Phoenix Inheritance

by Corrina Lawson

The man sagged, inert, and the weight of his body pulled Daz to his knees. Daz searched the Russian for a pulse with one hand. He kept the gun steady in his other hand. This could be a trick.

  No pulse at the throat. Daz put his hand over the chest. No heartbeat that he could tell either. Suicide? Had Daz hit the femoral artery and caused him to bleed out?

  Daz examined the gunshot wound. His bullet had gone through the calf, not the upper thigh. Painful, for sure, but not a fatal hit, at least not this fast.

  But something had killed him.

  The bear roared from behind him.

  Daz dropped the corpse and turned. The bear scrambled over the railing of the deck, rumbled across the yard and disappeared into the trees.

  “Bears. Who knew.” Alec walked out onto the deck. “Status?”

  “Uninjured. But our intruder appears to be dead and I’m pretty sure I didn’t kill him.” Daz glanced around. Too many tall trees around, even after the storm. Too much cover for an enemy. He hated being out in the open like this.

  “He was talking to someone telepathically, Alec. Let’s get back in the house. No, better yet, the garage. It’s defensible if there are more of them.”

  Or more bears.

  “Right.” Alec waved a hand and the dead man rose into the air, over the top of all the storm debris. Daz followed, gun still out and ready. The scar on his shoulder still itched. Though maybe that was just his paranoia.

  “I’ll scan the area with the TK,” Alec said as they entered the garage.

  Daz wished he had his M1 Carbine instead of the Glock. Bears. Telepathic monks. He should have brought his new gadgets. At the very least, one of the flash-crash grenades.

  “I found a few squirrels, but nothing big enough out there to be human,” Alec finally said.

  Daz knelt over the intruder’s body for a final check. “Yeah, he’s definitely dead. But the bullet wound wasn’t enough to kill him that fast. I think he suicided. Or whoever was talking to him telepathically killed him.”

  “Do you know who he is?” Alec asked.

  “Not him particularly but I’m sure he’s part of Rasputin’s crew,” Daz said. “The arrogance and the Russian accent are the same. At least one of his buddies is out there, somewhere. We need to get going.”

  “We still have to get the cat. All our answers could be locked up in his brain,” Alec said.

  “If he didn’t run off.”

  But they went back inside the house and found Odin hunched and shivering at the back of the dog crate.

  Daz knelt down. “You are a smart kitty. This was a good place to find cover.”

  Odin blinked but otherwise didn’t move. Daz closed the crate door and locked the cat in. “Nice that something was easy.”

  Alec looked around. “Yeah.” He frowned. “Too easy.”

  “You think our dead intruder told Odin to go in there?”

  “The cat seemed to be following orders to jump at you. Maybe his master told him to stay there while the bear was around and now he’s too scared to move.”

  “In that case, our benefit.” Daz lifted the crate. “I’ll take the cat, you get the body and then we get the hell gone.”

  “Right. One second. I don’t like the idea of leaving a big hole to the outside in Renee and Charlie’s living room.”

  Alec walked out to the living room and put up both hands. Shards of glass rose from the carpet and furniture at his command and took their previous places in the doorframe.

  Alec closed his eyes and waved both hands. A wave of heat brushed Daz’s cheeks. He blinked and when his eyes refocused, the door was back the way it had been.

  “Damn,” Daz breathed out.

  Alec went down on one knee.

  “Helluva thing, Firefly,” Daz said. “Did that take all your oomph?”

  “Yeah.” Alec straightened. “I usually do this kind of thing with Beth helping augment my TK. But the door will be stronger than regular glass now.”

  Again, Daz knew he’d have to up his game if he was going to play in this league. What Alec could do was way beyond him. So was what Rasputin could do. He needed to stop thinking of countering strength with strength and figure out how to attack Rasputin’s weakness. If he could figure out what that weakness was.

  He glanced toward Charlie’s room and caught a glimpse of the Batman poster. Renee had teased him about being Batman, but that was exactly the type of warrior he had to become to fight these people. “Let’s load up and get the fuck out of here,” he said.

  Too bad the cat had to ride in the back with the corpse.

  Daz only began to relax when they reached the highway. This attack could have been worse. Charlie could have been with them. No telling what the bear might have done to a little boy.

  “So what happened with the bear? Why’d he run?” he asked Alec.

  “I kept him at arm’s length with the TK. He was so beautiful I didn’t want to kill him. We had a staring contest for a few minutes until he went down to all fours and waved his head from side to side as if shaking something off. Then he roared at me and took off. He seemed more concerned with getting away than continuing the attack.”

  “Our dead guy was controlling him, I think,” Daz jabbed a thumb at the dead body in the backseat. “If the ‘mean man’ Charlie mentioned is another animal telepath, we just found him.”

  “And the bear was freed when he died, which explains why it ran off.” Alec took a deep breath. “Bears are scary.”

  “You’re telling me. I had one knock me over once and…”

  “And what?” Alec asked.

  “And I had a bear come out of nowhere and knock me over once before. Just like this. Now I’m wondering if that was a coincidence.”

  “When was this?”

