Heart of the Phoenix

by A. C. Arthur

  Lorraine looked to Usef, who looked down at the floor. “He’s out there taking care of that man you’ve shacked up with. Isn’t that correct, Usef?”

  Usef didn’t answer, nor did he look at either of the women in the room.

  Tayla shook her head, a ghostly smile appearing on her face. “Poor Usef, you really are twitchy aren’t you?” Then she turned back to Lorraine. “Your son is most likely dead as we speak. You see, no matter how much you loved him and tried to train him to be like you, Jerome had no fight in him, no backbone. That’s why he could never stand up to you or defend me.” Lorraine’s face paled, and Tayla felt a small ounce of triumph. Although she wasn’t particularly happy that Jerome was probably dead, she certainly wasn’t devastated.

  “You lie,” Lorraine said in a shaky voice, standing from her chair.

  “Why would I lie, Lorraine? I was there. I saw it all. And so did Usef.” Of course Tayla didn’t know this for sure. She hadn’t seen Usef in the cabin, but he must have been there since he was undoubtedly the one who had brought her here.

  Lorraine made an awful screeching sound, then hurled herself at Tayla. Tayla had only a second to lift her own hands in defense. When Lorraine’s fingers clenched around her neck, she quickly grabbed her wrists, reducing the pressure.

  “You whore! You wretched little gold digger! What have you done to my son? What have you done to him?” Lorraine screamed.

  Tayla squeezed her wrists, but was shocked at the older woman’s strength. Then Lorraine was yanked away from her, and Tayla’s own hands went instantly to her burning throat.

  Usef held a still babbling Lorraine around the waist as he pulled her off Tayla and back across the room. “Put me down, you clumsy fool!” Lorraine admonished him. “When I needed you to act like a man you cowered in that damned corner! And where is my son? Is she telling the truth? Is Jerome dead?” She whirled around to face the man, waiting for his answer.

  “Ah, yes…yes, ma’am. There was a fire and Mr. Ranier, he didn’t come out.”

  Tayla choked and gasped. “You didn’t wait for him to come out. You left and didn’t look back.” She remembered from television shows that the best way to get away from captors was to turn them against each other, to divide and conquer. And at this moment Lorraine’s rage was about to fall smack on Usef’s head.

  But Tayla was in no way prepared for how deeply that rage would affect the older woman.

  * * *

  Up above the mountain, circling for what must have been the billionth time, Thaddeus heard a hideous screech. He hovered in one spot as it echoed through the forest and off the mountain tops. That definitely was not a human sound.

  He zoned in on the location of that sound and soared toward it, knowing without a doubt that’s where Tayla would be.

  * * *

  Tayla gasped, then screamed herself as Lorraine’s perfectly made-up face seemed to crumble and fall to the floor. She had to do a double take, but that’s exactly what happened. Huge chunks of flesh dropped away from Lorraine’s face like a broken mask. Her fists clenched, then released as her fingers wrinkled terribly, her nails growing gray and pointed. The black suit she wore seemed perfect for the ashy hue her skin had now become. Her eyes, those dark orbs that always seemed to pierce straight through Tayla, were now yellow, glowing as they looked in her direction.

  Her hair was now free, cascading down her back in a gray color that only came with age. She tilted her head back and howled.

  That was the only way Tayla could describe it. It was a deafening sound that filled the little room to capacity and threatened to break the windows.

  Usef fell back against the wall as Lorraine’s arm lashed out and slapped him across the face. Her other hand lifted him by the neck and raised him until his head touched the ceiling.

  Tayla could do nothing but watch in awe as Usef, strange little twitchy man that he was, proceeded to wet his pants.

  “You left my son to die! You idiot! I paid you all the money you asked for and told you to watch over him! But you couldn’t do that; you left him to die! Why? Tell me why.”

  Usef, who was crying as well as embarrassingly relieving himself, struggled to speak, his hands slapping at the strong arm that held him. “You said you wanted her. You said no matter what, I was to bring her to you. And that’s…that’s what…I did.”

