A Phoenix Never Dies (Afterlife Book 6) Read online

  "Excuse me," Wren said, approaching the soldiers. "Can we talk for a moment?"

  They ignored him.

  He shrugged at the others and motioned Conner forward. Conner took a deep breath and then said. "Excuse me, gentlemen. I was hoping to talk to you."

  One of the soldiers turned around and looked straight at Conner. "That won't work on us," he said. "We've been safe-guarded. What are you? A vampire trying hypnosis? No, I don't see fangs... ah, you're an incubus. Makes perfect sense."

  Sarah stared at them, realizing that her mouth was open, but unable to close it.

  "Look," Wren said. "We don't want any trouble. We just want to know why we're being kept in Phoenix."

  "Are you a vampire?" One of the other soldiers asked. He looked over at Sarah. "Or you?"

  "No," Wren said. "Neither of us."

  The guards exchanged glances. "Maybe we should take them in, have them tested. Even if they're not lying, and they're not vampires, we might still get some useful information from their blood."

  Sarah immediately turned into a panther and growled at them.

  "Is that supposed to be scary?" The first soldier asked. "We have tranquilizers. They'll work on... well, whatever you are. A shape-shifter?"

  "How do you know so much?" Conner asked.

  "Let's just say the soldiers here were contracted because of the kind of creatures we've seen around. So let's see, a shape-shifter, an incubus, and... what are you?" he asked Wren. "Now, now, no sense lying. We're all friends here."

  "I'm a fairy," Wren said.

  The soldier blinked. "A fairy, really? Aren't fairies usually slender short girls with pixie cuts and cute wings?"

  Wren sighed.

  "No?"

  "No."

  The second soldier elbowed his partner. "Stop talking to them. You know the regulations. We either turn them away or we take them in for testing. They're obviously not vampires, so there's no reason to take them in. Get out of here, kids, before we change our minds."

  Sarah and Wren both looked at Conner for direction. He gave them each a nod, and the three turned away from the barricades and headed back for the car.

  "Well that was a giant waste of time," Conner said.

  "Not really," Sarah said. "Now we know what they're up to. They're testing vampire blood."

  "Yeah, but why?" Wren asked.

  "No idea."

  "We're going to have to find that out."

  "How?"

  Wren shook his head. "I have no idea."

  Conner sighed. "We're back to where we started," he said. "No real information, and still stuck in this damn city."

  "I thought you liked Phoenix," Sarah said.

  "I did until I realized I couldn't leave," Conner said. "Now I hate it. Wren, how do you stand it here? It's hot. It's autumn. There's supposed to be wind and rain and, I don't know, lower temperatures."

  Wren laughed. "You get used to it," he said. "I can't imagine it's that much different in Vegas. You don't get snow there, do you?"

  "Not usually," Conner agreed. "But when it turns to fall, there's this sharp wind that's wonderful to stand out in."

  "I hope the others are having better luck," Sarah said.

  "So what should we do now?" Wren asked. "I can't imagine we'll have better luck with any of the other guards."

  Conner considered for a moment. "We are sort of celebrating, right? I mean, that Chloe is alive."

  The others nodded.

  "So, let's find the nearest bar and get smashed," he said.

  There were no arguments against this, and the three of them quickly found themselves in a dive bar. It was the kind of place where alcoholics came when they fell off the wagon, where prostitutes hung out in the back corners smoking foul smelling cigarettes, and where everyone came to drown their problems.

  "Sure picked a great place," Wren said.

  "Hey, I'll take a place like this instead of a nightclub any day," Conner said.

  "Ironic since we run a nightclub," Sarah said.

  "And it gets noisy and loud and obnoxious," Conner said. "Let's just enjoy the fact that we can order cheap whiskey and hear ourselves think."

  And so they did. Wren was the first one to get drunk, and then Sarah, and finally Conner. Since none of them could drive, they walked to the nearest motel, paid the clerk for a room, and passed out on the double bed. Sarah slept on the floor in her fox form.

