Ignited (24 page)

“You thought you were the first?” he asked.

He didn’t sound amused, so I answered honestly. “Every Protector or Healer whom I’ve met has sworn they’ve never heard of anyone like me before.”

He nodded, and I thought I glimpsed a hint of satisfaction. “Then we did our job. You know I’m a Protector, but it’s more complicated than that. Once, I was a Protector of the Phoenix.”

“Phoenix?” I asked. “Like the bird?”

“It’s what our family called them,” he said with a shrug. “The phoenix is a symbol of new life.”

“If there were more like me, what happened to them?” I asked in desperation.

“The Healers happened,” Seamus said with a fierce grimace. “They had all the power almost from the beginning, but it was a tenuous kind of power. We are stronger and faster, and they knew it. For a time, though, we existed in harmony, helping others and ourselves. But as children, we were taught that our races did not mix. It was almost a religious taboo, and you did not go against the church and live back in that day.” He shifted in his seat, finally unlatching the plastic kit. “Things changed with time. People are people, and they fall in love even when the odds are against them.”

My cheeks heated as I thought of Asher and Gabe.
Especially when the odds are against them.

“A few Healers and Protectors broke the rules, and people looked the other way. It was still a taboo, but one few spoke of. Until the first children were born. The boys became Protectors, but the girls . . . The daughters of those unions changed everything.”

“Why only girls?” I asked.

“Because only girls are born Healers. Your friends must have told you that.”

I frowned. Franc wanted to change that. He’d thought he could use me, experiment on me to understand why there were only female Healers. It was part of his plan to create male Healers to increase his numbers and take down the Protectors. Of course, he’d told me all of that before I understood what kind of man he was. Who knew what degree of truth had been in his words?

“So what happened when the girls were born?”

Seamus set supplies on the table, gauze, tape, and packets of antiseptic lined up like soldiers. “They grew up, and they grew into their powers. And as you know, that is no small thing. The Healers recognized a threat to their power. If they couldn’t control it, then the threat had to be destroyed.”

Destroyed. He meant murder. The hair rose on my arms. “You mean they killed them?”

“Every last one they could find. They slaughtered women, girls, babies.”

I shuddered and swallowed back my fear.

Seamus’s scowl darkened his face, and I guessed what he’d like to do to those Healers who had killed my kind. “That wasn’t enough for them, though. They wanted to be sure it could never happen again. So they killed all Healers and Protectors who dared break the taboo to set an example for others. Within a year, the Phoenix had disappeared, and after several decades, they were just a memory. A few centuries passed, and the Phoenix became a myth. A tall tale that the Protectors and Healers told their children.”

Seamus paused in the act of unwrapping his hand to face me. “And now there’s you,” he said in a soft voice.

I couldn’t decide if that sounded ominous or hopeful on his part. He finished pulling the towel from his hand and fumbled with an antiseptic wipe packet. When he dropped it for the second time, I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Give me that,” I said, shifting closer to him. Irritated, I yanked the packet from his fingers, opened it, and applied it to the cut on his neck. He hissed, and I reached into the kit to find a gauze pad to sop up the blood on his hand. I couldn’t hide my grimace as I cleaned the injury. The fork had gone all the way through his hand, and the mess of it was disgusting, the smell of iron strong in the air. It reminded me of the fake fingertip in the package from the night before.

“I’m going to be sick. Here, hold this.” I pressed his free hand to the gauze pad to hold it in place, while I leaned away and breathed through my nose.

“You’re a shite nurse,” he observed.

“Oh, please. I’ve taken care of far worse.” Except I’d never stabbed anyone’s fleshy palm with a utensil. I suppressed a heartfelt “ew” and reached for a roll of white bandages. “What do you want with me?” I asked.

I felt his eyes on me as I bandaged his hand, winding the gauze around and around the injury.

“The first Phoenixes were born O’Malleys. Many of our ancestors died trying to protect them, to save them when the killing began. We failed, and the Healers targeted us, forcing the few of us who remained into hiding. Ever since then, we’ve been following the stories, waiting for another Phoenix to be born. We won’t fail you again.”

That explained why their bloodline had disappeared from the book. The family had been a victim of Healer greed as much as the Phoenix had.

