White Tiger

excited voices in the hall and glanced at Mr Chen.
    ‘Go and see,’ he said.
    I went out to the large tiled entry at the base of the stairs and stopped. It was Jade and Gold.
    I embraced Jade, then released her to quickly hug Gold and kiss him on the cheek.
    ‘I missed you guys so much!’ I said. ‘Welcome home! A lot’s happened while you’ve been gone.’
    Simone jumped up and down, clutching Gold’s hand. ‘You’re back you’re back you’re back!’
    ‘Let me go, Simone,’ Gold said. ‘We need to pay our respects first.’
    ‘Go, quickly,’ Simone said, releasing his hand and pushing him on the behind. They went into the dining room and we followed.
    Mr Chen stood next to the wall, waiting for them. They fell to their knees and touched their foreheads to the floor. ‘Wan sui, wan sui, wan wan sui.’ ‘Hei sun.’
    Jade and Gold rose, then bowed and saluted again. ‘Xuan Tian Shang Di.’
    Mr Chen nodded back, then all three of them relaxed.
    ‘Come into my office, there is something we need to discuss.’ Mr Chen shot me a quick smile as he led them out.
    They were gone for about fifteen minutes, then Mr Chen returned by himself. ‘Where are they?’ I said.
    ‘They’ve both gone to the Mountain to check the damage,’ Mr Chen said. ‘They’re the first Celestials to return, they can report for me. They’ll be back tomorrow with some paperwork for us, and Gold will stay to help with your energy work.’
    ‘Hey, I wanted to talk to Jade,’ I said. ‘When will we have a chance to catch up?’
    ‘I know how you two talk when you’re together,’ Mr Chen said, returning to his congee. ‘You’ll get your chance.’
    Simone giggled. ‘Yeah, you and Jade talk non-stop.’ ‘We’re not that bad,’ I huffed.
    Mr Chen and Simone shared a look, then both grinned.
    The next morning Jade and Gold spent another half hour in Mr Chen’s office. Then Jade disappeared, and Gold and Mr Chen took us out to the large open field next to the house for advanced energy training. Leo tagged along to watch.
    ‘Let me demonstrate first,’ Gold said. He generated a ball of chi about the size of a tennis ball and threw itinto the ground. A series of explosions went off along the ground for about three hundred metres. The chi sailed out of the ground with a huge blast that scattered dirt everywhere and raced back to Gold. He caught it easily.
    ‘Any demon on the ground anywhere near the line of the blast will be destroyed,’ he said. ‘You need to angle the chi so that it will travel just under the ground; if the angle is too steep it will be swallowed by the earth and you’ll lose it.’
    Simone and I listened carefully.
    ‘Start with a small amount of chi, ladies,’ Gold said. ‘You could easily lose it. Use about this much.’ He generated a ball of chi about the size of a golf ball. ‘Princess Simone, you first.’
    Simone made a little ball of chi, gathered herself and threw it into the ground.
    Nothing happened.
    ‘Lost it,’ Gold said. ‘Are you all right, my Lady?’ ‘I’m okay,’ Simone said. ‘Let me try again.’ ‘If you become too drained then we will stop,’ Gold said.
    Simone nodded. She generated another ball of chi, then hesitated, concentrating. She took her time and lined it up carefully. Then she released the chi into the ground.
    A few small bursts erupted for about five metres, then the chi popped out of the ground, swooped towards her and hit her hard. She staggered but didn’t fall.
    ‘Careful. When it returns it will be coming fast. Try to slow it as much as you can. Lady Simone should rest for a while. Lady Emma, your turn.’
    ‘Good one, Gold,’ Leo said.
    ‘I’m not joking,’ Gold said. He gestured towards me. ‘Lady Emma.’
    ‘What?’ Leo said.
    ‘I’m not Lady anything, Gold,’ I said, confused.
    Gold looked to Mr Chen for guidance.
    Both Leo and I turned to Mr Chen as well.
    ‘We will discuss this later,’ Mr Chen said. He looked sheepish. ‘Sorry.’
    I suddenly understood what was going on. ‘You’ll keep.’ I nodded to Gold to indicate that I was ready. I generated a small ball of chi and hesitated. I carefully angled it towards the ground, lined it up, and released it.
    A few small bangs erupted from the ground. The chi popped out with a satisfying roar about ten metres away, then sped back to me. I had to concentrate hard to slow it before it hit me, and caught it with a tremendous feeling of triumph. I had it.
    They all burst