who is it?’
    ‘Don’t worry about me!’ the voice snapped. ‘Just get yourselves home! Jade, go directly and brief the Dark Lord. Everybody else, move !’
    ‘By your leave, my Lady,’ Jade said.
    ‘Go.’
    Jade dropped her head and disappeared. Leo guided the rest of us out and followed us down the hallway.
    ‘If you do not tell me who you are right now ,’ I said furiously as I stormed down the corridor, ‘I will be very, very cross.’
    ‘I’m not a who, I’m a what, and I’m on your engagement ring.’ I stopped dead.
    Leo pushed me forward. ‘Move, Emma.’
    I raced out the front doors of the hospital, Leo following. ‘You’re the stone?’ I said, stunned.
    Leo ran to collect the car. Michael and Simone stood with me, watching me as if I was completely bonkers.
    ‘You were wondering when I’d wake, weren’t you?’ The stone’s voice was cheerful. ‘Well, now you know. I am extremely displeased with the Turtle for keeping me locked up for so long. He should have known better. Even though I was unaware, I honestly feel I deserve better treatment than that.’
    ‘Maybe he was waiting for someone worthy?’
    ‘You think you’re worthy of something as precious as me?’ the stone said with delight.
    ‘I don’t know. Am I?’
    ‘Are you talking to the voice, Emma?’ Simone said. ‘Yep. It’s the stone—’
    The stone cut me off. ‘Here comes Leo. He managed to find a meter not far away. Now there issomeone worthy. Shame this setting wouldn’t fit on him.’
    ‘If you want me to give you to Leo, just say the word,’ I said. ‘You are very precious, you know.’
    ‘More precious than you could possibly imagine. But I think I’ll stay with you for now, and see what you do.’ Its English accent made it sound like a BBC newsreader. ‘You are a very interesting person, you know. A great deal of hidden depth to you. And most of it isn’t even there.’
    ‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’ Leo brought the car around and I opened the door for Simone.
    ‘What do you mean?’ But the stone didn’t reply.
    I was quiet in the car for a while, and everybody kept sneaking glances at me. Eventually I thought I’d better reassure them.
    ‘I haven’t gone crazy, guys. The stone in the ring that Mr Chen gave me woke up and started talking to me. It helped out. That’s what you heard.’
    ‘Let me see, Emma,’ Simone said.
    I showed her the ring. She touched it and squeaked.
    ‘Did it do anything to you?’ I said.
    ‘Of course I didn’t,’ the stone said. Its voice became kind. ‘Hello, Princess.’
    Simone’s eyes went wide. ‘Hello.’
    ‘That jade ring?’ Leo said over his shoulder as he drove. ‘That little green stone?’
    ‘Yep.’
    ‘Do you have a name?’ Simone said.
    ‘I am far too important to have anything as mundane as a name,’ the stone said. ‘I am thoroughly above such boring inanities.’
    ‘O.. .kay,’ Leo said without looking away from the road.
    Michael grimaced.
    ‘Yes, it just gets stranger and stranger, Michael,’ I said. ‘Sometimes it’s more the House of Weird than the House of Chen.’
    He shook his head. I’d read his mind.

CHAPTER TWELVE
    W e sat around the table and looked at each other. Leo, Michael, John, me. We’d included Michael; he was a part of this now. I didn’t have the energy to tell him off. He’d genuinely tried to leave the triads. ‘How did Wong contact you?’ I asked John. ‘On my mobile. Perfectly normally. How did he manage to take Charlie?’
    ‘He separated us,’ I said. ‘He probably wasn’t expecting us to have Jade, though. He didn’t try for Simone while Jade was with her.’
    Michael snorted with amusement. ‘He’s scared of your accountant ?’
    ‘My accountant is a dragon,’ John said. ‘One