Phoenix Born

by Sean Stone

  ‘We gave you a shot of dryguine,’ Decker said. He was sitting on the other side of the table. Mitchell was next to him looking more like a pitbull than ever.

  ‘Dryguine,’ I repeated as I ran my fingers across my exposed forearm. Their medical officer must’ve pushed up my sleeve to examine the wound. My arm was bright red and covered in revolting blisters. There were dried green fragments where some of Drew’s salve remained.

  Dryguine was an incredibly potent painkiller. Made from dryad’s blood. It was not easy to come by but it was incredibly effective and incredibly addictive. It’s basically supernatural heroin. Thankfully, they hadn’t given me much, otherwise my pain would be completely gone and I’d be pretty high. They obviously wanted me in the right state of mind for answering questions. If they interviewed me whilst I was high on dryguine, then nothing I said would be admissible in court.

  ‘Now that you’re awake and in a calmer state of mind, why don’t you tell us where you were two nights ago?’ Decker said. He flipped open his notepad which rested on the table and lifted his pen. He looked across the desk at me, eyebrows raised expectantly.

  I leaned forwards as if I was about to divulge a juicy secret. ‘Why don’t you crawl under the table, unzip my trousers and suck my fat dick?’ I said. I was pretty amazed that these two substandard looking cops had the balls to go against an order from Dorian. Considering their rank in the police department I assumed they weren’t new in town which meant they were just morons instead. Either way, I had no intention of helping them. I only had to bide my time before a couple of Gray Orchids came to put them in their places just like Monroe had last time.

  Decker’s face went from pasty to beet red in about three seconds. Before he could respond, however, the door swung open and Monroe strolled casually into the room as if he had every right to be there. I suppose as far as he was concerned he did. Dorian owned this city and Monroe was his highest employee.

  Mitchell was on his feet in a flash. He’d already gotten halfway across the room before Monroe cocked an eyebrow in amusement that stopped him in his tracks. As burley as Mitchell was he was no match for a vampire, especially not one as old as Monroe. Vampires got stronger with age and from what I’d heard, Monroe had been in town since before Dorian’s arrival.

  ‘We caught Graves committing a crime,’ Decker explained, also standing up. He kept his voice calm. He was good cop.

  ‘Did I not make myself clear enough last night when I told you that Jacob Graves was off limits to you?’ Monroe asked. As usual, his tone was quiet and relaxed yet there was still an air of danger. Every word Monroe ever spoke had a menacing undertone to it. In Sagnford he was the bogeyman.

  ‘Didn’t you hear what he just said?’ Mitchell demanded. I wondered what it would take for Monroe to lose his temper. A part of me hoped that Mitchell did provoke him. I’d quite like to watch the aggressive gorilla cop get his head pulled off his non-existant neck.

  ‘I did. Believe it or not, Detective Mitchell, my hearing is far superior to yours. So if you heard something you can rest assured that I did too. Now, remove that collar from the wizard’s neck and step aside,’ he ordered, his patience waning.

  Decker glanced my way shiftily. Clearly reluctant to let me go for a second time. ‘He’s our prime suspect.’ His voice had taken on a tone of pleading not that it would help his case.

  ‘No, he isn’t. I told you to clear him of all suspicion. Do as I’ve told or you won’t see another sunrise.’ Monroe’s dark eyes met Decker’s frightened ones and the copper jumped into action. It was rare for Monroe to issue such a direct threat so it was clear that the vampire had grown tired of the conversation.

  Decker took out a black key from his pocket and got to work releasing me from my restraint whilst Mitchell huffed as loud as he could from across the room. If Mitchell had a dog, I had sneaking suspicion it was going to get kicked when he got home tonight.

  Once the collar was off, I went to stand next to my saviour. ‘Well, this part of the night, at least, has been a pleasure,’ I told the officers. It was my turn to wear the smug smile now and believe me, I wore it well. ‘The rest… not so much. I genuinely hope I don’t see either of you again.’

  ‘If by chance he does see either of you again, you may find that he is the last person to see you ever. Apart from myself, of course,’ Monroe warned. And then the two of us left the room.