“You expect me to hide out here with you,” I said. “You took me from my family and friends.”

I finished taping off his hand a little rougher than necessary. He felt it, if his grimace was anything to go by. Already my nearness was affecting him.

“As I mentioned, I handled things wrong. Your situation is not what we thought. You are not who we expected. I thought to find a mere child, but you are not that, are you?”

I’d never been given the chance to be a child. Dean and my mother had seen to that. I studied Seamus’s features. The way he met my gaze made me think he was holding something back. Perhaps he wasn’t lying, but he wasn’t telling me the whole truth, either. And I’d learned not to trust somebody who hid their motives.

“You said I could choose to go after I heard you out. Did you mean it?”

He didn’t want to agree. That was plain on his face and in the tense way he held himself. He nodded anyway. “Yes. You’re making a mistake, but we won’t force you.”

I stood and walked across the room to the portrait of the blond woman. “I don’t know you, Seamus. My grandfather is trying to kill me. The Morrisseys have my father. The only people who have stood by me are the Blackwells.” I glanced over at Seamus with raised brows. “Call me crazy, but I’d rather stick with the people who’ve had my back since this began.”

Seamus rose and joined me in front of the painting. He touched a finger to the charm that hung at the woman’s neck, a golden phoenix with ruby eyes. The action was tender, as if he’d known her. I inhaled, realizing this woman had been like me—a Phoenix.

“Who was she?” I breathed.

“My wife,” he said.

There was a finality to his tone that defied more questions. He dropped his hand and turned to face me, the tender expression gone as he propped one shoulder against the wall. “Tell me how I can earn your trust.”

My mind ran through possibilities, calculating how this man could be used to help me. Others had been using me for ages. Why shouldn’t I work their desires against them?

I leaned forward at the waist. “Find my father. You help me get him back, and then we’ll talk.”

Seamus shook his head. “You couldn’t ask for something easy like stealing the Crown Jewels, could you?” He waved when I opened my mouth to snap at him. “No. You’ve got yourself a deal. Come on. I’ll have Sean and the boys return you to your friends.”

I followed him to the door. “I think Sean and I can manage without the boys.”

He understood my meaning in an instant. I didn’t want to go anywhere with a crowd of Protectors who could turn on me. “You really don’t trust anyone, do you?”

I didn’t answer. Let him believe what he wanted. We went downstairs, and he instructed Sean to take me back to the Blackwells. He took a phone from one of his men and handed it to me. “We’ll call when we find him.” Just before I walked out the front door he called to me, “You know we would have gone after your father anyway. He’s an O’Malley, and we look out for our kin.”

“Prove it,” I challenged, and then I closed the door behind me.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY

S
ean wasn’t much of a conversationalist, and I was okay with that. At Seamus’s, the big man had opened the back door of the Mercedes for me, and I couldn’t decide if he was acting as a chauffeur or if he didn’t want me in the front seat within reaching distance. I wanted to be relieved that Seamus had let me go, but until I reached my friends, I wouldn’t relax. Instead, my mind spun with everything I’d learned.

I wasn’t a half breed like Alcais’s book called me, a term that reduced me to an animal with a poor pedigree. I was a Phoenix: a creature that rose from its own ashes. The name felt truer than anything I’d learned. My life had mostly been ashes, and I’d been trying so hard to raise myself up out of the grime, to be more than people expected. The Phoenix was also a fiery thing, and I wondered if the name hadn’t been christened in part because of the red sparks that went hand in hand with our unique ability to inflict our pain on others.

Two hours ago, I’d thought my life over. I’d thought the Protectors had me with no possibility of escape, but I hadn’t given up. I hadn’t cowered or waited to be rescued or thought I deserved what had happened to me. I’d changed this last year. You didn’t hide in a hole when you had something worth fighting for, and I had more than a lot of people.

Sean stopped the car, and I realized we’d arrived at the Blackwells’ home. “Are you sure we weren’t followed?” I asked.

He looked insulted and grunted like that was an answer.

“It was super meeting you, Sean,” I exaggerated. “Bye, now.”

I reached for the handle, but the door didn’t open. Hiding the start of fear that made my palms damp, I met Sean’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

“We’ll be near,” he said in his gruff voice. “Don’t be stupid, girl.”

