Phoenix in My Fortune (A Monster Haven Story Book 6) (19 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Riley deposited me safely in my room. After reassuring him several times that I would be safe enough with Phil and Gris standing guard at my side, he took off to help everyone else search for Mom.

A tiny speck of hope shimmered deep within my heart, but that was all. The rest of me had given up. I wouldn’t see my mom again. She’d said goodbye even before she’d left me the letter. I just hadn’t realized that was what she was doing. In fact, looking back, the clues had been there for a long time, even before Aggie had died. When Aggie had given me a tarot reading with the Phoenix card in it, Mom had adamantly refused a reading of her own, as if she’d already guessed her fate.

When she moved out of the house with Darius and into the cabin, our relationship had grown stronger than it had been when we were constantly under each other’s feet. Had she done that on purpose, knowing she might not be around much longer?

She’d been acting strangely for weeks. Maybe if I’d pushed harder when I suspected something was off. Maybe if I’d asked more questions. Maybe if I’d paid closer attention. Maybe, maybe, maybe...

Phil gave me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “Cat food is good for androgynous prices.”

I tried to smile but it felt more like a grimace. “I appreciate that. Thanks.”

Gris remained silent in the doorway inside his man-suit. I knew Mom meant a lot to him, too, and he was probably torn between guarding me and searching for her.

I sighed and reached for the leather-bound book that had given me so much trouble and so few answers. The title, previously a bunch of unreadable symbols, spread across the cover in rolling script, spelling out the word
Covenant
. Not terribly helpful, of course, but at least that part of the book had finally cooperated.

I grabbed the edge of the cover and hesitated. The book might still be empty, which would be no help to me. Or it could be filled with words, which would mean my mother was dead. I couldn’t bear either choice.

Gris sat on the bed next to me and held my free hand. “It’s okay,” he said. “We’re here with you, no matter what.”

I nodded and squeezed his hand as I opened the book.

The pages were delicate and smooth in my shaking fingers. They were also blank. I ran my palm down the cool surface, my heart joyful. Mom was still alive. Screw saving the world. My friends still had a chance of finding her before it was too late.

I shifted my gaze from the useless book to Gris’s face and smiled. “She’s okay. Mom’s okay.”

He put his arm around my shoulders.

“Beta carotene is fine for a carnivore with an overbite,” Phil said, scratching his head.

I couldn’t begin to understand what that one meant. I opened my mouth to suggest we call Riley to let him know the good news, and my vision blurred. Phil appeared to have multiple heads, and the room went all swimmy, as if I were in a fish tank looking out.

All the multiple Gris faces sitting next to me frowned. “You don’t look so good. Are you okay?”

I closed my eyes. “I’m a little dizzy. I’m sure it’ll pass.”

And then I was flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling, wondering how I ended up that way. Phil and Gris were each patting one of my hands.

“Come on, Zoey,” Gris said. “Come back to us. Don’t do this. Wake up.”

“Maybe we should get her a wet cloth to put on her forehead or something?” Phil said.

“Yeah. That’s a good idea. I’ll get something from the bathroom. You stay here.” Gris let go of my hand, and the bed shifted.

Phil’s rough, stone hand brushed over my cheek. “Are you okay? Can you sit up?”

I blinked and let him help me to a sitting position.

Gris returned with a wet cloth and placed it on the back of my neck. “Better?”

I nodded. “I don’t know what happened. One minute I was fine, the next it was like something knocked me over.” I stopped and stared at Phil, jaw slack. “Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“Holy shit.” I couldn’t believe it.

“What?” His stony brow wrinkled, scattering rock dust. “Is something wrong?”

My eyes grew wide. “Phil, I can understand you.”

He looked puzzled. “You couldn’t understand me before? Jeez. You could have said.”

Gris drew in a sharp breath. “Oh.” It was a simple word, but conveyed so much.

I followed his gaze to the book still open on my lap. Script covered the pages in clear, black ink. The letters were large, and the words were in plain English.

Tears filled my eyes. “She’s gone,” I whispered. “Shadow Man killed Mom. And now I’m the last.”

* * *

I cried. I cried for a mother who didn’t get to raise me because of the sacrifices she’d made, and I cried for the little girl who’d had to grow up without her. I cried for the time I’d wasted being angry and insecure once I’d brought Mom home safely, and I cried for the memories of sitting quietly in her kitchen sipping tea and sharing happy conversations.

Most of all, I cried for all the time in the future we wouldn’t get.

Phil and Gris sat quietly with me, handing me tissues and letting me work through the initial grief. When I felt more in control, I set aside my sorrow. I knew there would be more tears and more anguish, but we were fast approaching the end. I couldn’t let Mom’s sacrifice be for nothing.

