by Carly Hansen
Fenix snorted.
Gaius looked at her calmly. “I see you don’t believe me. But it’s the reason you are so weak right now.”
“Excuse me?”
“Think back on yesterday when we were in that abandoned warehouse. When did you start to lose your strength?”
Fenix reeled back the tape of that fight in her mind. She could see herself back on the conveyor belt. She’d just dispatched a vampire with the hawthorn stake and was going after the man in purple, who was hanging off the edge of the high platform. But then she found herself face to face with the Chimera.
That was the moment things went rapidly downhill.
Fenix and Gaius locked eyes, and she could see that he observed the sense of recognition ticking in her brain.
“The Order has always trained and supported the peacesmiths,” he said. “And the Chimera protects those of us in the Order who can’t defend ourselves.”
“You conjured up the beast?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
Fenix widened her eyes for an explanation.
Gaius rested the book he’d been reading on the floor and leaned forward, hugging his knees. “I am an apprentice to Nostrad, the Great Mage of the Order of the Chimera. I like to think of myself as a scholar. Unlike Nostrad, I have limited magical skills. But if ever I’m in mortal danger, the Chimera appears to protect me, as it would any member of the Order.”
“You’re trying to tell me that beast drained me of my strength?”
Gaius nodded.
“Some protection your Order provided. It’s a good thing Micha was there to save me when that whole contraption collapsed.”
“If he hadn’t interfered, the Chimera would have saved us both. She’s quite capable.”
“What are you calling a ‘she’? I saw a lion with a goat’s head on its back and a snake for a tail.”
“It’s a she, alright.” Gaius smiled. Then he became serious. “But I sensed even before the Chimera appeared that you were already in a weakened state. You used your powers in the last day or so, didn’t you?”
For years, ever since Fenix had fled Birstall on that fateful night of the fire, she’d been able to stifle the powers that had threatened to flood out of her. But she hadn’t been able to do so when Ivan was writhing in pain.
She didn’t even know she was capable of anything other than causing destruction with the fire that flowed through her hands. And since she didn’t know the healing power existed, she had no way of knowing how to prevent herself from using it.
She was still somewhat skeptical about Gaius’ explanation that the Chimera had drained her of her strength, partly because she didn’t want any of what he was telling her to be true.
Now, she was unnerved by the fact that he seemed to have detected that one isolated moment when she had been unable to hold back a flood of power.
She had to admit that he seemed to know what he was talking about.
“Peacesmiths are born with innate powers,” Gaius said. “But you have to be trained in how to use them. Handled the wrong way, they could kill you, or cause mayhem around you.”
Well, Fenix already knew about the mayhem part. And the reminder brought her back to the burning questions that sent her searching for him.
She sighed. “If Catelyn’s parents were not mine, then who are my parents and where are they?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you there.”
Fenix clenched her teeth and took in a deep breath. It took all her powers of restraint to not fly up and grab Gaius by the throat. “What do you mean?”
“I’m sorry, but I just don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? You’ve taken away everything about my past that I always thought was true. And now you’re telling me you’re not going to give me something to replace it that I can hold on to?”
“Believe me, I know how important this is to you. But I just don’t have that information to give you.”
Fenix’s fingers curled into a fist. “You can’t do this. You can’t come into my life, rip the ground from under my feet, and leave me hanging like this.”
“Only Nostrad knows who your parents are and what became of them,” Gaius said. “It was for their and your own safety that he kept this secret.”
“So where do I find this Great Mage person?”
“Your destiny map shows that this is part of your mission.”
Fenix could say nothing as she glared at Gaius.
“Nostrad has been imprisoned by our great enemy, Diabon,” he said. “He’s sometimes able to communicate with me through telepathy, but I don’t know where he is.”
“And you’re saying it’s my job to find him?”
Gaius nodded.
Fenix pushed herself off the ground and stood up. “I wish I’d never met you,” she said.
Gaius shook his head. “Then you wouldn’t have had a clue about Catelyn.”
“Don’t pride yourself. With Alda’s help, the boys and I could have found her and rescued her on our own.”
“Maybe you should think about checking your own pride at the door, because with what’s in store for you, you’ll need to drop that baggage.”
“I’ve been able to take damn good care of myself just the way I am, thank you very much.”
“You don’t understand,” Gaius said, shaking his head. “But I’m not surprised as you have no way of knowing what’s ahead.”
The look on his face gave Fenix pause. “What are you talking about?”
“The mark you bear has protected you these past few years. But its protection will last only until the last month of your twenty-first year.”
He looked at Fenix with intense eyes and sighed. “You turn twenty-two in six months. The tradition is that upon the end of their twenty-first year, peacesmiths would take up their duties. In the old days, when peacesmiths were numerous, they would have had mentors since adolescence to help prepare them for their duties. When their numbers fell, members of the Order took up the role of mentors. But you, unfortunately, have not been schooled in your powers or your duties.”
