Blue Ruin (The Phoenix Series Book 1) Page 10

  A sharp chill brought goosebumps to her arms. “There's another GateKeeper out there.”

  “I tried to kill her. She'd placed these spells around the property. Bombs. One of them detonated before I could kill her.” Liam pinched the bridge of his nose and then knocked down his whiskey. “Adrian has a GateKeeper on his side. All he needs now is to kill me, to make sure no one other than this Vessel can close the portal into Abysm once it's opened.”

  “I thought I was fucked.”

  Liam chuckled.

  “I can help you find her,” she said. “But, I think you already knew that. Isn't that why you asked me out?”

  “In part, yes.”

  “It’s the only reason.”

  “I had a hunch as to who you were that first night in the hospital.” He leaned closer. “Our lives have been running parallel to each other for centuries. We simply didn't realize.”

  “It's been for the better.” Maura shifted in her chair, pushing herself away from the table. “If Adrian found one of us, he didn't know where the other was.”

  Liam ordered another drink and thanked the waiter when she returned. “How'd your parents meet?”

  Maura raised an eyebrow. “My parents?”

  “Your father was a Siren, your mother a Vessel. They were enemies during Blue Ruin.”

  She shrugged and picked at the remaining beer label on her bottle.

  “Maura?” Liam asked, reaching across the table for her hand.

  She pulled away, held the bottle closer to her chest. Its sweat left behind a coolness on her skin that froze the feelings that accompanied thoughts of her family. “I don't talk about them.”

  Her parent’s love story reeled in her mind like the broken record it'd become. Before the hate, before Blue Ruin, before they'd been burdened with a family curse, they were two teenagers in love.

  Liam sat back. “Where are you going tonight?”

  Maura flinched at the suddenness of his voice. “What?” She released her chokehold on the beer bottle and eased into her seat.

  “Your room at Mystic Academy is empty, your bag packed. This morning you had intentions of running at nightfall.” A small smile stretched his lips in knowing. “Where are you going?”

  She stared at the nearly empty beer bottle. “Someplace quiet. Secluded. Somewhere I can regain my footing on Adrian’s case.”

  “I have an apartment in the west end of the city.”

  “I said quiet, secluded.”

  “And you said you'd help me find this Vessel.”

  “I can track her from a motel room. Not from your bed.”

  “Who said we'd share a bed.”

  “Unless you have a guest bedroom, I don't intend to sleep on the couch. You won’t mind sleeping in the living room.”

  Liam chuckled. “I'm kicked out of my bed and my room.”

  “This is all hypothetical. I don't intend to stay with you. We’re better off apart. Like I said–”

  “Adrian can't use one without the other,” Liam said. “If we’re together, he has both of us. If we’re apart, who's to say we even met.”

  Maura nodded, sighing. “At least we agree on something.”

  “You need my help, Maura. More than you know.” Liam stood. “Excuse me.” He walked through dancing couples and disappeared inside the restaurant.

  She finished her beer and moved to the bar for another.

  “Can I buy you a drink?” a silk voice said beside her.

  “I’m waiting for my boyfriend.”

  The man to the left had blonde hair with silver streaks. High bone structure made for sharp edges of his chin and nose. Paired with sunken cheeks and crystal blue eyes, Maura didn’t need to use magic to know what he was.

  Fucking Wilhelm.

  The world froze. The music hushed. Conversations swirled in a buzz. Maura couldn’t tell her left from her right or if she was sitting or falling. The euphoria lacing tonight sunk in the shit she’d stepped into.

  “He’s in the bathroom, right?” His glass hit the bar with a thud. “He’ll come back and you two will finish your date, head back to the Mystic Academy, and maybe you’ll let him get lucky.”

  She jumped to her feet. Something held her wrist. A second Vampire to the right flashed his white fangs at her.

  Julian smiled, a pair of fangs grazing his thin lips. “Sit.” He knocked the stool into the back of her knees. “Let me buy you a drink.” Julian ordered two scotches and slid one over. “Should I call you Beth or Vera?”

