Embrace the Night

Embrace the Night

PHOENIX Files: Book 2

Alexandra Kane

Copyright © 2011 Alexandra Kane

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

Embrace the Night, PHOENIX Files Book 2

No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission.

For my parents, Eric and Henrietta, and parents everywhere who give the best they have to their children.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I'd like to thank the ladies of the BevLand Yahoo group for all your support and encouragement. That includes the Empress herself, the illustrious Beverly Jenkins. Many thanks also to the talented Erica G., who has an eye for typos, and to my husband and kids for providing me with inspiration and quiet time to write. And of course, to the readers, I can't express my appreciation in words.

Happy Reading!

Alexandra

other books by alexandra Kane

Darkness Rising,
PHOENIX Files book 1

January, 2011

ISBN: 978-1453835197

Embrace the Night

Prologue

Sam Richardson reclined at his desk in the security office, feet propped on the oak desk top, arms folded behind his head. The night shift guarding the artifacts at the North Carolina Museum of History had never been exciting, but tonight he struggled just to keep his eyes open. A little excitement would go a long way towards helping him stay awake, but he knew it wasn't likely. Blowing out a long breath, he tried to push his exhaustion away, but failed.

He could feel his heavy eyelids sliding closed.

WHIRRRR!

The sound of one of the entry alarms blaring shocked him awake. Leaping to his feet, he studied the wall of monitors broadcasting the security camera footage. Gaze darting from screen to screen, he stopped on the center monitor.

With great confusion and raised eyebrows, he watched the glass case that held A Revolutionary war-era tea kettle shatter, without any evidence of it being struck. Then, he stared as the centuries old piece of metal simply floated across the exhibit room, and out of one of the museum's side entrances.

Plopping down in his chair, Sam ran his hand over his weary eyes. Then, he said aloud, "Either that really happened, or I'm seeing things. Either way, I need a new job"

Within two hours, his supervisor came in to relieve him. Lauren walked into the office, black security coat slung over one arm, with her bright red NC State Wolfpack mug in her other hand. Seeing the look on his face, she asked, "What's the deal, Sam?"

He looked at the mug, then back at her. "Had your coffee yet?"

She nodded. "A few sips. Why?"

He moved to the devices that stored the digital security footage, and rewound the data to the point when the alarms went off. "Take a look at this," he said, gesturing to the monitors.

Then he sat back and watched her reaction to the footage.

Eyes glued to the screen, she dropped her coffee mug. The plastic clattered on the linoleum floor, the dark liquid pooling around her feet. She didn't even notice. "Holy shit, Sam. What the hell was that?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Chapter 1

What a day to start a mission.

Glancing out at the heavy pellets of rain falling from the gray afternoon skies outside his office window, John Groves powered down his computer. Pulling his long, black raincoat on over his broad shoulders and setting the matching fedora on his head, he grabbed his briefcase and made his way into the corridor of the Boyer Building, securing the door behind him.

He seriously considered using his telekinesis to pull his car up to the door of the building. But, with the fall semester well underway, the campus was bustling with students and faculty. It just wasn't practical, and would lead to an epic scene.

"Hi, Professor Groves," a young female student called as she passed by him, bringing him back to reality. He nodded, walking toward the glass doors at the end of the hall. Cinching the coats' belt around his waist, he stepped out into the pouring rain. Quickening his pace he jogged toward the faculty parking lot.

Fat droplets beat against his body through the raincoat until he arrived at his car. Once he'd shoved his briefcase and himself into the black mid size SUV, he brought the engine to life and got underway. Dr. Black would be expecting him at PHOENIX regional headquarters, and he hoped to get there on time.

With five o'clock traffic in Raleigh being what it was, getting from the campus of Saint Augustine's College in the Oakwood area, all the way to the sparsely populated town of Holly Springs proved to be just as much of a headache as he'd anticipated. Sitting in the long line of motorists virtually parked on US 64, John rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. If Dr. Black didn't hold him up at headquarters all night, he had a stack of term papers from his World Civilizations class to grade.

