Let it All Burn: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (From the Ashes Book 1)

by Denise Grover Swank

  “That could work, but what about paperwork? She can’t go to school or get a social security number or a driver’s license unless she has proof of identity.”

  Persephone looked up at me, her eyes swimming with tears, and I pulled her into a hug. Despite everything, she was just a child—a child who needed to feel safe and protected.

  “Don’t worry about that yet,” Heath said. “We’ll get that part sorted out. Let’s just get her home with you.”

  “You’re going to help me?” I asked in disbelief.

  “After what I just witnessed . . . I can’t walk away from this, Darcie. I won’t walk away from you.”

  Chapter Thirty

  I wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but it occurred to me that we had a problem on our hands. The fire alarm and the ruckus down below, plus Parker and whatever he was up to.

  “Heath . . .”

  “I know, I have an idea for dealing with this.” A smirk tugged at his lips, even as the fire alarm continued to blare. “It may take the fire department a while to get here. Mayor Harless cut the funding drastically. I suspect they’re evacuating the building, but I think we can convince them it was a little living art display that went too far.”

  It made sense. People believed what they wanted to believe. That’s why it had taken me so long to get on board with this whole situation.

  “But what about Parker? Shouldn’t you be following him?”

  “Yes,” he admitted. “After I put the fire situation to rest, I need to find your date before he runs off with the jewels.”

  “Jewels?” I asked in disbelief. “I thought this collection was only antiquities.”

  His gaze dropped to the girl at my side, and my arm wrapped protectively around her. It had happened on instinct, no thought required.

  A hint of a smile tipped up the corners of his mouth, and his gaze lifted to my face. “You were a good choice, Darcie.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that, but I hadn’t chosen my role—it had chosen me. Or rather, Clementine. I also wasn’t about to let him change the subject.

  “I realize we’re running out of time, but explain the jewels.”

  “We have reason to believe a shipment of blood diamonds was smuggled into the country with the exhibit.”

  I gasped. “And you think he’s involved?”

  The siren was still going, voices shouting along with it. I was surprised no one had come up to check on the ancient artifacts, but perhaps the fire safety protocol for the building involved saving the people first, the art second. Or maybe everyone was scared they’d get attacked by a person-sized bird if they ventured up to the third floor.

  “We weren’t sure it was him at first. We just knew they had someone on the inside, but he’s been acting suspiciously for the past two weeks. When I saw you at Figaro’s, we’d been tailing him for a while . . .” His voice trailed off and his cheeks turned pink. “You disappeared, so I felt I had no choice but to approach him. I nearly blew the assignment.”

  “Because you were curious about what happened out back?” I asked.

  “That and I was enchanted by you.”

  I felt a tug on my arm. Persephone looked up at me and stage-whispered, “I like him.”

  Was she speaking as a starry-eyed preteen, or as a grown woman in a child’s body? This was going to take some getting used to.

  “If Parker’s after diamonds that were hidden with the exhibit,” I said, “then why didn’t he just take them when it was in the basement at Lisman and Freud?”

  “Lisman and Freud isn’t known for storing boxes, but the crewmen are fastidious about checking them for tampering. It would have been noticed. We suspect they were trying to keep the shipping company’s role in the smuggling operation on the down-low so the pathway could be used again. Now that the boxes have all been opened, he can retrieve the diamonds, and no one would be the wiser. But the buyers never expected to have to wait so long. The exhibit was supposed to be moved to the museum over a month ago.”

  “They? Who is they?” I asked.

  “Pete Murin, that blowhard you were talking to earlier, is part of the distribution network. I think he’s here to make sure the package is retrieved. Based on the intel we’ve gathered, the jewels were hidden in the packing material. I have to get back down to the basement. I’m worried they might use the distraction of”—he lifted a hand toward me and the burned patches on the carpet—“to get them.”

  “And you still have to deal with the whole bird situation. You’d better go,” I said. “I’ll sneak Persephone out in the confusion.”

  “I’ll check with you later,” he said, taking several steps backward, but he looked reluctant to leave. “Give me five minutes before you head down.”

  “I will.”

  “I mean it this time,” he said, arching his brow. “No going rogue. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “We’ll be fine,” I insisted. “I’m a phoenix, for heaven’s sake.” It sounded strange coming out of my mouth, but I supposed I’d better get used to it. I’d also have to figure out what exactly that meant. So far, all I knew was that I had wings, the ability to start fires, and healing tears. The rest was a mystery.

  He nodded as if to say “to be continued,” then turned and took off running toward the steps in a display that was pretty impressive for a man his age.

  “Is that your boyfriend?” Persephone asked as I walked over to my discarded purse. I must have dropped it at some point. Thankfully, it looked intact, protected by the ten-foot distance from the epicenter of my pyrotechnics. I squatted and picked it up, checking to make sure my phone was still in working order.

  Persephone was still looking at me, waiting for an answer.

  “No,” I finally said. “He’s not.” I couldn’t get over the fact that she’d been a sixty-year-old woman ten minutes ago, and now she was a twelve-year-old girl who looked like a completely different person.

  “He should be.” Then she slipped her hand into mine.

