Blue Ruin (The Phoenix Series Book 1) Read online

  For the next half hour, Maura filed through plans as Liam nodded off, lightly snoring. When asleep, he didn’t look as intimidating. His muscles relaxed in his arms. His head lolled to the side like his neck couldn’t support its weight. Tattoos that breathed now appeared as still life photographs on his skin. The way his chest rose in a slow, deep pattern, made her want to rest her head on him, in hopes of hearing the deep thud of his heart.

  Maura refocused by staring into the backyard. Get a grip. Jeremy would be here soon. She needed to figure out what she was going to do with her name being all over this murder. Hell’s Fire became a tempting option, but that would lead to further investigation and added suspicion. With no more Amnesia Dust and fresh out of ideas, she’d have to tackle the problem of being committed of murder when it hit.

  Forty minutes later, Jeremy appeared, and Maura slipped into her Beth Hollings Illusion. Liam stirred in the brisk wind and rubbed his eyes.

  “I should’ve known you’d be involved in this mess.” Jeremy threw a teasing look and shook Liam’s hand.

  “This is my friend, Liam.” Maura pointed to their handshake. “Liam, this is Jeremy.”

  “We’ve met before,” Jeremy smiled. “And Heidi tells me you're back from the dead.”

  “That woman can't keep her mouth shut,” she said.

  Jeremy chuckled and waved his hands across the destruction of the home. “What kind of shit did you leave for me here?”

  She gestured toward the single tree. “The trail is long gone now, but we believe it was a vamp who paid Bach a visit.”

  She’d decided to keep Adrian’s name out of it. Jeremy would protect her and work to skew the evidence he’d collect from Henry’s office if she told him she’d been framed. If The Keep found out Jeremy knew she was “involved” in Henry Bach’s death, they’d persecute him for obstructing justice. She’d let the pieces fall where they may and hope she had taken care of Adrian before The Keep came knocking.

  “What’s the evidence?”

  Maura motioned for him to come into the house. Shattered glass crunched under their feet. “Liam disarmed enough of the Shield to get in.”

  Jeremy pointed to wooden beams that had once been the frame of a sliding glass door. “Did you do this?”

  “No. That’s how our vamp got in. We think he used a silencing spell.”

  They walked through the rest of the house and wound their way into the office.

  Liam and Maura leaned against the doorframe. Liam crossed his arms, and she dug her hands into her pockets. Jeremy crossed the bloodstained carpet to examine the two gunshot wounds on Henry. Maura bit down hard on the inside of her cheek.

  Jeremy snapped blue latex gloves onto his hands before running his fingers along Henry’s swollen neck. “Oh yeah, definitely the work of a Vampire.” He withdrew a syringe to obtain a sample of the venom lingering on the puncture wounds.

  The vial filled with Maura’s condemnation. Her breath caught.

  Liam squeezed her shoulder as if sensing her dread.

  “Nice cover, though,” Jeremy grunted when he rose from his crouch. “Gunshot wounds to make it look like a burglary if the Mundane discovered him before us.” He rolled the vial of venom in his hands before tucking it into his pocket. “You should hit the road.” He looked up from his phone. “I have to send confirmation to The Keep. They'll be here soon.”

  Maura nodded and headed with Liam to the front door. They jumped into the car, and Liam sped off into a sharp U-turn toward the highway.

  “Who was she?” he asked.

  Maura stared out the window. Heat flushed her skin. “Who?”

  “The woman from this morning.”

  She focused harder on the chain-link fence that separated the highway from homes. Don't look at him. The fence rattled with the wind, burned silver in the sunlight. Don't look at him. Some diamond shapes were larger, more disfigured than others. Don't look at him.

  “Look at me,” he said.

  Shit. Maura hadn’t wanted to tell Liam just how fucked she was – that more than Adrian was just looking for her. Her connections damned her.

  “You know her,” he said. “Your heart was pounding in my head when you saw her.”

  Maura knew she needed to tell him. Unable to shake him, his stubbornness equal to hers, he’d be sticking around. Depriving him of information would kill him. “She’s a Siren.” She adjusted under the bothersome thought.

  “How do you know?”

