More than a Phoenix

by Ashlyn Chase

  “Exactly. I was thinking the same thing, so we’ll have ours in its locked and warded room for now, but I’d really feel better if I could see this new book for myself first before we decide anything.”

  “I understand. Noah and I will wait for you. Meanwhile, I’ll cast a few wards that only you and Mr. Wolfensen can get through.”

  “Good thinking.”

  “Wait a minute,” Noah said. “I have a roommate. My brother. He’s not due home for another hour or so, but I certainly don’t want to lock him out.”

  “It will only be temporary,” Kizzy said.

  “If he comes home early, he won’t get zapped trying to open the door or anything, will he?”

  Both Kizzy and her father chuckled. “No. The door just wouldn’t open. I don’t zap unsuspecting strangers.”

  “Okay then. Ward away.”

  Aaron chuckled. “See you in a few minutes.”

  He hung up the phone, and Kizzy disconnected on her end. Then she set the phone on Noah’s kitchen counter and draped her arms around his neck. “I think that went well. Don’t you?”

  Noah let out a deep breath. “Better than I thought it would.”

  “I love you, Noah.”

  “You should probably tell your dad that.”

  “Oh, he knows. Trust me. He knows.”

  * * *

  What seemed like only a minute later, Noah heard a knock at his door. “I wonder who that is?”

  “Can you see who’s at the door by looking out the window?” Kizzy asked.

  “No. Can you see through the door?”

  She laughed. “Who do you think I am? Supergirl?”

  He inwardly laughed at himself. “Well, if you’re not, I’ll just have to open the door and see who’s there. There’s no peephole in some of these old homes—including this one.” He tucked the book in a kitchen cabinet among a couple of cookbooks.

  When he got to the door, he took a deep breath before opening it. He was shocked to see Nick and Dr. Samuels there already, and they had a redheaded woman with them. “Come in.”

  The woman stepped inside ahead of the two men.

  Noah shut the door. “How did you get here so fast?”

  “Can he be trusted?” Nick asked Aaron.

  “My daughter trusts him. She’s a pretty good judge of character.”

  Kizzy entered the room. “Pretty good? I’d say I’m very good.”

  The woman smiled. “Except where love is concerned. Then things like judgment and trust can get very confusing.”

  “Spoken like someone who knows,” Nick said and smiled at her.

  Noah’s patience for all this cryptic conversation was wearing thin. He folded his arms. “Is anyone going to introduce us?”

  “Oh! I’m sorry, Noah. This is Nick Wolfensen’s wife, Brandee,” Kizzy said.

  “How did you get here so quickly?”

  Brandee shrugged. “I’m a good driver. I know how to avoid traffic.”

  Noah narrowed his eyes at her.

  “It’s okay,” Aaron said. “He knows.”

  Brandee placed her hand over her heart. “Whew, I was afraid we were going to have to come up with some kind of bizarre explanation for my being able to change time and transport physical matter through the ether.”

  Noah raised his eyebrows.

  “I don’t think he knew all that!” Aaron said.

  “Actually, I’m familiar with a deity who can do all that, and more.”

  This time, Brandee’s eyebrows shot up. “It sounds like you’re talking about my boss.”

  “If her name is Gaia, then yes.”

  Brandee grinned. “Oh, my paranormal family. How the heck do you know her?”

  “It’s a long story. One I’d rather not get into right now.” He glanced at Kizzy.

  “I agree. Dad, you wanted to see the book. Is it okay to bring it out to the living room and show everyone, Noah?”

  “I don’t see why not. The only one I don’t know is Brandee, and Nick can vouch for her. What do you say, Nick? Can your wife be trusted with a secret?”

  Nick laughed. “Absolutely. She didn’t divulge mine even when she thought I was… Never mind. It’s a long story too.”