  The next day would be hell on all their heads, but for the night, none of them cared. They were celebrating Chloe's recovery and mourning Alec's disappearance -- though none of them spoke of that -- all at the same time.

  In the end, it was the perfect bar after all.

  NINE

  Harper glanced at her team: Samuel, Heather, and Jeffrey. She wished she had one of the other Afterlife crew with her, but they would do, she supposed, if she was being completely honest -- and why not? Why the hell shouldn't she be honest? She wanted Alec with her. He would have known exactly what to say to the vampires they planned to run into.

  They made their way through the mostly empty streets, looking for the undead. At first, they saw nobody. It struck Harper as odd; even if there were only a couple thousand vampires, there should be more people out. It wasn't a small town, there should have been people out enjoying the night life.

  "Where is everyone?"

  "Scared, I'd wager," Samuel said. "We're under quarantine, remember? And I doubt that anyone knows exactly why. For all they know, there could be a superbug. So they're locked up in their homes, keeping their spouses close, and their children even closer, and waiting it out. That's what I think."

  Heather shook her head. "You think too much," she said. "Come on, let's keep going. I'm sure we'll see someone."

  And they did. It wasn't five minutes later when they saw a woman leaning against a lamp post, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her long hair flowing down her back.

  "Is she one of them?" Heather asked.

  "Yes," Harper and Jeffrey said at the same time.

  "Well, I guess we better go to her," Samuel said. "But how? Do we just walk up and say, 'Hey, by the way, you're a vampire in case you didn't know. But don't worry, it's all going to be alright. I mean, you'll be thirty forever, but thirty isn't such a bad age. Honestly, it's better than twenty-one because you don't have to worry about partying all the time and--"

  "--Samuel," Heather said, not unkindly. "Shut up."

  The four of them crossed the road to where the woman is.

  "Hi," Harper said.

  The woman turned to them, and for a moment, it looked like she might attack. Then that look passed and she offered a shallow smile. "You don't want to talk to me," she said. "Not now. Not ever. Please, just go."

  Harper shook her head. "You're thirsty, aren't you?"

  The woman's eyes widened. "No," she said. "No. No, I'm not."

  "It's alright," Samuel said. He put a hand out on her shoulder. "Listen to me, okay? It's going to be fine. You're going to be fine. We know what you are, and what you're going through. Don't we, Jeffrey?"

  Jeffrey stepped forward and in an instant, he was a complete vampire. His eyes darkened to black and his teeth grew to sharp points. More than that, though, he turned cold. Harper felt like shivering just standing next to him.

  The woman stumbled backwards and almost fell. Samuel caught her, and helped steady her.

  "No, this can't be happening," she said. "This is what happens in books. Movies, too. Books and movies, and stories for kids. But I'm not a kid."

  "This is real," Heather said softly. "I know it's difficult, but we want to help you."

  "You can't," the woman said. "I don't want your help. I don't... I can't...this is just too much! And it's not fair!"

  "What's your name?" Harper asked. "You can tell us that much, can't you?"

  "Rose," she said. "My mother named me for the flower because she loved flowers so much. When I was a kid, we had a huge garden, and we had so many roses of so many diff
erent colors. It was like magic to walk through them, and I'd always think... that's me. I'm a Rose."

  Harper nodded.

  "We don't want to push you," Heather said. "I know you're scared right now, and trust me, we all understand. We just want to help you, Rose. Tell us what happened."

  Rose took a deep breath and for a moment, Harper thought she was going to burst into tears. If that happened, she'd step back and let Samuel or Jeffrey comfort her. But Rose seemed to stand up a little straighter and she let out the breath with a shaky sort of control.

  "I was walking home," she said. "This must have been three weeks ago, maybe four. I don't know. It's so hard to keep track now. The days blur together. I was walking home with the milk. I remember it was milk because I'd run out, and I wanted a bowl of cereal and I kept thinking... if Sean wakes up -- that's my son -- he's going to want cereal too, and if there's not milk, he's certain to throw a fit. He's only four, and he's at that age..."

