House of Phoenyx: House of Phoenyx book 1

by T. John Greene

  Chapter 18

  Percaline

  “Wake up!” Lucas was yelling. “Percaline, wake up!”

  Percaline sucked in air and tried to sit up in bed but Lucas was on top of her, pinning her down. He hugged her as soon as she opened her eyes. “Get off of me,” she said, more out of frustration than anger. It was the middle of the afternoon and Savannah should have been arriving any minute and Percaline wanted to be in the ballroom to meet her.

  “Are you okay?” Lucas asked in a worried voice as he released her. “You wouldn’t wake up.”

  “I think Savannah’s in trouble!” she said, jumping out of bed and grabbing her sheath and sword. She threw them on her back.

  “Did Jon tell you that?” Lucas asked, following her lead and grabbing his sword.

  “He showed me what’s happening,” Percaline said. She ran out of the room with Lucas two steps behind her.

  She looked at her watch. It was three fifty-nine so Savannah should be home by now, but she already knew she wasn’t going to be. Percaline called out to Reaves. “Reaves?” He appeared as she was entering the library. “Yes, Ms. Percaline?” Reaves asked, dumbfounded by her urgency.

  “Savannah, Mason, and Rainata haven’t returned from school yet. I need you to go to the ballroom and wait for them there. If they show up, send word to me immediately.”

  Reaves took her order and rushed towards the ballroom. By now Josephine, Landon, Nathaniel, and Isidora were all standing at attention. They’d overheard her talking to Reaves but hadn’t understood the urgency in her voice. “What’s going on?” Josephine asked.

  “Mischelle has Savannah,” Percaline said, pulling her sword out of its sheath as she stalked towards Isidora.

  Nathaniel caught on to what she was doing before anyone else and stepped in front of Isidora, shielding her from Percaline. “How do you know that?” he asked.

  “Jon showed me,” Percaline said to Nathanial and turned to Isidora. “I want to know what her plan is. I know you’re working with her.”

  Isidora, who was originally taken off guard, was now positioned to defend herself. “What are you talking about?” she asked. “I work for you.”

  “You work for Mischelle. I saw you and I want to know why you need the biological sister of the phoenix.” Percaline moved her sword so it was underneath Isidora’s throat and seamlessly close to Nathaniel’s shoulder. She didn’t want to hurt Nathaniel but she would if that’s what it took to protect Savannah. “I want to know what you’re planning on doing to my sister,” Percaline yelled at Isidora, using the tip of her sword to draw blood from her neck.

  “She’s been with us the entire time,” Nathaniel said. “I don’t know what you saw but I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding. Isidora, tell Percaline that you made a vow of allegiance to her and to the House.”

  Isidora spoke in a clear, precise tone. “I took a vow to protect the phoenix. I also swear to you that I will uphold the House and all of its occupants. I do not work for Mischelle and I’m not a Son of Adam!”

  Percaline wanted more proof but Griselda and Mason suddenly blinked into the room. Mason was bleeding and breathless. “They took Savannah!” He pulled on Percaline’s sword arm. “It wasn’t Isidora, it was Blake. He was disguised as Rainata. He tricked us into using the door at my house. When we fell through, Mischelle’s goons were waiting for us.”

  Percaline lowered her sword, but she still didn’t trust Isidora. “How did you get away but Savannah didn’t?” she asked.

  “We were all fighting, Rainata was fighting a werewolf, Savannah stabbed Blake in the leg and fought one of the guys who grabbed me. The man knocked her out and left with her, but before he did that she told me to call Griselda.” Mason motioned to Griselda. “As soon as I said her name she appeared. Rainata killed the werewolf and ran after Savannah and Griselda brought me back here.”

  “I can only help he who calls me,” Griselda explained.

  “Thank you, Nyx,” Percaline said, bowing to her. Josephine took a moment realize who Griselda was, then she bowed to her as well.

  Nyx smiled that sad but sweet smile and then evaporated, presumably going back to the space under the stairs. Percaline could feel that becoming corporeal had drained her energy supply.

  Percaline hugged Mason. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I’m fine. Savannah wouldn’t let them hurt me,” he said.

  “What do they want with her?” Josephine asked.

  “I don’t know,” Mason said.