  She glanced at her golden necklace before swirling the drink and knocking it back. “How'd you find me?”

  “Shouldn't have gone back to The Keep.” He smiled into his glass.

  Heidi. She growled.

  “I happened to stumble into this place for a drink and found you,” he said.

  “What do you want?”

  “It’s not what I want.”

  She stretched her fingers around the glass. Biting the inside of her cheek kept her from saying something she would later regret. She glanced to the bathroom again. Streams of people passed the archway, but not Liam. He's fine.

  “How long have you known Adrian?” Julian asked.

  “I don’t.”

  His eyes brightened. “You don’t what?”

  “I don’t know him.”

  A slow blink relieved her of reality. She relished in darkness until the magic she’d released to read his mind recoiled with a forceful internal snap. Her lungs deflated against his resistance. The shock wave carried images to the forefront of her mind. Blood-soaked bodies, screaming faces, spilled innocence, and a body count in the depths of a dungeon plagued festering fears. Laced with sexual fantasies involving drunken victims, she thought she’d hurl.

  The unsettling stir in her stomach progressed into an angry burn when the faces of the dead circled his thoughts. Left and right, they blurred until coming together to form hers.

  Maura released the hold on his mind and tensed over the bar.

  Julian chuckled. He shook his head and polished off his liquor. “Allow me to rephrase.” He ordered another drink. “How long has he known you?”

  “Can I get another one?” Maura raised a glass to the bartender. “On him.”

  Chugging the drink, she read his mind again. Numbers, dates, and velvet ropes shot into view along with a name as she fled his repulsive mind. She choked down a gasp when she resurfaced, hoping he didn’t notice the death grip she had on the bar.

  “The way he talks about you, Beth. You must’ve known each other for a long time.”

  “We have a cat and mouse relationship, Julian.”

  He gave a breathless smile. “Telepathic mind.”

  “It comes in handy.”

  He slid closer. His fingers opened to consume hers. In his grasp they looked so small and frail – piano hands her father would call them, not fighter’s hands like Julian’s.

  “What am I thinking now?”

  A shiver crawled up her spine and into their burning touch. His eyes traced hers. A hidden smile lurked in his ocean blue irises. Dark magic rode her skin and implored her to dig further into his thoughts.

  She threw a Shield over his Allure. Sparks tore into her vision. Flickers of static hid macabre memories that wafted with the stench of death. They came faster. She hardened the Shield, pressing her heels into the bar stool from the effort.

  He withdrew his hand with a coy grin, taking another sip.

  She needed to leave before he tested her strength again. She turned to him, fingering the slack of her necklace.

  Julian’s smile spread to show his fangs again. He leaned close. “Uh-uh-uh.” His fingers laced with hers. “We wouldn’t want to do that, now would we?” Chest to chest, his intoxicating breath threatened to override her control. His heart thumped to the beat of hers, vibrating their chests. The sensation sent pleasurable shivers down her spine. Her toes curled. His fingers glided over the curve of her waist. The Void writhed in ecstasy at his toxic touch. H
is lips hovered at the nape of her neck.

  Julian dominated her empty mind with fantasies. Strewn clothes covered marble floors. Red silk sheets and a king-sized canopy bed housed their bodies. Legs tangled, mouths kissed, and sighs of ecstasy fogged windows. Blood streamed from two fang marks on her neck while Julian drew his tongue down her center.

  Julian dropped his hold and sat.

  Maura’s head swam in the abrupt stop. Her body tried to adjust to his absence.

  Fucking bloodsuckers and their Allure.

  She could play his game. “Tell me what I have to do.”

  He looked into his drink. “Adrian admires your dedication to his criminal case, but he doesn't appreciate it. My brother is requesting a date. He hopes to make a desirable deal with you that'll work in both your favors.”

  “After knowing each other for so long, we are only still dating?”

  “Would you like me to tell him you’re looking for a little more?” He shot a side-glance. “How many years of foreplay can you really withstand?”

