Firefighter Phoenix

by Zoe Chant

  If he’d known, he would never have allowed himself to grow so complacent. He would never have assumed that the warlock had given up or died.

  He would never have gone back to Rose…

  Even as he thought it, he knew it was a lie. He’d known, at some deep, dark level, that he was putting her in danger just with his presence. He simply hadn’t been able to stay away from her. He never would be able to.

  His only hope now was that the same was true for her.

  Corbin settled himself on a moth-eaten velvet sofa, crossing one foot over his knee. The warlock tilted his head to one side, regarding him with an inscrutable expression.

  “A break, I think,” Corbin said. “To refuel the fire.”

  The agony faded as the warlock closed the connection between them once more. Ash sucked in a gasping breath, sweating despite the cold still deep in his bones. He fell to one knee, bracing himself on the dusty floorboards with a splayed hand.

  Corbin’s newly agile fingers tapped thoughtfully against the arm of the sofa. “You did not use to fight me this hard, Blaze.”

  “Release my men,” Ash said hoarsely, “and I’ll stop.”

  “A noble offer.” Ash bit back a grunt as Corbin flexed his will, the binding digging deeper for a second. “But I think not. No matter how you resist, I can still take what I need, albeit a little more slowly than I might like. And as for your men…I have use for them.”

  Ash knew exactly what that use was. Corbin needed the power of Alpha Team to capture more shifters. Ash could see the shape of the warlock’s plan as clearly as if he’d could read Corbin’s mind.

  Chase’s powers to locate and identify all the potential familiars. Griff’s to spot and close off any avenue of escape. John’s to summon a monsoon, providing cover for the attack. Dai’s fire to panic shifters out of the resort. Hugh’s power, inverted, used to paralyze rather than heal.

  And his own fire, the unstoppable force of the Phoenix, to eliminate any shifters still able to resist.

  Then Corbin would have even more warlocks serving him. Warlocks bound to powerful familiars, mythic shifters, alpha predators. Nothing would stop him from sweeping on to another hidden shifter community. And another, and another, and another…

  All Ash could do was try to delay him. Rose was clever and fierce and she’d escaped. No doubt she was already in the company of the other women. Virginia, Connie, Hayley, Neridia, Ivy—none of them would rest for a second while their mates were in danger.

  The women would find them. Ash didn’t know how, but he knew, bone-deep, that they would.

  He had to give them time.

  “The more you tighten your grasp, the sooner I’ll escape you.” With an effort, Ash lifted his head, meeting Corbin’s narrowed eyes. “You can’t afford to drive me too hard, Corbin. You know what will happen.”

  He’d seen it himself, time after time, during those long years in the base. It went against everything in a shifter’s wild, primal nature to be leashed to a warlock. The older and more powerful the shifter, the sooner the binding drove them insane. And then, it was a quick, short spiral into death.

  He’d been the only one to ever last more than a few short years. He’d been brainwashed, his own will bent and warped to support Corbin’s instead of fighting it. That has been the only thing that had allowed him to endure.

  Now, though…now, he knew better.

  “I can already feel the madness rising,” he said, which wasn’t actually a lie. The Phoenix was mad, mad with rage, its seething flames gnawing at his control. “Drain me too far, and my beast will consume my human mind, and my body shortly after that. You had to wait twenty years to claim your prize. At this rate, you risk losing it again in a matter of days.”

  “Yes,” Corbin said slowly, drawing out the word. “That is a pity. I had hoped that you would settle tamely back into harness. It will be aggravating to have to track down and capture the next Phoenix.”

  He stared at the warlock.

  Corbin raised his eyebrows. “Did you think that you were my first, Blaze? I have been doing this for a very, very long time. You are correct, most of you don’t last long. But you…oh, you were perfect. Orphaned and abandoned, so pathetically eager to be wanted. So starved of love that you took my hand without question.”

  A very, very distant memory flickered in his mind. Not so much a recollection as an impression—bars across an uncurtained window, moonlight, a hard, lonely cot. A shadow, a hand, a voice: Come. You belong to me now.

