White Tiger

that’s why he calls her Mercy.’
    ‘Yes. It’s not her name, it’s what she is .’
    I decided to give him some rope and see where the story went. ‘Okay, so she’s a goddess. And he thinks he’s Xuan Tian Shang Di.’
    Leo nearly dropped his coffee. ‘ What ?’
    ‘Dark Lord of the Northern Heavens,’ I said. ‘Zhen Wu, Chen Wu, Xuan Wu. God of Martial Arts. Always wears black. Controls water. The Cheung Chau Bun Festival is held for him. Pak Tai.’
    Leo was obviously astonished. ‘How the hell do you know all that?’
    ‘Oh, come on , Leo, both of you deliberately left those books in my room. And I got curious and did some research. It’s obvious that he thinks he’s a god.’
    ‘No thinking about it. He really is a god, Emma. Believe me.’
    I leaned forward and spoke fiercely. ‘Why should I?’
    He snorted. ‘Don’t think I didn’t believe it either when I first joined them. Didn’t take him long to prove it to me though; he just showed me his True Form and then did some unbelievable things with water and…’ He hesitated, searching for the words. ‘Some of the stuff he can do is like magic.’
    ‘His True Form?’
    ‘This form, the human form, is only temporary. He has a True Form that he’d prefer to use most of the time. But back to the topic. If I could prove it to you, would you believe me?’
    ‘Sure, go for it. Let’s see something truly godly,’ I said, my voice thick with derision.
    He rose and went out without saying another word.
    Before I had a chance to react, he was back with Ms Kwan, who sat next to me. Leo sat on the other side.
    ‘How to prove to Emma?’ Ms Kwan said. ‘How did he prove to Michelle?’
    ‘He showed her his True Form,’ Leo said. ‘Animal, not Celestial. It completely freaked her out and she hid in her room for two hours, crying. I had to go in and console her, she was nearly hysterical. She made him promise not to do it again.’
    ‘He always was one for making foolish promises,’ Ms Kwan said.
    ‘Animal?’ I said, and hesitated. Then, ‘You think he’s an animal ? What the hell sort of animal is he?’
    ‘Trust me,’ Leo said. ‘You really do not want to know.’
    ‘It wasn’t that bad, was it, Leo?’ Ms Kwan said. ‘He didn’t even have the Serpent then.’ ‘ Serpent ?’
    Leo ignored me. ‘It was pretty bad, Ms Kwan. Freaked me out too. To tell the truth, I’m glad he can’t do it now.’
    ‘So I must,’ Ms Kwan said. She rose and moved to the end of the room. She gazed compassionately at me. ‘Do not be afraid. I will not harm you.’
    I opened my mouth to say something sarcastic and stopped. She was glowing. A gentle white light was emanating from her. Then she grew. She spread and rose and her pantsuit turned into flowing white robes, with a hood over her shining mass of hair. She was nearly ten feet tall. Her face changed into a beatific mask of serenity. She was the image of the statue at Repulse Bay.
    No way; had to be an illusion.
    No illusion, she said straight into my ear, her beautiful face not moving. Approach, Emma Donahoe.
    I rose and walked towards her. As I moved nearer, a warm feeling of comfort filled me.
    ‘You’re not frightened, Emma?’ Leo said behind me.
    ‘No,’ I said, turning to look at him. ‘Should I be?’
    Leo didn’t say anything so I turned back to her. She held her hand out and I took it in mine. The feeling of comfort spread and filled me until I thought I would overflow. She was vast and wide and wonderful; compassion and help and mercy.
    I sighed with bliss.
    ‘It’s real,’ Leo whispered behind me. ‘She’s Kwan Yin.’
    ‘It could just be an illusion,’ I said. ‘Or you could have hypnotised me.’
    She shrank and pulled inwards and the glow disappeared. My eyes went blurry and she became an ordinary graceful Chinese woman again. She held both her hands out, palms up, and a glowing ball of pure silvery energy appeared above them, about the size of a volleyball. The energy floated towards me and I inhaled sharply and backed away.
    ‘Do not fear it. It will help you,’ she said.
    It took all my courage to stand still while the ball of glowing energy approached me. As it neared I felt her consciousness inside it and relaxed. It was as wonderful as she was. I reached out tentatively to touch it, then looked to Ms Kwan for confirmation.
    ‘Touch it,’ she said.
    I moved my hand carefully towards it. When my fingertips brushed the energy, the charge jumped across to