by Carly Hansen
Her eyes glazed over, and the young man in the purple robe went out of focus. She squinted at him as she cocked her head.
“Excuse me? What—what did you just say?”
“I said it was vampires who kidnapped Catelyn.”
Micha pushed past Alda and jumped at the young man, almost knocking his chair over. He grabbed the collar of the man’s robe and pulled it upward as far as it could go, which wasn’t far as the fellow was so tightly bound. The man’s head fell back, and he stared helplessly into Micha’s eyes.
“You’d better be sure about what you’re saying, kid,” Micha snarled. “Nobody comes into my territory and throws about false accusations about vampires committing crimes.”
“Leave him alone,” Fenix shouted.
Micha’s head turned swiftly. His hands released the purple collar as his eyes registered surprise and curiosity.
And something more.
Was it anger, hurt, or a sense of betrayal? Or perhaps all three?
Whatever it was, Micha didn’t seem to appreciate Fenix raising her voice at him, or ordering him about, much less apparently siding with a total stranger instead of him.
Fenix fought off a vague notion that she owed him some sort of loyalty.
She turned away from Micha and focused on the young man.
The sound of the stranger’s voice echoed in her ears, calling out the name she’d never expected to hear again.
Her head felt light. The room started to spin.
Her knees buckled.
Before she hit the floor, strong arms were under her, bearing her up.
No, they weren’t bearing her up. They were tugging her from side to side.
“I’ve got her.”
“No, let me.”
Alda’s voice reverberated in one ear. “I said, I’ve got her.”
Micha’s sounded in the other. “Look, I’ve already—”
“Stop!”
The last voice shouting was Fenix’s.
She wanted to stand on her own two feet and interrogate the man in the purple robe. She was frustrated that she couldn’t because she felt so drained. And Alda’s and Micha’s bickering only made her feel worse.
Her body jerked to one side.
“You, get out!” Alda yelled at Micha. “You’re only upsetting Fenix.”
“I’m only trying to help.”
“I don’t need help. I need privacy to take care of him. Can’t you see how weak he is?”
“Come on, Alda, you know better than anybody that vampire blood will restore him faster than anything else.”
“Over my dead body, Micha Angelo. No helper of mine will ever resort to vampire blood. Now, get the hell out of here before I have to do something violent to you.”
Through drooping eyelids, Fenix saw Micha bristle. There was no comparison between his tall, muscular frame and the witch’s short, bony figure. Fenix had witnessed his speed and strength in tackling the Chimera. He could easily toss Alda around like a ragdoll.
Yet, he lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes. “Five minutes,” he said. “That’s all I’m giving you.”
Alda huffed.
“Then I’ll be back to finish questioning this one.” Micha thrust his chin in the direction of the tied-up young man.
He stormed out, slamming the door behind him. “Your five minutes start now,” he called out from behind the door.
Alda roughly jostled Fenix over to the bed and practically dropped her onto the mattress. The witch dipped her hand into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a tiny bottle. “Inhale this,” she said, dropping it into Fenix’s hand.
Fenix sniffed… It was a wonderful rose perfume. Then she gasped, chasing after more air.
The little white crystals in the clear bottle looked suspiciously familiar.
“Smelling salts?” Fenix said. “You said you needed privacy just to give me smelling salt?”
“No,” Alda said.
She walked to the back of the young man’s chair and tipped it back, toward her. With strength that belied her tiny frame, Alda dragged the chair closer to the bed, then pushed it upright. The front legs came down with a bang, and the man in the purple robe almost toppled over.
“I said I needed privacy,” Alda said, “but it was only because I didn’t want the vampire to hear when I questioned this one.”
She yanked a handful of the young man’s golden mane. “Okay, you. I need some answers. But keep your voice down because this room doesn’t have a soundproofing charm.”
“I’m willing to answer all your questions.”
“You’d better be. So, who’s this Catelyn, and why was she kidnapped?”
Fenix didn’t give the man a chance to answer. “Catelyn is my sister,” she said, choking on her words. “Or she used to be.”
Alda looked at her with wide eyes. She shook her head. “You’re not helping to make this any clearer.”
“I had a sister…” Fenix said. “When I was growing up in Birstall. Her name was Catelyn.” She looked at the young man, angry he’d stirred up this pain in her. “But she’s dead now. She died in a fire that destroyed our house.”
“No, she didn’t,” the young man said.
“What?”
“She escaped that fire. She was found the next day, wandering not far from your home. She was taken in by child welfare services and went into foster care.”
Fenix stared blankly, trying to grasp this information, but failing.
“But there’s something else you ought to know, Fenix,” the young man said. “She wasn’t your real sister.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The people you grew up with were her parents, but not yours.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Not at all. You were placed with that couple the day after you were born. The woman gave birth at home to a sickly baby who lived for only a few hours. You were given in place of the dead child.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. I know this is a lot to take in all at once. But I can explain more later. The most important thing you need to know right now is that you are very special. You are the only one of your kind in the world today.”