  Harper and Samuel exchanged a look. She saw Heather shift uncomfortably on her feet and Jeffrey wince.

  "He came out of nowhere," Rose said. "He just appeared, and he told me I could have everything I ever dreamed of. I told him the only dream I had was to go home and put the milk in the fridge and maybe try a long bath before sleeping. When you have a four-year-old, you take your breaks where you can get them, know what I mean?"

  They all nodded, though none of them had children.

  "He changed then, just like you did," she said, nodding to Jeffrey. "He told me not to worry, that it would only hurt for a minute. Then he... I tried to fight back, but he was so strong, and the next thing I knew, he was gone, and I was cold. Just so cold. And I thought maybe I dreamed the entire thing the next day. But then the cravings came. Along with the cravings came the urge to stay inside during the day, to lock the doors, to pull the shades, to sleep..."

  "I'm so sorry," Harper said. "You know what you are now, though?"

  "I'm a vampire," she said. "It's the only thing that makes sense. But I don't want to be a monster. I don't want to kill. I don't want this... this thirst. Does it go away?"

  Harper looked over at Jeffrey.

  "No," he said. "It doesn't go away, but it gets easier every day you go without blood. Listen to me, Rose. You don't have to be a monster. You have a choice. Nobody is holding a gun to your head and making you drink."

  "But I want to," she said. "I want to more than anything I've ever wanted in my life."

  "I know," he said. "But you have to control that need. Think of Sean. Do you want to be his mother?"

  Rose nodded.

  "Then you'll go home, and you'll take care of him, and you'll take care of your husband. You're married, right?"

  "Yes."

  Harper chimed in. "Tell him what happened. Show him what you are. Explain why you can't go out during the day. Make a life for yourself, for him, and for Sean that doesn't include killing. You can do that."

  "What if..." Rose started to say, then stopped and shook her head. "I hate this!"

  "I know," Heather said. "But think of it like an inner demon. We all have those. For some people it's alcohol. For me, it's violence. I had to make a choice a long time ago that I wasn't going to give into my primal nature and attack everyone who angered me."

  "Are you a vampire too?" Rose asked cautiously.

  "No," Heather said. "I'm something much worse. But you don't need to know about that. You don't need to know about the secret world that we all live in. Here, take my number. If the urge gets too strong, you call me, and I'll come immediately, day or night."

  Rose took out her phone and they exchanged numbers.

  "Now go home," Samuel said. "Go home to your husband and your child and live your life as best you can, Rose."

  "Thank you," she said. "Thank all of you."

  She walked away then, and soon she turned into a shadow, and then disappeared from their sight completely.

  "Well, that's one down," Samuel said cheerfully. "Only about a one-thousand-ninety-nine to go."

  The four of them let out a joint sigh, and began walking again. That night, they would talk to at least two dozen vampires, all with similar stories. Some of them wanted to kill themselves, others wanted to embrace their nature. Most of them just wanted to go back to normal.

  By the time they were done, the sun was coming up. "Let's go get some sleep," Samuel suggested. "Most of them won't be out during the day."

  Harper nodded, and the four of them went back to the hotel. Harper went straight to her room, flopped down on the bed without bothering to take off her clothes, and slept.

  TEN

  Eventually everyone gathered back in Conner's room after their long sleeps. They sprawled out on the floor, on the beds, and on the couch that was tucked into a corner. Chloe took the chair pushed up to the desk.

  Every so often, she would touch what was left of her hair. It was a habit she'd formed at the hospital. Most of it had been burned off during the fire, and she hated the way it looked now. What was left was jagged and uneven and made her look as though a six-year-old had been at her hair with scissors.

  Chloe was glad to be back with the rest of the team, but she missed Alec. She kept expecting him to burst through the door at any moment. Unlike the others, she didn't believe he would stay gone this long of his own free will. She thought he must have run into trouble.

  "What are we doing today?" she asked the others.

  Everyone looked around at each other and there were a lot of shrugged shoulders.

