Page 26 of Phoenix Falling
Istalked down the corridor, my stomach churning with rage over the past few days—Sun’s disappearances, constant roadblocks by Solomon’s most loyal shifters, complaints from lustful males impatient to get their hands on new females. That most of all had me seething inside. That’s why I was heading for the prison cells holding our captives—because I needed to do something active to get rid of the anger I hadn’t been able to clear from not just my mind but what felt like a part of my soul. And because I needed to be with males who thought of others before themselves.
Yes, our prisoners were more honorable than some of the males we accepted into our community, it seemed.
Then there was that naggingsomethingin the back of my mind. I couldn’t wipe it away any more than I could my reaction to everything else. It sat there like a malignant tumor, pulsing with menace, growing and growing, and yet I couldn’t see it clearly, couldn’t delve inside to understand what it was trying to tell me. I only knew it was coming closer, and I needed to figure it out, sooner rather than later.
Franklin sat at the desk a good length down the hall from the cells, his nose buried in a book. He glanced up as I passed, his eyes dropping far short of mine. Tradition kept the Aomai shrouded in mystery, almost a holy leader that others dared not become too familiar with. Hence the god-awful robes.
Honestly I thought it was time for tradition to die a well-deserved death.
I passed by without speaking and continued down the hall. As I drew close, the murmur of voices in my head became louder: Baer and Beckan speaking telepathically to each other from their individual cells.
“You have to keep hope alive, brother. It’s not over yet. Not for us.”
That was Baer, encouraging his youngest brother. Sometimes I thought listening to the werewolves talk was going to drive me insane, not because I had to hear it but because it was just so fucking sad. And I was tired of not being able to do anything about it.
Fuck that. I was the Aomai, not some fucking lackey doing the king’s—or honestly, even Sun’s—bidding. I was outside the power structure, untouchable, and by all that was holy, I was going to act on that.
Stepping through the door that led to our holding cells—rooms certainly never intended to hold anyone as long as they had held these two—I retrieved the keys from the pocket of my cursed robe and moved to Baer’s door. “How about a field trip?” I called, keeping my voice downright jaunty.
“A what?” I could feel Baer’s confusion, his fear that something more than a simple walk would be taking place. I had to give it to him though—he wasn’t afraid for himself. All he ever worried about was his brother. Once there had been four of them, strong, healthy werewolves. In the space of one night, Baer had lost two brothers and his freedom, along with Beckan’s. He’d happily give his own life if it meant Beckan could be free.
“A field trip. You know, somewhere other than your cells.” I unlocked his door. Pulled it open. Then turned to Beckan’s cell and repeated the procedure. When I turned back, Baer still had not left his room. “Do you want to go or don’t you?”
Leaving both doors open, I started back down the hall. I could still see Franklin sitting a few yards away, his back to me, oblivious to the release of our captives. A part of me wanted to comment about him getting soft. In my day…
God, I sounded so damn old. I guess, technically, I was old. They didn’t call me the Grim Reaper for nothing.
But it was true. Back when I first trained, there was no sitting down. Quite suddenly I thought of those complaints all over the Internet about cashiers not being able to sit when they worked nowadays. Little did they know that argument had been around for millennia.
Now here Franklin was, sitting in a cushy seat with a pleasure read on guard duty. Part of me resented it, but part of me was glad that we had moved past stupid traditions and allowed a little bit of pleasure into our lives.
Those traditions, at least. The ones that benefited others. But heaven forbid we get rid of my fucking robes.
Franklin finally jerked his head up as the sounds of three sets of boots instead of one filled the hall. “What the heck is going on, Grim?”
I continued to walk, passing his desk. “Nothing for you to worry about. Go back to your book,” I said, waving him off. “Just going for a walk.”
He spluttered at the sight of Baer and Beckan following me down the hall, if warily. “They are not chained!”
I shrugged and kept walking. “Don’t think I’ll have to worry about that,” I called over my shoulder. “Come on, boys.”
Hesitating with every step, nevertheless the two werewolves followed me as I continued on. By the time I reached the end of the hall and turned left, they’d jogged up to be directly behind me.
“Aren’t you going to get in trouble for this?” Baer asked under his breath.
I scoffed. “I am the Aomai, lest you forget,” I pointed out. “I can read your mind. You’re not going anywhere.”
“He’s not wrong,”Beckan said, mind to mind, to Baer.
“No,”Baer returned cautiously,“he’s not.”
“See,” I said aloud. “Problem solved.”
There were several ways to exit the lair into the acreage we owned aboveground. I chose a back path, away from prying and judging eyes—I was just as tired of them as Baer and his brother. “Fresh air, anyone?” I asked them both.
The sudden surge of excitement was my answer. I tried not to delve too deeply into the minds of those near me, but telepathic communication and strong emotions were impossible for me to ignore, just an everyday part of my life flitting in and out of my mind constantly. And God, but the nonstop noise made me lonelier every single day.
Your late-night activities aren’t helping that any,my other self dared to say. That’s right, I had another,just like everyone else. He wasn’t an animal, though. I even let him out every once in a while, but not when he decided to judge me.
