White Tiger

feather completely over the wound, and it was as if the burn had never been there. Leo closed his eyes and relaxed into the Tiger’s arms, smiling.
    I withdrew the energy from the feather. Less chi came out of it than went in, and the colours had faded. This was obviously a destructive process for the feather.
    ‘Are you drained, my Lady?’ Bai Hu said. ‘You seem fine.’
    ‘It’s used about a third of my chi, but I’ll live.’
    Bai Hu ran his hands down Leo’s arms and took his hands. He closed his eyes and concentrated, then snapped back. ‘You should have told us how bad it was, my friend.’
    Leo didn’t say anything.
    ‘Move forward, I need to sit behind you,’ the Tiger said. ‘The poison is in your blood. We’ll need to force it out.’
    He crawled onto the bed to sit cross-legged behind Leo. ‘Look, you have me where you wanted me.’
    Leo didn’t smile at the quip. He leaned heavily against me as I held him upright. He was obviously having trouble staying conscious.
    The Tiger dropped his head and concentrated. Ah Yat came in with a large bowl, passed it to me, then quickly went out.
    ‘Hold it in front. To catch it when he spits,’ the Tiger said. He put his hands on Leo’s bare back. His face went rigid. Then he pulled his hands slightly away and performed a lightning-fast set of chi gong moves. I recognised them: internal energy manipulation. The final move was to hit Leo hard on the back with both hands.
    Leo’s head snapped back and then forward, and he spat a cupful of blackened blood into the bowl. The Tiger lowered his head. ‘More.’
    He hit Leo again, and again Leo spat blood. This time it was redder.
    The Tiger levered himself off the bed and gently lowered Leo. ‘That should do it.’
    I put the bowl to one side and pulled the covers back over Leo. He’d already fallen asleep, his face childlike and innocent. I touched his forehead and kissed him on the cheek.
    I turned to Bai Hu and clasped his hands. ‘Thank you so much, Tiger. For everything. Let’s go and check on Xuan Wu.’
    ‘You go,’ the Tiger said. ‘Ah Wu will be fine. I need to fix up my horsemen downstairs. Tell everybody to stay inside until I’ve finished. It’s a big mess out there.’
    ‘I know,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry about your men.’
    ‘You are quite remarkable, you know that?’ he said. ‘You’ve remained perfectly calm through all of this.’
    I shook my head. ‘I know. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I should be freaking out. I walked right past all those bodies and didn’t even flinch.’
    ‘How did you get away from the demon?’
    ‘A bigger demon helped us escape,’ I said. ‘Looks like we were pawns in demon politics.’
    Bai Hu left me at the door of John’s room.
    ‘Emma, he can’t drain you while he’s asleep. You’ll be able to touch him. Take care if he wakes, though.’
    My heart twisted.
    His face was peaceful as he slept. I quietly pulled a chair over to sit next to him.
    His hand was resting on the covers. I touched it. He didn’t move, so I took it, and held it in mine. His skin was smooth and cool. I ran my finger along the prominent veins and rubbed my calluses against his. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Maybe one day we really would be a matched set.
    I held my breath and touched his face. He grimaced, but didn’t wake. I ran my fingers down the side of his face and he smiled slightly.
    I raised his hand and put it on my cheek.
    I wondered where the Serpent was, and why it had disappeared. Was it jealous of Michelle? How could it be? They were the same creature. A snake and a turtle combined. He was so weird. The other three were nearly normal compared to him.
    And what had happened when the demon pushed into my head? Something huge and dark had thrust it out. John hadn’t seen it when he’d looked inside me. What was it? It had been a frightening feeling; as if I could have destroyed everything around me, and worse, enjoyed it.
    I would talk to him about it later. He would know what to do.
    His hand squeezed mine and drew away. I looked down into his dark eyes. ‘Go, Emma. You are very precious to me and I hate the thought of hurting you. Let me rest, then we’ll go home.’
    I went out without saying a word. Words weren’t necessary.
    Simone and Ah Yat were sitting on the couch in the upstairs hallway. Ah Yat had showered Simone and changed her bloodied clothes. Simone was in Ah Yat’s lap, her head on the demon’s chest, her