I wiped my face with the damp cloth Gris had brought me, then focused on the contents of the Covenant.

Most of the book was the story of how our world came to be populated with Hidden, how the story ether birthed new Hidden from the creativity of humans and how those creatures evolved. And it told of the meeting between the First Hidden and the First Aegis and how, together, they forged the Covenant that would shape the rules of our world.

The Covenant itself was toward the back of the book, and was only a few pages. As I’d suspected, the Hidden governments around the world—including our own—had sprung up long after the Covenant had been written. As much as the government officials had wanted to think they had something to do with it all, they didn’t.

But I did. Or rather, the last Hidden did. Except the Last Hidden was intended to be a natural occurrence. As the Hidden evolved and grew less dependent, the need for Aegises to care for them would ease, and fewer new Aegises would appear over the generations.

The intent of the Covenant had been that when only one Aegis remained, the Hidden would be ready to open a portal and step into a new world—one where they would be the dreamers, feeding their own ether of story. According to the Covenant, humans had been created the same way from the djinn world. I was a little ashamed that humans in this world were such a danger to djinn. Would the Hidden capture humans for whatever reason when they finally had their own world?

I smiled. Kam would be thrilled to find out her people had told stories of humans long ago and brought us into being. I’d never hear the end of it.

In fact, it had been Kam who’d pointed out what was wrong with Shadow Man’s actions—that he was glitching. Not only had he pushed his own creation into premature being, he’d also been trying to force the evolution of the entire Hidden world.

And now, I was the only one who could stop him.

I closed the book and stretched the sore muscles in my neck, glancing at the clock. I’d hunched over the book, reading, for over an hour and a half, while the guys kept watch over me and everyone else searched the woods.

They could stop searching. I knew where he was now. I knew where Mom was—though it was far too late to save her. And I knew where the Simurgh would be when it was over.

At the thought of the giant bird, the sound of beating wings whooshed in my ears, and a soft breeze blew against my cheek. She was watching. Waiting.

I left the book behind. Its secrets were now in my head and my soul. I wouldn’t need it anymore. “Come on, guys.” My voice was scratchy from tears and disuse. “Let’s finish this.”

Phil and Gris followed me out of the house without asking any questions. We marched down the porch steps together and toward the woods. Bruce and Simone galumphed beside us, falling into step.

“Is it time?” Bruce asked. It was odd hearing words from him, because I could also hear the snorts and grunts at the same time. The words were in my head.

I nodded. “Yes. It’s time.”

“We’ll be with you all the way,” Simone said.

We marched onward.

At the tree line, Maurice and Sara met us. “We haven’t found her yet,” Sara said. “Don’t give up hope.”

I gave her a sad, grateful smile. “Thanks. But she’s gone. I felt her go.”

Maurice’s face crumpled. “No.” The single word was quiet but filled with emotion.

I touched his shoulder. “I know. But first we have to finish this. Can you hold it together for a little bit? For her?”

He nodded and sniffed. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”

We continued our march.

Tashi fell into step next to Phil, and Nick and Mari joined a moment later with baby Fern. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed Molly and Walter, along with all their kids, had added themselves to the procession and were riding on the shoulders of several of our friends.

We marched on toward the center of the woods and found Kam, Darius and Riley waiting. Rene, Janey and Toby sat on a rock not far away. Around us, other faces appeared, filling the space and bolstering my strength.

“Where’s Silas?” My voice cracked and I cleared my throat.

Silas popped into existence before me. “I’m here, Aegis.”

I spun around the clearing, taking in all the creatures surrounding me. “I love you all.” I smiled. “I will do whatever I can to set things right. And if I don’t, you’ll all be among the first to enter into the new world. Take care of each other if I fail, okay?”

Riley moved to my side and placed his hands on my shoulders. His eyes were filled with worry, fear and a film of tears. He started to speak, but his voice caught. He cleared his throat and tried again. “You won’t fail. What can I do to help? What do we need to do?”

I stepped inside the circle of his arms and rested my cheek against his shoulder, inhaling his scent to give me strength. He drew back and tilted my chin so he could capture my lips with his. I tried to put everything I felt for him into that kiss, in case it was the last. It went on forever, but probably only lasted a moment, there in the company of everyone we loved, and the finality of it pricked my eyes with hot tears.

I released him and stepped back. “I love you so much, Riley. I need you not to do anything, though, okay? I have to do this. No matter what, you need to do nothing.”

My gaze flicked to Darius. He knew Mom was gone. I could tell by the set of his shoulders and the way he refused to look at me. He was in his own personal hell, and I couldn’t ask him to do anything more. Not right now.

