Phoenix in My Fortune (A Monster Haven Story Book 6) (22 page)

“Don’t hang up!” The desperation and relief in his voice gave me a twinge of guilt.

“I’m so sorry, Brad. It’s been crazy.”

“I get that. It’s cool. I won’t take much of your time, I promise.”

I sighed and took a seat on my front steps. “Okay. What have you got?”

“Two things. No, three. I heard you got married.”

“Yes.” I mentally crossed my fingers that this wouldn’t turn into a big scene.

He cleared his throat. “First, then, congratulations.” He sounded sincere.

“Thanks, Brad.” I smiled, though he couldn’t see it.

“Second, I wanted to tell you before, but you kept hanging up. I got married, too. Four months ago. She’s really sweet. You’d like her.” The words rushed out, tumbling over each other, as if my approval meant a lot to him.

I didn’t know how to react at first. I was stunned. After a moment, I pulled myself together. “Well...congratulations. That’s wonderful.” It really was. It meant he’d finally let me go.

“Okay, so, the third thing is why I’ve been calling. Larissa—that’s my wife—has some money to invest. And she really believes in me. In what I can do, you know? Long story short, we want to buy Happily Ever After Weddings and Events. Take over the office with all the stuff in it, your vendor lists and contacts, the website...everything.”

This was the most unexpected thing he could have said. It even beat out the fact that he got married. “Wow. Okay. I’ll have to discuss it with Sara, of course.”

“Absolutely.”

“I’ll give you a call back in a few days.”

“That would be great.”

“And Brad...I really am happy for you.”

“You too, Zoey. You too.”

We sold them everything, down to the scraps of ribbon and bowls of beads in the back room of the office. We even got them started with some weddings and threw in our services as limited consultants for the period of one year.

But it was still pretty weird.

It helped to have a little more cash on hand. Sara and I had both been living on our savings lately, and mine was getting pretty thin. The house was paid off, and my bills weren’t huge, but being an Aegis didn’t pay in anything more than gifts from grateful Hidden—sweet, but you couldn’t pay the water bill with hellhound teeth or harpy feathers. Selling the business bought me time to take a break and figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

Now that I didn’t need a bodyguard, Riley went back to being a reaper, which also didn’t pay much, and an EMT, which paid a bit better. But first, we made plans to visit his sister. Years ago, the Board had saved her life in exchange for his indefinite services as a reaper—with the caveat that he could never see her again.

Screw that. I was in charge now. Giving Riley his sister back would be the perfect wedding gift.

Rene went back to the Ozarks with Toby and Janey, but this time, they rode public transportation in broad daylight in first class instead of walking all the way or hiding in the luggage compartment. Molly and Walter took the kids to the zoo and the Exploratorium in San Francisco a few times, but their lives didn’t change much with the new status of the Hidden.

Mostly, everyone went back to their old lives, regardless of how things had changed.

The exception was Maurice and Sara. With the wedding planning business no longer an issue, Sara was free to begin a new endeavor. And now that he didn’t have to hide, Maurice was able to join her.

For a savvy businesswoman and a fabulous cook, there was only one real choice. They bought Moira’s bakery in Sausalito. Now Maurice could feed everyone, and Sara could make sure he didn’t give away more than he sold. It was a perfect solution.

Kam left to wander, looking for other djinn and chasing souls in need of capture. She tried to get Darius to go with her, but he refused. I knew she’d be back. Until she found a way to get to the djinn world, I was her home base. We were sisters.

She took the old pickup she and Darius had shared in their travels together as a soul-chaser team. Darius stood beside me in the driveway, his arm raised in a wave as she drove away.

I turned to go back in the house, and Darius stopped me. “Wait,” he said. “It’s time. I’ve made my decision.”

I looked into his eyes, and the sadness I saw there nearly broke me. Enough time had passed that I’d hoped he’d changed his mind. I’d hoped he’d found a reason to stay.

I wanted to argue, but I’d promised him I would honor his wishes when it came time. I swallowed hard to ease the tightness in my throat. I owed it to him—and to my mother—to stay strong through this. “All right. If you’re sure.”

“I do not want to live in this world without Clara. I tried.” He breathed a heavy sigh. “I cannot.”

I took his hands in mine and blinked back tears. Of all the things I’d had to do as an Aegis and an empath, this was by far the most difficult. He was my friend. My dear, dear friend.

