by Ashlyn Chase
* * *
Antonio had called a family meeting. This usually entailed every son and his spouse, but he decided to let Ryan and Chloe off the hook this time. They were in Ireland and really didn’t know what was going on with their younger brothers and the girlfriends. Nor did they need to.
Antonio sat at the head of the table, with his sons Jayce and Miguel and their wives Kristine and Sandra on one side, then on the other side Gabe and Misty, who was holding their baby, Tony, and Luca. Gabriella was gathering items for snacks in the kitchen.
“I’m glad you’re all here,” Antonio said. “This is a delicate situation, but we believe it must be dealt with. As you can see, two of your brothers are here too—sort of.” He indicated the cage with the two phoenixes who were probably in their bird teens now.
Gabe asked, “What’s going on, Dad?”
“Here’s what we’ve been able to get from your brothers’ girlfriends. Dante is dating Mallory Summers. Noah is dating Kizzy Samuels. They were here the other day, and Kizzy explained what happened. It’s not the usual thing.”
“It certainly isn’t.” Gabriella came in from the other room with a tray holding a big carafe of coffee, cream, and sugar, plus a plate of cookies. Fresh-baked biscotti, if Antonio wasn’t mistaken. Gabriella always made her own.
After she had placed the tray in front of Antonio, she gathered coffee mugs from the hutch nearby and set them in front of each son and daughter-in-law.
“What’s so unusual about this one?” Jayce asked. “Did they not die in a fire?”
“That’s correct.” Antonio pinched the bridge of his nose. “Apparently, they blew themselves up.”
The young men all stared at the cage. The birds looked down and then turned to face away from the large group as if in shame.
Gabriella jammed a hand on her hip. “It’s not what it sounds like, for heaven’s sake. They didn’t do it on purpose. Or even if they did, it was necessary at the time.”
“I’m confused,” Miguel said. “What would make it necessary for two of my younger brothers to blow themselves up?”
“Let me explain the best I can,” Antonio said. “Kizzy told us they had been taken hostage. Apparently, she and Noah had something the kidnappers wanted.”
“Although they didn’t really kidnap the boys.” Gabriella took a deep breath and sighed. “They were in their own home. Someone broke in and threatened them. Noah had just given the item, whatever it was, to Kizzy. And Kizzy had taken it home.
“He was forced to call Kizzy, but he didn’t really want her to bring the item they wanted back. When she was negotiating for their safety, Noah yelled, ‘Don’t do it. My brother and I know how to get out of this.’ Then she heard a loud explosion.”
“Okay,” Jayce interrupted. “It does sound like the explosion was done purposely, as a way of dealing with the problem. Whatever Kizzy had must’ve been important for them to resort to that, or they didn’t think they’d make it out alive any other way.”
“Does anyone know what happened to the kidnappers, for lack of a better term?” Misty asked.
Antonio frowned. “Why don’t we call them what they were? Criminals.”
“Were?” Misty asked. “Are you sure they’re…”
“Dead?” Gabe had put his hands over little Tony’s ears as he finished Misty’s sentence for her. She looked up at him gratefully.
“I would imagine so,” Antonio said. “I visited the spot where their house used to be. It’s a foundation and charred rubble now.”
“Shit,” Jayce muttered. “Did anyone else get hurt?”
Gabriella smiled sadly. “No, thank goodness. They had downstairs neighbors up until about a month ago, but they moved out.”
“So what excuse did you give the chief this time?” Miguel asked his father.
Antonio groaned. “We used up most of the usual ones. Ryan supposedly died, and because it was on the job, we had to go through a big public funeral. There was no way around it. That could have caused all kinds of problems if anyone had discovered the casket was empty. Ryan still can’t show his face in the city. Not for a century or so. And Jayce, you supposedly were in a coma. We were just lucky you were visiting your girlfriend at the time and Kristine lived in New York. That kept your buddies from trying to drop in to visit you.”
Gabriella looked sheepish. “We decided to give the chief a happy explanation this time.”
“You decided,” Antonio corrected.
“Well, people are beginning to feel sorry for us and wondering if, with so many accidents, having several sons in the fire service is a good idea.”
“That’s one fatality out of seven,” Gabe said. “I didn’t die. I was burned over fifty percent of my body. We told everyone I had to go away to Rio for their experts in plastic surgery. And Miguel has never been hurt in a fire at all.”
Gabriella sighed. “It’s only the bad things people remember. But they will forgive and forget a couple of brothers who won a trip around the world.”
“What?” at least three people exclaimed at the same time.
Antonio laughed. “It was the best your mother could come up with at the moment. She was cornered at the grocery store. Apparently, Noah’s captain was just stopping on his way home for bread and milk and wondered why Noah didn’t show up for work. And he didn’t receive so much as a phone call. That’s not like him.”
“Not at all,” Jayce said.
“Of course, Dante’s captain knew it was their house that was blown to smithereens. It was his firehouse that had to respond.”
“Didn’t he wonder what had happened?”
“Fortunately, that captain is a friend of the chief. When the chief arrived, he said he’d call me. I had to give him the same cockamamie story, of course.”
