Chronicles of an Extraordinary Ordinary Life

by Aurélie Venem

  I was looking at the black-and-white flagstones that covered the floor when things began to get serious.

  Talanus spoke first. “Angel Phoenix, our most loyal subject. You asked us to break our own laws so you could bring this human to us.”

  That didn’t sound good. Talanus seemed really angry. In the midst of this spectacle, it would be better to keep still than to make a run for it.

  “You know that by letting her live, you are now responsible for her ability to keep the Secret. Are you sure of her loyalty to you?”

  Phoenix remained unshakeable, and with determination he said, “Yes, I am completely sure.”

  Talanus gave him a severe look and started speaking again, “Tell us now why you decided to bring her here tonight.”

  He already knew. Phoenix had told him everything over the phone. Thus this game of domination was just politics: it was a farce intended to remind everyone of the hierarchical order more than it was to get real information. I told myself that the real interrogation wouldn’t happen in front of a curious audience. Talanus and Ysis would give them just enough to occupy them for transparency’s sake before putting their cards on the table in private.

  “I have new information about the strange disappearances happening in Kerington County. My assistant can attest to it.”

  I heard murmuring behind us. Obviously everyone was eager to get to the bottom of the whole business. Too bad for them.

  “Silence!” In a mere fraction of a second, Talanus’s outburst reduced the audience to total muteness. “Get out, all of you!”

  When the doors were closed, the four of us found ourselves alone in that great hall. Despite my resolution to be courageous, I couldn’t help but inch closer to Phoenix for comfort.

  “Welcome, Samantha Watkins.” For the first time, Ysis spoke. Her warm voice contrasted sharply with her husband’s reception. “Phoenix has kept us informed from the beginning. I must say that I definitely prefer his reports since you have been writing them.”

  “Thank you,” I said simply, nodding my head.

  It seemed funny to me to hear my real name. I stiffened when she stood up and came close to me. I didn’t even dare to breathe. She stopped several inches away and tilted her head to the side to examine me better.

  “Your eyes . . . they are so black. I have only ever seen eyes like that once before in my life . . .”

  Ysis was so close that if she could have breathed, I would’ve felt her breath on me. I also had a pretty good view of her fangs, very sharp, which shouldn’t have come out. It wasn’t very reassuring, especially because she dragged out her inspection.

  I was expecting to hear the rest of the story about a black-eyed person, but clearly she was not disposed to elaborate further on that subject. She turned instead to my boss (to my great relief).

  “This woman, she trusts you.”

  Phoenix cast me a sidelong glance before answering. “And I trust her.”

  Talanus, who had come closer too, seemed surprised and stared at me.

  “You must be very special, Miss Watkins, for Phoenix to grant you, a human, what he hardly ever grants his own kind.”

  I didn’t know what to say. Ysis answered for me, catching hold of my chin to study me again.

  “She is special . . . the Night chose her.”

  I felt sharp relief when she finally consented to let go of me, and from that nebulous phrase, I understood that she meant Phoenix’s choice to make me his assistant. If not, I didn’t get what she was referring to at all. Even so, she was a little strange, as if she were . . . daydreaming.

  Regardless, I didn’t like this situation, being examined from every angle. Luckily, Phoenix came to my rescue.

  “She saw what was happening in the warehouse. She brought you the report, but I thought that you could find out even more by probing her mind.”

  Ysis looked hard at me again.

  “What do you think, Samantha?”

  I thought it would be better to be honest.

  “I don’t like the idea of someone searching my mind, even if it’s to find information that could save lives. The mind is supposed to be a last defense, somewhere to take refuge. If you pass through that barrier, what freedom remains for me?”

  There was a slight movement and a look of warning (too late) from my boss, which made me think that I was about to be disemboweled . . .

  But that wasn’t the case.

  “So many of those around us spend their time flattering us and lying to us that your sincerity is disarming and . . . forgivable,” said Talanus.

  “Yes, your words are wise,” Ysis added.

  “But that doesn’t mean that I have a choice. It doesn’t matter anyway. I want to help you catch that band of murderers, so let’s finish this, please.”

  “You have courage,” Ysis said, positioning herself directly in front of me. “You are going to tell us everything you remember, visualizing everything at the same time in your mind. Concentrate. Avoid all stray thoughts. I can only see what you show me. Ready?”

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “Ready.”

  Two cold hands touched my temples. I had to begin. The narration of my tale was straightforward, but it was less easy to call on my memories at the same time. This was real, a strenuous task of concentration.

  “I climbed up a mountain of garbage to be able to see what was happening inside . . .”

  I kept going with my recollection easily enough until I got to the part about Melanie. Seeing her horrific death again made me tremble all over, and my breathing became more and more irregular.

  “He killed her in front of me . . . Her name was Melanie . . . he . . . he . . . oh, I don’t feel well!”

  I was overcome by nausea.

  “Concentrate. Breathe. What happened then?”

  I tried to focus on the one who seemed to be the leader of that atrocity, but I couldn’t stop the image of Melanie dying in a violent gurgling, thrown to the ground like a bag of garbage. I felt tears on my face. The words that followed couldn’t even get me out of my nightmare.