Alda shook the tuft of the young man’s hair that she held, and his head swung from side to side. The witch bent low toward his ears. “What is she?” she hissed.
The man took a deep breath. He turned to face Fenix, giving the answer as he stared deep into her eyes.
“A peacesmith.”
Alda’s jaw dropped. She let go of the man’s hair and stepped back. “That can’t be true,” she whispered.
The young man shook his head and tossed his messy hair out of his face. “It is,” he said.
“Can’t be.” Alda breathed heavily and folded her arms. “Peacesmiths were eliminated centuries ago.”
“Not quite,” the man said. “True, the last active peacesmith was burned at the stake in the Umbra Region many centuries ago. But a handful of them survived the great persecution. They went into hiding for decades until they fled the Umbra Region and came to this continent. Through marriage and mixing with the general population, they lost their powers as the gene that made them special became diluted. It was thought to be forever lost. Until now.”
Fenix stared at the two of them. Her mind was blank. The term they’d used wasn’t familiar to her. She searched her memory, but she couldn’t tell whether she’d come across the word in any of Alda’s books.
She sat up. “Who or what are peacesmiths?”
“Very special humans,” the young man said. “They’re born with a genetic makeup that allows them to channel and control energies that exist in nature.”
“Genetic make—” Fenix threw her legs off the bed and tried to get up, but she didn’t have the strength. “Hold on there. A mutant? You’re saying I’m some kind of freaking mutant?”
Alda walked over to Fenix and rested her hand on her shoulder. “Sweet child, if what he says is true, you’ve been given a gift�
��a wondrous gift.”
“This peacesmith thing sounds more like a genetic freak show.”
Alda slapped Fenix on her shoulder. The blow really stung.
“Don’t be disrespectful.” Alda turned to the young man. “Who are you and why should we believe what you say?”
“I am Gaius, assistant to Nostrad, the Great Mage of the Order of the Chimera.”
“I’ve heard of this Order,” Alda said, “but I thought it was just a myth.”
Gaius shook his head. “I can tell you it’s no myth. The Order has been waiting centuries for the re-emergence of Fenix’s kind.”
Alda narrowed her eyes. “I’m still not sure whether to believe you. If Fenix is a peacesmith as you say, why was I not able to detect that?”
“Because of the mark that protects her.”
“What mark?” Fenix asked.
Gaius looked as if he was surprised at the question. “On your head,” he said.
Alda nodded.
Weak legs or not, Fenix had to see this. She pushed herself off the bed and reached for the wall. Propping herself against it, she inched to the standing mirror in the corner of the room.
She pulled off her flat cap and bent her neck, trying every angle to see her head.
“You won’t be able to see it,” Alda said. “But it’s there, on your scalp, at the top of your head.”
“You’ve seen this mark on me?”
Alda nodded. “Yes, earlier, when I looked for it.”
“Our mortal enemy, Diabon, has become desperate to destroy you,” Gaius said. “You’re entering the phase when your destiny map says you will come into your power. But because the mark on your head masks your identity, Diabon can’t find you. He knows that you’re a runaway from Birstall, so he set out to destroy anyone who closely matched your profile.”
Fenix felt her heart slam against her rib cage. “You mean those girls in Birstall were murdered because someone was looking to kill me?”
Both Alda and Gaius nodded.
“I didn’t know that you were a peacesmith,” Alda said. “But I figured out that your powers made you a target.”
The memory of the victims flashed before Fenix’s eyes, and she felt sick to her stomach.
Behind the door, Micha’s voice sounded. “One minute left.”
Alda looked at Fenix in near panic. Then she scowled. “We can’t let him know you’re a peacesmith.”
“I agree,” Gaius said. “It’s better that he not know. But I believe he’ll be able to locate the vampires holding Catelyn faster than any one of us could.”
“I don’t care what he learns about me,” Fenix said. “Finding Catelyn is my only concern now.” She tried to push off the wall to get back to the bed, but she hardly had the energy to do so.
Alda walked over and slung her right arm over Fenix’s shoulder. “Much as I hate to admit it,” she said. “We probably do need Micha’s help.”
“Well, let him in and let’s get on with this rescue mission then,” Fenix said.
Alda dropped her on the bed. “You’re in no condition to go anywhere.” She lifted Fenix’s legs and stretched them out on the bed.
Fenix tried to resist but couldn’t. “I don’t understand why I feel so weak.”
“You need to rest,” Gaius said. “Don’t worry about Catelyn. They won’t hurt her.”
Fenix shook her head. “You don’t know what they’re capable of.”
“Believe me, I know,” Gaius said. “But they need her alive because it’s you they’re really after.”
********
Fenix felt her jaw drop.
“You mean they’re using my sister as bait to get after me?”
Gaius nodded. “Nostrad learned that Diabon had tracked down Catelyn and planned to use her to lure you. He sent me to protect her. But I’m sorry. I was too late.”
Alda stopped pulling the bedsheet over Fenix’s legs. “If Fenix tries to rescue her sister, she’ll just be walking into a trap?”
“When, Alda,” Fenix said. “When I go. There’s no if about this.”
