Chapter 1
Percaline
Percaline watched as her soul mate plunged an arrow into his heart to save her sister, Savannah. It was meant as a selfless act and she was trying to see it as such, but Lucas was one of two people who had killed himself during her lifetime and that was two too many.
A couple of years back, her Uncle Jon had killed himself once he felt like he could no longer be a carpenter and therefore no longer had a purpose in this life. He was in severe pain and probably on multiple pain killers and antidepressants when he took his life, but he had still pulled the trigger in the tiny shed at the back of her house.
Now Percaline was forced to watch as Lucas stabbed himself in the heart with an arrow to close the portal Azazel had opened. Azazel was one of the three fallen angels who God, with the help of the seven Archangels, locked in Tartarus. Azazel was also the first vampire, whose eternity in Tartarus was spent eating food and drinking blood that he couldn’t taste. His solution to this problem had been to possess Lucas and open the portal from the Underworld to Tartarus at the expense of nearly draining Savannah dry of blood. Her blood, or rather Percaline’s phoenix blood which they shared, was the key to opening the portal.
Lucas’s body disappeared through the portal and the fire that had been emanating from the circle of blood on the ground ceased, leaving only Savannah’s unconscious body in its wake. Landon, Josephine’s familiar, was yelling at Percaline to help but she couldn’t hear what he was saying over the sound of her heart breaking. She turned towards the stone perch where Lucas’s sword had come to rest and picked it up. She wanted to thrust the sword into her chest but she wouldn’t. She had made a deal with herself and with Savannah long ago that she would never kill herself. Instead, she wished death would come for her and by the way her heart felt in her chest she thought it would come soon.
Percaline bowed on one knee and dropped the sword as the bells from the House of Phoenyx began to chime, indicating that a soldier had fallen. Sixteen bells. The number of years she had known Lucas, the number of hours she’d had to wait between Lucas asking her out and their first official date, and the age of her sister the first time Percaline died.
By the third bell the tightness in Percaline’s chest finally met its limit and she burst into hundreds of phoenix. She was a phoenix and the human representation of God’s army. Lucas had been a Gargoyle, which was the human representation of the seven archangels, and the phoenix’s protector, Percaline’s protector. But his death was now proof of their resistance towards Azazel, proof of their dedication to humanity, and proof of his love for his family. Proof which led to the end of the first prophecy.
Josephine, Percaline’s first and only true girl friend, was a witch and a direct descendant of Enoch. She had been the one to make the first prophecy: “The bird of life will rise, for another, the shadow of an eternal enemy, will come to being with the apocalypse,” but Lucas had stopped the apocalypse when he closed the portal to Tartarus and stopped the shadow of Azazel from rising.
Percaline’s thoughts were coming faster now, like her mind was in one of those spinning cylinders at a fun house. All of her thoughts had been concentrated on Lucas, but now some of them were starting to branch out to Savannah. She made her way out of the tunnel of thoughts she had placed herself in by walking towards the light. It was bright and beautiful, and as she got closer she could feel its warmth. Not the type of warmth you get from the sun but the type of warmth you would receive from your mom hugging you. Everything felt better, like pain no longer existed. She stepped out of the tunnel and into the desert. She recognized the place instantly as a campground at the Bottomless Lakes state park outside of Roswell, New Mexico. It was where she, Lucas, and Savannah went camping when they had still lived in Colorado and it was perhaps her favorite place in the whole world.
An orange and yellow tent appeared in front of her and started to unzip from the inside. She looked around, feeling like she should be alarmed although she wasn’t, but no one else was there. The campground was abandoned. Before the tent was fully unzipped, a golden retriever came bouncing out of it and ran up to Percaline, wagging its tail.
“Sarah!” Percaline screamed, excited to see the childhood friend she had lost. “How have you been, girl? I’ve missed you.” Sarah flopped down on the ground in front of her, expecting her belly to be rubbed. Percaline lovingly obliged.
When the rest of the zipper door opened, a being that was one half man and one half woman stepped out of the tent, not bothering to lower its head or lift its feet like the tent should know better than to get in its way. “That dog has been following me around for a week. I’m assuming she belongs to you?” God asked, walking towards Percaline. Percaline didn’t know how or why she knew this androgynous creature before her was God, but she did.
“She does,” Percaline answered. She stood up and adjusted herself so she could better see God. “Is this Heaven?” she asked, looking at the male half. He didn’t have particularly masculine features but He was all man. That half wore a pair of white cotton shorts and a white button-up shirt. These clothes connected on the feminine side to a black cotton top and a black skirt. Her hair was long and down while He wore his hair short. She too didn’t have particularly feminine features but she was all woman and that woman was now speaking to her.
“It is,” She said, petting Sarah and motioning Percaline to the pair of beach loungers that had manifested themselves behind her. “Although I don’t think anyone has ever chosen this particular place as their Heaven before,” She laughed.
Percaline took her seat and adjusted the umbrella so she wouldn’t have to fight the sun to see His face, the right side now facing her. He took his seat and pulled one of the Corona Light bottles that had appeared in a bucket of ice on the small table beside them. “Here,” He said, passing one of the bottles to Percaline.
“Is that why Don refers to you as a man and Nyx refers to you as woman?” she asked, taking the bottle, her free hand still petting Sarah.
“I do not have a body so I appear to you as you see me. Don sees me as a man while Nyx sees me as a woman.” He twisted the cap off His beer and took a swing. “But I am curious as to how I appear to you?”
