The English staff shared a look. ‘A demon, eh, Simone?’ James said.
‘Yes,’ Simone said with confidence. ‘That’s the right word, isn’t it?’ she added, unsure.
‘Yes, pet, that’s the right word,’ Charlie said kindly. She stiffened and spoke more sternly, ‘I’ll have none of that here.’
‘Not much we can do about it, is there?’ James said. ‘Daddy and Leo will look after us,’ Simone said, full of confidence.
‘They had better,’ James said.
‘So, James,’ I said, trying to turn the conversation away from a topic that might frighten Simone, ‘how long have you worked here?’
‘My family’s been in Mr Chen’s employ for five generations,’ James said. ‘I hope my nephew will take up the mantle when I retire, he’s majoring in hospitality.’
‘My family’s been looking after him for three generations,’ Charlie said. She smiled indulgently at Simone. ‘If only my grandmother could see you, dear.’
‘Mr Chen’s owned this house for about a hundred and fifty years,’ James said. ‘Keeps it very well maintained.’
‘A hundred and fifty years? He’s been coming to the UK for that long?’
‘Longer than that,’ Charlie said. ‘Apparently he’s very unusual in being able to do it, most of them can’t. The records say he stayed away during the Wars, but he’s spent a lot of time here otherwise—diplomatic and trading things.’
‘Wars? World Wars?’
‘Opium Wars,’ James said. ‘Bad times. Don’t even think he was in China. Probably went to the top of the Mountain in disgust. Very unhappy about the whole thing.’
‘He wasn’t involved?’
‘Of course not,’ Charlie said, genuinely shocked. ‘He is an honourable man.’
‘Played cricket for Cambridge when he studied there,’ James said proudly. ‘Best bowler in the team. Brutal fast ball. Broke the lights in the front hall practising.’
‘Twice,’ Charlie said.
I had to laugh; but I could see it.
‘But we haven’t seen nearly as much of him as we’d like, with things the way they are. He spends most of his time in Hong Kong now,’ Charlie said. ‘Poor dear can’t even go to his Mountain. It’s very hard for him.’
‘When Daddy goes, I’m going with him,’ Simone said. ‘We’ll go and live on his Mountain together.’
We all shared a silent look.
Charlie wrapped her arm around Simone’s shoulders and gave her an affectionate squeeze. ‘We’ll just have to see what happens, dear.’ She smiled at me without releasing Simone. ‘Go and unpack, Emma. Simone and I will be fine here, we have a lot of catching up to do.’
‘I’ll show you the way,’ James said, rising.
‘Thanks.’
I lifted the suitcase onto my bed, then fell to sit beside it. He’d owned the house for a hundred and fifty years. They’d been working for him for generations. He’d studied in Cambridge thirty years ago.
A little knot of excitement tightened inside me. He
was
a god!
Mr Chen appeared in the doorway. ‘Everything all right in here, Emma?’
‘Yes, sir. This room is lovely.’
The room had been decorated in a delightful relaxed cottage style with a fluffy white double bed. The large window overlooked the leafy street.
‘If you need anything, just ask Charlie or James,’ he said.
‘You’ve really had this house for more than a hundred and fifty years?’
He came in, leaned on the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Something like that. One of my newer acquisitions.’
I shook my head with disbelief.
‘You’re handling this remarkably well, Emma.’
‘I think the shock of the whole thing will catch up with me soon.’
‘I do only have a limited time, Emma. And once I’m gone, I don’t know how long it will take me to come back. I’m glad Simone has you now; she adores you.’
‘She thinks you’re going back to the Mountain and taking her with you, doesn’t she?’
He dropped his head. ‘That’s right.’
‘Why can’t you go back to your Mountain?’
‘When she was newly born I could,’ he said. ‘The Mountain is on the Celestial Plane, and a child can travel there under the protection of its mother. The three of us would go there regularly, and I could rebuild my energy there. The Mountain is a part of me, a part of my essence.’
‘But now her mother’s gone, Simone can’t go?’