Sara stepped up next to Riley and gave me a quiet nod. She wouldn’t let Riley interfere. “What are you going to do?”

“The Simurgh told me the only way to win was not to fight. I’m going to not fight until I win.”

Riley put his hand out to touch me, but Sara stopped him. “Come on, Riley. You need to let her do what she’s got to do.” She took him by the elbow and led him a few feet away.

I watched, my stomach clenching with nerves. Riley and I exchanged a long look filled with love and concern, then I returned my attention to what I had to do.

“Silas, stay with me,” I said.

He gave a quick nod and moved closer. “You need me to give him bad luck?”

“No. I need you to see him with me. He can do what you do—allowing only certain people to see him. See him for me. He won’t be able to hide from you. Once you see him, I think you can keep him from staying hidden from everyone. I need him to be seen.”

He leaned closer and spoke out of the corner of his mouth. “Why didn’t you ask the reaper to do this, then?”

I bent closer to his ear. “Because I need someone who will watch for him, but not try to stop him.”

His gaze flicked to Riley standing under a tree with his hands jammed in his pockets and looking miserable. “Gotcha.”

“All right. Let’s do this.” I folded my legs beneath me and sat on the ground on a bed of pine needles. “Keep your eyes peeled, Silas.”

I opened my shields completely, leaving myself vulnerable to the emotions of every single person around me. If I lived, I’d probably need a gallon of Andrew’s migraine tea to avoid the hospital. If I didn’t live, it didn’t much matter.

I felt their worry, their fear. But more than anything, I felt an overwhelming amount of love and support that buoyed me and gave me strength.

We waited in the woods for a short time in total silence. No one moved or spoke. No squirrels chittered and no birds sang. A whirring of wings caught my attention overhead, and a scarlet bird with a long, trailing tail landed in the branches. I smiled. The phoenix had arrived to watch. My phoenix. My Aggie.

A moment later, a tiny orange-and-green tropical bird landed next to her. I had no proof but I knew in my heart the little bird was my mother. I swallowed my tears and looked away, a contented smile touching my lips.

The forest fell silent again as we waited. The sound of crickets was gradual—first one off in the distance, then another joined it a little closer. Soon, the sound was all around us. I shivered, then straightened my spine. I would not show fear. I took a deep breath and blew it out. More importantly, I needed to not feel fear, either. It wasn’t easy.

Shadow Man was coming.

Chapter Twenty

I figured I’d be able to see Shadow Man myself when he approached. I needed Silas there to make sure everyone else saw him, too. Reading through the Covenant, I’d come to understand Shadow Man better than I’d have thought I could—especially since he wasn’t actually named in the book.

But the book did talk about how various Hidden sustained themselves. The more evolved the creature, the more mundane their food source. The least evolved fed on emotions. Without knowing it, Darius backed up this claim. Mothmen were fairly new in folklore and, while Darius sat down to meals with us every day, he could also feed off fear. The fact that he could do either showed that his kind was already evolving, yet hadn’t advanced to the point where the urge and ability to consume fear was gone.

Shadow Man was utterly un-evolved, therefore he took all his sustenance from emotion. But not fear. Absolutely, he was terrifying to behold. In fact, as he walked toward me in the woods, weaving through a crowd of oblivious Hidden, he unhinged his jaw and elongated his face in an attempt to make me scream.

But I was an empath. I knew what emotion he craved. And I was the absolute last person he would ever get it from.

Shadow Man fed on isolation and loneliness.

Each time someone saw him and no one believed her, that person felt isolated. When the school kids were in a hole in the beach with search parties all around them looking in the wrong place, they were isolated. When Ashley and Miles were stuck in the attic with no hope of rescue, they were isolated.

When my mother went out alone into the woods, she purposely isolated herself, and Shadow Man must have fed on her until she was an empty shell.

But I wasn’t my mother. I was never alone. I was never isolated.

“Silas?” I kept my body still, refusing to stand and run, though every muscle in my body screamed to get off my ass and get moving.

“I’m working on it.” His eyes squinted in concentration. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Just try.” My voice was calm, though my heart raced.

Shadow Man’s dark red duster brushed against the leaves, yet they didn’t stir as he grew closer. Not even the leaves could prove he was there.

He lifted one impossibly long arm and pointed a multi-jointed spider finger at me. His jaw pulled up to his face so he could speak. “Your friends cannot help you, Aegis. Come with me.”

I bit my lower lip and shook my head. “No. Do what you’ve got to do, but you do it here.” I pointed at the ground in front of me.