Percaline freed her hand from Sarah’s nudging nose and twisted the cap off her beer. She took a drink. “Like Julie Andrews in Victor Victoria minus the Julie Andrews part.”
“Interesting.” He paused. “That suggests that you understand the full meaning of who I am. I am not man or woman but at the same time I am both.”
Percaline looked at Him again. “Why didn’t my mom come with you to greet me?” Percaline asked. “Or my Uncle Jon?”
God turned so His female half looked at Percaline. “Your mother and Uncle Jon are both with Savannah. They’re trying to keep her alive.”
Percaline thought back to what had happened just before she had burst into birds and died of a broken heart. Savannah had been laying lifelessly on the stone step. “Savannah’s still alive?” she asked, bowing her head in shame. “I wasn’t sure.”
When she raised her head back up, the male half was watching her. “She is and that’s why I’m here,” He said.
“And they’re with her?” Percaline asked.
“They are,” He replied.
“Can she see them?” she asked.
“No. They are with her spiritually, like guardian angels,” He answered.
“Will Savannah live?” she asked, wanting to know the fate of her sister. It was her wish that Savannah would go on to live a full and happy life.
“That depends on you,” He answered, taking another swing of beer. Percaline studied Him for a minute, then looked down at her hands, feeling like she should be guilty for leaving Savannah. The place where her heart had been was now empty and she felt light, but she was afraid that certain things would bring back the pain and she didn’t want that. She wanted to remain emotionally neutral like she was now, but she couldn’t help but remember how s
he should be feeling like it was a fantasy emotion. “As the phoenix and my human soldier you have the choice to remain dead or to be resurrected. Your decision will seal Savannah’s fate.”
Percaline thought about that for a couple of minutes, then asked, “I want to choose death, but you’re saying that if I do Savannah will also die?”
“If you choose to remain here, Savannah will die without you there to save her. Josephine, Landon, Mason, Isidora, Rainata, and all of the House of Phoenyx people will also perish in their attempt to finish the phoenix’s battle, and the human race will cease to exist.”
Honestly, she didn’t really care about the human race as a whole but she did care about the particular people God had mentioned. Percaline knew that what He was saying was the truth. “But Lucas closed the portal to stop Azazel from rising, so we did our part and kept the prophecy from happening.”
“Yes, but as Nyx would say ‘There is a loophole in everything.’ You may have kept Azazel from rising but who is to say that he is the real enemy or that the mere act of the portal opening wasn’t enough?”
“So the prophecy wasn’t about Azazel?” Percaline asked, confused and tired.
“Azazel opened the portal, which had it not been closed would have unleashed hell on earth and brought upon the apocalypse, allowing the eternal shadow to rise. But Azazel himself may not be the eternal shadow.”
“Who else could it be?” Percaline asked.
God turned both faces towards Percaline and answered. “You already know the answer to that. They’ve been organizing an army against you.”
“The Sons of Adam,” Percaline said. God turned so the female side was looking at her and nodded. “Then we didn’t fulfill the prophecy?”
“You will not know if you’ve fulfilled one until all three have been read and the whole story is revealed,” She answered.
“So you want me to go back and finish what was started? Wait for the other two prophecies to be revealed and save Savannah?” Percaline asked.
“It is your choice.” God sat up and crossed one of Her legs over the other, looking at Percaline. “If you go back, Nyx will gift you with the ability to heal so you can save your sister, but you will still have to fight for what you desire.”
“Fight for what I desire?” Percaline asked. God had a weird way of phrasing things.
“Yes. You will still be the phoenix, Percaline, and you will still be my soldier, but what you choose to do with that will be up to you,” God answered.
“Since you are God and God is the almighty and the Omega, then why aren’t you fighting for humanity?” Percaline asked. “Why do I have to?”
“My gift was the gift of life. What people choose to do with that gift is their decision.” She turned away and crossed Her other leg.
“So if the entire human race decides to end itself, you wouldn’t intervene?” Percaline asked, watching His face for clues.
“I would, and I have, but just to the point of sending a phoenix and providing you, that phoenix, with fellow soldiers. You are the humanity I lack,” He said.
“That seems passive aggressive,” Percaline stated.
“Call it what you want, but the only reason I don’t send another flood down to clean the slate is because of you and your friends. I’ve seen what people do to one another and it has often made me want to start fresh,” God said very matter-of-factly.
“Another Adam?” Percaline asked.
“Yes, something like that, but this time if he disobeyed I would just destroy him then and there and start fresh yet again,” God said and for the first time since arriving in Heaven, Percaline understood the full meaning of the word wrath when applied to God. “Now, may I show you the life Savannah will miss if you don’t return?” God finished, smiling at Percaline, the wrath disappearing like it had never been there.
Percaline nodded, indicating that it was fine. God reached Her hand to Percaline’s head and rested it on her forehead. A montage of images involving Savannah came into view. Savannah at homecoming, Savannah’s birthday, and Savannah at the Night of the Undead parade, which was the Underworld’s parody of the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday.
Percaline loved the images. Savannah was happy and living her life in all of them. “Will she be okay if she does these things? Won’t the Sons try to hurt her?” she asked.
“The future is always changing, but from what I can see and from what I just showed you, no harm will come to her, you, or your friends until the second prophecy is made,” God answered.
“And when will that be?” Percaline asked.
“I cannot tell you that because I do not know,” God replied. “I can only see the immediate future.”
Percaline wondered how God could see the immediate future but not anything past that. God smiled and answered her unspoken question. “The things you do now affect the immediate future. The things you do in the future will affect the future after that.” She took another sip of beer. “Have you decided?”
