Red Phoenix

house in Guangzhou while Ah Yat’s here,’ I said. ‘Sixty-eight can manage, but he could really use another pair of hands.’
    ‘Good idea,’ John said. He took Alpha’s hand. ‘Go here, report to this demon. Do this.’
    Alpha’s face lit up. ‘This is one of your residences?’
    ‘Yes. You can help maintain it.’
    Alpha glanced from John to me. ‘Thank you!’ she said, breathless with delight. ‘I am profoundly honoured.’ I smiled back. ‘Go.’
    She released John’s hand, bowed slightly, and disappeared.
    ‘What are you doing with a book of baby names in your room?’ John said.
    ‘April gave it to me to hand on to Louise, now that Louise is married,’ I said. ‘I’m hoping to see her in Paris. The Tiger said she’d be there.’
    ‘Oh.’ He opened his mouth and closed it again.
    ‘It’s too early to tell, John. It’s only been a few days.’
    He sighed and sat on my couch. ‘We should have taken precautions.’
    I laughed softly. ‘We never had a chance. Besides, the timing was wrong. I don’t think we need to worry.’
    He looked up at me, his eyes full of pain.
    ‘Yes, John. I hope it happened as well.’
    I stood quietly outside the uniform shop waiting for the kids to come out. Leo was inside with them, they were fine.
    I looked down at the football field. There was a demon there.
    More appeared. Many more. Dozens of them. They filled the field. They approached the stairs to come up to the uniform shop. I studied them carefully: they were mostly humanoids, but some worms too. Not too much of a problem; mostly low-level stuff, level two or three, biggest about level five.
    Damned if they would get near my family.
    I let my breath out in a long hiss.
    I went to the top of the stairs and waited for them to come up. I wasn’t worried at all; in fact I was looking forward to this.
    As the first ranks of them reached the top of the stairs, I raised myself on my black coils, opened my mouth and struck.
    I woke and shot upright, panting. I looked around. My room. The lights from Central leaked through the curtains covering the large picture window above the bed.
    I threw myself down, turned over and tried to go back to sleep.
    John poked his head around my bedroom door about mid-morning the next day. ‘What time do we leave tomorrow?’
    ‘Flight leaves at ten. Early start tomorrow.’
    ‘I haven’t even packed yet. Can you control all the emergencies for the next hour or so?’
    ‘No, I’m having lunch with Rhonda, and I’d better move.’ I sighed with exasperation. ‘She wanted to go for yum cha and I can’t.’
    He was amused. ‘You can’t eat meat at all any more, can you.’
    ‘I know I don’t have to be vegetarian any more, but if I eat meat I feel awful afterwards.’
    ‘I’ll need to arrange some pine nuts and spring water for you in the near future, I think.’
    ‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’
    ‘Where’s Leo? He can mind Simone while I pack.’
    ‘Leo’s in your room packing for you right now.’
    He went still and his eyes unfocused as he looked into his room. Then he snapped back and raced to the door. ‘If I let him pack I won’t have a single black shirt to wear the entire time we’re there!’
    ‘That’s the idea!’ I called to him as he ran out, his long hair flying behind him.
    I’d arranged to meet Rhonda MacLaren for lunch at Central. I needed to talk to her about Michael before we took him to Paris with us the following day. My car’s alarm popped and I climbed in. I wound my way out through the car park to the gate. I smiled and waved to the guards as they opened the gate for me, and they waved back.
    I went slowly down the drive and stopped at the end. An English guy further up the hill drove his Porsche like a bat out of hell down the hill sometimes, and never checked to see if someone was coming out of our drive. Nobody there. I turned out onto the road and drove down towards the Peak Tower.
    There weren’t many tourists on the viewing platform and the fountain in the tower’s forecourt had been turned off again to save money. The clouds descended onto the Peak, and would probably engulf us in the afternoon. John had made such a mistake buying that building, it was so damn damp all the time. And then I understood: up high. On a mountain.
    I headed for Magazine Gap Road, and turned on the CD player.
    Freddie Mercury attacked me from all sides.
    I turned the volume down and changed to the next CD in the box in the