Page 89 of Dance of the Phoenix
It told me two things.
First, this man must not be native to this town. And second, this was before Theorius became a Seraph, meaning it had to have occurred more than a few centuries ago.
“Arphiase,” Theorius said in return, and for the first time since I’d started prodding his memories, I could feel his emotions. He was curious and even a little excited. Expectant. Hopeful. That was quite the range of emotions.
The man, Arphiase, smiled at Theorius. “Would you like to come inside?”
The two walked back to the house Arphiase had come out of. As Arphiase offered to make Theorius a drink, I couldn’t help but study the little man. The nameArphiasewas not native to eastern Europe, that much I knew. Maybe Greek?Arphicould come from the wordarchein Greek, which meant “beginning,” or “origin.”
Whoever this man was, one thing I knew. He was definitely not human. Because no human moved the way Arphiase did: elegant and smooth, flitting from one spot to another as though he were walking on soft clouds.
I got my answer when Arphiase poured himself a cup of red liquid from an oddly shaped container. That was definitely not wine.
Meaning Arphiase was a vampire.
When the two settled at the dining table, Theorius jumped right into it. “You know why I came,” he said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. “Do you have it?”
Arphiase sipped his drink and gave the Malachi a short nod before he took out a half-burned piece of parchment and handed it to him. “I took great risks to find this information,” he said quietly. “The people of Euphorrey are dangerous.”
Theorius studied the parchment, and so did I. It listed what seemed to be ingredients. Names of some types of irons and gems along with prices.
Theorius deflated, bitter disappointment rising inside him. “I wanted concrete proof,” he said, glaring at Arphiase. “This tells me nothing.”
“It tells you what kind of material they ordered,” Arphiase argued. “Material that, mind you, they have never asked for from the blacksmiths in Cairo before.”
Suddenly, the memory became an indistinguishable blur before it sharpened again. We were no longer in Arphiase’s house, but instead watching from a highway, which told me this memory had to be from recent years. Quite the time leap, but I didn’t complain.
Theorius flew through the overcast sky, using the clouds as hiding spots from human eyes. He was following a van heading into a large city. I had no idea where we were—the road signs were too far away for me to read, and I didn’t recognize this area.
It wasn’t until the van stopped near a building in the downtown area of the city that I realized what was happening.
A few normal-looking people got out of the van, the driver handing the key to the valet for parking. None of that would’ve raised my suspicions if the driver hadn’t turned around for a moment, showing me his face, which, thanks to Theorius hiding in a nearby tree, I could make out.
He was one of the Jinn. I recognized him.
Theorius waited for what felt like forever before, some time later, the valet returned the van to the front entrance. Then the Jinn came out, though they seemed to be missing a couple, and, joined by another hooded figure wrapped in a blanket, drove out of there as if their asses were on fire.
Interestingly enough, Theorius didn’t follow them. Instead, he jumped into the air, quickly hiding behind the clouds, before he landed on the rooftop of the building. Once there, Theorius and I waited again until the rooftop door opened and a man walked out.
This man I recognized too.
Because he was a vampire Lord. Lord Orion Atalon, to be exact.
And while his face was thunderous, his eyes were triumphant. Because in his hands was exactly what I was looking for. Or at least, part of it.
The Tears of Euphorrey.
Chapter 48
Eliza
Two days ago
“After my break-in to Haramon,” I told Ragnor, watching him closely, “I had two missions: first, to avoid being caught by Seraph Theorius and the Malachi who were hunting me down, and the second, to somehow get the Tears of Euphorrey from Atalon.”
Ragnor rose from his seat and paced back and forth in the room. It hadn’t even been ten minutes since I woke up after my weeklong recuperating slumber, and yet I was already a bundle of nerves.
Because soon, Ragnor would know the true meaning of Euphorrey’s Relics, and what it meant that Atalon had one.