  Maura chugged the scotch. “Plenty.” She licked her lips. “What do you say we have a dance?” She stroked his leg, biting the corner of her lip. “Or perhaps you’d rather discuss such matters,” leaning in close, she nipped at his ear with a moan. “In private.”

  He breathed in deep. His fingers traced her arms to find their place on either side of her neck. Venom dripped onto her shoulder. She kept from wincing by pushing against him.

  The Void rattled in its chain, angry she didn't satisfy its needs.

  She pressed his mind one last time and tore the necklace off. She looped it around his neck and pulled it tight. A burst of silver turned him to ash.

  Hands clawing at her shoulders spun her around. Maura used the force to her advantage and brought the necklace around the other Vampire’s neck. She grinned. His skin paled as she slowly tightened the noose. Cracks splintered his face, his lips blue. Death crept in slowly for him, taking its time and rotting every perfected chisel of his features.

  Delayed screams erupted in the Mundane dancing crowd.

  With a quick tug, he dropped to the floor as dust.

  People ran to the doors, not bothering to collect their things.

  Maura ripped open the bag of Amnesia Dust. She threw it into the dancing crowd. Each granule exploded into white smoke. It caught drafts and rode on currents of air to infect the room. The pitter-pattering of feet stopped, and one by one, they dropped like flies.

  Chapter Fourteen: The Mirror

  Liam had followed a Vampire down a dark hall that led to the bathrooms. He’d first spotted him in a corner booth, alone with empty shot glasses. He thought nothing of it until the Vampire’s thoughts repeated the same name.

  Beth Hollings. Beth Hollings. Beth Hollings. Her face flickered in his mind.

  Liam pressed his thoughts to find a name. Roy. He pushed open the bathroom door and slipped in, locking it behind him. He scanned the room. Four stalls, one closed, no windows. He inched closer, a Shearing spell in his hand.

  Roy shifted in the stall. His shadow stretched along the tile floor. A red glow from an Annihilation spell shone through the crack in the door.

  Liam strengthened his spell and kicked the door open. Roy howled, the red glow disappearing. He fell against the stall wall. Liam released the spell, severing his lower leg. Roy screamed.

  He reached for Roy’s neck and squeezed tight. “Why are you here?”

  Roy flailed under his hold. His fingers dug into Liam’s, his foot slipping in his blood. He reeked of bourbon.

  Liam tightened his grasp. Roy’s face reddened. His eyes turned bloodshot. He peeked into Roy's mind. The same name circled with another.

  Beth Hollings. Beth Hollings. Julian Wilhelm.

  Liam charged an Annihilation spell in his palm. The red orb’s glow filled the dimly lit bathroom. He brought the charm to Roy’s face. A sheen of sweat made Roy’s forehead and cheeks glisten. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he fell limp against the wall. Blood loss.

  Liam threw the charm at the Vampire. His body exploded into a wave of blood. It gushed between the stalls and turned to ash. He slipped out of the bathroom and waited for Maura at the car, her thoughts, don't breathe, don't breathe echoed in his head.

  Maura fled through the side exit. Clouds of Amnesia Dust bit at her heels. She panted, hands on her knees, coughing up the small doses she’d inhaled.

  “I thought you were faster,” Liam said. “I was afraid I’d have to come save you.”

  She straightened, spotting him beside his car.

  “You left me,” she coughed.

  He smirked, tapping the side of his head. “I knew you were leaving.”

  She rolled her eyes and pointed to the blood on his clothes. “What happened to you?”

  He waved a dismissive hand. “Bloodsucker.”

  “Did you kill it?”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah.”

  “Good,” she sighed. “I have a few errands to run. Are you driving, or me?”

  Liam opened the passenger door for her before hopping into the driver’s seat. “Where are we going?”

  “My place.”

  ***

  Liam parked his car at the corner of a dead end street, a single apartment complex to the right. Parks surrounded the quiet area, making it an attractive place for Mystics to live. Their thoughts circled his until he established a block. The world quieted except for chirping crickets, the faint breeze, and Maura’s exasperated sigh as she climbed from the car.

