Phoenix Rising (10 page)

Rachel’s question made him laugh. It was wonderful hearing her voice again. He’d been away only a couple days, but it felt like months.

Artemis and Talis were in the library. Every wall was covered with shelves, and on the shelves were books, some on end with spines out, others stacked one on top of another. A laptop was on a desk, and next to it, a phone, which Artemis was using while Talis watched indulgently from a leather couch. He was still naked, and it took all Artemis’s willpower to keep his eyes from dropping to Talis’s genitals as he talked to Rachel.

“I’m somewhere in Nepal,” he said, looking into Talis’s amethyst eyes. “I’m safe. Make sure my mom knows.”
“Talis left messages to that effect,” she said caustically, “or rather, his PA did. We didn’t get them until after you’d disappeared, though.”
He left messages.
Somehow that information warmed him. “I suppose the department is in an uproar.”
“They were on the group members like white on rice, but they didn’t know shit. The manager said Talis canceled all the California concerts and left them a pile of money before vanishing. We checked the bus terminal, train station, and airlines,but didn’t find you or Talis.”
“Private plane.” Artemis half-turned and ran a hand along the spines of several books. The titles dealt with metaphysical science. “I was drugged the whole trip, woke up in a place in the mountains.”
“Interpol issued a red notice on Talis Kehk the minute you both disappeared. Nepal, huh? The US doesn’t have extradition with that country. Got the name of a nearby city? I can roust the local gendarmes to rescue you.”
Artemis glanced over his shoulder at Talis, who was watching him with a small smile on his perfect lips. “No idea. Rach… I’m okay. Talis won’t hurt me. He tells me he didn’t murder those young men.”
There was a long pause. “Do you believe him?”
“I’m… investigating the possibilities.” Talis grinned and blew him a kiss. Flushing, Artemis turned away. “I’ll know soon… a few weeks.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Her outrage and surprise were clear. “A few weeks? Jesus.” She huffed out a breath. “He’s not forcing you to say this? You’re not reading from a script?”
“I’m not being forced to say anything.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Sit tight, reassure my mother, tell Numbnuts I’ll be back, and if Talis is guilty, I’m bringing him with me.”
“Will do. Can you call me again? In a week or so?”
“If I can.” Artemis ended the call and set the phone down. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Rising, Talis held out a hand. “Can we go to bed now? I’m tired.”

A
RTEMIS
wasn’t sure what to expect when Talis slid into bed next to him, but despite erect dicks, Talis insisted on sleep. He curled himself around Artemis with a soft sigh.

“I have more questions,” Artemis said, letting himself relax. He was not as uneasy as he might have been with the blond man pressed so warmly against him. Talis felt good there. He felt
right
, and damn, he sure smelled good.

“Tomorrow, ask me anything you like, but now I must rest.” He slid an arm loosely around Artemis’s waist. “More people in need arrive tomorrow, and I must be ready.”

Talis was asleep in minutes; Artemis could tell by his breathing. But he stayed awake a while, wondering why he was so comfortable with a murder suspect. If he was honest with himself, he wanted very much to prove that Talis was not a killer. His attraction to the man had not abated one bit despite his being drugged and kidnapped and flown halfway around the world. While the cop in him was still on high alert, that voice had faded, replaced by a part of him he had long neglected: a man who enjoyed doing simple things with someone he loved. Artemis had not been able to indulge his “real” self for so long that he was surprised it still existed. Even with Richard, Artemis had been the cop 90 percent of the time, and in the end, it had mitigated their breakup. Thinking back, he couldn’t fault Richard for leaving; the little time Artemis had been home he’d spent at his desk, going over his cases. Rarely had he taken a night off, and now he could see this had doomed them.
My fault, damn it. I took him for granted and he got sick of it.

Here, in a canopied bed far from home and everything familiar, Artemis felt like he was coming back to himself after a long journey. It scared him, but it was also thrilling. Maybe Talis was right. Maybe they
were
soul mates.

He instantly snorted at the thought. Total bullshit, but there was no denying that beyond the burning physical attraction he felt for Talis was a deeper connection he was only now becoming aware of.

He should be as pissed at Talis now as he had been when he’d first awakened here, but he wasn’t. He should be withdrawn and hard edged and suspicious of a man that was also a bird… but he wasn’t. Rachel would hoot with sarcastic laughter if she could see him now, leaning his head toward Talis so he could breathe in that amazing scent. It wasn’t quite sweet and not quite musky, and while he couldn’t identify any one component, he ridiculously thought it was a combination of all the things he thought he might love best in the world. Nose against Talis’s fragrant blond hair, Artemis drifted into a dreamless sleep.

