Red Phoenix

of the fiercest on the Celestial. She would protect Simone with her life.’
    ‘Oh. Sorry.’
    ‘Anyway,’ I continued, ‘he separated us. Leo was out parking the car. Simone and Michael were alone, but we were lucky, we had Jade, and Leo found a meter, so Simone was protected quickly. He separated me from Charlie using a freaking human doctor—’
    John’s face went very grim as I continued.
    ‘—and the doctor tried to sedate me so he could take me. I Pushed him and he went down. Wong himself didn’t want to try me without sedation, so he took…’ I hesitated, searching for the right way to put it. ‘He took Charlie as second prize.’
    ‘He knows Simone can sense demons,’ John said. ‘So he’s using humans to work around it.’
    ‘I am so glad you taught me the Push. He used humans right up to the last minute. Oh, and the stone woke up and helped.’
    ‘Good evening, stone, good to see you awake,’ John said.
    The stone was silent.
    ‘I think it’s cross with you for keeping it locked up for so long,’ I said. ‘It has the most incredible English accent, it sounds like somebody reading the news on the BBC.’
    ‘Well, if I’m forced to speak English I may as well do it properly,’ the stone said. ‘You have more important things to deal with right now, Turtle.’
    John rubbed his hands over his face, then pulled his hair out of its tie, tidied it, and tied it back again. He sounded helpless. ‘I don’t know what to do.’
    ‘Tell Emma,’ the stone said gently.
    ‘He wants me for a one-on-one.’
    I fell back. ‘No.’
    ‘I’m very drained, and I don’t know how strong he is right now. There is a chance he could take me down. If I face him, win or lose he’ll give Charlie back unharmed. He’s a Demon Prince, he’ll stand by his word. If I don’t face him, you have an idea of what will happen to Charlie.’
    ‘Holy shit,’ I said softly. ‘This is really bad.’
    ‘I know,’ John moaned.
    ‘Simone can call a Celestial Master; she’ll be safe even if you lose. You have to go and face him, and getCharlie back. He can’t kill you if he wins, and he won’t be able to get Simone. He’ll just take your head to his dad, receive a nice little promotion, and you’ll be out of their way slightly sooner than we’d planned.’
    ‘You will still be at risk, Emma,’ John said, looking into my eyes. ‘You can’t call anybody for help. If he wins he’ll come straight after you. You know the King wants you.’
    ‘He’s right, Emma,’ Leo said, his voice full of misery. ‘Simone might be okay, but the Demon King wants you and you know it.’
    ‘Simone is the important thing, Leo.’ I looked John in the eyes. ‘Simone and Charlie. We must get Charlie back.’
    ‘Why do they want Mr Chen’s head?’ Michael said. He bobbed his head. ‘Sorry. My curiosity gets the better of me sometimes.’
    ‘No, Michael, you’re quite right to ask,’ I said. ‘Always ask if you need to know. We might not answer, but we’ll never tell you off. Where to start?’ I ran my hands through my hair. ‘The King of the Demons has put a price on Mr Chen’s head. Any demon that brings him the Dark Lord’s head will be promoted to Number One.’
    ‘Like Number One son?’
    ‘Precisely,’ John said. ‘Number One is second in precedence only to the King; all the other demons must obey it. It is an immensely powerful position.’
    ‘One particular Demon Prince, the One Hundred and Twenty-Second son, has decided to make a bid for it,’ I said. ‘He’s been at us for a while, either trying to take Mr Chen’s head directly, or kidnap Simone or me to swap for it. He appears in human form most of the time, and his human name is Simon Wong.’
    Michael’s head shot up and his eyes went wide. ‘ Simon Wong ?’
    ‘You know of him?’ John asked sharply.
    ‘He’s the Big Brother of all the Big Brothers.’
    ‘Somehow I’m not surprised,’ I said. The idea of that creep being in charge of all the underworld activity in Hong Kong wasn’t much of a leap.
    ‘He’s notorious,’ Michael said. ‘They keep bringing girls over from the mainland for him, all the time. They say he does things to them that you wouldn’t believe. The girls have even started refusing to come to Hong Kong, because they’ve heard what happens if he gets his hands on them.’ His voice softened. ‘Boys too. Even young ones. I left when someone warned me. He wanted me. They were coming to take me.’
    ‘He