‘That’s right. And I can’t leave her here alone while I travel to the Mountain; the demons would try for her immediately. I must stay here to defend her.’
‘So you’re stuck here like this.’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I am so weakened now that I cannot even take myself to the Mountain without major risk.’
‘What about taking True Form? Does that help you build your energy back?’
‘Yes, but if I were to take True Form now I would not have the strength to return to human form. I would be stuck in True Form for a very long time. And that would mean leaving Simone unprotected.’
My heart went out to him: he was suffering for Simone; but, even worse, he would soon leave her.
I snapped myself out of it and changed the subject. ‘You’ve really employed Charlie’s and James’s families for generations?’
He shrugged. ‘Charlie’s grandmother was an extraordinary woman. She taught me that Westerners expect to be treated differently, and the relationship they have with their Lord is different from what I was accustomed to. Frankly, I much prefer less formality; the Western way of doing things is very refreshing.’
‘How old are you, Mr Chen?’
He smiled slightly. ‘I have no idea. I don’t remember being born, or gaining consciousness. I do know that I am more than four thousand years old.’
Far too old for me.
‘Does your True Form really have two heads?’
He hesitated, studying me. Then he obviously decided to risk it. ‘Yes. I am widely regarded as the ugliest creature in creation.’
Tall, dark, magnificent, the ugliest creature in creation…It didn’t matter.
‘It’s the inside that counts,’ I said softly. ‘The outside doesn’t matter at all.’
‘You are quite correct,’ he said, gazing into my eyes. ‘The inside is the only thing that is important.’
‘Will we be attacked by demons while we’re here? Or will they wait until we’re back home?’
‘I honestly don’t know,’ he said. ‘They found my weakness when my wife was killed. They are beginning to move in. They definitely won’t attack when I am at Simone’s side; even weakened like this I am capable of taking any of them.’ He sighed. ‘I would understand if you chose to leave now. They will not come after you if you leave my service.’
‘No!’
I said. ‘I am staying with Simone!’ ‘You really do love her, don’t you,’ he said softly, his face intense.
The words came out before I even thought about them. ‘More than anything in the world.’ And it was true. Simone was very special to me.
We shared a thought: both of us loved her more than anything in the world.
He turned to leave. ‘I think that Simone and I are very lucky to have you, Emma,’ he said without looking back.
I watched him go, feeling that I was the one who was privileged.
S
imone and Charlie sat giggling together over breakfast. When Mr Chen came in he sat at the kitchen table next to Simone. He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek, and she kissed him messily back.
Charlie quickly rose to serve him some congee. ‘I’ll put this in the dining room for you, sir.’ ‘No need, I’ll eat here with the ladies.’ Charlie stood stiffly next to the table, holding the bowl of congee. ‘That’s not fitting, sir, you should eat in the dining room.’
He waved her down. ‘Here. With Simone.’ He smiled into my eyes. ‘And Emma.’
Simone giggled. Charlie sighed with exasperation and placed the congee in front of him. She collected some bowls of pickled vegetables from the kitchen bench and put them in the centre of the table. ‘Sit, Charlie,’ Mr Chen said. ‘Finish your tea.’ Charlie looked uncomfortable, then sat down. ‘Did you make the congee?’ I said. ‘Hold on, you cooked the Chinese meal we had last night?’
‘Of course I did,’ Charlie said. ‘My mother taught me.’
‘And you’re nearly as good as she was,’ Mr Chen said, reaching for some pickled vegetables with his chopsticks. He raised the pickles. ‘These are very good.’
‘Why, thank you, sir,’ Charlie said with pleasure. ‘I should come to Hong Kong and brush up.’
‘That’s a good idea. I’ll arrange it for you.’ Mr Chen stopped. ‘Is the car fit to drive?’
‘Of course it is; it’s in the basement waiting for you. James has been taking it out for regular runs.’
‘You had the rollbar fitted?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Good,’ Mr Chen said. ‘I’ll drive it myself to Cambridge.’ He bent his head to speak to Simone. ‘Do you want to come for a drive with me before I leave?’