  ‘Wipe that grin from your face,’ he told me once we’d moved a suitable distance from the interrogation room.

  ‘Excuse me?’ I said. The way he spoke made me feel like a kid in school. I wasn’t up for being spoken to like that regardless of whether or not he had pulled me out of jail.

  ‘I gave you instructions just as clearly as I gave instructions to them. Dorian reiterated the same instructions personally,’ he reminded me. He was striding quickly through the corridors of the police station but whilst he might have been quicker, my legs were longer so I had little trouble keeping up with him. It was amusing to see the wary looks on the faces of the officers we passed.

  ‘Well, I couldn’t just let it go. I know Ethan did this and I am going to prove it,’ I told him trying not to make myself sound like a little boy justifying his bad behaviour.

  ‘Save it for Dorian. He’s waiting outside.’

  Being taken to Dorian for a telling was like being a peasant summoned to the court of the king. Not that I was in any way a peasant. Dorian’s black stretch-limousine was waiting in front of the police station. The windows were all tinted so I couldn’t see in. I knew it was his because nobody else drove a limo in Sangford, and because there was a suited man waiting by the rear doors with the Gray Orchid on his lapel. The man who I guessed was a chauffeur held open the door and I shimmied into the car with Monroe right behind me.

  Dorian was sitting in the centre of the back seats with what looked like a martini in one hand. He was twirling the olive around in the drink. He was fully dressed this time in a three-piece suit of charcoal grey. A red pocket handkerchief stuck out suavely from his breast pocket. There were no women with him on this occasion.

  I sat opposite him and Monroe sat by the door on my side of the limo. Dorian waited for the door to click shut before speaking.

  ‘Jacob, I hadn’t been expecting to see you again so soon,’ he said pleasantly, his eyes focused on his drink. ‘It is a rare thing when I need to issue an instruction twice.’ His eyes slid up to meet mine and although he was smiling there was a quiet anger behind his mask of politeness.

  ‘I can’t let him get away with it,’ I told Dorian, hoping he’d see that my intentions were good.

  ‘He won’t. I told you before, nobody kills anybody in my city without my blessing. My people are dealing with this and the person responsible will be brought to answer for their actions.’

  ‘No offense, but that doesn’t sound very promising,’ I said. I could tell by the way his eyebrows flicked up that I had caused some offence. I shifted in my seat. It was never wise to upset Dorian Gray. Not even if you were the best assassin in the country.

  ‘Running a city is no small task. Every day I have a mountain of matters to work through. In the last twenty-four hours there have been two arson cases that the police suspect are linked and supernatural, somebody called Magraval is making moves behind the scenes to try and supplant my position or at least carve off a chunk of my city for himself, and I have you running around getting in the way of my own investigation.’

  ‘Two arsons?’ I asked. Kagen had been behind one of them and if the police thought the second one was linked then that meant he’d been at it again whilst I was in the prison. But I knew he was dead this time. I’d cut off his head. But then… the head had vanished without a trace after bursting into flames. Had he somehow managed to survive me again? That was not a pleasant thought.

  ‘That isn’t pertinent to the point I am trying to make right now. Jacob, you are the least of my concerns and my patience is wearing thin. Next time you are arre
sted I will see to it that you do not get released. Have I made myself clear?’

  I looked him right in the eye and said, ‘Yes.’ Once again it was a lie. I was still going to prove that Ethan was the murderer, I was just going to do it more covertly. But first, I wanted to know about this new arson.

  ‘Good. I hope we don’t have to meet like this again.’ He nodded at Monroe who then rapped quickly on the car door. The chauffeur opened it silently and Monroe slipped out and waited for me to do the same.

  ‘When was the most recent arson?’ I asked Dorian. I had to make sure they weren’t linked.

  ‘Jacob, please tell me you are not involved in a second of my problems,’ Dorian warned.

  ‘Where was it?’

  ‘Central Hospital.’ His tone was clipped.

  I squeezed my eyes shut and hung my head. It was Kagen. His father-in-law, David Longworth, was at Central Hospital. He’d gone to finish the old man off. But how was he alive?

