The Serpent slides through the
black icy water of the Antarctic,
wreathed in permanent darkness.
The Turtle hides from the weak
Arctic sun beneath the ice.
They cry, but there is no answer.
âNow,â I said gently, âconcentrate. Youâve done it before. This time, bring the chi out as slowly as you can. Feel the rubber band pulling it back.â
Apple bit her lip and the glowing yellow ball of chi floated out of her outstretched palm.
Emma, emergency, the stone in my ring said. Some third years have run into trouble. They raided a prostitution den in Mong Kok that was holding sex slaves, and instead of humans running the show they met up with demons. They need help.
âLet the chi go, Apple,â I said, still very gentle.
The chi floated back down into Appleâs hand and she sagged.
âTake a break now, and donât try it again without supervision,â I said. âIâve been called away, so weâll end it there. Head back to the Folly and have a rest.â
Apple nodded. âYes, maâam. Thank you.â
I patted her shoulder, then quickly rose and spoke urgently to the stone as I charged out to the stairwell. âGet Marcus to bring the car around the front. Iâll meet him at the ground floor. Which Masters are free?â
âSit, Park, Lee and Edwards are there already. The demons are holding the students hostage. Itâs a standoff,â the stone said.
I jumped over the balustrade to the empty space in the centre of the stairwell, twenty storeys to the ground. I fell at maximum speed until the floor loomed below me, then slowed my fall, levered one foot on the railing and jumped down to the landing in front of the ground floor door.
âDemons holding third years? They must be big,â I said.
Do you need us? General Ma said into my head. The demons holding your students are quite large.
âArenât you dealing with a demon attack on the Horse Village?â I asked via the stone.
The Majia are handling it well, General Ma said. If we bring in the Princess we will be finished very quickly and be back in Hong Kong within the hour to help your students. Western Horsemen are on their way to assist us.
âCan the Horses and Horsemen handle it?â I said. âI donât want to take Simone out of school unless itâs absolutely necessary, you know that. Sheâs skipping a lot of school with these attacks as it is.â
They can handle.
âHead back when youâre relieved, and weâll see if we need your help. How long do you think it will be?â
About an hour and a half.
âSee you then.â
My Lady.
It took nearly forty-five minutes to reach the area of Mong Kok where the students were being held hostage. Marcus wound his way through the narrow, busy streets of the area and dropped me outside the brothel, then went off in search of a car park. The brothel had a large sign outside advertising the prices: White Russian 500; Fair Skin Thai 400; North and South Chinese 300.
Two of the Masters, Sit and Park, stood outside the brothel with a group of five or six seniors, looking up at the second-storey windows. The brothel was a blackened concrete apartment building, 1950s era, with small barred windows on each floor. The ground floor was occupied by a microscopic mobile phone shop, all pristine white tiles and blazing lights. The brothelâs single front door had a steel gate, which now hung open. Plain narrow concrete stairs led up inside.
âWhereâs Edwards?â I said.
âAround the back in the alley with another couple of seniors,â said Lee.
âWhat do we have here?â
âSix level fifty to sixty demons. A couple of them appear to be Mothers. Theyâre holding a team of third years who came in to practise on them and were taken by surprise.â
âMothers? Damn. Anybody hurt?â
âOne of the prostitutes tried to escape and a demon smacked her down; sheâs probably concussed,â Sit said. âA couple of the students sustained some severe injuries when they were taken â these demons hit them hard with some sort of energy blast.â
âThe police arenât aware of whatâs going on? We wonât see uniforms and guns roll up?â
âNo,â Park said.
âWhat do the demons want?â
âFree passage.â
âThatâs all?â
âYes. Weâre just waiting for you to give the go-ahead on either a raid or to let them go. Weâre prepared either way.â
âRecommendation?â
âLet them go.â
âCan we take them down without hurting any more girls or students?â