White Tiger

keep,’ I growled.
    ‘My Lady,’ Leo said with delight.
    ‘Oh, cut it out.’
    John concentrated. Ah Sum and Ah Say came in. They looked like ordinary middle-aged Chinese men.
    ‘We require a volunteer,’ John said. ‘The ladies need to learn binding. You know how dangerous this can be, so I will not order you to do it. Volunteers only, step forward.’
    Both of them stepped forward.
    ‘Ah Sum,’ John said.
    Ah Say’s face fell.
    ‘Ah Sum is larger, he will be more difficult to bind. You will have your chance tomorrow, Ah Say,’ John said. ‘We will be doing spotting tomorrow morning, and I will need you strong. Ah Sum, stay. Ah Say, dismissed.’
    Ah Say bowed and went out.
    I rose. ‘Let’s go.’
    Gold took us to the lawn beside the tennis court. Ah Sum stood patiently as Gold explained the technique to me.
    ‘I’ll show you the simplest way to bind demons,’ Gold said. ‘It’s a two-step process. First, you check how much chi the demon has. Then you take out the chi; just over half. Less than that, the demon won’t be bound; more than that and the demon will be destroyed. If you take out the right amount of chi then the demon is so weak that you can control it. To release the demon, return the chi.’
    ‘That’s not what John does,’ I said. ‘I’ve seen him release the demons that are bound in the jar, and he doesn’t give them chi.’
    ‘There are a number of different ways to bind demons,’ Gold said. ‘The Dark Lord can’t give them chi; he doesn’t have enough.’ He smiled and shook his head.
    ‘What?’
    ‘It will take me a while to become accustomed to the idea of anybody calling him “John”.’
    I opened my mouth to ask what Michelle had called him, but changed my mind. Simone was next to me.
    ‘Does that mean that Daddy can draw energy out of demons?’ Simone said. ‘Why doesn’t he do that when he’s so drained?’
    ‘To him, the amount of chi in most demons is like a grain of rice to a starving man,’ Gold said. ‘If he wereto drain a demon, he could drain all those around him as well. He is so weak that if he were to start the drain, there is a good chance he could not control it.’ ‘Oh,’ Simone said.
    I put my arm around her shoulders. ‘Don’t worry, Simone, he could never drain you. He loves you far too much.’
    Simone stood silently.
    ‘Is the chi inside demons the same as ours?’ I said. ‘It looks different.’
    ‘It is different. Well done. Demons have dark energy, dark chi. It is similar to ours; we can absorb it and manipulate it once we have taken it.’
    ‘So the black goo isn’t their essence?’
    ‘No, their essence is the breath of life, same as ours. But most demons are not really alive.’
    ‘Do you have the same sort of chi, Master Gold?’ Ah Sum said.
    ‘Similar in many aspects, Ah Sum,’ Gold said, grinning. He raised one hand. ‘We’ll never get there if we keep talking like this. Let’s try binding. Hold my hand, Lady Simone, and I’ll demonstrate.’
    Simone moved forward and took his hand.
    Ah Sum took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
    ‘Don’t worry, Ah Sum, I won’t let them hurt you,’ Gold said.
    ‘I thank you, my Lord, but I am deeply honoured anyway,’ Ah Sum said.
    Simone concentrated as Gold did something. Ah Sum’s eyes widened, then he went rigid and his eyes glazed over.
    ‘Returning,’ Gold said.
    Ah Sum relaxed and smiled.
    ‘Now you,’ Gold said, still holding Simone’s hand. Simone dropped her head slightly and stared at Ah Sum. Ah Sum’s smile froze. Then he relaxed.
    ‘Oh, very good, my Lady, right first time,’ Gold said. ‘Try again.’
    Ah Sum froze and unfroze again.
    ‘Do it three or four times,’ Gold said, releasing Simone’s hand, ‘then you can rest. Well done.’
    Simone practised the skill a few times on Ah Sum.
    ‘That is very impressive, my Lady,’ Ah Sum said.
    ‘Thanks, Ah Sum, but it’s easy.’ Simone stepped back. ‘Your go, Emma.’
    I moved forward and took Gold’s hand.
    He blushed furiously. Chinese tradition for a long time held that men and women didn’t touch unless they were married. He was being ridiculously old-fashioned.
    ‘Give it a rest, Gold,’ I said. ‘You’re far too young for me anyway.’
    ‘I am one thousand, three hundred and fifty-eight years old,’ he said stiffly.
    ‘See? Far too young,’ I said, and he laughed softly. ‘Show me what to do.’
    I concentrated as I held his hand and watched what he did. He seemed to