The thin slash of his mouth pulled up on the sides in a horrific smile. He reached into his coat and pulled out a flute. “Shall I play for you?” He blew into the mouthpiece, his fingers fluttering across the holes.

The sound that came out reminded me of blowing across the neck of a bottle—tuneless and flat.

“What are you doing?” I asked, eyebrows raised.

“I’m calling you with my pipe. Now you must come.”

I shook my head. “No. That’s the Pied Piper. You’re Shadow Man.”

He shook his head in confusion, then shimmered in the dull light. A moment later, a crooked old woman with bad teeth and an apron stood before me. She cackled.

The smell of baked goods drifted on the wind.

I shook my head again and spoke slowly, as if to a child. “That’s the witch from Hansel and Gretel.”

She shivered, and the witch disappeared, replaced by a dark, frightening creature in a Santa hat.

I sighed. “That’s Krampus, not you.”

He shifted again, returning to his original shape. Confusion and unhappiness washed across the clearing from him.

“But I need the children.” His distress prickled at my knees. “And they need me.” He glanced around and noticed our kids. “Why did you take them back?”

“They didn’t belong to you. You are Shadow Man.”

His dull orange eyes lit up. “Yes. That’s right.” He lifted his chin and pulled his shoulders back. “I am the Last Hidden.”

“No,” I said. “You weren’t meant to be the Last Hidden. I’m sorry. This is not your time.”

“I am the Last Hidden. And you are the Last Aegis.”

I peeked at Silas out of the corners of my eyes. He was staring right at Shadow Man, but nobody else was. I was losing the conversation. Silas had made progress, but needed to work faster.

“You were born too soon,” I said. I was trying to stall him. I could see where this was going.

Shadow Man took a few more steps toward me and stopped close enough to touch my head with his disturbing fingers.

Stay the course, Zoey. You can do this. The only way to win is not to fight.

Not fighting was the hardest thing I’d ever done. It was like asking me to keep my eye open while somebody threw a dart at it. I leaned away without thinking. Pine needles crunched beneath me, and Silas grabbed my shoulder to steady me.

The crowd must have seen the panic on my face, because a collective murmur rose around us. I had to get it together for them as much as for myself. I forced my gaze to meet Shadow Man’s bottomless orange eyes. Fear shot through me like I’d been doused with ice water. I rose to face him, planting my feet firmly in place.

I took a deep breath and pushed down the terror inside. Despite Silas standing next to me, able to see Shadow Man, he was not enough. I felt the isolation Shadow Man wanted me to feel with every second ticking by that Silas didn’t succeed in making this creature viewable by everyone.

But maybe that was what I was supposed to do. I couldn’t lure him in without some sort of bait. A little isolation wouldn’t hurt me. It was temporary.

I hoped.

Those terrible fingers came closer, finally coming to rest on the side of my face. He placed the other hand on the opposite cheek, cradling my head.

I closed my eyes. This would be easier if I didn’t have to look at the hideous face of a creature humans had crafted as an experiment. If they’d known what would happen, would they have stopped?

The singing of crickets filled my ears. Somewhere far away, Riley yelled at Sara to let go of him.

Shadow Man’s fingers vibrated against my skin, and tendrils like smoke dug into my skull. He was searching inside of me, poking around, looking for pockets of isolation in my psyche so he could feed.

The need to put up my shields against his invasion consumed all my thoughts. Shielding my mind would be the easiest thing in the world. Leaving myself open went against every instinct, as if I were trying to force myself to inhale while submerged in water. But I didn’t fight him. I let him enter my mind, his prodding tentative at first, then bolder when he found I didn’t resist. The deeper he went, the easier it became for me to relax and let him in. I waited quietly, stifling my disgust at the invasion until he was fully within my mind.

Building walls to keep out the stray emotions of others was the first skill I’d learned as an empath. I was very good at it by now, and quick. The wall went up without effort, surrounding my mind with an impenetrable barrier. Shadow Man was locked inside with me.

In my mind, we faced each other in my mother’s garden—a nice, neutral space.

“What have you done?” Shadow Man pressed a hand against the walls I’d built. The barrier didn’t budge. “You can’t do this.”

“Of course I can.” I folded my metaphysical hands against my metaphysical body and watched him.

He bent forward, his hand on his stomach as if he were in pain. His voice was raspy. “I’m so hungry. Why aren’t you feeding me? Where is the meat? Why does this hurt?”

“I suspect what you’re feeling is twenty or thirty people staring at you right now.”

He choked. “Impossible.”

I shrugged. “Everything’s possible around here. You’re experiencing the opposite of isolation, which I suppose is starving you pretty fast.”

His jaw swiveled on its unsecure hinges and his face became a hideous scowl. “I am the Last Hidden.” He groaned. “I need the children.”

