White Tiger

bargain.’
    ‘Do we have a deal?’
    ‘Tell Simone to stay put and not interfere, and we have a deal.’
    I turned to Simone. ‘Stay right there and don’t do anything, Simone. He wants to kiss me before he takes us out. Don’t look, okay?’
    ‘Daddy won’t like that.’
    ‘I hope he has the chance to be jealous.’ I turned back to the demon. ‘Do it.’
    His eyes were very intense. ‘You have to kiss me like you mean it.’
    ‘Whatever. Get us out, let us go. Okay?’
    He moved his face right into mine. ‘Okay,’ he breathed against my mouth, then closed the gap.
    His hands slipped down my back and pulled me into him. He opened his mouth and his tongue flicked against my lips.
    My hands were limp by my sides; he took them and put them onto his back.
    ‘Relax into it, Emma,’ he whispered into my mouth. ‘Do it right, or I won’t take you anywhere. Do it like you mean it.’
    I wanted Simone out of there. I pulled him into me, opened my mouth and put everything I had into it.
    He moaned and thrust gently against me, then pulled away slightly to speak. ‘Sure you don’t want more?’
    ‘I’m sure.’
    ‘Shame,’ he said. ‘Every human woman I’ve ever had has said I’m absolutely the best.’
    ‘You going to take us out now?’ I whispered.
    ‘One more,’ he said, and closed his mouth on mine again.
    He stopped kissing me and went still. Then he thrust his consciousness into me, like a black dagger between my eyes. He held me, his mouth on mine, and raided my brain. What John had done gently he did with brutal force. He wrenched my soul open and examined it.
    I struggled to fight him, but my body and my mind were in a vice; I couldn’t move anything.
    Something huge, dark and fierce erupted from the base of my skull. It coiled through my brain, surrounded him and thrust him out roughly. It slammed the door in his face.
    He released me and staggered back, stricken. ‘What the hell was that?’
    I was three times bigger, three times darker and three times more ready to kill. I grinned at him. ‘Me.’
    He flopped to sit on the floor and stared up at me.
    I leaned over him. ‘Now you have to take us out.’
    ‘Sure, Emma, whatever you say.’ He shook his head. ‘Give me a moment. Whatever that was, it was powerful.’
    The dark thing receded and I sank to the floor as well. I put my head in my hands as I felt a moment of dizziness; then my vision cleared. ‘What was that?’
    ‘That was the first time that thing has come out?’
    I shook my head, trying to clear it. ‘Yes.’
    ‘Hm,’ he said, studying me. ‘Maybe it was me.’
    I didn’t have time to worry about it. ‘Just take us out of here.’
    He rose and held out his hand.
    I pulled myself up without his help, and leaned against the wall.
    ‘You are something extremely special,’ he said.
    He turned to Simone. ‘Come on, sweetheart, I’ll take you out.’
    Simone sidled towards us. ‘Are you okay, Emma?’
    ‘I’m okay,’ I said, and we were in the street again.
    It was the wild animal market in Guangzhou. We were in front of the frog stall. A man held a wriggling frog on a chopping board, sliced down the middle of its back, turned it inside out and ripped its legs off. He threw the wriggling front end into a bamboo waste basket and added the skinned hind legs to a pile at the side of the chopping board. An elderly Chinese woman watched carefully as he did it.
    The demon eyed the basket of frog heads with fascination. Then he shook himself and grinned at me. ‘Maybe later.’
    ‘Doesn’t that hurt them?’ Simone said.
    ‘No, sweetheart, they’re only low animals, they don’t feel anything,’ the demon said.
    ‘Don’t lie to her,’ I said. ‘Of course it hurts them, Simone.’
    ‘Is that why you wouldn’t eat frogs’ legs?’ ‘Yes.’
    ‘It’s wrong,’ Simone said. ‘They should cut the poor frogs’ heads off before they do it.’
    ‘You are teaching her too much of your soft Western ways, Emma,’ the demon said. He gestured. ‘Come with me. I’ll take you to your house demons.’
    ‘Is Daddy okay?’ Simone said.
    ‘Everybody is just fine,’ the demon said. ‘Leo has been injured, but he’ll live.’ He smiled. ‘It seems thatLeo is always putting himself in harm’s way for you. All of you.’
    The pavement was slick with blood and water as the stall holders hosed it down. We passed stalls selling meat from animals of all types. Regular poultry stalls killed chickens, ducks,