Fire Danger (10 page)

Chapter Eight

Phoenix’s frown deepened as he flipped between channels on his huge wall-mounted plasma TV.

Rachel had thought he would be in the bed next to her, and was perversely disappointed that his side was already cold when she woke. Seeing another person there was a rarity, and she had wanted to enjoy the sight of his beautiful body sprawled out, naked.

Instead he was in a pair of drawstring shorts, his chest bare. His wavy hair was messy and had clearly not seen a comb yet that day.

She could tell the minute he became aware of her. His mind cleared, but his shields were still down, and both his mind and his body greeted her.

“Whatcha doing?” she asked, sitting down beside him.

“Clues,” he said simply. “We need clues.”

He put a hand on her knee, kissed her absently and turned his attention back to the TV. Bloomberg, then MSNBC, then
Headline News
flew past on the screen before he went to the smaller channels, a ritual he was repeating over and over again. The talking heads spoke of civil unrest in the Turkic republics, famine in Africa, the instability of the euro, the usual fare. Nothing that seemed to command his attention.

She had no idea how he was managing to sort through anything with the speed he was pressing the remote.

He repeated the process with the remote, going through the national and then the local channels.

The newscaster was talking about the visit of the Chicago mayor. Rachel pointed to the channel, her hand on his arm to stop his progress. “What about that?”

He frowned. “I don’t think she would have any impact one way or the other. We’re looking for something big, either human or natural, that has something to do with fire and my test.”

Phoenix began his rapid flipping again. The story shifted, the flash of a picture of a fire catching their attention.

“In local news, a fire that burned an apartment building in the early-morning hours does not appear to have been arson.”

She recognized that building. The char and black of the fire had mostly been confined to the second-floor apartment, which, from the brief news footage they were showing, appeared to be a total loss.

The newscaster was talking, but Rachel wasn’t hearing it. They had gotten her basic stuff out of the apartment, but she’d left plenty behind with the intent of going back later and either getting it or taking up residence there again and resuming her normal life.

No chance of that now. No chance of either.

She was aware that Phoenix was staring at her, but her gaze was fixed on the TV screen. Gone, all gone. From the footage it didn’t seem as if anything was left. Nothing left to get. Nothing left of her life.

Finally, he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.”

She was frozen. The news had moved on, talking about the 49ers and other local sports while she sat there, her mind a whirl.

“Rachel.”

It was as if she were underwater. What if she had been there? What if JT had been there? What if she had been trapped in her bed, unable to escape the flames? What if, what if, what if?

“Rachel!”

His voice was loud and harsh, He gripped her shoulders and shook her.

“Rachel!”

His eyes were shadowed with worry and fear. Deeper, in the place he let few see, was a searing panic that he was trying to keep from her.

“You weren’t there, Rachel. You’re here. You and JT are safe.”

“What if?” She verbalized what her mind was screaming. With a shudder, she collapsed against him.

“Life is like that, Rachel. It’s an infinite series of ‘what ifs’. But it didn’t happen. The fire is a warning, that is clear, but you weren’t there. I’m sorry about your belongings, but they were just things.”

Tears came, tears of anger and fear. “It was
my
stuff,” she said through the clog in her throat, and hiccupped.

* * * * *

It wouldn’t be the last time she lost things, Phoenix thought grimly, feeling her body warm against his.

He continued to hold her, saying nothing, letting her cry. The tears weren’t just about her lost items. They were about everything she had lost and was continuing to lose. Tests were like that.

Tests like being Phoenix and going to the fire. It stripped you down to nothing and rebuilt you. If you survived the flames.

Her cell phone rang, startling both of them. It was a strange beep, unfamiliar to them both. Rachel dug in her purse and pulled out the blatting device.

“It’s an urgent call,” she said unnecessarily. “Probably the police. My phone was on vibrate, but they must have used an emergency beacon.”

Fire. It couldn’t be a coincidence that she was an Ifrit, linked by legend and modern-day truth to fire. There was no way that arson fire in her apartment was anything other than a warning from Haures.

