Blue Ruin (The Phoenix Series Book 1) Read online

  Chapter Sixteen: The Wilhelm Brothers

  Claus exited the cab. No luggage. He didn't intend to stay long.

  Adrian had called a week prior. He said certain matters needed to be discussed in private between the three brothers. Claus knew what he wanted, what he still didn't have. He'd hung up without an answer. The phone never stopped ringing after that. His bank account froze. Keep officials in London had been alerted to his presence and began hunting him. He called Adrian back, boarded a flight to the states, and found himself standing on a large estate.

  He walked up the cobblestone path to the front entrance. Two golden lion heads on the wood double doors greeted him with a loud roar. He sighed, rang the bell, and waited.

  He wanted to return home. He never belonged amongst his brothers. While they spent decades in Abysm hunting the Leroux family, Claus spent those decades trying to understand why. He'd seen what his mother did as a blessing. Her power, the power to destroy worlds, was given to a peaceful man. The threat of another Blue Ruin vanished. But Claus knew his mother’s intentions. She knew what her children would do. Soon, Adrian and Julian followed the path Cerridwyn constructed for them. Another Blue Ruin was coming.

  The doors swung open. The home’s cold breeze encapsulated Claus. Adrian stood in a white button-down, black pants, a whiskey glass in hand. The vestibule chandelier threw unflattering yellow light onto his face. The running, hunting, bribing, killing, and drugs were taking their toll on him. For an immortal who didn't age past thirty, he looked old.

  Claus forced a smile.

  “You came.” Adrian stepped away from the door and motioned to him.

  He stepped into the marble foyer, the air thin and cold. His breath echoed as if in an empty cathedral. “You left me no choice. I have no money, and The Keep raided my home.”

  Adrian shut the doors. “I need you here.”

  Claus swallowed choice words. He needed to listen to Adrian. Then, he'd have his money, his home, his life back. He pointed to Adrian’s glass. “I could use a drink.”

  Adrian smiled and led the way through the home. They passed marble statues, portraits of their mother, and landscapes of Abysm. All reminders of their purpose. Claus ignored them. He focused on the girth of the home, the redwood floors, the locked doors, and security charms over every window. He wondered how much his brother spent on a place like this, how many officials he had to bribe. His mind wandered down other paths. How many did he have to kill? The blood of Adrian’s victims ran like electricity throughout the home. Each light flicker, creak, and groan were echoes of the past.

  Claus gulped.

  They walked into a dimly lit study. A large stone fireplace cast its orange glow over the room. Two silhouettes rose from the couch and walked into the light.

  “You know Heidi,” Adrian said, walking to the bar.

  Heidi rolled her ocean blue eyes. They'd spoken on the phone over the years. She'd beg him to come home on behalf of Adrian. Claus would decline. Three months later they'd have the same conversation.

  She strained a smile and walked past into a dark corner.

  “And of course, Evrene,” Adrian said from the small bar.

  Evrene. The name sent pins and needles down his body. The face made his blood boil. Her black eyes peered through souls. She had a blood-red smile, seductive and damning. Porcelain skin, once soft beneath his fingers, glowed pink with the flickering flames. Her ebony hair flowed like liquid over her naked shoulders.

  She strutted forward. Her aura spilled over him. Lilac and jasmine. He used to love the smell, the way it stained his bedsheets after a sleepless night. At one point, it was home. Now, it was a reminder of how his brother’s house smelled.

  She draped her arms over his shoulders. Her smirk widened into a smile. “Hello, stranger.”

  He stilled. Images of them together spun in his mind. Drinks. Late nights. Sex that lasted until the break of dawn. She'd charmed him for years, and he'd enjoyed every second of it. Centuries later, her kiss still burned on his lips.

  He placed her hands on her hips. Her almond-shaped eyes glistened red.

  “Hello, Evrene.” Claus moved past her. He took a drink from Adrian and sat in a Victorian chair.

  “Where's Julian?” Heidi muttered. She sipped her vodka and sat on the couch. Her eyes shot daggers at Evrene, who lounged on an opposite love seat. Adrian sat beside Evrene, his ankle over his knee, his hand on her leg.