Kristine, also a BFD captain, said, “So, I guess we all have to get on the same page in case anyone asks about them.”
“You said they went on a world tour?” Sandra asked. “How did you explain their sudden departure?”
“I just said it was a now or never thing. They won and had to go right away—or forfeit the trip.”
“That’s bizarre, Mom,” Luca said. “But I guess it could happen.”
“It could, and with luck, people will believe it did.”
“Now we need to ask one of our daughters-in-law if she can use her muse powers and figure out a way to go back in time and make this contest a reality,” Antonio said.
“You don’t ask for much, do you?” Gabe said. “Misty is still new at this.”
“I don’t know how to do something that complicated. I can go on my own world tour and drop postcards from them in the mail. Can anyone fake their handwriting?”
“I can probably do that with a sample,” Antonio said. “How about you, Kristine? Do you know how to go back in time and invent a whole contest?”
Kristine shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I’m still learning my muse role too. I can manipulate time a little bit, but that’s all.”
“Damn. Then we’re screwed,” Antonio said.
“No, you’re not. I’m more experienced, and sure’n I can come up with somethin’.” Chloe’s voice came from the ether, and then she stepped out of thin air.
“You didn’t think you were going to have a family meeting without us, did you?” Ryan stepped out of the same rift in the air, holding Chloe’s hand.
The whole family rose to greet them. Hugs and slaps on the back were given all around.
“Let me set more places!” Gabriella hurried to the hutch to find more plates and mugs.
“It looks like you’re going to need to buy more dishware,” Luca said and laughed. “And silverware, and napkins…”
“And maybe another leaf in the table,” Antonio said. “Especially if the new girlfriends become more than that.”
“True.
It sounds like Noah was ready to sacrifice himself for this Kizzy girl. Is that her real name, by the way?” Miguel asked.
“Yup. At least that’s what Noah said. We spoke to him after he introduced her to us. And we’ve gotten to know her better recently.”
“Is Dante just as serious about Mallory?” Gabe asked.
“Even more so,” Gabriella said. “And I couldn’t be happier for them. Both girls are absolutely lovely.” As she poured Antonio’s coffee and began walking around the table, pouring a cup for everyone who didn’t place their hand over their mug, she added, “Dante was talking about moving in with Mallory.”
“That was supposed to be kept confidential,” Antonio said.
“Your father was sworn to secrecy, but I wasn’t,” she sang.
The family laughed.
“Okay then. What do you need us to do?” Jayce asked. “I’m assuming there’s more to the story. You could’ve just texted us and told us the excuse you’d come up with.”
Antonio cleared his throat. “You’re right. There’s more to the story. A lot more. Apparently, there are some scary people down in Brazil, and they’re giving Kizzy’s family a run for their money. Or whatever it is they want from them.”
“It’s got to be more than money,” Kristine said. “Goddess knows there are wealthy people a lot closer to these enemies in Brazil.”
“Yes.” Antonio folded his hands on top of the table. “As you know, we have some distant relatives in the Amazon rain forest.”
“It sounds like you’re ready to get involved and include some distant relatives, Dad, but you don’t even know what this group wants? That’s not like you,” Jayce said.
“You’re right. It isn’t, usually. Or it wasn’t until you and your brothers defied me to help Kristine down in New York.”
She smiled. “And thank goodness you did. Without all of you, Jayce couldn’t have kept me from revealing my dragon form to half of Manhattan, and I couldn’t have rescued my mother without him.”
“And we’re glad you all did what you decided to do too,” Gabriella said.
Antonio gave them all the hairy eyeball, one by one around the table. “But don’t ever defy me again. We really have to pick our battles.”
“So you’re giving the okay for this one,” Jayce said. “I’m glad. If our brothers need us, we’re going to be there for them, no matter what.”
Antonio nodded. “That’s how I raised you to be. Even the fire service reinforces it.”
“So let’s summarize what we know so far,” Jayce said. “There’s a scary group in South America. We have relatives in South America. Are we going to involve them?”
“Only by asking them to house us for however long it takes. I’m hoping it won’t be long, but we need a base of operations that’s off the grid.”
“And how are we going to get involved ourselves?” Miguel asked.
“That’s what I hope you’ll all figure out before you leave,” Gabriella said.
Antonio held up one hand. “If any of you have reservations about this, you’re not obligated to go. We can’t fly that far that fast, so we’ll need to take a plane to Brazil, then meet up with our relatives. From there, we’ll go hunting for this group.”
“I’m in,” Ryan said.
“So am I,” Jayce said.
“And me.”
“Ditto.”
One more yes would make it unanimous.
“So I guess we’re going to Brazil,” Luca said. “Cool. I’d love to see the beaches near Rio. Oh, but it will be my graduation gift, right?”
Antonio chuckled. “Don’t worry. No one has to pay for this trip. It’s on me. Noah can pay me back later, with installment plans.”
The two birds hopped up and down in their cage, squawking.
“I don’t think Noah’s objecting to your payment plan. I think the two of them want to go with us,” Gabe observed.
