Phoenix Tonic (2 page)

Chapter Two

Kallian Markham glared at his phone before placing it back over his ear. “Thanks Malachi. I didn’t think she’d accept either, but you didn’t have to put it like that.” His stride consumed the parking lot as he pushed back the unruly dark strands hanging in his eyes.

“I’m just outside. We can continue this conversation in a moment.” He shut the phone off and stepped into the Eden Animal Preserve. The clinical white walls always felt too sterile, making him hurry through the corridors. His dark suit stood out among the sea of white lab coats. Yanking off his sun glasses, he exposed his eyes to the fluorescent lighting.

“Oh, good morning Mr. Markham!” A girl with a clipboard said.

“Morning,” he plastered on his fake smile as he continued his fast-pace march through the facility. He usually liked to get a feel for how the medical team was doing on the drug, but today he wasn’t in the mood.

“Morning, Mr. Markham,” an animal handler called.

“Morning.” He did the smile and nod thing, not stopping once.

“How are you today, sir?”

He recognized a face behind a boiling beaker. “I’m good Carol. Hope your reunion went well.”

“It’s good to see you again, sir,” A young man peeked over his dropper full of liquid.

“Hey Max. I was right about that restaurant, wasn’t I?”

He nodded. “You have great taste in food, sir.”

Kallian slowed as he reached the end of the lab.

A woman with wavy dark hair stood at her desk as he neared. “In a hurry today, Mr. Markham?”

Kallian paused briefly before the secretary. “Yes, Phyllis. Is my brother in his office?”

She nodded. “I believe he’s expecting you.” She walked to the open office door behind her. “Sir, your brother is here.”

“Come in,” Malachi barked.

Kallian stepped through the door. “Thank you Phyllis.”

She smiled, bowed, and politely closed the door.

Malachi’s brow drew low over his eyes. “And what would you have done if she had accepted?”

Kallian heaved a sigh and deposited himself on the plush leather couch in the corner. His older brother acted more like their father every day. And he was starting to look like his father, too. Age-wise Malachi’s body was about twenty years older than Kallian’s thirty years. His waist line was growing while his hair was graying at the edges. “What’s wrong with me wanting to get married? Using the tonic is the only way for me to have a wife. I thought you’d be thrilled at the prospect.”

Malachi scoffed. “You’re just a pup. You don’t know anything about marriage.”

He rolled his eyes. “You were younger than me when you got married.”

“And I was too young.”

Kallian scowled at his brother’s words. “You were happy.”

Silence hung heavy in the air as the brothers stared each other down. “Are you sure you want to do this? You barely know her. Phoenixes mate for life, brother.”

Kallian pursed his lips with a drawn brow. “When it came to the Princess of York you weren’t so hesitant.”

Malachi sat forward and stared at his computer. “Yes. Well, we both remember how that went.”

Kallian, unfortunately did remember how it went with the princess, and he wished he could erase that lifetime from his memory.

After a few moments Malachi cleared his throat. “The problem is the way you handled it. A deal like that may have been acceptable two hundred years ago, but now? Are you crazy?”

Kallian leaned toward his brother, slowly and deliberately. “I
like
Miss Simmons.”

Malachi threw his hands in the air. “Then you shouldn’t have sabotaged her chance at that medical study.”

“I could smell the cancer on Hailey the day we met. Nothing could have saved her. She would have suffered horribly until the end. But I’ve wanted her from the moment she spoke to me. And you know how that works. I have to give a human girl the tonic when she’s on the brink of death. I had to let the cancer run its course if I wanted to bring her across.”

Malachi sighed. “You could have done it the way Kira’s parents did it.”

A grimace shadowed Kallian’s face. “Poison her? No way. I couldn’t do that.” He eyed his brother. “I want to give her the choice. And I don’t want to be responsible for her death.”

“Well, you kind of are.”

“No,” Kallian stared up at the ceiling. “Nature did that.”

“And then you prevented the humans from helping her.” Malachi shook his head. “Well, you’ll have to seduce her, or give up. She’s not going to say yes after what you did. And Phoenix law states you can’t give her the tonic if she doesn’t accept.” He chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

“She doesn’t have time, Malachi.” Kallian pinched the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t know her illness had progressed that far until I hacked into her medical files.” He’d kept a close eye on her, but he’d never been able to get close enough to actually smell how far the illness had spread. He’d been reduced to visual confirmation until he stole the files.