  “How much do you remember?” I asked as I led her toward the back stairwell. Would it be flocked with people? Probably not, if they were forcing everyone to leave. The guests were all on the ground floor.

  “I know I’ve done this before. And I know I’m in danger, but I also know you’ll protect me.”

  The fire alarm cut off, a sign that Heath had managed to do something, at least, to control the mayhem. I waited a beat by the door, giving him more time. Somewhere in the silence, it occurred to me that Tammy might have some information that would be useful to Heath. “What do you remember about Pete Murin?”

  She blinked up at me, then scrunched her nose. “Who?”

  So much for getting insider info. All the same, she was probably better off not remembering the man.

  Five minutes had passed, so I prepared to call an Uber to take us home . . . which was when I realized Persephone was barely covered by Heath’s jacket. She’d buttoned the jacket, but he was much taller and broader than her, and the lapels dipped down to her abdomen. Even if the building was still evacuating and everyone was freaking out, someone was liable to notice. Maybe they were even more likely to notice. Going out the front door wasn’t an option. We’d have to find another exit.

  I needed help.

  I pulled out my phone, only to see ten missed texts from Cyn. She’d seen my graceful exit and reentrance—my plumage as a bird was apparently the same as the tattoo, and she’d read just enough fantasy novels to make the connection—but the fire alarms had freaked her out.

  What the actual eff? Are you a bird now? Did you change back? IS THE BUILDING ON FIRE?

  I texted her back, roping in Ella. I’m OK. I’ll explain later, but I need help finding a back exit. Can you guys meet me at the fire stairwell on the first floor?

  I wasn’t sure either one of them would see the text. If an evacuation was underway, they might both be outside. Or, crap, Ella could still be passed out in the first aid station. I needed to
make sure she got home okay.

  Persephone held my hand in a tight grip as we carefully descended the stairs. As we got closer, the racket from the guests got louder. Maybe Heath had stopped the evacuation, or perhaps it was just hard to get that many people outside in any kind of orderly fashion. We didn’t see anyone, thankfully, but Persephone got squeamish as we got closer to the first floor.

  I soon understood why. A ball of warmth began to fill my chest and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I could feel the outlines of the wings on my back. This was an early warning system, but for what? Human danger or supernatural?

  What if I got us both killed within less than fifteen minutes of our rebirth?

  “I’m going to get you out of here,” I promised, wondering if I was reassuring her or myself. “I’m hoping my friend and my cousin will help.”

  Although neither of them had texted back yet.

  She looked up at me with fear in her eyes. “I’m scared.”

  I squeezed her hand. “I know.”

  I kept the I am too to myself.

  When we reached the first floor, I opened the door a crack to look around as the pressure in my chest increased. I saw no sign of Cyn or Ella, but the passage to the foyer—our closest exit—was packed.

  I caught sight of Nikki, whom I hadn’t seen yet tonight, accompanied by a date who looked to be fresh out of high school. She had on a poufy white dress that looked like a wedding gown, plus a corsage on her wrist.

  Her voice carried over the crowd. “I knew about the display, of course. I’m very close with the planning committee. It came off pretty well, don’t you think? They must have replaced the stained glass with a replica before tonight. Shame about the fire alarm. The system in the building must be too sensitive. So foolish of them to force us to continue the evacuation.”

  So Heath’s plan was working. That was good, but if she saw us, it would be game over.

  We needed a back exit, just like I’d thought, but where would we find one?

  Think, Darcie. Think.

  The answer came to me in a blink. While there was likely a side exit on the first floor, it might be locked or blocked, and finding it would take searching. But there had to be one in the basement. I knew for a fact that the exhibit had entered the museum through a loading dock down there.

  It wasn’t lost on me that Heath was down there. If we went that way, wouldn’t I be leading Persephone into more danger?

  But the burning in my chest grew more intense, and I sensed that the real danger was beyond the stairwell door. The threat lurked in that crowd. Maybe it had something to do with Mayor Harless, or heck, for all I knew Nikki’s date was the minion of some god. I didn’t know what we were dealing with. I only knew being in the basement would be safer.

  My hand tightened around Persephone’s. “We’re going down to the basement.”

  She didn’t protest, just hurried down the stairs next to me, my heels announcing us with every clap.

  Crap. I’d known the heels were a little much.

  Stopping, I stepped out of my heels as Persephone watched with a questioning look. I didn’t say anything as I picked up the shoes and slung the straps over my fingertips. I wasn’t just taking them in the hopes of keeping them, though they had been expensive. If I left them, they would alert anyone who came down the stairs that I’d come this way.

  When we reached the bottom, I slowly pushed the door open to get my bearings and listen for voices. The dark hall was silent, so I slipped through the opening, tugging Persephone with me.

  Where to go? I’d been counting on the basement being like the one at Lisman and Freud. Cavernous, well lit (enough), and easy to navigate. But this place was dark and unfamiliar. Taking a second, I tried to get my bearings with the building above.

  “This way,” I whispered, leading her to the right. The hallway was short and the door at the end had a plaque that said, Loading Dock.

  I was going the right way.