“That’s no misfortune as far as I’m concerned. I have no intention of taking up any peacesmith duty, whatever that is.”
“How naïve.”
“What did you call me?”
“You don’t understand a thing, do you?” Gaius shook his head. “Even if you decided to turn your back on your identity, you can’t walk away from this.”
“Of course I can. And I will. Just as soon as I get Catelyn to safety.”
“You are the only existing peacesmith, Fenix. Your destiny map, what of it we’ve been able to decipher so far, shows you will come directly up against Diabon—not just tackle with his minions, as peacesmiths before you have. Only one of you will survive that battle, and he knows it.”
“Well…” Fenix said, smiling. “If I ever meet this Diabon in a dark alley, I’ll make sure to get both my knives out.”
“Fenix, this is no laughing matter. And there’s no ‘if’ about it. You will come face to face with Diabon in battle. The only way to ensure that you remain standing is to learn how to use your powers. You need to practice using them by taking up your duties.”
“What duties?”
“Throughout antiquity, before there was any such thing as law enforcement, hamlets, villages, even major cities in the Umbra Region, relied on peacesmiths. Where malicious deeds had been done, either to persons or property, the peacesmiths were called in to discover the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”
“You mean a peacesmith was like a one-man police agency?”
“More like one-woman. The powers expressed themselves mostly in women. There were just a handful of male peacesmiths during the centuries when they were active.”
“What happened? Why did they stop being active?”
“Peacesmiths were responsible for ensuring peace and bringing justice not only among humans, but also between humans and supernatural
s. That second part of their duties led them to be hated by other supernaturals, who then worked toward ensuring their downfall.”
“You said the last one was burned at the stake.”
“Yes. The enemies of the peacesmiths got them lumped in with witches. Not only were they persecuted, but they were also erased from the history books.”
“Just as I’m going to erase you from my memory after I find my sister because I want no part of this peacesmith business.”
Fenix got up and headed for the door.
“You can’t escape your destiny, Fenix,” Gaius shouted after her.
Chapter 27
Fenix ran down the steps and marched through Alda’s garden. She headed out the front entrance, which she’d used now more times over the last few hours than she ever had since she’d taken up residence at the warehouse.
She walked along the dark wharf, feeling the cool sea breeze slap her face. The gusts were strong enough to whip away the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
She was anxious to be back to her old self again. She hated feeling helpless and unable to help Catelyn right at that very moment. She was so angry about and confused by everything Gaius had told her that she just wanted to scream.
Fenix looked around at the dilapidated buildings and listened to the silence that was broken only by the waves that lapped against the wharf.
Why not?
She shut her eyes and squeezed them tight. Her fingers curled into fists. Her lips parted, and the sound came rushing out as she emptied her lungs. The wind swept her voice into her ears. It was almost as if she was hearing someone else—no, not someone else—something else—a wounded animal howling in pain.
Her throat burned and her lungs ached. And yet, with a brief gasp that renewed her breath, she couldn’t help but rage again. She screamed until her head felt light and every ounce of air had been used up.
Fenix collapsed to the ground in sobs.
She wanted her strength back. She wanted her sister to be safe, not scared and alone in the hands of vampires who were really after her, and she wanted her sister back with her now.
Fenix wanted her certainty back. No, she didn’t care to continue believing that the vicious beast of a man she’d grown up with was her father. She just didn’t want to feel this emptiness, this monumental sense of loss and nothingness she felt when she tried to think of who she was and who she’d come from.
She didn’t want the burden of duties that had sent others to the stake to burn. She didn’t want the guilt that innocent lives had been taken in her old hometown because of her.
All she wanted was the shabby normalcy she’d carved out for herself these past few years—with the addition of her sister under Alda’s roof.
How many minutes passed as she lay there, crumpled on the ground, she couldn’t say. After a while, she sat up and wiped the tears away.
Her breath was still ragged. But she pushed out thoughts of everything else and focused only on Alda’s return with the boys.
If she had to, Fenix would will herself back to strength. Or Alda would work her magic on her. Alda was the best magical healer alive after all. Micha Angelo would come up with the location where his kind were holding Catelyn, or she and Alda and the boys would squeeze it out of him, if they had to. And with or without his help, they would rescue her sister.
Yes, that is how it was going to happen, Fenix told herself.
And when Catelyn was safe with her, Gaius could go to hell. And Micha, too, for that matter.
She didn’t need anyone throwing her thoughts into confusion.
She wanted things simple, uncomplicated. Just her and her makeshift family going about their not-so-normal lives, this time sweetened with the presence of the person she loved most in the world.
Fenix sighed heavily, letting the cool breeze bathe her with calm resolve for what was to come.
“I was hoping to find you alone.”
Fenix jumped as she heard the voice behind her. Before she could turn around, Micha was at her side.
The soft light of the moon and the deep shadows it cast emphasized his aquiline nose and deep-set eyes. Instead of the white suit she’d grown accustomed to seeing him in, Micha wore jeans and a white T-shirt under a black leather jacket.
