by Lucy Auburn
Still a Fuckface, though.
"Let's go visit my stepbrother," I announce, closing the file on the Mark who isn't my mother's killer. "It's time I talked to him about this whole accusing-me-of-murder thing. Mom's funeral was the wrong time, so maybe now will be better. Thankfully I know exactly where to find him, and how to let myself in."
Herb was one of those people who bought the hide-a-key rock off an in-flight magazine and used it to hide his spare key in. It's not hard to find the thing; none of the other rocks in the side garden are as large, flat, perfectly round, or lightweight with a seam running down the side.
The house and garage apartment have been cleared by the police, making me wonder what Bernard's plans are for both now that his dad has no doubt left them to him. Maybe he'll sell the house, or rent it out and live in the apartment. Most likely, he hasn't even thought about it, and is about to get hit by a rude awakening when all the financial bullshit hits.
"I still don't know why you had to come," Grayson grumbles, shooting Eve a glare, then adding me in his general frown. "I could've done this on my own."
"You're not interrogating my stepbrother without me," I tell him. "Also, I want answers too. We weren't exactly close, but we weren't accuse-the-other-of-murder distant, either. He hasn't spoken to me, and it's about time he starts spilling.”
Eve tells Grayson, "I'm the one who figured out what was going on in the first place, so I get to come. And there's no way I'm letting you go off with Ellen on your own. Knowing you, you'd reach inside her mind and make her dance a jig just for fun."
The mind reader bristles at this accusation. "I stopped doing that after my first semester at school."
"If you say so."
"Don't worry," I reassure Eve, "I'm pretty sure he can't control my mind. Not that thoroughly." I don't tell her that the reason why is probably because I'm fucked up after being abused for years by my high school sweetheart slash worst nightmare. Both of them are glaring at each other, so I add, "Save the face off for after we're done here. I don't want any blood getting on Herb's begonias, may he rest in blissfully boring peace."
It's just the three of us; there was no reason for Wyatt, Mason, or Levi to come, given that we're not exactly facing off against the most sophisticated of targets. Bernard Partridge once slipped and fell on a banana peel—literally. He'd fold like a wet piece of paper if six of us showed up at his door. Hell, Wyatt alone could probably frown at him and he'd start confessing all his deepest, darkest secrets, like that time he watched furry porn and left it on the laptop we both shared for school.
There's no need for subterfuge here; just Eve to lead things, Grayson to poke around inside his pea-sized brain, and me to demand an apology for setting me up with that statement he gave to the police.
I mean, really. You murder one guy and cut him into little pieces, and suddenly everyone thinks you're some kind of psychopath or something. It's not like I ate the guy.
Spare key in hand, I lead our little party of three through the side yard and towards the garage apartment. There's a door on the side of the garage that leads to a staircase up. It takes a bit of rattling the key to get it to open—at one point I think I lock the door and re-lock it, but I must be mistaken. Herb built this doorknob to lock automatically, since he knew his son was too irresponsible to remember to lock it behind him; the only way it'd be unlocked is if someone broke it.
Swinging the door wide, I start towards the stairs, but a hand on my shirt sleeve grabs me and pulls me back. Glaring at Grayson, I open my mouth to demand answers, but he puts a slim finger over his lips and motions for silence.
In a quiet voice he murmurs, "I sense the presence of two minds."
"Bernard probably has a girl over," Eve says dismissively. "I'll go up first though, just in case. Ellen, you go behind me. Grayson—"
"I'll be in the back, of course, since I can't go up the stairs as fast as either of you." He says it smoothly and quickly, like his bad leg doesn't bother him at all, but I can tell that it does. He almost has a complex about it, like he has to compensate in other ways—including having a sword in his cane. Sensing my scrutiny, he raises a brow and points out, "Time is wasting. Let's go get our answers."
Eve heads up the stairs first, a knife appearing in her hand as if out of nowhere. Thankfully I brought my old ass knife myself; I haven't really gotten a chance to use the thing, but some part of me believes it's got some Arizona luck in it. Grayson goes up behind me, holding his cane so the heavy bottom doesn't rap against the wooden stairs, white-knuckling his hand on the staircase railing to take weight off his injured leg.
I wonder what gnarled and terrible injury he's hiding underneath the long, dark pants he wears. He barely seems to be able to set his foot down without grimacing in pain. Whatever injury his Affinity struck him with as a weakness, it's a harsh one, to go with the power he has. It seems to hurt him terribly and constantly.
When Eve reaches the top of the stairs, she stops, eyes widening. For a moment I think she's either caught Bernard in the middle of a naked romp with a lady friend (unlikely) or seen something unspeakably gross, like him dipping his dick in a jar of peanut butter as a prank (likely), but no. Based on the way she flicks her hand and puts an illusion around her body, changing her red hair to a mousey brown and turning herself into an inconspicuous and unrecognizable woman, the second person in Bernard's apartment is a threat.
I clench my hand around the knife. Behind me, Grayson carefully draws the sword from his cane, balancing on his good leg to do it, an expression of determination on his face. I wait for Eve to give the signal, then as she bursts to the top of the stairs, I follow her, unsure what I'm about to jump into.