  Heidi scowled and finished her drink.

  Claus knew Heidi didn't appreciate being the other girl. Especially the other girl to a Vessel. She'd voiced it during their calls. It was a game Adrian played with her. Fucking Evrene kept Heidi crawling back to him. Fucking Heidi did nothing to faze Evrene. She knew her place. Always beside Adrian.

  “He’ll show,” Adrian said.

  “It's already past eleven–” Heidi said, interrupted by her ringing phone. She answered the call.

  Claus bounced his leg up and down and tapped his untouched whiskey. “Is it necessary we wait for Julian?”

  “You're looking to leave,” Adrian said.

  “They're expecting me at work tomorrow.”

  “What?” Heidi shouted into her phone. “Henry, you're breaking up. I can't hear you.”

  “You work now,” Adrian chuckled into his glass. “You wouldn't need their money if you remained here.”

  Claus gripped his glass tighter. “I've never needed your money.”

  “Shit,” Heidi mumbled. She threw her phone into her bag and stood. “That was Henry. He said he's coming home late because he had to meet with a client. Guess who.”

  “You're still sleeping with that dealer,” Adrian said.

  “How else am I going to get you free drugs?”

  “Who was he meeting with?” Evrene asked.

  Heidi ignored her and looked at Adrian. “He met with Beth an hour ago.” She pointed a finger at him. “I told you. You should've gone to see her.”

  Evrene reached for Heidi’s hand. Heidi jerked away. “Don't fucking touch me.”

  Claus rose and tossed his drink into the fireplace. The glass shattered, the flames brightening. “I'll find him.” His head hurt. Even if they'd grown up human, the family reunions wouldn't change. Adrian would still have two girls on his hips, fighting over him. Julian would still be drunk at the bar or on the side of the road. And Claus, he'd still be the absentee brother, the one who came, mediated, and left.

  Heidi walked to the bar, poured a heavy drink, and sank into the window cushion. “He's probably drunk somewhere.”

  Adrian tossed Claus a set of keys. “The Boathouse Bar. He was to meet Beth Hollings there.”

  Claus twisted to the door. “Right.”

  “I'll come with you.” Evrene flowed to his side. Lilac and jasmine threw their past in front of him again. Her breathless moan echoed in his head.

  “I can find him.” His gaze flickered to Heidi and Adrian. They bickered from opposite ends of the room, raised threats spat back and forth. “I wouldn't want you to miss out on the fun here.”

  Evrene giggled. “I know a different kind of fun.” She guided her hand down the front of his leg. Lilac and jasmine. Lilac and jasmine. His head pulsed. He pushed her hand away and left the room. The heat of her touch lingered beside his crotch as he marched down the hall. Her footfalls matched his.

  “I don't need you, Evrene.”

  “I only want to tag along.” She quickened her pace.

  “I doubt that.” He rounded a sharp corner.

  Evrene cut in front of him. Her hands fell to his arms, warm and inviting. “Come on,” she cooed. “We had a good time together.”

  “With my brother, too.”

  Her gaze fell to their touch. She shuddered. “I'm sorry.”

  He studied her face, the way her lips turned down at their corners, how her eyes didn't meet his. A glow of regret lit her face and welled in her eyes.

  “I was so happy when Adrian said you were coming home.” She smiled
up at him, a single tear rolling down her cheek. “It meant I could be saved.”

  “Saved?”

  She pressed closer, his body pinned against the wall. Her stuttered breath rolled over him in waves. Her aura pulled him under.

  “He made me do things, Claus.” Her lips hovered above his.

  Lilac and jasmine. Lilac and jasmine. He inched closer. Her breath filled his mouth like poison.

  “Very bad things.”

  Her fingers slid down the waist of his pants. He stiffened against her, the air caught in his lungs. She stroked his length slowly, her lips pressed hard against his. Her taste rolled over his tongue.

  He'd missed her, every inch of her. Her taste. Her smell. The way she felt in his arms. He cupped her breast with one hand and pulled her close with the other. Her hips ground against his. She moaned. He tensed. That moan. He'd heard it before, oozed out of her mouth and into his brother’s.