  “Rare, very rare, for the Phoenix to choose so young and malleable a host,” Corbin mused, as Ash crouched in frozen shock. “Small chance of it ever happening again. That was all that stopped me from simply having you killed, these past few years. I was on the verge of doing so anyway, and accepting the risk that the next Phoenix might prove even more difficult to capture, when you very kindly revealed your weakness to me.”

  The warlock leaned forward, gray eyes glittering. “Since you are so keen on self-sacrifice, Blaze, you might care to consider that you are all that is standing between me and the next unfortunate soul to host the Phoenix. I would not be so eager to go mad, if I were you.”

  Corbin sat back again. “I know what you are doing,” he said conversationally. “You are trying to delay me. You pin your hope on the thought of rescue. Who is it that you think will come? How do you think they will find you?”

  “You took the mate of the Pearl Empress. You cannot begin to imagine the powers she has at her command.”

  “Oh, but I can,” Corbin breathed, an avaricious light gleaming in his pale eyes. “Beasts of the deep, legends from out of time, power to delight any warlock. Let her send her armies. My acolytes shall bind her warriors, and her forces will become my own. Abandon your futile thoughts of rescue, Blaze. I have won. I was always going to win. Accept that, and submit to my will.”

  “So confident.” Ash met the warlock’s eyes. “Just as you were twenty years ago.”

  The barb hit home. Corbin’s nostrils flared in anger, his mouth pinching.

  “And you still have the same weakness.” Painfully, Ash straightened, drawing himself up to his full height. He looked down his nose at the warlock. “It is you who should surrender, Corbin. There is a flaw in your plan, and it is not one that can be covered. You know that. I know that. And there is another who knows it too.”

  “Bluff,” Corbin snarled. “A good attempt, Blaze. But I have studied the Phoenix for hundreds of years. I know how your powers work, even better than you do yourself. When you burned the mate bond, you burned yourself from her mind. She does not—cannot—remember.”

  “She does not need to. She is my mate. I told her everything.”

  Corbin laughed scornfully. “More lies. I have spied on you for a decade, Blaze. You didn’t tell her anything. You let her eat her heart out pining for you, to the point where even I was fooled. Oh, you cracked in the end—driven by jealousy, no doubt—but you cannot persuade me that you spilled all your sordid secrets in a single night. She doesn’t know. I am quite certain of that.”

  The punch of the warlock’s will took him by surprise. His head snapped back, spine arching as cold, intangible claws raked through his soul.

  “And by holding your tongue you have sealed your fate, and that of all your friends.” Corbin’s taunting voice sounded distant, muffled by the agony roaring in his ears. “Just think, Blaze. If you had been honest with her, she would have known how to defeat me. How does it feel, to be the architect of your own doom?”

  He bit his tongue, the iron taste of blood filling his mouth. With every ounce of will, he fought, holding his fire just out of the warlock’s reach.

  And as he fought, he prayed.

  Remember, Rose. Remember.

  Chapter 21

  “The Knights of the Third and Fourth Water shall form defensive lines here.” The Knight-Commander—a handsome man with blue-green hair and eyes who, at a mere six foot two, was distinctly short for a sea dragon—
indicated a point on the map shimmering on the surface of the scrying pool.

  Rose tried to see around the massive, armored forms crowding around the basin. Peering past a sea dragon warrior’s steel-clad elbow, she saw that the Knight-Commander was pointing at Shifting Sands Resort itself. The beach was mapped in exquisite detail, but the actual buildings were just vague blobs. Neridia’s powers as Pearl Empress only allowed her to view areas directly adjacent to water.

  “The shark warriors shall be here.” The Knight-Commander spread his hand over a patch of water. “Waiting in the lagoon, in case reinforcements are necessary.”

  A slim, pale woman—a Great White shifter, one of the leaders of the sharks—showed her serrated teeth. “We are not children, to be kept away from battle. We can fight just as well as any dragon.”

