Red Phoenix

sucking it,’ the Tiger said, very calm.
    ‘By the Ten Levels of Hell but I adore you, little pussy cat,’ the Demon King said with a gentle smile. ‘Eaten any unborn children lately?’
    The Tiger didn’t reply.
    ‘Give me something so that I can call you,’ I said, ignoring them.
    The King grinned and handed me a perfectly normal mobile phone. I checked the phone book: only one number stored.
    ‘Now piss off,’ I said. ‘Go away and leave us alone. Stay out of this. If I call you, I call you. I don’t ever intend to. But now you can’t stick your ugly red nose into our business.’
    The Demon King threw his head back, roared with laughter, then rose. John and the Tiger stood as well. I remained sitting cross-legged on the table.
    The King saluted John and the Tiger. They returned the salute perfectly politely. I ignored them.
    As the King returned to the sedan chair I unfolded my legs and hopped down off the table to stand next to John.
    The Demon King turned back before he entered the chair. ‘Oh,’ he said casually. ‘I forgot about this. This happened before I gave you my promise not to interfere, my Lady Emma, I do apologise. But my Ladies insisted, they said they had a score to settle.’
    He gestured, and one of the Snake Mothers took full huge, ugly True Form. It slithered to the back of the sedan chair and opened a large trunk there. It reached in and pulled out Leo by one arm. He was unconscious and hung limply from its grip. Blood covered his face and his clothes.
    I moved to rush to him but John held out his arm to stop me.
    ‘Don’t make any sudden moves,’ John said quietly. ‘Stay very still, and let it give him back to us.’
    The Snake Mother slithered to us, still dangling Leo. It dropped him in front of us, and he crumpled. The Snake Mother grinned viciously into my eyes.
    ‘We had a lot of fun with this little Lion,’ it hissed loudly. ‘But we did not kill it, because the King would not permit it. He said that you love it.’ The Snake Mother lowered itself on its coils so that its red eyes were level with mine. ‘Please do come and join us in Hell, my Lady. We have so many wonderful plans for you.’
    It raised itself, then changed back to a slim, beautiful European girl with bright red hair. She smiled tightly at me and returned to position.
    The small demons began to play the music. The Demon King gave me a friendly wave and boarded the sedan chair. The animal-headed demons picked it up, and the whole procession turned back down the alley and disappeared.
    The silence continued for a few moments, then the noise of the cars and the people outside restarted.
    John, the Tiger, Jade and Gold took human form. We all knelt around Leo. The other Immortals, with Simone and Michael, rushed to us.
    Leo started to regain consciousness. He cast around, eyes wide, then saw us and collapsed back. He grimaced with pain.
    ‘Quickly, Leo, if you can tell us any major injuries you’ve sustained it will save us a great deal of time,’ John said urgently.
    Leo winced. He shook his head, then turned away and spat out blood.
    I became very calm. ‘Meredith, Liu, Michael, take Simone away where she won’t be able to see Leo, and turn her around. I don’t want her to see this. Michael, you too.’
    ‘No, Meredith, stay,’ John said. ‘Everybody else, do as Emma orders.’
    I heard them move but didn’t look at them. I studied Leo and looked right into his eyes. ‘Oh dear Lord, Leo, they didn’t. No.’
    ‘Tell me, Leo,’ John said.
    ‘He can’t. He ripped out the Snake Mother’s tongue and killed it when you were on the Mountain, John.’ I turned back to Leo. ‘Did they take it completely out?’
    Leo shook his head. He turned and spat out more blood, gagging. I knelt closer to him and took his hand;it was like ice. He grasped my hand fiercely and gazed into my eyes. I put my other hand on his bloodied cheek and whispered, ‘Show me.’
    He shook his head, his mouth clamped shut.
    ‘Show me, that’s an order,’ I whispered again, my heart breaking.
    He opened his bloodied mouth and showed us.
    They had sliced his tongue in half right down the middle. He had a forked tongue exactly like they did.
    ‘No,’ John said quietly.
    Meredith gasped behind me. ‘Oh, dear Lord.’ She moved quickly. ‘Turn him over, I need to reach the points on his back.’
    Leo helped us to tip him over onto his stomach. Meredith ripped his shirt to reveal his back, then put her fingers over