Don't Tempt the Phoenix

by CJ England

  There was a glad cry from across the room. A tall dark man, standing next to a slender redhead opened his arms.

  “Aidan?”

  “Aithne!”

  The shout freed her from her shock, and with a sob of joy, Aithne launched herself into the man’s arms. Milcham felt a stab of jealousy when the man hugged her tightly and lifted her from the ground. His eyes began to glow.

  “I would suggest you douse the light unless you want all of New York to see you aren’t quite human,” a dry voice to his right said quietly.

  Milcham blinked. Turning, he saw the same redhead, that seconds before had been across the room. “How did you...?”

  “It’s part of the gift.” She smiled and held out her hand. “I’m Dawn, and you must be Milcham.”

  He bowed quickly, not taking his eyes from the two dark heads across the room. “I am pleased to meet you.”

  “Did your trip go well?”

  He thought of the crowds at the airport and the narrow uncomfortable seats on the plane and almost sneered. “It was adequate.”

  “This was a wonderful idea, surprising them both.”

  “Thank you for sending us the invitation.” Milcham frowned as he watched Aithne and her brother touch their foreheads together. His senses expanded suddenly. Why did he have this feeling of wrongness?

  Dawn didn’t notice his sudden stillness. “I know she told us all about you, but it’s very cool to finally meet you. A Phoenix . I bet you can tell all kinds of stories about your life.”

  “Not a Phoenix ,” he said absently, trying to figure out what was bothering him. “I am the Phoenix .”

  “That’s right…I forgot. Sorry. I’m just so super curious and I’ve got tons of questions. I hope you can stay long enough for us to get to know everything about you. I wonder…will Aithne become a Phoenix too? And what about your kids?”

  That brought Milcham’s head around. “Kids?”

  Dawn blushed. “I’m sorry. It’s just since Aidan and I can’t have children, I was hoping for a nephew or niece to spoil.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what will happen.” Milcham frowned and looked back at Aithne. “I am not sure if she will turn into something different, and as far as children are concerned…up until now, I too have been unable to father a child. I hope Yahweh lifts that ban from me when Aithne and I are truly mated.”

  “Good,” giggled Dawn. “Then I can send you a drum set for your first born.”

  Milcham smiled, but his heart wasn’t in it. The senses the Lord had given him were telling him something wasn’t right. He stared around the room. Was Aithne in danger again? Was the Ancient One lurking about?

  His eyes went back to his lover and her brother. They were so alike, he’d have thought they were twins. The same eyes, the same shape of the face. He frowned again. But something was wrong. He took a deep breath and allowed his senses to expand even further. When his inner being touched Aidan, Milcham staggered back in shock. This was the wrongness he felt. His heart screamed out in disbelief and pain. He turned back to Dawn, his eyes burning.

  “What is he?”

  —

  “Little sister…it is so good to see you.”

  Aithne buried her face in her brother’s chest. She hadn’t realized until just that moment how much she’d really missed him. His familiar arms held her lovingly, making her eyes fill with tears. “Oh, Aidan. I’ve been longing to see you.”

  “You could have come home, any time.”

  Aithne shook her head. “No. You and Dawn needed time to yourselves. I would have been in the way.”

  “Never in the way,” he rebuked her. “You are family.” He gazed over Aithne’s head at the tall, muscular blond standing with Dawn. “And it looks as if our family is growing. Is that your Phoenix ?”

  She stiffened. “Oh, God…Milcham.” Suddenly, all the joy of seeing her brother disappeared. Jarrod had warned her, this would happen, but in her arrogance she’d assumed she had everything under control. It never occurred to her Milcham would surprise her with a trip to see Aidan. Now her secret would be revealed. His generous gift could destroy them.

  “What is it?” Aidan dropped his forehead to hers in an instinctive effort to soothe. The traditional gesture made her tear up even more.

  “I’ve made a huge mistake.” She sighed deeply. “I didn’t think I would see you again. I thought we would go straight to the walled city.”