  “Restrain your bloodlust,” the Knight-Commander answered coolly, meeting her challenging gaze. “We must maintain some forces in reserve, as a last-ditch defense. The warlocks clearly fight without honor, so we must be prepared for them to mount a counterattack on the resort. The civilians at must be protected at all costs.”

  The assembled knights nodded seriously. There were a dozen of them, representing various subsections of the sea shifter forces. Rose wasn’t quite sure on the distinctions between the different orders. There was clearly some sort of hierarchy, but they all looked equally fearsome to her.

  To a warlock, however…

  Wriggling through the crowd, she worked her way around to Neridia. The sea dragon Empress stood with her fingers in the basin, maintaining the view of the island while her officers debated strategy. Rose tugged at her arm.

  “Remind them not to let the warlocks too close,” Rose whispered. “They mustn’t underestimate how dangerous they are.”

  Neridia nodded, straightening up again. “My captains,” she said, addressing her forces. “In the coming battle, all warriors—no matter what their role—must fully understand the danger. The enemy must be kept at arm’s-length. If they lay a single hand on you, they can bind you to their will.”

  “Surely honor shall be our shield—” a sea dragon knight began.

  “It won’t!” Rose interrupted. Some of the warriors glared at her coldly, clearly not appreciate a mere civilian raising her voice at a council of war, but she ignored them. “It’s not a matter of honor, or willpower, or anything else. If they touch you, they’ll have you. I should know, one of them bound me. And he controlled me, utterly, mind and body. I couldn’t do anything to resist.”

  A couple of nearby knights exchanged significant glances. She knew what they were thinking: Well, of course she wouldn’t be strong enough to break free.

  “Listen,” she said, desperate to make them understand. “It wasn’t anything to do with the fact that I’m just a swan, not a mythic shifter, or even a warrior. Warlocks bound John Doe, one of your own kind!”

  “The Royal Consort was taken unaware,” a looming warrior rumbled. “We shall not be.”

  “Don’t be arrogant,” Rose snapped. “A warlock bound the Phoenix, for crying out loud. Do you honestly think yourself stronger than him?”

  “As I understand it, he bowed his neck willingly to that leash,” another knight interjected, with a distinct note of disapproval. “Trading himself for you.”

  “That was the second time they got him. He was bound by them before, for years and years. He only managed to break free because…because…”

  She trailed off. She had a very clear mental image of the Phoenix rising in fury from the warlock base, twenty years ago, but she was still struggling to put her shattered memories in the correct order. What had happened just before that?

  “Peace, honored captains,” Neridia said, with a hint of steel. The muttering knights instantly fell silent. “You will all heed Rose’s warning. And if any do fall, others must take care. Remember that any warlock with glowing tattoos must be captured, not killed, or else their bound shifter will perish as well.”

  “But the shifters can be released?” a knight asked anxiously. Rose knew that he was one of John’s friends; they often came to her pub together.

  “We know that a warlock can relinquish their hold over their shifter, if they so choose,” Neridia answered. Her jaw set. “Once we have taken the warlocks captive, we shall ensure that they do so.”

  Rose had a sudden recollection of spotted fur shifting into a woman’s naked skin. She swallowed hard, feeling sick. If Ash broke loose from Corbin, he could definitely free the other shifters. But the cost, oh, the cost…and even if any of Alpha Team did choose to gain freedom by sacrificing their animals, would Ash be able to bring himself to do it?

  It won’t come to that, she tried to reassure herself. It can’t come to that. We’ll find another way.

  After all, Ash had freed himself, twenty years ago…

  Neridia was still talking, gesturing at the map. “There is a Sea Gate already established near Shifting Sands. Once we depart Brighton, we will be able to use the gate network to reach the island in short order. After we have come through the Gate, I shall—“

  “Your Majesty!” the Knight-Commander exclaimed. A mass intake of breath marked the sea dragons’ shock at his rudeness in interrupting the Empress. “You cannot be contemplating joining the assault?”

  “My mate is there,” Neridia said, simply.

  “But in your advanced condition,” the man indicated her gravid belly, “you cannot shift. Even with your powers, you will be vulnerable.”