Her uniform. He was a mirror image of her, except he was a whole lot of handsome, dripping with manliness.
As she relished this more casual side of him, a sudden fear gripped her heart.
How long had he been behind her? Had he witnessed her collapse into fear, doubt, and self-pity? Did he clue in to what a weak, foolish creature she could be?
If he had, he wasn’t showing it.
He didn’t look at her with any disdain or pity. His face was serene and betrayed no other emotion.
Fenix absorbed the calming energy that radiated from his body. She wanted to get lost in it, really. But she pulled herself up. She was anxious, nervous, confused, and so very vulnerable in this state.
She had to remind herself that she needed this powerful vampire for just one thing—finding out where his kind was holding her sister. After that, she was better off to be rid of him. It wouldn’t make sense keeping up the connection and risking getting killed for simply being something she didn’t even want to be.
“So, you found out where the girl is being held?” Fenix said.
Micha shook his head and sat down beside her. “Baldwin is in the air at the moment, flying back. I’ll get him to narrow down the list of possible locations as soon as he lands.”
“Great, so we’re no closer to rescuing her than when you were last here.”
Micha narrowed his eyes. Then his expression softened into one more of patience than of annoyance. “The delay couldn’t be avoided. If your purple prisoner is correct, then we’re dealing with a group of rogue vampires. I have to be very careful who I let in on this.”
Fenix sighed and turned away.
“Don’t worry,” Micha said, his deep voice washing over her, bathing her with reassurance. “We’ll hit the ground running once Baldwin gives us some coordinates. I’ve put together a crack team of three of my best enforcers.”
Fenix wanted to feel everything would be all right, yet she resisted the seductive comfort in Micha mellow tones. “Only three?”
“These three by themselves are better than an army of hundreds.”
“I hope you’re right.”
She was going to add that she knew the vampires they were after were savage beasts because they had murdered innocent girls in Birstall. But she remembered Alda’s warning that such a revelation could to lead to Micha discovering her identity as a peacesmith, and she checked herself.
“My elite enforcers are fearless,” Micha said. “They’re quick studies who I had a hand in training myself. They’re mercenaries now, operating in wilder regions where they can put their skills to use. Things are too quiet for them around here. But they drop everything and return whenever I call on them.”
Remembering what Alda said about Micha’s past, Fenix wondered whether “fearless” really meant “ruthless”. If it did, she was glad for it in this case where Catelyn’s life was in the hands of those brutes.
Micha fell silent and stared ahead.
Fenix struggled to keep a smile from spreading across her lips. Sitting next to Micha, with no words between them, just the slightly chilly breeze on their faces and the water lapping against the wharf, felt rather intimate. While she shared a wonderful camaraderie with the boys of Alda’s crew and with those on the gangs she’d been in previously, she’d never experienced this kind of connection with anyone before.
It was soothing, but scary too, as it threatened to go deep. She couldn’t afford to let that happen.
“You said you were glad to find me alone,” Fenix said after a while. “Why’s that?”
“Seems I can hardly get two words in when Alda’s around.”
“Are you afraid of her?”
From the moment the words left he
r lips, Fenix realized it was a stupid question. Micha let the implied insult glide off him. He simply smiled and shook his head.
“A healer witch is no match for a vampire,” he said, “especially not one vested with augmented powers by a rogue mage. I merely humor her.”
“To what end?”
“Like I said, Alda and I go back a long way. She’ll never let on about it, but I know she still misses her fiancé after all these centuries. Although Destran voluntarily joined me in the battle that killed him, I bear a sense of guilt about her pain.”
It was strange to think of Alda in these terms. Fenix had known and seen her only as her boss—angry, fierce, dedicated, and busy. Alda was always busy. She threw herself into every request from a client and took on several at the same time.
Fenix wondered whether all that diving into old texts for research, experimenting with plants, potions, and spells, and ordering her helpers to go fetch or deliver stuff was Alda’s way of distracting herself from painful memories.
“And are you afraid of her?” Micha said.
“No way.”
“She seems to give you a hard time.”
“I give her it right back, most of the time. The other boys do, too. It’s just how we relate around here.”
Micha nodded but remained silent, looking out at the dark waters.
“What did you have to say to me that you couldn’t in Alda’s presence?” Fenix asked after a while.
Micha turned to her and smiled.
“I know your secret.”
Chapter 28
Micha’s words sent Fenix’s heart into spasms.
Had he detected all along that she was a peacesmith, a creature Alda had told her he was made to destroy?
She felt like Little Red Riding Hood in the clutches of the big, bad wolf. The big, bad vampire, in this case.
Having just crawled out of bed before interrogating Gaius and storming outside for fresh air, Fenix wasn’t carrying her knives.
And she didn’t have the strength to fend Micha off with her bare hands.
Fenix hated feeling helpless, practically at his mercy. Mentally, she braced herself for an attack, knowing that even if she fought back with everything she had at that moment, it wouldn’t be nearly enough.