  “Okay,” Noah said. “I’ll go get the book.” He went into the kitchen and took it out of the cabinet where he’d stashed it. He hoped showing it to them would help somehow. He wasn’t quite ready to surrender it though. He had everything set up in his lab, but having the right words would really help. Kizzy might be willing to divulge the information he needed later.

  Taking the book to the living room, he handed it to Aaron.

  “I’ll be damned. That’s it.” He didn’t even study it. Just a quick perusal of the cover and contents made him smile as he scanned.

  Aaron turned to Brandee and nodded. Noah wondered what that was about. Suddenly, everyone disappeared except the redhead he’d just met.

  * * *

  “Son of a monkey’s butt!”

  “Kizzy! Language!” her father said, horrified.

  “I didn’t swear. None of those words are swears.”

  “But would you say them in the ER?”

  “Probably not. Sorry. But how do you expect me to react to this a-hat behavior?”

  “I expect you to be on your best behavior—at all times,” her father said.

  “So suddenly, here I am with you and Nick. Where is Brandee?”

  Nick and Aaron glanced at each other. “She’s with Noah. She has to get a friend to help wipe his memory of the book.”

  “A friend? Who? And why?”

  “There’s no way we can let anyone who doesn’t absolutely need to know in on this. It’s for his own safety, Kizzy.”

  She sagged. “I understand, but how much of his memory is Brandee’s friend going to wipe?” She narrowed her eyes at her father.

  Her father straightened his spine. “What are you implying?”

  Kizzy shrugged. “I know you don’t like him. Maybe you want her to wipe his mind of my existence?”

  Her father looked hurt. “I would never do that. Your love life is your own. Your mistakes are your own. I don’t want to be responsible for making those decisions for you.”

  “And yet you tried to talk me out of seeing him.”

  He shrugged. “I never said I couldn’t express an opinion.”

  “You did more than that. You told me to break up with him.”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.”

  She was tempted to make a crack about how maybe he was finally seeing her as an adult or mellowing but didn’t think this was the time. “I appreciate your opinions, but not your interference.” Before he could respond, she held up her hand. “I really do love Noah. And I know he loves me. I trust you wouldn’t ruin that, even if you didn’t approve.”

  Kizzy went to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of ice water. “So, Nick. How much of Noah’s memory is Brandee’s friend going to erase?”

  He shrugged. “Not much. We have a friend with the power to mesmerize. Ruxandra can erase memories as well as replace them with new ones. And she’ll ask her to only erase his memory of the book. He won’t know about its existence. That’s all.”

  She couldn’t help being suspicious. How would she pull that information out and leave everything else alone?

  Brandee popped into the room. “I’m sorry it took so long. I had a nice chat with your young man before Ruxandra erased his memory—with his permission.”

  “Seriously?” Kizzy asked. “He agreed to it?”

  “Yes. He’s a good guy, Kizzy.”

  “I know that.” She eyed her father. “I wish everyone did.”

  “Honey…”

  “Stop. I understand. You just want what’s best for me. The thing is, Noa
h is what’s best for me. I’ve never known anyone so selfless. Maybe it will work out. Maybe it won’t. But for now, he’s the only true friend I have outside this family.”

  “I understand that now. There’s no doubt in my mind that you two could be good for each other. Of course, I’ll need to wait and see.”

  Kizzy let out a deep sigh. “Yeah. I have to expect that. I imagine it’s the same with every parent who thinks no one is good enough for their baby.”

  “You’ll find out,” Brandee said. Her bright-blue eyes twinkled.

  Both Kizzy and her father looked at her in surprise.

  “Oops. I guess I should’ve yelled, ‘Spoiler alert!’”

  “Wait—you can’t mean Kizzy’s…”

  “Not yet. Sorry,” Brandee said.

  Kizzy smiled, and it grew into a grin. “Just knowing that I’ll have children eventually makes me happy.” Then she turned to her father and said, “Mazel tov, Grandpa.”

  Aaron groaned. “Grandpa? Already?”