  “Her aura.” It festered on her fingertips from the last memory of Henry. Its warmth drew pins and needles over her skin. “Sirens have a contradicting aura. It’ll feel hot and cold at the same time, or sweet and sour.”

  “Who is she to you?”

  “My partner.”

  “What?”

  The car skidded to a stop, and Maura slammed into the dashboard. “Fuck, Liam.”

  “Henry was dating your partner?”

  “Yes, that’s what I said before you nearly killed us.” She snapped the seatbelt in place. “Heidi. A platinum blonde model.”

  “She sounds nice.”

  She grunted in disgust. “Men. You wouldn’t think she was so nice if she had a gun to your head.”

  “Do you think she’ll be there tonight?”

  She shrugged. “I wouldn’t doubt it. But I’d doubt she’d be walking around as blonde model Heidi.”

  Liam sighed and relaxed into his seat with one hand on the wheel. “We’ll go to this Brooklyn apartment, get the antidote, grab a bite for the trip back and then get ready for tonight. Sound good?”

  Maura nodded, sinking into the seat. Nervousness bubbled in the pit of her stomach.

  Chapter Twenty: The Safe House

  Liam told Maura to wait in the car while he searched the Brooklyn apartment. He walked into the gray vestibule and searched the doorbells. Michelle. No last name. He muttered her name over and over.

  S. Jensen.

  L. Clay.

  H. Yorke.

  T. Dennis.

  Liam moved to the second set of bells.

  G. Goodman.

  R. Flynn.

  M. Harrison. He held the buzzer down. Waited. Buzzed. Waited. Nothing. He looked outside and across the street. No one. Liam charged a Shearing spell at the lock. The metal sparked, and the door swung open.

  He walked into the narrow hall. A slim staircase climbed to the second floor on the right. Another small entrance on the left led to the first-floor apartments. Dim lights cast a green hue on the dark marbled floors and off-white walls. The odor of moth balls and stale cigarettes strengthened with each step in.

  Liam took the stairs, flipping his vision. Dark red auras tangled with turquoise trails. He pressed his back against the wall and slowed. The remnant auras in the air thickened when he reached the landing. Cinnamon laced with floral perfume settled into the back of his throat.

  He rounded a sharp corner into the hall. The visible auras continued down the corridor and disappeared beyond an ajar door at a dead end.

  He crept past the neighboring apartments. A woman screamed on the phone behind the first. A dog barked behind another. The smell of cigarettes created a cloud around the third. He stopped outside of Michelle’s. A million things cycled through his head. Adrian. Vampire. Another murder. Liam breathed in deep and conjured an Annihilation spell in his palm. He nudged the door open with the tip of his shoe.

  The apartment was dark. Sunlight fought against the blinds. Thin rays spilled onto the back of a couch, over a coffee table, and illuminated a dark hallway. The auras burned brightly. They wove in chaotic spirals around the front door and splattered along the living room.

  Liam knelt and ran a finger through the red trail. The aura prickled along his skin, like a touch of static electricity. Fresh. He stood, strengthening the Annihilation spell. He inched into the apartment and eased the door shut. Darkness engulfed the small foyer.

  He took a step. Small droplets of blood dotted the oak wood beneath his feet. Ano
ther step. The blood thickened between the couch and the foyer. He stepped around the sofa. Blood smears painted the white furniture red. Scratch marks tore open the cushions. Liam drew the illuminating charm over the living room, searching for a body.

  Blood oozed along the cracked edges of a television screen, pieces of hair stuck to the glass. Picture frames, figurines, and flowers were strewn on the floor. Liam walked over the shattered glass toward the dark hallway.

  Faint rustles echoed from the kitchen. He whipped around. The glow of his charm sent faded light into the kitchen doorway. A shadow slunk along the floor. A black flicker. He pulsed more magic into the spell.

  Running footfalls bounded through the adjacent hallway. Liam turned. Hands wound around his waist and took him to the ground. His head smacked off the tile floor. The Annihilation spell blew out.

  The stranger charged two red orbs in his palms, throwing light on his face. White fangs dripped venom from behind bloody lips. Purple and dark red bruises rimmed his swollen eye, the other a mesh of bloody flesh.

