Page 47 of Phoenix Falling
“So…” I tried to think of something, anything to say. “Not a vampire, then.”
“I know they drink blood,” Risk said hesitantly. “I mean, everyone that I’ve observed has.”
Something in the way she saidobservedmade me wonder if she’d more than watched it. I didn’t ask. I couldn’t handle knowing any more than this.
“I just had no idea…”
“Do you think all of them are phoenixes?”
She seemed to consider that. It almost seemed like a relief as her mind turned to a more practical issue. “If they can all change their shape, I’d say no. One of the things I noticed about Sun—”
“His name is Sun? Like the fireball in the sky associated with fiery birds? It’s a little on the nose, isn’t it?”
She waved her hand impatiently. “I know, weird. Anyway… One of the things I’ve noticed about him is that he gets this flash in his eyes, almost like a bright light, but it doesn’t linger. Maybe it’s just strands in his irises or something. And it varies in intensity. But last night—”
“You said it had silver eyes.”
She nodded. “Right. It’s silver. But Arik—”
“You mean Former Dickhead?” She’d told me a good bit about Arik. She had not told me, however, that Former Dickhead was a vampire. I tried not to resent that, or at least just to ignore it for now.
“Yes, Former Dickhead.” Her voice sounded tired all of a sudden. “He got a similar flash when things got…heated, but it was gold. Maybe…”
“Do you think they may be different, I don’t know, forms, maybe?” What did you call it when men who looked like humans changed shapes? Like, completely. “How big was this bird anyway?”
She lifted her arms. “Big. So big.”
I thought about that. Not some weak animal form, then. “They are monsters.”
“Not all of them,” Risk protested.
“No,” I said, “that’s not what I mean. They are literally monsters. A phoenix is a mythological creature. If it’s huge, like you say…”
Risk seemed to follow my train of thought. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“If you really think about it,” I mused, trying to keep myself on the logical path—because, let’s face it, considering vampires as real was terrifying; considering the reality of shape-shifters was… “It sort of makes sense. I mean, you said that when you were bitten, your mind or something changed. Right? You all of a sudden had an ability you hadn’t had before, like a superpower. A psychic superpower. What if they have a physical superpower?”
And that was even more terrifying than facing them in human form.
“It makes sense,” Risk agreed. She rubbed her eyes. “I haven’t slept since…”
I glanced at my watch. Time to go back in. As much as I wanted to talk about this some more, make it make sense, work was more real than monsters, at least for now. “Come on.” I tugged her hand. “Let me fix you up.”
We went back inside. Risk took a seat on the couch under the front window, staring out blindly, while I returned to behind the counter and began work on her usual vanilla-bean latte. Decaf this time. I was hoping that the warmth would help her sleep, and caffeine would counteract that. What she didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt her.
While I was working, the front door opened, the bell sounding as a new customer walked through. The woman was young, short, with long, black hair and eyes that seemed to take in the whole room at a glance. I’d never seen her before, and for a moment I couldn’t stop staring. Not because she was remarkable—I mean, she was pretty, but there was nothing about her that was particularly attention seeking. And yet it took effort to drag my eyes away.
My gaze traveled to Risk on instinct—searching for what, I didn’t know—and I noticed she was also staring at the new customer. A frown appeared, and her eyes narrowed.
I moved to Risk’s side of the counter. “Risk?”
She jerked her gaze to me. From the corner of my eye, I noticed the woman hesitate.
Risk stood and crossed to grab her drink. “You okay?” I asked quietly.
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
I patted Risk’s hand. “Stay for a while and rest.”
