Blue Ruin (The Phoenix Series Book 1) Read online

Maura shifted. It was considered rude to refuse food or drinks when a guest in someone's home. To offer food was a sign of peace, and to accept was a sign of gratitude, respect, and reciprocated peace.

  She glanced at the crackers before bringing it to her drawn lips. “You're from Abysm then.”

  “Born, but not raised entirely. I was a child during Blue Ruin, ten when I escaped to the Mundane.”

  She finished the cracker. “I was a teenager. My family stayed till the end. Afterward, we moved from home to home over the years.”

  “You were all able to leave together?”

  She took a small sip of tea. “Not all of us.”

  Discussing her family never made her happy. It was like digging into an old scar to inflict a new wound.

  Kyle sat quietly, and Maura placed the cup on the desk.

  “I had a twin – Hannah,” she said.

  Thoughts wandered to blissful memories at the sound of her name. She half-smiled. Hannah had no scars either. She'd wanted to try spells together and earn their scars together too. They’d spent sleepless nights awake, comforting each other when the battlegrounds neared. And then Maura remembered the morning Hannah died, every minuscule detail of that day.

  A nighttime storm had left diamond oceans on the earth, melting into snow from the morning sun. The world twinkled beyond their bedroom window and fueled Maura with excitement.

  She shuddered and closed her eyes, lost in the memory.

  Maura calls out to Mother and Father while stepping into her shoes. She looks at Hannah's empty bed, jealous she had beaten her to the crystallized snow. She runs through the back door.

  Blood drains from her face and leaves a cold sweat in its place. She freezes on the back step. Her family kneels in the crimson snow, huddling over a body, a noose dangling over their heads from her favorite purple tree…

  “Maura?”

  She flinched at Kyle's voice. Knowing glowed in his eyes, and his aura retreated from her mind.

  “I like to think she didn't kill herself,” she said.

  She ignored the memory of the day she’d found a handwritten note tucked beneath her pillow from Hannah.

  “My father was the commander of the Siren army,” she said. “Vampires knew he'd come after their Goddess, Cerridwyn. They could've used an Allurement spell to make her kill herself.” She sipped the rest of the tea to burn away the thoughts. “Anyway, my family lived in Maine during our last years.”

  Kyle gave a sad smile. “I left with my two oldest brothers. I was the youngest of ten.” He chuckled to himself. His grin faded into a frown, his eyes darkening. “My family hadn't realized the battleground had migrated so close to our crop fields…” His words drifted and left behind the image of his family unknowingly walking into dangerous territory.

  Kyle and Maura had a connection. They’d seen the same things, harbored the same pain from similar losses. While their kinds had been enemies during Blue Ruin, experience united them now.

  “Where are your brothers?” she asked.

  “Here. One is a professor and the other opened a restaurant.”

  “Jessica the headhunter hired two Vessels?”

  “Headhunter?”

  “The woman has a picture of Blue Ruin above her desk like a trophy kill.”

  Kyle chuckled. “She's unaware of our lineage.”

  Maura snorted. “Your Illusion is weak.” She leaned forward, drawing invisible lines on his body with her fingertip. “You have black hair, black eyes, black scars. Smile too wide and I see black fangs. The fake Signet on your neck is faded and cracked.” She sat back, victorious. “I can see right through you.”

  “The Mystics here aren't as advanced as you.”

  “I know.” She dropped her feet to the ground with a loud smack. “So, why'd you want to talk to me? I doubt it's to apologize for kicking my ass in front of your class.”

  Kyle laughed. “I apologize. If it had been anyone else, I wouldn't have done it.”

  “Thanks for making me feel special.”

  “I wanted to show my students the art of a true fight. They’re too afraid of being expelled if they use magic against me. I knew you would fight and I knew you could handle it.” He cleared his throat, scratching his eyebrow. “And you could certainly dish it out. But, I asked to speak with you to tell you that you can come to me with anything.”

  “Isn't that the line teachers say to their favorite student before fucking them later in their office.”

  He sat back, smiling. “You have no issue speaking your mind.”

  Maura remained quiet, still, and hardened her glare.