  “They want her because she’s the phoenix’s sister. That’s what Mischelle said,” Percaline recited.

  “Tell us what Jon told you in the dream?” Josephine prodded.

  Lucas spoke, clearly concerned about Percaline. “It wasn’t just a dream,” he said. “She wouldn’t wake up. I was shaking her, telling her to wake up but she wouldn’t. Her breathing was labored and shallow. It was like she was in a coma.”

  “I was fine,” Percaline said, dismissing Lucas’s concerns. “In my dream Jon was there like he always is and he told me to stay hidden so she didn’t see me. Mischelle pulled up in a carriage and walked into this old sanatorium that’s surrounded by a chain link fence across from some shops with windows. She was on the phone and whoever she was talking to she said that she had Savannah and Mason.” Percaline shook her head trying to remember. “So it must have been before the fight. Then she said that it would work because she was the biological sister of the phoenix.”

  “It’s her blood,” Josephine said. “You share the same blood. That’s why we only had to bind Mason to Savannah and not you.” Josephine ran up to the second floor of the library to grab the map. “Azazel must have figured that out.” But before Percaline could speak up Josephine returned with the map. “We can do a blood-bond location spell to find her,” she said when she returned.

  “There’s no need to. I know where they are. Jon’s led me there before,” Percaline responded, leaving the map in Josephine’s hand.

  “Okay, then let’s go,” Mason said, wanting desperately for his best friend to still be alive.

  “No,” Percaline and Lucas said together. Percaline elaborated. “Lucas, Landon, and I will go. Josephine, you stay here with Nathaniel, Mason and Isidora.”

  “But Josephine will be of better assistance to you,” Nathaniel said.

  “She can use her link with Landon to communicate to me. I need for someone to figure out why they want my blood and I need for someone to watch Mason,” Percaline demanded.

  “Then take Isidora,” Nathaniel said.

  Percaline started to deny the request but Mason spoke before she could. “It wasn’t her, Percaline. It was Blake disguised as her.”

  Percaline didn’t trust Isidora but it was better than leaving her in the House. She nodded in agreement. Isidora bowed, showing the bow she carried on her back.

  “Reaves?” Percaline called and Reaves appeared in the doorway seconds later. “Mischelle has Savannah. Please help Josephine, Mason, and Nathaniel with anything they need and send word to Don where ever he is.”

  Percaline started walking out the library, her group behind her, but then paused. “Nyx?” she called.

  Nyx didn’t appear but you could hear her voice through the House. “Yes.”

  “How do I blink from one place to another?” she asked. It would save them traveling time.

  “Hold onto those you want to take with you and think of the place you want to be. Then blink.”

  Josephine

  Percaline, Lucas, Landon, and Isidora stood in a circle just inside the library. Josephine concentrated on opening her end of the connection with Landon. Landon’s connection was already open and she could see everything as he saw it. Percaline looked around the circle, silently asking everyone if they were ready. Nathaniel threw a knife belt to Landon. “Take this,” he said. If they needed to communicate then Landon wouldn’t be able to transform into a dog and still be able to talk. He would have to st
ay in human form.

  Percaline reached out and took Lucas and Landon’s hands, and they each took one of Isidora’s. She drew in a deep breath and blinked. They vanished. Josephine’s half of the connection opened.

  “Okay, let’s see what we can find on why they would need phoenix blood,” Josephine said to Nathaniel and Mason as they spread out in the library.

  Percaline’s group had made it to the outside of the sanatorium. The carriage that Percaline had seen in her dream was outside the building. They headed towards it cautiously. Percaline and Lucas both had their wings out and Percaline wore her mask. True to his word, Landon stayed in his human form, which Josephine knew made him more vulnerable. The driver was leaning up against the carriage, waiting. Lucas drew his sword on the driver, who moved quickly, trying to draw a weapon of his own, but Lucas was too fast. He quickly and efficiently cut off the driver’s head. Landon saw the driver’s yellow eyes staring at him from the ground. Lucas was a SEAL and by the way he handled himself, Josephine could tell that he was very good at his aboveground job. They walked slowly up the sidewalk, up the stairs to the sanatorium, and through the old door.