The wolves had wanted her out of the picture too, trying to warn her off before she got involved. Why?

There had never been partners involved in Challenge before. It had always been the four Elementals against the Demonos. The paranormals, gods and other nonhumans mostly stayed on the sidelines. In the opinion of nonhumans, this war, the test, was between the two sets of powerful immortals and didn’t affect them. They would endure. The Demonos and Elementals employed humans, but in low-level tasks or, in the case of the Elementals, at their company.

Rachel was sniffling, but her voice was steady as she relayed information to the police. Phoenix smiled, remembering her heated passion under him. It had been a long time since he’d had a sexual encounter so satisfying. What would it be like when she had control over her fire? His mind danced with the possibilities the same way fire could dance over their bodies, alight but not consumed, heating but not burning. Alive.

He had learned not to get attached to things or to people. They were all transitory. Elementals had to be prepared to move at a moment’s notice. He had left more things behind than he could remember. Pets were gone in a blink of an eye, and an unnecessary complication. Humans lived longer, but not long enough. They were there, and then they were gone. Only the nonhumans stayed around long enough to form attachments, but most of them preferred to keep their distance from the Elementals. Links were rare. It had been centuries since he’d cared about anyone other than his fellow Elementals. The last time he had allowed a woman in, it had almost killed him.

Ifrits were few and kept to themselves. It would be vital to find out more. Perhaps as vital as facing Challenge.

“They’ll be over to take a statement later. He said there was no sign of an accelerant, nothing that immediately shouted arson. He asked me if I could have fallen asleep with a cigarette, a lit candle…or gotten drunk and passed out with those things. Well, he didn’t say the last part, but I could read it in his thoughts.”

Phoenix paused the DVR. He rose and went to her.

“I…can we get out of here for a while? Go somewhere quiet?”

“Good idea. The police can wait. They will suspect your involvement but will have no way and no true desire to pursue it. They will never solve the fire and will write it off as an accident. Haures has a way of ensuring that.”

“You think it was Haures?”

“I know it was. Come. Let’s go.”

* * * * *

After a brief stop at a shopping mall to pick up supplies, Phoenix concentrated and was pleased when his wings appeared. They didn’t often cooperate. He handed Rachel the backpack, and she slung it over her shoulders. He soared with Rachel high into the clouds, catching a fast-moving current. Soon they were over Washington State and into the Olympic Mountains. After circling, he picked Mount Storm King, a low peak that was not that interesting to tourists. There was a faint dusting of snow at this elevation.

He found a spot that was very difficult for people to climb to, and landed about halfway up.

Pulling out a bottle of wine, Phoenix uncorked the wine and poured each of them a healthy measure into two small plastic cups Rachel had removed from the pack.

She cocked an eyebrow at Phoenix. “Are you sure you should be drinking this? Don’t drink and fly, isn’t that what they say?”

He leaned over and kissed her. “Remember, I metabolize alcohol in seconds,” he said. “I do like the taste of wine, though. Saxons didn’t worry about the quality. After a battle we wanted to get drunk, and fast.” He was quiet a minute. “My Challenge is always fire related. It could be war, bombs, explosions, not necessarily traditional fire. There aren’t any wars that concern me, although that could change in an instant. There haven’t been any more than the usual terrorist threats. No significant world leaders have been assassinated. Nonetheless, we have all felt it. Challenge is here.”

He handed her the cup of wine, and she curled her fingers around it.

An idea erupted into her head before her nursery rhyme cut off contact. He set his cup down and studied her with a quizzical expression, waiting for her to speak, hands and wings folded to show he was being patient.

“Gavrilo Princip,” she said suddenly.

“Bless you,” he said with a smile that faded when he saw her bleak expression.

“Gavrilo Princip,” she said again, her hands shaking. She carefully placed her cup down next to his as if she was afraid she would spill the wine and turned to Phoenix. He plucked desolation and fear from her mind.

“I don’t understand,” he admitted.