  He understood immediately and his eyes darkened. “You didn’t tell him about me. Or about us.” He pulled away from her. “You are ashamed of what you did for me?”

  “No! Never!” Her lower lip trembled. “He just had some really weird views about my gift of reading the cards, so I think I was afraid to tell him. And it was all in my past. I never expected you two to meet, so I didn’t worry about it.”

  “Aithne!”

  She closed her eyes. “I know, I know. It was foolish.”

  “From the look on his face, he’s already figured it out.”

  Aithne turned to meet Milcham’s horrified gaze and flinched. “Oh Aidan,” she whispered. “What have I done?”

  “Be brave, little sister.” He hugged her close to him. “If he loves you, he will accept it.”

  She gave a shiver, remembering their first meeting and how he’d railed at her. His view on evil was very strong. “I don’t know, brother. I just don’t know.”

  —

  Dawn blinked up at Milcham. “What do you mean…what is he? Didn’t Aithne tell you?”

  “She…did…not!”

  She flinched at his obvious anger. “Hey! Keep your voice down. I’m not going to allow you to endanger the man I love, just because you’re surprised.”

  Milcham turned and stared down at her, but he softened his voice. “He is not human. I sense…something else.”

  Dawn opened her mouth, but then shut it. “This isn’t my story. You should talk to Aithne.”

  “If she had wanted me to know, she would have told me,” he said in a quiet, furious tone. He stared across the room at the two siblings. “She kept this from me.”

  “She probably had a reason.”

  “We are to be mated! There is no good reason!”

  Dawn grabbed his arm with surprising strength. “I’m going to say this only one time. This is a very important night for me. I’m sorry you didn’t know what you were getting into, but I’m not going to let you ruin it and jeopardize both of them because you can’t keep your temper!”

  He fought back the urge to throw something. “At least tell me what he is!”

  She sighed. “If it will help you to calm down.” She pulled him with her, as she moved toward Aidan and Aithne. “Aidan is a vampire.”

  Milcham’s stomach rolled in disbelief. He had hunted vampires a century earlier in Europe. They were killers with only one function in life. To maim and destroy humans. How could Aithne’s brother be one of the cursed undead? None of it made sense. His eyes locked with his lover’s as Dawn drew him closer.

  He was furious, she could tell. His eyes only glowed like that when he was angry. Her heart sank. Would he understand? Or would he walk away from her?

  “So…” Aidan broke the uncomfortable silence. “You are Phoenix .”

  “I am,” Milcham answered shortly. “And you are a…Aidan.”

  “I am the only Aidan,” her brother smiled, deliberately misunderstanding him. “As you are the only Phoenix . Our mother used to tell stories of you.”

  Aithne shivered as Milcham’s hot gaze moved over her. “So she told me.”

  “Milcham—” Aithne began.

  “How old are you?” he interrupted, ignoring her.

  Aidan raised a dark brow. “I have lived for over a century in this form. Is that what you wanted to know?”

  “How many have you killed? How many have died to satisfy your lust for blood?” Milcham’s voice was very quiet, but it was full of rage.

  Both women gasped. Dawn’s hazel eyes flashe
d with her own fury. “How dare you!”

  Aidan went completely still in a way only a vampire can. “You insult me…brother.”

  “I am not…your brother.”

  Aithne put her hand on Milcham’s arm. “Please, don’t.” When his angry gaze came back to her, she flinched again, but went on bravely. “You don’t know anything about him, Milcham. You made the mistake once of judging me and were wrong. Why do you think I didn’t tell you about my brother? I knew you’d do the same thing.”

  “Don’t turn this around on me!” he fumed. “You kept this from me. You, who were so angry I didn’t tell you who I was? How could you do this?”

  “I think it’s time to take this elsewhere,” Aidan growled quietly. “I will not allow you to turn Dawn’s showing into a mockery.” He took Dawn’s hand and kissed her gently. “We will be back soon, love.”

  “I want to go too!”

  He shook his head. “This is your big night. You can’t walk away. We will be back soon.”