The door opened and Micha strode in, locking eyes with Fenix.
“Better now?”
She shrugged. “I’ve had worse days.”
“The offer of my blood is still open,” Micha said.
Alda huffed.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Fenix said.
Micha looked her deeply in the eyes. He seemed disappointed. Fenix quickly looked away.
“As you wish,” Micha said quietly.
He then turned to Gaius. “Tell me about these vampires.”
“I don’t have anything more to tell.”
In the blink of an eye, Micha was at the side of the chair with his hands wrapped around Gaius’ throat.
“Don’t play games with me,” Micha said. “You’ve accused vampires of committing a major crime in my territory, while under my watch. Now tell me who are they. Where are they from?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that vampires snatched the girl.”
“You said her name is Catelyn?”
Gaius nodded. “She’s not in any immediate danger.”
“How do you know that?”
Just then, sounds of rumbling engines rose from outside.
Alda rushed to the window and poked her head out.
Fenix sat up but couldn’t pull herself up high enough to see the road. “Is it Twain and the others?”
Alda retracted her head. “Yes, my crew are back.”
She walked over to the chair where Gaius remained tied and stood face to chest with Micha. Looking up, she stared Micha in the eyes. “This party is over,” she said.
“My business here is not finished.”
“Your business here is finished when I say it is. I have my crew to deal with now. Fenix needs to rest to get back her strength. This captive also could do with a break.”
It seemed that Alda was so determined to get rid of Micha that she forgot they needed him to locate Catelyn.
“Tomorrow,” Fenix said.
Micha and Alda turned to her.
“You can return tomorrow,” she said. “I should be better then. The faster you can help determine where the kidnappers are holding Catelyn, the sooner we can set out to rescue her.”
The muscles in Micha’s face relaxed somewhat.
Fenix knew it was stupid to feel flattered that her words had had that effect on him, but that was exactly what she felt. It was a completely inappropriate thought at the moment, but she couldn’t help remarking how manly and handsome his face looked.
Darn, she hardly knew how to control her mind with him around.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll see what I can find out and return tomorrow.”
He walked to the door. As he opened it, he turned to Alda and pointed at Gaius. “Don’t let this one out of your sight.”
Alda tugged at a length of wire and tightened Gaius’ restraints. She tilted his chair and dragged him behind her as she followed Micha out the door.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “He’s not going anywhere.”
Chapter 24
The moon shimmered on the ocean outside Fenix’s window when she awoke. Darkness cloaked the wharf.
She had no clue how long she’d slept. Alda had given her something to drink that knocked her out cold. Maybe she’d slept a few hours. Maybe it had been days.
Her confusion about the time was nothing, however. It couldn’t compare to the state of her mind concerning who she was and what she was supposed to do with herself.
Only one thing was clear to her. She had to rescue Catelyn.
And she wanted to get going immediately.
The sound of metal hitting metal made Fenix throw off the sheets and jump out of bed. She followed the soft tinkering down to the garage, which was dimly lit by flickering torches.
The Harley stood in the center of the cluttered room. The sidecar had been detached. It now leaned against a far wall, looking discarded and forlo
rn.
Behind the bike, a figure in black bent over the machine. The figure’s feet and head were hidden. Only the arched back was visible, and it jerked up and down in time with the pounding sound.
As Fenix approached, the figure suddenly straightened up.
It was Alda.
Fenix found it strange to see the witch in something other than in her customary gray, full-length dress. Alda wore black leather pants and a black leather jacket over a black T-shirt. Her head, though, was the same untamed mess of salt-and-pepper hair.
“So how do you feel?” Alda said.
Fenix yawned and stretched her arms up, then let them flop to her sides. She shook away the last remnants of drowsiness. “Better,” she said.
It was good to stand on her own two feet again. But she knew she wasn’t one hundred percent back to normal. If she had to do battle at that very moment, there was no way she could call up a Viking sword or even a crossbow. There was no power in her arms or legs.
“You’d better be.” Alda threw down a long wrench and walked to Fenix, wiping her fingers with a greasy, blackened cloth. If her intention had been to get her hands clean, she was hardly succeeding. “I’ve given you some of my strongest remedies.”
Fenix’s tongue felt as if it had been scalded. She wanted to spit out the bitter taste that lingered in her mouth.
“Let me look at you,” the witch said.
Alda reached up to Fenix’s eyes with hands that smelled of dirt and grease. Instinctively, she pulled away.
Alda grabbed Fenix’s ear and tugged her head down, greasing the side of Fenix’s face in the process. “Let me see your eyes.”
Alda widened hers and stared into Fenix’s pupils, shifting her gaze from left to right as if she were reading a book. “Good,” she said. “You should be restored to full health within the next twelve hours.”
“My mouth tastes like crap. What did you give me?”
Alda raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. “I never reveal what goes into my medicines.” The beginnings of a rare smile stretched the corners of her lips. “Besides, you’re probably better off not knowing.”
“I think I might just agree with you on that.”
“Just don’t get yourself hurt anytime soon.”