  Kizzy laughed. “It’s not like you’ve got a lot of time to get used to the idea. I may not be pregnant, but Ruth is.”

  Suddenly, she remembered she and Noah hadn’t used anything other than magical protection—and she’d never tried it out before. Maybe she was pregnant! Nah… She didn’t feel any different. Still, she’d better keep that little tidbit to herself.

  * * *

  Dante walked into the house and hung up his jacket. “Hi, honey, I’m home.”

  Noah wandered into the living room, scratching his head. “I just found something, and I’m hoping you can tell me what it is.”

  Dante took in the strange look on his brother’s face and grew alarmed. “What is it? Some kind of new bug crawling on our food or something? I told you to put everything in airtight containers.”

  “Come with me.” Noah strode toward the back of the hall and veered left into the spare bedroom. He indicated the amateur chem lab with a sweep of his arm. “This. What’s all this?”

  Dante gaped at his brother with concern. “Your lab? You set the whole thing up but don’t recognize it? You don’t know what experiment you’re doing in here?” Dante strolled up to his brother and felt his forehead. It was no warmer than usual. “Are you feeling all right?”

  Noah stepped away from him. “I feel fine. Look, I’m just confused—and concerned. All of this equipment…these ingredients… This stuff is extremely volatile, and it’s ready to go. One wrong move and kerblooey! I obviously know some of this stuff is mine, but who set it up? If I did, why don’t I remember it?”

  Dante took a step back. “Are you telling me you forgot about the alchemy experiment?”

  “What alchemy experiment?”

  “You can’t remember you’re doing an alchemy experiment? Did you inhale something you shouldn’t have?”

  Noah threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know what’s going on. If I did inhale something, it was an accident. You know I wouldn’t do anything like that on purpose.” He rubbed his forehead. “At least you know more than I do. What can you tell me about the alchemy thing?”

  “Where’s the book?” Dante hurried to the closet where he thought Noah was keeping it. He looked through the shelves, and there was nothing even remotely like it. He even looked in and picked up boxes, in case it had slipped into or behind something. “I don’t see it. Did you take it somewhere?”

  Noah shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What book?”

  Dante was becoming more and more concerned. “Come on, Bro. If you’re joking, I don’t appreciate the prank.”

  “I’m not joking.”

  “I believe you. You’re not that good of an actor.” Now he was downright worried about his brother and his state of mind. What was going on with him? “Let’s go check around the kitchen and see if we can find it there.”

  “Okay. But I don’t know what I’m looking for.” Noah followed him to the kitchen.

  Dante began opening cabinets and drawers while Noah just watched. Finally, when Dante didn’t see the book anywhere, he turned and said, “I don’t think it’s here. I’ll look in my own room, even though you never go in there.” Then he stopped in his tracks. “You don’t, do you?”

  “Of course not. Why would I?”

  Dante strode off to his bedroom and did a quick survey of the area. There wasn’t a lot to see. He checked his dresser drawers, his closet, under his bed, but there was nothing that looked like the ancient book Noah had brought home.

  What the heck could’ve happened to my brother? That was what was really bothering him. He went back to find Noah searching his own bedroom.

  “I wish I knew what I was looking for. I guess there’s some kind of book that doesn’t just contain the usual science experiments.” He held up a chemistry 101 textbook from high school.

  “Yeah, that’s not it. You said you found it at an old book shop on Cambridge Street. It’s leather-bound. The pages are all yellow, and some of the edges look a little crispy. You showed it to me because it’s in Latin, and you thought I could translate it. Translating it was kind of weird. It just seemed like a recipe book.”

  Noah stood tall and turned toward him. “Like a cookbook? Why would I get a recipe book in Latin?”

  “Damned if I know. Maybe you were just curious about it. Knowing you, buying a book that intrigued you for no apparent reason isn’t out of the realm of possibility.”