  He pushed her away. “Goddamnit, Evrene.”

  Evrene wiped the corners of her mouth with her thumb and cackled. “I still got it.” She winked and disappeared into an opposite room.

  Claus tucked in his shirt and readjusted his pants. He banged his head against the wall, muttering profanities before leaving.

  He jumped into a car, twisted the ignition, and sped off the property. Thoughts spiraled in his head to the speed of the car. Lilac. Jasmine. Evrene. Her hands. His pants. “Fuck.” A few words, a kiss, and a pull showed him how easily he fell into her spell.

  Claus figured it was one of the many reasons Evrene was at the house. She fueled the power struggle between herself and Heidi, inflating Adrian’s ego. And, she kept Claus where he shouldn't be. With his brothers.

  He'd find Julian, drive him home, and leave for the airport. He didn't care about The Keep hunting him, he'd flee to Spain or France. His lack of money would prove a problem. Everything he had in the bank was frozen. He'd never make it back in time before Adrian drained the entire account.

  Claus shook his head and made a hard right. He didn't care. Having nothing is better than having everything and being here.

  ***

  Claus unlocked the door to Julian’s penthouse apartment. The odor of sex, booze, and death wafted out. He crinkled his nose.

  The apartment was dark. Claus searched for a light switch in the vestibule doorway and kicked liquor bottles on the ground. They clinked against one another and rolled down a slight slope into the living area.

  Claus lit Flares when he couldn't find a switch. The hovering white orbs showered light onto the mess. Empty bottles and strewn clothes littered the oak floor. A dark red stain accompanied a lifeless body on a beige area rug. The woman's hair matted to the side of her face. Her shoulders were bruised, body naked, deep scratch marks on her back. Claus sighed and walked to the bedroom. He pulled a sheet from the bed and draped it over the woman. He crouched beside her and scanned the place. Liquor and sex. The best Adrian’s money can buy.

  “Julian,” Claus called out. He rose. Waited. And called out again. Nothing. He checked the pristine kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms. No one.

  Julian’s car keys were gone. Claus peered out the window. His car was gone too.

  Claus extinguished the Flares and left the apartment. He'd come back for the Siren later.

  He jumped in the car and drove to The Boathouse Bar on the southern tip of town. A steady stream of couples wandered in and around the backside of the bar, stumbling. He followed behind them, looking for his brother at the counter, the back booth, a corner booth, alone at a table. His aura spilled over onto the end stool. Ash blew in the breeze.

  Claus knelt beside the stool and ran his fingers through the ash. Julian’s aura stung his fingertips. He smiled. Maura.

  Chapter Seventeen: Breaking and Entering

  Maura and Liam drove down the quiet interstate the next morning. She sipped her coffee, played with the radio stations until they entered a dead zone where all they received was static. She didn’t mind the silence, almost welcomed it, but a gnawing in her gut told her to fill the silence with conversation.

  She glanced over at Liam as he drove, one hand on the wheel, the other on the gear shift – mere inches from her thigh. A bump, a sharp turn, a small shift in her weight would have them touching. The thought sent butterflies soaring throughout her stomach.

  What the fuck? She laughed at herself internally and leaned against the door, creating space between them.

  Friendship. Casual socialization. A love interest. Those things didn’t fit into her life. She couldn’t afford them. In the end, they’d become another loss. A part of her wished she’d driven herself, used the Amnesia Dust on Liam and left him behind somewhere. But, a larger part of her was happy for the company – to know she wasn’t doing this alone.

  She sighed.

  “Something’s on your mind,” Liam said.

  Maura turned to him. “Are you reading my thoughts again?”

  “No.” He chuckled and shook his head. “When you lose yourself in your thoughts, you become easier to read.”

  “Oh.” She shifted closer to the door, uncomfortable. “Well, stop.” She felt the heat of his eyes on the side of her face and turned to him. “Stop.”

  A smirk twitched the corners of his lips, and he looked forward. “You don’t let people in, do you?”

