The Mark of the Phoenix [The Triplet Mermen Trilogy] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)

by Casper Graham

  He grinned and nodded. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. Anyway, let’s finish our main course. I can’t wait for dessert.”

  “Sure.”

  It was a simple date, but Drake felt that it was comforting and a little romantic. Most importantly, unlike his dates with ordinary humans or some of the supernatural beings who were younger than him, he didn’t need to explain how his seer magic manifested and how it worked. The phoenix shifter was much older than Drake, so it wasn’t necessary to talk about something that Edwin was more or less familiar with. In fact, Drake had a strong feeling that Edwin knew a lot more magical stuff than him.

  Baltic and Caspian were right about him needing to have some fun in his life, though. He hadn’t been so relaxed in years. He had a wonderful feeling about Edwin. Even if they didn’t make it as mates, he was certain he wanted to keep Edwin as his friend at the very least. Edwin was sweet and attentive toward him. The man even wrapped one arm around his waist as they made their way out from the diner after settling the bill, which made him feel safe and wanted.

  The gesture was both possessive and protective, and he felt his heart beating harder and faster as they walked side by side toward Edwin’s car in the parking lot, especially when Edwin casually requested a second date. He didn’t even have to think about his answer. It was a no-brainer. He would be going out for another dinner date the next day. Looking at the delighted and grateful expression on Edwin’s face, Drake had no doubt that it was more than worth all the teasing he would be receiving from his brothers. He would just have to avoid being in the same room with either or both of them as much as possible. Easy.

  Chapter Four

  Edwin inhaled deeply before pushing the massive golden double doors wide open and stepping into the room. He stared at the lone female inside and bowed his head once before approaching her.

  “Councilwoman,” he greeted when he was approximately six feet away from her. “I received your summons about an hour ago, but I had to drop my date off before making my way here.”

  The room he’d just entered was located on a separate plane from the mortal realm. It was a flexible meeting area for supernaturals regardless of where they resided. It wasn’t accessible to the non-supernaturals because they had no magic that could transport them to this particular place. The councilwoman, Miranda, turned toward him. Her icy gaze was cold and calculative, which was a direct contrast to the fiery red colors of the scales on the lower half of her body. He had no idea why she bothered to appear to him in her mermaid form. Without any water around her, she had to use plenty of magic to keep herself upright. After all, her tail wouldn’t be able to stand in the same manner as having two feet did. That was a waste of magic.

  “Edwin.” Her voice was melodious, but it lacked any warmth. “Didn’t the council instruct you to get rid of the siren?”

  “Yes.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Then, why have you not carried out your mission?”

  He suppressed his anger and looked her straight in the eye. “Because I haven’t found the one responsible yet.”

  “Baltic Pelagius is the only siren in that area.”

  He straightened up his body even more. “His brothers vouched for him.”

  She sneered at him. “Of course they did. They’re liars. Besides, your judgment is clouded by your infatuation with Drake.”

  He ignored the petty jibe and chose to state the fact instead. “Merpeople cannot lie.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you implying that I don’t know my people well enough?”

  “If the shoe fits.”

  “You need to watch your tone, Edwin. You should remember your place.”

  He moved even closer to Miranda. He was gratified to notice a flash of fear in her eyes. She might be one of the most powerful members within the merfolk community, but he was thousands of years older than she was. Moreover, he could burn her into a pile of ash within seconds simply by utilizing the minute amount of magic found at the tip of his pinky finger.

  “Then, I hope you haven’t forgotten who you’re talking to, as well. I’m getting way too old. Sometimes, I accidentally slip and let loose of my fire power.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  He snickered in amusement. “It’s a reminder. Is there anything else?”

  She stared at him in silence before shaking her head. “Just perform your duty.”

  “I will complete it when I’ve discovered the siren who’s guilty of the crimes. Have a good evening, Councilwoman.”

  He bowed once more at Miranda before heading back toward the door. As he clenched his fists by his sides, he wondered if he, Jefferson, and Gavin had made a mistake when they’d rejected the positions on the council all those years ago. The council itself was made up of one member each from the magical elements of spirit, fire, water, earth, and air. As a mermaid, Miranda represented the water element. The five ruling council members would be in charge of the supernatural world for a thousand years. Since they were all immortals, a thousand years meant little to them.

  In general, the council positions would be filled by the most powerful people from each element regardless of their species. He, Jefferson, and Gavin definitely fit that requirement, but they enjoyed their freedom too much. Hence, they’d declined the council positions. It was only their sense of duty that prompted them to agree to work as hunters of the rogue supernatural beings.

  He was aware the five council members were wary of him, Jefferson, and Gavin due to the amount of magic they had within them. Not that the three of them were interested in usurping the positions from the present council members. After all, they had wonderful and peaceful lives in the mortal realm for the most part.

  He shut the double doors behind him before conjuring a fire portal and stepping into it. Then, he came out through the other side right into the living room in his penthouse. He had way too much mortal cash lying around in his savings account in the bank. After living for so many years, he had accumulated a shit-ton of it. While ordinary mortals purchased luxurious things like a penthouse or expensive cars to show off their wealth, he’d bought this particular apartment for a specific reason.

