The Twelfth Keeper

by Belle Malory

  After all was said and done, the sympathy Matilda displayed on Kennedy’s behalf was almost believable. “Do you want me to make you something to help you feel better? Some soup, maybe? An herbal tea?”

  “I’m fine, but thanks,” Kennedy replied. She sipped at the mug in her hands, then crinkled her nose.

  “You don’t like your coffee,” Matilda stated. “I can tell.”

  “Yes, I do,” Kennedy insisted, her eyes darting to Phoenix’s.

  He shrugged a shoulder. “Hey, you won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t drink it.”

  “It’s fine,” she insisted again. “Well, drinkable.”

  He grinned at her honesty.

  Kennedy nearly spilled her coffee, setting it on the table in front of her. Her eyes rounded incredulously as she stared at him.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  “No,” she said, careening her expression back to normal.

  “Tell me,” he ordered. “Are you sick?”

  “I’m fine,” she said. “It was just…you have a nice smile. That’s all.”

  He would’ve been lying if he said he didn’t like hearing her say so, but she seemed shocked by the act of it. All he did was grin.

  He swallowed, feeling like an idiot all over again. Of course that was it. She thought he hated her. Friendliness from him was new to her, since he’d never been welcoming, never smiled, never shown any interest in her at all.

  Except for the day he’d cornered her in the hallway. He hadn’t been able to help himself. He wanted to memorize everything about her. The shape of her mouth, the reddish tones of her hair, the way her eyes looked like a shimmering blue one second and a deep sea-green the next.

  He thought if he could just look at her long enough, drink her in, and get rid of the mysteries surrounding her, he could move on, forget about the things Calaya told him.

  Stupid ideas—he saw that now. It wasn’t Calaya’s vision attracting him to Kennedy. Never was. His attraction stemmed from the most basic, animal instinct within him. A very human instinct. He was simply…attracted.

  Fighting it off became his only recourse. He stayed away from Kennedy. Tried to make her stay away from him too, but it was never his intention to make her feel hated.

  What killed him was that he would’ve stayed away forever probably. He was too damned stubborn to let Calaya be right, and he would’ve continued fighting until the end of time, if that was what it took.

  Everything crystalized into perspective when he watched Kennedy come close to dying. Loyalty to an organization that had no respect for a protector of Earth, for humanity itself, didn’t make sense anymore. Why should he train with them, fight for them, maybe even give his life for them, when they couldn’t give their keepers respect?

  Kennedy yawned and stretched, distracting Phoenix from his thoughts. “You should sleep,” he said. “Rest your body. Your mind.” It was probably safe to bet drowning took a toll.

  “Do you think they’ll come?” She glanced at the door warily.

  Phoenix highly doubted anyone would. Not right now, anyway. They knew how angry he was. He never lashed out, had never shown any anger before. They would have to be idiots to provoke him even more.

  Eventually they would do something, though. There was no escaping it. “They’ll give me time to calm down first,” he said. “At the very least, a day. Go ahead and sleep. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “If I do, will you leave?” Hearing the uncertainty in her voice stung. Like he’d leave after she’d come so close to being killed.

  “No,” he said. “I’ll be here when you wake up.” He didn’t like seeing the fear in her eyes, and if it would give her peace of mind, he’d bloody well offer to chain himself to her.

  She left and reappeared a few minutes later, wearing dry clothes and carrying a blanket. He assumed she would sleep in her bedroom, but she curled under the blanket on the sofa and closed her eyes.

  Phoenix found himself wondering what that meant. No doubt she was still afraid—who wouldn’t be? But he already said he’d stay. Unless she didn’t believe him, then it meant she simply wanted to be near him.

  Or at least…he hoped so. Her need for his presence and his strength satisfied a need of his own. A need he hadn’t realized was inside of him until now.

  Thirty

  When Kennedy woke up, she wasn’t quite sure where she was. She blinked into the darkness, watching hundreds of twinkling lights crystalize into view. They were everywhere, above her head, below her feet, surrounding her entire body.

  About an inch from her nose was a dimly glowing globe. She stared at it carefully, seeing its rocky surface was dotted with craters.

  She opened her eyes wider, not believing what she saw. She held out her hand and pressed her finger against the globe. Light warped around her hand.

  Only a hologram.

  She twitched, then felt the fabric beneath her and the feathery pillow under her head. Slowly, she sat up on the sofa, her gaze roaming around the room. Definitely a spectacular sight, being encompassed in the midst of what looked like space. If she hadn’t been able to make out the shadowed lines of her apartment, she might have thought she died and woken up in the afterlife.

  It suddenly occurred to her that she had, in fact, almost died.

  The memory of the man’s grip around her neck was still fresh. Pushing against him in the blue pool, thrashing about in the water, how badly she wanted to breathe, but couldn’t…she closed her eyes, trying to forget. If Phoenix hadn’t come for her when he did, she would be dead right now.

  It was still hard to believe he had come for her at all.

  When she opened her eyes again, he stood across the room, the white light of a multi-dimensional notebook brightened his face and his messy blonde hair. His black eyes were focused, concentrating on whatever puzzle he was trying to solve. “Mark all this unexplored territory. Life, unknown.” Kennedy saw the notebook record his words, scrawling them down in bright blue like an invisible pen.

