White Tiger

Emperor fought side by side with the Dark Disciples. All of the Dragons in the Heavens rallied to his aid. The Tiger’s Western Horsemen cut through the demons. But they were overpowered. Every demon in Hell joined the attack.’
    ‘All of them?’ Leo whispered.
    ‘Every single one. Even though he was nearly incapacitated in his own weakness, the Dark Lord donned his black armour and led his disciples undertheir black banners. He must have destroyed hundreds of demons by himself. Eventually they overcame him and threw him from his own wall.’ Leo looked away.
    ‘He fought his way back up and defeated them. It was a mighty battle, and I was unaware. I was in retreat. I did not know.’ She smiled sadly. ‘I am sorry. They cut through the Mountain Palace of Yuzhengong. They desecrated the temples and killed the clergy. Much of the Palace has been burned to the ground.’
    ‘No,’ I whispered.
    ‘When the battle was over, he came directly here. But he knows that his Mountain, his Palace, is ruined. He has been building the Mountain for centuries, adding to its elegant halls and pavilions. Even its Earthly shadow was magnificent. And now it is all gone. It is breaking his heart.’
    I took her hand and she smiled sadly at me. ‘I will spend the rest of the day with him. Do not disturb us. He was very close, and we should not be interrupted.’
    ‘We understand,’ I said.
    She released my hand, rose and went out.
    I woke and cast around, confused, then remembered. I was in a student room. I rose and went into the hallway. It was very late.
    I went to the small picture window at the end of the hall. The carpet was soft under my feet.
    The window overlooked the eastern part of Hong Kong Island. The ridge that was the top of the island stretched in front of me, leading down to Causeway Bay and North Point. The lights were still on; Hong Kong buzzed with activity, even though it was so late. The streets of Central were a flurry of traffic.
    A lone car drove past, going down the tree-coveredhillside of the Peak. The Peak Tower had closed up for the night. The shopping centre next to it was dark.
    The hills and highrises of Kowloon shimmered over the harbour in the distance. The clouds were low overhead, and glowed in the reflected light of the city.
    I touched the glass. The surface was cold; the temperature would be less than ten degrees outside. It was warm inside.
    I turned and looked along the hallway. Closed doors in the darkness. Shadows. Quiet. I was right next to his door.
    I went to his door.
    I touched the handle.
    Wong had asked me: why don’t you go to him? And I asked myself: why not?
    I knew he felt it too. Something was holding him back. If I went in and slid into bed beside him, what would he do?
    I wanted so much to climb in with him, pull the covers over both of us and run my hands over his golden skin. To feel the muscles of his arms, his back. To run my mouth over his silken shoulders and bury my face in his neck. To feel his hair slide between my fingers, fresh with the smell of the sea.
    To have him turn to me and hold me, his strong arms around me. To feel him next to me, to press myself against his warmth…
    I grasped the door handle.
    No. It wouldn’t be right. He’d made his choice and I had to respect it.
    I just wanted to find a cup to have a drink of water, that was all. I took my hand away and headed towards the kitchen.
    After I woke the next morning I quietly checked on Simone. She was still asleep, so I left her. She needed the rest.
    I passed the training room on the way back to the kitchen. The door was ajar; I moved to close it.
    They sat cross-legged on the mats, facing each other, their hands out and their palms together. Their eyes were closed and a glowing nimbus of silvery energy surrounded them.
    I quietly closed the door and went into the kitchen to find some breakfast. Leo was already there. I poured myself some coffee from his pot.
    When I sat he showed me an article on page five of the newspaper.
A fire has severely damaged the palace of Yuzhengong at Wudangshan in Hubei province. Because of the remote nature of the palace, many parts of it were burned to the ground before fire crews could arrive. No one was hurt, but many Ming Dynasty (14th- to 17th-century) structures were destroyed.
    The palace is one of the pinnacles of Chinese art and architecture, representing the finest examples from a period of over 1000 years. The palaces, halls and temples are some of the