  Usef’s resistance was subsiding. Tayla knew what was happening and stood to leave the room before this same fate befell her. But she wasn’t fast enough. With her free arm, Lorraine reached out with amazing strength, knocking Tayla back to the floor.

  Tayla crumpled into a corner, her back slamming forcefully against the wall. But she refused to cry. A few weeks ago Lorraine’s transformation would have scared the life out of her. But since Thaddeus’ arrival, since he shared the truth about his origin with her, Tayla had begun to think there had to be so many more out there like him. Yet Lorraine wasn’t like Thaddeus. She was evil through and through.

  Quickly Tayla scooted across the floor on her butt until she was huddled behind the bed. She heard one last scream from Usef, then what sounded like something being torn. She smelled an awful stench and peeked from around the bed to see Lorraine tearing the flesh from Usef’s body. With a long black tongue she lashed out, took bits of his flesh from his face and his arms, and slurped it into her mouth.

  Tayla covered her own mouth when vomit threatened and resumed her hiding place, refusing to look up again. Then, as quickly as all this had taken place, it was over. There was silence in the room. Tayla took a few steadying breaths, wondering if she should venture another look. Then she didn’t have to. She heard the clicking of heels on the bare floor and looked up to see Lorraine standing over her.

  The regular Lorraine—her hair and makeup impeccable once again—with no traces of the haggard monster she’d just been except for one small speck of blood at the corner of her mouth. “Now you sit tight, girlie. I have something special planned for you.”

  Lorraine smiled at her and Tayla could swear she felt her blood freezing in her veins. What the hell was she? Then again, Tayla realized she really didn’t care. All she wanted to do now was to get out of here. And there was probably only one way that was going to happen.

  He said he could read my mind. Well here goes: Thaddeus, you are supposed to be my protector. You might want to get your god-like behind in gear and save me!

  * * *

  He caught sight of the cabin and felt her presence there. The black mist around the building was also a dead giveaway.

  As he landed he thought again of the Underworld and the meaning of its involvement. If Hades were angry he would have had this moment in the works for a long time. Thaddeus was well aware that there were people like him who chose to live in the mortal world, attempting to be mortals, until their true selves inevitably came to the surface.

  While he hadn’t lied to Tayla, and was the only one of his kind—meaning he was the only half god, half phoenix in existence—there were many beings that could walk amongst the mortals without anyone having a clue to the power they possessed. As he transformed again, he thought of who that person could be. It had to be someone close to Tayla, someone she’d known for some time now. It wouldn’t be anyone at the school because they hadn’t been around her long enough for this retribution to have been put in place.

  Whoever it was, they had Tayla now and he needed all his strength to get her back. He was up against one of his own now. Powers beyond belief would rival like powers, but only one would be the victor.

  This was exactly the circumstance he’d warned his father and uncle against. All the battles of jealousy were not necessary, yet they happened, and they destroyed so many in the process. But neither one of the elders had heeded his warnings. Now he had to participate in one of these battles himself. Yet this time he didn’t see it as pointless. An evil being was threatening the life of a mortal, one Thaddeus was meant to protect. This battle was necessary for him and for Tayla’s survi
val.

  If nothing else came of this, Tayla had to survive.

  * * *

  Tayla peeked through the drawn curtains to see that the sky was now indigo. She hadn’t left that room. She’d tried the door but it was locked, and there was no sound of movement on the other side. Where had Lorraine gone? She’d said she had something special for her. As she wondered what that could possibly be, Tayla couldn’t help the growing dread.

  What was taking Thaddeus so long to get to her? She knew he wasn’t dead, knew he hadn’t abandoned her, yet he still was not there. Long ago she’d prided herself on needing no one, on being able to take care of herself. But now the tables were turned. She needed Thaddeus, needed him as she needed air. What would that mean for her when he was gone?

  His father had said he was growing weak. She’d sworn not to think of that, not to even consider the moment Thaddeus would no longer be with her. But there was a myth, and he was a part of it. She would have to accept that, wouldn’t she?

