Phoenix Everlasting_A Paranormal Romance Series

by Rebecca Royce

  Presumably whomever he texted was going to take care of this for him. I gripped the steering wheel tighter. This was not the day I’d expected to have.

  Chapter Eleven

  Malcolm got out of his car when we pulled up to the office building. He was dressed in dark and expensive-looking clothes. There had never been a time when I caught him off guard with an unexpected meeting and he didn’t show looking really put-together. Today, it was dark slacks and a navy blue collared shirt. I admired the way he looked in his clothing almost as much as I did the way he appeared when he was out of it.

  Block got out of Malcolm’s passenger seat and crossed over to us. I smiled at his approach. He was so quiet I sometimes wondered what he thought of the whole situation we were in. Or what Malcolm told him when they were alone. I steadied my breath. Malcolm was entitled to have confidants the same way I did.

  “Hi guys.” I nodded to both of them, and Malcolm pulled me close in his embrace.

  His breath caressed my skin. “Why do you look so pale?”

  “Chase killed a shadow possessing a body. Freaked me out. Shouldn’t have but did.”

  He let me go and rounded on Chase. “In public?”

  Chase groaned. “Thanks for the tattle, Kendall. Malcolm doesn’t get to tell me what to do any more than you do. If I want to kill every possessed person I see, I’m going to do so regardless of what you all think. That’s what we were all sent here to do. Not to make plans; not to plot. The Others didn’t pick us because we were so good at reasoning things out. We were sent here to kill shadows because we are capable of doing so. Forget that at your own peril; I’m not going to.”

  His grand words aside, we were always under Malcolm’s direction when it came to the shadows. I could kill a shadow as well as the rest of them. In training, I’d never dared to do so unless directed by Malcolm.

  Memories were funny things. Sometimes they struck me like a fleeting whisper in my mind, and other times they halted me in my tracks.

  In the time, in that strange place that wasn’t real and yet … was, the Others had dragged a shadow in front of us. We’d been about eighteen years old, if age could be calculated there. The twelve of us sat in a circle around a mat. They’d taught us how to fight in that room, which basically meant Michael had tossed us around until we learned how to defend ourselves.

  Chelsea, one of our dead teammates, had had the hardest time with it. Although she’d become better at it over the years, she’d still tensed every time we’d set foot in the space. I could feel her anxiety like it was my own. Reading each other’s feelings had become second nature for us.

  Malcolm wrapped his arms around me, and I pressed against his chest. With my left foot, I tapped Chelsea’s. “Hey, no one has been able to toss you for years. Relax. You’re going to give me a migraine.”

  She rubbed her eyes. “I’m not as good at this as the rest of you.”

  “You’re totally empathic.” Victoria stretched her arms over her head. “Without you, we’re all totally mean. We forget we’re humans.”

  Michael appeared in the center of the mat, the way he always did when he wanted to make a point. When he wasn’t being dramatic, he walked instead of popping around.

  “The time has come”—Michael looked around the room until he had our attention—“for you to meet a shadow. Not the babies that move around and catch attention, but the real deal. The souls you’ll be battling to put back where they belong, the horrors of the universe who can’t be allowed a second chance at destroying humanity.”

  Was this for real? Were we actually going to see a shadow in the flesh? Or not in the flesh, as the case might turn out to be.

  Michael snapped his fingers, and a girl appeared before us. She was probably the same age as I was, somewhere around eighteen. Short with blond hair and a figure I would have killed for—why did I have so little in the breast department?—she didn’t look like a shadow. In fact, if I remembered correctly, she would have been called cute in the real world.

  She got on her knees in front of Michael. “Don’t do this.”

  Michael spoke loudly. “The problem with the shadows is when they take over a body, they look just like anyone. This woman could be anywhere out there, and no one will be able to see her—except one of you.” He refused to tell us which one of us was going to be gifted with that eventuality. I suspected it was going to be Chelsea. If anyone was cut out to see light, it would be her. “For the rest of you, you’re going to be caught unaware.”

