by Jamie Magee
“It has just begun, Love,” he said as he tucked my long bangs behind my ear. “Your mind will struggle with what you are…you will shock yourself a time or two with your speed. Your emotions may toy with you, and the demons you fought in your life will become your determination, a determination that will seem far too confining to bear…but you will overcome.”
My eyes grew wide as clarity came to me. “The guys. Who’s helping them?”
“They transformed instantly. Skylynn said that must have been part of the spell you cast before, that they had to be risen to raise you, that it was all or none.”
“Why did I struggle?”
“Fire and ice. I believe the spell was cast the way it was so that you would not only have guardians throughout your war, but also as you transformed.”
I pulled myself up on one arm. “Wilder,” I said as my battle with Rasure flashed before my eyes, as I remembered that my own sister had forsaken me.
“He fooled you.”
“What?”
“He is a bigger part of this than you can understand right now.”
“I’m not a fool,” I bit out.
“I didn’t say you were. He is not to be underestimated.”
I didn’t care to think that someone else I had trusted, not right now anyway, had fooled me.
“Cadence?”
Anger engulfed his eyes.
“Did you not kill her?” I pushed.
“No,” he said with disdain. “She was not in full form. Rasure was your distraction. You ended her simply because you set your family free.”
“I don’t understand how I was fooled for so long by Cadence,” I said as I sat up and felt rage boil through me.
He leaned up as I moved, trying to catch me before I fell into my rage. “You were not a fool, you were the Trojan Horse. She had no idea who you were until you refused to die. You masked yourself amongst evil, and you protected our home and set our family free, just as you always planned to do.”
“Are the souls still in the clocks, the ones under this house?”
“Some, I’m sure, but you cannot charge down there and open them. You are going to have to find the spells that bind them, the words to open them. You are going to have to tread carefully, patiently. Evil knows no time. It counts on our impatience to end us, and more often than not we bring our own demise with that fault.”
“What do I tell my family? How do I explain how I got out of that fire? Where you came from? Where Cadence and Rasure went?”
He leaned forward and let his warm lips rest on my forehead. “Your Uncle Jamison is filing divorce papers, told your brother that Rasure and Cadence left the country. Ben found a money trail from Rasure to the people who confessed to burning your floor down at the hospital. Jason and others from Guardian’s world created a background for me, one that your brother believes. The boys are strong. They have moved into this manor with you, declaring that they need to keep you safe.”
“How long was I out?” I asked with a gaping smile.
“Not as long as you think. I promise.”
“What does my uncle remember?” I asked, wondering how I’d lost so much time.
“Nothing. He actually stated that he had no idea why he even brought Rasure here. In his mind, he’s thirty-five. His life with her was nothing more than a nightmare he woke up from.”
I looked down. “One that we all woke up from.”
“That you did, Love.” He reached to turn my chin so I would have to look him in the eye. “Next time, let your fear rise sooner. It calls me. It always has. I came to you the second I felt it, and I was almost too late. Promise me you will never be too stubborn to ask for help again.”
“The boys told me to play my part, and I did. I held the fear in until Rasure said you were gone…out of it all, that was my only fear.”
He let his fingertips move down my neck, my chest. “Now that we are one, that your power is unsealed, what was your curse will be your virtue. You will learn to guide the ice and fire, and you will always know if truth is spoken to you.”
“Truth,” I whispered, feeling the certainty behind what he said, wondering where my life would take me from this point on, which caused me to look back for an instant.
“I want to pay my respects to my grandmother,” I said under my breath, expecting ice to form with my grief, but it didn’t.
He nodded, understanding, then vanished for an instant and returned with clothes in his hands.
“Let’s say we get you out of those death shrouds,” he said with a grin.
Agreeing, and wanting to prove that I was stronger and faster than he thought, I shed the outfit I’d worn for days and pulled on the dark denim, skin tight jeans, black long sleeve top, belt, and unlaced black boots within an instant.
He moved his head from side to side as a sinful smirk came to his lips. “A little faster than I would have preferred.”
I raised one eyebrow as my eyes matched the desire in his. He reached to trace the base of my eye. “Those are the eyes I remember.”
Before I could question him, I was across the room, standing before a full-length mirror with him just behind me. I barely recognized the girl in the mirror.
My skin was flawless, the color of ivory. The slight heat in my cheeks and my flaming red lips accented the shade of my skin. But that was not what took me by surprise. It was the color of my eyes; they were a deep, rich blue. The color that often had warned that my curse of ice was surfacing was now permeated, and behind them I saw a power. I saw a girl who was determined, who had both fire and ice in her soul. A girl who was claimed by a phoenix, who was guarded by two of his sires. I saw the Indie I always wanted to be. The Indie my mother, my family had told me I was. The girl I always was beneath the surface.
I drew in a nervous breath as Phoenix’s fingertips slowly moved down my sides. His lips leaned into my ear as his stare held mine in the mirror. “Skin pure as snow, lips that breathe fire, and eyes that carry the depths of the ocean…I was bewitched the first instant I laid eyes on you. I knew then I would move Heaven and hell to hold you.”