  She climbed back onto the bed, sat in the center with her legs crossed. She’d never thought she’d love again, yet in had walked this man who had turned out to be so much more than just a man. From the moment she first laid eyes on him, she’d known that something was different, that he was different. He made her feel so alive inside, so free and ready to live. His talk of being sent to protect her hadn’t alarmed her; in fact, it had lessened the impact of Jerome’s antics.

  How could she let him go?

  She knew she’d have no choice. It would be done and she would once again be forced to survive. Now she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she’d never love again. Not because of any will or creed of her own but because Thaddeus had been the only man to ever hold the key to her heart. No man could ever compare to him. No man could ever love her as he had.

  She clutched the pillow between her arms, trying to keep her thoughts of Thaddeus’ death, and possibly her own, at bay. It was deathly quiet one minute and then the next she heard it…

  Hsssssss.

  She blinked, cleared her mind to focus on the light sound to make sure it was real.

  Hsssssss.

  Memories flooded back quickly, and an icy spike of fear eased down her back as the sound came it sounded again. Only this time, it was closer.

  She crawled to the edge of the bed, looked over at the floor, but didn’t see anything.

  Hsssssss.

  She looked on the other side of the bed. The sound increased and Tayla let her feet fall to the floor so that she could move to the lamp across the room. If something were in here with her, she couldn’t fight it unless she saw it.

  She was at the lamp, had just flicked it on, when the sound came again, so loud it seemed to fill the tiny room. She turned quickly, looked toward the door and saw them.

  Two skinny, slimy snakes were slithering through the crack at the bottom of the door, little red tongues darting in and out. Her heart lurched as she remembered the ones in the cafeteria looking the same way. She hurried back to the small table beside the bed, pulling open the drawers, looking for anything she could find, anything that resembled a weapon. All she saw was a bunch of candles.

  They weren’t going to help her.

  On second thought, she remembered how that awful three-headed creature had reacted in the forest when Thaddeus had burned him. But there were no matches in the drawer. She felt her pockets, thinking that when she was back at the cabin with Thaddeus she had intended to light the fireplace herself. Thaddeus had quickly moved her aside and touched the logs, igniting them instantly. She’d slipped her lighter back into her pocket. And…bam…she felt the rectangular object and pulled it from her back pants pocket. It was still there.

  She grabbed up one candle and lit it. By that time the two reptiles were nearing the spot where her feet rested on the floor. She’d never been an overly squeamish female, so she took the last few remaining steps, bent down and touched the tip of the fire to one of the snakes. As it rolled and transformed to a charred mass, the other one moved in the opposite direction. Tayla got on her knees and crawled until she caught the pesky creature and lit his tail on fire as well.

  “Keep your friends away from me,” she said into the now silent room, knowing that Lorraine would hear her.

  No sooner were the words were out of her mouth than she saw five or six more snakes slithered through the crack. Adrenaline pumped through her as she realized she had a weapon to take care of the reptiles, and she moved toward them to do just that.

  But the faster she burned them, the faster more appeared, until it seemed they were coming from all around the door’s base. They were all along the wall now, filling the floor. Tayla couldn’t burn them fast enough unless she dropped the candle and risked setting the entire cabin on fire. But then, with the door locked, she’d surely die in this little room. She crept to the window, lifting the shade. Her plan was to take the chair and break the window. She’d already looked out earlier and seen that it was ground level, so she could easily get outside.

  But behind the shade was a huge snake.

  She gasped and fell back from the window. There were more candles in the drawer; she’d just have to take her chances with dying a fiery death. That was preferable to being stung to death.

  She managed to creep to the table without stepping on any more of the creatures, but just as she did the door squeaked open. She turned to see if it were yet another larger snake coming to get her. Her heart now hammered in her chest, her mind beginning to allow the panic she’d so valiantly fought off.

  A scream died in her throat Lorraine walked in—she knew it was her because she was still clad in the chic black suit. But her head—correction, her heads—were now void of the black chignon, and even of the gray mass that she’d seen earlier. In their place were layers and layers of snakes. Lorraine smiled, then opened her mouth to reveal the tongue she’d used to flay Usef’s skin from his body.

