Blood of a Phoenix (The Nix Series Book 2)

by Shannon Mayer

  A laugh reverberated through the line, feminine and soft. “Oh, Phoenix,” Vivian said, “I am going to enjoy killing your son.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Bear

  The sound of gunshots woke me out of what was already a fitful sleep. I jerked upright, sweat sliding down my cheeks. I swiped at my face and stared into the semi-dark of the room. More gunshots echoed through the house, followed by yelling that had my heart racing and my feet moving of their own choice. I slid from the bed and hurried to my pile of clothes on the chair next to it. I pulled them on and then went to the door, pressing my ear against the paneling. The shouting was going away from me.

  I held my breath as I turned the knob, flinching when the click sounded. Too loud, it was too loud.

  With the door cracked open, I could see down the hall and I could hear Killian’s voice.

  “The boy ain’t here, and you can tell your master that.”

  There was a thud and then Killian grunted like . . . like he was being hurt. I bit my lower lip, uncertainty flowing through me. He’d been kind to me. I couldn’t just run away when he was being hurt, still trying to protect me. I let the door open wide. If I remembered right, Killian had a gun in his desk at the other end of the house.

  If I was fast enough . . . I could reach it, and get whoever was hurting him to follow me. I didn’t want to think about what I planned with the gun, that I would actually kill someone. What if it was my mom or my dad being hurt? I would do it then. I knew I would.

  With that thought rumbling through me, I bolted from my room. “Come get me!”

  “Ah, no, lad!” Killian shouted after me but I was already running, finding my way through the maze of the house as if I’d done it a thousand times before. My legs all but flew. I was sure I’d never run that fast before. Then suddenly there in front of me was Killian’s office, dark and silent.

  A burst of a long black cloak snapped in front of the doorway, but I didn’t slow. I threw myself into a slide like a baseball player going for second base at the last moment. The move dropped me out of the reach of the cloaked man and I slid between his legs and into the office.

  Up once more, I was around Killian’s desk in a flash, had the drawer open and the gun out and aimed at the intruder. “Stop.” I yelled the word, proud that my arms didn’t tremble in the least.

  “Your grandfather is worried about you,” the man said, his voice sliding over my ears like grease.

  “He killed my dog. He killed my father and tried to kill my mother.” The words poured from me, a truth that I hadn’t even put together before that moment. “Didn’t he?”

  “He did. Except your dog is still alive.” The shadowed man spread his hands. “I am not here to hurt you. He wants you at his side, Bear. You will be his heir. Stronger than even his own sons.”

  “I don’t want shit from him.” I spit the words at him, fear and anger making me bold.

  The cloaked man chuckled. “You sound like your mother when you’re angry.”

  Movement from the doorway drew my eye and then Killian was there, tangling with the shadowed man. “Run, Bear, run!” He roared the words at me.

  I dropped to the ground and Killian lit up like . . . lightning. It danced around him, skimming his skin in blue and white bolts, blinding me with its brilliance. The shadow man screamed and writhed and then he was gone.

  Killian slumped to his knees, panting hard. “You saved me back there, lad.”

  “I did?” I had the gun at my side. “Why didn’t you just fry him like you did then?”

  His eyes flicked to mine and I saw the way they rolled back in his head and he slumped to the side. I rushed to his side and leaned over him. “Killian?”

  “You need to get away, lad. My men are all dead. Not strong enough to face the Shadow’s minions and a Magelore.” His eyes closed.

  “Where, where do I go?” I whispered. Whatever anger and fear had driven me before was gone now.

  “You go home with me.”

  I spun, bringing the gun up without a single thought. My grandfather stood behind me. “You took me on quite a journey to find you, Bear. Very resourceful.” A woman stood beside him, stunning in her beauty. I blinked and stared at her, but then refocused on my grandfather.

  I pulled the hammer back on the gun with both thumbs. “You killed my father.”

  “I did.”