  Back in the library, Josephine didn’t know where to begin, so she started going through the books that were on Savannah’s table, bringing them down a stack at a time to the table that Don had been working at. She pushed the map to the side, catching a glimpse of it in her peripheral vision. Only three Xs showed on the map. One in the House of Phoenyx; Mason. And two in the sanatorium although they showed distance between them; Savannah and Percaline. Lucas’s X wasn’t on the map. Josephine could still see Lucas through Landon’s eyes, so she knew he was there even though he didn’t appear on the map. She opened the map up all the way, looking to see if his X could be hidden under Percaline’s. It wasn’t. She caught the fourth X out of the corner of her eye. It was in Purgatory.

  Don entered the library and tried to assess the situation. “Where have you been?” Josephine asked him accusingly. “Savannah was taken by Mischelle and Blake.”

  “I don’t think Blake is a problem anymore,” Mason said. “Savannah stabbed him in the leg and I’m not sure he survived. We left him bleeding in the street.”

  “That’s impossible,” Don said as he got the full implication of what Josephine and Mason were saying. “The House allowed him to enter.”

  Mason explained to Don what Blake had said about believing the lie so the House believed it too, how his intention hadn’t been to hurt Percaline. Don fell into his chair with blank eyes. Josephine was still staring at the map.

  “I didn’t know. I’m sorry,” Don said apologetically. “I was visiting Zeus.”

  “You decided to make up with your brother at a time like this?” Josephine asked angrily. “It’s been over twenty years, don’t you think that reunion could have waited until after all of this?”

  “Yes, and it would have waited, but something Savannah said to me the other night has been haunting me and it was something that I needed to ask him in person.”

  “Something having to do with Percaline having a twin brother?” Josephine said as all of the pieces finally clicked together.

  Don blinked his blank eyes and then turned them on Josephine. “What?”

  “Savannah has a theory that Percaline has a twin brother. That Zeus fathered twins.” Josephine returned the fiery stare. Don was in the wrong here and she wouldn’t be intimated by a God. “And I think I found proof.”

  Don expected her to volunteer the proof, but she wasn’t going to. She wanted him to explain why he was with Zeus. It felt important that she know. “What did Savannah say that made you want to visit your brother so urgently and in person?” Josephine asked.

  “She asked how he knew Percaline was in New Haven and if he knew that she was the phoenix,” Don said. “I didn’t think much of it when he first tasked me with finding her. I think it was because I was relieved that he was finally speaking to me, but after Savannah brought it up I started to think about everything so I went to speak with him in person.”

  “And?” Josephine asked.

  “And he wouldn’t see me,” Don explained glumly. “And if I know my brother, it’s because he’s hiding something.” Don bowed his head the full weight of the world on his shoulders. “Now will you please show me what you mean by proof?”

  Savannah

  When Savannah woke up, she was chained to the ceiling by her arms with her feet touching the floor. Her eyes were swollen almost shut. She wasn’t comfortable but she wasn’t exactly uncomfortable considering the conditions. She looked through the tiny slivers of her swollen eyes. Candles burned everywhere. To the right of her was a set of windows that showed another room behind them. To her left and behind her, a single step led down to a large empty room. In front of her, she recognized the all-too-distinguishable outline of Mischelle’s body and heard her laugh. She laughed as she used a dirty rag to clean what looked to Savannah like blood off of a blade. Something ran down Savannah’s arm, tickling her, and with a startle she realized that it was blood. She was bleeding. Damn! This would not be a good time to pass out.

  “It’s about time you woke up. I thought you might miss the show.” There was no use for Savannah to try and pretend that she was still unconscious. Mischelle could hear the chains that bound her clanking together.

  “What show?” Savannah asked, still trying to clear out the fog in her head that came with being knocked out. She could remember what had happened and she knew she was in trouble. She needed to buy time. Percaline and Lucas would be coming for her and when they did she would get her revenge on Mischelle, she just needed to concentrate on staying conscious first.

  Mischelle looked at her with a malevolent smirk on her face. “Your blood donation will open the portal to Tartarus.” She moved closer to Savannah. “Your phoenix blood, that is.” She drew the tip of her knife down Savannah’s face “Thanks!”

  “Well, if you’re finished with my phoenix blood then maybe you could let me go. I’ve got some things I’ve got to get back to,” Savannah said sarcastically, rattling the chains above her head.