  What is all this? Lights shifted and bent around her as she stood.

  The distortion of light caught Phoenix’s attention. He waved his hand and the digital notebook closed. “You’re awake.”

  “Yes, and really confused,” Kennedy said, still groggy with sleep. “Did you open a window and let the stars come inside?”

  “It’s an atlas,” Phoenix explained, looking around the room. He rocked back on his heels. “My atlas, specifically. I’ve been building it for several years now.”

  “It’s amazing,” Kennedy said, and meant it. So much time and dedication obviously went into creating this thing. It looked like it belonged in a museum or something.

  She suddenly wondered why Phoenix felt the need to make it. Was he planning to go into space exploration? Had the department asked him to go somewhere? The thought of him leaving for what could be years made Kennedy’s throat constrict. She didn’t know him that well; she didn’t even know if she liked him all that much, but something changed when he stood up to Dr. Sigly for her. He went against everything he believed in, and fought for her while all the other keepers stood on the sidelines and watched. She still didn’t know why he did it. But as long as she lived, she would never forget it.

  Phoenix was a true leader, and the thought of the one keeper who she now fully believed in leaving and venturing into outer space was unbearable.

  She needed to think about something else, before she really did get choked up. “What are all these?” She walked around the coffee table, pointing to a set of bluish globes.

  “Figures you’d gravitate towards those,” Phoenix said. “They’re all big enough to be planets, but they’re actually a constellation of stars. Water makes up most of their composition.”

  Water. Even the word made her shudder. And after everything that happened, Phoenix said it like he still considered her a keeper.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she lied. She leaned
down to get a better view of the blue stars. “Does the constellation have a name?”

  “Not yet. Unchartered territory. I got these specs from a Nonan mapmaker.” He walked a few steps away. “See these?” He pointed to a series of reddish-black globes. “These are the ones I gravitate to. Made up of mostly lava and volcanic rock. Lots of fire and explosions going on there.” He grinned, and Kennedy could see he was really passionate about this stuff.

  “Do the fire stars have names?”

  “No. But I was thinking of naming this entire constellation Hephaestus.”

  She heard that word before, but couldn’t remember what it meant. “Hephaestus?”

  “It’s Greek. The name of the god of fire.” He grinned. “It’s an ego thing.”

  Kennedy turned back towards the bluish globes. Something wasn’t right here. The feeling sent a shiver down her spine. “What’s the name of the Greek god of water?”

  “Poseidon,” he answered easily. “Hey, I see where you’re going with this. It’s bloody brilliant. I’ll name this territory Poseidon, and the other Hephaestus. Water and Fire, like us.”

  She listened quietly as he told his notebook to make the changes, and froze. Stuck somewhere between Poseidon and Hephaestus.

  The dream didn’t seem like nothing anymore. Her heart slammed against her chest as his voice came back to haunt her. Kennedy, if you don’t find me, I’ll die. We will all die.

  “Kennedy?” Phoenix called her name softly. “Are you all right?”

  “I need to,” she headed to the couch and fell into it. “Sit down.”

  Phoenix pressed a button on his brace. The entire atlas spun, and was sucked inside of it. “Lights on,” he commanded. “Where do you hurt?”

  “I’m not in any pain,” she said.

  “You’re pale. Like you were about to faint.”

  Stupid, weak stomach. Being around one of the most powerful human beings in the world made her wish she weren’t such a pansy. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize. Tell me what’s going on with you.”

  Phoenix’s gaze bored into her. She sighed. Telling him couldn’t hurt. “Before I met you, I had this dream. You were in it. Something you said just now really threw me…because it was exactly what you said in the dream.”

  He didn’t make fun of her, or tell her she was being ridiculous, something she might have done were the situation reversed. “Describe the dream,” he said.

  “So you don’t think this is crazy?”

  He shrugged, then sank into the sofa beside her. “Keepers share a deeper connection with each other than with other humans. I believe dreams can have meanings. Not always, but if the message is important enough.”

  Kennedy didn’t tell him it was impossible for her to share that same deep connection he spoke about. She wanted to, but he might discount her dream altogether. At this point, she knew it had to mean something. She needed someone to share that belief.

  “Describe it to me,” he said. “In detail.”

  “Well,” she began, thinking back on it. “I was underwater in this giant-sized pool, the kind you’d find in a gym. Anyway, I saw you standing over the water, and I came up. We sort of,” heat rushed to Kennedy’s cheeks, “knew each other.” It was probably best to skip those parts.

  “You’re blushing,” Phoenix said, calling her out.

  Kennedy wanted to hide beneath the sofa. How the hell did he know? Her cheeks were always rosy, so no one ever noticed when she blushed.

  “I felt the heat of your blood rush to your face,” he explained. “Elemental thing.”

  Wonderful.

  She clenched her hands into fists, another thing he seemed to catch. “You’re angry.” It came out as a statement, not a question.

  “Am not.”

  He angled an unconvinced brow at her. “You are.”

  She fiddled with the tie on her pajama pants. Maybe she was a little angry. So what? It was disconcerting how he could tap into her emotions. Not to mention completely unfair.