  I squeezed the trigger and the retort of the gun set me back on my butt. The bullet took him in the throat, blood splattering everywhere.

  Horror flickered through me, but I pushed it away. This was survival; this man was not a grandfather. He was a killer. He’d killed my dad, and now . . . I had a bad feeling he was going to try and kill or hurt Killian. I sat up and fired twice more into the still-standing figure of the man I knew was my grandfather. He stumbled back, shook his head, and then faced me once more, not a single wound showing despite the blood sprays.

  He gave me a slow clap. “You can’t kill me, Bear. But I will say this. Not even your mother had that killer instinct at your age. She was twelve before she realized she was ready to kill for what she wanted. And here you are at ten ready to gun your own grandfather down.”

  I just stared at him, at the smooth lines of his throat and the bullet holes in his body that had healed over in a matter of seconds. He wasn’t even hurt, how was that possible? He made a waving motion toward Killian. “Is he dead?”

  I nodded without hesitation, and moved so that I was leaning over him a bit, hiding any lift or rise of his chest. “Yes. That shadow man killed him.”

  The woman beside my grandfather smiled at me. “I want the boy dead.”

  “You do not get to choose who lives or dies, Vivian. You came to me, remember? You are lucky I rescued you from my daughter.”

  Vivian’s face twisted with rage and it made her beauty a terrible thing. I stared at her. “You’re one of the bad guys, too?”

  She grinned, her teeth showing every single dagger point. “I am one of the worst.”

  “Now that the formalities are done,” Grandfather crooked his finger, “come with me. Your dog isn’t dead.”

  I blinked up at him. “You didn’t kill him?”

  “No, I’m going to make him better.” I stood and glanced at Killian, then laid my gun beside him. I knew he wasn’t dead. But . . . I had a feeling if my mother caught up to him, he might wish he was. Would she believe he’d tried to save me?

  “Don’t tell me you’re attached to that Irish scum?”

  “He was kind to me, and tried to save me,” I said with a glare at Grandfather. “More than I can say for you.”

  He barked a laugh. “Sharp tongued? Yes, you are more and more like her every day. I won’t make the same mistake with you that I did with her.”

  I frowned and stared hard at him. He snapped his fingers at me. “Move.”

  My feet were sluggish. Whatever strength and energy I’d had when I’d been running was gone. But I had a feeling it would not be the last time I felt it. He placed me between himself and the woman, Vivian.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To where your dog is. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then shut up.” He tensed as though he wanted to hit me and I braced myself for a blow. When it came, it sent me to one knee. I rubbed the side of my face, the skin of my cheek swelling already.

  “Get up,” Grandfather snapped. “We are wasting time.”

  I pushed to my feet and got moving again, anger fueling me. We walked through the house, past so many bodies that I lost count. These men were all Killian’s. All of them had fought the shadow man to keep me safe. Vivian smiled and touched a few as we went through.

  “Ah, such bloodshed. A lovely way to spend the night.”

  I bit my lower lip and swallowed the grief that swelled. Death seemed to follow me wherever I went.

  “My mother is going to kill you. She’s going to kill you both,” I said suddenly, su
rprising us all, I think.

  We were at the front door and Grandfather slowed. “You think she could? You saw that I cannot be killed. That the bullets don’t harm me.”

  I frowned. “She’ll find a way.”

  “Not while I have you. While you’re in my hands, she will do as she’s told. Kill who I send her after, and if she doesn’t, can you guess what will happen?”

  I stared up at him. I had never hated someone in my life, never understood when someone said they had a mortal enemy. But, now, I did. I hated him with every bit of my body and soul and wanted to see him disappear from my life forever. “You’ll threaten her with my life.”

  “Smart boy. More than that, I’ll threaten to take your mind from you, to strip your memories of her and your father. Think that might keep you pliant?” Laughing, he turned from me as the horror of what he was saying cut through my paralysis. I might not know what the word pliant was, but I could guess.

  He would steal what was left of my family.

