Rise of a Phoenix

by Shannon Mayer

  “Your mom will come,” Tommy said as we crept through the door. “Forget about him. He’s not the man you think he is.”

  I nodded, but I wanted to cry. I wanted to sit and bury my head in my hands and sob because for one flash of a second, I thought . . . I thought I’d have my family back again.

  I reached out and put a hand on the back of Tommy’s belt so I didn’t lose him in the semi-darkness. There was the sound of water running, and the flicker of lights here and there, but not enough that I could count on it to guide me.

  “Close.” Tommy breathed the word. My heart picked up speed as if it realized why we were here. To kill my grandfather with a gun that wouldn’t kill him. I put a hand to Eleanor and she whispered to me.

  “No. He would have failed no matter what. You must keep me hidden until your mother arrives. She will come. She is not like your father; she will not fail you.” Her words soothed me and the tremors in my body slowed.

  A part of me couldn’t believe I was doing this, deliberately putting myself back into my grandfather’s clutches. But between the witch and Eleanor, I knew there were not many choices. And if my mom was coming here, then I would be here waiting. Ready to do whatever I had to do to get back to her.

  Tommy reached back for me and I took his hand, thinking that was what he wanted.

  “Fire,” he whispered.

  Right. I held a hand up and the blue and green flames danced across my skin, lighting the recesses of a tunnel. “Come here, in front of me, and I’ll be right next to you with Eleanor,” Tommy said, gently pushing me out ahead of him.

  “Idiot,” Eleanor whispered.

  I smiled and took a step, and then another into the darkness that was lit only by my flames. The tunnel wove around and around like a twisting snake. Not down underground, just around. Maybe it was a maze. That would make sense, a challenge to get inside the fortress.

  From one second to the next, the tunnel was there, then gone. I stumbled out onto what was a dance floor. I knew because there were people dancing, spinning slowly to a drum beat that tugged at my own feet.

  I dropped my hand and the flame was gone in a flash.

  “Stay here.” Tommy swept up past me and started walking, cutting through the crowd.

  The people continued to dance with only a few eyes darting toward Tommy as he strode between them, even going so far as to push a few of them out of the way. At the head of the dance floor sat Luca Romano on a chair that could have been called a throne, it was so big and fancy. Surreal, the whole thing felt like a strange dream. I looked closer at the dancers. None of them smiled, and many had sweat running down their faces. They were no happier to be there than I was.

  “The prodigal son returns.” Luca didn’t stand, but instead swept his hand at Tommy. Next to Luca was a man I knew and my jaw dropped.

  “Noah?”

  The best friend of my father stared passed Tommy to me. “Shit.” I saw his mouth make the word even though I didn’t hear it.

  Tommy, though, had my attention now. He raised Linx. “You need to die, old man.”

  He pulled the trigger.

  Nothing happened.

  “Eleanor!” he roared at the gun.

  Of course, she said nothing. Linx said nothing. But he transformed into a knife, at least giving Tommy something to work with.

  Tommy stood there, shaking, with nothing but a knife facing a man we both knew couldn’t be killed. I didn’t know what to do, so I held my ground. I had to be here. I had to be here for my mother.

  The world had gone so still that even the music had stopped. It wouldn’t last. I felt it in my bones.

  “You must run,” Eleanor said. “Or they will know you want to be here.”

  I spun on my heel and tore off, not the way we had come but toward the other doors that led out of the dance hall. I pushed my way through several couples, sending them scattering to either side of me.

  “Faster,” Eleanor urged me, and I pumped my arms and legs as fast as I could, running through halls, following some intuition that would lead me outside.

  Only I needed to be caught. I saw a doorway up ahead and grabbed the knob, turned it and slipped inside. The room was dark and I crept in, keeping my body low and my movements careful.

  Slowly my eyes adjusted to the dim light that came through a small window. A rustle of cloth froze me in place.

  “Who’s there?” a voice called out. I wasn’t even sure if it was a man or a woman, just a voice.