  At this point she might as well admit to everything. Get it over with. “In the dream, we were sort of making out.”

  A smile tugged the corners of Phoenix’s mouth. “Making out?”

  “Yeah.” Kennedy squirmed in her seat, really wishing she had chosen to skip this part. “You know, kissing. Whatever.”

  “Okay. I’ll need more details. Was I any good? You know, with this kissing stuff?” His teasing smile spread across his face.

  “It was a dream, all right? Dreams are weird.”

  “And erotic too, by the sound of yours.”

  “Stop,” she said, trying not to laugh, and feeling her face grow hot all over. “Anyway, as we were, you know, the building began to crack. It started falling down around us.”

  Phoenix’s expression grew serious again, and he quietly listened to her.

  “You realized we were dreaming, which I thought was weird. I never know I’m dreaming, at least not until I wake up. But you pointed it out.”

  “Most people don’t,” he said. “I don’t. Not usually, but go on.”

  “Well, the really strange part, the one that had me on the verge of fainting just now was what you said next.” Her eyes fell on his brace, remembering the images of the constellations he named only a few minutes ago. Constellations she helped name. “You said you were lost. Somewhere between Poseidon and Hephaestus. You wanted me to find you, and said you’d die if I didn’t. You said we would all die.”

  He stayed quiet for a moment, absorbing her words. He ran a hand through his mussed hair, sighing. “Okay. That’s pretty fucking disturbing.”

  It felt nice to hear him feel the same thing. To hear that he believed her. “It was like you knew I would know what you were talking about,” she said. “And here we are, and then you name the other constellation Poseidon? Who else would ever know what was going to take place in this room? It’s more than disturbing, Phoenix. It’s nuts.”

  He stared off into the distance, his pensive gaze traveling to the window.

  “So what do you think it means?” she asked. “Do you think it has any significance?”

  His dark eyes left the window and roamed over her face. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. After a moment, he said. “You shouldn’t worry about it. I’m sitting right here on your couch, next to you, in flesh and blood. I’m not lost in outer space.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Kennedy.” He held his index finger to her lips, shutting her up. “I’m right here.”

  She sighed, out loud this time. “I know.”

  “Besides, if I ever turn up missing, you’ll know where to look.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  “And we’ve got bigger issues to worry about.” He stood up. “Like how it’s nine o’clock at night, and I’m starving.”

  “You haven’t eaten?”

  “No. You’re a horrible hostess.” He headed into the kitchen.

  “And a worse cook,” she added. “Better call for Matilda.”

  The robot came whizzing in. At Phoenix’s request, she dug through the pantries and searched for something “good and fast.”

  Feeling her own stomach growl, Kennedy ate dinner with him, and sat at the dining table for the first time since she moved in. Moments later, Matilda served them a bowl of pasta covered in tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.

  Phoenix dug in, shoveling the food into his mouth. “This is really good,” he said between bites. “Amazing she whipped it up in less than five minutes.”

  Kennedy noticed he referred to Matilda as a she instead of an it. “Yeah, Matilda’s a great cook.”

  After she’d eaten her fill, she sat there for a while, shoving noodles around her plate with her fork.

  “You’re not still thinking about the dream, are you?”

  She shook her head. “Actually, I was wondering what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

  “What do you mean?”

 
She watched him chug an entire glass of water. “I mean with DOE and Level 3. How much trouble do you think we’re in?” Setting her elbow on the table, she rested her chin on her palm. “To be honest, I’m kinda scared to go back.”

  He eyed her plate, which still had half a serving of pasta on it. “Are you going to eat that?”

  Kennedy pushed the plate towards him. “Finish it. I’m stuffed.” He took the plate, looking happy to finish off her food. “So…what are we going to say tomorrow?”

  He swallowed his mouthful. “I’m not saying anything since as of today, I put in my resignation. You can tell them whatever you want. That’s entirely up to you.”

  Kennedy’s jaw dropped. “You mean you quit?”

  He coughed, but there was a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Yep. Decided I didn’t like some of their business practices.”

  “Can you do that? Is it even allowed?”

  She heard him grunt and mumble the word allowed like rules didn’t pertain to him. And honestly, they probably didn’t. Phoenix could probably melt all of Olympus to tiny pieces of ember if he felt like it.

  Kennedy stared at him, wondering what would happen if she took on some of his carefree attitude. Strangely, it was something she envied about him, that sense of fearlessness. She glanced towards the door leading to her private pool. What would it be like to feel invincible?

  She sipped at her water, then set the glass down. “Well if you quit, I quit too.”

  He chuckled. The sound was warm and infectious. “General Vickard will go into a full-blown panic mode,” he said. “The whole damned army will come knocking at the door.”

  She shrugged. “Let them come.”

  It was a dangerous thing, she thought, that Phoenix made her so unafraid. As long as he was by her side, she knew she wouldn’t have anything to fear. And after the way he stood up for her, she would follow him until the end of time.

  Thirty-One

  The next morning Kennedy searched her apartment and found it empty. Phoenix was nowhere to be found. “Matilda, have you seen Phoenix?”