  ‘Jacob,’ Dorian said, his voice a dangerous hum.

  ‘It’s a mark of mine. Somehow he keeps surviving,’ I explained, shaking my head in confusion. I’d never encountered anything like it.

  ‘It sounds like you’ve targeted an immortal. You simply need to find whatever his life is bound to and destroy it. Quickly. Before he causes any further destruction to my city. Look at me,’ he commanded. I raised my chin so my gaze met his. ‘Your full attention will go on stopping this arsonist. You will not rest until the matter does also. You will not get distracted by Ruby Hassell or her bereaved fiance. This and this alone is your priority. If you fail I will send Monroe to deal with your victim. And then he shall deal with you too.’

  My expression darkened when he threatened me. Lord of the city or not, I did not like to be threatened. I drew in a deep breath to force down any unpleasant words that might be let loose on the immortal. Then with a sharp nod of affirmation I left the limousine.

  Chapter Twelve

  I met Drew back at my apartment and before I could update him on what I’d learned he forced me into my armchair and began applying a new salve, vowing to wrap the bandage himself this time. There were also a few utterances of the word idiot.

  ‘Kagen struck again whilst we were both busy,’ I told him, but I was shocked to see that he was not at all surprised by our mutual enemy’s surprise second resurrection.

  ‘I guessed he’d be back when his head vanished,’ he murmured. ‘Unlike some people I use my brain for the purpose it was intended.’

  ‘He’s an immortal,’ I said proudly, ignoring his jibe. I had the answer and I wasn’t even the research guy.

  ‘No, he isn’t,’ Drew said, his expression bored. He began wrapping a thick white bandage around my now pain-free arm.

  ‘Yeah, that’s how he keeps coming back to life. We need to find the object his life is bound to and destroy it.’

  ‘He’s not an immortal. Well, I suppose he is immortal, but not in the Dorian Gray sense that you’re talking about. He’s Phoenix-Born.’

  I waited for him to continue but apparently he wasn’t going to so I prompted him. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘He has the qualities of a phoenix. When he dies his body bursts into flame and he is reborn from the ashes.’

  That did make sense. Annoyingly. Drew was right and I was wrong. Again. ‘Except he didn’t rise from the ashes. His head burned and then just vanished. There were no ashes.’

  ‘That’s because you separated the body parts. He rose from the main bulk of his body and his head just… well I don’t know what happened to the head. I guess he didn’t need it. He grew a new one.’

  ‘Just like he grew a new heart after I blew his last one up,’ I mused.

  ‘He grows a new everything every time he regenerates.’ He finished with my bandages and then fell onto the sofa heavily. ‘I couldn’t find a way to kill him though. I didn’t search the whole library. I came back here as soon as I heard about the second fire.’

  ‘Is the client…?’ It was easier to refer to people without names when there was a chance they’d end up dead. No attachments and all that.

  ‘Dead,’ Drew confirmed.

  Shit. That was a sign of a bodged up job. It didn’t look professional at all. It was, in fact, the first blemish on my record. ‘At least nobody will ever know I messed a job up,’ I said. Always look on the bright side.

  Drew gave me a disapproving glower. ‘Unless Kagen tells people. And that’s not the only thing he could tell people, is it?’

  ‘Hey, it’s not my fault.’

  ‘How did you not see him following you back to the Alibi? You’re supposed to be the best assassin in the country and some punk kid from nowhere tailed you without any trouble. I taught you better than that.’

  I clenched my fist and reminded myself that Drew was only trying to educate me. He had always been a harsh teacher. His methods weren’t for everyone. His own son had had a hard time taking his strict methods. I always thought that was one of the factors that caused him to leave us. If Drew had been a bit more laid back, then Sam would never have abandoned us to learn in his own way. And if he had stayed home with us, then he would never have died and I’d still have my cousin. Of course, the real reason he’d left was much worse than Drew’s strict parenting. But that didn’t matter now. My cousin was gone. He’d always been more like a brother than a cousin. But not anymore. Now he was nothing. Just a shade from the past. A wraith.