  My purse was still tucked under my arm, and my shoes were hanging from my fingers. The pressure in my chest had subsided, but I knew we were facing human danger on the other side of the door, and I needed to be ready to act. I handed my phone to Persephone and whispered, “Hold on to this.”

  She shook her hand free of Heath’s long sleeve and took the phone, staring at it as though unsure of what it was.

  “Don’t get used to it,” I said. “In the Weatherby household, you have to be thirteen to have a cell phone. I’ve only got appearances to go on, but you’ve got at least another year.”

  I didn’t give her time to launch a protest. Instead, I opened the loading dock door and slipped us both into the darkness, ducking behind a stack of shelves covered in cardboard boxes. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. We were behind the last of three ten-foot-tall and twelve-foot-wide shelves, which were a good four or five feet below the ceiling. In front of us was a concrete platform and a large garage door, big enough to fit the back of a semi. Next to the garage door was a smaller exit.

  Seeing it like that, so out in the open, I started to wonder if it was a good idea for us to try to slip out this way.

  If the FBI was watching for Parker or Pete, there was no way we could escape unnoticed. Maybe we needed to wait it out, at least for a little while.

  Setting my shoes and my purse on a shelf, I gave Persephone a “stay put” signal, accompanied by my best mom look, and walked to the end of the unit we were hiding behind. No sign of Heath, but I knew that didn’t mean anything. Since we couldn’t wait out in the open, I looked for someplace to hide. I crept over to an office a few feet down and to my right, but it was locked.

  I was about to search the next row when I heard a sniff that was decidedly human.

  I froze and my heart began to hammer.

  Then I heard a male voice. “If you don’t find them, it’s both our heads.”

  It was Pete, and his voice was coming from the other side of the room.

  “We’ll find them,” Parker said in a tone I’d heard him use when he was trying to placate Nikki.

  My gaze shot to Persephone to gauge her reaction. Pete would never recognize her, but would hearing his voice trigger her to remember him?

  Fear filled her eyes, but it didn’t seem to be because she knew him. She was terrified in general.

  I had to get her somewhere safe, if for no other reason than to protect her from human bullets. On one of the bottom shelves next to the side wall, I noticed a large metal case with a narrow gap behind it.

  I crooked my finger to Persephone as I grabbed the handle of the large case and shifted it to the side, being careful not to scrape it on the shelf. If I could hear Parker and his buddy, they’d be able to hear me.

  Persephone looked up at me, and the trust in her eyes stole my breath.

  How had I been put in this situation?

  I motioned to the eighteen-inch-wide space, and she crawled into it, lying with her back to the wall and her knees pressed to her chest.

  She’d obviously done this a time or two. Was she basing her actions on memory or instinct? I was going with the latter.

  Once she was in place, I quietly shifted the case again, placing it sideways in front of her. I could only hope the metal was dense enough to absorb any stray bullets that might come her way.

  I could still hear Parker and Pete’s muffled voices on the other side of the large room, to the left of the loading dock. Hopefully, they’d retrieve their jewels and Heath would catch them in the act.

  I was prepared to wait it out. It seemed like the safest option. At least it was until the burning in my chest roared to life.

  The danger from upstairs had found its way down to us.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Crap. Crap. Crap.

  “I gave you one job,” Pete said. “One job and you completely blew it.”

  “I tried to get them to move the collection on Monday,” Parker protested. “But they said it couldn’t be done until yest
erday. And then I tried to retrieve them here yesterday, but they were still crated up. People were around all day.” He took a deep breath, as if aggrieved that anyone should question him, then said in a whine, “I tried.”

  “You tried,” Pete grumbled. “My fool of a wife could have handled this better than you.”

  The burning in my chest was growing more intense. The wings on my back began to itch, and I knew they were preparing themselves to unfurl, which was a terrible idea. For one, there wasn’t enough space down here for that to happen, but most importantly, there was no way I wanted anyone to see me—at least human me—with wings. Particularly Parker, who’d recognize me at once. There had to be a better way.

  I could use fire.

  That seemed like a terrible idea too. I was surrounded by cardboard boxes. This place would burn up in no time, not to mention there were several hundred people over my head. In attempting to protect Persephone from whatever danger was approaching, I might accidentally kill her instead.

  But one thing was certain—Parker and Pete’s squabbling was about to become pointless, because whatever supernatural creature was stalking Persephone was about to burst out through the door. I wished I had my phone so I could text and warn Heath.

  “Ah-ha!” Pete exclaimed, his voice echoing throughout the space.

  “We found it!” Parker exclaimed.

  “I found it,” Pete said in disgust. “You merely babysat the boxes.”

  “You can’t keep me from getting my cut,” Parker said. “We had an agreement, and I earned it.”

  “Don’t worry. You’re getting what you earned.” Pete’s response was quickly followed by two gunshots.

  I released an involuntary gasp, then covered my mouth with my hand.

  “Who’s there?” Pete called out, sounding curious and nonthreatening. I wasn’t sure who he thought he was fooling. Even Nikki’s ditsy Super Sort and Seal rep would have known to be terrified.

  The pressure in my chest was making it difficult to breathe, which meant my time was running out. I wasn’t sure which threat would reach me first.