“To return?” Percaline asked and God nodded. “For Savannah, yes.”
“Good. Now there are some things we need to go over before you return to the Underworld. Reasons why the people in your group did what they did,” He said. He returned to His resting position on the lounger.
Percaline woke up, first seeing the dead purple flower that now rested on her nightstand and reminded her of what she’d lost that night not so many nights ago. She moved and felt Savannah in the bed next to her. Her little zombie dog, Basil, lay at the foot of the bed keeping her feet warm. It had been a tough couple of weeks since Lucas’s death and Savannah, along with Mason, Landon, Josephine, Nathaniel, Rainata, and Isidora, kept watch over her, fearing that she would recant on the deal she had made with God to return to the living.
She couldn’t remember all of the time she had spent with God, just bits and pieces of it, but more was starting to come back to her in her dreams. Those weren’t the dreams she went to sleep for, though. She slept to remember what it was like with Lucas. For seconds of the day she would forget that he was gone and remember what it was like when he touched her face, or moved her hair, or kissed her lips. He came to her in dreams and it was those that she slept for. The ones that filled the empty place that now took up most of her chest cavity.
When Lucas disappeared into the portal he didn’t leave a body, so Percaline refused to mourn him and she had the ability to do that. One of the gifts Nyx had bestowed on her was the capability of turning off her emotions. When God had created the phoenix, He had turned to Nyx for her humanity, wanting His human soldier to have the emotions He lacked. As a result, phoenix had more feelings than the average human which could, and in her case had, kill them if they didn’t have a switch to turn them off.
When she had resurrected herself in the Underworld, she carried with her the emotions of the night long enough to heal her sister with a new power Nyx had given her by way of God; the ability to heal others with her tears.
She had walked through the crowd that had formed on the sidewalks of the Underworld, emotions still on but focused into something other than sadness and heartbreak. She channeled them into hatred and anger aimed at Don. In her mind, Don, or Poseidon as he was more commonly known, was the reason Lucas was dead. He had hired Nathaniel, Rainata, Isidora, and Blake under the guise of being bodyguards there to protect the phoenix and the phoenix’s allies when really they were there to keep Azazel from rising even at the expense of her, Savannah, and Lucas.
She now knew that it wasn’t fair of her to blame Don because even if Isidora hadn’t fired the arrow that Lucas used to kill himself with, he would have found something else to take his own life with, and if he hadn’t, Savannah would have died. But she didn’t like feeling of being used and since becoming the phoenix she had felt like a pawn in a chess game Don was playing. He was supposed to take her and Lucas under his wings and teach them the trade of their particular creature, but instead he had withheld information or only shared the par
ts he deemed necessary. Like most people, Percaline didn’t like playing a game she didn’t know all the rules to.
Once she had told Don that he was no longer welcome in the House and that the doors to and from his residence Truthaven would be closed, and after she had wept for Lucas in the bedroom the House still kept for him, she turned her emotions off. She needed to tell Savannah and all the others in the House why Lucas had done what he did and she didn’t think she would be able to manage that without dying again unless she shut herself off.
Now, two weeks later, her emotions were still turned off but peeking out occasionally while she slept. She still cared for her friends, but if having a normal amount of feeling was like jumping out of a plane, then having her emotions turned off was the equivalent of sitting on a couch watching TV. She could feel them in the sense that they were still there and at times she would force herself to act in a way that suggested she cared, but the truth was that she really didn’t care about much, just the relationships she still had with her sister and her friends. And death, she cared about death.
Once all of the prophecies were spoken and Adam was stopped, she would be allowed to die and Percaline wanted that, she wanted to be with Lucas again. She hadn’t seen him when she was in Heaven, or at least she didn’t remember seeing him, but she assumed that he was there somewhere because he wasn’t in Tartarus. She had made sure of that, sending Nyx there specifically for that reason after the portal closed. Nyx was one of the few beings capable of traveling between the Underground and Tartarus and Percaline trusted her.
Percaline got out of bed and quietly opened the door to her room. Savannah had taken some time off from school and today was her first day back. She needed her sleep and Percaline needed to be alone. She wasn’t going to kill herself and now with the memory she had received from her dreams that night she was able to say that she would definitely be living up to that promise. Savannah was going to have a wonderful month and she deserved it, because after all, she had lost Lucas too.
She ushered Basil out and pulled the door closed behind her, turning and barely missing Isidora, who was keeping watch outside of her door. They hadn’t spoken much since Percaline had accused her of being a spy and since Isidora had purposely tried to kill Lucas, but Isidora still stayed, taking the night time shift.
Isidora was a vampire so her natural time to sleep was during daylight hours, but since the Underworld didn’t have daylight hours so to speak, she stayed up late and went to bed usually when Percaline was waking up. Only when Don had had them training had she woken up early.
Percaline couldn’t judge her work ethic. She took her job seriously, made adjustments to any criticism she received, and was a darn good bodyguard. Percaline liked knowing that she was there to protect her people. And they were her people. Fate and Destiny had seen to that when they interceded in her life and as God had stated, He hadn’t just sent the Phoenix but instead sent them all.
“Good morning,” Isidora said, standing up from her sitting position in the hallway and smoothing her pants down. “Josephine is in the library and she told me to send you her way when you woke up.”
Percaline smiled at Isidora, the smile not quite making it to her eyes. Isidora wasn’t her favorite person but she understood why she had done what she did. In one of the memories she did recall, God had explained it to her and she was trying to make her peace with it. “Thank you, Isidora,” Percaline said. She headed towards the library and Isidora and Basil fell in line behind her.
