White Tiger

livid. ‘Mr Chen is dying, Dad. He’s terminally ill. He only has a couple of years left.’
    My mother’s eyes went wide.
    ‘His wife’s family are all gone. When Mr Chen dies, his daughter will have nobody left. So I’ll look after her. The money isn’t important, I just love her dearly.’
    ‘And her father?’ my father said.
    ‘What about him?’
    ‘Do you love him?’
    Something inside me began to hurt. I dropped my head and didn’t answer.
    ‘Okay,’ my father said. ‘That part I understand. He has the sense not to take it further.’
    I nodded without looking up.
    He raised the butterfly sword. ‘But why this?’ He gestured with it towards my short sword. ‘Why do you have these things? That sword you have there could kill somebody.’
    I glanced up. ‘I’ve never used it on a single human being and I hope I never will.’
    ‘Well, then,’ he said, ‘why?’
    I lifted the sword and brushed the gold tassel on the end of the hilt. I’d never really looked at it closely before; to me it was just my weapon. The hilt was made of silver alloy, engraved with entwined serpent-like creatures. Quite fitting for Xuan Wu. Shame there were no turtles on it.
    ‘Mr Chen is a martial arts instructor, and he’s been teaching me.’
    ‘Is he involved in the underworld there?’ my father said quickly.
    I looked him straight in the eyes. ‘No.’ My mother sagged with relief.
    ‘So why do you have so many lethal weapons on you?’ Alan said.
    ‘Purely to practise with.’ I took another deep breath. ‘Mr Chen is very wealthy and that makes Simone a target. She already has a bodyguard—’
    ‘The little girl has a bodyguard ?’ my mother said with disbelief.
    ‘Quite normal for the child of a wealthy family in Hong Kong,’ I said. ‘I’ve been learning as well, just in case—’
    ‘You are coming home right now,’ my mother said. ‘I won’t have you in danger.’
    ‘The weapons stay at home. I’m mainly learning them because I like it.’
    ‘You like it?’ my mother said.
    I nodded. I smiled slightly and shrugged. ‘It’s great fun.’
    ‘What does this Chen man do for a living, Emma?’ my father said. ‘He’s teaching you martial arts, he’s wealthy. What’s his profession?’
    I took a deep breath. I could almost hear the wheels rattle as I rolled the story out. ‘He does government work.’
    ‘ Government work?’
    ‘Some administration, some management. He used to do fieldwork too, but nothing like that since Simone was born.’
    ‘Good God, the man’s a spy ?’ Alan said. ‘For China?’ ‘Something like that. But not China. A much higher government than China.’
    ‘A spy ?’ my mother said weakly.
    ‘Not really a spy,’ I said. ‘Just government work. He spends most of his time in front of the computer, and teaching martial arts.’
    ‘And?’ Alan said.
    ‘And that’s all.’
    ‘Are you in danger, Emma?’ my father said softly.
    I hesitated. Was I in danger? The demons didn’t know I was trained, so I wasn’t a target yet.
    ‘Right now,’ I said, ‘no.’
    ‘“Right now”?’ my father asked.
    ‘Right now I’m not in danger. As long as I don’t do anything stupid, I won’t be.’
    ‘Well, it’s obvious there’s a lot here that you’re not telling us, but I suppose we’ll just have to take your word for it.’ My father’s stern face relaxed a little. ‘I’m just glad this guy has the sense not to lead you on when he only has such a short time left.’
    ‘He really is a wonderful man.’
    ‘I am coming to Hong Kong to see this “wonderful man” for myself, as soon as I can get myself organised.’ My father passed the butterfly sword to me. ‘Make sure the kids don’t get their hands on these.’
    ‘I’ll put them at the top of the wardrobe in my room,’ I said.
    ‘Now let’s have lunch,’ my father said. ‘You keep complaining you can’t get a decent barbecue back there, so I have it all fired up and ready for you.’
    ‘About time somebody said something worthwhile!’ I cried with delight.
    ‘Can you give us a martial arts demonstration, Emma?’ Alan said, his eyes sparkling.
    ‘Do I have to?’ I whined like a four-year-old, and everybody laughed.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
    W e sat in the backyard while Dad and Alan handled the cooking. Mark and David ran around the yard screaming something about Ninja Turtles.
    Eventually Mark charged up to me and grabbed my leg. ‘Teach me nunchucks!’ ‘No,’ I said. ‘Aw,