Phoenix in My Fortune (A Monster Haven Story Book 6) (17 page)

I picked it up and heard nothing on the other end but breathing.

I sighed. “Look, this isn’t a great night. If this is an obscene phone call, let’s get it over with, okay?” I dropped the CD on my nightstand. I doubted I’d have time to try it. This whole thing was coming to a head, and the Simurgh had already told me she wouldn’t be able to talk to me again until it was over.

The breathing continued, slow and steady. It wasn’t heavy breathing, like a pervert was on the other end. But it was disconcerting as hell.

I started to disconnect the call, but something stopped me. Instinct maybe. I was sure this wasn’t a wrong number. “Who is this?”

The person on the other end sniffed and took another breath.

I dropped my walls and reached out, feeling for an answer through the connection.

Fear

Hope

Worry

Remorse

The person on the other end sniffed again, then hung up.

I stuffed my feet back into the discarded shoes and ran for the living room. We had a full house, and everyone had gathered in the living room in an agitated huddle. When I charged into the room, all those eyes turned to me.

“Everybody get your coats,” I said. “I know where the kids are.”

Chapter Seventeen

Sara sent me back to the bedroom to change, pointing out that I was still dressed in my nightgown, despite the addition of sweats. “I guarantee you’ll feel more confident with a bra on and not wearing a cartoon character on your chest,” she said.

She wasn’t wrong.

She also wasn’t happy that I wanted her to stay home with Maurice to watch out for Rene and the brownies.

“He could come back for the baby,” I said. “I can’t do this if I don’t know for sure that they’re safe here.”

She hugged me, then gave Silas and Riley some major stink-eye. “Keep my girl safe.”

Kam met us outside and slid into the backseat of the car. Riley took the wheel, and Silas sat with Kam, though she couldn’t see him. It was probably for the best. He was leering at her the minute he saw her. The fact that she didn’t know about it probably saved his life.

Before I joined them, I took Gris aside. He’d stood in the grass, looking forlorn and racked with guilt.

“It wasn’t your fault.” I raised my hand to pat his shoulder and realized he wouldn’t feel it in his robotlike body. “He fogs everybody’s mind. You couldn’t have stopped him.”

He kicked a rock. “I had one job, and I failed you.”

I frowned. “Gris. Open up. Look me in the eye.”

He raised his head. “I’m looking.”

“No. Let me look
you
in the eye, then.”

His Adam’s apple jiggled and clicked, and the top of his head swung forward. My little friend sat behind the controls so morose my heart nearly broke for him. “Listen to me. There was no way for you to stop him from coming in. But I’m going for the kids now. I know right where they are. I even think they’re safe. So, enough of this. No one is solely responsible for protecting us. Therefore no one is solely responsible when something goes wrong. Okay?”

He nodded, still miserable. “Except you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re the one responsible for everyone in the end. I’m sorry for that.”

I smiled. “I used to think that. But we’re a team. Do you want to come with us? You’ll have to do it in your real body, though. Can’t fit the big one in the car.”

“Nah. I’m going to stay out here and keep an eye on things. Or try, anyway.”

His head flipped backward, and his human-sized body re-activated. “Be safe, Aegis.” He marched off toward the woods, his head a little higher than it had been but still lower than I liked.

Riley came with me, of course, since he was my minder or bodyguard or whatever he wanted to call himself. I preferred
fiancé
, but for the time being, he was other things as well. And Kam, despite being down a third of her magic, was a powerhouse of physical strength combined with magical firepower.

Both were among my heavy hitters, in case it came down to a show of force.

Not so obvious was why I brought Silas. Having an invisible spy with me might come in handy. If it didn’t, that was okay. I wasn’t a huge fan of the pastor’s, and I was betting he didn’t have any lucky gargoyle snot lying around for protection.

Shenanigans could happen around every corner.

We pulled up to the church, and Riley shut off the ignition. “Are you sure we can’t go in with you?”

“I need you and Kam watching the exits. I’m hoping to do this peacefully, and they might try to slip out before I can get to them. I have Silas. If anything goes wrong, he can come and get you.”

Kam patted him on the back. “She’ll be fine, worry wart. She’s taken down worse. And she’ll have the pookie guy with her.”

“Abso-freakin-lutely,” Silas said. “We’ve got this, Reaper. Sit tight and listen to some opera—or whatever it is reapers listen to. We’ll be back in two shakes of a shark fin.”

Riley glared at the pooka. “Get out.”

Kam looked from Riley to the empty air in front of him. “What did he say?”

