White Tiger

loves him. You can’t send him away, it will break her heart.’
    ‘I know.’ Mr Chen took a few steps and stood over Leo. ‘Tell Simone, pack your belongings and leave.’
    Leo’s head shot up. ‘No.’
    ‘You can’t do this,’ I whispered. ‘He’s the best man for the job. Nobody else would be as dedicated as he is.’
    Mr Chen didn’t appear to hear me. ‘Tell Simone. Go.’
    Leo shook his head. ‘Please don’t make me tell her.’
    Mr Chen sighed. ‘If you want to go, then you must be the one to tell her. I won’t.’ His voice softened. ‘Emma’s right. If you were to go, it would break her heart.’
    Leo gazed up at Mr Chen. ‘Will you fire me if I don’t resign?’
    Mr Chen smiled grimly. ‘Of course not. You are the best man for the job.’ He backed away slightly to see both of us. ‘Leo, you are the most talented student I have had in nearly fifty years. Better even than Li. He would have had the edge over you in speed because of his small size, but in all other aspects you are his superior.’
    Leo watched Mr Chen silently for a while, then dropped his head. ‘I withdraw my resignation. This will not happen again.’
    ‘It had better not,’ Mr Chen said. ‘This is done and finished. It will not be mentioned again. Return to your duties.’ He started towards the door.
    ‘Wait!’ I said. Mr Chen stopped.
    I pulled myself to my feet. ‘I didn’t know about letting demons in. I didn’t know how to help defend Simone.’ I spoke more fiercely. ‘You have to tell me what I need to know! Stop keeping me in the dark. Teach me. Teach me about the demons. Teach me martial arts. I want to help!’
    Mr Chen watched me silently for a while, then glanced at Leo.
    Leo rose as well. ‘It’s a good idea, my Lord. Teach her.’
    I walked up to Mr Chen and glared into his face. ‘Teach me!’
    His expression softened slightly. Then his face hardened and he turned away. ‘No.’ He stalked out.
    I rounded on Leo. ‘Why not? Is it because I’m a woman?’
    Leo smiled slightly. ‘Of course not.’ He went out the door and looked down the hallway after Mr Chen. ‘Leave it with me. I’ll talk to him. Be patient—it may take a while.’
    ‘Whatever,’ I said.
    He smiled. ‘You know what you said about being crazy?’
    ‘Yeah, I’m a complete nutcase.’
    ‘You’re not the only one,’ he said, and headed after Mr Chen.
    Life settled into its usual routine, but with some slight differences now we were back from Paris and I was in on the Big Secret. More people came and went, and although some of them appeared to be perfectly normal Chinese, others were remarkable.
    Mr Chen occasionally pulled all-nighters playing mah jong very loudly with a variety of unsavourycharacters that Leo assured me were Chinese demigods. Sometimes the games would go for more than two nights straight and Leo would go into Intense Disapproval Mode, sulking and glowering around the house for hours.
    Jade’s dislike for me seemed to intensify, if that were possible. She went from cold to glacial.
    The students who came to learn from Mr Chen were now given permission to talk to me, and their stories were fascinating.
    A pair of teenage Chinese boys arrived shortly after we returned from Paris. I quizzed them during Simone’s violin lesson. Their names were Zhou and Ling.
    ‘Your English is wonderful,’ I said. ‘Where did you learn?’
    Both of them grinned. ‘Nowhere,’ Ling said. ‘Neither of us can speak English.’
    I waved one hand at them. ‘But…but…’
    Their grins didn’t shift. ‘Living in the Dark Lord’s household gives you certain privileges. You can understand any language while you’re here.’
    ‘But I can’t understand much Cantonese out on the street,’ I said.
    ‘Only in the household,’ Zhou said.
    ‘Did he bring you in from China then? Are you both from China?’
    ‘Both of us are from China. I’m from Fujian, Ling is from Shanghai,’ Zhou said.
    ‘What happens with the light? Sometimes there’s a bright light in the training room. Is that him or you?’
    They shared a look. ‘We can’t talk about that, sorry,’ Ling said. ‘Orders.’
    I nodded, understanding. I didn’t want to get them into trouble.
    Both of them stiffened and their eyes glazed over, then they snapped back and their smiles returned.
    ‘Talk to you later,’ Ling said. They dropped their plates into the sink and went out.
    I left Simone in the music room for her piano lesson and wandered