The library was quiet when Percaline and Isidora entered. Wooden bookcases, ladders, and study tables filled the two-story room. Percaline heard a pop to her right and Mason walked out of one the paintings that used to house the door for Truthaven but now was an entry point from Mason’s house aboveground to the House of Phoenyx. When Josephine had first attempted to create a door from Mason’s bedroom to the House, it hadn’t worked. Now they knew why. Blake, the traitorous shape-shifting bodyguard had been the one using that the door and the door didn’t want him entering the House.
Josephine poked her head out from behind a bookshelf on the first floor. “Oh good, you all are here,” she said, closing the book she was reading and exiting the row of books she was standing behind.
Mason hesitated for a moment, looking at Percaline. “Is that okay?” he asked, referring to his entering and exiting of the doors at will.
Percaline couldn’t understand why he was asking such a question. After all, hadn’t Josephine created doors to and from Mason’s bedroom for this exact reason? But she didn’t question him. Everyone had been walking on eggshells around her and apparently Mason was no different. Mason was Savannah’s best friend and the little brother Percaline had inherited. She didn’t mind, though. She liked Mason. “Of course it’s okay,” Percaline said. She wrapped an arm around Mason’s shoulders. “That’s why they’re there. I want you to be able to come and go as you please.”
A second pop sounded and Landon walked through the same door. He was impeccably dressed as usual. “Sorry,” he began. “Your mom came into your room just as you left. I had to hide under the bed.”
Landon was Josephine’s familiar and a dog aboveground. He and Mason had history. They were both gay, but Landon had stopped any sexual relationship from progressing because of their age difference. Now he was Mason’s bodyguard aboveground because Mason’s old bodyguard had turned out to be a traitor. He very rarely showed any signs of discomfort, but Percaline could tell that spending the night with Mason wasn’t easy for him. Having Mason stay aboveground wasn’t easy for any of them and she prayed that when Mason turned eighteen, he would move into the House of Phoenyx with them where he would be safe. Until then, his cover story would be that he was watching Savannah’s pet dog Landon until things, mainly the death of Lucas, settled for both her and Percaline. It wasn’t the best cover story but it was the only way they had to explain away why Mason needed someone to stay with him aboveground.
Unlike Landon, Mason had been completely human until he had a run in with a werewolf who bit him and nearly killed him. Since then, he had been welcomed into the Underworld and into the House of Phoenyx but aboveground was still a dangerous place for him, as it was for all of them. Created werewolves changed with the first full moon after they were bitten, so in four days time they would find out if Mason would be strong enough to protect himself and his parents, Nancy and Brian, while he was aboveground.
“Mason, you’ll be okay,” Percaline said with a warm arm still wrapped around his shoulders. He knew she was talking about becoming a werewolf. It was a huge milestone for anyone, and one that brought with it the promise of pain. Landon had warned Mason when he was first created that during his first transformation he would wish he was dead, but after that he would be able to change painlessly at will both aboveground and in the Underworld.
“I know, but it’s so indefinite. What if when I become a werewolf I still need a bodyguard aboveground? What if I have to have Josephine create another reality for my parents so they don’t get hurt because someone comes after me or them?” Mason asked, the anxiety in his voice rising. In Mason’s mind it was one thing to harm him but something completely different if Savannah or his mom were harmed. He wouldn’t tolerate that.
Isidora spoke up, aiming her question at Josephine. “You can do that?” Josephine shrugged.
“She’s the daughter of Enoch. She can do anything.” Nathaniel, Josephine’s bodyguard said as he entered the room.
It was true. Josephine was a direct descendant of Enoch, the prophet of God, and the current prophet of their fate. She was the one who would also deliver the second and third prophecies, which would happen sometime after the Night of the Undead parade. That was one of the reasons she was here, to share with Josephine and the others her newest memory, but first she wanted to calm Mason down.
“You are one of the strongest people I know. You survived a werewolf attack, healed in record time, and you can sense other people�
�s energy from a distance.” Percaline took a seat at what they used to think of as Don’s table. “Plus, the best things in life happen on the full moon. Savannah and I were both born on full moons,” she smirked.
Mason smiled and some of the tension he was feeling eased out of his body.
Josephine paused at the head of the table. “I was also born on a full moon,” she said.
“See Mason, only the best things,” Percaline said, winking at Josephine.
Percaline liked being around Mason. He was easy to act happy around because he was a genuinely happy individual. He had also accepted his new life and fate without any complaining, unlike the rest of them.
Josephine
Three people born on a full moon? That couldn’t be a coincidence, but that’s not what they were there for at the moment. Josephine had called them all there (except for Savannah since she had been pulling all-nighters watching over Percaline) to discuss the bodyguard situation. The only person they were waiting on was Rainata, and as Josephine began to speak Rainata sleepily stumbled into the library.
“With Savannah going back to school today I thought it might be a good idea to discuss holding another set of trials,” Josephine began. As she said it she watched Percaline’s face, waiting for some type of reaction, but Percaline did nothing. She hadn’t since Lucas’s death. She always had the look of someone who was there in body only.
The trials were a supernatural Olympics of sorts and they were how Nathaniel, Rainata, and Isidora had come to be bodyguards for the House. Blake, the traitor who was spying on them for Azazel’s Siren girlfriend Mischelle, had also been hired out of the trials and no one wanted to relive that. The loophole that had gotten him into the House instead of rejected by it had been magically fixed, and until Mason learned the full extent of his werewolf powers they needed another bodyguard, someone who could join Rainata as a fake student at Mason and Savannah’s school. They needed another shape-shifter if possible.