“Silas, stop it,” I said. “Don’t bait the reaper.”

Silas hopped out of the car, cocky and sure of himself. “Sorry, dollface. I don’t know what got into me.” His face didn’t look sorry. He turned and waved at Riley, then swaggered toward the front door, humming the ominous notes from the
Jaws
theme.

Silas was a sore spot for Riley. The pooka had shown up—bringing his bad luck with him—to our second attempt at a first date. The dinner cruise on the bay was perfect for all of ten minutes. Then the kitchen caught fire, the boat nearly sank and I fell into the water. I was nearly eaten by sharks. No. Seriously. I couldn’t make this up. The first attempt at a first date had featured a dead body, and it was still better than the second attempt.

For Silas to make any sort of shark-related comment, he was poking at Riley.

I reached into my pocket and ran a finger over the smooth surface of the gargoyle snot hidden there, thankful we each had one this time. “Aren’t you even a little concerned Riley will lose his temper and go all reaper on your ass?” When we reached the door, I fixed him with a glare.

“I like to take risks. It keeps the old ticker in shape.” He winked and went into the church ahead of me.

I took two steps inside the dark interior and stopped. “Silas?”

He halted and turned around. “What a dump. Doesn’t look like anyone’s set foot in here since Eisenhower was president.”

He was right, which made no sense. “I was just here a few weeks ago. It wasn’t like this.”

Dust coated the overturned pews. The carpet was ragged and frayed underfoot. And the reason it was so dark was the broken windows had been boarded up. The light from the rising sun barely poked through the cracks. In other words, the inside matched the disguised outside.

I ran a finger through the dust on the upturned foot of the pew next to me. It was lighter and less gritty than it should be.

I sniffed the dust on my fingertip and raised an eyebrow. “It’s baby powder.”

Silas tested it himself, rubbing his fingers together. “Interesting. I believe you were correct, Aegis. Somebody’s trying to hide something.” He glanced over his shoulder at me. “From here on out, try not to speak directly to me.”

I nodded once, then shifted my gaze away from him. No use bringing an invisible spy with me if I was going to continue talking to him out in the open.

I shone a light on the carpet and touched a frayed spot. The fibers looked like they’d been worn away quickly, perhaps with a razorblade or pair of scissors. The edges were cut, rather than tattered. It was all artificially done.

I followed the route I’d taken before and went straight to Pastor Wendell’s office, though I didn’t expect he’d be there. I was wrong. He sat behind his desk, staring off into space, lip twitching and nostrils flaring double time. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hand was curled around an empty glass. A large bottle of tequila stood on his desk, its level alarmingly low.

He dragged his gaze from the dusty corner of his office to my face. “Oh,” he said. “It’s you.” He slammed the glass on the desk and refilled it with a wobbly hand. His slurred speech would’ve been comical if not for the circumstances. “Should’ve known you’d figure out it was me on the phone, what with all your...” he waved his hand up and down at me, “...Aegissy stuff.” He drained his glass.

“Good grief,” I said. “You’re going to kill yourself drinking that so fast.” I took the bottle and screwed the top back on. “Let’s get this done quickly. Where are my kids?”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.” He eyed the bottle in my hand. “If you’d just died when he stole my people and sent them after you, all this would be over with by now.”

I contemplated hitting him over the head with his precious bottle, but it was hard to get answers out of someone when they were unconscious. “What’s your stake in all this, Wendell? I thought you didn’t believe in the Last Hidden.”

He barked out a laugh. “My entire faith is based on the coming of the Last Hidden.” He climbed onto his desk and stood his full three-foot height, arms in the air. “For it is written in the Lost Covenant, ‘He shall emerge from the ether in the final days, and he shall lead his people into the new world.’”

My skin went cold. All that research I’d tried—and mostly failed—to do, and this guy was spouting pieces of the Covenant. Maybe he had the answers.

“So, why aren’t you thrilled that he’s here if you’ve based your whole life’s work on the idea? Why are you sitting here drunk off your ass, looking like you’re ready to jump off a bridge? And why the crank call in the middle of the night?” Deep down, he must have known I’d figure out it was him on the phone. He had to have known I’d show up.

He stared at me for a moment, and the look was both sad and chilling. He sank to his desk and sat with his arms around his legs. His voice was almost a whisper. “Because he can’t be here yet. It’s not time. And he’s not right.”

“Not right? How?”