  He might pull a joke on Noah like this, but Noah would never do it to him. Even if he was trying to be a wiseass, he’d have given it up by now. “Come on, buddy. I think you should lie down for a bit in the living room.”

  “You mean I’m losing my mind, apparently.”

  “Maybe you’re just thinking too hard. Go relax, and I’ll get you a beer.”

  “Okay…” Noah strolled off to the living room with a blank stare on his face.

  What the hell could have happened to him?

  Dante returned to the kitchen and grabbed that beer while looking in places he might’ve missed the first time. Maybe his brother had a minor stroke, or maybe this was a symptom of early-onset Alzheimer’s. He didn’t even know if phoenixes could suffer from things like that. But there was no other explanation. He checked the oven and slid out the drawer below it, thinking maybe it was an absent-minded professor thing. The whole situation had him vexed.

  Dante returned to the living room with two beers. Noah was on the couch with his feet stretched out on top of the coffee table. Dante handed him his beer without telling him to get his feet off the table. The guy deserved a break, if he hadn’t already had one of some kind.

  Dante took a seat in the adjacent chair, took a swig of his beer, and watched as Noah seemed to prod his brain for some kind of information. If this was a joke, he was staying in character.

  “I wish I knew what happened.” Noah shook his head.

  “Me too.” Dante leaned back and asked, “Is there anything else you can remember about today?”

  “Like what? Like what I’ve had to eat?”

  “Sure. Anything. Anything at all. You never know what might be a hint.”

  Noah leaned back and said, “I woke up in my room. Went to the kitchen and poured a bowl of that Engine 2 cereal. Got the milk out of the fridge…”

  Dante was tempted to tell him to hurry it up, but he didn’t dare. He might miss a critical step, so he let his brother drone on about every possible event he could remember, from getting dressed to brushing his teeth to having a phone call from… And there it is.

  “Kizzy? She called you?”

  “No. I called her. I wanted to see how she was doing. She wanted to come over, but instead, I went to see her. Then something happened… It’s kind of foggy.”

  Dante realized something had triggered this. And perhaps that something was Kizzy. “Where is Kizzy now?”


  Noah looked around as if expecting to see her. “I don’t know. She was here a few minutes ago.”

  “Here? Here in our apartment?”

  “Yeah.” Noah set his beer on the coffee table and froze. “She was here along with a few other people. Her father, his friend Nick, and Nick’s wife…and someone else. I don’t remember who the other woman was. She was only here for a short time.”

  “I thought her father didn’t like you.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t think so either. But I feel like something—changed.” Noah rose and took different spots in the living room as if standing in different people’s shoes. At last, he shook his head. “I’m sorry. I just can’t make any sense of it.”

  Maybe he got a bump on the head. “Do you feel well, physically? I was just thinking you may have gotten hit on the head or something.”

  Noah patted his head, his jaw, his shoulders, and looked at his hands and wrists. Then he stretched his legs, bent his knees, and swiveled his ankles. “Everything checks out. No pain. Everything works.”

  “Except your memory.”

  Noah let out a frustrated breath. “I’d hate to call Kizzy and say, ‘Hey, can you fill me in on the last two hours? I’ve completely misplaced them.’”

  Dante smiled sadly. If he had to say something like that to Mallory, he knew she would understand. Even if she didn’t, they’d shared enough weirdness that it wouldn’t even be creepy. She’d just try to help him. But would Kizzy be that understanding? He didn’t think they had the same kind of easy relationship. “Maybe it will come back to you later.”

  “I don’t know. It’s not like I just forgot a name or address. It feels more like a dream, and the further I get from it, the more it disappears.”

  “Maybe you should call in sick tonight.”

  Noah stared at him. “And do what? Just rattle around the apartment, hoping something will come back to me? I might never remember this rumored book or experiment. But I do remember how to fight fires. I think that would help me more than anything right now. Not that I wish for a fire… I’d never do that. I’d just like to feel normal.”