  “My mate is there,” Neridia said again—and this time, it was not the woman who spoke, but the Pearl Empress. The hair rose on the back of Rose’s neck at the power in her voice. “And so I shall be there.”

  “And me,” Ivy said fiercely, from the back of the room.

  “No,” the Knight-Commander said, shaking his head. “I may not gainsay my Empress, but I will not bow to anyone else’s whim. The battlefield is no place for the inexperienced.“

  “Tough, because I’m going too,” Virginia said firmly.

  “Me too,” Hayley agreed.

  “And me,” Connie said, glaring up at all the sea dragons towering over her. “Just try to stop us.”

  The Knight-Commander’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly, like a fish. He appeared to be on the verge of having a stroke.

  “Connie, you’re pregnant,” Neridia pointed out.

  “So are you.” Connie folded her arms over her prominent bump, setting her feet. “At least I’m not in danger of actually giving birth mid-battle.”

  “If we take you, Chase is going to kill us all the instant we rescue him.” Ivy looked around at Virginia and Hayley. “That goes for you two as well. Do you think Dai and Griff would want you to put yourselves in danger? Neridia and I are shifters, but you’re all just human.”

  “Which means the warlocks can’t bind us,” Virginia countered. “If anyone should be staying behind, it’s you and Neridia.”

  The Knight-Commander beamed at her like she was his new best friend. “A very compelling argument. Your Majesty, I urge you to reconsider. What if a warlock binds you?”

  “I am the Pearl Empress—”

  “And as we have heard,” the Knight-Commander sketched a small bow in Rose’s direction, “even the most powerful of shifters can be taken by these fiends. If you will not consider yourself, consider your unborn child. What if a warlock can bind him, even while he lies in your womb?”

  “He’s got a point,” Hayley said, looking worried. “Neridia, maybe you should stay behind.”

  Neridia bit her lip, a crack appearing in her imperial manner. One of her hands spread in front of her stomach in an unconscious protective gesture. “But I have to be there…”

  Memory clicked into place.

  “Yes,” Rose said loudly, cutting across the rising argument. “We all do.”

  “For the love of sweet little fishes…” the Knight-Commander muttered. He looked as though only military discipline was keeping him from beating his head
against the nearest wall. “Honored ladies, I must remind you that I am in command here. None of you shall join the assault. My authority on this matter is final.”

  “No, it isn’t.” Rose looked past him, to Neridia. “Your Empress calls the shots. And I’m going to have to ask her to trust me.”

  Chapter 22

  He’d never thought that he would ever miss his old cell, but this new cage had him thinking wistfully of that stark, spartan room. At least it had had a bed.

  Ash slept anyway, curled on the concrete floor with the single blanket Corbin had given him wadded up under his head. It was an old knack, perfected during the ten long years that he and the wendigo had hunted warlocks across the globe. When you were a fugitive, you learned how to snatch rest where you could.

  You also learned how to sleep lightly. He was fully awake even before he knew what had disturbed him.

  He lay still, feigning sleep, but let his eyes open the merest crack. The stars still gleamed through the bars of the cage overhead, though the fading hue of the sky suggested that dawn could not be far off. He held his breath, listening intently.

  “…Only a small force, High Magus.”

  The voice was distant, but coming closer. The speaker was the warlock who had bound Chase, if he was not mistaken. And evidently, Corbin accompanied him.

  Quickly, Ash wrapped himself in the blanket. Subduing his inner fire as much as possible, he curled tighter, pretending to shiver. In truth, he’d recovered enough strength that the chill night air couldn’t touch him. But better for Corbin to think him still weak.

  “I counted four,” the warlock continued. “All sea dragons, I am certain of it. They made a brief stop at the resort, then started swimming around the island, following the coast. I couldn’t maintain the spell for long, but it looked like they might be heading for that small cove near us, the one with the waterfall.”

  “An advance party, I suspect.” Corbin sounded unruffled. “Scouting out our defenses. Well, they will not be returning back to the main force to make any report. Are the acolytes ready?”