  Michael grabbed the girl by her hair, and we all cried out.

  “Hey!” Henry managed to yell first. “Watch it.”

  “She’s not a woman. The girl she was, Reece, is long gone. Her soul has moved on to its next stop. This is the thing that took over her body and will want to take yours. This thing will hurt people. Over and over again.”

  The shadow shook her—its—head. “I won’t. I’m nothing. Small potatoes. They aren’t sending important people yet, in case we die. It’ll be years before anyone big comes into this form. And we can’t even touch you in our shadow form. I’m nothing. Let me go. I won’t cause any trouble.”

  Michael squatted until he was eye level with her. “So easy to believe her. Little blonde thing. Looks like everyone’s cousin or the girl next door. Look up that phrase if you don’t know what it means.” He shook his head. “She’s lying. She—it—wasn’t back two weeks when she killed someone. Then another. Then another. They haven’t found the bodies yet. The homeless are hard to identify after death.”

  “And you let her?” Chase’s question this time.

  Michael met his gaze. “If I could interfere, I would have long ago. I wouldn’t need you, and you wouldn’t get a second chance at life in the deal.”

  “As you so often point out.” Chase shook his head.

  He stood. “Today we take the shadows for the first time. A real shadow for you to learn on. Chelsea, get up here.”

  She jolted. “What?”

  Michael pointed at the mat. “Everyone is going to kill one. Lots of them. You’re going first. Up here. Now.”

  She started to stand when Malcolm rose behind me. “I’m going to eliminate it.”

  “It’s Chelsea’s turn.” Michael didn’t budge from where he stood on the mat. “Sit down, Malcolm.”

  My love raised his hand, pointed to the light and burned the girl into a million pieces of ash. “No one kills a shadow until I tell them to. You wanted me to lead? Congratulations, I’m leading. The next shadow to come through that door is Chase’s. He’s itching for it. Then Kendall’s because she’ll be good at. I say when, Michael. Not you.”

  I blinked and was back in the now, staring at Levi’s building in front of me. Malcolm had been wrong. I wasn’t any good at it. I’d hated killing them in their human form. The first time I’d done it, I’d been a wreck for days. They always felt like people to me when they wore skin.

  Malcolm took my hand and kissed it. “Where did you go?”

  I stared at him for a moment. “This was never meant to be me. I wasn’t the lightbringer. This was Chelsea’s role. She’d have seen them; she would have reminded us they were once souls. I’m not kind enough for this. I was only with the group because you and I died together. My role from day one had to do with you. This whole thing is a giant mistake.”

  “Chelsea is dead. She had a car accident. Whatever she might have been or not, she’s not here. They gave it to you.” He kissed me lightly on the lips. “We don’t know who they intended your job for because they didn’t tell us. Maybe I only have a role because of you. Chelsea was kind; that’s for sure. I loved her like a sister. She was also weak and afraid. You’ve never been any of those things.”

  I wasn’t sure he was right. “She wasn’t weak. She was a different kind of strong. Let’s get this over with. Why are you dressed so nicely, by the way?”

  He looked at his clothes. “I had meetings today at the mayor’s office. I tend to not wear my jeans and my
boots.”

  “The mayor’s office? What were you doing at the mayor’s office?” Did the mayor know what was going on?

  He laughed. “I sit on several development boards. Believe it or not, I have a life outside of this, too. If you ever want … I could show it to you.”

  “I might like that.”

  He pointed at the building. “Let’s get this done.”

  Chase caught up to us. “What do they do here? I realize it’s my job to know these things, but I’m totally unprepped.”

  “They make semiconductors.” Malcolm answered, and I turned to him. How did he know what they did at Levi’s company? “They don’t build them here. That’s somewhere else. This is where they do the math, design the science, and come up with the marketing plan and sales directives. HR. All of the business development. Everything except building the semiconductors themselves. Levi’s a genius. He does the math—designs the arrays—that make these things go.”

  I pulled on Malcolm’s arm. “Are you stalking my ex?”

