Phoenix: The Rising

by Bette Maybee

  Julie sighed as she felt the energy Eli’s presence provided begin to drain. “I’m worried about him realizing that you’re the Phoenix, not me. He’ll do everything he can to keep you from being reborn. We can’t let that happen.”

  Eli bent down and gave Julie a lingering kiss. She breathed in his scent and felt her cheeks redden as a surge of euphoria swept through her. Even through that, she couldn’t help but think that this could be the last kiss they ever shared.

  “Then we won’t.” Eli stood back up and smiled reassuringly. “He’ll never even know I was there.”

  “Promise?”

  A smirk lit up Eli’s face as he traced his fingers across his chest. “Cross my heart and hope to die.” Before she could reply, he gave her a cheesy smile, turned and loped across the lot to the waiting limousine.

  Julie felt her hands tighten on the steering wheel as the familiar fingers of panic tightened on her throat. “Not funny, Sullivan. Not funny at all.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Two days. Eli stared at the moon as he drove away from Palisades. In two days, the moon would be full. Not only would it be full, but it would also be a super-moon, the same Great moon described in the legend. Eli knew that the first sunrise after the appearance of the Great moon would be the moment of his rebirth. He could feel it in his bones, in the endless itch between his shoulder blades where his wings were readying themselves for their glorious appearance. This also meant that he only had two days left with Julie. He was glad that Lucy suggested they go to Yosemite and Mono Lake. It would make things much easier. All he had to do was to make sure Lucy discovered her destiny prior to his rebirth.

  Eli pulled up in front of City Hall and retrieved the envelope out of his pocket. Dan had done a mediocre job of cleaning the bed of his truck, and remnants of Charsey’s blood were still readily available, hidden along the seams of the corrugated wells of the floor. It took only one swipe of a cotton swab to gather a sample for evidence. The swab and a note explaining what it was and where he found it would be enough to put the police on Dan’s trail. Eli slipped the envelope into the water bill payment slot. By the next morning, it should make its way into the hands of the police.

  Eli sat on his cycle and slid his phone open. She answered on the first ring.

  “Are you all right?” Her voice quavered.

  Eli smiled. “I’m fine. I told you I would be.” She exhaled in relief.

  “Did you find ... anything?”

  Eli’s smile faded. Finding Charsey’s blood was a very sobering moment. Not only would this be a chance to bring Charsey’s killer to justice, but they had also just identified one of the main Nephilim. If Dan spilled his guts, not wanting to go down by himself, then their worries would be over.

  “Yes. The police will know by morning. Now get some sleep and don’t worry. This battle is half over.”

  ****

  Eli was gone again, but this time he wasn’t at Julie’s, and if he wasn’t there, then where was he? Lucy checked her cell phone for the hundredth time that night. Two thirty-six A-fricking-M. No missed calls. No texts. Remy was supposed to contact her if he saw anything suspicious happening at the Mason mansion. Could he be asleep on his watch? Lucy texted again. Anything? It took less than ten seconds for his reply. Nada. Well, he obviously wasn’t asleep on the job. It was also obvious The Rising wasn’t happening tonight. Maybe the legend in her American Lit book had it exactly right. The Great Moon could only mean one thing: it happens during the full moon. Could it be that this would be over within two days? Was that why Julie agreed to the outing, to be closer to the spot where it would all take place?

  Lucy’s eyes settled on the walnut box sitting untouched in the corner where she had placed it the night before Liana died. She felt as if it were taunting her, daring her to look through it, even though the thought of it filled her with dread. But what did Liana mean by saying that it would tell her why she was here and why they gave her mother up? She knew why she was here. To claim her birthright. Maybe the pictures would explain the other part of that question.

  “Ah, what the hell. I don’t have anything better to do.” Lucy grabbed the box, hoisted it onto her bed, and flung open the lid. After looking through the first twenty pictures, the same ones she had seen the other night, she decided to put them in chronological order. Maybe that would give her some clue as to what Liana meant. Thirty minutes later, she had just a small mound of pictures left in the bottom of the box, and several neat stacks of pictures of her mother ranging from a naked newborn to a gown-clad graduate. Besides the obvious differences in age, the only real differences she could see were the other subjects in the pictures. Up until the time her mother’s aunt started showing up in the pictures, Liana, Simon, and the headless mystery man were the only other people in the pictures with her. Maybe the answer lay with the mystery man.