  “I know why you’re here–”

  “I suggest keeping it to yourself,” she interrupted.

  “Of course.” Kyle held up his hands in surrender. “We’re on the same side. I want what you want.”

  “Which is?”

  “I don’t wish for Adrian to open Abysm anymore than you do,” Kyle sighed. “The mess he would create…”

  “He wouldn’t only create a mess. He’d destroy an entire world.” Maura leaned forward in her seat, fingers grappling with the arm rest. “Abysm is gone, and with good reason. A world like that cannot exist under a ruler like him.”

  Kyle steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “I agree, which is why I’d like to help, however you see fit.”

  Maura rose. “I don’t need your help.”

  “Maybe not now.” Kyle stood. “But when you do, I want you to know that you can count on me.” He extended his hand.

  She tucked her hands into her pockets. “Prove it.”

  Chapter Eleven: Blue Ruin

  Maura paced around her dorm room, dagger in hand. She flipped it within her grasp, tossing it and catching it over and over again. With the flick of her wrist, she flung the dagger at the wall where it lodged into the growing hole she’d created from the last fifteen shots. Most women fiddled with their hair, applied and reapplied their make-up, spent time choosing which lingerie to wear and which shirt showed more cleavage. They aimed to get into bed. Maura aimed to make it out alive. Unable to know what to expect, she had no reason to trust Liam other than his family name. Winston. After others had discovered the family’s powers, they’d become as hunted as her.

  She dislodged the blade from the wall and hooked it on her ankle. A twinge in her gut said he’d ask questions. Questions that would damn her if answered. The night could go two ways. She hoped he wasn’t stubborn, insistent that she answer to his curiosity. She didn’t want to polish her blades again so soon.

  The small beep of her watch alerted her to the time. Eleven o’clock. Maura slipped on black suede platforms and left her room. She'd dressed in black skinny jeans, paired with a tank top covered in circular golden sequins. Hidden undertones of shadowed brown made the shirt look like flowing liquid when it caught the light. After dressing, she'd packed what little items she had into her dimensional bag. I'm not coming back.

  She stepped out the front door. A black Audi – its figure sleek and smooth – sat idle on the gravel drive, Liam at the passenger door. His auburn hair was curly from the summer air. He wore a blue dress shirt, the top buttons undone, the sleeves rolled up. The exposed skin on his arms were painted with bright tattoos that shimmered in the moonlight. A lion lazily yawned on his right bicep, three flowers blooming in various colors on the left. A smile lit his face.

  Fuck. His smile sent thoughts of having to kill him to her conscience. The way it brightened his face, reflected in his pure eyes and encompassed a happiness she hadn’t felt in decades made her rethink killing him if he discovered too much. She internally scowled at herself. Defeated by a smile.

  Maura pointed to the car. “They must pay you well here.”

  Liam opened the door and closed it once she settled inside. He hopped into the driver’s seat and peeled out of the driveway. “I work part-time as a guard. I'm a full-time Elixir.”

  “So that's how you found me.”

  “I happened to be in
the area.”

  “Lucky me.” Maura stared out the window, hand in her lap, waiting for one wrong move. “A colleague of mine made reservations at The Boathouse Bar.”

  “I asked you for drinks, not the other way around.”

  She turned to face him. “You blackmailed me into drinks. I'm picking the place.”

  “A bar full of humans doesn't provide the kind of privacy I'm looking for.” Liam turned onto a dirt road, the street lights falling behind them. The car growled over the rock fragments and sped down the hills. Dust billowed around the car, the headlights unable to penetrate through.

  “Is this where you bring all of your dates?” Maura said, angling herself between the console and door.

  Liam chuckled. “Only the special ones.” He skidded into a vast field and drove to the center before stopping.

  He climbed out, rounded the front of the car, and opened the door. Maura ignored his hand, extended for her to take, and walked into the field.

  Fireflies danced in the summer air, like sparkling fairy dust. Crickets chirped in the distance, the trees rustling from a passing wind. Stars twinkled above beside a full moon in the clear sky. Its silver rays illuminated the field in a soft glow. Maura breathed in deep, the scent of earth and water from a nearby stream filling her lungs.

