He stopped pacing and turned to me. “Yes, I can. But I can promise it’s not what you want to hear, Octavia.”
I swallowed loudly. “I don’t care. Just tell me.”
“Very well. I’ll preface this by saying that you’re not human. You’re more like me than you are like them.” He pointed to the window as if pointing to the humans that lived their boring lives all around us. “You’re a very rare species of supernatural. Extremely rare. I’m lucky to see one of your kind in my lifetime, and I’ve lived a long time. But you’re the second one I’ve come across, which is why I know your kind.”
“What am I?”
“You’re what is known as a phoenix—beautiful creatures with unimaginable powers. They live long lives, due to the fact that it is nearly impossible to kill them. Because of their abilities, many years ago they were persecuted and hunted down almost to extinction.”
“But—but I can’t die,” I said, as if that could stop anyone from hunting me down.
Tristan frowned. “You can. It just takes a while.”
“Can you fix me? Is there a way to cure me?” I asked, desperation clear in my voice.
His green eyes lowered and he shook his head. “Octavia, there is nothing wrong with you. You’re a healthy specimen of your species. There is nothing to cure.”
I curled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fantastical story he shared. It didn’t seem plausible. It almost made me want to laugh. It was all just too … crazy.
I was human. I knew I was. I’d had the common cold, I got chicken pox when I was ten, and I broke my wrist when I first tried to learn how to ride a bike. Those were all human traits. I felt human.
As if he could read my thoughts, Tristan said, “You were born human, but someone in your family was a phoenix because the trait can only be passed on through the bloodline. And when the phoenix dies for the final time, it moves on to its next host.”
“Wait,” I held up a hand, “you mean to tell me there’s something inside me? Like a parasite?” I gaped at him, disgust clear in my face.
“It’s sort of like a familiar, but not really. You’ve heard stories of witches having a cat as a familiar, right? Well, the phoenix is part of you, and she comes out whenever you’re in need, like last night.”
My eyes widened. “She came out of me last night?” I exclaimed, flinging the sheets off and scrambling from the bed.
“It was quite a sight.” He grinned. “You gave the Los Angeles pack quite a scare.” Tristan placed his hands on my shoulders to stop me from pacing. “Don’t fret.”
I scowled. “How can I not? I actually have a bird inside me!”
“That’s keeping you alive,” he tsked.
I bared my teeth at him and he answered with a broad smile, his fangs elongating as I watched in rapt fascination.
“I bite, too,” he purred.
I attempted to jerk back but he held me firm. “Is it possible that the person who killed me knew what I was?”
Tristan shrugged. “Possibly. But we won’t know for sure until we find him.”
“So, you’ll help me?” I asked with a little too much excitement.
“I gave you my word, didn’t I?” He cocked a brow.
Yes, he had given me his word, but I wasn’t sure if I believed it or not. Tristan was still a stranger to me, even after everything.
“So, you’re a vampire …” I eased away from him.
He nodded. “I run the Los Angeles clan, which was why I was bargaining with Killian—the Alpha of the Los Angeles pack.”
This sounded like the script of a really bad B rated movie. It couldn’t be real life, but looking at Tristan’s eyes and those fangs, there was no way he could be lying to me. I mean, last night was proof enough. Unless I’d gone crazy. Which was a distinct possibility.
“So, where do we go from here?”
He sighed. “We have our work cut out for us. We have to find out who killed you, all while keeping the pack off our backs.”
“Why?”
“Because now that they know what you are, they’ll be coming for you again.”
After I dressed in clean clothes, we left the bedroom and headed for the living room where Maverick and Echo were hanging out. They stood immediately when they saw us coming. I hadn’t asked, but I wondered if they were vampires, too. Most likely. I remembered seeing something sharp glinting in Maverick’s teeth last night. Duh, that should have been my first clue.
“Everything okay?” Echo asked, and I noticed her hand was bandaged.