  I heard Ysis say, “I am losing her. Phoenix, come here.”

  The warmth of her voice had disappeared, replaced by the pure and harsh authority of someone who wasn’t used to being disobeyed.

  “What can I do?” Phoenix asked.

  “Reassure her!” Ysis snapped back, her order cracking like a whip.

  Even though I was trapped within a horrible vision, I could feel a presence against my back, hands on my shoulders.

  “Sam. Come back. You can do it.”

  Phoenix. He said he would be at my side. His hands were applying a gentle pressure on my shoulders, reminding me that my boss, my friend, was protecting me. He trusted me, just as I trusted him.

  Suddenly, I was able to wrench myself away from the sight of Melanie’s death and resume my account without leaving out anything.

  “Heath tried to kill us to shut us up, but we were able to escape.”

  I lost control again.

  Feeling Phoenix’s hands made me remember how he had taken my hand during our conversation at the bus station. I tried to get back to my story, but I was thinking about how he had stepped between Heath and me, how he’d said Heath would never lay a hand on me, the moment when Phoenix had turned to me to get us to safety by flying away . . .

  I opened my eyes.

  Ysis fixed me with a look, then turned her riveted glance to my employer. Even the most talented of behavioral specialists wouldn’t have been able to say what she was thinking at that moment. I even felt Phoenix quiver under the burden of her green eyes.

  “I think I have seen enough,” she concluded, abruptly heading toward her husband and leaving my boss and me flabbergasted, too dazed to move.

  Well, at least that was my case. I couldn’t speak for Phoenix.

  “Did you recognize any of the vampires?” Talanus asked as he gently took Ysis’s hand.

  “Despite Samantha’s efforts to s
ee their leader, he remains a mystery, only visible from the back,” Ysis answered. “It is maddening . . . As for the others, I do not know them. All I can say is that they are not from here. In her memories, they were speaking Chinese.”

  I’d been too far away to hear anything. Ysis must have been able to read lips and understand them. In two millennia, she’d had time to learn several languages.

  “Did you discover anything that can put us on the right track?” Phoenix asked.

  “No, except that two of them were making plans to meet in a Kerington club to discuss the sale of a large quantity of contraband. But they turned around before giving a name.”

  “It is a start. In my opinion, Heath called in strangers to avoid leaks. They must be under orders to stay discreet, but if these are mafiosi, they won’t be able to stop themselves from taking advantage of this to make their own deals. If we find their favorite bar, we can find these vampires and have a chance to sort this all out.”

  “And don’t forget Thirsty Bill. He lied to you, telling you he knew nothing. We need to keep an eye on him,” I ventured.

  Phoenix nodded his agreement. “Sam is right. But it will be difficult for me to be in two places at once. I can contact Karl and François to lend me a hand.”

  Talanus took a step toward Phoenix. “You will have to act fast. This has been going on for far too long. Ysis and I were obligated to inform the Elders. If this business is not settled quickly, we risk them coming in person. And you know what that means . . .”

  My boss nodded his head gravely. Good for him that he’d understood; I was completely lost. Who were these Elders? Talanus seemed really concerned, so it couldn’t mean anything good.

  “We will need help,” Talanus said. “Ichimi and Kaiko have already dealt with the local Japanese mafia. Their members do not like how their Chinese rivals have increased their power. They could maybe get information about bars and clubs that would attract our targets.”

  Phoenix unmistakably registered his disapproval at this, his fangs out, emitting an incensed growl.

  “I know that you do not like them, Phoenix, and that the feeling is mutual, but if you are my right hand, Ichimi is my left. Out of loyalty, he will help you. As for Kaiko, she will do what Ichimi orders her to do.”

  My boss retreated into silence before finally sighing. “As you wish. But I will only tell them the bare minimum, and I ask you to not tell them about my assistant’s role in all this.”

  Talanus threw him a look of exasperation. “Come on, Phoenix. They would not go so far as to touch her just to provoke you. They are well above all that.”

  Yeah, boss. They’re above all that. My God, make sure that they are!

  It would be best for my well-being if my employer reconsidered his ability to make enemies and provoke them.

  “Maybe you are underestimating them,” Phoenix added.

  The small cry of surprise and terror that came from my mouth came too late: everything happened so fast. Talanus had grabbed Phoenix by the throat, lifted him from the ground, and then slammed him to the ground in the same movement. The force with which he’d brought Phoenix to the ground would have been enough to reduce any human in his place to a bloody pulp.

  Talanus’s eyes turned yellow and glowing, and his menacing growl set off new tremors in my legs. However, his victim made no move to defend himself.

  “You dare question my judgment, you, whose recent existence is in no way comparable to my own?”

  When he squeezed Phoenix’s throat even harder, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I tried to move forward so I could make him let go, even if that would have meant my death. I took two steps when a hand on my shoulder held me back. Ysis. Silently, she signaled to me that it would be best if I stopped right there.

  “I beg your forgiveness, master. That was not my place.”

  Freed from the vise around his throat, Phoenix apologized with great humility.