  “But then you won’t get to meet Azazel in person,” Mischelle said. “And I think you’re going to like him.”

  “Yes, but remember you and I aren’t friends so the girl code doesn’t apply here. Azazel’s fair game.” Savannah spit on Mischelle. She might as well try to get Mischelle jealous or pissed off, whatever might get her uncuffed and not dead.

  Mischelle slapped her across the face, inflaming her already swollen eye. “I don’t think he’s your type,” she said.

  “Well then, I guess it’s a good thing that I don’t have a type.” Savannah was smiling. This bitch wasn’t going to win.

  Mischelle laughed at that. “Oh, you have a type. It’s boring. That’s why I changed you. I wanted little miss goodie-two-shoes to take a walk on the wild side. Turns out though that even as a Siren you’re boring.”

  Savannah laughed at that. “You think I’m boring, huh? Isn’t that why you’re breaking your boyfriend out of prison? Because you’re bored? At least I can stand being the person I am, unlike you, who has to create drama to feel fulfilled. You’re such a cliché.”

  Mischelle hesitated for a moment and Savannah knew that she had hit her where it counted. Nothing like making a person second-guess themselves and their actions. “Azazel is going to drain every ounce of blood from your body,” Mischelle finally said with dedication. She turned around and left the room.

  So there it was. The reason Savannah was still alive. Mischelle, or rather Azazel, needed her alive so he could have a snack when he returned to the living. But Savannah realized that this couldn’t be right because phoenix blood was holy, so her blood would burn Azazel. Her blood was what was supposed to open the portal to Tartarus. Why would Azazel need to drain her?

  She looked at her arm. Mischelle had made a nice little vertical slit on her wrist. She was going to keep bleeding unless she got help. She watched the
blood trail drip down her arm and drop to the floor below her. She realized that she was standing on a platform with blood channels built into it. Azazel wasn’t going to drink her blood, he was going to drain her to open the portal.

 

  Percaline

  Percaline was standing in a place that was both terrifying and dreamlike. The inside of the sanatorium was, dilapidated, and eerily creepy, but at the same time it was enchanting. It was like some place you dreamed of exploring when you were a child. A haunted mansion with buried treasure hidden somewhere inside. But the reason she was there was not to find buried treasure, it was to find and save her sister.

  A long path stretched in front of her with stone pillars on either side. She wasn’t sure if they were welcoming her or telling her to turn around. They seemed at conflict with each other, being both perfect for the space and an odd addition to the building. The rest of the room was covered in dirt, graffiti, and cobwebs, but there was no doubt in her mind that they were in the right place. Savannah was somewhere in front of her.

  “Some places aboveground are Supernatural hotspots, so they exist both aboveground and in the Underworld,” Landon whispered. “This is one of those places.”

  Landon walked close behind Percaline and Lucas walked beside her. Isidora took the spot in the front. Percaline wasn’t sure that she could trust her so there was no way that she was going to be standing anywhere but in Percaline’s direct line of vision. Isidora halted suddenly, holding up her right hand and forearm in a fist. Percaline recognized the move. It meant “halt”. All of them stopped and listened.

  The slightest sound came from behind them and they all turned, weapons drawn. The threat that would have been was a man who was now dangling feet off the ground from the rafters. Above them Rainata’s head appeared as she signaled to Isidora to ease the body down. Isidora lowered the body to the ground and with cat-like reflexes Rainata swung her body to the side and dropped silently to the floor. All of them rested their weapons, recognizing that Rainata wasn’t a threat—at least not to them. Percaline recognized the man on the floor as one of the werewolves from the night Mason was attacked in the alley.

  “Savannah is chained up in the room below us,” Rainata said, moving the body out of the walkway and hiding it under an old torn and ragged table cloth so it was less noticeable. “Mischelle is using her blood to open a portal to Tartarus.” Rainata’s clothes were torn and bloody and her hair was disheveled, but from the way she moved you wouldn’t have known she’d been in a fight with a werewolf.

  Percaline wrapped shadows around herself and began moving forward into an old dining area. This room was truly spooky asylum-style. They walked past old dining tables and high-backed wheelchairs. The room was beautiful in its construction but the objects in it were worthy of a horror movie.