That's if I ever get out of this damn traffic.
The rain had slacked off a bit, but drops of water still slid in rivulets down his windshield, only to be tossed aside by the swishing wipers.

Finally, the line of cars ahead of him began to move. As he inched along, gradually building speed with the flow of traffic, he realized he would probably get to headquarters on time. What to expect when he got there, he never knew.

Twenty minutes later he had pulled his truck into a space in the wooded area surrounding the unassuming white washed farmhouse. The two story structure occupied several acres of land between Raleigh and Holly Springs, in an area frequented mostly by squirrel, deer, and hunters. At the door, he completed the electronic retina and thumbprint scans, as he'd done so many times before. The lock released and he entered the building.

In the seven years he'd been in PHOENIX, the similarities between regional headquarters had always amused him. They were all built to look like farmhouses, abandoned factories, or other nondescript places, but the insides were nearly identical. The polished wood floors and expensive dust collectors gave no indication of the kind of missions the group handled on a regular basis. He supposed one of the higher ups must be determined to exude class, even while kicking ass.

Approaching Dr. Black's office, he found the doors open. Just as he'd expected, the doctor faced a rear window, with only the back of his leather chair beyond that ridiculously large desk visible.

"Thank you for coming, Agent Groves," the deep, booming voice emanated from the chair. "Enjoying this lovely weather?"

John scoffed. "Sure." He removed his fedora. "So, what's the mission?"

"Hold on now, speedy. You'll find that out when your partner gets here."

After his cross county trek, he found himself a little annoyed that his partner hadn't already arrived. "Well, where is he?"

A female voice answered from behind him. "I'm right here, and I hope you can tell I'm not a he."

He spun around in the direction of the sound, and saw her standing there. She was statuesque, nearly matching his own six feet four inches in height. She wore some sort of spandex workout gear, shaded red, that clung to her lithe, shapely body like a second skin. Her dark hair, streaked with red, clung to the sides of her bronze face as is she'd been sweating. Her flushed appearance was strangely appealing.

She raised an eyebrow, folded graceful arms across her chest. "Are you gonna just stand there gawking at me, or introduce yourself?"

Right away, John decided he did not care for her attitude or her mouth, regardless of her loveliness. Annoyed, he approached her, stuck out his big hand. "I'm John Groves."

She shook his hand with a firm grip. "I'm Lieutenant Tatiana Yates. Nice to meet you, Agent Groves."

He could feel his eyes widening.
Did she say lieutenant? They expect me to follow orders from a woman?
Doing his level best to hide his surprise, he responded in kind. Then he and his shapely superior both stood near Dr. Black's desk.

She announced, "We're ready to be briefed, sir."

"Good, because there have been some strange happenings at the museum of history," Dr. Black began. "Artifacts seem to be getting up and removing themselves from the premises."

John snickered. "It's more than likely a fader," he said, shaking his head. Faders, with their powers of invisibility, were often caught doing things they shouldn't, simply because they thought they could get away with it.

Tatiana looked thoughtful. "If things are being taken, and it's not an inside job..."

"It's definitely not an inside job," Dr. Black interjected. "It's not even a human job. Whoever is doing this doesn't always use doors or windows to enter the building. I've seen the security footage."

She clapped her hands once, loudly. "This isn't an ordinary fader, then. It's got to be a sublimer, since they can pass through solid objects."

So, she's already figured out the case. Why does she need me along?
John cleared his throat. "Do we have any leads, Doctor?"

"Not at the moment, but we've set up surveillance at the museum."

"We don't need leads," Tatiana said, eyes lit up like the fourth of July. "I know exactly where to start."

He watched as she produced a tiny cell phone from her armband and punched a number into the keypad. “Who are you calling? Don't we need to get going?”