Phoenix: The Rising (16 page)

Julie had forgotten about her own ordeal the night before. After all, it simply seemed like a dream to her. Since Kas’s phone call, her mind had been on Charsey, on her father, on Eli, and on the leukemia that was ravaging her body once again. “I thought I was, too. The last thing I remember was hearing your motorcycle. I knew it was you, but how did you know to come?”

“I called your cell and you didn’t answer. I wanted to apologize....” Eli cleared his throat again. “Anyways, you weren’t in your room, and when I looked out your window, I saw someone walking away from the pool house. When I found you, I thought I was too late. Again.”

Julie knew he was referring to finding his young bride’s body. He’d dealt with so much death in his time on Earth. How could he stand it?

“I couldn’t believe it when I found a pulse.”

“But how did you—?”

“Tears. It wasn’t too hard to muster them.” He paused. “You’re a good friend, Julie.”

Julie pulled the phone away and muffled a sob. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? For them to be just friends? But why did she feel like the bottom had just dropped out of her heart? She took a deep, cleansing breath and brought the phone back.

“So are you, Eli. You ... saved my life.”
But for how long
? Julie thought.
Was it all in vain? Maybe he should have let me die. We all would have been better off.

“You were a mess, but, luckily, whoever did this just sliced through your external jugular. Didn’t press hard enough. If they’d hit the internal jugular or the carotid, you wouldn’t be here.” Eli gave a nervous laugh. “It took me a couple hours to get you and the place cleaned up. I’m not too great at the domestic stuff.”

Julie could feel her face flush. “You put me in the pool house shower, didn’t you?”

“Ummm ... yes. Sorry. I had to. Then I carried you up to your room. Right before dawn. I’m lucky somebody didn’t see me.”

Julie’s heart seemed to lodge itself in her throat.
The surveillance camera!
“Oh, my God, Eli, someone may have! My dad mentioned that he taped Renatta by the pool on a surveillance camera! If the police see that, you could be implicated in Charsey’s disappearance! You’ve got to get your hands on that DVD. Tonight!”

“Slow down, Julie! You’re right, and if we’re on that tape, then it’ll also show who took Charsey. But I can’t just rush in and start looking. I’ll need a plan. How to get in. Where to look. Is there going to be anyone at the house tonight?”

Julie took a breath, trying to slow her racing heart. “Dad kicked Renatta out, but she may be there robbing us blind while we’re gone. You’ll have to wait until she leaves. Dad will be here in
Fresno
.”

“So, you’re in
Fresno
?” Even in the midst of all this chaos, Eli was fishing for more information. About her.

Julie had to think fast.

“My doctors are here and ordered some tests for the morning. There’s no sense in traveling back tonight. Now, will you just listen? I think I might know where Dad keeps the DVR.”

Julie heard an audible sigh.

“Go ahead.”

“If the front door’s locked, you can just key in the code. 02-14-11.”

“Valentine’s Day?”

Julie rolled her eyes, in spite of the fact that he couldn’t see her. “Renatta’s favorite day of the year. That’s the day she cajoled my father into marrying her. I’m sure Dad will change the code as soon as we get back.”

“So, where do you think I’ll find the DVR?”

“Probably the only place that he has to himself, his study on the first floor. Take the left hallway off the foyer. It’s at the end on the right. Check in there. It’s probably hidden.”

A knock at the door halted Julie’s conversation. A candy striper walked in carrying Julie’s meal tray. Julie motioned for her to go away. The thought of eating made her want to vomit.

“I have to go. Dad just texted that he’s waiting for me down in the car. We’re going out to dinner. Some sushi place he can’t wait for me to try.” She bit her lower lip. Could he tell she was lying?

“Okay. I’ll
call
you when I find the DVR. And Charsey.”

“You will find her, won’t you, Eli?” Julie tried to quell her own fears that
Charsey
was already dead with the hope that Eli could once again save the day.

“I’ll do my best, Jules. You just try to relax. And good luck with the tests tomorrow.”

Julie’s heart threw a double beat. “Thanks.” She felt the tears coming. “I really have to go, Eli.”

“Wait!” Eli’s voice seemed to take on a frantic edge. “Julie, you will tell me if there’s anything wrong, won’t you?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything.”

Julie clicked her phone shut and lay back on her bed.

The waiting had begun.

Except for the steady ticking of the grandfather clock, the Mason mansion was a tomb of silence, amplified by the now almost completely barren foyer. Eli had waited patiently behind a stand of
Cypress
by the main gate until he saw Renatta’s Jag, followed by a yellow moving van, exit the estate. Now it was his turn to comb through its remaining contents.

Eli made his way down the hallway to Mr. Mason’s study. The door stood ajar, and from the condition of the room, it looked as though Renatta had done some pilfering. Had she found the DVR herself? Eli prayed to God that she hadn’t. After a quick look around the room, Eli noticed a power cord and cable running from the floor to a small opening on the bottom of the desk. Was the DVR in there? A nail file jammed into the lock of the main desk drawer was enough proof that Renatta had tried to gain access to its contents. Eli pulled on each drawer. The ones on the right opened with ease, but the main drawer and the larger lower one on the left where the cords were held fast. It had to be in there!

