by Ashlyn Chase
* * *
“Kizzy! How’s it going?” Mallory said.
“It’s going weird. I wouldn’t bother you, but my father and Mr. Fierro thought we should talk. Your dad was doing some construction in Brazil, and my family’s nemesis is hiding out there, probably in the same area.”
“Uh-huh. I remember the map thingy we did.”
“The Fierros are going to try to help us find their exact location. Since our situations are probably connected, you could pinpoint where they should start their search.”
“I thought you knew the exact spot from scrying.”
“No. Just the general area. Having them fly overhead and find it from a logical starting point could save a lot of time. How would you like to help put a stop to the jerks who put a curse on you?”
“If it’s the same group, you mean.”
“I’m pretty sure it is. Not many people would curse a total stranger. But these horrible asshats would.”
Mallory couldn’t help getting excited. She’d love to know who cursed her and why. More crucially, she’d like to be sure they wouldn’t do it again! “But I don’t know the exact location. I mean, I think it’s near a certain bend in the river, but I’m not exactly sure. Should I ask my father? He’s the one who could give precise coordinates, but he might ask why I need to know.”
“I talked to Mr. Fierro and my dad. They said if you didn’t know, they would approach your father. It’s tricky, because they don’t know him, and I assume he’s human?”
Mallory chuckled. “Sometimes I wonder, but yes. As far as I know, he’s human.”
“They said if he asks questions and they feel they can trust him, they might reveal their paranormal status.”
“Dante made me think they weren’t supposed to reveal themselves to humans.”
“Yes. And if he freaks out, they have friends who can erase his memory.”
Mallory took a deep breath. “Is that safe?”
“Yes. They did it to Noah. I wouldn’t have let them if they hadn’t assured me they could do it completely safely.”
An upside would be that Mallory could share the whole monkey fiasco with her father. They had been getting closer lately. An even greater upside would be making sure these asshats couldn’t curse anyone else.
“I’m in!”
* * *
Five phoenixes glided over the Amazon River, their colorful tail feathers reflected in the slow-moving water. Aaron and Antonio sat in lounge chairs on the torn-up shore, mesmerized by the beautiful birds.
Mallory’s father, Nigel, exited a shack, bringing over a tray with a pitcher of lemonade and three empty glasses on it. He set everything on a rustic-looking coffee table. “I’ve never seen anything like them.”
Antonio smiled. “They’re pretty magnificent, right?”
“Magnificent indeed,” Aaron said. “I still wonder why you wanted to help us. It’s not your problem.”
“From what I understand, my sons are getting serious about your girls. If they become part of our family, we all have a problem. But together, we’re a solution.”
Aaron’s brows shot up. “A solution? You have a plan?”
“Wait,” Nigel said. “Before we get to that… Nothing has been said or decided yet, right? You seem to think Mallory will be joining your family.”
“Yes. My Gabriella thinks she will, and she’s never been wrong. That woman can spot a daughter-in-law at thirty paces.” He laughed. “I know this is more for Kizzy’s sake, but if Mallory ever needs anything, we’re here for her too. We’d do anything for family.”
“Thank you.”
Aaron looked thoughtful. At last, he spoke. “If Noah makes Kizzy happy, and she has trusted you with her secret and you have trusted her with yours, I don’t see anything wrong with joining our families.”
Antonio leaned toward him. “Thanks. Gabriella thinks he’s found ‘the one.’ They speak the same language. He’s an EMT with ambitions to go on and become a paramedic—maybe someday a doctor. Meanwhile, if he ever gets hurt in a fire, we can heal him. She can heal the rest of the world. Together, they’d make a pretty powerful couple.”
Nigel chuckled. “I never knew all this stuff existed. Thank you for trusting me with your secrets. Now that I know my construction troubles could have been fueled by magic and hidden agendas, I feel oddly better.”
“You understand how important it is to keep everything between the three of us, right?” Aaron asked.
“Who would believe me? Besides, after all my daughter finally told us, I understand it was your daughter and the Fierro family who were looking out for her. If I’d had any idea, I’d never have started this stupid project.”
Antonio glanced around the chained-off area that had been cleared. “Oh, I don’t know if I’d call it stupid. The idea was probably a good one. Most people never get to see this remote part of the world. To take them on tours could be a good thing—as long as you coupled it with a healthy respect for the environment and talks about the interdependence of the plant and animal life along the river.”
Nigel smiled. “Exactly. I’m glad someone appreciates what I was trying to do. It wasn’t about a five-star hotel experience as my daughter thought. That would be an impossible feat to pull off in this part of the world. I’m glad I could be here to explain my vision.”
The birds took a sudden turn and flew over the tops of the trees until they could no longer be seen.
Antonio sat up. “They’ve seen something.”
“Let’s hope so,” Nigel said. “How are you going to rid the world of this menace?”
“We have a plan. I know it may seem strange that I can’t give you details, but together with some friends who prefer to remain anonymous, I think we can manage to do this without killing anyone.”
“I hope it’s foolproof,” Aaron said. “I can’t get over all the wonderful people you know, willing to do whatever it takes to help one another.”