  “Where's my grave?” she asked.

  “The other side of the field. No one will find you.”

  She hid an amused smile and sat on the hood of the car.

  Liam dug in the backseat before sitting beside her, a bottle of wine in hand. “I thought we could speak privately first.”

  “Fair enough.” She took her glass and waited for him to drink first. “What do we need to talk about?”

  “You.”

  “I'm not that interesting.”

  “Erasing your Signet makes you interesting enough.” Liam sipped his red wine. “The fact that it's a Phoenix is intriguing, compelling. Terrifying, even.”

  “Who else knows?” The thought that others were aware of her identity sent a shiver down her spine. She gulped half of her glass.

  “No one.” He eyed her. “Elixirs think you're old. I was able to recover your Signet and that’s how I discovered who you were. Finding your picture only confirmed it.”

  “How?”

  “I'm a GateKeeper. I live in a world where there are no mysteries.” He smiled. “I removed the scars like I can remove the block over your mind right now.”

  “I live in a world of privacy.” She washed down her nerves with another gulp. “So don't try.”

  Liam chuckled.

  “You said my Signet gave my identity away,” she said. “No one outside of Abysm knows what it is.”

  “I lived in Abysm for the majority of Blue Ruin.”

  “What compelled you to join a world war?”

  “The unfairness.” He stared into the distance. “In Erewhon, they taught us about Abysmals at a young age.”

  “Did they say we were abominations or savages.”

  He grinned. “It depended on who you asked.”

  “What about you?”

  Liam turned to her, his eyes analyzing her face. Maura turned away under the scrutiny of his gaze. “What did you think of us Abysmals?” she asked.

  “You were misunderstood.” He cleared his throat. “But, I didn't bring us here to talk about me. I want to speak about you.”

  The idea of opening up to a stranger sent an uncomfortable feeling into the pit of her stomach. The wine didn't sit right in its churning hold. She'd never been open, not with who she was. It was a gamble to allow people in. Hiding was easier. She looked to Liam, his kind eyes connecting with hers, his loose grasp around his wine glass, the way he patiently waited for her response. How can I trust him?

  “I’m one of the last remaining GateKeepers,” he said. “My family was killed seven years ago by a Vessel. I've been looking for her since. I have a hunch she works for Adrian. No one else has any reason to kill my family.”

  “He wants to open Abysm…”

  “And we make that possible.” He leaned closer, his voice barely above a whisper. “You're the key to resurrecting Abysm, and I'm the key to making Abysm the only world.”

  “How'd you manage to hide for so long?”

  “I'd rather hear your story first.” He poured more wine into both glasses. “I can tell mine over dinner. Yours requires something stronger.”

  “I’m used to asking the questions.”

  Liam smirked. “You’re stalling.”

  “Amuse me.”

  “Alright, you can ask one question.” He held up a finger. “One. Make it count.”

  Maura thought for a moment. She ran her gaze down his arm and pointed. “Tell me about your tattoos.”

  Liam pressed his fingers to the bud of a closed flower that opened at his touch. Color exploded along his skin and spilled to breathe life into the waking images.

  “That’s what you want to ask me?” he asked. “My tattoos?”

  “There’s always a story behind one. You knew who I was from mine.”

  Liam nodded. “Fair enough.” He rolled his sleeves over each shoulder to reveal the colorful canvas along his body. “This is my Signet.” He pointed to a lion’s head that silently roared, its yellow eyes locked with Maura.

  “On your arm?”

  “That’s only half of it.” He lifted his shirt to expose his ribs where the lion’s torso stretched with each breath, its claws hooked between Liam’s ribs.

  Maura stared in fascination. The way it moved, breathed, lived. The urge to brush her fingers across the Signet tingled beneath her skin.

  “I’ve never heard of a living Signet before,” she said.

  Liam rolled his shirt down and left his arms exposed. “They’re given to Gods.”

  Maura stifled a chuckle. “God?” she said into her drink. “You don’t strike me as a God.”