I didn't expect all that blood.
It's the same every time: after I stabbed Jack to death, after Mom and Herb died. Looking at the pool of blood, I find myself wondering how there was ever so much in one person's body, shocked at the bright red of it. The true color of blood is comically bright, almost like a clown's nose or a sports car—if they made it that color in movies, no one would believe it was real.
Bernard is lying in the pool of blood, face down and thoroughly dead.
A figure, tall and dressed in all black, stands at his prone feet, a knife clutched in his right hand, staring down at my stepbrother's body. Just looking at him, I know—this has to be my mother's killer. He returned to the scene of the crime to tie up loose ends. Implanting false memories in Bernard's head to frame me didn't work, so he's come back to kill him too.
Rage fills me from head to toe, making my heart beat fast, my fists clenched, an impossible surge of power rising up inside me. As Grayson struggles to the top step, leaning against the railing of the stairs and flourishing his sword in front of him, I get an idea.
My little knife won't be enough for what I want to do to this man. So I grab the blade from Grayson's hand and lunge for him. Eve yanks at my shirt sleeve, trying to stop me, but I pull away from her grip. All I see, all I want, is him.
His blood. His death. His inevitable end.
There's nothing I've wanted more than to watch him die just like she did, losing blood, lungs drowning in a pool of it. First, though, I want to see his face, so as I strike at him with the sword I step to his side, looking up.
He grabs my wrist before my clumsy attack connects, and whirls to face me, revealing himself fully.
I look up into his face with shock. Somehow I didn't expect him to be young and handsome. He has a clear-eyed look to him, too, instead of the madness and bloodthirstiness I thought I'd see. His eyes almost seem to hypnotize me, and for a moment I feel like I did the night Mom died, as if cobwebs are closing over my mind and dragging me down. I have to shake my head to shake them off.
My moment of hesitation is dangerous. Eve yells out, "Ellen, get back!"
"I've got him." Grayson throws his hand out, and I feel his power surge towards us both, his Affinity like a snake slithering up my back, trying to grab hold of the killer's mi
nd. His strike is clumsy and off-balance, though, the pain from putting weight on his leg making him weak, and instead he grabs ahold of me. My attempt to stab the man with the knife in my other hand is foiled as Grayson's powers close over me and freeze me in place.
I feel him recoil as he enters my mind, flinging himself inside me all at once, memory overlapping with the present. He pulls himself back and steps forward, trying again, as Eve lunges at the man with her short sword out.
With a flick of his free hand, the killer raises the knife in the air. It surges with power and energy, glowing white. The air around it stirs, and suddenly the sword is being yanked out of my hand. Eve's knife is pulled from hers, and the bottom half of Grayson's cane. Even the knife I dropped on the ground when Grayson froze me is pulled up, like the man is operating a strong magnet. He plucks them all from the air, puts them in loose sheaths at his back, then narrows his eyes at me.
"You, I'd like to talk to further." Yanking my wrist, he pulls me against his chest. I struggle and kick, bite the flesh of his shoulder and try to summon my force field, but it alludes me. With a low, dark chuckle, the man says, "Let's take this somewhere private."
Eve narrows her eyes and lunges at him. Grayson throws out his Mental Affinity again, gritting his teeth past the pain of putting weight on his bad leg, trying to grab ahold of the man's mind. I can feel his effort in the air all around us, like our connection lets me feel his powers as well as mine, at least in this moment.
But all their effort is useless.
In the blink of an eye, the man grabs hold of me tight and transports me across space and time, through a disorienting moment of blackness and silence.
When we arrive at our destination, he lets go of me, and I stumble out of his arms, furious and afraid. Whirling to face him, I barely take in my new surroundings—tall ceilings, a large ballroom, cobwebs in the corners, a chandelier above our heads—before I'm lunging at him in rage.
I punch him, kick him, furiously rail at him, trying to summon my powers to really make him pay. He takes it for a moment, then snags each of my wrists in his hands, and holds me still.
"That stops now." Looking down at me, he says, "Ellen Arizona, Brutus of the Hallatian line, we need to talk."
"No thanks."
I kick his knee, which barely seems to make a dent. Sighing, he cracks his neck, the black of his high collar falling away, and that's when I see it.
The distinctive tattoo of a black snake on his skin.
Belonging to none other than the infamous serial killer, the Black Serpent.
Staring up into his eyes, I demand, "What are you planning on doing with me?"
He tells me, in slow, deliberate, clear words. In detail, he explains his plans for me, even as I try to escape his grip, wishing my powers would just make sense already. I kick him and glare at him and even spit on his face, but he just wipes it off, finishing up by telling me what he wants from me, what he expects from me, and how easily he can make me obey him.
In response, I kick him in the balls, get out of his grip, and run straight out of the ballroom. As fast as I can, heedless of the way my feet skid underneath me, I fucking run. Down, down, down the hallway—at the end of which is the ballroom yet again, with the Black Serpent standing in the middle, clutching his crotch and glaring at me.
I stare at him, confused and terrified.
He smirks. "Haven't you figured it out, Ellen? You can't escape. This is my home, and it takes the shape I want it. Which means you're never getting out."