T
HE
next day was a repeat of the one before. People in assorted physical and mental distress poured into the receiving room and quietly waited until Phoenix got to them. Artemis watched from Phoenix’s couch. Ammon, standing beside him, hands linked behind his back, observed as well.

“Ammon, did he kill those young men?”
“I am not qualified to answer that. I was not present.” “Is he capable of it?”
A smile tugged at Ammon’s lips. “You have witnessed

Artemis’s lips tightened. “I’m a cop. I’m not entitled to an opinion.”
“You are not a cop here.”
“I’m a cop everywhere.” The words popped out of his mouth, but they had no force. Ammon was correct. He didn’t feel like a cop anymore. He felt like a man on the verge of falling in love, and it scared the shit out of him. He decided a change in subject was required. “Why is it that photos and videos of Phoenix are not all over the internet?”
“Phoenix cannot be photographed, nor his voice captured.”
Artemis considered this. "But Talis can be photographed and recorded... because he's human?"
Ammon nodded. “Do you have your cell phone?”
“Yes….”
“Try it. You’ll see.”
Retrieving his phone from a pants pocket, Artemis turned it on and discreetly snapped a shot of Phoenix where he sat, folded legs beneath him, before a young girl wearing a leg brace.
“Now look at it,” Ammon said, smiling.
Artemis did so, seeing the young girl with upturned face, joy sparkling in her eyes, and where Phoenix should be… nothing but a blur of red and yellow. “This happens every time?”
“It does. Phoenix could not properly fulfill his destiny if the world confirmed his existence.”
Artemis turned off his phone and put it away. “It seems the pharaohs thought of everything,” he said dryly.
Ammon responded with a straight face. “You are sometimes quite amusing.”
Smirking, Artemis shifted into a more comfortable position on the plush cube. “Why aren’t people amazed or shocked by a giant talking bird? I almost shit myself the first time he transformed in front of me.”
“He exudes reassurance. They accept without question and, soon after leavingit may be hours, a day or twoforget him entirely.”
Startled, Artemis shot him a look. “Are you serious?”
“I am.”
“So if I were to go away, I’d soon forget I’d ever seen the phoenix?”
“Yes.”
He followed Phoenix’s progress around the room for a few minutes. The bird almost glowed under the light pouring down through the glass ceiling. “He heals them, they leave, and he’s forgotten. That’s sad somehow.”
“It is best. He would get no rest otherwise.”
“How do they find themselves here in the first place, then? If the phoenix is merely another myth?”
“They talk at first, while their memory of him is still clear, and others hear about him. They are desperate. They want to believe.”
“And so they come.”
Ammon nodded. “Just so. In a few days, we will go to Egypt, where more supplicants await him.”
The young girl removed her brace and tossed it aside, laughing ecstatically, while her father cried with happiness. “Will I go with you?”
“I am sure you will.” Ammon’s gazeslid to Artemis. “You will not object to this?”
The girl threw her arms around Phoenix in a loving embrace before moving away to dance a clumsy impromptu jig for her father. “I won’t object.” He determined in that moment to stay with Talis/Phoenix until he knew the truth.

Remember what Bilbo used to say: It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.

I
T WAS
hot in Cairo. Talis stepped off the plane into a wall of heat that warmed him bone deep. Behind him, Artemis hovered at his shoulder, almost touching him.