  I flattened myself to the floor and scooted toward the bed frame, sliding under it. The bed creaked and feet landed right in front of my face. “Romano!”

  The door opened and then shut again. I closed my eyes and breathed through the fear that caught hold of me. “Eleanor, what if you’re wrong? What if my mom is hurt or can’t come for me?”

  She let out a sigh. “I would know if she were dead. She’s not. You have to trust me, little Bear.”

  “You sound like her,” I whispered.

  There was a catch in her voice before she spoke again. “I know. We’ve been together a long time.”

  I lay on the cold tile floor waiting to be caught, knowing it would come. “You really think she’s coming?”

  “She is not like your father, Bear. You know this in your heart, I think. Phoenix will never stop fighting to find you. Death might not even stop her.” She laughed softly. “You are her heart and soul. You saved her, you know that?”

  “I did?” I whispered the question as my body shook. The waiting was the hard part, but talking to Eleanor helped.

  “Yes. I do believe you did. You taught her what love was again. She’d lost it for a long time.” Her voice again had that odd catch in it. “One day, you’ll know the whole story, but for right now, I want you to only have faith in your mother. She will come. She will save you if it is the last thing she does on this earth. She will make sure you are not afraid anymore.”

  I took a breath and let it out, letting go of the last of my fear with it. I was like my mom. I was strong. I was capable. I would not go down without a fight. “Thank you, Eleanor.”

  “You’re welcome. Maybe one day I will be your gun.”

  “Nah, I have my fire.” I whispered the last word because the door had opened and several sets of feet came tromping in.

  “Back to bed, old man. The boss is looking for a kid, not a miserable excuse for . . .”

  I made sure the toe of my one boot peeked out from under the bed. If I didn’t help them, they were never going to find me.

  A hand latched onto my foot and yanked me out so fast, I felt Eleanor slip. My shirt started to slide untucked and that would have revealed her hiding spot. I grabbed the edge of it and held it to my waistband while the blood rushed to my head as I was pulled out fast, upside down.

  “Looky here, the old man wasn’t kidding. He did hear something.” The voice was not one I knew, but obviously belonged to one of my grandfather’s thugs.

  I was dropped unceremoniously to the floor. I crumpled and curled in on myself, making sure Eleanor was secured in the waistband of my pants. One of the men grabbed me by my ear and yanked me to my feet, propelling me forward and out the door. Down the halls and back to the dance floor I was shoved until I was pushed to my knees next to my uncle Tommy. I glanced at him.

  His face was beaten and bloody, and his one eye was swelling right in front of me. “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “Not your fault, kid.” He growled the words, then spat a gob of blood to the side. Guilt twisted through me, but I reminded myself that Eleanor had said the bullet wouldn’t work anyway. I’d saved her, and kept her out of Luca Romano’s hands.

  I found myself slowly looking up to the man who sat in front of us. My grandfather.

  He stared right back, those dark eyes of his bottomless. “How did you survive?”

  I shrugged, thinking fast. “I don’t know. I was picked up by a desert sheik. He said I almost died.”

  Luca’s eyes narrowed f
ast. “Shaitan picked you up and then let you go?”

  I took a gulping breath and shook my head. “Tommy came through. I saw him and got away.”

  “You . . .got away?” Luca did not sound convinced, and I didn’t blame him. Apparently, I wasn’t a very good liar.

  “There was a lot of gunfire, and explosions, and stuff,” I said, hearing just how lame the excuse was to my own ears.

  “Shaitan does not just let people go. Especially those he deems worthy of saving.” Luca leaned back. “But for now, that doesn’t matter, he cannot enter here. What does matter is I have my leverage back.” He smiled then and my blood ran cold all the way down my spine.

  “What do you mean?”

  He laughed. “You’ll see. Your mother is on her way here. Now I have you, and I have Tommy. Who do you think she’ll let die first?”

  Tommy shuddered. “Kid, he’s playing his games again. Don’t fucking listen to him.”

  I wasn’t listening, I was looking. “Where’s Noah?”

