White Tiger

lit with amusement. Then he glared at Gold. ‘Gold!’ Gold straightened. ‘Number One.’ ‘Jade!’
    ‘Number Two.’ ‘Leo!’
    Leo hesitated, then, ‘Number One.’ ‘Emma.’
    I hesitated, confused. He stopped me with a raised hand. ‘I know at this stage that you won’t be able to tell the difference. Come forward.’
    I stepped up to him.
    He gestured towards the three young men. ‘One of these is a demon. The other two are shadows. Study them carefully. Touch them if you need to; they’re bound and they can’t hurt you. Try to tell the difference.’
    ‘How do you tell?’
    He smiled without humour. ‘How do you explain colour to a blind man? It is something you must learn from experience. Try.’
    I studied each of the young men carefully. I did touch each on the hand, and none of them moved. I couldn’t see any difference. I stepped away from them and shook my head.
    ‘Can’t tell?’ he said.
    It hurt to admit that I’d failed. ‘I’m sorry.’ ‘No, that’s fine. You have all the time in the world to learn this valuable skill. Move back.’ I moved back to the line.
    ‘Don’t worry, Emma, it’s hard,’ Simone whispered. ‘Simone!’
    Simone stiffened and squeaked. Then she realised she’d been asked. ‘Number One.’ Jade sagged slightly.
    ‘Jade and Emma, come forward. Have another look.’
    I studied Number One carefully. As far as I could tell, there was no difference.
    ‘Move back, Emma,’ Mr Chen said. He gestured towards the demon. ‘Jade.’
    I moved back. Jade shifted into a defensive stance in front of Number One and nodded.
    Numbers Two and Three disappeared.
    ‘Ready?’ Mr Chen said.
    Jade nodded again without looking away from Number One.
    Number One threw himself at her. She was ready for him. She ducked and used his momentum to throw him over her shoulder. He rolled and spun to face her.
    I moved back further; the demon was very close. I overbalanced on the towels behind me and Leo caught me before I fell.
    The demon lashed out with its right foot in a spinning roundhouse kick. I didn’t see what Jade did; she was too fast. Inhumanly fast. She was a green blur. Somehow she tipped the demon over to hit the floor. She was on top of it before it could move, and she quickly rammed her fist through its face. She backflipped and landed on her feet in a long defensive stance, again so fast she didn’t seem to move at all.
    The demon dissipated.
    Jade held her right hand away from her; it was covered in the black gooey demon stuff.
    ‘Towels next to the wall,’ Mr Chen said.
    Jade nodded, returned to the wall and picked up a towel to wipe her hand.
    Mr Chen selected three more beads from the jar.
    After about forty-five minutes of demon-spotting, Jade and Gold became very good at it. Jade missed most of them at the start, but after about fifteen minutes she had all of them right. Leo could pick about three-quarters of them. Simone never failed.
    True to his word, Mr Chen didn’t ask me to identify the demons, but he gave me plenty of chances to study them.
    After the demons had been identified, Jade, Gold and Leo took turns destroying them.
    Mr Chen put his hands behind his back. ‘We will revise this in one week’s time. Jade, Gold, dismissed.’
    Jade and Gold fell to one knee and saluted Mr Chen. Jade shot me a small smile as she went through the door and I smiled back.
    ‘You are doing very well, Leo,’ Mr Chen said.
    ‘Sir,’ Leo said, his voice soft and deep.
    ‘Well, Emma?’ Mr Chen said. ‘Are you beginning to tell the difference?’
    ‘I think I am,’ I said. ‘It’s impossible to describe, but I think I can see it.’
    He gestured towards the jar. ‘Would you like to try?’
    I shrugged. ‘Sure.’
    He pulled two beads out of the jar and they materialised into women. Half of the demons he’d used were male; half were female. All appeared in human form of different sizes and ages, but all Chinese. These demons were in their mid-thirties.
    ‘Any idea, Emma?’ he said.
    I studied them carefully.
    ‘Touch them if you wish.’
    I moved forward, touched each of them on the hand, then returned to the line. ‘Number One,’ I said, sounding much more confident than I felt.
    ‘Leo?’
    ‘Number One.’ ‘Simone?’
    Simone smiled up at me. ‘Number One.’
    I whooped with triumph and clapped my hands. Then I remembered where I was and ducked my head with embarrassment. ‘Sorry.’
    ‘Leo,’ Mr Chen said.
    I broke in. ‘Let me do