He moved me to face him. “Your soul was frozen by evil, but now the fire is bringing forth rivulets, rivulets that will become raging rivers that enforce change. You are unstoppable, Genevieve.”
“We are unstoppable,” I whispered.
A wicked smile echoed on his lips just before they met my neck, and his arms tightened around me.
Before the moment had a chance to carry us away, there was a knock on the door.
“To be continued,” he whispered as he squeezed my hips and nodded to the door, which flung open.
Jason was there. He looked to the bed, then found us just beside him. He smiled warmly as he carefully looked over me. “I see you followed the doctor’s orders and are on the mend.”
“On, or past it?” Phoenix asked as he squeezed me closer.
“Past the troubled waters. Until you have had a chance to join your energy more times, I would take it easy on testing her powers. I’ll let her brother know she is awake and moving around, that I suggested for her to do just that.”
“Thank you,” Phoenix said as he nodded to him.
Jason looked over me once more just before he bowed his head and left the room.
“So, is that, like, the doctor for the supernatural or something?”
That made Phoenix laugh. “He’s from Chara. Several people from there have gifts that seem extraordinary to most.”
“Where is that?” I asked, wondering how far Jason had traveled to see me.
“One day at a time, Love. There is so much I plan to show you.”
When we reached the hallway before my room, I saw the oval table that always accented this hallway adorned with a breathtaking amount of red roses. Along with the roses, there was a pad of paper, a red ‘X’ taped to a line, and one of my brother’s trademark pens lying beside it.
I was at the table within a beat, and my eyes flew across the words. This
was the document that I had dreamed of signing, the one that released my inheritance to me, the one that released the manor to me, the one that gave me the powers to continue my parent’s work.
I signed my name boldly as I felt the victory rush through me.
Skylynn appeared at that instant. “I promised you this day would come, Indie girl.”
“That you did,” I said as I reached my arms for her to come to me. “Thank you,” I whispered into her ear, knowing that she had saved me a million times over, that she had been the blunt voice of reason when I was spiraling out of control.
She extended her arms so she could look at me. “If you ever—and I mean ever do something as foolish—” she held out her hand to block Phoenix’s glare before continuing, “as foolishly brave as you did the other night...” she let her hands fall and bowed slightly, “I request permission to fight at your side.”
“You were there,” I said with a slight smile. “You helped me become who I am. You led me to this day, and I will repay you—one way or another.”
She smirked. “Well, you can start by telling Mason that I have my eye on another drummer and I am not amused by his banter.”
At that instant, Mason appeared at my side as if he had been called. He tilted his head slightly and let his chocolate eyes rain down over Skylynn. “I wasn’t trying to amuse you. Gavin is the funny one.”
I had to smile at that. Gavin was entirely too serious to be considered funny, and as if he were beckoned too he appeared at my other side, letting his steel blue eyes pierce into Mason. “Now I’m the one who’s not amused.”
That made me smile, really smile. I reached my arms out for them, and they both embraced me. With their touch, I felt the heat of their skin, I felt the phoenix inside of them.
“Bad news, boys. You’re now stuck in immortality with me.”
They both laughed as they let me go and glanced at Phoenix. I’d never seen so much respect in either of their eyes.
“We can handle that,” Mason said, nodding once to Phoenix.
Not knowing what else to say, I reached for a red rose and thought of the family tomb, the place where my grandmother’s remains were surely resting. After a rush of wind, I found myself there, staring at her name on the wall.
I kept hearing her last words to me, the ones she spoke when we were both in the veil.
“I did what you said…she is gone now,” I whispered as I kissed the rose and let it fall to the ground.
Silence and calm immersed me for countless minutes as I thought of the woman she was, both in this life and the visions I had of her before…I would miss her deeply.
“I’m sorry you missed the last goodbye,” I heard Ben say.
I turned to see him in the doorway of the tomb.
“I didn’t. I saw her, Ben. She told me I won. She told me to get Rasure out.”
“And you did,” he said as he stepped closer to me. “Now, how you did that I have no idea.”
“Some things shouldn’t be questioned, Ben,” I said, raising one eyebrow.
“Like the angels that the patients at the hospital swear saved them? Like the fact that your boyfriend matches one of those descriptions? Or the fact that Rasure has vanished from the face of this Earth? Or are we just talking about the fact that you came back to life, ripped the tubes from your throat and arms, dressed yourself in the clothes you drowned in, and walked through a fire, managing to not even singe your clothes? That the car I was in was no less than twenty miles from the manor one instant, and the next at the front door? The fact that not only did you do that, but Mason and Gavin did as well?”
I let my gaze fall to the stone floor. I could never explain what I went through or what I was to him, and I knew he would never force me to. We were Falcons, perfectly flawed beings that were taught to bend the laws of conformity and find our own path. I just happened to bend the laws of reality as well.
“Yeah, just like that…someone was watching out for us, Ben. Let’s be grateful for that.”
“I am,” he said as he stepped forward and hugged me tightly. “I felt you in that library. I felt you tell me you needed more time. I’m just thankful I was able to play my part, no matter how human that was.”