“Quite a place,” the detective said, following him down the steps to the tarmac.
“Egypt was my first home.” Talis led him to a limo with black-tinted windows. Behind them, Ammon supervised the unloading of luggage from the bowels of the private plane while Talis opened the limo’s back door and ushered Artemis inside.
Climate-controlled comfort enveloped them. “What the hell would we do without air conditioning?” Artemis said as he slid to the far left. The window between front and back seats was closed. The dark-skinned chauffeur glanced at them in the rearview mirror but said nothing.
Talis got in beside him, the fine leather squeaking under him as he sat. “The world would be a far sweatier place, and stinkier,too.” Like Artemis and Ammon, he wore lightweight white linen.
“Mythological creatures make jokes? Who would have thought.” Smiling, Artemis stretched out his legs. There was plenty of room for them. “Where’s your place?”
“About six hundred and forty kilometers from Cairo, near Luxor.”
“What’s that in miles?”
“Approximately four hundred.”
“And the people will know to go there?”
“Ammon will raise the flag the moment we arrive. By this time tomorrow, they’ll be camped outside the walls.”
The chauffeur left the car to help the PA load their luggage in the trunk. Both of them got in the front seat, and the car slowly left the field.
Talis took Artemis’s hand in his. The detective did not fight it but allowed his hand to lie quietly in the soft grip. That made Talis smile. “Your mother lives in the city. Would you like to visit her?”
Artemis’s lips curled into a wry smile. “My mother lives in Queens and is engaged to William Hersey.”
“Don’t be obtuse, Artemis,” Talis chided. “We can visit her if you like. She is, from all reports, a fine and gracious woman.”
“I’d rather not, thanks.” He turned away, head tilted. “What am I hearing?” He bumped a lever, and the window went down a few inches, letting in a wall of noise: honking horns, screaming voices, loud music. “What the fuck!” He powered the window up, and the din subsided to a dull roar.
“There are over eighteen million people in Cairo,” Talis said. “The city is bursting at the seams. In fact, all habitable areas of Egypt are heavily populated.”
“The Nile’s a big draw, huh?”
“The only arable land in the country lies along its banks and in the delta. All else is desert.” Talis moved his thumb against Artemis’s palm in small circles. “My place is on the West Bank. We’ll cross the Nile Bridge at Luxor.”
“Where else do you have homes?” Artemis watched the passing scenery, his body relaxing into the plush leather seat.
“China, Brazil, Australia, South Africa… Russia, France… Argentina, mm, Belize, United States, and Canada.”
Artemis snorted softly. “I’m surprised you don’t have a Fortress of Solitude somewhere.”
“I’ve made an attempt to be accessible to all.”
“Uh-huh.” Artemis’s eyes dropped to their joined hands. “Every night, you sleep with me, the operative word being
sleep
. Why haven’t we fucked? I mean, I thought that’s what this was all about, you getting me alone somewhere and nailing my ass.”
Talis gazed calmly at the somewhat belligerent expression on Artemis’s face. “I am waiting.”
“For?”
Talis raised an eyebrow. Why was Artemis being so imperceptive? Talis remembered being quite clear about what he wanted, and much as he longed for the man, as hard as it had been to figuratively keep his hands off him, he would not touch him until he got it. Artemis had twice tried to initiate sex between them, and each time, Talis had stopped him.
“Every night, we end up in the same bed and talk and share things I’m hoping no one else ever hears, but other than warming yourself against me, you haven’t touched me. Why?”
“I told you when we were in Nepal. I would have you love me first, as I love you.”
A rude noise escaped Artemis’s lips. “You can’t possibly love me. You don’t know me.”
“I know you are good and fine, and inside you is a place only I can fill.” Talis exerted all his considerable magnetism toward Artemis, his voice the softest caress. “Not even being a detective has satisfied you, though you’ve buried yourself in work for years to avoid facing that emptiness.”
“You don’t know shit about me,” Artemis insisted in a scoffing tone, but he cleared his throat and looked away. “How long until we get to where we’re going?”
“Eight hours, give or take.”
Artemis leaned back. “Jesus.”
Smiling at his tone, Talis pressed a panel, and it slid back to reveal a well-stocked bar, a selection of crystal glasses, and a built-in fridge. “Food and drink. Help yourself.”
Artemis frowned. “Everything I could want… except a goddamn toilet. Cop cars don’t have them either. Always thought they should.”
Talis laughed. “We’ll stop if you need to.”
Artemis waved off the suggestion. “I’m fine.” He opened the fridge. “Olives. Excellent.” He grabbed a jar, untwisted the top, and helped himself. After eating two, he held one out to Talis. “Want?”
Bending to Artemis’s outstretched hand, Talis looked up at him through thick eyelashes as he grabbed the olive with his lips from between Artemis’s fingers, following it up with a quick touch of his tongue.
Artemis growled, eyes going dark. “You fucking tease.”
Straightening, Talis chewed and swallowed. “Delicious.”