  Okay, now Tayla was officially scared as hell!

  “Thaddeus!” she yelled, and prayed he’d hear her.

  Chapter 12

  She…it was hideous, and on the heels of her scream Tayla closed her eyes and turned her head away. Still the hissing grew louder, closer.

  “Are you repulsed by me, girlie?”

  The shrill voice echoed and Tayla thought both heads must be speaking at once. Oh God, both? Now, she’d resigned herself to believing in Thaddeus, believing that he was unearthly. Then she’d heard the voices of his father and uncle and figured she was safe in her belief of all these mythical beings. But this one…Lorraine…her former mother-in-law…Tayla wasn’t sure she could stomach any more of this.

  Had Lorraine simply been a woman, Tayla would have slapped her and been done with it, but as it stood now, she hadn’t a clue what to do to defend herself and was actually hesitant to try.

  Tayla thought back over her knowledge of Greek mythology. Lorraine reminded her of Medusa. And as the myth went, those who dared to look into the face of Medusa—which was exactly what Lorraine now looked like, times two—were turned to stone. But Medusa was killed. Tayla couldn’t think straight anymore. Still, she had to wonder if that would happen to her if she tried to fight her?

  Lorraine laughed. “You should be very afraid. I found my son’s body. I found my poor Jerome. He was burned to a crisp, much like what you did to my friends I sent to greet you.”

  Tayla relaxed herself, opened her eyes slowly and turned to look into Lorraine’s face. If she turned to stone, than so be it. She wanted to see the woman, the one person who’d made her life a living hell for five years and who had come back to finish the job. If it were meant for her to die looking into the eyes of this beast, than she would do so with some honor and dignity. She’d said she wasn’t running from Jerome any longer; well, the same went for his mother. She squared her shoulders and looked directly into the two faces.

  “Your son was a coward,” she said slowly, her eyes adjusting to the two skulls, snakes extending
from each, the cold black eyes piercing through her. Lorraine’s skin was wrinkled, grayish in color. Strangely enough, she still wore lipstick—that part was all Lorraine. When Tayla didn’t feel her body freezing into mortar, her resolve thickened and she even took a step forward.

  “Do you plan to do what he couldn’t? Do you plan to kill me?”

  Lorraine threw her heads back and laughed. “Oh yes, girlie. That’s exactly what I intend to do.”

  “Why?” Tayla asked simply. “What have I ever done to you? I left your son. It wasn’t my fault he couldn’t stay away.”

  “You put a curse on him. You were beautiful and he fell in love with you, so much so that he forgot about me. I was his mother. I was the one who gave him everything he had, who loved him unconditionally. But he preferred you.”

  Tayla cocked her head to the side. “So you were jealous? Is that it?” This whole thing could not boil down to something so simple, something so humanlike.

  “She has always been jealous of any beautiful woman that threatened her power. Isn’t that right, Cethia?”

  Thaddeus appeared in the doorway so suddenly Tayla felt a whoosh of breath escape her. He looked perfectly fine, except he wasn’t dressed in his normal shirt and pants. His chest was bare—in all its magnificence. Around his waist was something like a skirt or kilt made of what appeared to be leaves. His arms were at his sides, one hand around his weapon. His feet were spread apart, his features menacing.

  He looked exactly like a Greek statue…a Greek god. Tayla’s breath was taken away.

  Lorraine’s body didn’t move, and only one of her heads turned in Thaddeus’ direction. “So they did send someone. I was wondering if they would, the meddling fools.”

  “Killing her won’t change things, Cethia. It will only make them worse. He will punish you again.” Thaddeus moved across the floor easily until he stood right next to Tayla. A part of him wanted to reach out to her, to take her in his arms and assure her of her safety, but he resisted the urge. He could not afford to show Cethia his weakness. To Tayla this woman was her mother-in-law; to him and his world she was Cethia, daughter of Medusa.