“Echo, I’m so very sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
She waved me off. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like any of us haven’t tried to kill one another before.” When she chuckled, the others did as well.
I stared at them in horror. “Still … I’m very sorry.”
She nodded. “Apology accepted.”
Maverick cleared his throat. “I’m assuming you told her …”
“Yes,” Tristan said beside me. “She knows everything.”
“Thank God!” Maverick exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “I’m thirsty. Anyone else want a drink?” He hurried to the kitchen, not waiting for anyone to answer him. I wondered what he meant by drink. “I’m absolutely parched after all this excitement.”
My question was answered soon enough when he returned with a blood bag that said A+, drinking from it like a juice box.
“I can share,” he offered to his friends. I grimaced.
“I hadn’t necessarily told her about the two of you,” Tristan said, clarifying.
Maverick froze mid-slurp, his teeth stained a sickly red. “Oh.”
I let out an awkward laugh. “It’s okay, I sort of put it together myself. It was kind of obvious at this point.”
“See, Tristan? She is smart,” Maverick said, using his blood bag to point at me.
I glared at Tristan. When did he say I wasn’t smart? The asshole.
“Well!” Echo interrupted. “How about I take Octavia out for a walk? I’m sure she could use the fresh air and a break from you two idiots,” she grumbled.
“Hey!” both Tristan and Maverick said, but she didn’t pay them any mind. Echo reached for my arm and propelled me out of the living room.
We walked out of the penthouse and down the elevator. Once we exited, Echo silently motioned for me to follow her toward the beach. We crossed the street and took the path that wound between the dunes to the sand. Removing our shoes, we stepped onto the powdery soft sand. It still held traces of the day’s heat, and I sunk my toes into the sand to take advantage of its comforting warmth.
The waves crashed onto the shore and I tasted the briny saltiness of the water on my lips. We strolled down the coast under the moonlight in silence until I interrupted the calm.
“So, you guys planned to sell me to the Los Angeles pack from the very beginning, huh?” I asked, avoiding her gaze.
Echo sighed. “It’s complicated, Octavia. We thought you were going to be a shifter. If you were, you belonged with your kind anyway. They’re the only ones who would have been able to teach you how to shift properly and whatnot. Vampires … well, we aren’t equipped that way,” she said. “But you’re right; we took advantage of the opportunity you presented as a chance to broker peace with the shifters.”
I bit my lip as I listened to her speak. They wanted peace with the shifters and handing me over would have accomplished that. Now I felt sort of shitty. Sort of. Don’t get me wrong – I was still mad, but in some weird way, I understood what they were trying to do. Would I have done the same? No. But I got it.
“So … like, how old are you?” I asked casually. My current knowledge about vampires consisted of what I watched in cheesy movies. Now that I knew they were real, I wanted more than anything to know what was true and what was fake.
Echo laughed. “I’m almost two hundred years old, which is fairly young compared to some of the others.”
I nearly stumbled over myself. Two hundred years? Holy shit. “And you guys can’t eat normal food … only blood?”
She shook her head and smiled. “We can eat human food, but we don’t need it to survive. What we need is blood. But I still occasionally crave chocolate cake.”
“Wow, that’s crazy.” A million questions flitted through my head, but they were all eclipsed when the biggest one hit me like a smack to the head. “Oh my gosh, you can’t come out during the day!” Now that I thought about it, I realized every time I’d seen them was either during the evening or at night. Never during the day. Tristan kept his penthouse dark during the day, with heavy, dark curtains closed against the light. Everything about my captors was starting to make a lot more sense.
“Yeah, we’re a little sensitive to the sun,” she grimaced. “Tristan can walk during the day, but Rick and I are bound to the night.”
I frowned. “What happens if you go out in the sun?”
“We burst into flames and die. It’s really gruesome,” she said conspiratorially.
“So, how can Tristan walk in the sun?”
“Uh … I’ll let him explain that one to you.” She smiled politely, but I could tell that was the end of that subject.