  Liam formed a Repellant Shield. The Vampire flew to the ceiling from the shock and broke the fluorescent light. The still hot shards rained down. Liam covered his face and rolled to all fours.

  The Vampire crashed to the ground with a loud crack, muttering profanities under his breath. Liam jumped to his feet, dodging loose fragments of magic. He ran for the kitchen door and threw an Annihilation spell over his shoulder. The room exploded in a red flash. He stumbled into the living room from the force and fell onto the coffee table. Its legs shattered under his weight with a crack.

  When the red light faded, he rose. A pile of ash swirled in a small draft from a kitchen window, a fluffy gray cat rolling along the floor. It meowed, then disappeared down the hall.

  Liam followed it to a pink master bedroom. A broken window let in the summer breeze, along with dead leaves. Face down on a bed, amidst a pool of dried blood, lay a woman. Her long, brunette hair blanketed her bloodied face. Clumps of skull and flesh surrounded a gaping hole at the back of her head. In her hand, a phone blinked, the dial tone echoing in the dead air.

  Michelle. Liam shivered. He turned from the room and left. He took the stairs two at a time and kicked open the vestibule door.

  Maura stepped out of the car, her eyes analyzing his face.

  “Get in the car,” he said to her.

  She watched him. Every cell in his body felt her stinging glare. His skin burned. He slid into the driver's seat and slammed the door closed. “Call Jeremy.”

  “What's up there?” Maura asked.

  Liam shifted the car into gear and sped toward the highway. “A mess.”

  Chapter Twenty-One: Viper

  Maura called Jeremy on the way to Liam’s apartment. He cursed into the phone. Double homicide. Double the work. Double the blood. A heavier conviction. Maura wiped her sweaty palms on the seat. Fuck. She needed to kill Adrian soon. Tonight. By the end of the week, The Keep would find her.

  After returning to the apartment, Maura and Liam dressed.

  “Before I forget,” she fished in a black silk bag and retrieved two capsules. The translucent outer covering revealed the shimmering gold liquid inside. “Ever hear of cyanide?” She dropped one into his hand. “This is cyanide for immortals. It’s Death’s Noose in pill form.”

  “You made these?”

  She nodded. “I don’t know Adrian’s intentions for tonight. If he kills us, he’ll take control of our powers. If we commit suicide, then our powers remain locked away within ourselves.”

  Liam’s eyes darkened. “Kill one to save thousands.”

  She snapped her clutch shut. “Keep that in your cheek. Bite down if things get crazy.”

  Liam grabbed his keys, and they left.

  They'd decided they would go together, but wouldn't arrive together. Having been invited to the club by a Wilhelm, Maura knew her name was on the VIP list. Liam would have to wait in line with everyone else. He said he'd find a service entrance and make his way in. Maura agreed, and they walked their separate ways down the street.

  She played with the edges of Death’s Noose coiled around her waist. She’d used a gold belt with swirling beaded embroidery to disguise the necklace within its pattern.

  She walked down the empty, lit street surrounded on either side by a cemetery. A quick look around confirmed she was alone, and she conjured The Wend to drop her at the heart of the graveyard.

  A soft illumination over the slopes signified the entrance to Viper. She followed the Mystic trails to the crowded front of a mausoleum. Two angel statues, weathered with patches of moss, faced each other with their spears in hand at the wrought iron entrance. Mystics bounced in line. They said their name at the door and giggled as they went through the vine-infested archway.

  Maura approached the bouncer who held a silver sheet with blue glowing names on its front. His face hid beneath a thick black hood, a slight movement all that said he looked at her. “Name.” His voice came out raspy.

  “Beth Hollings.”

  “Dee,” he called out.

  A short man in a matching cloak emerged from behind the mausoleum.

  “Mr. Wilhelm requires a thorough search of Ms. Hollings.”

  He hobbled over and led her into a neighboring mausoleum. Weapons in glass cases lined the narrow limestone space.

  The man reached into a jar near a slim window and took out a handful of pixies. With a jerk of his hand, he released the tiny creatures. They fluttered in and out of the folds of Maura’s clothing. Their wings tickled her skin and tangled with the hem of her petticoat. They tugged at loose fabric, slipped beneath layers of clothing, and left a trail of glitter as they went.