Antonio smiled. “Neither can I, Aaron. Neither can I.”
* * *
After scoping out the area and gathering intel, the phoenixes landed in the backyard of a modest house. It was very private. They shifted and dressed in the track suits they had left on the picnic bench there. Then they met their third cousins at a large truck with a cage over the back and a canvas covering, the kind of thing that would transport soldiers.
“Let me do the talking when we get there,” Jayce said.
“You’ll have to. We don’t know what’s going on.” It was the first time Jayce had met these cousins, but they seemed like old friends, immediately wanting to help.
“It’s probably better to keep it that way.”
There were only two of them here, Marco and José. The other relatives lived closer to town and blended in with the locals. Jayce climbed into the back of the truck with the rest of his brothers. They started up and jolted over the rough terrain. They weren’t far from the area where they would meet up with their father and the two men he said were Mallory’s and Kizzy’s fathers—and very likely Dante’s and Noah’s future fathers-in-law.
As the truck rumbled along, Miguel asked, “So now that we know where they are, what are we going to do about them?”
Jayce shrugged. “That’s up to Dad. He says he has a plan, but he won’t let anyone in on the nitty-gritty details. Not yet anyway. He said he had to get a few other people involved and get their permission.”
“Permission to do what?”
Jayce reclined against the rustic bench. “I’m not at liberty to say.”
When they reached the cleared land along the shore of the Amazon, they all jumped out of the back and waved goodbye to their cousins.
The elder Fierro strolled over to meet them. “So, boys, what did you find out?”
“Are you ever going to stop thinking of us as boys?” Luca
asked.
“Nope.” Antonio folded his arms and waited.
As soon as the truck was out of sight, Jayce turned to his father.
“There’s a compound. A fairly sizable one. Fifteen buildings on about four acres. We saw at least twenty men of various ages. A few women and children.”
“Damn,” one of the men said as he strolled up beside Antonio. “If I had known there were that many assholes across the river, I probably wouldn’t have chosen this build site.”
“They’re more than just assholes,” the other unfamiliar man said. “They’re dangerous. Extremely dangerous.” Then he looked to Jayce, stepping forward and extending his hand. “I’m Kizzy’s father, Aaron Samuels, by the way. I assume you’re the one called Jayce?”
Jayce shook his hand. “Yes. I’ll be the new leader of the family when my father retires.”
“I didn’t know you were still working, Antonio,” Aaron said. “I thought you had retired a while ago.”
“You’re right. I retired from the fire service several years ago. But now I want to retire from the family service. My boys are all grown, as my youngest will tell you, and they can take care of themselves. But I insist on leaving someone in charge. Actually, even Jayce has a backup. His brother Miguel will co-lead. We have unique problems, and somebody needs to be the final decision maker.” Antonio turned to his sons. “Did you see anyone armed?”
“Yes. There were a couple of guards carrying rifles. One on each side of the compound.”
Aaron nodded. “I would expect as much.”
“Is there any way to sneak in?”
“There’s a small tributary bordering it. A fairly steep bank could hide someone.”
“Can you give us exact coordinates?” Mallory’s father asked. He pulled a map from his back pocket and opened it. Then he carried it to the coffee table, spread it out, and smoothed it.
Antonio said, “We don’t have built-in GPS, but Jayce’s sense of direction can certainly guide my next guests to where they need to be.”
“Next guests?” Aaron prompted.
“It’s time for phase two.” Antonio nodded to Jayce and said, “You know what to do.”
Jayce closed his eyes. “Kristine? Can you hear me?”
His beautiful wife appeared next to him. “I could hear you better if you took your shirt off.” She waggled her eyebrows.
The guys laughed.
“Is that all I am to you? A sex object?” Jayce teased.
“No. You’re much more than an object. So, how are we going to do this?”
Jayce shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s been you and my dad cooking up this whole thing.”
“Antonio? Do I have your permission to share the plan with everyone?”
“Why don’t I share it?” he said. “You just go and get the people we need.”
“Okay. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
Kristine disappeared.
“We belong to a paranormal club in the city, which is where I found certain people to help. And that was my daughter-in-law, Kristine. We can all visit later, but I don’t think we should delay in case anyone on the other side of the river gets suspicious and leaves the compound.”
He didn’t have a chance to say more before two people appeared with Kristine, all holding hands.
“Thanks for the lift,” a guy with a short military haircut said.
Kristine let go and stepped away, joining Jayce.
Antonio introduced them briefly. “This is Kurt and his wife, Ruxandra. We need their help to end this thing. It’s going to take some doing. My boys will be in the trees watching in case anything goes wrong. Kristine will transport these two over the river, following Jayce.
“The rest of the plan is fairly simple. Kurt is a wizard and can freeze time briefly. Ruxandra has the ability to erase minds and replace memories with new ones.”
Ruxandra, a gorgeous blonde in a red dress, said, “I’m a vampire and can mesmerize these idiots and convince them they are, and always have been, simple farmers.”
“Wait,” Aaron said. “They have a book we need. Before they lose their memories of it, you need to find that book.”
“Boy, you don’t ask for much, do you?” Kurt said. “How many people do I have to hold frozen in time at once?”