  He followed her to the top floor and the furthest apartment. While she fished for her keys, Liam peeked into the quiet apartment to the right. No whispers tickled his skin when he passed, the air still. He peered through the concrete wall like it'd never existed and looked into a dark, empty space.

  “No neighbors?” he asked.

  Maura banged her shoulder hard against the door to open it. “It's mine.”

  “One person, two apartments?” Liam stepped into a small vestibule the color of honey. “Planning to renovate? Expand?”

  She tossed her keys to a bare coffee table and threw her jacket onto a leather couch. “I like my privacy.”

  “You've created isolation.”

  Maura stood in the shadows that bordered the fine line between a kitchen and a living room. Even in the dark, Liam could sense the roll of her eyes, saw it clearly in his mind through hers. He smirked.

  “Shut the door,” Maura said, twisting on her heels, disappearing into an adjacent room.

  Liam locked the door and took a step into the apartment, his feet crushing a pile of mail. The stuffy air made his nose wrinkle. He flicked a switch on the wall, bathing the area in warm yellow light.

  He assessed the room, picked apart Maura through her choice of décor. Maroon pillows splashed the leather couch with a dab of color to the left. Dark colors. Warm. Floral paintings hung above the couch on beige walls, the real flowers dead in the bay window. She's never home. The rest of the apartment was as empty as the neighboring one. No pictures of family along the end tables, the walls bare besides the floral paintings.

  “You don’t have any pictures,” he said, running his fingers along a single suitcase against the front wall. The zipper was stretched, the leather tense as if the contents of her life were too difficult to contain.

  “It’s hard to have pictures when you’re constantly on the run,” she said from the next room.

  Liam walked into the all-white kitchen. Cold coffee stained the inside of a pot. A single box of cereal sat on the counter, a spoon in the sink. The cabinets were empty except for a few plastic bowls and utensils, the refrigerator and pantry sparse with canned and boxed foods. Everything was untouched, like no one had been here in years. Lonely.

  “You must have pictures of your family,” he said.

  Her shuffling from the other room quieted. The flash of a camera from a memory burned Liam’s mind as he peered into hers.


  The Leroux family tries to fit into the frame of the camera before the timer ticks down to zero.

  Bryce stands tall next to Eric, mirror images of each other. Kerli throws her hands around Maura’s neck, pulling her down to her height. And her parents, how elegant they look in their black tie attire. Mother wears an emerald dress with a cinched waist and sweetheart neckline. Her black hair pinned into a French braid exposes white pearls hanging from her neck. Father has his arms around her waist, embracing her close. His black hair and eyes speak of his caged demons, but the flash of his smile captures the sweetness of his love for his family as the camera catches their last portrait together.

  “Just the one you found.” Maura cleared her throat and continued her rummaging. “I burned the rest with Hell’s Fire.”

  Liam leaned against the wall for support, the emotions of her memory still rippling beneath his skin. The camera flash dulled into the distance until it looked like no more than light at the end of a very long tunnel. His mind swam in her lingering thoughts and disappeared when he reestablished a block. The world once again hushed.

  Liam whistled and walked into the bedroom. “You had that kind of money lying around?”

  “I didn’t have to buy Hell’s Fire.” She zipped the suitcase closed, reaching for another. “I learned how to make it.”

  Smart. Resourceful. Slight intimidation washed over him in her presence. While they'd traveled similar paths, taking the same extremes to survive, Maura’s path corkscrewed dangerously into a dark place Liam fought to avoid.

  He'd been a child of war. His father traveled to Abysm during Blue Ruin to help save Abysmals. Every few days he returned home, years older than when he left. The stare, the darkness in his eyes, the instinct to recoil from the world turned his father into a near stranger. Who was she before this?

  Maura’s aura – the warm smell of a summer breeze, mixed with the cold bite of winter – slapped him across his front when she moved to a full-length mirror. She gazed into the reflection, a slight tremor in her hands.