  “On a rescue mission in Turkey to find a missing plane. The same hike where Renee and I first got to know each other.”

  “Is it related?” Alec asked.

  “Weren’t you just saying that even Lansing hiring me wasn’t a coincidence? I bet two bear attacks aren’t either.” He stared at the road ahead. “We should search that guy one more time before we take him inside the Institute. He might have booby traps or even an electronic tracker on him.”

  “Good idea.”

  They pulled over at an open highway rest stop. The place was deserted. Just as well because Daz didn’t want questions about the dead guy in his van. They stripped the corpse and rifled through the clothing. He’d looked supernatural in life but very normal in death. His clothes contained no wallet, no keys, nothing to indicate his ID.

  “Nothing dangerous on him,” Alec said.

  “Keep all the clothes. Maybe your lab people can discover something about him from them. Same for the body.”

  “Yeah, we’re going to definitely need one of our doctors to do an autopsy. I’ll call ahead so they’re ready for us.”

  “You sure you can trust the doctors?”

  “Beth checked them all out when I first took over the Institute. And we rechecked them again after the break-in last year.”

  “Good enough.” Daz pulled out onto the highway again. The cat meowed, a sad little noise.

  “What does that mean? Do cats always do this?”

  “A lot of cats hate riding in cars and will meow the whole way. He’s pretty calm, all things considered.”

  “Oh.” A pause. “Are you going to tell Renee about everything that happened in Germany?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You just said you might have encountered our animal telepath with her years ago. That means she should know what she’s up against now. Maybe she even remembers something from years back that will help.”

  “I’m not in the habit of talking to any civilian about my missions, especially ones that concern immortal crazy dudes. I figured it was safer for he
r that way,” Daz said.

  “Renee’s not just any civilian, Daz.”

  No, Daz thought. She isn’t.

  Chapter Ten

  Renee surveyed their temporary living quarters at the Institute: a living room, small kitchen, a master bedroom for her and a bedroom with a twin bed for Charlie. Utilitarian, but it was a big, open space. Thor and Loki obviously liked it. They settled down on the big soft rug of the living area.

  Best of all, Charlie seemed to like it too. He sat on the stool at the kitchen counter, happily eating ice cream with his new best friend, Beth.

  Charlie finally had a psychologist he liked. Beth had confirmed his diagnosis and, what was more, had a plan that seemed like it would be effective treatment for him. All this was almost too good to be true, and Renee kept glancing around, wondering when the other shoe would drop.

  But maybe it already had, with the news that someone was stalking their son. That was in Daz’s hands now. She trusted him to do his job but she was too restless to sit or relax. It seemed like she should be doing something, anything, other than just waiting.

  “Ma, chill,” Charlie said.

  The irony of Charlie telling her to relax wasn’t lost on Beth, who smiled. “Your mother is just used to being in motion, Charlie. Give her time.”

  “Okay.” Charlie finished his bowl of ice cream and put his head down on the counter. “I’m tired,” he announced.

  “Really? This early?” Renee walked around behind him. It was only six p.m.

  “Using psychic abilities takes a physical toll. That’s why he’s tired. We did a lot of work together today.”

  Renee was going to have to get used to Beth speaking to her telepathically, though it was easier to accept because Beth’s telepathic voice sounded so much like her real voice.

  “If I put him to bed now, he’ll wake up in the middle of the night, Beth.”

  “I can give him a telepathic suggestion to sleep until morning.”

  Renee rubbed her son’s back. His eyes were already closed. She wanted to ask Beth if that was safe. But safe was a loaded word right now. It seemed there were choices between one kind of risk and another. On the one hand, Beth would order Charlie to do something. On the other hand, if Charlie got up in the middle of the night, half-asleep, he might panic and injure himself.

  “Will there be any side effects if you order him to rest?”

  “No, what will happen is that he’ll get a suggestion to go back to sleep if he wakes up when his body is still tired.”

  Renee nodded. “Do it.”

  Beth curled her hand around Charlie’s wrist. “You’re exhausted. Let’s get some rest.”

  “Okay,” Charlie mumbled.

  Renee put out her hand and the two of them led him to the bedroom.

  “Will you sing to me, Mom? You forgot last night.”

  She sat next to him on the bed. “I didn’t forget, silly. You fell asleep before I could do that. Both times.”

  “I guess.”

  She cleared her throat and sang to him, his special song that she’d made up when he was little. He’d grown out of needing a lullaby, but this was their ritual and Charlie loved rituals. This was one of her favorites too.

  She kissed his forehead when she was finished. All too soon, he’d not be her little boy any longer. If she could just give him the tools to cope with his autism by then, she’d count things a success.

  Beth watched quietly and followed Renee back out to the living room. Renee collapsed onto the couch, now feeling the exhaustion.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “I should thank you. Charlie’s a good kid,” Beth said. “But things have a habit of speeding up around here, so I wondered if you’d mind taking the time now, while we have it, to answer some questions so I can treat Charlie better.”

  Renee opened one eye. “Like what?”

  “Well, I noticed some tension between you and Daz earlier but also a connection. It would help me to know if you and he are together.”