“Can you eat garlic? Or look in a mirror? Oh! What about crosses? Can you say God?”
“Slow down!” Echo laughed. “All of that is pure myth. The only thing that can hurt us is holy water. It burns like a bitch and if we’re injured, it stops our healing. It can really do some damage.”
Oh, wow. Sounded brutal.
“Are there more of your kind—“ I started to ask, but was interrupted by a loud screeching noise in the sky.
Echo and I both turned and looked up to see a massive hawk swoop down, its razor-sharp talons aimed right for me as it dove down to the beach.
“Octavia, get down!” Echo shouted.
But before I could drop to the ground, those claws dug into the back of my shirt and lifted me off the ground and into the air.
“Echo!” I shrieked, the desperation of my cry ringing clearly across the beach. At first I tried to wriggle out of the hawk’s grip, but it soared high above the ground and I knew if I fell, it would be rather painful.
My heart racing, I screamed and refused to look down as we glided further and further away from the beach until the soft sands and sparkling waters were a distant memory. I heard the rip of my shirt tearing and knew if we didn’t land soon, the weight of my body would outweigh the hold of the shirt and I’d fall. Either way, I was screwed.
The hawk let out a deafening screech as it started to descend, and I flailed my arms around as if I could hold onto something to keep from falling. With each foot closer to the ground, my stomach lurched violently and I was convinced I was going to vomit.
We were mere feet away from the ground when the hawk released me and I dropped to the ground, rolling to a stop. Dust clouded around me and I coughed until my throat was raw.
“We meet again.” I heard that familiar voice and stumbled to my feet, spinning around as I came face-to-face with Killian. “Nice of you to join us.”
With a lurch, I realized I was surrounded. We were in a playground within a park, the perfect place for a murderous meeting, complete with creaking chains from the swings. This time there were only five shifters, but it was still more than I could handle. With a final flourish of its mighty wings, the hawk perched docilely on Killian’s forearm.
“What do you want?” I narrowed my gaze at him, trying to show no fear. According to Tristan, I was a phoenix. A badass phoenix. I could do this … right?
“It’s simple, really.” Killian shrugged. “I want you to join my pack.”
I tilted my head in confusion. “I’m not a shifter.”
“No, you’re something better. Don’t let those bloodsuckers convince you that they’re the good guys, because they’re not. They just want to use you.”
I snorted. “And I suppose you want me purely for humanitarian reasons?” I cocked a brow, trying to remain unaffected by the handsome man before me.
When he stepped closer to me, it took every ounce of concentration not to recoil.
“I want you to reach your full potential. You obviously just found out what you are, am I correct?”
I shifted nervously before answering. “Yeah, so?”
Killian ran a hand across his neatly trimmed beard. “You have a lot to learn, but you’re more shifter than you know. We can teach you.”
I wanted to laugh. Both Killian and Tristan thought I was more like them than I was to the other. Tristan, probably because of my immortality, and Killian, because of the phoenix that resided within me. What a clusterfuck.
Honestly, I didn’t trust either one of them, but especially not Killian because he literally sent a big bird to snatch me away and kidnap me. Then again, Tristan was keeping me against my will, so were they really any different? I just happened to know Tristan a little better.
“Your men attacked me, you just kidnapped me, and now you want to play nice?” I crossed my arms over my chest and popped a hip. “Tell me how that makes sense, because it doesn’t to me.”
He shrugged. “We had a rough start. It happens.”
I choked on a laugh. “It happens? No, it doesn’t, you psycho! Accidentally spilling coffee on my shirt is a rough start. Trying to disembowel me? That’s a whole other level, pal.”
“Gosh, you make one little mistake and it haunts you forever.” Killian rolled his eyes petulantly, which made me want to gouge them out. One mistake, my ass. “How about this,” he suggested, “I’ll let you go free if you hear me out. I’m not holding you against your will, I just want a moment alone with you. And when I’m done, I want you to think about what I said. But really think about it, because it could mean life or death for you.”