I smiled against his chest and squeezed him. “Dare I say you are my favorite brother?”
“I’ll take that as compliment,” he said, letting me go. “I want you to know that I am going to keep looking for Cadence and Rasure.”
“Let them go, Ben. Let the non-humans deal with that.”
His eyes questioned me, not sure how much of my wit had truth behind it. Then he reached in the breast of his jacket and pulled out a photo. “She has your mother’s camera and some wooden box, and your old friend Wilder is on her arm. She can keep your ex. As far as I’m concerned, you have upgraded your taste in companions, but that camera is yours, something Mom and Dad wanted you to have. She made this personal. Not me.” With that, he let his head fall and turned to leave, giving me time to finish my goodbyes to our grandmother.
I gripped the image in my hand, feeling rage swell deep inside of me. Cadence literally looked right at the camera as she walked by. She wanted me to know what she had taken. She was blatantly daring me to come after her.
All at once, the image erupted into flames and fear shot through me. In that beat, Phoenix was in front of me. He took the image squashing the flame as he pulled me to him.
My hands were balled into fists. I was full of rage and had no idea why. I just kept seeing that dream, her killing my family—my guardians—without remorse, her freezing me, trapping me for God-only-knows how long, only to stand at my side in this life and dare to call me a sister.
“Breathe, Love,” Phoenix said as he gently let his hands caress my back. “This is the transformation. Whatever emotions you hold right now will be the center point of this existence. You’re too lovely to live a life full of sickening rage.”
“You don’t understand what she did,” I said as his touch began to usher calm into me.
“I do. The boys told me…you give me your anger, let me carry it.”
“I don’t need you to fight my war. I’m not weak. I am not helpless,” I argued.
Within that beat, we were out of that tomb and standing in the observatory against the forevermore burning fire. He gently pinned my arms behind my back. “Listen, Love. One of us has to be of sound mind, and it is not going to be me.”
I was almost afraid of him for an instant, but then I saw a pleading in his eyes, almost a fear. Like he didn’t completely trust that what we had done was meant to be done.
“When I came home, found our home—our life—burning, rage consumed me, despair consumed me. I carried those emotions into the life of Phoenix. That blunt humor that you love so much about me barely made it into this personality. Everything was focused on finding you, seeking vengeance on whoever or whatever took you from me. It was natural for me to feel that way. My energy is as dark as the night. Yours, well yours is the sun, as bright as the first snow. You fall into vengeance, and we fall apart. The balance that gives us love, power, and passion will destroy itself. Cadence is counting on that. She knows you all too well.” He let my arms loose and put his hands around my waist as he pulled me to him. “Do you trust me to carry the weight of your rage? Do you love me enough to believe that I will never hold you back, never stand in the way of what you want, that ‘weakness’ is not a word that I would place next to you?”
I knew he was petrified, terrified that this was far from over, that I would vanish from his arms at any moment. Or worse: disappear slowly before his eyes as rage engulfed me.
I wasn’t going to let either of those things happen. “I love you. Forever.”
With that, his powerful lips met mine and his arms embraced me. I felt passion, life, and victory absorb me. I would relish in this now. I would hand my vengeance over to him, but I would not stand idly by in the war of balance. I would face the coldest evil and send the lost souls ho
me. I would win this war of balance one way or another.
The End for now…
Where To Find Jamie Online:
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Playlist
Florence The Machine – Seven Devils, Heavy In Your Arms, Never Let Me Go
Genevieve – Sugarland
Born to Die – Lana Del Ray
Almost Lover— A Fine Frenzy
The XX – Hot Like Fire
Placebo – I’ll be Yours
Breaking Benjamin – I Will Not Bow
Ellie Goulding – I Know You Care, Anything Could Happen
Imagine Dragons – Radioactive
Katie Costello – Stranger
I am still eternally grateful for every soul that encouraged me to write/ publish my debut novel Insight.... thank you once again.
I also want to thank my husband, Lem, for listening to my random thoughts and ideas as each of these stories came to life, he is not only the love of my life but the man who keeps me sane on this insane adventure. I want thank my children who inspire me to become more than I am today with a simple glance, and the echo of laughter and joy that surrounds me constantly.
I want to thank all of my wonderful beta readers : Sabrina Wells, Crystal Meyer, Alysia Kurtz, Jamie Love, Jennylynne D’Andrea, Michelle Dain, and Steffini Walker, Mallory Edwards, Carrie Porter, Amber Catlin, Elke Simmons, Elle Bautista, Heather Schad, Jennifer St Onge, Kristen Allen, Laura Shipp, Linds Kasher, Michelle Farrell, Sabrina Himebauch, Shawna Meekins, Tara Gehler, Theresa Kauffman, Cindy Alexander, and Enrique Rodriguez.
Chelsea Rafferty for suggesting the wonderful name this book is titled
Marek Purzycki has got to be the most patient, talented graphic artist I have every met, thank you for giving my series a face.
GWE along with Todd Barselow for editing my daydreams.
Most of all I want to thank every-single reader for sharing this adventure with me! I love you all and I am eternally grateful for your time and support :)!