  "We know they're taking vampires," Conner said. "Taking them right off the streets. I don't know what they're doing with them exactly but it can't be good, and it's definitely not right. I just have no idea how we're going to stop it. The National Guard is behind it."

  "Well, we're going to have to figure out a plan," Chloe said. "Because they have to have Alec."

  Harper shook her head. "Alec left on his own," she reminded the group. "He left his phone behind and disappeared."

  "He would have come back," Chloe said stubbornly.

  "How do you know?" Heather asked.

  "Because I know him," Chloe said. "Out of all of us, I've known him the longest. He has his own share of demons, but he wouldn't just abandon us. No, if they're taking vampires, they had to have taken Alec. It's the only explanation."

  "And what if they did?" Samuel asked. "How are we going to get him back? Or any of them, for that matter? We're strong together, but I don't think we can take on an entire military operation."

  "Speak for yourself," Brittney said. "We took down an entire wing of Trinity."

  "And we took out the vampire army that Miriam was growing," Harper reminded him.

  Samuel shook his head. "That was luck, pure and simple. We were lucky they were all in the house at that time, and we were lucky that we had holy water. If it had been a fight, a real fight, we'd all be dead."

  "Maybe we shouldn't get involved in what the Guard is doing," Heather said. "We should just focus on the vampires and teaching them to not be killers."

  "We have to get involved," Chloe said. "We have to rescue Alec."

  "We don't even know if he's been taken," Heather said.

  "He has been!" Chloe said. "I know it. I know he's there. Or he'd be here."

  She glared at them all, feeling her anger start to come up like a roaring wave. "How can you think of him like this?" she demanded. "How can you just all decide that he left? He's never left us before, and he didn't leave us for real this time. You should all be ashamed."

  Brittney walked over, gently putting her hand on Chloe's shoulder. "I don't know him that well," she admitted. "We've only been working together a few months. But if you say that he wouldn't just leave and not come back, I believe you."

  Sarah nodded, though she kept her silence.

  Conner frowned. "She's right," he said. "I've known Alec for years, and this isn't his kind of thing. He might have left initially, but he would have come back. I trust that abo
ut him."

  Chloe looked over at Harper. Harper looked rather uncomfortable. "I don't know," she said. "I guess I don't know him that well either."

  "Sure you do," Chloe said. "You have that special bond because of your great-grandmother or whatever. You know him, Harper. And you know he wouldn't just leave us in this mess. You know it."

  For a second, Chloe thought Harper was going to argue, but then she just bowed her head. "I suppose," she said. "I thought maybe he might have sensed that something was going on between me and Conner..."

  "He's my best friend," Conner said. "I don't think he'd leave us because he's jealous. He's not that sort of man."

  "No, I guess he's not," Harper said. "So what are we going to do?"

  Wren sighed. "Well, first of all, I'm going to cut Chloe's hair."

  "What?"

  "I can't look at it any longer," Wren said. "It has to be done."

  "My hair is short enough as it is," Chloe said. "You want to take even more off? I'm not sure about this."

  Wren shrugged. "I see you touching it all the time, and I'm very in tune with emotions. I believe it'll help you heal if you didn't have to look at that mop in the mirror. What do you say? I used to do hair when I was younger, you know."

  "Why is that not a surprise?" Samuel said, and snickered.

  Wren glared at him. "You know, there are plenty of male hairdressers."

  "And they all play for the same team," Samuel said.

  There were a few light laughs throughout the room.

  "I suppose you can cut it," Chloe said.

  "Good," Wren said. He went to his own room, and came back a few minutes later with a comb and a pair of scissors. "You want to take off your top so it doesn't get all hairy?"

  Chloe shrugged, and glanced briefly at Brittney. Then she slowly pulled her shirt off; it was difficult with her broken arm, and her ribs screamed in agony. She had them wrapped, but the parts of her body that could be scene were horribly burned.

  Conner let out a wolf whistle. "That's what I like to see! Take it off! Take it off!"