  She focused on the outside. On the trees. The other cars. The endless sky. Everything but his question and the reality of the answer.

  “You isolate yourself–”

  “I protect myself,” Maura interjected. “I protect myself. There’s a difference.”

  “Is there?” His gaze warmed her face again.

  “This is completely irrelevant.”

  “Is that how you feel?”

  Maura turned to him, eyebrows knitted together, the corner of her lip cocked upward. “Is that how I feel? What?”

  Liam struggled to hide an amused grin.

  “Focus on the road,” she said, and readjusted in her seat.

  “It’s okay to let people in.” He placed a hand over hers. “Not everyone will become your loss.”

  She pulled away. “You were reading my mind.”

  Liam chuckled and placed his hands back on the wheel. “Just a peek.”

  ***

  An hour later, they pulled in front of Henry’s home. Maura stood beside Liam. She flipped her vision and absorbed the threads of Mystic magic coating the home. A fresh trail from a Mystic wound around the house and toward a side entrance of the two-story suburban structure.

  Shutters outlined every window. A garden of tall bushes with mint-scented berries lined the front of the home. Overgrown, their soft branches ate at the black iron railing up the two front steps. Flowers not yet in bloom tucked their heads away in luscious green leaves.

  The place spoke money, but not overwhelming riches.

  Liam and Maura walked up the front porch. She rang the doorbell and knocked on the glass door. Liam looked at his watch. Maura already knew it was a little past ten in the morning. They were on time. She rang the bell again and pressed her ear to the door.

  “Anything?” Liam asked.

  She shook her head, backed away, and looked down the quiet block. The trees in Henry’s front yard blocked the other homes from view. With a deep breath in, Maura channeled her Influence toward the home.

  “Wait!” Liam shouted.

  A loud pop, followed by an invisible force field, slammed her into the middle of the front yard. The charge of the Defense Shield writhed in her fingers, looking for an escape. She dug them into the ground to let it free.

  Liam ran to her side. “What did you do that for?”

  “He has a block over his home.” She staggered to a stand with Liam’s help. “I can’t look in.”

  “I could've told you that.”

  They walked to the front stoop, careful. She sharpened her vision to enhance the hidden threads of the Shield spell and touched the air surrounding the door. She released tin
y pulses of magic. Small sparks sizzled.

  “I’ll disarm the Defensive Shields,” Liam said. Concentration set deep into his features, making his lips tight and his eyebrows furrow.

  “Defense charms are not my forte,” Maura said. “I kill before I need a Shield.”

  Liam chuckled.

  “I’m going to take a look around back.” She walked the trail a Mystic left behind. Kneeling, she drew her fingers through the remnant aura like it was water.

  Images of Henry unlocking his door fizzled beyond the present. The sun hadn’t risen yet, though birds chirped from neighboring trees.

  She stood, noticing another aura in the backyard around a maple tree. Its color was deeper and more vibrant than the one on the walkway. Thin red threads swam in turquoise currents from a scar in the tree trunk. She traced the gash to soak up the oozing aura.

  Flashes of gazing at a window layered reality. Thirst burned the back of her throat. Stillness plagued the atmosphere of the vision. She gasped and scanned the side of the home. Dark rooms and thick Shields covered the windows. She looked to the furthest corner of the home. A shattered screen door rested inside the living room, a mended Shield over the gaping hole.

  She jogged to Liam, who had moved to the opposite end of the front yard beneath the cherry tree.

  “What charms are we dealing with?” Maura asked.

  He brushed at the charred skin on his clenched fingers.

  “Are you alright?” she asked.

  He pointed to the house before she could grab his hand. “He has layers of charms.” With a pinch of his fingers, he pulled a turquoise sheet from the home. “It’s not hard to disarm one, but you have to disable each layer before you can get in.” The charm snapped into place at Liam’s release. “The control panel, so to speak, is inside the house. I can’t disarm the entire security system without gaining access to it.”

  “Can you deactivate a small portion?”

  He ran his eyes up and down the surface of the home again, touching the charms. “Not for long. How much time are we talking?”