‘Not in
that
funny old car,’ Simone said without looking at him.
He moved his face closer to hers. ‘You love my funny old car.’
She glared into his eyes. ‘It’s a silly old car.’
‘Well, I’m a silly old man,’ he said, and they both collapsed laughing.
Leo came in, and stopped when he saw them.
‘Daddy’s going to drive his silly car, Leo,’ Simone said through her giggles.
Leo pulled a coffee mug out of the cupboard. ‘It’s not silly; actually it’s a very nice car.’
‘It’s
silly
,’ Simone said with scorn. She glared at her father. ‘And so are
you
.’
‘I know.’ He saw my face. ‘MG TF, 1500cc model, one of the rarer ones. Bought it in 1955. Original owner, low mileage.’
‘Black?’ I said. ‘I didn’t know they came in black.’
‘Nope.’ His eyes sparkled over the congee. ‘Racing green. Only car I’ve ever owned that wasn’t black.’
‘Take me for a ride in it, please,’ I begged.
‘I will if I have a chance, Emma, I promise. But I can’t guarantee anything.’ His face softened as he remembered. ‘All my friends thought I was crazy to buy it. They said it was much too cheap and old-fashioned.’ He looked down at his congee and his voice softened. ‘Michelle loved driving it.’
Leo cleared his throat uncomfortably and poured himself some coffee.
After Mr Chen had gone out, Leo sat next to me at the table. ‘That’s the first time he’s mentioned his wife’s name since the funeral.’
‘Michelle,’ I said. ‘There’re no photos or anything in the apartment.’
‘He shouldn’t have kept it bottled up for so long, poor dear,’ Charlie said. ‘It’s good to hear him talk about it. He’s changed.’
‘In what way?’ I said.
Charlie stopped and mused. Then, ‘I think he just seems happier. Last time he came, he didn’t talk much, he didn’t laugh, he didn’t want to do anything. It’s good to see him so happy.’
‘I wanna go to the Science Museum!’ Simone yelled.
Leo and I groaned.
The next day we all went shopping in Harrods so that Simone could see the toys and Leo could check out the menswear. After the third time through the toy department Simone was becoming restless, so we went back to the menswear section.
Mr Chen called Leo over. ‘How much longer will you be?’
Leo glanced back at the racks and the shop assistant he’d been talking to. ‘Just a bit more.’
‘You’ve already been more than an hour,’ I said, exasperated.
Leo glared at me.
‘We’ll take Simone to the big toy shop in Regent Street,’ Mr Chen said. ‘Take your time, and we’ll meet you back at the house.’
Leo didn’t hesitate. ‘Yes, sir.’ He returned to the shop assistant without looking back.
Mr Chen and I shared an amused glance.
‘I just prefer to be comfortable,’ I said.
‘Me too.’
‘Yeah,’ Simone said. ‘Both of you are really scruffy. Leo says he’s embarrassed to be seen with you, and I should never let either of you buy clothes for me.’
Mr Chen grinned. ‘Good.’
On the final day, we all went to the zoo in Regent’s Park.
‘I’ll have to take you to the zoo in Sydney one day, Simone,’ I said. ‘It’s heaps bigger than this one, and it has a great view of Sydney Harbour.’
‘
Turtles
!’ Simone squealed and ran to see the Galapagos giant tortoises. She leaned over the fence, delighted. ‘I love turtles. They’re so
ugly
.’
Mr Chen came and stood between us, leaning on the railing. ‘You think they’re ugly?’
She grinned up at him. ‘Yes.’
‘What do you think, Emma?’ Mr Chen said.
I suddenly realised that he was standing very close to me. Very, very close: his whole body was stretched alongside mine. He put his arm around me to lean on the rail and the shock of the chemistry went right through me.
I took a deep breath and tried to control my reaction.
‘I like snakes better,’ I said. ‘I had a pet carpet snake back in Australia.’