He made sure he had an invitation to every social gathering she attended. She was great with working a room, she shined when she danced, and was one of the few girls who didn’t fall all over him. It killed him to stand in the shadows while other men entertained her. In hindsight, his brother was right. He should have just flown out and begged her forgiveness.

“What the hell, Kallian.” Malachi’s eyes stared straight at Kallian’s hands.

He followed his brother’s gaze and started. Something like liquid fire dripped from his fingers before a portion the size of a golf ball rose into the air.

Malachi circled around his desk and joined his brother as they stood and watched the fire bubble float upward.

Kallian looked at his now clear hands, then back to the flaming orb. “Malachi, what is that?”

His brother, only a little shorter than him, furrowed his brow and met his gaze. “I’ve never seen this ability before.” His brow creased. “I also haven’t seen you lose control of your powers in a hundred years. This girl must really be messing with your head.”

He continued to stare at the slowly drifting fireball that he’d produced. “You’d use any excuse at this point to keep me away from her.” He reached up, then thought better of it. “Maybe you should pop it, before it reaches the ceiling.”

He snorted. “It’s your fire not mine.”

“I thought you like to live dangerously, assassin.”

“Ex-assassin. I just babysit you now.” Malachi shot him a sideways glance. “I don’t know what’s inside. You created it, you should be immune to it. You pop it.”

Kallian took a deep breath through his nose and poked the bubble with his pointer finger. A burst of flame flash-lit the room, and burned out instantly. “Huh.”

Malachi shrugged. “It was rather pretty. Maybe you should go back to court and put on a show for the Monarch’s birthday celebration? I’m sure the fledglings would love you.” Kallian shot him an annoyed look as Malachi sniffed the air. “Methane. It was a methane bubble.”

Kallian blanched. “You mean I just farted through my fingers?” He curled his hands then let them drop. “Stupid chili I had for lunch.”

His brother chuckled. “My baby brother can kill a mountain of men in a blink, and fart through his fingers. I like you more every year.” The smile slipped from his lips, quickly. “You know I have to inform the Monarch about this. New abilities don’t come about that often.”

Kallian pursed his lips and nodded.

His brother went back to his leather chair and settled in. “You might want to go back to the royal compound until you get your head on straight. We don’t know what you might unconsciously do with all those unknown powers. I’ll stay here and run things—”

“Absolutely not,” he said. “I know you think you’re my babysitter, but you don’t need to be here. I can run things on my own.”

Malachi leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “You’re breaking a dozen human laws, and you know the royals would shut us down. You don’t know all the hoops I’ve had to jump through to keep your little project under wraps.” Kallian glared at him, and he dropped his hands. “Look, you know I believe in what you are doing. Finding a cure for rampant human illness is a very noble deed. But it won’t bring back those men you killed. You were a fledgling, and it was an accident.”

Kallian rubbed his chin. “Easy for you to say, every creature you killed deserved it. The men who attacked us only wanted help. They wanted a cure for their illness, and I’m going to give it to them.” His voice dropped. “It’s the least I can do.”

The leather chair his brother sat in squeaked as he crossed his legs. “You can’t save everyone, baby brother. And you can’t save Miss Simmons, either.”

Kallian slowly turned around and buttoned his Armani jacket. “If there’s nothing else—”

“Actually there is.” Malachi cleared his throat and tilted his head toward the testing area. “The spider monkey escaped earlier. She’s somewhere in the facility. I’d appreciate it if you went to the lab and assisted the animal handlers.”

Kallian shook his head. “Cinnamon escaped again? Glad to hear she’s doing so well. Is the new strain working?”

Malachi shrugged. “We won’t know until we see the monkey’s reaction to you.”

“Huh.” Kallian turned to leave. “If it is working, we may never find her.”

As Malachi opened the door, a small noise drew their attention to the floor where a little brown and white monkey stared up at them. Cinnamon promptly scurried up Kallian’s leg until she came to rest on his shoulder.

Kallian stroked her fur as he headed to the animal center. “I don’t think the new strain is working, Malachi.”

Chapter Three

The doctor couldn’t have just said I was gonna be dead next month.
As Hailey looked into his empty eyes, she suddenly wished she hadn’t fired the last several oncologists.

              “I’m sorry,” her heartbeat raced. “What did you say?” She struggled to sit up in the hospital bed.