The locks disengaged, and I opened the door, grasping that I’d been given the guard’s version of a reassurance/ warning. In other circumstances, I might have reacted with sarcasm, but now, giddy relief flooded through me. Seamus had been true to his word so far. I was home.

I launched toward the front door. It opened before I touched the handle, and I was yanked off my feet by Asher, swarmed by my friends as multiple arms tried to hug me at once. Behind me, I heard Sean’s car pulling away, but I guessed he wouldn’t be going far. I had Protectors now. Lottie, Gabe, and Asher stared at me with worry and relief, and I thought,
More Protectors, then.

“Are you okay?” Gabe asked, his voice rough. A muscle in his jaw jumped and he remained on the staircase, his hand clenching the banister. “We’ve been going insane trying to figure out who took you. Lottie and I were leaving for Spencer and Miranda’s to see what they might know.”

Aside from Lucy, Gabe was the only one who hadn’t embraced me, and I tried not to be hurt.

“It’s a long story,” I said. “But I’m okay.”

Lottie patted me on the back with an awkward thump. “I’m glad you’re not dead,” she said.

Erin raised a hand and bit her lip. “Shouldn’t we be packing up and running if those guys know where we live?”

I’d thought about that on the way here. Seamus could be gathering his people to attack, but my gut said he wouldn’t. He wanted something from me, and he needed my cooperation. Attacking my friends ensured I would never cooperate, and he knew that now. It would be a leap of faith to trust him, but it was one that I would take. The others had to make their own choices, though. I wouldn’t decide for them.

We headed to the dining room as I explained everything that had happened since I’d been taken. Someone placed a plate of food in front of me. Lucy leaned over me, wearing an expression I recognized. It was the same one I saw in the mirror when my heart ached and I tried to hide it behind stoicism. I touched her hand, and she squeezed my fingers before pulling away. I sighed and let her go.

Between bites, I finished telling them what Seamus had shared, leaving out the part where I attacked him with a fork. It didn’t take long for everyone to explode in reaction.

“I can’t believe they killed all of those people,” Erin said, her voice heavy with sadness.

“They’re going to find Dad?” Lucy breathed.

“A Phoenix. Fitting,” Asher said.

We shared a smile. I’d thought the same thing. A movement caught my eye when Gabe shifted, staring at the table when a moment before he’d watched me.

I focused on the whole group. “What do you want to do? We can run, though I don’t know what good it will do. They’ve tracked us this far.”

“Do you believe he’s going to search for Ben?” Gabe asked, his gaze locked on something over my right shoulder.

I nodded, swallowing my hurt. For some reason, he couldn’t even look at me. “I do. I’m not sure his motives are as altruistic as he’d have me believe, but I think Seamus wants something from me and he’s willing to find my father to get it.”

“Then we stay,” Gabe said in an even voice.

His quick support surprised me, but I was glad to have it.

“I vote for staying,” Erin said. “The whole point of coming here was to find your father. If this is the best way to do it, then we give Seamus some room to help us.”

“I agree,” Lottie said, with a shrug. “To be honest, we’ve hit a dead end. We couldn’t have dug much deeper without making everyone suspicious. In fact, I think they already are. I was worried about returning to Spencer and Miranda.”

That didn’t sound good. Spencer and Miranda had been like family to the Blackwells, helping them to get out of Italy when their parents were killed and the war began. To hear that Lottie didn’t feel safe with them sent a wave of unease through me that grew when Gabe frowned. They had been worried, but they would have returned. For me and for Lucy. My eyes burned. A year ago, I couldn’t have imagined anyone risking their lives for mine. I loved these people.

Gabe’s eyes flickered with momentary heat as if he’d heard that thought, but the spark disappeared.

“You all know where I stand,” Lucy added.

“So we wait for Seamus,” Asher said, and a round of agreeable murmurs sounded around the table.

After that, the group kicked around ideas of stepping up our vigilance in case Seamus proved an enemy. Gabe used this as an excuse to slip away, saying he wanted to do a quick patrol of the neighborhood to be sure the O’Malleys were the only ones watching us and that they weren’t surrounding us. He left the room without once meeting my eyes or looking in Asher’s direction, and I wondered what had been said in my absence. Had they fought?