There was that glitch again. He hadn’t evolved. He kept reverting to other people’s stories. He had his own story—open the portal and rule the new world—but he didn’t have the focus to stick with it. Especially now that he was losing so much energy.

I felt no animosity toward him, despite the fact that he’d killed my mother. I was an Aegis—the Last Aegis—and it was my job to care for the Hidden. None of the Hidden needed me as much as this one did now. I wanted to hate him. I really did. But he was, essentially, a child. A lost child who should never have been born.

I reached my hand out to him. “Shadow Man is a terrible, lonely name. What should I call you instead?”

He hesitated, then took my hand, though his expression showed he was puzzled by the action. “I like the name Peter.”

“All right.” I smiled. “Are you tired, Peter?”

He nodded. “Nothing works the way it’s supposed to in the world.”

“That’s because the world isn’t ready for you, yet. Many, many things were supposed to be born before you.”

His face crumpled. “My minions didn’t come back.”

I held out my other hand to him and took a step forward. “I wouldn’t let them.”

He frowned, but took my hand anyway. “You can’t stop them.”

“I can do anything, Peter. I’m the Last Aegis. You made it so.”

Standing hand in hand with me, he looked so childlike, despite his frightening face and glowing eyes. He ducked his head. “I suppose I did.”

“Are you ready?” My voice was soft.

“Will it hurt?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so, no.” I didn’t know that for sure, but it seemed reasonable. “Just look into my eyes and relax.”

He obeyed, focusing his disconcerting orange gaze on mine. “Will I be back?” he whispered.

I rubbed the backs of his hands with my thumbs. “Someday. And you’ll be much happier when it happens naturally. Now, deep breath, exhale and let go.”

Shadow Man’s—Peter’s—chest rose and fell, and his edges blurred. The smudging spread inward, and his outer edges turned bright, dissolving and rising in a cloud of glittering mist. When the last of Shadow Man was gone, nothing remained but a dense shimmering fog.

I lowered my walls to set it free, and it disappeared into the distance. Before I returned to the real world, I replaced my barrier, then opened my eyes.

Shadow Man was gone, and everyone I loved surrounded me. Riley dropped to the ground and put his arms around me without a word. He held me gently, as if afraid I might disappear in a puff of smoke if he squeezed too tightly. Sara stood behind him, and I knew by the look on her face she’d had a tough time keeping him from trying to save me.

Maurice sat next to me and put his hand on my knee, his huge yellow eyes still filled with sorrow over Mom’s loss. “Is he gone?”

I nodded. “There is no Shadow Man anymore, and the ether of story is full again.”

A murmur went through the crowd as the news spread. Everyone was safe. The bad man was defeated. Everyone got a happy ending.

Here and there in the trees, our lost fairies sat in solemn silence.

Across the clearing, my gaze met with Darius’s, and my heart broke all over again. He stood slumped against a tree, devastation pooling around him. I could fix a lot of things. Hell, I’d just saved the world. But I couldn’t fix this one thing for him.

I couldn’t fix it for me.

Darius turned and walked toward the cottage, while the rest of the forest rejoiced.

The crowd took a little while to disperse. They all thanked me in turn for helping them avoid a forced emigration to a new world run by an unstable tyrant. I smiled and made small talk, though my heart wasn’t in it. I was exhausted, in mourning for my mother and wanted to go home where I could be with my family.

At last, all that remained was our small team, minus Darius—and Mom. Riley helped me to my feet, and I leaned into him as we walked.

Kam moved up the path beside me and touched my shoulder. “Hey. I think I’ll check on Darius if you’re going to be okay without me for a bit.”

I gave her a weak smile. “That’s a really good idea. Make sure he’s okay. Stay with him if it’ll help.”

She jogged off toward the cottage. Overhead, the phoenix and the little tropical bird split up, and the little one followed Kam. The phoenix followed us, fluttering from tree to tree. I worried that it meant I wasn’t done yet. I hoped I was wrong.

We reached the house, Riley and I in the lead, with Rene and the kids and Molly’s family behind us, and Sara and Maurice bringing up the rear. Phil had left with Tashi, and Gris had gone ahead to turn the lights on and make sure the house was welcoming. I didn’t see Silas and had a feeling he’d hit his limit of good intentions and had already grabbed his suitcase and gone.

All along the way, Aggie flew overhead in the form of a phoenix. That is, until we reached my yard. She fluttered around my head, then flew into the invisible bubble around the backyard. When I didn’t follow, she returned and did it again.

I sighed. “I knew I wasn’t done yet.”

I stepped into the bubble in my backyard, and everything went black.