“I think we have all worked hard for the relationships we have fortified here and I’m not sure that bringing someone from the outside into our circle is such a good idea,” Percaline said in her normal factual tone. Josephine knew that letting people in was something that Percaline struggled with on a regular basis and after Lucas’s death it was an even harder task for her. Josephine understood why, but they still needed someone in the classroom with Mason.
Landon spoke up as though he had heard Josephine’s thoughts. “My parents and my brother Victor are coming on Thursday to help out with Mason’s transformation. I can see if Victor can come early and help out temporarily? He just turned nineteen.”
“That’s who I saw,” Percaline said, startled. She continued, “I remembered another part of my conversation with God. God showed me Savannah’s near future. She, Mason, and Rainata were at homecoming and Rainata was dancing with someone I vaguely recognized from the trials.” One of Landon’s brothers had competed in the last trials but hadn’t made it past the obstacle course. This must have been Victor.
“I remember him. He was good,” Nathaniel responded, nodding to Josephine.
“Rainata was at the dance with Victor? Who was I with? Who was Savannah with?” Mason asked Percaline curiously.
“Do you really think it’s a good idea for them to go to a dance?” Josephine asked, worried for everyone’s safety. They didn’t need to lose more people and if Percaline lost Savannah she wouldn’t come back to life the next time.
Percaline smiled, but as it had done the last couple of days the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, like it was forced. “God said we would be safe until the second prophecy and showed me Savannah’s life up to the Night of the Undead parade.” She paused and cleared her throat. “I think they should go to homecoming. They’re teenagers and they should have that experience before they are forced to grow up,” she finished. When Percaline was nineteen she had adopted eleven-year-old Savannah because their mother had died, and as a result had missed out on a significant piece of her own teenage and young adult years. Josephine knew Percaline didn’t want the same fate for her sister.
“Why don’t you call Victor to see if he would be able to assist temporarily? He’s your family so you trust him, and if God showed him dancing with Rainata then we’ll trust him too,” Nathaniel said. Nathaniel was a dragon and a very intelligent individual. He’d been trying his hardest the last couple of weeks to woo Josephine, but she resisted his advances, not wanting to date someone she worked with. He was handsome and a talented fighter, but she didn’t want to ruin their relationship. Leave it to him to say what no one else will admit, Josephine thought. They were all paranoid about having another Blake invade their group.
“Done and done,” Landon said. He shrugged when Nathaniel looked at him questioningly. “I texted him and he responded already. He’ll be here in an hour.”
“And Nathaniel can drop us off and pick us up since Tiffany and Brie think Savannah’s dating him anyway. It’ll help the story and give them extra protection to and from school,” Rainata chimed in. In the few weeks that they had known Rainata everyone had gotten really close to her, Savannah and Mason probably the most so, especially after she had made up the story about Savannah’s new boyfriend to make Tiffany and Brie jealous. She was older than them but looked young for her age, which enabled her to easily portray a high school kid and she had the quick wit needed to take on high school frenemies.
Josephine looked to Isidora, who looked to Nathaniel, who didn’t seem happy with the idea. “I will watch Josephine and Landon while you are out. They’ll be safe, I promise,” she said.
Josephine didn’t like being kept under someone’s thumb but she knew where Nathaniel was concerned there would be no getting around it. Besides, it was a nice thumb to be under and if she really wanted to she could overpower him.
“And you’ll stay in the House?” Nathaniel asked.
“I’m out of here at the first sign of your absence,” Josephine said, jokingly taunting Nathaniel. It wasn’t something she should have done but she couldn’t help herself. She was an adult for God’s sake, and didn’t need a babysitter. Nathaniel smiled as though he knew better. “Percaline, Reaves, and Nyx are here too. We’ll be fine.”
As much as Josephine hated to admit it, Nathaniel was slowly starting to wear her down. Maybe it was seeing what Percaline and Lucas had been through or maybe it was just a chemical reaction, but there was something about him that made her want to break her dating rule. He watched Vanderpump Rules and Rookie Blue with her and that was a tough quality to find in a heterosexual man. Then again, she didn’t need to date him since he was already the companion she wanted.
“I’ve been practicing with Nyx and I think I’ve got the hang of blinking,” Percaline said. She had already mastered traveling from one point to another in the blink of an eye, and now she had inherited from Nyx the ability to hear a person’s call and blink to their location in cases of emergency.
Josephine knew that she had been working on it specifically so that if Savannah ever felt harmed again all she would have to do is call for Percaline and Percaline would show up for her, just as Griselda, the name Nyx went by when she was working in the House, had for Mason on the night Lucas died. For Nyx it required a lot of energy, even more if it was between the Underworld and aboveground because she had to turn human to do it, but for Percaline it was more effortless since she was already human. And it was a useful and life-saving skill to have. She was also the only other person besides Nyx and the Egyptian God Nekheny who was able to travel between realms without a door and at will.
As part of her training, Nyx had had her focus on people instead of places like you would for a normal blink, which helped her to more accurately find who was calling her. Savannah and Mason’s call came more easily to her since they were all bound by blood. They would be safe while they were at school and Josephine, Landon, and Percaline would be safe in the House.
Josephine and Percaline had originall
y met at school in one of Don’s classes, but since Josephine had found the phoenix and Percaline had lost Lucas and refused to see Don, they had both dropped out for the semester, if not longer. Who knew, they could all be dead by January. She didn’t like to think about things like that, but Lucas dying had been a real eye-opener for all of them and it illustrated their mortality.