  Luca’s eyebrows shot up. “You recognized him, did you? Well, I’ll leave that little surprise for later. For now, enjoy the dancing.” He raised a glass to us in a salute and took a drink of whatever was in the cup. The dancers wove around us as though we were part of the ornamentation, and not captives.

  “Just hold. She’s on her way,” Tommy said. “We’ll get out of here yet, kid.”

  I didn’t look at him. I wasn’t sure we both would.

  22

  Phoenix

  I stood in front of Vivian’s house trying to figure out just what to do next. Killian and Abe were gone, most likely taken by Strike. Leaving me to figure out the rest of this on my own.

  Around me, the night birds and bugs called to one another. I heard the sound of water splashing here and there, and then the sound of footsteps running. There was a woof in the distance. It could be Abe, but I wasn’t sure.

  I clutched the gray metal box so hard that the edges of it bit into my chest and hands. Pain had always helped me center myself, but not this time. I was frozen, for the first time uncertain of what to do or where to start.

  “Had we been in there too long?”

  “What do you mean?” Dinah asked.

  “Magelores’ lairs can twist time. They can make it so you walk in, are there for hours, but when you walk out only a minute has passed.”

  “Oh shit, do you think it happened the other way around?” Her voice was husky with emotion. “Like years?”

  Fuck, I had no way of knowing until I found a newspaper or someone to ask. “I have no idea.” No, that wasn’t true. The trees looked to be in the same shape and the house wasn’t any more run-down. “No, I don’t think it’s been that long. The house would have fallen down around us by now.”

  "Then snap the fuck out of it," Dinah yelled at me. Her words cut through the ice that had formed on me.

  Her words helped me breathe again. That was when it hit me that I was hearing running feet. I yanked Dinah from her holster and spun as Killian burst out of a chunk of bushes.

  He stumbled and fell to the ground at my feet, Abe with him, his tongue lolling out and his sides heaving. “Lass, it’s about damn time you got out of there.”

  I dropped the box and grabbed him by both arms. “How long was I in there?”

  “Just over a day. The door shut and I couldn’t get back in. I’ve been dealing with dead things since you booted me out. All of a sudden, they just stopped coming for me.” He was breathing hard and I just stared at him. He’d stayed. He hadn’t left.

  I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him as tightly as I could. Abe stuffed his face in between us, getting in on the action. “I thought Strike had gotten you both.” I whispered the words, my fear spilling out of my mouth.

  “Nah. I’m a sight tougher than a dirty old guardian of hell.”

  His confidence brought a smile to my mouth. “Smart ass, Irish.”

  “Of course.” He gave me a last squeezed and released me.

  I helped Killian stand and hurried us both down the long driveway, away from the Magelore’s home. He was limping, bruised and battered but alive and with me. Behind us there was a crack of wood, the moaning of timbers as they fell. I didn’t look back. The reason the house had stood was to protect the ruby ring that had belonged to my father. The original ring.

  Now that it was gone, the spells holding the house together slipped away.

  We managed to flag down a car that took us almost all the way to the airport. The older couple who picked us up had water and granola bars, of which I gave most to Killian. As exhausted as I was, I needed him to be able to fly.

  Because there was no fucking way I was getting on a commercial plane again.

  The nice old couple let us out on the road that led to the airport with a wave and wishes for a better day. I could barely lift my hand in response.

  “You don’t really want to get on a plane again, do you?” Killian asked as we headed toward the airport.

  “No. But unless you have a better way to get us all the way across the world to the Arabian desert, I’ve got nothing else to offer.” I had my arm around his back, partially supporting him.

  “The ring,” Dinah said softly. “Use it to call Strike.”

  “Why the hell would I do that?” I stared down at the ring on my left hand. The stone sparkled up at me in the dying light of the night before morning struck and the new day rose.

  “Think about it. For all that he’s been pushing you, it’s all been to make you stronger. Don’t deny it, your fire has gotten faster and deadlier with each challenge.”

  What she said, I already knew, but I didn’t like it.