Mr Chen moved closer and leaned into me. His long hair brushed over my shoulder. I found it extremely difficult to concentrate.
Simone didn’t seem to notice. ‘Was it poisonous?’
‘Was what poisonous?’ I said.
‘The snake, silly.’
‘Uh, no, it was a python.’
Mr Chen pulled his arm closer around me. ‘What did you feed it, Emma?’
Leo made some throat-clearing noises behind us. Neither of us paid him any attention.
I turned and looked up into Mr Chen’s glowing dark eyes. ‘Live mice.’
He shifted even closer. His whole body was pressed into mine. ‘Where did you get your mice from?’
I caught my breath. ‘I bought them from the pet shop. Monty only ate about one a week. Then they found out what I was doing with them, so I had to breed my own.’
‘Monty?’ Simone said, still watching the tortoises.
‘The snake.’
Leo snorted. He was the only one who understood the joke. Then, ‘My Lord…’ he said softly, warning.
‘I wonder if they have any poisonous snakes here, Simone,’ I said without looking away from Mr Chen.
Simone pushed her father out of the way and he snapped out of it. She took my hand. ‘Let’s go and see.’
Mr Chen took Simone’s other hand. ‘Okay, let’s go.’
‘I hate snakes,’ Leo said as we moved towards the snake house.
Mr Chen stopped and spoke over his shoulder. ‘Some of my best friends are snakes, Leo.’ ‘No offence, sir,’ Leo said sheepishly.
About three hours out of Macau, the jet pilot called for Mr Chen on the intercom. Mr Chen went into the cockpit and talked to him for about ten minutes.
When he returned, he sat and picked up the Chinese book he’d been reading.
‘Is there a problem, sir?’ Leo said.
‘Not at this stage,’ Mr Chen said without looking up.
About an hour later, Simone fell asleep on my lap and Leo carried her to the back of the plane and put her in the bunk.
The pilot called Mr Chen over the intercom again. When Leo returned he looked questioningly at me. I pointed towards the cockpit and he nodded.
Mr Chen came back, sat in his chair, picked up his book and bookmarked his page. He closed the book and put it to one side. ‘A typhoon is headed straight for Macau. It will be a direct hit in the next two hours.’
A direct hit from a typhoon would close the airport. The winds would be ferocious. A small plane had tried to land during a typhoon in Hong Kong a couple of years before, and had flipped over on the runway. Three people had died. And that hadn’t even been a direct hit.
‘So we’ll divert to Taipei or Manila?’ I said.
‘I have to be in Hong Kong later today,’ Mr Chen said. ‘I have an appointment that I must fulfil, regardless of the circumstances. We’ll land in Macau.’
Leo threw himself out of his chair and towered over Mr Chen. ‘If you’re planning what I think you are, you are completely crazy!’
Mr Chen glared up at Leo, irritated. ‘I must be in Hong Kong later today. I have no choice.’
‘You’ll undo all the good work the Lady Kwan did for you!’
‘I’ll probably need to see Mercy about a month earlier.’
‘Wait a minute.’ I pointed at Mr Chen. ‘You’re going to fiddle with the weather?’ Both of them looked at me.
‘Don’t point at a Chinese, Emma, it’s very bad luck,’ Leo said.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Leo,’ Mr Chen said. ‘I am far too big for any fung shui to affect me. I
am
water. I
am
shui.’
I dropped my hand and glared at Mr Chen. ‘You’re going to use all that energy that Ms Kwan gave you to move a stupid typhoon? Leo’s right—it had better be damned important if you’re going to waste your energy like that.’
‘I have a meeting with the Jade Emperor,’ Mr Chen said grimly.
Leo sat down, stricken.
‘The Jade Emperor,’ I said softly. ‘The Jade Emperor is so…’ I searched for the word ‘…so awesome, they don’t even have statues of him in the temples.’
‘Believe me,’ Mr Chen said, ‘I would much prefer to divert to Taipei and wait. But the appointment is for this evening at seven and I must be there. The Celestial has come down to the Earthly Plane, to Hong Kong, to see me. It is the first time he’s done this in hundreds of years.’