In the research she had done since Percaline’s resurrection, she had found out that Percaline had nine lives like a cat. She had used one of those lives already, and if at any point she died and opted not to come back she would remain dead. Werewolves like Mason, Sirens like Savannah, and zombie huntsmen like Rainata had longer than average lives but after a hundred-plus years they would eventually grow old and die, so they too were mortal. Dragons like Nathaniel lived to be around three hundred years of age and vampires like Isidora lived until they were killed. Josephine and Landon would also live to be around three hundred years old, but with their powers interlinked to one another they could be resurrected as long as one of them remained alive. Gargoyles like Lucas would live for as long as the phoenix lived, but unlike Percaline they only had one life.
“Then it’s settled,” Josephine said, looking at her watch. Time in the Underworld moved slower than it did aboveground, but even with that advantage it was getting to be late in the morning. Mason needed to wake up Savannah, they both needed to get ready for school, and she and Percaline needed to get to target practice with Isidora.
Everyone cleared out of the library, leaving Josephine and Percaline alone. “So God told you that no harm would come to anyone until the second prophecy and that prophecy is happening after the Night of the Undead parade?” Josephine asked.
“Technically, God showed me Savannah’s near future where the last thing I saw was Savannah having fun and enjoying the Night of the Undead parade, but everything else you said is correct. God couldn’t tell me when the prophecy would come to you but it wasn’t in the future I saw,” Percaline replied with a shrug. “I thought we could use this time to investigate the Sons of Adam so that maybe we can figure out what Adam’s next move is. Get ahead of him,” she finished. Since Percaline had returned, she knew that Adam was behind Azazel’s attempt to escape Tartarus but this morning she spoke with more certainty than she had in the past since now she had proof Adam was the true culprit.
Percaline had been more conscious of her role as a phoenix and Josephine couldn’t help but wonder if she was trying to speed up the process so she could die. Like everyone else in the House, she’d been trying to get Percaline to focus on the things she used to like and the things she had to look forward to. Savannah and Mason going to homecoming was one of those things, as was Savannah’s birthday, so for now she would gather research on Adam as requested while also trying to help Percaline participate in life.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll continue to comb through books after practice,” Josephine replied, then paused to make sure she had Percaline’s full attention. “Percaline?”
Percaline looked up from the book she was flipping through. “Hmm?”
“Have you had any dreams with Jon in them recently?” Josephine asked. Percaline’s Uncle Jon had killed himself a couple of years back and since then a little boy ghost Percaline had named after her uncle had been plaguing her dreams. Josephine had met Jon only once and it was when he led her to Truthaven on the night they found out Percaline was the phoenix that Josephine had prophesized about. Josephine didn’t think Jon wanted to hurt Percaline, quite the opposite in fact, but she also didn’t think the younger doppelganger of her uncle was in fact her uncle. It seemed he was there to help Percaline, whoever he was, but Josephine didn’t accept that Uncle Jon was in fact the little ghost boy.
Percaline looked inquisitively at her. “Not since he warned me about Savannah,” she said. Jon had been the one to show Percaline that Mischelle was plotting something before she had eventually succeeded in kidnapping Savannah. He and Lucas were the reasons why Savannah was alive now.
“Other than his appearance, is there anything else about him that reminds you of your Uncle Jon?”
Percaline shrugged. “When I see him it smells like the ocean. I figure that’s because we threw his ashes into the sea off the coast of Santa Barbara. Why are you asking?”
“No specific reason. Just curious,” Josephine replied. She wasn’t in the habit of lying to Percaline and technically she hadn’t lied—she was in fact curious. Savannah had been the one to convince Josephine that now wasn’t the best time to tell Percaline that she might be a twin. Savannah had also pointed out the similarities between Percaline and Zeus, and it was Savannah who had showed Josephine a picture of her Uncle Jon as a child, which led to a question about his scar. The child in the photo had a scar and the child who had led Josephine to Truthaven didn’t. Then there was the map. It had showed an X in Purgatory where there shouldn’t have been one.
“Do you think he stopped visiting me because he’s disappointed in me for letting Lucas die?” Percaline asked and Josephine stared at her, not expecting that question.
She moved quickly to hug Percaline. “No, of course not. I’m sure he has his reasons for not visiting. Maybe he was the one to welcome Lucas to Heaven.”
Basil jumped up on Percaline. When he stood he hit her at thigh level. He pawed at her. He seemed to have the instinct that some dogs have that his person was in emotional pain. Percaline absent-mindedly patted his head and pulled away from Josephine’s hug. “Thanks, Josephine. You’re a good friend.”
Savannah
Savannah woke up and stretched out on the bed. This wasn’t the first time she’d slept in Percaline’s bed over the last couple of days and it probably wasn’t going to be the last. She did it with the intention of keeping an eye on Percaline but also because she had lost Lucas too and didn’t want to be alone. If Mason hadn’t gone back to sleeping in his bed aboveground she would have cuddled in next to him, but as it was she relied on Percaline for comfort and warmth.
“Savannah? Are you awake?” Mason said as knocked on the door before opening it. If she had been in her room he would have just walked in, but since this was Percaline’s room he respected her boundaries.
“Hey, you’re here early,” Savannah said, looking at the alarm clock on Percaline’s nightstand. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine. I just wanted to be here for your first day back,” Mason replied. Mason was good about not dwelling on the negative subjects so he often skipped over them and didn’t bring them up unless he had to.
Savannah nodded. “Did you see Percaline when you came in?”