  “No, actually. I mean, I did Google him at one point when I first found you two. I was supposed to leave you alone with your memory wipe. I had to be sure you hadn’t tied yourself to a loser. That being said, I know the president of the company. We sit on several charitable boards together. Brad Schoefling. He’s an interesting guy. Likes to play golf.”

  “You do?” What the hell was Malcolm doing with all of these responsibilities? What did he do when he wasn’t brokering jobs?

  “Blowing her mind, brother.” Block laughed, such an unusual occurrence I couldn’t even comment on it for fear it would go away.

  Chase continued on task. “And a semiconductor is …”

  This time I replied. I’d listened to Levi talk about it for years. “I’m not a scientist. This is going to be a very non-thorough answer. As best as I understand it, a semiconductor is a material that conducts electricity only in certain circumstances. They’re made by doping an insulator with a conductive material, making the whole thing partially conductive. It all has to do with electricity. Like silicon.”

  We walked in together, and Tricia the twittering secretary launched to her feet. “Oh, Mrs. Yates. Levi said you’d be coming with a group of people. I’m going to call him now.” She picked up the phone and made several twittering sounds.

  Her light burned brightly. She remained exactly as she should—alive and glowing. Two people came out of the secured door that led to the offices, and they both glowed nicely. I turned to speak to the group. “We need a sign. If I see one, I’m going to say—”

  “Nothing,” Malcolm interrupted me. “You’ll just point.”

  “We aren’t going to fry people in Levi’s offices. We have to figure this out. I can’t stand the thought of people disappearing.” What would I do if someone I loved vanished? If I had no earthly idea if they were alive or dead? I shuddered, rubbing my arms where goosebumps appeared.

  Malcolm pointed toward the door as Levi came through it. “We’ll take it on a case by case basis. If Top Hat is in there, I’m going to blow him up.”

  “Hi.” Levi clapped his hands in front of him. That was his uncomfortable “tell.” Habit had me move forward and grab one of them. “So excited to give you guys a tour of the building.” He squeezed my fingers. I suddenly realized what I’d done, and I dropped his hand. I couldn’t even turn to look at Malcolm. My cheeks heated. What the hell was the matter with me?

  Malcolm came behind me and placed his mouth near my ear. “I know this is complicated. Don’t obsess.”

  So here we were in Levi’s place of work, my ex making some kind of excuse for why he was giving us a tour as we walked. Community outreach or something. I wasn’t listening. Between looking for people without light and worrying about being in the same space with the two men I loved, my ears wouldn’t stop ringing. I’d let Malcolm kiss me right outside Levi’s work and then grabbed Levi’s hand after being called Mrs. Yates seconds later.

  How was I to …?

  My eyes zeroed in on a woman passing by me. She raised her eyebrows in challenge. Her adorable, Veronica Mars demeanor aside, she was a shadow. Levi spoke on while I pointed at the woman. Malcolm swung around, but neither he nor Levi made any move to take out the woman.

  Malcolm pointed at Levi. “Who was that?”

  We rounded the corner away from the woman, and Levi answered. “The COO’s secretary, Samantha. She’s one of them?”

  “First one so far.” Malcolm answered. “Unless Kendall’s attention is so distracted she’s missing them?”

  I shoved his arm. “I’ve got it. Thanks.”

  “Should I keep doing what I’m doing? The whole tour thing? We periodically do this for fundraising.”

  Malcolm nodded swiftly. “Do it.” He side-eyed the others. “Anyone getting a reading on this place?”

  Victoria answered first. “It’s cold in here and not in the air-conditioned kind of a way. I’m covered in goosebumps. The whole vibe in here says evil.”

  “It does?” Levi’s eyebrows rose. “It’s a very pleasant place to work.”

  “Block?” Malcolm asked next.

  Our very quiet friend answered, “There’s energy moving back and forth. A lot of it.”

  “And a lot of quiet screaming,” Chase finished off. “I can feel their pain pressing on me.”

  I came to a stop, and so did everyone else. An entire conference room full of people stared at us through the window, and not one of them had a light. “All of them.”