Screaming seems so melodramatic and predictable in these moments. I always rolled my eyes when the dumb chicks in horror movies scream their stupid heads off.
But sometimes, you've just gotta let one loose—and this time, I don't mean a fart.
Angry and unimaginably afraid, I take a deep breath, open my mouth, and scream for all I'm worth.
Want more? Preorder the sequel, Kill or Be Killed!
Want something that’s available right now? Phoenix Academy: Awaken has action, paranormal powers, and the humor you’re looking for! Fifth book coming out in January 2020.
Want to get new release alerts and three free books? Subscribe to my mailing list!
Read Next: Phoenix Academy
If you like sassy heroines, paranormal romance, and a lot of humor, check out my Phoenix Academy First Years series!
I’m just a girl trying to survive. Dying? Unexpected. Coming back to life? Even more so. Now these four snarky demons are haunting me. Shirtless.
It turns out you can die and live again. At least I can.
When a night out goes murderously wrong, I chose leaping to my death over getting tortured. Except it turns out I don’t die like everyone else.
I’m a phoenix — or so they tell me. Apparently I need training at the Phoenix Academy.
What I really need is to get rid of the four demons haunting me wherever I go, showing up when my heart is beating fast — whether I’m nervous, afraid, or well... other things.
But I also wouldn’t mind learning how to light things on fire with my mind or take out a man twice my size with my bare hands. All things the instructors at the academy want to teach me... if I can survive long enough.
Because there’s something deadly lurking in these halls, and it’s coming for me next.
Welcome to the first year at Phoenix Academy, a place where the paranormal lives — and dies — and lives again.
Excerpt:
It all started with a severed dick.
Not in the way you’re thinking; I’m no Lorena, poor thing. I wasn’t the one slicing and dicing. If I had, I would’ve picked a nice julienne, really gone to town on the thing until it was unrecognizable ribbons of flesh. Leaving it whole, swinging bits and all, just seems... cruel. Especially when the dude it was attached to was still (mostly) alive at the time to see his family jewels get taken and dangled in front of his face. What a last image to have seared into your retinas as you die.
Not that he didn’t deserve it. Richard was like the worst version of your shittiest ex-boyfriend. Imagine an actual pile of garbage given human form.
And his nickname was Dick, after all, so the demons were clearly going for something when they took his actual dick from him. It would’ve been funny if it hadn’t been so incredibly fucking disgusting. Demons do have a sense of humor, apparently.
I just wish they hadn’t killed me too.
Coming back to life was a real bitch.
Read Phoenix Academy: Awaken now!
Read Next: Blue Phoenix
Want more Phoenix Academy? Read the Blue Phoenix spinoff!
Life was hard as a witch on the run. Then my psychotic father killed me. I came back. Now my touch drives men mad… and I’ve got three shifter familiars. Whoops?
Special powers aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Especially when you can’t control them.
The headmaster at the Phoenix Academy says she can help me with that—along with some teachers and students.
One of those teachers? A witch hunting mage.
Three of those students? Are now my familiars.
What I want more than anything is to get revenge on the Heretic—the powerful man who took everything from me. Also known as Dear Old Dad. First, I need to get control of what’s happening to me.
And try not to kill anyone.
Including my new, sexy familiar trio: Xavier, Reggie, and David. We’re stuck together, whether we like it or not. That is, if we can survive the semester.
There are secrets lurking beneath the ground of the academy, and thanks to my magic, they’re coming for us. We might not survive to graduation.
Welcome to another year at Phoenix Academy, a place where the paranormal lives—and dies—and lives again.
Read Next: Fae Like Me
If you like new adult romance, especially urban fantasy and paranormal romance with a kick, check out my Selena Pierce series!
I just learned I’m a part fae succubus. And I need to
find the men to sate my sexual appetite...
Here I thought I was a normal college girl with a high libido. Turns out that’s wrong—I’m so much more. I have powers, and if I don’t learn how to control them, I’ll wind up killing someone.
Baton Rouge has never been so hot as it is when I meet Leon and Naomi. And Tae Min, Petyr, Elah, Vincent: all fae. Here to guide me into my new life.
A life that includes hunting down the demon summoner who framed my best friend for murder. Catching bad guys, meeting dark fae, making a harem—my new life is different.
Worst of all, now I know my parents lied to me. I was never theirs. And my real parents?
Well, they’ve got a hell of a surprise in store for me.
Life isn’t easy for a fae like me.
Read Fae Like Me now!
Read Next: Three for a Witch
Looking for a standalone reverse harem romance? Look no more!
After catching my boyfriend screwing my best friend, I have only one place to go: home to my witchy aunts, their magic and our coven.
I was supposed to cry my broken heart away. Instead I did a spell to draw three men to me: Orlando, Roman, and Jack.
They were my best friends when we were kids. Then something more when we were all fourteen. And I still long for them.
But things have changed since we were kids. There are cracks and missing pieces. And somewhere out there in the woods, a darkness lurks… a darkness coming for us all.
I just hope we can reunite in time to face it, or we might not live to see tomorrow.