White Tiger

toilet,’ she gasped. ‘In a hurry !’ She ran into the downstairs bathroom, Ah Yat racing to follow her.
    I went upstairs and left them to it. Leo was in the upstairs bathroom; the Tiger had landed him in the bath. His eyes were open but he didn’t seem to be focusing on anything. I fell to my knees next to him and took his hand. It was ice-cold.
    Simone started to wail downstairs. It had caught up with her. I was still completely calm; in fact so calm I was surprised at myself.
    Leo cast around, unseeing. ‘Emma? Simone?’
    ‘It’s me, Leo. Everything’s okay.’
    I pulled at his polo shirt; the demon stuff had soaked through onto his skin. ‘Lean forward, you’re covered in demon stuff. I need to wash you off.’
    He tried to do as I asked, but he could hardly move. ‘Hurry, Emma, it’s burning.’
    ‘You’ll need to help me, you’re too big. Raise your arms.’ I carefully removed the shirt, trying not to touch the burn on the back of his head.
    He grimaced. ‘What happened to my head?’
    I turned on the water and checked the temperature; he didn’t need to be scalded on top of everything else. ‘Don’t worry about that, let’s just get this demon stuff off you.’
    I washed his chest down; fortunately the demon stuff came free under the water and rinsed away. ‘Lean back, let’s get these pants off.’
    After all the demon stuff was gone, I pushed him forward to check his head. He seemed to be focusing better and able to see me, but his face was rigid with pain. The demon had hit him slightly to one side. It looked bad. The wound was scorched around the edges, and there appeared to be bone shining through in the middle. I hissed under my breath.
    I dried him off with a towel. He made an effort to help me, but could still barely move.
    ‘Are you ready in there?’ the Tiger called from outside.
    ‘All done,’ I said.
    ‘Hey, put a towel around me first,’ Leo said.
    I threw a towel to cover him just as he disappeared. I rushed out of the bathroom and nearly ran into Bai Hu. He caught me before I fell.
    ‘How’s John?’ I asked.
    ‘I’ve put him in his room. I managed to restore some of his energy, so he’ll be okay until you see the Lady next. He should see her within the next three to four months though. That was the best I could do. I’ll be out of action for a while—my women will be very upset.’
    ‘A little restraint never hurt anyone,’ I shot back.
    We went into Leo’s room together. Leo was lying on the bed, staring grimly at the ceiling. I quickly pulled the covers over him and removed the damp towel.
    ‘Thanks, Emma.’
    The Tiger levered Leo onto his side to examine the burn. ‘He should go to Hong Kong for treatment.’
    ‘John’s too weak to provide blood to heal him, isn’t he?’ I said.
    The Tiger glanced at me. ‘He’s done that before?’ I nodded.
    ‘And it worked?’ I nodded again.
    The Tiger studied Leo appraisingly. ‘Interesting. Not a good idea, though, unless he’s near death. If you gave him the Turtle’s blood when the injuries are not mortal, the blood itself could kill him. Do you still have that feather the Phoenix gave you?’
    ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘It’s in my room.’
    ‘Run and get it,’ Bai Hu said.
    He didn’t move to take the feather when I returned. ‘I’m not capable, I’m too drained. You will have to do it.’
    ‘What do I do?’
    ‘Fill the feather with chi and run it over the wound.’ He raised Leo to sit upright and held him around the shoulders. ‘All right, my friend?’
    Leo grunted but his face was taut with agony. He grimaced. ‘Is Simone okay? She’s crying her lungs out downstairs.’
    ‘Nervous exhaustion,’ the Tiger said. ‘She needs to have a really good cry, then she’ll feel better. It’s a shame she had to see the bodies. That must have been a shock for her.’
    Leo turned his head slightly. ‘Bodies?’
    ‘Don’t worry, my friend.’
    ‘Is Mr Chen okay, Emma?’
    ‘Mr Chen is fine.’
    I held the feather about halfway along and loaded it with chi. It seemed to hold the energy the same way my sword did, and glowed with a rainbow radiance just at the edge of vision. I touched the end of the feather to the edge of the burn. I expected Leo to flinch, but he relaxed and smiled instead. ‘That feels really good.’
    I moved with more confidence and watched in amazement as the feather healed the burn. Fresh new skin of a slightly lighter colour grew where the burnhad been. I ran the