  “Shit.” Malcolm shook his head and grabbed Levi’s arm. “We have to get you out of here. I didn’t imagine it’d be so many all at once. Although it makes sense; take over most of an executive-level corporation and you never have to worry about where you’re going to meet. Big problem is they now know that you know. That puts you at risk, Levi. Come on. Chase, get him out. Victoria and Block out. Kendall, leave if you don’t want to watch.”

  I kept my feet planted. I knew every single one of the people in that room. I’d had to be really nice to them at countless functions. They were the people who made the decisions about what happened to Levi’s career. They loved my husband and his big brain, so they’d been as nice as possible to me. I, in turn, had never wanted to do anything to damage his reputation at work, so I’d never had a sip of alcohol and I’d pretended I wasn’t raised in the back of van. Not that Levi ever cared about—

  “Kendall.” Levi struggled in Chase’s hold. “What’s going to happen?”

  I met his eyes. “Go. You aren’t going to like what’s happening. We don’t have a choice. There are too many of them to leave them.”

  Shadows aren’t without their powers. I saw the pulse of energy the second it tore toward Malcolm. He grabbed light in his hand and blocked it. Boom. The room rattled. He spun to the left, grabbing more and launching it at the woman all the way to the left. His eyes got huge after he did it. “It’s the whole room, right?”

  “Everyone. I wouldn’t let you kill innocents. Besides, I don’t think you can kill the uninfected with just a little light.”

  “Good point. Sometimes I forget there are ordinary people—besides Levi.” He swung his hand, cutting down another shadow before diving onto the floor to avoid getting hit by the shadow energy. I wasn’t going to leave him to do this alone, not while I was capable of helping.

  I zapped the COO, and he disappeared into ash.

  “Kendal, down!” Malcolm shouted, and I hit the ground before I rolled, amazed my muscles even still remembered how to do this considering, technically, they’d never done this before. Not in this body.

  I might have been afraid, but I didn’t have time for that kind of emotion. Over and over we zapped them and avoided getting hit. I took one hit, and the darkness burned my skin. I hoped not permanently. I didn’t imagine they sold lotions for this kind of thing.

  Malcolm finished the room and grabbed my arm to drag me out of it with him. I jerked out of his touch. My skin burned. I didn’t want
him catching it.

  “You okay?” He stared at my injury. “It got you?”

  “Small burn. I’ll handle it. What do we do now? This is going to draw attention.”

  Malcolm pulled the fire alarm, setting it off. He shouted at me to be heard. “I’m sure there are more of them in this building. I can’t do anything about that right now. But I can manage them never finding the bodies. It’s going to confuse the authorities. There will be an investigation. But everyone will know they’re dead.”

  “Are we burning the building down?”

  He nodded. “Levi’s going to have to work from home for a while.”

  Later, at my home, Malcolm doctored my arm for the fifth time. I finally pushed his hand away. “It’s fine. We’ve put the burn stuff on it. It’ll either heal or it won’t.”

  Levi paced the backyard on his cell phone. Conference call after conference call. Victoria had gone home to Henry and Jack. I missed her quips and easy manner. Chase had left with Block. It was just me and the two men in my life. They were handling things more maturely than I was.

  Lately I seemed to forget how to be an adult.

  “It looks like a regular burn. If it goes awry, I want you to tell Victoria. She’ll put some magic mojo on it.”

  I smiled at him. “We burned down a building.”

  “And no one still alive was hurt.” He’d said this a few times. I’d watched him stare down the building while the firefighters made their way out. If any of them had died or been hurt, I don’t know what Malcolm would have done. As far as I knew, he’d never killed a human, and neither had I.

  “Are you okay?” He’d spent so much time fussing over me. I rose and crossed over to him to place my head on his shoulder.

  He kissed the top of my head. “Yes. Actually felt good to take them by surprise like that.”

  “Malcolm.” I stared out the window while Levi gestured wildly with his hands. He must not like whatever he was hearing. “This is happening to him because of us. I mean, I don’t actually believe the world revolves around me.”