“I’d estimate at least thirty-five or forty,” Jayce said.
“Can you do that?” Luca asked. “Freeze people then thaw them out one at a time for your wife to mesmerize?”
Kurt grinned. “With any luck. And it’s not so much thawing them out as it is allowing time to advance in one place and not another. It’s very complicated, and I hope I can do it without my head exploding.”
Kristine’s jaw dropped. “You mean you’re not sure you can do this without harming yourself? I can help turn time back a bit, but I have no idea how to manipulate it in one spot and not another—at least not by myself. I’d need several of my muse sisters for that.”
“Don’t worry. I should be okay. And if not, I understand there’s a doctor here?”
Aaron stepped forward. “Yes. I’m a doctor. And you’re…human?”
“One hundred percent. I’ve studied magic all my life, but I have no supernatural powers.”
Aaron set his hands on his hips. “Manipulating time? That sounds pretty darn supernatural to me.”
Kurt shrugged. “What can I say? It’s possible I have some kind of paranormal power, but as far as I know, I’m just damn talented.”
“Well, whatever it is, we’re just grateful you’re here,” Antonio said. “My bunch of phoenixes wouldn’t be able to do more than set fires and put them out. And that really rubs us the wrong way.”
“And if I harmed anyone, I’d be violating not only my Hippocratic oath, but the Witches’ Rede too,” Aaron said.
Jayce stepped forward and shook Kurt’s hand. “Thanks, man. This is above and beyond.”
“Well, I’m a nice guy and all that.”
Ruxandra looked shocked. “I thought you said they were paying us.”
Kurt put an arm around her. “They are, hon. Don’t worry. You’ll get that honeymoon we never took.”
“Oh, good.”
Antonio withdrew his wallet and took out a check. “I have it right here. You already received the other half up front, correct?”
“I paid them. Don’t worry,” Aaron said.
Ruxandra focused on the third man and said, “How about you? Do you leave the tip?”
Nigel’s jaw dropped, and he was silent for a moment. “Sure. If you’re successful and our families are completely out of danger forever, you can have this land you’re standing on.”
She looked satisfied and nodded once. “Fine. We can honeymoon right here.” She turned to her husband and said, “Kurt, honey? You can conjure up a building and some staff and a pool, right?”
Kurt laughed. “I love you, my diva wife. And you know I can’t refuse you anything. Your wish is my command.”
Ruxandra smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Then she turned to the three men and rubbed her hands together. “Let’s get this shitshow on the road.”
* * *
Jayce led the way. Kristine held the hands of the vampire and wizard, and all three of them remained in the ether as she followed her husband’s lead.
The guards didn’t look too “on guard,” so to speak. In fact, they seemed pretty lackadaisical.
Ruxandra and Kurt walked out of the ether, appearing to have come out of thin air. Kristine watched from within. She could jump into the scene and turn back time by a few minutes. Just enough to send a bullet back to its chamber, if necessary.
Ruxandra strode boldly, catching the guard’s eye. His jaw went slack, and he didn’t move. Damn, she’s good. Kristine made a note of that for the future.
She couldn’t hear what wa
s said, but the guard handed over his weapon. Suddenly, the other guard came charging across the length of two football fields, shouting. All eyes turned to the vampire.
“Aw, crap.” Kristine was about to step in when the wizard drew an arc in the air. Everyone froze in place. He then went from person to person with his wife, unfreezing and refreezing each person in turn.
Kristine was almost mesmerized herself by the amazing feat they were pulling off…until a couple of men armed with pistols came running out of the nearby building. Time to snap out of it.
She stepped out of the ether and froze them. Then she backed up time a bit. Unfortunately, that undid the wizard’s work on the last women he’d frozen.
“Damn it,” she muttered. “I hadn’t counted on that.”
Kurt raised his hand and called over to her. “It’s okay. We’ll just start with the buildings first.” As soon as he and Ruxandra were inside, with a snap of his fingers the women who were hanging damp laundry resumed their work.
Back in the ether, Kristine followed them inside, leaving Jayce to watch over the people outside. He’d squawk if anyone was coming. She watched as Ruxandra mesmerized each of the two men inside. Then she grabbed their guns and pulled the vamp and the wizard into the ether a moment after he snapped his fingers. She paused long enough to see them looking for something—presumably farming implements.
They repeated this pattern in two of the other buildings. One was a bakery of sorts, and the other looked like a tailor’s shop. A barn held some animals, but no one was in there at the moment. The rest of the buildings were either empty or only residential.
When everyone indoors had been convinced they were farmers, bakers, or tailors, they returned to the people outside.
All went smoothly with the residents outside, and when Kurt and Ruxandra were safely ensconced in the ether, Kurt unfroze the entire scene. Most people carried on with what they were doing. The two guards scratched their heads and glanced around in confusion.
“Did you tell the guards they were farmers?”
“Yes, but I may have neglected to tell them what they were supposed to be doing and hand them a hoe or something.”
“Well, we can’t have that.” Kristine pointed at the ground behind the men, and a hoe, rake, and seedlings appeared.