  Lucy grabbed the next picture off the top of the remaining pile. Her eyes widened as she dropped the picture to the floor and stared in the box. What in the hell is that? Lucy reached in and pulled out a small leather pouch that had been hidden by the remaining pictures. She turned it over in her hands. It was just a plain leather bag with a long drawstring. Wait! She had seen this before. Her grandmother had this around her neck the first time they met. Maybe this was it!

  Moving the box to the floor, Lucy laid the bag down on her bed and began loosening the tight cinching. The pouch blossomed into a perfect circle, revealing its contents. Lucy moaned in disappointment. She thought she’d find some great treasure, but all she found was several inch-long black chunks of something unrecognizable and a scorched feather. Shit. That’s what it looked like. Useless, meaningless shit. She shook her head. Maybe she was just too tired to see any clues in it. She’d look at them tomorrow when she was more lucid. Lucid Lucy! Lucy giggled at her private joke, then clamped her hand over her mouth as she heard a tap at her door.

  “Lucy.” It was Eli. “Are you awake?”

  Lucy cinched up the pouch and threw it in the box. Just as she began tossing the pictures back in, her door opened, and Eli stuck his head around the corner. His eyes went directly to the remaining stacks of pictures.

  “Finally looking at the pictures?”

  Lucy nodded as she placed the rest of the stacks back in the box. “Done, actually. Liana—I mean, Grandmother—said they might explain why I’m here ... and why they had to give up my mother. But, I’m still clueless.”

  Eli sat next to Lucy and looked in the box. As usual, having him this close to her got her blood racing. “You didn’t find anything that might help answer your questions?” Lucy shrugged and dug the pouch out from under the pictures.

  “Just this. It’s full of crap. Literally. Looks like someone put a couple of petrified turds in it, along with a feather. Why Liana wore this thing around her neck is beyond me.”

  Eli looked at the pouch. His sapphire eyes glistened. “Ancient Numa women kept a section of their newborn’s umbilical cord and other sacred birth talismans in a leather pouch and wore it around their necks.”

  Lucy squinted in confusion. “Numa women?”

  Eli nodded. “The Numa were the precursors to the Paiute. This pouch has been passed down for generations through the Temeluch line. Liana mentioned to me that she wanted you to have it.”

  Lucy held up the bag and sniffed it. “That was sweet of her, but there’s no way I’m wearing this thing. It reeks.” She tossed it on top of the pictures.

  Eli stared into the box, as if he wanted to retrieve the sacred relic. Instead, he reached out and did the one thing she’d been dreaming about. He touched her, covering her hand with his. His touch brought its normal snap of static, but more importantly, it brought Lucy a renewed sense of hope that Eli considered her more than just a second cousin. He cared for her.

  “Think about it, will you? I know Liana looked forward to being able to pass it on to you. It’s supposed to bring you good luck.”

  Lucy nodded, eager to undo her obv
ious fuck up, but even more eager to please Eli. “Maybe tomorrow. I could spray it with perfume or something.” She lifted the pouch out of the box and placed it softly into her open book bag. Tears of relief flooded her eyes as Eli smiled in approval.

  Eli’s hand began to slide away from hers as he stood. She grabbed it back, holding it to her cheek. “Stay with me?” Her voice hitched in her throat. “Until I go to sleep?”

  Eli ran his hand through his hair as he contemplated her plea. “I—I don’t know if that’s a very good idea.”

  “Oh, please! I tried sleeping, but my mind keeps replaying that last night with my grandmother. I feel so guilty.” She lay down, pulled her quilt up to her chin, and rolled to her side, keeping her eyes on Eli’s. “Please, Eli. I don’t want to be alone tonight.” Lucy watched as the look in Eli’s eyes changed from indecision to compassion.

  “Okay. But just for a bit. We’ve both had a long day.” Eli switched off the light and stretched out behind her. Close, but not close enough.