  ‘So how do we kill Kagen? Any ideas?’

  ‘You’re the assassin. Not me.’

  ‘Research is your area.’

  He snorted. ‘We need to play it safe. You’ve taken him on twice and lost both times.’

  ‘Erm… no. I won both times. It’s not my fault he can come back from the dead,’ I argued. The good thing about Kagen being Phoenix-Born was that it meant my record was unblemished. I had killed him both times. He just seemed to be somewhat immune to death.

  ‘My point is, he’s not staying dead. Every time you take him on and he regenerates you’re giving him the opportunity to learn your fighting patterns. The more he learns about you the better chance he has of wining next time. Every time you face him you’re essentially increasing his chance of winning.’

  ‘I’m increasing my own too. Every time I kill him I rule out another method.’

  He shot me a hard glare. Drew was not one for looking on the bright side. ‘He’ll learn enough about you to beat you before you figure out how to kill him. And you only need to die once. The way to beat him is to hit the books. Tomorrow morning both of us are going to the Hall and we’re scouring that library until we find something we can use.’

  ‘Oh, come on!’ I complained. If there was one thing I hated it was theory work. Research. The practical side was my area. I was not a bookworm. I could count the amount of times I’d been to the Hall in my adult life on my fingers.

  ‘We can rule out destroying the heart and decapitation,’ Drew said. He pulled out a small notebook from his shirt pocket and wrote that down. He was like a reporter.

  ‘Magical ice didn’t work either. His fire burned right through it,’ I told him and he scribbled it straight down. ‘What if we found some kind of magical cage we could put him in?’

  ‘That wouldn’t kill him,’ Drew said. Then he looked up, clearly an idea had struck him. ‘But now that the client is dead we don’t need to kill him. If we can just convince him to leave town then we can let this whole thing lie. We’ve already got half the payment so we’re not exactly out of pocket and nobody knows about this fuck-up because the client never told anyone.’

  It was a good idea except for one thing.

  ‘Problem,’ I said. ‘He knows my identity. He could use that as leverage or he could just tell people. He might let it slip one drunken night at the pub.’

  ‘Good point. He dies,’ Drew agreed, nodding. His disappointment was obvious. Another of his lessons was to always find the quickest and cleanest resolution to a problem. ‘But for now
,’ he said rising to his feet with a groan. ‘We both need rest. Leave that bandage on and your wound should be almost healed by morning.’

  I watched Drew walk away toward the spare room and then I stopped him by blurting out the thing that had been rattling around in my head for the last twenty-four hours.

  ‘It wasn’t my fault was it?’ I said quickly. He looked back in confusion. ‘Ruby’s death. Did I cause it?’

  He sighed, a mixture of sympathy and exhaustion, and then perched himself on the arm of my chair. ‘Ruby… She made her own choices. And you made yours. We don’t know why she was killed or who killed her.’

  ‘Ethan did,’ I said certainly. There was no doubt in my mind that he did it and was trying to frame me for the despicable deed.

  ‘Let’s say that’s true. Ethan killed her because he was angry that she cheated on him and because he wants you to go down for it. You didn’t know she had a fiance. You didn’t know she was cheating. If you’d known you wouldn’t have gotten involved with the girl. You’re blameless, Jacob. This is all on Ethan.’ He stood up and headed for the door. ‘Get some rest and forget all about this. You’ve got bigger things to focus on.’

  I stayed in my chair for over an hour after Drew left. His words were compassionate and accurate but they didn’t make me feel better even a little. I wouldn’t feel better until I’d brought Ethan to justice for what he’d done. His job was to protect her and keep her safe and he’d done the exact opposite. If only I’d done as she’d asked… But I couldn’t. I didn’t feel what she’d needed me to feel and I never would’ve done. She could never have been happy with me.

  No attachments.

  Ever.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When I woke up Drew was already gone. I phoned him to find out if he’d gone to the Hall without me but my call went straight through to voicemail. That was odd. Drew never turned his phone off. I was just about to go into panic mode when I realised what day it was. The anniversary of his son’s death.