“Yeah, we had a little meeting. We discussed the possibility of getting another bodyguard since you’re returning to school today,” Mason said. “And did you know that Percaline had another dream about God and in it God showed me, you, and Rainata at homecoming and Rainata was dancing with Landon’s brother Victor?” When he said this he got his usual gossipy look on his face.
“Homecoming, huh?” Savannah smiled. “Who was I dancing with? Who were you dancing with?” she asked.
Mason responded, “I asked Percaline but she didn’t tell me. I didn’t push because you know…” he trailed off. Everyone knew that Percaline was going through a really difficult time and they were all being delicate around her.
“But they didn’t hire another bodyguard, right?” Savannah asked. She was also still trying to recover from the traitor who had been hiding in plain sight.
Mason turned on his gossip face again. “Landon’s brother Victor is coming with us to school. He’s the one from the trials and he’s only nineteen.”
“But is he gay? And what about Landon? You can’t date his brother,” Savannah countered, getting up from the bed.
“Not for me, for you, silly,” Mason argued. “He’s super good-looking and he’s supernatural and he’ll be staying here at the House for a couple of days.” He made a nudging noise with his mouth.
Mason followed Savannah to her
bedroom which was conveniently next to his, a perk of the House. “Ahh, I don’t think it’s a good time to be dating anyone right now,” Savannah replied, quashing Mason’s daydream.
“But what about homecoming? You’ll need a date,” Mason said.
“And you just said that Rainata was dancing with Victor. Maybe she’ll end up dating him,” Savannah said.
“No, no, no. Victor is way too young for Rainata. You know she won’t date anyone that’s more than two years younger or older than her,” Mason replied. This was one of the things that they had learned about Rainata the first night they hung out. They also learned that she had been engaged to Nathaniel’s twin brother and was a heart-broken mess because of him. He was now happily married with two kids. “Plus, she’s dating James.”
James was the brew master at the House of Phoenix. He was a good guy. Now that Savannah thought about it, she had sensed some type of chemistry between him and Rainata. She still wasn’t sure what kind of creature he was but that wasn’t something you just came out and asked. “Well, I’ll probably go with Nathaniel. That’s who Rainata told Brie and Tiffany I’d be going with anyways,” she said.
“Funny. Rainata brought that up today and now Nathaniel will be dropping us off and picking us up from school for the next couple of days,” Mason said, his lips twitching in eagerness. “So you’ll be able to rub that in their ugly faces,” he said, referring to Brie and Tiffany. They had once been friends, but after Brie had admitted to dating the guy Savannah liked, she and Mason had broken ties with them. Brie was also upset that Rainata had stolen her car, although she had no proof of it.
Savannah smiled. “So Percaline actually agreed to let us go to homecoming?”
“It was her suggestion,” Mason replied.
Percaline had come back from the dead for Savannah, so clearly she cared a great deal about Savannah’s life and if they were going to homecoming there was definitely a reason she felt comfortable letting them attend.
“Let’s discuss school. Is there anything I should know? Anything you haven’t already shared with me? Did you turn in my homework?” Savannah asked, changing topics.
“Yes, I turned in your homework,” Mason said in a monotone voice and then continued. “But I may have forgotten to tell you that I have developed a small crush on Patrick Odell.”
Savannah, who had just started to brush her teeth, stopped with a mouthful of toothpaste and turned towards Mason. She said something which was intended to sound like “What?” but came out more like “ut?”
“There’s something about him. He’s nice and he’s cute and he sits next to me in Social Studies. I think he sat next to me on purpose,” Mason said in an excited whisper.
Savannah rinsed her mouth out. “But what about Landon?”
“Landon won’t date me because I’m only seventeen and I don’t want to wait around to see if he’ll change his mind when I turn eighteen,” Mason said irritably. He had been forced to spend the last couple of nights with Landon and his irritation level about the whole thing was starting to soar.
“I understand that, but I think you and Landon are just so perfect for each other,” Savannah said, but she changed her course of thinking when she saw Mason’s face. Mason had had his heart broken by Landon and he needed this. “I like Patrick though,” she said, taking his arm and guiding him to her bedroom. “And you think he likes you too, huh?”
“I do. He says the funniest things to me in class and on Friday he sat next to me and Rainata at lunch,” Mason said, smiling again as he recalled his lunch time date.
“You ate with him without me?” Savannah said, disappointed for the first time that she had missed so many days of school.
“Yes,” Mason said, going through her underwear drawer and throwing things her way. “But I told him he wasn’t allowed to say anything substantial until you returned.”
Savannah finished getting ready while Mason filled her in on all things Patrick-related and then they went to the kitchen for breakfast before going to the dining hall. When they entered, everyone was waiting there for them, Rainata with her backpack and Nathaniel with a set of car keys. The only person they had to wait on was Victor, who showed up a couple of minutes after with Landon.
“Everyone, this is my brother Victor,” Landon called out.
Savannah, who had been studying for a literature test, looked up from her copy of the Odyssey. Victor was tall, but then again compared to her everyone was tall. He had caramel-colored skin, green eyes, and black hair. He was gorgeous but he didn’t look anything like Landon since they weren’t related by blood. She was willing to bet that Landon’s adopted family was one of those uncannily good-looking families. She’d had one of those once but her family’s numbers were dwindling, so she didn’t think just she and Percaline would qualify.
Mason was making a face at Savannah and she knew what it was about. Victor was exactly the type of guy she would have gone for if the timing had been better.