I didn’t know where I was or how to get back to Tristan’s house. My bag and cellphone were still there. And even if I had my phone with me, I didn’t have Tristan’s contact info, so it wasn’t like I could call him for a ride.
I shifted on my feet. “If I listen to you and you let me go, will you take me back to Tristan’s?”
Killian gave me a grim look. “If I must.”
“You must.”
“Fine, I’ll take you back to that leech.”
He nodded his head toward a path that led to the street and I followed him, leaving his men behind. Without any prodding, the hawk flew away with a single-minded purpose. It was extremely strange.
Wait - was that hawk really a person who could shift?
Killian led me to a motorcycle that was parked on the curb, grabbed the helmet hanging from the handlebars, and handed it to me.
“Uh … I’m not getting on that thing,” I scoffed as I looked at the sleek death machine before me.
He snorted. “It’s not like you can die anyway, phoenix. Come on, I don’t have all night.” Killian swung a leg over the bike and kicked the stand back against the carriage. I took a couple deep breaths, inhaling the spicy scent of his cologne before putting on the helmet and climbing on behind him. “Hold on tight.” I could practically hear the smirk on his face. I wanted to smack him.
I tried to wrap my arms around him, but he was so big, it was impossible. He really was a lion. I gripped his shirt tightly and the bike roared to life.
“Don’t be afraid, phoenix. I won’t let you get hurt,” he said above the rumble of the bike.
“The name’s Octavia.”
Before he could respond, we were racing through the night on a thunderously loud death machine that rattled my insides. I tightened my thighs around him and dug my face between his shoulder blades, terrified to open my eyes and see my impending doom. I quickly decided I’d rather fly with the hawk than be on that bike.
True to his word, Killian drove with care through the streets as we advanced toward Tristan’s penthouse. The thunderous wind was curtailed by the immense man on the front of the bike. As a result, I arrive
d at Tristan’s with only semi-windblown hair.
Killian parked in front of the building and got off the bike with me, receiving the helmet when I handed it over to him.
“Thank you for the ride … and for not killing me in the process.”
He laughed. “You’re welcome.” Then he turned serious. “I meant what I said, Octavia. I want you to join my pack. I want to help you, and I can guarantee your safety within my pack. Tristan cannot offer you the same.”
I hadn’t realized we were standing so close. Killian was a magnetic force that threatened to pull me in. When I realized I was leaning toward him, I took a measured step back. “I’ll think about it.” I gave him a tight smile.
“All right; that’s all I can ask for.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a pen. Then he took my hand and started to scribble on my palm. “Whenever you make a decision, or just need me for anything, give me a call.”
I looked down at my hand to see the phone number he’d jotted down and I felt like it was junior high all over again. I wanted to tell him not to ignore me when I called, but realized how flirty that might come across. The last thing I wanted was for this psycho to think I was flirting with him. He just had me kidnapped by a hawk!
“See you around, Octavia.” He gave me a short wave as he put the pen away and climbed onto the bike, strapping on the helmet and turning to look at me one last time. The bike roared to life with a deafening growl and he pulled off the curb, leaving me standing there, watching him leave.
8
I headed to Tristan’s penthouse and stopped at his door. As I raised my hand to knock, I noticed a black dahlia laying on his doorstep. Dread writhed in my gut at the sight of the innocuous blooms. It no longer felt like my admirer was some random clubgoer anymore. This was starting to feel disturbing and a little more than scary. Whoever it was obviously knew my every move.
I picked up the flower and rang the doorbell. Nothing. I knocked hard, pounding on the door, but no one opened it. When I realized no one was there, I slumped down against the door and slid down on the floor. My body was exhausted from the excitement and turmoil over the last few days. I couldn’t catch a break, much less my breath.
Phoenix Burn (From the Ashes Trilogy Book 1) Page 7
