Page 55 of Phoenix Academy: Mayhem

Chapter 15

Basedon the sudden change in the position of the sun overhead, the increase in heat and humidity around us, and the swarming of mosquitos towards my legs, we've traveled pretty far. It's hard to tell exactly where we are now, but I'd guess somewhere in the south, maybe near the Gulf Coast. The air is scented with brine and a certain swampiness that's embedded in my memory from my time here with Mom and Lizzy when we were children.

"Stay close," I tell the guys, surveying the distant scene. "It looks like there are probably at least ten of them, all men, all no doubt my father's followers."

"Do you see him there?" David asks, narrowing his eyes. "I can't catch sight of him."

Xavier tilts his head back and sniffs the air. "His scent is missing." At my sideways glance, he shrugs. "Soullessness gives off a certain smell. Like death. I'm not catching it now."

"Good. It'll be easier to grab Lizzy and take her back if he's not here." Hesitantly, I add, "Maybe she'll even come willingly."

That's assuming she still has a free will. If he's done to her what I suspect he has over the past several months, she'll be hypnotized by him and firmly under his thumb, like all his followers. I don't know what it is that he does, but the Heretic can make men jump off cliffs for him. Based on the way Lizzy reacted to my spirit's presence a few weeks ago, he's used some of the same techniques on her.

But his influence wanes the further he is from his subjects. That's why he keeps his followers close. Once, when I was about eleven years old, one of them found my mom and me while we were fishing in a nearby lake. She roped him up and dragged him with us for miles, fetching Lizzy on the way. By the time we were near the highway he was no longer babbling nonsense, his eyes fresh and clear, and he promised to never bother us again if we just let him hitchhike home. We never saw him again—neither, I suspect, did my father.

I'm hoping the same thing will happen to Lizzy as soon as we get her far from him. The portal, in this case, would help—but it's only able to go one way, and can only be cast once a day. I won't be able to make another one for twenty-four hours. Since I can't wait that long, we'll have to figure something else out.

"Xavier, any clue where we are?"

"Let me pull up the maps on my phone." Turning around, he paces towards a clearing in the trees until he gets a good signal. "Somewhere in rural West Virginia. And I mean rural. No town shows up on the map for miles—this place must be half-abandoned. There's a gas station near the highway exit, and a motel, but nothing else."

"A good place for a cult to set up," I mutter, loathing for my father filling my chest. "How far is the closest academy ally?"

The Phoenix Academy allies, like the grocery store in San Diego, have portals to the campus inside that they guard with their lives—in exchange, of course, for a great deal of money and benefits. Most come from shifter family lines but lack the ability to change, so they both blend in well with humanity, while having loyalty to the protecting of phoenix lives.

"There's one about an hour away by car. We'll have to hitchhike back to get her there. That or wait overnight." Xavier glances over at me. "Do you think you'll be able to get her to come with us willingly and cooperate?"

"I don't know. I have no idea what he's said or done to her. I just know that we have a chance right now, and it might be the only one we get."

David confidently says, "We're with you, Ari."

"Then let's go. Spread out—have your weapons ready. I'll take point and try to figure out what we're dealing with."

My heart races as we near the open field behind the church where Lizzy and our father's followers are gathered. Each step closer to her is a step closer to the last remaining member of my family. To home, to love, to a future. I won't be able to give up getting her back, that much I know for sure, so I hope that it's smooth sailing.

I have the feeling, deep in my bones, that it won't be.

As we get closer, the cover of trees hides us somewhat, along with the fact that the followers seem to think they're alone, and have their attention on something they're doing. That gives me the opportunity to observe Lizzy unseen. My heart leaps to my throat and does a few somersaults to be so close to her, yet so far away, as I hover at the edge of the woods and drink the sight of her in.

The white of her hair still alarms me, though this time it's been braided back from her face, and doesn't look as fragile as I first assumed. Whatever bleached the color from it, she doesn't show signs of premature aging. And while her eyes were a startling grey-white color the last time I saw her, this time they're a natural blue again—though something swirls in their depths as she turns to face the followers, her voice raised.

"How can you expect me to do that? My flames don't reach that far."

"You will do it." One of the men takes a threatening step towards her. "In fact, you'll do it right away... just as soon as you're done servicing me."

My fingers twitch for a gun I'm not holding. Looking to my left, I spot Reggie and David; at my right, Xavier. I give them the signal to wait for a moment, to get more intel, but I know I'm not going to let this man touch my sister.

"My father will be angry with you," she says, sounding like a little girl again. "You're not allowed to touch me."

"And you're not allowed to disobey us." He flashes a yellowed smile. "Get down on your knees, bitch."

"Make me."

"Sure thing."

Reaching a hand into his pack, the man pulls out a small object I can't quite make out from here. He holds it in his palm; the men around him guffaw and stare, grinning like hyenas. Lizzy backs away, fear coming over her face, but two of the other followers grab her arms and hold her tight.

"I'm tired of you acting so high and mighty." The ringleader advances on her, and the object in his palm begins to glow. "You're nothing but another one of those freaks destined for the pyre. But you seem to have forgotten your place. Which is why, as long as your daddy ain't here... we're going to remind you. Right boys?"

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