  One circled Death’s Noose. She stopped breathing.

  It cocked its head, fluttering inches from the gold belt. Their fingers went out to touch the embroidery as if fascinated or suspicious.

  Her palms went sweaty. Millions of ideas swarmed her head, all revolving around killing the pixies and Dee.

  The grumble of The Void scared the pixie off.

  “Enjoy your night.” The man opened the covering of a tomb at the center of the room. With a deep rumble, a bright yellow light expanded within the encasement. A set of rocky stairs developed within the glow. Maura walked down, following the beat of distant drums and cheers of people.

  Sounds grew louder and lights from the staircase dimmed as she entered the catacombs. Unevenly shaped holes lined the dark, sand-colored walls. Tan stalactites hung like fangs from the ceiling of the vast cavern. Diamond chandeliers spun with the draft spilling out of tunnels that led to other tombs. Faint outlines of coffins filled holes. Balconies ran around the second and third story. People hung off the railings with drinks in hand. The dim lighting made it hard to pick out the finer details of their faces.

  Maura reached the bottom of the stairs, and the damp air disappeared. She moved along the shadows, analyzing the faces around her, noting the scarce exits and hidden alcoves where red eyes peered her way.

  Mystics – their hands in Adrian’s pocket – and Abysmals – Viper the only place they felt welcomed – danced in a drug-induced ecstasy on the dance floor below. They swayed to the ever-changing beat of the music that fed off of their loose magic.

  “You look like my next mistake,” a voice purred from behind.

  Maura turned to a dark corner, a man emerging from the shadows. His red eyes gleamed with fresh blood, his smile stained with lust. Fangs protruded from his gums, the taste of his lips acidic. He placed a hand at her neck, the other along her waist.

  Maura matched his smile. “I am.” She threw him against the opposite wall. He groaned in the dark and lolled to the side where he’d remain hidden until he regained consciousness.

  Satisfied, she walked to the bar constructed into the walls of the catacombs and took a seat on a red velvet stool. She ordered a drink for show, keeping her eyes trained on the faces around her.

  She thought of ways to find Heidi. If
she was here, so was Adrian. She hoped wearing her dress had been enough to draw attention to herself. She looked at the dance floor below. Water cascaded down the walls onto the lower level, catching the rays of the lights. Bursts of color reflected off of each droplet as it hit the thin pool lining the dance floor. Maura watched couples dance in ecstasy and slink away to one of the upper levels where dark corners were only surrounded by darker corners.

  “Can I buy you a drink?”

  She turned to the silk voice. A pale blonde, wearing a light gray pin-striped suit, placed a whiskey glass to his smiling lips. Claus.

  “Adrian invites me, and he sends you to do his bidding,” she sighed, uninterested.

  “I thought I had a better chance than that other guy.” He handed over an empty glass, taking away the untouched one. “You don’t strike me as a wine kind of gal.”

  “Enlighten me to this alcohol intuition you possess, Claus.”

  A casual smile stretched his lips. He reached over the bar for a clear bottle. “You’re a vodka girl.” Claus poured a glass for both of them. “This is our finest. You can’t have the whole bottle, though,” he chuckled.

  Maura eyed him. His kind hazel eyes and soft features were a contrast to the prominent bone structures of his brothers. Hate scarred their bright eyes. Revenge etched deep into their bones. Their greed sucked the life from them, leaving them to look as though they were starving. The fact she couldn’t pick apart Claus like she could Adrian or Julian made him as dangerous as them and even more unpredictable. He’d kill her with kind smiles and compliments.

  “How do you like it?”

  She sharpened her vision to examine the liquid for any drugs or camouflaged spells.

  “You don’t have to worry.” Claus placed a warm hand on her arm. “It’s real vodka.” Another eased smile paired with a sparkle in his hazel eyes stopped her search.

  He took his hand away, and she took a sip. The smoothness and pungent taste of the liquor slid down with a burning aftertaste.

  Maura placed the glass on a napkin, licking her lips where they stung. “You’re a lot better at this ‘picking up a girl at the bar thing’ than most men.”