  “Not yet.” He smiled. “Mystics believe there were seven Gods who created Erewhon. It's said these Gods sent beings like themselves to Erewhon to protect the world.” He tapped the lion. “GateKeepers. My great grandfather was one of the first sent to Erewhon. We were branded by the Gods themselves before birth.”

  “And the others?” She gestured toward the various tattoos that surrounded the lion.

  Liam drew his fingers across the bed of flowers. “For my family.” He touched a small black dot at the notch of his shoulder. It expanded into a swirling night sky full of twinkling stars, shimmering galaxies, and iridescent waves. “For those I’ve killed.”

  Maura counted the stars drifting into a dark horizon. Before she could count half, Liam rolled his sleeves down.

  “Your turn,” he said, voice low, head bent.

  Maura finished the fresh wine, rolled her neck, and moved in front of the car. Fuck it. “Do you know about our Goddesses?”

  “By the time my father opened the portal into Abysm, only Cerridwyn remained.”

  “Do you know what started Blue Ruin?”

  Liam chuckled. “You mean what Erewhon told us, or what really happened?”

  “What really happened.”

  “No.” Liam shook his head. “When my father discovered Abysm, your world was already fighting. We never had the chance to understand why. Mystics told Erewhon that your kind was fighting to get into our world. That’s how they justified slaughtering all of you. To us Mystics, Blue Ruin was ‘us versus them’. Abysmals versus Mystics.” He finished off his wine in one swig.

  A surge of anger flushed her skin red. “Blue Ruin started before you got there. Mystics made it worse. No one had a chance then.”

  Maura dug into her dimensional bag, pulled out a small velvet pouch, poured white sand along the grass and waited for it to settle. She waved a hand over the sand, sprinkling droplets of black magic. Three forms grew, their dresses brightening with color, their magic swirling at their feet. She whipped the sand around, the three figures converging into one.

  Through the silve
r clouds of magic, a redheaded woman emerged amongst mermaids. Her scaled dress flowed like running water down her envious curves. Lions perched on a nearby cliffside. Waves crashed over her as she sang a haunting melody that lured in a ship seen on the edges of the horizon. “Circe, the Goddess of Sirens.”

  The sand collapsed into itself and reformed into a black-haired Goddess. Her black irises, curled hair, and porcelain skin emanated beauty that made most feel intimidated. In one hand, she clutched a scythe, a screaming skull in the other. “Lyssa, the Goddess of the Underworld. She had the power to resurrect the dead, but she was also the bringer of death.”

  The sand whirled into a dark vortex that spat out the last Goddess, Maura’s grasp shaking.

  “Cerridwyn, the Goddess of black magic.”

  She sat on a throne made of thorns. Her violet eyes blazed beneath black hair streaked with silver. Blood red lips turned upward into a devious smile. Her claw-like fingers clenched the round edges of her throne. A sea of magic in an array of colors swam at her feet and floated into the background where the portal to Abysm lingered.

  “These three Goddesses were the rulers of Abysm,” she said. “It's our belief that the Goddesses created Abysm.”

  She crushed the sand with a wave of magic and spun the small granules. They tumbled over each other, producing a cluster of Sirens along the shoreline. “In Abysm’s early years, only Sirens existed. Cerridwyn didn't find this fair. She'd created Abysm, too. Why couldn't she have creations?”

  Maura shifted the sand to form the three Goddesses on a hill overlooking a magenta lake. “Using her dark magic, Cerridwyn created her own kind. Vessels.” The sand quivered beneath a silver stream of magic and began shaping into a generic figure. “Circe’s and Lyssa’s tolerance for this new species wore thin when some of these Vessels started evolving. They'd been filled with so much dark magic that it began transforming them into creatures. Vampires.”

  The figure solidified. Its fangs protruded from behind a hissing mouth that dripped clear venom.

  “Now Cerridwyn had two species to rule over. It threw the balance of power off. Vessels and Vampires didn't care for Sirens. They saw Sirens as inferior. All they had was the power to seduce. Vampires and Vessels – they had magic, dark magic. They had the power and started killing Sirens.”