Eli scoured through the objects on top of the desk, hoping to find the key, but he knew he wouldn’t. Mr. Mason would have kept it on himself, especially if he had been collecting evidence on his wife’s indiscretions. He sighed in resignation and grasped the bottom of the lower drawer. He had to do it. Guilt and anticipation, like an alcoholic about to relapse, flooded his thoughts. It had been imperative for him to keep this part of his powers in check throughout most of this lifetime. If he hadn’t, then he could have easily killed Kas with the blow he dealt him the night Kas attacked Julie. After all, it had happened before, and the feeling of killing a human had left him shaken, even when he had to kill to protect someone. Mastering self-control of his strength took decades, and it was just in the twentieth century that it became a natural way of life for him. Until now.

Eli closed his eyes for just a moment. That’s all it took for him to feel the buzz in his arm. He yanked, and the wood splintered as the drawer flew out of the desk.

Sitting on the floor beside his feet was the DVR, its cords still attached. Eli lifted the DVR to his lap and hit the OPEN button.

“It’s empty.”

“What do you mean?”
Julie’s voice sounded foggy, as if she had been sleeping.

Eli sighed into the phone. “The DVR is empty. Your father must have taken the disc. Do you have any idea where he would have put it for safekeeping?”

“
Safekeeping
...
s
afe
…y
es! He has a wall safe, hidden behind the paneling next to the portrait of my mother. Just push on the panel, and it should pop open.”

Eli looked around the room. The painting was near a corner, almost hidden from view. As he neared it, he couldn’t believe what he saw. Green eyes, exactly like Julie’s, stared back at him. As a matter of fact, it could have been a portrait of Julie, except for the flowing, copper hair. This was what Julie would look like in a few years. Eli’s heart flipped in his chest, knowing he would never see her like this. He reached up and touched the face. The painting parted beneath his fingers. Someone had slashed it from corner to corner.

“I found the painting. Looks like Renatta may have taken out her frustrations on it.”

“No. It wasn’t her.”
Julie paused for just a moment, but it was long enough for Eli to know. She did this. Her next words confirmed it.
“I’m afraid that was my handiwork. I didn’t take her abandoning us well.”

Eli couldn’t blame her. What type of woman would leave her child at a time when she needed her the most? Eli tried to choose his words carefully. “That’s understandable. I’m sure it was a horrible time in your life.”

“Did you find the panel?”

It was obvious that Julie did not want to talk about this, so Eli didn’t push her. Instead he pushed on the wall. A twelve-inch square popped open, revealing the front of a small safe.

“Got it.” He pulled on the handle. “It’s locked. You don’t happen to know the combination, do you?” He knew he’d be able to open it without much difficulty, but there was no sense in causing more damage.

“It just so happens that I do.
Dad made sure I knew it in case of an emergency. Try 7-21-45. His mother’s birthdate.”

Eli flipped the dial and pulled on the handle. It slid open, revealing a small stack of hundred dollar bills and nothing else. Eli’s heart sank.

“It’s open, but all I see is money.”

“There’s a false bottom. Try that.”

Eli pushed the money to the side and pried open the bottom. A handgun and some shells sat guarding the only other thing occupying the small space. A video disc.

“I think I may have found it!”

“That—that’s great!
Check it out on Dad’s computer.”

Eli walked over to the desk. “This will take a minute.” He thought he had heard a hesitation in her voice a moment earlier. “How are you doing? You sound a little different.”

“Oh, I’m just a bit tired and sore. Got poked a lot today.”
Her voice seemed to rise in pitch, as if she were lying. Something was wrong.
“Is it ready yet?”

Eli knew she was avoiding his question, but he also knew she might shut down if he pushed her into answering any more questions about herself. He plugged the DVD into the computer, and the screen came to life. “It’s in. I’ll fast-forward.”

Julie
remained silent on the other end of the line as Eli scanned the DVD
.

“Well?”

Eli
couldn’t believe what he was seeing
.
This was either going to be very good or very, very bad.
“The only incriminating evidence on here is Renatta’s activity with the pool boy. The last date on the DVD is a couple of days before the dance. Either your dad took the other disc, or he didn’t put a new one in.”

Julie sighed.
“Since Dad hasn’t mentioned anything, I’m sure that he just forgot to put another one in. He got his evidence. There wasn’t any need for any more video.”

Her
reasoning made sense. “I agree. Your dad’s pretty easy to read, and if he knew anything, he would have already told you, considering that you would have been on the video.”

“You still have to find her, Eli.”

Eli
tucked
the DVD into its sleeve, stuck it back into its hiding place in the safe, and closed the door. “I’ll do my best, Jules, but locating Charsey will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I don’t even know where to start.” Eli hesitated. “Is there anything you can remember, Julie? Anything at all?”

Silence.

“There were two of them.
” Eli could hear a tremor building in Julie’s voice.
She sounded terrified. “
One was huge. Reminded me of Remy. The other was smaller than him
. S
limmer.
That’s the one who ... the one with the knife. It looked like they were both wearing hoodies.” Julie hesitated. “I’m sorry. That’s all I remember.”
Eli heard a voice talking in the background. Julie wasn’t alone.

“I have to go, Eli. Dad’s
here
. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Eli flipped his phone shut.
The voice he’d heard in the background was a woman’s voice, not her father’s. She was hiding something from him, but he didn’t have the heart to call her on it.
He
also
didn’t have the heart to
break it to
her
that there was no way the Nephilim would have just injured Charsey. They went for the kill as far as the Fire-Child was concerned. That was the only way to make sure. But, from their M.O., they would also make sure Charsey’s body would be found. Seemed they had a bit of a conscience after all. Grace was right. They had become watered-down through the centuries, and their humanity had a strong hold on them. Only a first-generation wouldn’t care if the body were found. They were heartless. Thank God there weren’t any of those around.