  He would steal my reason for going on.

  I was shoved into a limo, and before I knew it, we were at an airport and I was being shuffled onto a plane.

  Vivian was still there, but she was silent, her eyes regarding me steadily.

  Someone buckled me in, a stewardess. I put a hand on her arm. “Do you have a pen and paper I could use?”

  She smiled down at me, her teeth so white they dazzled me. “Sure, how about crayons?”

  Like I was four years old again. I nodded. “That would be fine.”

  Moments later, she brought me a single sheet of paper and a red crayon that had seen better days. I hesitated, then wrote the letter I knew I would need. Simple, straight to the point, and about the only thing I could do to stave off what might be coming for me. I stared at the finished letter as we took off, the pressure from the change in gravity pushing me into my seat. Folding the paper, I knew it was hardly a surefire thing, but the best I could do with what I had on hand.

  Something in me said I was going to need all the help I could get.

  I left the crayon on the tray and stared into space, letting my mind wander to everything that had happened that night. How did I stop my grandfather? How did I get away from him? I wasn’t sure it was possible, but I would not give up. I knew my mom wouldn’t. I knew she would come for me. She said she would.

  I closed my eyes and I must have slept because the next thing I knew we were landing. I hadn’t been brought any food, and my grandfather hadn’t spoken to me through the flight. He did come to collect me, though. “Your dog is this way.”

  Thoughts of Abe were the only thing that kept me moving forward as fatigue washed over me. Barely a night’s sleep, and then a fight for my life, and broken sleep on the plane. I rubbed my eyes as I was taken to yet another limo. I caught a glimpse of a sign that said Welcome to . . .

  I was shoved hard. “Into the car.”

  Again, I did as I was told, and we were on the move. Ten minutes later, the car stopped and we stepped out into a huge complex that looked like a jail. Only there were huge wire fences that were ten or twelve feet high and topped with razor wire around the outside of the building. The fences ran in long strips away from the complex . . . like dog runs. Were we at some sort of kennel?

  A hand dropped onto the back of my neck and I was half lifted, half steered toward the only opening between the runs, the only path that led to a main set of tall gates. The gates slid open as we approached to show us a second set of gates that were . . . electrified, if the buzzing was any indication. It sounded like the electric fencing back on the farm we used to keep the deer out of the garden, only on a much bigger scale.

  The second set of gates opened and we were through them quickly and into the dim interior of the building.

  The man with the black cloak, the man that Killian had fried with the lightning, stepped from the shadows.

  “Ah, Vago. Well done, killing that Irish bastard,” Grandfather said.

  “I did not kill him,” Vago said, his voice hitching as though in pain. “He electrocuted me.”

  The hand on my neck tightened until I could barely breathe around the pain, the fingers twisting my head so I was forced to look up at him. “You lied to me?”

  I arched an eyebrow as I’d seen my mother do with my dad so many times. “You can’t be surprised.”

  He threw me to the side and turned to Vago. “Get Genzo and the boy’s dog. Inject the dog with the Ikimono.”

  I hit the ground hard, skinning my hands and knees on the rough cement. I hissed through the pain and moved to stand near the wall. A glance behind us showed the gates already shut. There was no way I was getting out of here in that direction.

  “I think you need to meet someone.” Grandfather snapped his fingers at me once more.

  “No, you said I could see my dog.” I held my ground. For the moment, I had the upper hand. He wanted me alive, and wanted to use me to replace one of his own sons. Uncles I’d never met.

  “You will, after you meet your uncle Tommy.”

  Apparently, that lack of family connection was about to change. He walked away from me, and I knew there was really no choice except to follow if I wanted to see Abe. Shoulders slumping, I settled in behind him as he went deeper into the complex. It was for sure a jail. There were cameras and guards, cells and interrogation rooms, and the sounds of pain floating on the air. Sobs. Whimpers. Howls.

  I shivered, hating the sensation that rolled through me. This was Hell, and I was trapped here with a man who had nothing even close to human emotions.