“They’re just
children
. Why would he take the little ones?” He shook his head. “I can’t say any more. He might be listening, and I can’t be left behind.” His gaze drifted away, and he rocked forward and back as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “You should probably go home and wait for him. You and your mother are the only loose ends he has to tie up before we
all
go home.” He gave me a kind smile. “Go on, now. He’ll be waiting.”

“Oh, I think he’s checked out for good.” Silas appeared next to me.

I jerked in surprise but didn’t otherwise react, in order to keep my invisible friend a secret. I doubted it mattered, though. Silas was right—Wendell was off frolicking with pink elephants and lavender giraffes. I didn’t think the alcohol was solely to blame for it, either. Wendell had snapped.

“While you were chatting with your drinking buddy, I nosed around a bit. There’s a courtyard on the other side of the building, but the door is locked. I can’t see out the windows, either. I think we may have found where we need to go, but we’ll need a key.”

I glanced around the room in search of a likely hiding spot. Wendell wasn’t exactly present, so I considered going through his desk drawers. I reached a hand toward the desk, and he snapped to attention.

“What are you still doing here? I thought I said to move along.” He gave me a menacing jeer.

I moved my hand away, and his attention drifted off. After a minute or two, I tried again.

As my hand crept toward the desk, his eyes came to life and a tiny dagger plunked into the wood next to my thumb. I hadn’t even seen him move.

“Oh, for the love of...” Silas marched up to the desk, riffled through the drawers and finally produced the key. He held it up, dangling from a black ribbon. “Perks of being invisible.” He reached back into the drawer and grabbed something. “Also, I think we should relieve him of this.” He tossed a green rock at me, and I caught it, much to my surprise.

“Nice.” I pocketed the gargoyle snot without Wendell so much as flinching. After deliberating, I placed the tequila bottle back on the desk before I left.

From the hallway, I heard a crash, followed by a string of curses. Silas popped out a second later, his face filled with wicked glee.

“I’m afraid he dropped the bottle,” he said. “What terrible luck.”

Well, at least I didn’t have to feel guilty about Wendell possibly drinking himself to death.

Silas led me through a maze of hallways so complex, I wondered how he could have found the locked door we sought. The interior was inky dark. I couldn’t see my feet without the light from my phone. We stopped in front of a carved wooden door.

I held my hand out for the key. “Okay. Here’s the plan. I’m going to open it just a crack so we can see what we’re dealing with. It could be this isn’t even the right place. We’re going on my instincts and your hunch, and nothing much else.”

Silas folded his arms. “Why is it you have instincts, but I only have a hunch?”

I blinked at him. “What?”

He made a disgusted noise and handed me the key. “Typical.”

I turned the key in the lock until it clicked. In the quiet darkness, it sounded like a gunshot.

Deep breath, Zoey. The sun is shining out there. If you see him, slam the door and lock it.

I took my own advice and inhaled slowly, held the breath, then let it out twice as slow. The brass handle on the door was smooth and cold, and I pulled it down with a gentle touch.

My eyes took a moment to adjust to the sunlight pouring through the inch I’d opened the door. The courtyard was awash with morning light. A few twisted trees dotted the overgrown lot, and weeds sprouted from dry dirt.

I recognized several faces sitting on the ground—a satyr wearing a bow tie, a harpy chewing gum and blowing bubbles and an angry-looking chupacabra were especially notable. I’d seen them all in my driveway a few months before, chanting to call forth creatures through the portals their priest had opened—creatures hypnotized to kill my mother and me.

Their presence wasn’t surprising. Neither was the cage they were babysitting.

Janey sat in one corner of the contraption, rocking a crying Dasho in her arms, while little green Fern poked a chubby finger out of the cage and made patches of grass grow.

“Look, you have to bring us bottles for the babies soon. And fresh diapers.” Janey pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “If the Aegis finds out you didn’t take good care of us, she’ll be angry.”

The satyr sitting closest to her twitched a little at the word
Aegis
, but didn’t say anything or make a move toward fulfilling her request.

“Yeah,” Toby said. “She’ll probably kill you dead and stuff. Then your moms will be really sad.”

Kid logic. I wanted to kiss those faces so much. My heart was filled with pride.

The brownie kids huddled in a hamster cage next to the larger one. I bit my lip to keep quiet. Abby and Aaron sat together playing a weird form of patty-cake that involved elbows, knees and the occasional head bump. At first, I thought they were pretending not to be scared. But it was more than that. They were putting on a show to keep anyone from noticing Fred was trying to pick the lock with a twig.

Hungry. Cold. But not scared, no. Our wonderful kids were the bravest little things I’d ever seen. And most important—they were alive.