  Dawn glared at the three of them. “If you aren’t back in a half an hour, I’m coming to find you.”

  “We will,” he soothed. Then he bowed mockingly at Milcham. “Follow me.”

  Milcham followed silently, as his brother-in-law to be, led him through a door and up a narrow flight of stairs. They didn’t stop until they came out on to the roof.

  Aidan walked over to the side and then turned. “Now, say what you have to say.”

  “You are a vampire?”

  “Yes.”

  “One that has existed for over a century?”

  “One hundred and two years, to be exact.”

  “And you exist by killing innocents to drink their blood?”

  “No.”

  The abrupt answer surprised him. “Of course you do. It’s what all vampires do. I hunted your kind many years ago, because of your bloodthirsty tendencies.”

  Aidan almost smiled. “Did you destroy those that killed humans?”

  “Most gladly.”

  “Good!”

  Again Milcham was surprised. “You are pleased I killed your kind? What kind of vampire are you?” He answered his own question. “Never mind. It matters not. You are an unholy demon. Give me one reason not to kill you, too!”

  Aithne gasped and stepped between them. “No, you can’t. He’s my brother.”

  “A brother you didn’t tell me about!”

  “I should have. I’m sorry. I was afraid of how you would react.”

  Aidan snorted. “And well she should be. I thought the Phoenix was the most righteous of all the creatures in the garden. Not the most judgmental.”

  Milcham’s conscience twinged, but he ignored it. “You are evil. It is so written.”

  “And you, my soon-to-be brother, have got a lot to learn about my kind.”

  “You didn’t want to kill Jarrod and Alexander,” Aithne trembled in protest. “They both aren’t really human. Jarrod is a werewolf and Alexander…we don’t know what he is.”

  “They are not written in the manuscripts, as unholy. They do not live for centuries on the blood…” His voice trailed off and his face whitened. He swung back around to Aithne. “He is over a century old.”

  She knew what was coming. “Yes.”

  “Then…how old are you?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  She lifted green eyes to meet his amber ones. “I am one hundred and twenty-four years old…chronologically. Twenty-four…physically.”

  Milcham staggered backwards, confusion and disgust written all over his face. “You…you’re not a vampire. I would have sensed it.”

  Aithne put out her hand to him. Now she knew she was human. Her heart was breaking. “No…I’m not. But I am as old as he is. I was immortal, but I’m not now.”

  His heart and his head hurt. “I don’t understand.”

  “Allow me, little sister,” Aidan ordered gently. He turned to Milcham and his eyes glowed angrily. “I did not become a vampire by choice. When I did, I refused to live off the blood of another human being. I would not do to someone else what was done to me.” He reached out his arm and drew Aithne into his embrace. “I was ready to die, but Aithne wouldn’t let me. She forced me into drinking from her. She became my familiar, one whom I feed from, and I had no other until I met Dawn.”

  He smiled darkly. “Dawn is my world. As soon as I met her, I knew she was my twin-flame, the other half of my soul. I loved her completely. She took Aithne’s place and my sister was freed from her place as my familiar. She became human again.”

  Milcham rubbed his eyes. “You’re telling me you don’t kill humans?”

  Aidan chuckled. “You are behind the times, Milcham. Things have changed since you hunted vampires. We exist all over the world, mostly at peace in the human world. In flocks, or on our own, we don’t need to hunt. Blood is easy to find.”

  “This is insane.”

  “No more insane than a bird who can be reborn in the sun.”

  Milcham ignored that dig and turned to Aithne. “Why didn’t you tell me? You knew I had a right to know.”

  She bit her lip. “It was in the past, Milcham. I didn’t even expect you to meet him, so why stir up trouble?”

  “You were furious I didn’t tell you who I was. How can you justify not telling me who and what you were?”

  Aithne’s eyes filled with tears. “It was wrong. I’m sorry.”

  Milcham paced away from them both. “I can’t believe this. I thought I would be the freak in the family.”

  “Every family has their skeletons,” Aidan said mildly. “Ours are not so bad.”