  Lucy waited several minutes until she heard slow, steady breathing behind her. The feel of Eli's warm breath on her neck just about drove her crazy with desire, but she knew she had to move slowly or she could really fuck things up. Patience, and just a few small movements brought her in full contact with the only body she had ever yearned for, and, as if it were scripted, his arm slid over her, pulling her close. The warmth of his form saturated hers, eliciting a soft moan from deep within her. She expected her body to scream for him to take her, but instead, a rush of contentment washed over her, and all it wanted to do was sleep. She felt something she'd never felt before. Safe. Safe in his arms. Lucy couldn't help but giggle. God, I must really be tired!

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Julie leaned her forehead against the cool, smooth metal of her locker. Unable to recall the combination, she simply spun the dial. Nobody told her it would be like this. The weakness was one thing, she knew that was inevitable, but the inability to remember the simplest of things, things she had done repeatedly for weeks, like her locker combination, was totally unexpected. She inhaled, trying to clear her thoughts when she felt it. A crackle, like when she spread her hand over the front of a TV screen but didn’t quite touch it, ran across the back of her neck. Eli was standing behind her.

  “They announced it. The police are investigating a lead, but they haven’t released any information.” Eli’s voice was low and guarded, his lips brushing just behind her ear. Julie’s head swam with the luxury of his presence. She could feel electricity firing the sleeping synapses in her brain. 17-29-36. The numbers of her combination appeared like a beacon in front of her eyes. She worked the lock, yanking the door open in silent victory.

  “Well, the news obviously hasn’t made it to the Penemue clan.” Julie motioned to the scene at the end of the hall. Lucy was leaning against the wall next to Kas’s locker. She appeared to be talking to him, but her eyes stayed glued on Eli. She smiled, then turned her attention to Kas, placing her hand on his arm and whispering in his ear. Kas laughed as Lucy walked away, heading in their direction.

  “I think you’re right.” Eli smiled and waved at Lucy as she approached. “If it has, I have a feeling we’ll be hearing about it in a few seconds.”

  “Hi, guys!” Lucy was all smiles as she approached. Why did she always have to be so happy around them? “Are you ready for our little outing tomorrow? I, personally, can’t wait. Hiking in Yosemite by day, and canoeing on Mono Lake by moonlight ... I think it’s exactly what we all need!”

  Julie immediately wanted to jump in and postpone their date, but Eli beat her to the punch. His answer, however, was not what she wanted to hear.

  “I’m looking forward to a little peace and quiet myself, especially with my two best girls.” Eli wore a grin on his face that Julie had never seen before. Why was he looking at Lucy like that?

  Lucy grabbed him by the arm, as if she owned him. Julie knew what their relationship really was, or rather, what it was going to be, but obviously Lucy wasn’t aware. She couldn’t help but feel jealous over the fact that Lucy would be able to spend the rest of her life with Eli’s new incarnation, even if it was as his protector. At least she’d be with him.

  “Oh, and thanks again for staying with me last night, Eli. I actually got a little sleep.”

  Staying with her? Julie felt her jaw drop and immediately snapped her mouth shut. Lucy smiled at Eli and then lifted an eyebrow in Julie’s direction.

  “Oh, don’t worry, Julie. I was just a little freaked out last night, what with losing my grandmother after just finding her. Eli was a perfect gentleman. I’m so lucky to have a cousin like him!” Lucy squeezed both their arms. “I’ll see you guys later. Kas is taking me out for coffee!”

  Julie stood dumbfounded as Lucy trotted back over to Kas. She turned to see Eli’s face flush.

  “It-it really was nothing, Julie. Lucy asked me to stay with her until she fell asleep. She was pretty upset. I got home so late last night, I closed my eyes and, well, before I knew it, it was morning.”

  Julie turned her attention to her backpack, tugging at the stubborn zipper and avoiding Eli’s eyes. “You don’t owe me an explanation, Eli. I know what Lucy’s going to be to you, but the question is, does she? She’s getting pretty attached to you.”