“He’s the guy who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and triggered World War I.” After Phoenix turned up his palms, she continued. “My foster father was a huge World War I buff, so I know a lot about that war. When he deigned to talk to me, the most comfortable topic was his obsession with the First World War. It seemed a small thing, but there were so many alliances and treaties that a small assassination of an unimportant duke dragged the entire world into war. Haures doesn’t need to bomb countries or assassinate our president or the British prime minister. She just has to find the right combination of people who have ties to other countries that will bring the world to its knees.”

Phoenix stared at her. “Right. I know who he is, now that you reminded me. That’s interesting,” he said slowly. He was quiet for several moments. “It makes sense. It makes a great deal of sense. It ties into World War II, our last great defeat.”

He got up, brushing the snow off his butt with his wings. The small ledge they were on didn’t leave him much room, but he began pacing anyway, folding his hands in front and his wings at his back. The slits of the shirt opened with his movements and the breeze caught his feathers, making them ripple.

He was almost physically sick at the idea this could easily have slipped past him. It was so sly, so subtle that it could have been far too late by the time Phoenix figured out what was going on. Challenge was supposed to be more overt. Haures had gotten clever since the last time.

He’d underestimated the Demonos and miscalculated Challenge. After the Demonos had defeated the Elementals during World War II, he hadn’t thought it would come this quickly. He hadn’t expected Haures to be so subtle.

If not for a honey blonde, she might have gotten away with it.

With such a tight shield, Rachel couldn’t hear him. Cautiously checking her mind for any sign she was aware of what he was doing, Phoenix was relieved when she seemed worried, but unaware. He sent a quick, tight beam to Griffin with the new information and heard the faint acknowledgment.

“You said the Black Plague was a Challenge. And the Second World War,” she said slowly. “What happened?”

“The Second World War was one of the greatest Challenges we have ever faced. That’s what makes this timing odd. It’s too soon. Challenges come when they come, and there is no rhyme or reason—none that we can fathom, anyway—but there is usually more than a century between the major ones. This is only a few decades. None of us expected a Challenge this quickly.”

She doubted that people born seventy years ago would think of this as “only” a few decades, but she let it pass. “You lost that one? But the Allies beat the Axis. How can you call that a defeat?”

He made a twisting motion with his lips.

“Elementals do not count wins and losses as humans do. Hippocampus lost his individual Challenge, and we lost the final one that we had to fight after his loss. It is estimated that eighty million people died as a result of that war. Yes, the Allies ultimately prevailed, but the human cost was so high. The Demonos destroyed much as a result of our failure. That is what we call a loss. The final outcome is irrelevant for our purposes, although I am glad the Allies were the winners. Think of all the people who would die this time. We cannot lose.”

Rachel was silent for a moment. “You’re right. We have to win. Maybe,” she mused thoughtfully. “Maybe this test and those tests were linked. There is always talk of World War III. Maybe this is a continuation of those.”

He cocked his head. “It’s possible.” Putting a hand out, he gently caressed her cheek with his index finger. Her shudder and the dilation of her eyes thrilled him. Hardening in a rush, Phoenix pulled her against him and folded his wings around her. “Clothes off,” he murmured. She stripped off the parka and then the simple jeans and sweater underneath.

Rachel sighed. He could feel the warmth of her breath on his neck, and she relaxed into him. He sat down and maneuvered her onto his lap, urging her legs open so she straddled his cock, only his jeans and the barrier of her underwear separating them.

“Hmm, Aleric,” she murmured, pressing small kisses along his neck. “All for me?” Her breathing began coming in short gasps as he thrust against her, letting her feel the weight and heaviness of his desire.

His answer was a grunt as he slid his hands around the front of her body. Closing his wings tighter around her to keep out the chill, Phoenix unbuttoned her emerald-green blouse and slid her breasts free. Even through the bra he could see that her nipples had peaked, and the sight made Phoenix’s cock harden further.

Using his wings to brace her, ran his thumbs over the erect nipples. Rachel’s body rippled, and she threw her head back against his wing. He caught her with a band of feathers and held her head still even as he bent to suckle deeply from her ruby-colored nipples. Surrounded by red areolas, they were made for a man’s touch. For a Phoenix’s touch.