  “You can’t read my mind about it?” Renee asked.

  “Not without permission, I won’t.”

  Beth’s answer sounded a little long-suffering. “You get that question a lot, don’t you?” Renee asked.

  “Yes. People are rightly paranoid about someone rifling through their minds.” Beth cleaned up the dirty bowls in the kitchen. “If you’d rather not talk about Daz, I understand.”

  “If I knew exactly what to say about Daz, it would be easier to talk about it. It’s complicated. But we both want what’s best for Charlie.”

  “That part’s easy to see.” Beth sat down in the living room at the edge of her chair cushion, assuming what Renee was coming to think of as her “listener position”.

  What the hell. Beth obviously knew Daz well. She might have good advice. And talking about it might help Renee sort through it all.

  “I was in love with Daz once. He didn’t feel as strongly. And now? I’m worried he only wants to be together because I’m Charlie’s mother and he feels protective.”

  “Ouch,” Beth said.

  “Yeah.”

  “What do you want?” Beth asked.

  “I don’t know.” No, she did know. She wanted Daz. No, scratch that.

  “What I want is for Daz to feel as strongly about me as I do for him.”

  “And if he does feel that way, how does he prove it to you?”

  “The hell if I know. How did Alec prove it to you?”

  Beth smiled. “Alec’s an open book in a lot of ways. He doesn’t hold back. Besides, I could read his mind. What surprised me is that he never questioned how I felt for him. He thought my telepathy was cool.”

  “You two trust each other,” Renee said.

  “So do you and Daz,” Beth said.

  “You’re sure about that?”

  “I’m sure.”

  Renee cocked her head. “Is that from reading us?”

  Beth smiled. “No, it’s from watching the way the two of you are together. You handle Charlie as a team. That requires trust.”

  “Daz let me down,” Renee whispered. “I need to know he won’t again. But I don’t know if he’s changed or even if he can.”

  “People can change.”

  The soft voice came from a man standing in the kitchen. Thor and Loki raised their heads but otherwise didn’t react. Huh. Unusual for them to let someone walk into a room without reacting.

  “Dad!” Beth stood, walked over and hugged the new arrival. “Thank you for coming.”

  “You call, I come.”

  “Philip Drake, this is Renee Black. Renee, Philip.”

  Renee shook hands with Philip Drake. The man carried himself well, lean and fit, but he wasn’t as blindingly handsome as Alec, nor as tall, which was a relief because she didn’t know if she could take more of these godlike people.

  “Excuse me for saying this, but you look a little young to be Beth’s father.”

  Philip smiled, a quiet, reassuring smile. “I’m her foster father. It’s a long story.”

  “Philip is here for two reasons,” Beth said. “One is to go over the details of your home so he can prepare a security system.”

  “Thank you, that would be a huge load off my mind.” Renee nodded. She was more than a little wiggy about going back knowing someone was spying on her and Charlie. “What’s the other reason?”

  “You two have something in common,” Beth said as they settled back into the living room. “You both have children with psychic gifts.”

  “Really? How old is your—”

  “Son.” Drake held up his smartphone and displayed a picture of a cherubic baby that looked to be about eight months old.

  “He’s adorable.” Renee said. “What kind of psychic ability does he have?”

  Most of t
he parents she knew never had to deal with an autistic child. It made things awkward with them. She’d never expected to find another parent of a child with psychic gifts. A support group of two. Hah.

  “Hmm…” Philip stretched out on the couch, relaxed, and glanced over at Beth. “How much have you told Renee about how my psychic abilities work?”

  “Only the basics. Nothing about you specifically, not without your permission.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  He studied Renee. For a moment, he seemed to transform into something darker, more dangerous. It was as if Philip Drake was a chameleon, changing his entire body language based on what he needed to project.

  “He used to do a lot of undercover work for the CIA.”

  These little telepathic asides from Beth were coming in handy.

  “Beth’s probably told you how telepathy works,” Philip said. “Telekinesis is another matter. It’s basically shifting objects or even molecules with your mind. You’ve seen Alec in action?”

  “His TK, yes, though not the firestarting that Daz talked about.”

  “Alec is a high-level telekinetic. That means he controls his ability with conscious thought. But as my daughter will tell you, many psychic gifts work unconsciously. My own telekinesis used to be like that. You mentioned I look young to be her father. That’s a result of my healing ability.”

  She leaned forward intently. Beth had mentioned that immortals had an unconscious healing ability but she’d been too focused on Charlie to think about anything but him. “You can make yourself younger?”

  “I can make my body not show signs of aging, and I can heal from all but the most grave injuries,” Philip said. “This psychic ability existed for most of my life at a subconscious level. I wanted to get better, so my TK manipulated my body and repaired me. Only recently have I learned to have some conscious control over it.”

  “And you made yourself look younger?”

  He grimaced. “I was experimenting. I didn’t realize I couldn’t change back. Anyway that brings me to my son, who can heal himself and heal others. The last gift seems to be an extremely rare ability.” Philip speared her with a glance. “None of this information leaves the Institute, of course.”