  Eli grabbed the backpack out of Julie’s hand and zipped it shut, then pulled Julie into the empty classroom next to her locker.

  “I wanted to talk to you about that. Lucy’s going to find out about everything within the next two days, one way or the other.”

  Julie’s heart seemed to freeze in her chest. She raised her eyes to his, hoping that he wouldn’t see the fear in them. “It’s happening?”

  Eli nodded. “Saturday is the super-moon, the Great moon described in the legend. It’ll happen at sunrise on Sunday morning.”

  The air seemed to gush out of Julie’s lungs. She had less than two days left with Eli. A lone tear trickled down her cheek. “That’s why you want us to be up at Mono Lake tomorrow night. You knew when she invited us.”

  Eli brushed his hand across Julie’s cheek, wiping away her tear. “It’s pretty strange that she’d suggest it, although I’m thinking she may have had some type of premonition. I think Laylah’s blood is strong in her. She was so close to discovering everything last night.”

  “Why can’t you just tell her everything? Get it over with?”

  “Because I don’t know everything. I’m not supposed to. Only The Protector knows, and that knowledge is passed down through Laylah’s descendents. Some of it is in their blood. Everything else—the secret of exactly who I am, my past lives, and what she is—only the Protector is privy to that information. It’s all in the medicine pouch Liana gave her. All she has to do is put it around her neck, claim it as her own, and then she’ll know. I only get a glimpse of that knowledge immediately before my rebirth, but then it’s all taken away from me again as soon as I’m born again as a child.” A half-smile quirked his face. “Hmmm. Maybe I’ll come back as a girl this time. But of course, that may cause problems when I meet up with you in seventeen years.”

  Julie’s heart seemed to twist in her chest. She knew that was never going to happen, but she had to play along. Eli couldn’t know that her death was imminent, that they’d have no future together. “Oh, I don’t know about that. It might make things quite interesting. It sure as heck would make me happier if I knew Lucy had to care for a little girl instead of a boy.”

  A tingling sensation suddenly manifested in Julie’s fingertips, and this wasn’t coming from Eli. It was the leukemia. She held her hands out and placed them on Eli’s hard chest. A comforting warmth buzzed through them.

  “But I don’t want to come back as a girl. I want to be able to spend the rest of my next life loving you. Besa Soobedda. It doesn’t matter which lifetime it occurs in. It was meant to be.”

  Julie hesitated before she spoke again, but she had to know. “Can she feel it? Can she feel what I fee
l when I touch you, Eli?”

  Eli’s arms slipped around her, and he pulled her close. “She just gets a little jolt of static, as does anyone else who touches me. What you feel is meant for you and only you. Besa Soobedda, remember? That’s how Liana knew. It’s one bit of information she shared with me. You are the only one who has ever felt that. You are the only one who ever will.”

  Julie looked into Eli’s sapphire eyes and knew what he said was true. His lips fell on hers, and she was once again pulled into the deep well of bliss found only in his arms. She clung to him, desperate to hold on to the feeling. Too soon, their kiss ended. As their lips parted, her bliss turned into guilt. Would he ever have that feeling with another woman? Would her death mean that he would spend his life alone?

  “But what about your wife? Didn’t you feel that with her?”

  Eli shook his head. “I loved her, but it wasn’t Besa Soobedda. I’d never experienced the feeling, so I didn’t know what I was missing. Now I do. That’s why you have to find me again.” He smiled and winked. “Don’t leave me hanging, Mason!”

  Julie leaned her head against his chest. “I’m sorry. I wish that we had met sooner.” Somehow, what he said gave her some solace. Some release from her guilt. He’d be able to love again. Not with the same intensity they felt towards each other, but it would be love, nonetheless. Just a quieter, gentler type. Probably what most humans feel for each other. Eli would never know what he was missing. And in a few days or weeks, it wouldn’t matter to her anymore, either. She’d be dead and gone. At least she got to experience it for a few weeks. Julie couldn’t help but smile. She got to experience a type of love no other human would ever get the chance to. She pulled away and looked into Eli’s eyes.

  “I’m going to miss you.”

  He smiled. “I’m going to miss you, too.”