‘So what are you going to do?’ I said.
‘Move the typhoon, make it hit land about two hundred kilometres from Macau, and make it hit in the next thirty minutes.’
‘You can do that?’
‘I’ll need to change my form, but yes.’ Leo hissed with frustration.
‘Move the chairs, Leo, give me room,’ Mr Chen said. He rose and kicked off his shoes, then pulled his hair from its ponytail and shook it out. ‘Emma, sit with Simone in the back. If she wakes, keep her quiet. I’ll need to concentrate. Make sure she doesn’t come in here. Understood?’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she doesn’t come in.’
He smiled. ‘I am more impressed with you every day.’
I felt a rush of professional pride at the compliment. Yep, that’s all it was: purely professional.
Mr Chen sat cross-legged on the floor of the cabin. Leo moved the chairs along their rails, then leaned against the side of the plane. Mr Chen closed his eyes, concentrating, and Leo nodded for me to go out.
Simone had slept through all of Leo’s yelling; she was completely worn out. I knelt on the carpet next to her bunk.
The plane rocked slightly, then shuddered. A brilliant white glow lit up the main cabin and shone through the galley. It was as if somebody had turned the lights up very bright.
Simone shot upright and scrambled to the end of the bunk. She hopped out before I could stop her and ran to the door of the galley. The light formed a halo around her and her hair floated with static.
I quickly went to her and held her to stop her from going in. She didn’t attempt to move; she stood at the door of the galley, frozen, watching her father. Her breath quickened when she saw him.
It had to be him, but he was huge and dark and unrecognisable. He still sat cross-legged on the floor of the plane, but had grown so large that his head nearly brushed the ceiling. His long hair floated around his square, ugly face. The glow came from him; it was all around him. He held one hand in front of his chest and the other in his lap. His eyes were closed, concentrating. Any doubts I had held before completely vanished. What sat in the middle of the cabin was definitely a god.
I gently pulled Simone back into the bunk room and sat her on the bed.
‘Is that his True Form?’ I whispered.
‘No,’ she whispered back, her voice trembling. Her little face screwed up with fear. ‘That’s his Celestial Form, for when he’s doing his special things. He’s not supposed to do that.’
‘Lie down and go back to sleep,’ I said. ‘He’s just stopping the big wind outside so that we can go home.’
She threw her little arms around my neck and clutched me. I pulled her into my lap.
‘He’s so scary,’ she whispered.
‘It’s just your dad.’
‘He’s scary.’
I sat with her for about twenty minutes as the plane shuddered and rocked. She buried her face in my chest and wouldn’t move.
Then the light blinked out and I heard something hit the floor with a sickening thump. I quickly rose, still holding Simone, and went to the door.
Mr Chen lay on the floor in his normal form, his long hair spread around his head. Leo was bent over him, his face a mask of misery. When Leo saw us he nodded. I gently lowered Simone and led her to her father.
Mr Chen was unconscious. Leo picked him up like a child and gently placed him into a chair.
Simone took her father’s hand and ran her other hand over his face. ‘Daddy. Daddy!’
‘Will he be all right?’ I said.
‘Yes,’ Simone said, with an expression that belonged on a much older face. ‘He’ll wake up soon.’
Leo rubbed his hands over his face and went into the bathroom.
Mr Chen’s eyes flickered open and he looked around. He saw Simone and pulled himself to sit more upright. ‘Where’s Leo?’
‘In the bathroom,’ I said.
He nodded and relaxed. Simone crawled into his lap and put her head on his chest.
The intercom clicked on. ‘The typhoon made landfall about two hundred kilometres south of Macau, Mr Chen,’ the pilot said. ‘It will be choppy, but we’ll land in Macau on time. I’ll tell you when it’s time to put on your seatbelts.’ The intercom clicked off with an audible pop.
‘You’re a very silly daddy.’
He kissed the top of her head. ‘I know.’