  A staircase was just down the hallway in front of them, but before Percaline could start down it, Landon stopped her. He moved to one of the walls just inside of the doorway that separated the dining hall from the hallway and wrote something in the dust. In the light coming from a single street lamp through the dirty window beside them, Percaline could just make out the words. “Phoenix blood opens a portal to Tartarus.” Landon was communicating with Josephine back home.

  Josephine

  “Phoenix blood opens a portal to Tartarus,” Josephine said out loud.

  “How is that evidence of Percaline being Zeus’s child?” Don asked, confused.

  “It’s not. It’s what Landon just wrote. Phoenix blood opens a portal to Tartarus. That’s why they wanted Savannah. Because they knew they’d never get Percaline and they share the same blood,” Josephine said, pushing the map to the side so she could quickly read the different book titles on the table. Nathaniel and Mason, who had actively been trying to ignore Josephine and Don’s conversation, started flipping through the pages of the books they held with renewed vigor. Now they knew what they were looking for.

  Josephine picked up the book with information on the blood-bond and started to skim the pages. Maybe there was something related to the phoenix’s blood that could also close the portal. If nothing else, maybe there was a spell that would break the blood-bond between siblings so that Savannah’s blood could no longer be used as a key to open the sealed door. She needed to find the section about breaking blood-bonds. She continued to skim the pages, trying her hardest to concentrate on the task at hand instead of watching what was happening in front of Landon.

  “Gargoyle blood,” Don whispered.

  “What?” Josephine asked absentmindedly as she continued to focus on the pages.

  “The blood of the Archangels is the only thing that can close the portal,” Don said more loudly. “Lucas is a Gargoyle and Gargoyle blood is comprised of the blood of the seven Archangels. God created Tartarus and the seven Archangels sealed it. Percaline is a soldier of God and Lucas is the soldier of the seven Archangels.”

  Mason put down his book and smiled. “So Lucas just needs to cut his hand to stop the portal from opening? That’s easy enough.”

  Nathaniel stepped forward and closed his book as well. “Nothing in the Underworld is ever that easy,” he said, prompting Don to elaborate.

  “Percaline will have to kill Lucas to close the door,” Don said.

  “No,” Josephine said. “There has to be another way.” She continued to read down the pages. “She won’t be able to do that.”

  “What about Savannah?” Mason asked, starting to panic. “If Lucas needs to die to close the portal does that mean Savannah must die to open the portal?”

  “Quite the opposite,” Don said. “They must drain as much blood from her as they can to open the portal and she must be alive when they do it.” Mason’s face turned white. He knew Savannah wasn’t a good bleeder and he also knew that once the portal was open they’d have no further use for her.

  Josephine found what was looking for. She read out loud. “There are only two ways to break a blood-bond: by creating another blood-bond which would sever any previous bonds…” She paused, the full implication of what she had said hitting her. She looked between the passage in the book and the map she’d buried under papers. “No, no, no,” she said, uncovering it. “That’s why Lucas’s X isn’t on the map. He’s no longer tied to Percaline.”

  Mason looked up at her, pale and sick. “What does that mean?” he asked.

  “When you and Savannah bonded your blood together, it severed any previous blood-bonds she had,” she replied, pushing everything out of her way so that she could get to a marker and a paper.

  Nathaniel tensed as he watched her. “But what does that mean?” he asked, not understanding why she was suddenly moving chaotically.

  “Lucas isn’t on the map,” she said, pointing to the Xs. “It means that when Mason bonded to Savannah the previous bond Lucas had to Percaline was erased. It means that Azazel can now possess Lucas again.” She began making a sign for Landon. “This is all my fault.”

  Josephine scribbled the words “Lucas can be possessed” on a sheet of blank paper in black marker and held it in front of hers eyes for a minute until she was sure Landon had seen it. Nathaniel was standing behind her when she finished. “What’s the second way to break the blood-bond?” he asked.

  Josephine held up the book and finished the sentence. “By death.” She felt the blood drain from her face. By death. The room fell silent. “Percaline will have to choose between letting Savannah die or killing Lucas,” she said, her voice coming out steadier than it had sounded in her head.

  “Or the portal could open,” Mason said. “She can always let the portal open.”

  “That’s not an option,” Don replied as he stood up and started to pace the floor once again.