Everyone introduced themselves and Percaline pulled her sister up from her chair so she could meet her newest bodyguard. Technically Victor would be Mason’s bodyguard, but since she and Mason rarely did anything apart they often shared bodyguards. Percaline was making small talk with Victor and Landon, making sure he was okay getting the House tattoo which would protect him from being possessed while Savannah and Victor stared at each other. Had she been living a romantic comedy this would have been the part where they saw each other from across the room and fell in love instantly. But her life wasn’t that kind of movie, so instead she held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you Victor. I’m Savannah.”
“Likewise, Savannah,” Victor said in his Australian accent, accepting her hand. Savannah pulled her hand away quickly, not knowing what her hormones would do if she stayed connected to Victor for very much longer. Luckily, Victor also pulled his hand away quickly, slapping his neck like a bug had bitten it.
“Sorry,” Percaline said. “You are the new owner of a House of Phoenyx tattoo.”
“Is that what that was?” Victor asked, still rubbing his neck. When the decision to tattoo team members with the House of Phoenyx tattoo had come up, the House had automatically branded the necks of those who needed one. Currently Percaline, Savannah, and Mason were the only ones who didn’t need the tattoo because the sisters were already bound by blood, as was Mason, and because any tattoo Mason got before his transformation would heal.
“Landon, did you tell Victor I’m a Siren?” Savannah asked, alarmed. Just before Percaline had found out that she was a phoenix, Savannah had been made into a Siren by Lucas’s ex-girlfriend, Mischelle. She was the person Savannah personally held responsible for his death. Mischelle had been a Siren and for fun, she had decided that Savannah should be one too.
Like the Greek stories suggested, Sirens could lure men with their looks and their voices. Savannah had been blessed with bigger boobs and a more toned body after she had gone through the initial transformation, but she had yet to get the voice part of it. That would happen in a little over a year when she turned eighteen. There was a limit to her power for everyone’s protection, so if someone told you that she was a Siren you would become immune to her wiles. This was important because things in the Underworld were amplified and she didn’t need a House full of stalkers.
“Yes, of course I did,” Landon said, looking back and forth between Victor and Savannah.
Percaline
Landon was correct. Victor was exactly what they needed until Mason became a werewolf. Sure, there was no guarantee that once he transformed and became a werewolf that he would be able to take care of himself, but she really didn’t want to add in any unknown bodyguards until she absolutely had to. She hugged Savannah to her, whispering in her ear so no one else but Mason could hear, “If something seems wrong, just say my name and I’ll be there. Listen to your gut. God said that you wouldn’t be in danger for a while, but that doesn’t mean we should let our defenses down.”
“I love you too. Have fun at school,” Percaline said, waving them off. They went through the tapestry that led them to Percaline and Savannah’s aboveground home. Nathaniel was the last to walk through. “Nathaniel, keep the making-out with my sister to a G rating, please,” Percaline told him.
Nathaniel looked at Josephine with eyes as big as plates and then at Percaline. “This wasn’t my idea,” he said and slipped through the tapestry.
Percaline, Josephine, Landon, and Isidora were left in the dining hall. “From one girl to another I think you should marry that man,” Percaline said, nudging Josephine. She knew how Nathaniel felt about Josephine and she had seen the way Josephine had looked at him when he left, like he was an extension of her. She knew that look because she used to give the same one to Lucas. Josephine didn’t say anything so Percaline kept talking. “I know you have a rule about dating men you work with, but seriously, take it from someone who’s been there and don’t waste the time you have.”
Before Lucas died, he and Percaline had shared the best days of her life together, like they had known it would come to an end. Lucas seemed to have always known that she was the one for him but she hadn’t shared that sentiment. In fact, she felt the opposite. She didn’t want to compromise their friendship, but after she had finally figured out that he was the one for her, she couldn’t get enough of him. She hadn’t. He had been taken from her too early and for the rest of what she hoped was a short life, she would always regret not realizing that she was in love with Lucas sooner. If she could go back, she would have married him in the second grade when they first met.
Josephine looked at Percaline as her words sunk in. “But what if it doesn’t work out? It will make things around here very uncomfortable,” she said. Percaline was finally getting somewhere with her. At first when she’d made comments about Josephine and Nathaniel getting together, Josephine had pushed it off like she wasn’t interested, but now with that small statement she had finally admitted her feelings.
Landon picked up on the subtleness of it too. “And when did you finally figure out that you’re madly in love with Nathaniel?”
“I’m n…” Josephine hesitated, but instead of finishing the sentence she shut her mouth and turned red.
“So you are –” Percaline began to say but Isidora interrupted her. “I usually try to stay out of other people’s business.” She paused and looked at Josephine. “But you should probably know that Nathaniel is already married.”
About the author
Before becoming an author, S. C. Clark worked at a cozy government job where the lights were dim and people regularly considered sacrificing themselves to any one of the many volcano Gods. Fortunately for her and her readers, instead of seeing her fellow employees as real people, she saw them as demons, huntsmen, vampires, sirens, and werewolves. Though this often led to awkward conversations (aka reprimands) about holy water dousing and pod people harassment, it also fueled her creativity and, frankly, made those work days bearable. Now as a published author, she spends most of her days wishing she was a dinosaur vet and hopes to someday meet Walt Disney. For more information on S. C. Clark or to contact her please visit www.houseofphoenyx.com.
About the Editor
Melissa Koop is a professional library lady and wrangler of writing. When she’s not making sentences behave with her red pen, she can be found reading crime novels, drinking whiskey, or sassing trolls and scurvy pirates alike – quite possibly all at the same time. For more information on Melissa Koop or to contact her please visit www.houseofphoenyx.com.
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