“Miss Simmons,” he cleared his throat, “you informed me from the beginning you didn’t want me ‘pussy-footing’ around the truth. You wanted me to tell you flat out what I know. And by these scans here,” he held up black and white films to the light, “I predict you have about six weeks to live. Maybe eight.”

He was right. She had hired him for his candor. The other doctors kept saying things like “We’re not sure.” Or, “Let’s wait and see what develops.” Some would even discuss the truth with her parents, but not with Hailey. Did she look like she was twelve or something? If they’d shared their thoughts immediately, she would have been out doing all the things she’d always dreamed of sooner.

Now she could barely walk as her body endlessly racked with pain. Her parents had gotten her the nicest room at the nursing facility, one in the corner with an extra window and no roommates.

“How could you be so cruel?” She lifted her heavy eyes to see her baby brother face to face with the doctor. Well, at twenty, he wasn’t really a baby anymore. But his heated voice sounded like it came from a distant tunnel. The crying of her mother whispered from beside her. Hailey refused to look at her. She always cried at these appointments, yet she demanded on being there anyway. But if Hailey looked at her now, she wouldn’t last.

“Brian, it’s okay.” She couldn’t look at him either. Instead she stared at the men’s squared shoulders. “Dr. Timms is only doing what I asked him to do.” Her voice was as void of emotion as the doctors eyes.

Brian glared at the doctor a moment longer before retreating back to his usual seat next to the IV drip. His blue eyes melted from stone to as deep as the sea. Her mother leaned into him, and their matching sandy blond heads rested against each other. She was practically a carbon copy of the two, except for her hazel eyes.

Hailey didn’t want to be responsible for their pain. She wasn’t ready to leave them yet. “What about the study, Dr. Timms? It doesn’t matter how much money my dad has, I’m at death’s door here. I must qualify now.” She had been just a breath away from qualifying for that medical research. Several of the patients had gone into remission, while she now had six weeks left.

Hailey swallowed at her doctor’s placid face. “Am I right? Can you get me back in?”

Dr. Timms uncrossed his legs and set his tablet on the sterile counter. “Miss Simmons— may I call you Hailey?”

She nodded.

“Hailey, it’s important not to disillusion yourself. You’re stage four, BS. You are too far along to qualify for any studies.” He tapped his tablet and a series of charts appeared. “Your lymphatic system is riddled with cancer. Your bone marrow, liver and spleen are all suffering. Compounded with the fever and night sweats, you must understand how serious this is. I know you’re young. No one thinks they can die at the age of twenty-three, but the simple fact is you need to prepare yourself, not grasp at straws.”

Her mother grieved louder. She wanted to tell her brother to go ahead and hit Dr. Timms now, but she couldn’t. Her mind had gone blank.

Brian’s broken voice rang out. “What about that medicine you’ve got her on? I thought you said that stuff was supposed to slow it down?”

Dr. Timms stopped typing and slowly set his tablet down. “Yes, well, I informed Miss Simmons that the drug may help. But this is a particularly aggressive disease.” He pulled the rolling stool up to her.

Hailey’s face, her skin everywhere, had a strange, painful tingling as she looked down at him.

Dr. Timms folded his hands and lowered his voice. “Hailey, I’m going to take you off the medicine. I think it would be best for you to spend this next month with your family, not going through multiple medical procedures that won’t work.” He pressed his lips together as he waited for her to make eye contact. “Now, the symptoms you’re experiencing are only going to get worse as each day goes by. I want you to take it easy. I’ll set it up so that a hospital bed and hospice come out to your house by tonight. I’ll order an in-home morphine drip to make you more comfortable. If you need anything else don’t hesitate to call.” He pulled out a business card and scribbled something on the back. “This is my private number. Where ever I am, I’ll answer.”

Her fingers trembled as she took the card. “Thank you Dr. Timms,” she whispered. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t even react. All she could think about was putting one foot in front of the other. That was her motto this last year. Baby steps.

Walking at her college graduation.

Making herself get out of bed in the mornings.

Smiling as if there was hope.

But baby steps seemed momentous right now.

Her mother’s warm hand slipped into hers. Brian draped his bulky arm around her shoulders as they tried to talk about other things.

She stared straight ahead, not seeing the room, the flowers or the balloons. Like a robot she forced herself to participate in their conversation about the latest movies, babies and friends. But the news finally sunk in, and she couldn’t pretend anymore. She was going to be
gone
soon. A part of her was still denying that this was her reality. She drew her knees to her chest, wrapped her slim arms around her legs, and cried.