White Tiger

shoulder.
    ‘If it’s all the same, I’d rather stay with you,’ I said.
    He nodded, paid the ticket and we returned to the car. I pulled myself into the passenger side and he took off before I’d closed my door properly, the wheels of the Mercedes squealing on the concrete.
    ‘Any way to know if they’re all right?’ I said as we dodged through the traffic and merged onto the overpass to take us back up to the Peak.
    ‘Not really,’ Mr Chen said. ‘If he’s attacked, Leo won’t have time to call me.’
    ‘You think the demon will try for Simone?’
    He stared at the road silently for a while. Then, ‘I think it will. It is strong. It’s killed many of its nest mates. It’s studied on my Mountain for two years.’ He thumped the steering wheel with his palm. ‘That demon has been on my Mountain ! Every single Master there has a great deal of explaining to do. Some of them are Immortals, and they should have recognised it.’ He froze, his eyes unfocused.
    I could see what had happened from his face. ‘Is she okay?’
    ‘Yes. Leo is down. Gold is injured.’ He floored the accelerator and we raced up to the Peak. When we got to the apartment building, he didn’t wait for the security guards to open the big gates, hejust parked the car in the middle of the drive and ran through the pedestrian entrance.
    He stopped in the lift lobby. ‘I’m going directly up. Stay here. I’ll send someone down to get you when it’s safe.’ He lowered his head and disappeared.
    ‘Oh no you won’t,’ I said, and pressed the button for the lift.
    The front door was hanging open when I arrived at the top-floor lift lobby. I raced into the apartment and stopped.
    Mr Chen was kneeling next to Leo’s body in the middle of the living room. Simone stood behind her father, her little face pale and streaked with tears. When she saw me she ran and threw herself at me. I held her.
    ‘It hurt Gold. It hurt my Leo,’ she sobbed, shoving her wet face into my neck.
    I moved forward to see, and stopped dead. Leo lay on his back on the carpet, covered in blood. I fell onto my knees next to Mr Chen and pulled Simone down to sit in my lap. The front of Leo’s shirt was saturated with dark blood and his laboured breathing bubbled. Blood soaked the carpet around him.
    ‘Have you called an ambulance?’ I said.
    ‘It’s too late for that,’ Mr Chen said.
    Gold came out of the kitchen. His left arm was gone; the torn sleeve of his shirt hung limply, but there was no blood. He held a kitchen knife and a cup in his right hand, and some bandages under his arm.
    ‘Dear God, Gold, you need a hospital,’ I said.
    ‘No, I’m okay,’ Gold said, giving the knife and the cup to Mr Chen. Mr Chen took the bandages as well and put them on the carpet next to him.
    Gold fell to kneel on the other side of Leo and took Leo’s hand. ‘Don’t worry about me, it doesn’t even hurt. I’ll be fine.’ He glanced up at Mr Chen.
    ‘This may not work in human form, you know that, my Lord.’
    ‘It’s the only chance he has,’ Mr Chen said. ‘Emma, move back.’ Then he raised his hand to stop me. ‘No, wait, can you help?’
    I nodded. ‘Whatever you need.’
    ‘Good.’ Mr Chen rolled the sleeve of his dress shirt up to above the left elbow. ‘My blood in True Form has miraculous healing powers. It may also work in human form, but I’ve never tried it. When I had the Serpent I never needed it.’
    ‘Your blood?’ I moved Simone out of my lap; she didn’t protest.
    ‘He has to drink it,’ Mr Chen said, passing the cup to me. ‘Hold the cup under the joint, we’ll need a good cupful for this.’ He moved my hand holding the cup under his left elbow. ‘Hold it still.’
    I held the cup very still. He sliced the inside of his elbow with the kitchen knife. Blood oozed out and he pumped his hand. The blood trickled into the cup in a small stream.
    ‘Where’s Monica?’ Mr Chen said.
    ‘In her room, hiding,’ Gold said. He glanced down at Leo. Leo’s face was ashen and his breathing was almost undetectable. ‘We’re losing him.’
    ‘We need more than that,’ Mr Chen said, pumping his hand. He dug the point of the knife into the wound and more blood came out. ‘Good.’
    ‘Save him, Daddy,’ Simone said, her voice very small.
    ‘I’ll do my best, sweetheart.’ The cup was about three-quarters full. ‘That will have to do.’
    He closed the joint of the elbow and reached for the bandages. ‘Emma, give him the