  He might be in the form of a human, but he was still a phoenix at his core. He missed flying high in the air, but he couldn’t do that often. His fire might attract way too much attention even high above the cloud. Flying never used to be a problem until those damn humans invented airplanes and a few other flying objects. He could have used his magic to hide himself from detection, but that was too much of a hassle.

  He made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine from the cooler. He owned several bottles of wine even though he almost never drank any of it. He preferred tea, especially chamomile or chrysanthemum, but he was in the mood for a little wine before going to bed. He poured some wine into a glass before carrying both the bottle and the glass toward the couch in the living room.

  He sighed when he noticed the water portal appearing in the balcony next to his living room, which was quickly followed by the air shimmering next to it. The balcony was the only location in his penthouse that wasn’t protected by his magic. He waved his right arm in the air to lower the magical level for a moment to allow Jefferson and Gavin access into his penthouse. The two men made their way into his living room, grinning at him and pointing at the wine.

  “Miranda?” Jefferson inquired before taking the spot on his right side on the couch.

  Edwin nodded. “I was tempted to burn her where she floated.”

  Gavin chuckled before sitting on Edwin’s left. “She was in her mermaid form, eh?”

  Edwin let out a sigh. “Yeah. Do you want some wine?”

  Jefferson shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m here to make sure you’re okay.”

  Edwin grunted in annoyance. “I’m fine.”

  Gavin snorted. “Yet here you are, drinking your anger away with a bottle of wine.”

  Edwin scoffed at his best friend
s. “I don’t plan to finish the entire bottle.”

  Jefferson glanced at him and raised one elegant eyebrow in obvious disbelief. “We’ve been buddies for years. I know you.”

  Gavin patted Edwin’s thigh. “You shouldn’t let her get to you.”

  “Her attitude pissed me off earlier.”

  Jefferson glanced at Edwin with sympathy. “It didn’t help that the two of you used to be close to each other.”

  Edwin glared at Jefferson. “Don’t remind me.”

  Gavin snickered. “Why? Are you still hung up on her?”

  “Not at all. I did my best not to dwell on the past during the meeting earlier. I think her attitude just rubbed me the wrong way. It was reminiscent of her snottiness and arrogance back when we were still friends.”

  “Yet you socialized with her for almost seven years. Most of those were in rather intimate settings.”

  Edwin didn’t have a comeback for Jefferson, so he simply gulped down the remainder of the wine in the glass and poured more into it from the bottle. “I thought we were going out as friends. She accused me of leading her on.”

  “Did you?” Gavin countered before grabbing the bottle and sipping directly from it.

  Edwin narrowed his eyes at Gavin. “Of course not. I had informed her right from the beginning that I wasn’t interested. She was the one who insisted on hanging on to me.”

  Jefferson guffawed out loud. “You were too chicken-shit to tell her to fuck off.”

  “I was trying to spare her feeling.”

  “But you still hurt her in the end.”

  Edwin nodded at Gavin. “Yeah. She mustn’t have loved me as deeply as she claimed, though. If she had been brokenhearted, she would have turned into a siren.”

  Jefferson leaned against the couch. “True.”

  The three of them were quiet for a minute or so before Gavin broke the silence. “What’s the next step?”

  Edwin placed the wine glass on the living room table before slumping back against the couch. “About the siren?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t know, Gav. I think I’ll check out the last location again.”

  Jefferson turned toward Edwin. “When?”

  Edwin pondered his response for a moment before responding. “Based on what we know, the siren seems to follow a pattern. He or she doesn’t lure a victim away every night. With the five victims that we know of, it’s always once every four or five days.”

  Gavin squeezed Edwin’s shoulder gently. “You can’t be sure that the pattern will remain like that with the next victim, though.”

  Edwin inhaled and exhaled before answering. “I know. I’ll go to the last known location tomorrow evening and also the night after. I’m not in the mood at the moment.”

  Jefferson smiled. “All right then. I think Gav and I will leave you alone for now. Will you let us know if you need our help?”

  Edwin beamed at his best friends. “Sure thing. Thanks.”

  Gavin got up on his feet before heading toward the balcony. “You’re welcome. Have a good rest, man.”

  Seconds later, Gavin disappeared into the water portal.

  Jefferson stood, as well. “Are you sure you’re going to be fine on your own?”

  Edwin rolled his eyes at his best friend. “Yes, Dad.”

  Jefferson gave him the middle-finger salute and walked toward the balcony. “Fuck you, Ed. I’ll see you at the bakery tomorrow.”

  “Of course. Later.”

  Jefferson bade him farewell before shimmering away. Edwin stared at the balcony for a few minutes longer before finishing the wine in the glass and picking up the wine bottle. He replaced the cork in the bottle and put it back in the cooler. Then, he left the glass in the sink. He would wash it the next morning. He was too agitated and more than a little angry at the moment. He decided to go to bed and sleep even if he couldn’t be sure that he would be able to doze off, especially when there were so many thoughts filling up his head. Everything would be better in the morning. At least he hoped that it would be.