  Talanus stood up at once and held out his hand. My boss took it and got up. The vampire hierarchy was obviously as strict as could be, and unlike in human schools, physical punishment was an acceptable form of discipline.

  Ysis approached them, smiling. “Phoenix, you truly have found a rare pearl. Your human was ready to face Talanus to free you.”

  Humph. Do vampires not have any tact at all? My cheeks were on fire, as quickly as a pine forest under a southerly wind, but I still decided to be proud of my courage, or my stupidity, so I lifted my cheek, defying anyone to make fun of me.

  But my employer’s glacial stare put an end to my defiance.

  “I have forgotten how quickly humans blush. However, I must say that this one breaks all records in that regard . . . ,” Talanus said. He didn’t show any hostility, but rather amused curiosity. You would have thought that his altercation with Phoenix hadn’t taken place just thirty seconds earlier.

  He approached me and began inspecting me head to toe.

  “Hm . . . your courage is not obvious at first, but you have true potential. I see why our angel respects you so much.” He turned away, my presence already forgotten. “Before leaving, go see Ichimi and Kaiko and let them know. We shall see to Karl and François. Keep sending us your reports. Ysis is right . . . I like them more now . . .”

  Without another word, he exited by a hidden door. Ysis made to follow him when she reconsidered and came back over to us. She looked each of us in the eye before saying something I wouldn’t understand until much later.

  “You are connected by the Night. The protector must guide the steps of the one the Night has chosen, at the cost of great sacrifice . . .”

  She disappeared as well, leaving us in a total daze.

  “What did she mean?” I asked, stunned.

  “Ysis has premonitions of a sort. But her words will not have any meaning for those who hear them, except for her. We will understand it one day. For now, we have more pressing concerns.”

  His tone made me think he was angry with me, which was irritating.

  “What did I do now? Let’s have it all out before we meet with our sworn enemies,” I said, my hands on my hips, ready to attack.

  My reaction seemed to surprise Phoenix, but he still jumped at the chance to argue.

  “You should not have stepped in. I was not in any danger. But you, you almost got yourself killed. Have you forgotten everything I taught you about vampire ways, or are you just completely reckless?”

  He was reprimanding me like a parent exasperated by his child’s bad behavior.

  “Oh, well, excuse me for worrying about you! Next time, I’ll just let the first bloodsucker who comes along go ahead and decapitate you. I’ll have you know that Ysis stopped me from getting too close. I know a bit about your kind’s pride—I do live with the most hotheaded specimen that ever existed!” I shouted.

  He really had a gift for making me fly off the handle.

  His reaction stunned me. He didn’t say a word, and then a smile appeared on his face as his anger subsided, giving way to amusement. When he started to snort with laughter, I wondered if he’d gone mad.

  “Hotheaded?” he chuckled, looking at me.

  I didn’t know where I’d come up with that word. Calling a vampire of Phoenix’s moral caliber a hothead was rather comical actually, so it wasn’t long before I was smiling too.

  “I know it’s stupid.”

  Won over by this ridiculous situation, I followed my boss’s example and let the hilarity overcome my anger.

  We finally calmed down, but that interlude did us some good, preparing us to face the horde of dreadfully curious vampires waiting for us.

  “Hey, your friends out there didn’t hear us, did they?”

  “Lead. In the walls and doors.”

  Oh yes. Useful.

  “Ready?”

  “I will try not to screw up this time.”

  “That would be best. Ichimi and Kaiko are far less tolerant than Talanus and Ysis.”

  “You hate them,” I observed. />
  “You will shortly know why. Let’s go.”

  After opening the doors, he moved forward by my side . . .

  It was like facing a tsunami. A whole bunch of faces and arms jostled around us, asking us what was happening exactly in the county. Phoenix remained stone-faced. I tried to imitate him, but being the center of attention of human-blood lovers was truly frightening. I could at least testify to the fact that this was nothing compared to meeting Talanus’s left-hand man.

  Ichimi and Kaiko (my boss had indicated that she was Ichimi’s lover) were standing near the exit, as if they were expecting Phoenix to report to them as well before leaving. That thought must have also crossed my boss’s mind, for he seemed even colder than during our gauntlet through the vampire crowd.

  Once we were standing right in front of them, he murmured only “not here” before leading the march to a quieter spot.

  We entered a small room, a poker room by the looks of the table in the middle of the space. In our haste, I wasn’t able to inspect our two Japanese vampires until the door had closed behind us.

  There weren’t any Japanese residents in Kentwood, and the first Japanese person I’d ever met was Kiro. He hadn’t exactly left a lasting impression on me apart from his disgusting old-man lewdness. I only knew his country’s culture from documentaries and reports that I’d seen on television, but it was enough to help me pinpoint what, or rather who, Ichimi reminded me of: a samurai. His whole body radiated the mastery of Bushido, giving him a calm and lethal aura. He was tall and thin, and he had an impressive scar on his face that ran from his right ear to the corner of his mouth. I could detect a strong animosity toward Phoenix in Ichimi’s piercing brown eyes. However, it was nothing compared to the hatred that burned in the eyes of that war goddess incarnate next to him, Kaiko. I took a step back involuntarily. I shouldn’t have.