White Tiger

Ah Yat trailing behind.
    ‘You know what’s happening, Simone?’ I said.
    ‘I know, Emma.’ She sounded unsure. ‘There’s an awful lot of them.’
    At the top of the stairs I turned to Ah Yat. ‘Lock up the house, and then all four of you head down to the city.’
    ‘We will stay and help you defend, my Lady.’ ‘Do as you’re told!’ I shouted. ‘That’s an order!’ She bowed and disappeared.
    The upstairs hallway was the perfect place for a defensive stand. It was more like a room than a hall; it had a comfortable couch, a television, and many of Simone’s toys strewn around on the floor. Simone used it as a playroom during the day. Leo and I kicked the toys to the side, clearing a space. The hall had a large picture window overlooking the lawn. We could see the Tiger, John and the grooms standing there, waiting.
    A flurry of bangs and crashes echoed through the house as the demons locked up.
    ‘Only our demons so far, Simone?’ ‘Yes, Emma.’
    Ah Sum came out of one of the upstairs bedrooms and bowed. ‘All secure, my Lady.’ ‘Good. Go.’
    He hesitated, then came to me and quickly embraced me; then Simone, kissing her on the cheek. ‘Defend them, Lion.’
    ‘I will,’ Leo said gruffly.
    Ah Sum disappeared. The other three demons appeared at the bottom of the stairs, bowed to us, and disappeared as well.
    ‘All our demons are gone now, Emma,’ Simone said.
    ‘How far away are the other ones?’
    ‘They’ll be here soon. Daddy shouldn’t be fighting them, he’s too weak.’
    ‘That’s why they’re here, sweetheart,’ Leo said. ‘They want to get him while he’s weak. If he was strong, they wouldn’t have a hope.’
    ‘They don’t have a hope anyway, Simone.’ A rush of cold fury went through me. ‘Your dad is the best there is. He has the Tiger with him. The demons don’t have a hope.’
    Simone nodded, her little face serious.
    ‘Same formation as before, Emma?’ Leo said.
    ‘Yeah, I think so. You’re still much better than me at hand-to-hand.’
    ‘If you’re going to throw energy, for God’s sake let me know and I’ll get out of the way,’ he said with grim humour.
    ‘Me too,’ Simone said. ‘I can do it too. I want to help.’
    ‘I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Simone.’ Simone hesitated and watched me.
    Let her, John said. Let her help if she wants. Keep her to the rear, she can be a last resort. His voice changed slightly. Lion. If it comes to that, you know what to do.
    ‘My Lord,’ Leo whispered.
    ‘What?’
    ‘I don’t know, Emma,’ Simone said. ‘It’s something with Daddy and Leo.’
    ‘Tell your dad to tell Emma,’ Leo said.
    Sorry, Emma. If it comes to that, if Leo goes down and it looks like Simone is in danger, tell them they can have my head.
    ‘No!’ I shouted.
    Oh. And if you destroy them with chi, be careful. If you kill too many demons with chi, you could overload yourself with their energy and explode. Take care, love.
    ‘Simone, could you pass this on to your dad? Thank you. You will definitely keep for that one.’
    His voice chuckled in my ear. Sorry. I hope you have the chance to tell me off.
    ‘Here they come,’ Simone said.
    There are about twenty-four dogs, twelve worms, ten or so humanoids, and a Demon Prince that I would very much like to see the back of.
    We moved into position, Leo in front of me and Simone behind me. We stood silently and waited.
    ‘I love you, Daddy,’ Simone whispered.
    I love you too. All of you. My family. We can do this.
    Bring it on, the Tiger growled in my ear. I want that bastard.
    Leo made a soft sound, readied himself, and then went still.
    ‘They’re here,’ Simone whispered a few minutes later. I checked through the window. It was a carnival of horrors.
    The dog demons looked like ordinary brown farm dogs, but their faces were split into huge unnatural grins. They shot fire out of their mouths. The warriors on the lawn seemed to be able to deflect the fire, except John. He had to dodge the blasts; he was very weak compared to even the grooms.
    The giant worms were shining black with a coating of slime, which they left in a revolting toxic trail. They were slower than the dogs. I’d faced these before, from the demon jar: I had to cut them into many tiny pieces to kill them. If I left them in large bits, they would continue to come at me, still spitting poison. The best way to deal with them was to blow them up with chi.
    The ten-foot-tall humanoids wore armour