“I can promise you, my cock tastes better. Why don’t you give it a try?”
“Becoming anxious?”
“More like as frustrated as I’ve ever felt. When, Talis?”
Talis touched Artemis’s cheek. “You won’t have to say a word. I’ll know.”
Heaving a sigh, Artemis put the olive jar back in the fridge. “Promises, promises. Can I call Rachel when we get there?”
“If it makes you feel better,of course.”
“You
do
remember that you drugged and kidnapped me and flew me halfway around the world?” Artemis poured himself a scotch over ice and sipped. “I am still of two minds about you.”
“Please clarify.”
“You could be a stone-cold killer… but I’m hoping you’re not because I can’t stop thinking about fucking you stupid.”
Talis slid across the seat until his hip rested against Artemis’s. “I’m looking forward to that.”
“But I have to love you first, is that it?”
Talis nodded. “All will be made clear in time.”
Several miles went by in silence as they drank and ate. As always, Talis enjoyed the taste of everything he put in his human mouth. The phoenix’s palate was not as refined; he ate to live.
Talis was enjoying smoked salmon on small squares of Egyptian flatbread when Artemis said, “Tell me about your beginnings.”
He considered that. “My first memory is of exquisite pain. Just that… pain, and then the smell of smoke and singed feathers. I dream about it often.”
Artemis gazed at him speculatively. “Were you the first? I remember you saying the pharaohs created you, but if I’m remembering my history correctly, they vanished before your birth.”
Talis selected a piece of smoked Gouda and popped it into his mouth. “I am the fourth phoenix. We did not exist before the pharaohs created us. Each one lives a thousand years and then dies and is reborn.”
Artemis reached for the scotch and topped off his glass. “Reborn. As himself, or something new?”
“Each time… something new. The old phoenix dies and is replaced by the new.”
“And when you die?”
Talis drew in a breath. “That depends on you.” Amethyst eyes met warm brown eyes. “They never found their soul mates.”
“But finding him or her isn’t enough.”
“The heart will do as it chooses.” Unconcerned, Talis ate more salmon and washed it down with a fragrant wine. Alcohol affected him as it did any human, but he didn’t plan to overdo it while they traveled. It was enough to be happy and relaxed.
“What if I decide you’re an asshole? That I could no more love you than a fish could love a cat? Then what?”
Talis shrugged. “Then we shall go our separate ways.” He gave Artemis a sharp look. “If you decide I am not a murderer after all.”
“You’d return to the States as my prisoner if I asked it of you?”
Talis stared through the divider at the back of Ammon’s dark head. “If things don’t fall out the way I hope, it won’t matter where I am at the end.” Home or in a jail cell… Talis would not care where he was when he met death.
Artemis fell silent for a while, and then spoke again. “How long?”
Talis didn’t even pretend to misunderstand him. “Ten weeks, give or take.” How exact would it be? Would he wake on his birthday to flames and screaming? The human part of him was frightened by the thought. In fire, he had come to life, and to the flames he would return. His finale on stage was a carefully created presentation of what he thought would happen at that time. As thrilling and dramatic as it was for the audience, Talis felt a frisson of fear every time he performed it. Only Artemis stood between him and oblivion, because Talis would, in fact, vanish, replaced by a new phoenix who would, in turn, live one thousand years.
Phoenix lore and history had been preserved for centuries. Talis knew the first one had been female, and that she had never transformed but remained a bird. Out of her ashes had come the second, a male, and he, too, had never been human. That one had used his power savagely to acquire control and influence. The world had heaved a sigh of relief when he died, replaced by another female. She had been much loved, and many had wept at her passing.
Talis was the first to transform into a human. Early in the century, when tomb raiding in the form of archeology had been at its height, ancient script had been found and translated:
The phoenix flies but also walks,
Wings and arms enfold the world;
All shall bow to the phoenix,
As the phoenix bows to them.
A tablet found later suggested exactly how the phoenix could transform. Ammon’s father studied the translation at some length and passed his thoughts on to Ammon, who discussed it with Phoenix. Thus he learned to become a man and as quickly came to love that form.
Artemis was looking out the window at the passing scenery, eyes half-lidded as he fought sleep.
“You will not miss much if you rest,” Talis said, offering his lap.
There was the slightest hesitation before Artemis lay down, placing his head on Talis’s thigh, only to find that uncomfortable enough to move higher even as Talis slid down on his tailbone, giving Artemis more access. As Artemis settled in, arms and legs folded close, Talis fingered his glossy hair. He’d fucked many, females first and then males, which he’d discovered he preferred, and enjoyed most of them, but Artemis, he knew, would surpass them all. This one was special, the only one in the world who would fit him perfectly, in all ways. Artemis just had to realize it.