  Nathaniel elaborated on Don’s words. “Don gave all of the bodyguards strict instructions when it came to Azazel rising. We are under no circumstances to let that happen.”

  “You did what?” Josephine asked.

  “To let
Azazel rise would be to unlock hell on earth. That cannot happen,” Don reiterated.

  “What about Percaline, Savannah, Lucas, and Landon?” Mason asked, shocked like the rest of them.

  Don hesitated, then continued pacing. “Kill one to save many,” he said.

  “You wouldn’t do that,” Josephine said. “You wouldn’t allow Percaline or Savannah to die. You wouldn’t betray Selena like that.”

  Don turned from where he was standing and faster than her mind could process, he was standing in front of Josephine, his large stature intimidating her. Nathaniel, although slower than Don, responded faster than even she could. He stood chest to chest with Don. “Back up,” he commanded.

  “Do not speak to me like you know Selena!” He didn’t take his eyes off of Josephine as he said it. “I’m an immortal God who has been alive for almost as long as the Earth has. Do not forget that!”

  Josephine didn’t know how to respond. Don’s reaction had taken her off guard. She could tell now that the part of him that he showed everyone on a daily basis barely skimmed his surface. The hair on her arms prickled with energy and when she stole a look at Mason she could tell that he was also experiencing the shock of that much energy.

  It wasn’t in her nature to back down, but right now she needed to do so. Keeping the portal from opening was more important. Don went back to pacing. Nathaniel stayed by her protectively. Landon screamed in her head, “I’m not worth it. Let her kill me!” But it was too late, Josephine watched as Savannah opened the portal. Josephine stumbled at the sight.

  “Josephine, what is it?” Nathaniel asked, moving to catch her. “What are you seeing?”

  “I heard Landon. He told Savannah to let Mischelle kill him,” Josephine replied, her voice cold and monotone.

  “Since when can you hear what Landon says?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Since now,” Josephine said.

  “Your powers are expanding,” Don replied. “And if you can hear Landon, chances are he can hear you too.”

  “Landon, if you can hear me now, know that I don’t know of any other options. You will have to choose between Savannah’s life and Lucas’s life to close the portal,” Josephine said out loud. It was all she could do. Fate was now in their hands.

  Savannah

  Savannah was about to try to squeeze her tiny hand and wrist out of one of the handcuffs when Mischelle reentered the room. Mischelle wasn’t alone. Behind her was a new pair of goons and they were holding up Mason between them. He was alive but unconscious. Savannah’s heart sank when she saw him. She hoped he’d gotten away.

  Mischelle smirked at Savannah. “Don’t worry, he’s still alive,” she said, smacking him across his already bloodied face. Mason moaned and tried to lift his head but Mischelle grabbed his hair and pulled his head back so his neck was exposed. She put the blade she’d used on Savannah up to his throat and Mason winced.

  “Don’t hurt him!” Savannah said as a whole new series of endorphins invaded her blood stream.

  Mischelle lowered the blade and walked towards Savannah, moving delicately to avoid walking in the blood on the floor. “So now you know what’s at stake if you don’t cooperate with us,” she said coldly.

  Mason moaned again in the background. “Please help me,” he said in a strained voice.

  Savannah looked at Mason. There they were again in a life or death situation and he was asking her for help. “What do you want, Mischelle?” Savannah asked.

  “You see, for this portal to open,” Mischelle gestured to Savannah’s blood collecting in a circle at the bottom of the platform, “you need to say a couple of words.”

  Savannah looked over at Mason. He let out a long breath but didn’t say anything. He was broken and bloody and most of the blood was coming from his left leg. The same leg she’d stabbed Blake in.

  “No,” Savannah spat at Mischelle.

  Mischelle had clearly not been expecting this answer. She seemed taken aback for a minute before she walked back over to Mason was hanging. “I’ll kill him, I will,” she said again, raising the knife to his throat.

  “Go ahead. That’s not Mason,” Savannah said.

  Mason lifted his head and smiled maniacally at her before his features shifted. His face became Rainata’s and then changed into Isidora’s. “How did you know?” Blake asked. He was always so curious, presumably because he was trying to figure out how to lie better next time.

  “Mason wouldn’t have asked me to help him,” Savannah replied as an arrow came soaring from behind her and hit Blake square in the forehead.