“And that would be fine if they were fully mature,” Antonio said. “But they’re about fourteen right now. Not a good age if restraint is needed.” As if to illustrate the point, Noah squawked loudly and flapped his wings. Dante flew over him and pecked him on the head until he stopped.
“See what I mean?”
“I do,” Gabe said. “At fifteen, I made a stupid mistake that messed me up for about a decade.”
Then Dante squawked as if to disagree. Noah began hopping up and down again.
“Knock it off, you two. You’re staying here with your mother, and that’s final.” Antonio huffed. “Now, does anyone know how to reach this Kizzy Samuels?”
Chapter 15
Kizzy had enjoyed her first day back at work. As expected, a couple of coworkers hinted they would like to know what had happened to her so suddenly. She just smiled and changed the subject.
On her way home with Ruth, her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Is this Kizzy Samuels?”
She didn’t recognize the phone number or the voice. “May I ask who’s calling?”
“Yes. It’s Noah’s father, Antonio. I think we need to talk.”
“Oh. Is Noah all right?”
Ruth glanced over at her, concern written on her face. Kizzy looked to her for any hint of trouble in her psychic senses. Ruth shrugged her shoulders while keeping her hands on the wheel.
“Noah is fine. We’re just concerned about that problem of yours and thought we might be able to help.”
Kizzy was tempted to ask which problem, but she didn’t want to give them the impression that she had several. Besides, she was pretty sure she knew what he meant. “Are you talking about the entity?”
“Yes. We may be able to help you find them. As phoenixes, we blend in with the colorful birds of the Amazon. We can soar above, pick out the exact location, get an idea of how many there are, if they’re armed…anything to help Noah and Dante have nice, peaceful lives after this. What to do with the information is up to you and your family.”
Kizzy was excited. “Is it all right if I talk to my father about this? He’ll want to be involved, I’m sure.”
“Absolutely. I’d be happy to talk with him too. Is he a witch, like you?”
“Yes.” Kizzy was overwhelmed by their offer. She swallowed around a lump in her throat as she thanked him and promised to have her father call him.
As soon as she disconnected the call, she turned to Ruth and excitedly explained the other half of the conversation. Ruth’s eyes widened. “They can find them? And then what do we do? You’re a doctor, and as a doctor, you can’t kill them. Or you could…but then you’d just have to turn around and save their lives again.”
Kizzy’s posture sagged. “You’re right, but they offered to help. Maybe… I don’t know. It’s a lot to ask.”
“You’d better not be talking about asking the Fierros to kill them.”
“No, of course not.” Kizzy rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. “Dad will know what to do. I sure as hell don’t.”
“Kizzy! You said ‘hell.’”
Kizzy laughed. “Yes, I did, and I might do it again.”
Ruth grinned as she drove into their father’s driveway.
Energized, Kizzy got out of the car and jogged up the steps to the side door. Throwing it open, she called out “Dad! Where are you? I have some exciting news.”
Aaron met her in the kitchen. “What’s going on?”
As soon as Ruth followed her through the side door and shut it behind her, Kizzy spoke freely.
“Only the answer to a prayer. Noah’s family has given me permission to talk to you about their paranormal status. And even more exciting, their willingness to help us root out the entity!”
Aaron took a step backward. “Paranormal status? What…is he?”
“It’s a good thing, Dad. They’re all phoenixes. Sh
ape-shifters. Well, all the boys and Mr. Fierro are. His name is Antonio, by the way. And he would like to speak with you. He said they’d do anything they could to help.”
“Phoenixes? I never heard of any paranormal phoenixes. Are you sure they aren’t just pulling your leg?”
“No, Dad. I’ve seen them with my own eyes. Noah shifted, flew around the room, and shifted back.”
“So, they’re shape-shifters. I never thought the phoenix was anything other than legend.”
Kizzy shrugged. “Apparently there are a few pockets of them around the world. One group is in the Amazon. They’re distant relatives of the Fierros, but Antonio knows them well enough to get them involved if need be.”
“And what can they do?” Dr. Samuels asked. “Burn down the place and rise from the ashes?”
“Yes, although I’d never ask them to do that. It’s complicated. Phoenixes aren’t just a myth. They are real. As firefighters, they’re able to reincarnate if the worst happens.”
Aaron stroked his bearded chin.
“I can tell you something in confidence, Dad, right?”
“Of course.”
“I thought you didn’t want me dating a firefighter because he didn’t make enough money. He thought so too.”
Aaron’s posture straightened. “What? No. Of course not. I’d like any boyfriend of yours to have steady employment, but whatever his salary is isn’t an issue. You’ve seen plenty of burn victims. And many firefighters inhale toxic gases too. I imagine you’d be worried sick about him. But this…immortality, this changes things.”
“Yes, it does. And the possibility of getting rid of the entity, maybe even retrieving the last book, well, that changes everything!” She went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of wine. “Would you like a glass?”
Aaron reached for the bottle. “I think we all might need one for the rest of this conversation. Thanks.”
“I’ll give you Antonio’s phone number. When you’re ready, you can call him.”
“I’m ready right now. Just dial the number and hand me the phone.”