  "If Strike really wanted you to end Romano's life, this is going to be his chance to prove it then," I said.

  “Not a good idea.” Killian shook his head. “Remember the gremlins? He brought those on the plane. Pushing you or not, we could have all died.”

  I did indeed remember the gremlins. But that was when he’d been sent for us. This would be different. His master—whoever that was—wouldn’t be the one sending. We’d be calling him.

  “Let me think this through.” I let go of Killian and paced in a circle, thinking fast. Abe sat next to Killian, watching me closely.

  I rolled the ring around so the ruby sat in my palm. I had a sensation of something missing, and without letting myself consider what I was doing, I grabbed my knife from my boot and put the tip to the palm holding the ring. Blood welled up and the ruby seemed to glow brighter from it. I clamped my hand around it. "Strike, you bastard, if you want Romano dead, you need to show the fuck up to this party."

  There was a tugging sensation in my hand as if the wound was being stitched closed and then a flash of brilliant red light spread around me. I squinted my eyes against it and for a moment I thought I saw the Stick Man and beside him the Shadow. Then they were gone and . . . Noah stood there.

  I just stared at him.

  Martin whispered in my ear. Demon.

  “You really are him,” I said.

  Killian had his hands up, lightning arcing between them. “What do you mean?”

  “Strike and Noah . . . they are the same person. He can make us see what he wants us to see, right?”

  Noah nodded.

  Dinah let out a soft cry, but said nothing.

  I did not want to get into the past, not now. “I need to get to the desert. You know the one. Wherever Romano has Bear.”

  “You don’t want to take a plane?” He arched both eyebrows high and I glared at him.

  Abe let out a long low growl and hunched his back as if he were going to leap. “Nein.” I held a hand out, stopping him. “Not yet.”

  Noah just stood there. “You called me. Very clever. You know none of the men ever figured out that trick?" He smiled and there was a warmth to it I didn't like. Like he saw me as more than a tool but as a woman he'd like to fuck. He’d said as much, that I should have turned to him.

  I sta
red up at him, almost not caring who and what he was, and I knew that was dangerous. Not caring would put me in a bad position to negotiate. "You want Romano dead. This is the price you pay to make it happen. You need to get all of us to where Bear is."

  He grinned then, and the image of him as Noah wavered, showing me the other man, the one I knew as Strike sliding through the façade. "There is a price to pay when you call on a demon, Phoenix. I could just keep Bear to myself for the next ten years, train him and then have him kill Romano. Bear has the same abilities you do, stronger in some ways actually because of his father’s blood. He will have talents from both of you as he ages."

  I could only imagine the kind of training Bear would receive from a guardian from Hell. What kind of life would he have? Nothing, he wouldn't have a life, and he'd be twisted into a monster worse even than I'd become. Killian let out a growl that mimicked Abe’s.

  "No."

  "I didn't think you'd like that." He tipped his head to one side. "I want something from you, then. Like I said, a price to pay."

  "Name it then so we can get this show on the road," I snapped. "Time is of the essence last I checked."

  He smiled again and took a step toward me. "I want Bea when we are done here."

  Dinah gasped and I took a step back, putting my hand over her. "So you can torture her?"

  He closed his eyes then and a twist of pain slid over his face. "I still love her, and that love is killing the dark in me. I won't be a guardian of Hell much longer."

  "Yes," Dinah said. "Yes, I'll go with him."

  "Dinah, you don't know what that will mean," I said. I wasn't worried about losing her as a weapon but as my sister for a second time. "There is no guarantee you'll end up human again."

  "That's true," Strike said. "But I'd like to have her with me just the same."

  “Bad idea,” Killian said. “Better that it be money.”

  "Yes," she said again. "I'll agree to those terms. Now help my sister end Romano."

  "Done, my love," he whispered and a heavy sigh slid from him. "I need you to take my hand, Phoenix. Then you take Killian’s.”

  I looked at Killian who let out a big breath. “Abe, hier.” He snapped his fingers and Abe launched into his arms without a moment’s hesitation.