  “Are you crazy!” Milcham exploded. “You’re the living dead, your mate let’s you drink her blood, and the woman whom I thought I loved, wasn’t human for over a century. Those aren’t skeleton’s. That’s a whole fuckin’ graveyard.”

  Aidan lifted an ebony eyebrow. “You are right sister. He does have a temper.”

  Aithne’s eyes flashed. “This is why I didn’t say anything. You called me a witch, just because I read tarot cards. I knew you would never understand why I did what I did. I knew you would stop loving me.”

  She took a step closer to him and poked him in the chest. “But, hear me now. I love you, but I wouldn’t change what I did for Aidan for anything. He’s my brother. All I had left in the world. I would have died for him.” She looked back at her sibling. “Just like he did for me.”

  “Aidan?”

  Dawn’s voice made them all jump. The redhead poked her head out of the roof door. “I know it hasn’t been a half hour yet…but I need you.”

  The vampire moved immediately to her side. “I am done here anyway.” He gave Dawn a loving kiss and then turned back to them. “Brother, I made the same mistake with my lady. I didn’t tell her what I was, until it was almost too late. Fortunately, she loved me enough to forgive me.” He glared at Milcham. “Don’t judge what you do not know. Don’t be foolish and throw away love that is precious and forever, just because you don’t understand.”

  Milcham gave a growl and turned away to stare off at the city lights. Aidan sighed. “Tell him, Aithne. Tell him our story. If he is going to judge us, let him know everything.”

  The door closed, leaving them alone. There was nothing but the sound of the wind as it whistled through the metal bracings on the roof. A few moments later, he felt her step to his side.

  “Will you be able to forgive me?”

  He had to answer her honestly. “I don’t know,” he said shaking his head. “You’re a hypocrite, Aithne. You got so angry at me for not telling you everything, yet you did the same. And not to tell me about this?” He shook his head again. “It is a lot to accept.”

  She nodded, a single clear tear tracing down her cheek. “You’re right. I am a hypocrite. I really did believe it was different because it was my past. I talked myself into it, because I was so afraid of how you would react. Can you understand that?”

  He nodded slowly, remembering their firs
t meeting. “I can understand, but I have trouble accepting. I changed. You saw it. Yet, you still didn’t tell me.”

  She touched his sleeve. “Can you honestly say if I told you I let my brother make me his familiar, it wouldn’t have mattered?”

  Milcham was silent for a long time as he struggled with the question. Everything in him was horrified with the whole idea. “It is not something…I can easily accept.” Suddenly, he turned to her and grabbed her by the arms. “Why, Aithne? Why would you allow him to do that to you? He was already one of the undead. Why couldn’t you let him die?”

  A slap across the face caught him by surprise, knocking him back several steps. He whipped his head back around to see Aithne, her breasts heaving in anger, glaring at him.

  “Damn it, Aith—”

  “Don’t you ever say that again,” she snapped. “He is my brother. I love him. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here. He saved my life. Don’t you understand? I would have done anything to help him. Anything!”

  She paced away, and then turned back abruptly. “You don’t understand. You never will, because you don’t have a family of your own.”

  Pain shot through him. “I thought I did…in you!”

  “I love you, Milcham. But, I’m not ashamed of my brother, even though I may have acted like it. Aidan is the bravest and kindest man I know. He gave his life for me.”

  “You said that before. What do you mean? Is that what he wanted you to tell me?”

  She sighed. “Dawn is the only other one who knows. We swore we wouldn’t tell anyone what happened to us.”

  “I’m listening.”

  Aithne shivered. She hated talking about this. It made her feel exposed and frightened, still after all these years. “My family lived in a small town in California . My father owned the local bar, but it wasn’t a bad place, more of a pub where a man could get a beer and a good meal after he got off work.” She chewed her lip.

  “My mother worked in the kitchen, but Aidan and I helped my father in the front. I never had any trouble. People were respectful of me, especially when my father and Aidan were around.”

  Milcham thought of the strength he’d seen in the vampire. He wouldn’t want to come up against him in a fight, supernatural or not.