  Chapter Five

  Drake forced a smile onto his face as he waved at the little girl and her mother as they stood next to him. “It’s really awesome to see you again, Thalia. You, too, Mrs. Fernandez.”

  Once they left, he peeked into the hallway and grinned at his next customer. “Mr. Lee?”

  The elderly Chinese man beamed at him and nodded. “Yes, I am.”

  “Excellent. Please come in.”

  After they were seated across from each other, Drake checked to make sure the incense was still burning. Not that he needed it to get an insight into the future, but ordinary mortals were weird. They all expected some sort of strange mumbo-jumbo from him, including a smoky room and a burning incense.

  One of his recent customers, a woman of forty years of age, even admitted she was disappointed that there was nothing more exciting that occurred while she was getting her future told. Apparently, she had been expecting the room or the table to shake. He had almost rolled his eyes at her, restraining himself at the last moment for the sake of courtesy and professionalism.

  He placed his palm face-up on the table and instructed Mr. Lee to put his own hand on top. However, Mr. Lee astounded him by remaining stationary and staring at him in silence for a few seconds before speaking up. “You’re not an ordinary human, are you?”

  He felt a prickle of fear at the back of his neck, but he chuckled at Mr. Lee in an attempt to hide his discomfort. “You don’t trust your eyes, Mr. Lee?”

  Mr. Lee seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before answering. “I was married to the most beautiful mermaid for more than fifty years.”

  Drake ran his tongue over his dry lips. “Was?”

  Mr. Lee inhaled deeply before expelling the breath out loud. “We have two sons. Our oldest is a merman. The other one is fully human, but with the ability to breathe underwater. Our family was attacked a couple of years ago by a coven of nasty vampires. My beloved wife died protecting me and my younger son. My oldest was able to defend himself with his water magic. The vampires were annihilated when a pack of werewolf hunters appeared and dealt with those bloodsuckers.”

  Drake pulled his hand back and gazed into Mr. Lee’s eyes briefly before looking away. “How did you manage to know what I am?”

  “Same grace and scent as my wife and oldest son.”

  Drake put his hand back onto the table again. “Do you still want me to read your future for you?”

  “Do you actually need the skin contact?”

  Drake snickered and shook his head. “Sit still then.”

  “As you wish.”

  Drake glanced at the aura surrounding the elderly man. Then, he lowered his gaze and caught Mr. Lee’s eyes. Immediately, his vision whitened for a split second before it became normal again. He gasped in shock. His seer magic might have been fleeting, but it was more than enough to allow him to foretell Mr. Lee’s future.

  “Sir, I—”

  Mr. Lee raised one hand to cut him off. “Before you inform me about my future, will you please satisfy my curiosity about your magic?”

  Drake was astonished by the unusual request, but he agreed. “What is it that you want to know about?”

  “How does your magic work exactly?”

  “Are you referring to my ability to foresee the future?”

  “Yes.”

  Drake got up on his feet and fetched the teapot of chrysanthemum tea from the second wooden desk behind him. He also carried two ceramic cups over to his “fortune-telling” table and placed one of them in front of Mr. Lee. Then, he poured them both some tea. He gestured at the cup in front of the elderly man, indicating that Mr. Lee should take a sip. He did the same before replacing the cup on the table.

  “When my seer magic first manifested, it happened at random. I couldn’t control it. As it grew stronger, I was able to view the future only when I chose to do so, but that was also the moment I discovered the limitation of my seer magic.” />
  “What is it?”

  “I can’t see my own future. It’s blocked.”

  “Blocked?” Mr. Lee repeated, seemingly confused by the concept.

  Drake nodded. “I had tried a couple of times. I couldn’t. The visions were simply foggy or blank, and they resulted in a terrible migraine each time.”

  “Oh, all right.”

  Drake sipped more tea before continuing. “Initially, I needed skin contact with the person whose future I had to look into. After a while, I simply had to focus my magic on the person or the group of people, and I would be able to glimpse into the future without any skin contact.”

  Mr. Lee smiled and picked up the teacup. “I’m sure your magic will continue to strengthen. You’re still very young. You have many years to go before—”

  Drake burst out laughing in amusement. “I’m sorry, Mr. Lee. I’m not making fun of you, but you do realize that I’m actually much older than you are, right?”

  Mr. Lee stared at him in bewilderment. “But you don’t appear much older than twenty. Maybe twenty-one or twenty-two at the most. Even my oldest son looks older than you are. My wife also aged gracefully when she was alive.”

  Drake beamed at Mr. Lee. “The magic within your oldest son isn’t as strong because he has human genetics within him.”

  “But my wife claimed that my oldest is a merman.”

  “I’m sure he is,” Drake explained gently before reaching out for Mr. Lee’s hands. “But the magic will be diluted. Nevertheless, he will soon stop growing old physically. He may even live for a few hundred years, but he won’t be an immortal like a pure merman or mermaid.”

  Mr. Lee gasped. “My wife—”

  “I don’t know what her reasoning was, but she must have decided to use her magic to make herself look older. Do you know how old she was when the two of you got married?”

  “She claimed to be twenty-five. Did she lie to me?” Mr. Lee muttered more to himself than Drake. “But that can’t be. Merpeople cannot lie.”