  Grandfather walked through two more sets of gates that slammed shut behind me as I passed. I sighed. Yeah, I was not getting out of here without help.

  We were into cell blocks that were three levels high. But we stayed on the first level.

  I almost walked into my grandfather, so lost in my own head as I was.

  “Here.” Grandfather pushed one of the cell doors open. I peered around him into the darkness, seeing a body slumped and distorted.

  “I’m not going in there.”

  Before I could react, he grabbed me and I swung with his hand, using his momentum to spin away from him.

  I crouched a few feet behind him. “I said, I am not going in there.”

  A voice came from the cell. “It’s okay, kid. I’m not going to hurt you. I might kill him, but not you.”

  I lifted my eyes and stared into the darkness. “Are you one of his guardians?”

  A laugh snorted through the air, followed by the rattle of chains. “I am not. I’m your uncle. If the rumors are right about who your mother is.”

  I found my feet once more moved on their own toward the mysterious man. “You’re my mother’s brother?”

  “Last I checked. ’Course, who the fuck knows with this bastard around.” He stepped into the light and waved a hand at Grandfather. The door of the cell didn’t close on me. I took another step, frowning up at Tommy.

  “You look a lot like me,” I said.

  He stared down at me, his eyes not as dark as my own. “Or maybe you look a lot like me. Family genetics, it’s a fucking crapshoot.”

  I doubted that, but I didn’t feel like arguing. I didn’t look back at my grandfather. “Why did you want me to meet my uncle?”

  “Because he is the one who will steal your memories.”

  “I won’t,” Tommy snapped. “I told you, I’m done with your shit.”

  I scrambled backward and out of the cell. “Why did you chain him up?”

  Tommy laughed. “Because I almost stole his memories. If I could get those, I could get the last two things needed to make his ass mortal once more. Keys to his death.”

  Grandfather straightened his suit coat. “Your uncle is a useful tool, but only at the end of the chain. The choice will be yours, Bear. Live in a cell next to your uncle. Or work with freedom.”

  “You would never let me be free.”

  “Well, then, a sort of freedom.” He smiled at
me and I hated that I saw echoes of my own face in his features. I hated that the resemblance between us was so strong.

  “This way.” Grandfather was already walking. I stared back at my uncle and tried to convey with my eyes that I would try and free him. I would.

  He shook his head. “Just like your mom. It will get you killed, kid. Save yourself if you can. Don’t worry about me.”

  I straightened my shoulders and hurried after the man who held my life in his hands.

  He opened a door at the end of the cell block and waited for me to catch up.

  “Why is my dog at a jail?” I asked.

  “This isn’t a jail. It’s a medical facility that needs a little help containing some of the patients,” Grandfather said. I frowned up at him. I didn’t want to keep calling him Grandfather. His first name was Luca. That would do.

  “What are you going to do to my dog . . . Luca?” I deliberately used his name.

  He stopped and looked back at me. “I’m going to show you the power of myst, grandson. No matter whether you like it or not, we are blood. That will never change.”

  “That doesn’t mean I have to embrace it.” I stared him down. “Doesn’t mean I have to be like you.”

  He tipped his head to one side. “You really want to face me down already? Balls, you’ve got balls. I like that you’re a scrapper. A fighter. You’ll go far in this world.”

  I didn’t want his praise. I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to get my dog and get out. An urge to bolt overwhelmed me and I shoved past him, running for all I was worth, taking turns at random, weaving deeper into the complex.

  “Abe! ABE!” I screamed his name, and there, in the distance was a bark I knew as well as I knew my own voice. He was here. Abe was here. I tore off in the direction of the barking and then there was a yelp.

  “No.” I breathed the word over and over as I ran. A metal ladder appeared in front of me and I ran up at full speed, scrambling for the top as if there were someone behind me. But there was no one because my grandfather—no, Luca—knew I couldn’t escape.