Red Phoenix

these first, and then go to the car,’ I said.
    ‘You’re right, my Lady,’ Leo said.
    ‘Let’s go down to the play area,’ I said. ‘Nobody around, and room to move.’
    We went down the steps to the playground. Simone clutched my hand. Michael was tense and prepared. The demons followed us, talking to each other as if nothing unusual at all was happening.
    When we reached the play area we stopped and turned to face them. Leo and I put Simone behind us. Michael stood beside Leo, ready. The demons stopped pretending. They retained the form of a mother and child, but went very still and watched us impassively.
    ‘What are you waiting for?’ I said.
    The mother looked around. There was nobody nearby who could see us. They both fell to their knees and touched their foreheads to the rubber matting covering the ground.
    ‘Dark Lady, I pledge allegiance,’ the mother said. ‘I plead. Allow me to serve you. Protect me. I am yours.’
    ‘I pledge allegiance,’ the child said in an adult’s voice. The deep voice coming from the child was a chilling sound. ‘I am yours. I vow to serve you. Do not destroy us, we beg you.’
    ‘Sweet mother of all the demons, Emma,’ Leo said. ‘You just tamed them.’
    ‘How could I have tamed them? I didn’t do anything.’
    ‘You don’t have to do anything. It’s a choice they make themselves. Mr Chen always gives them a chance to plead before he destroys them, if they don’t attack immediately. Like you just did. You waited for them to go for you, and they took the opportunity.’
    ‘Why did she call you Dark Lady?’ Simone said.
    My blood ran cold.
    ‘Because she is the Lady of the Dark Lord, of course,’ Leo said.
    ‘Oh.’ Simone moved to lean between us and studied the demons. ‘What are you going to do with them, Emma?’
    ‘I have absolutely no idea. All suggestions welcome. We can’t even fit them in the car.’ I paused. ‘And I’m not sure I even trust them after what Wong did. This could be a trick.’
    ‘It could be quite easily,’ Leo said. ‘We could destroy them anyway, you know.’
    Simone and Michael stiffened at that. The demons didn’t move.
    ‘That would be totally wrong, Leo, and you know it,’ I said.
    The woman demon exhaled with relief.
    ‘Mr Chen will know what to do,’ Leo said. ‘Let’s send them to Wan Chai and he can meet us there.’
    ‘You know the Academy building in Wan Chai?’ I asked the demons.
    The woman raised her head and nodded, full of hope.
    ‘Meet us in the car park,’ I said. ‘We’ll go in the car. You go directly. Wait about half an hour before you go. If you’re there first, somebody will probably come out and take your heads off.’
    The demons smiled up at me.
    ‘Are there any more demons around here besides these two, Simone?’ I said.
    ‘No,’ Simone said. ‘Just these two.’
    ‘Wait here,’ I said to the demons. ‘We’ll meet you in Wan Chai in half an hour.’
    They rose together. Leo braced himself. They bowed to us, then went to the play equipment. The woman sat to watch the child as he proceeded to play on the equipment like a perfectly normal little boy.
    We returned to the car park. ‘That was extremely weird,’ I said.
    ‘You should be used to it by now, Emma,’ Leo said.
    ‘Has that ever happened to you, Leo?’ I said.
    ‘Nope.’ He grinned. ‘I’ve seen Mr Chen do it a few times. I wish I knew how you do it.’
    ‘I wish I knew how I did it too.’ The whole thing had many unpleasant connotations for me. Particularly being called Dark Lady.
    John and Gold were waiting for us in the middle of the Academy car park.
    ‘Hi, Gold,’ the stone in my ring said as we approached them. ‘Still stuck, eh?’
    ‘Hi, Dad,’ Gold said cheerfully. ‘Yep, still stuck. ‘Bout time you woke up.’
    ‘You’ve grown,’ the stone said.
    ‘Three millimetres in the last hundred years, Dad, and I’ve put on three whole grams.’
    John saw my face. ‘Forgot to mention that, Emma. The stone is Gold’s father.’
    ‘We prefer the term “parent”, my Lord.’ Gold’s smile disappeared. ‘Here they are.’
    The demons appeared at the end of the car park and approached carefully.
    ‘Leo, Michael, take Simone upstairs,’ John said. ‘There is an advanced hand-to-hand class on the sixth floor right now. You should be safe with them. Gold, you too. Let’s see what the Lady Emma has gotten herself into this time.’
    Leo and Gold herded the kids towards the