“Relax and focus on my eyes.” The grief I saw in his face strengthened my resolve to do as he asked, no matter what it cost me.

I’d only done this once before, and it had been in my mind—but what had occurred in my head had, by all reports, also happened in the clearing in the real world. I could do it again. For Darius.

I concentrated. Darius blurred around the edges, and the rest of him softened, as if looked at through a thick lens. The edges broke away in golden sparks, taking more of him away each second.

The tiny tropical bird from before fluttered to my shoulder, sang a few notes, then flitted around his head. Darius’s sadness melted away, replaced by a peace and contentment I’d never seen in him. He continued to dissipate like golden embers floating into the sky, until that was all there was of him, cavorting in the breeze with the little bird.

The bird landed on my shoulder again and watched with me as what had once been Darius drifted away, undone, returning to the ether of story so that other Hidden could someday evolve from his magic.

The little bird nuzzled my cheek, then flew away. I smiled through my tears. Somehow, I knew something of Darius had remained with the little bird, that the two would be together forever. A love that strong couldn’t simply dissipate.

“That was a fine thing you did, Aegis.” A small, almost squeaky voice came from behind me.

I turned to find a large group of gnomes standing in front my house, their tall, pointy, red hats all held in their tiny hands.

“He’s done a lot for me. It was the only thing I could do for him.” My voice came out gruff and tear-choked. I cleared my throat and wiped the moisture from my face with the back of my hand. “You’ve been under my house for over a year. It’s nice to see you come out finally.”

Their leader—maybe their father—ducked his head in embarrassment. “My apologies. When we’re working, we cannot speak or it cancels out the magic. Gnome ink is a delicate procedure and requires a year of silence to create the sigils.”

One side of my face pulled up in a half smile. “I’m a little familiar with gnome ink. Somebody stuck me with an invisible bad luck sigil on my hand. Powerful stuff.”

He raised his fluffy eyebrows. “Interesting. Why would...never mind. I’m sure it was temporary ink, yes?”

“Yes.”

He nodded in satisfaction. “Well, this—” he made a sweeping gesture toward the house, “—is not temporary. I admired the magic bubble thingy in the back and the fairy ring in the front, but none of that can do what gnome ink can do.”

“No?”

“No.” He clapped his hands, and the entire house flashed.

Brightly lit symbols were on all the surfaces of my freshly painted purple and green house. Every bit of ground from as far under the house as I could see out into the woods glowed brightly. It lasted only a few seconds, then the symbols faded and disappeared.

The gnomes applauded, so I did too. Their spokesman clutched his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels. “Impressive, isn’t it?”

“Without a doubt. But what does it do?”

He spread his arms. “All of this is now a place of safety. No one can be harmed by cruelty. The land, the house and all who enter, both Hidden and human, will find sanctuary here, long after all of us—and you—are gone. It’s a powerful spell, but you’ve given much to the Hidden. You deserve to sleep safely, you and your family, for generations to come.”

I sank to my knees to get closer to their level. “This is a very generous gift.” It was so much more than I could ever repay. I should have dropped a lot more peas on the porch for them to grab. I placed my hand over my heart. “I’m deeply honored you would go to so much trouble for me. Thank you. Will you stay? Now that you can speak with us, we can make you more comfortable.”

They all shook their heads. “No, Aegis. We’ve been away from our families for a year. It’s time for us to be going.”

And they, like everyone else, were gone.

As the months rolled by, Riley and I got comfortable with our new life together. Hidden came and went, but not too often. There were plenty of Aegises to go around now. Life was good. Calm.

I woke early one Saturday morning as the room lightened with the dawn. My sleeping husband snored softly beside me, and I watched the light play against the roughly trimmed beard on his cheeks. The discomfort got to be too much, though, so I pulled myself out of bed and waddled to the bathroom to pee.

I had to pee a lot lately.

When I was done, I headed back to the warmth of my husband and my bed, then stopped. Someone was in the house.

I wasn’t alarmed, exactly. People came and went a lot. It wasn’t like I was going to wake up Riley for help or grab a toilet brush as a weapon. But someone was definitely in the house.

I crept down the hall, one hand held protectively over my protruding belly, and peered around the corner into the kitchen.

The hands clutching my newspaper were as familiar my own. I flashed back to a time, not so long ago, when those hands had struck terror in my heart. I wasn’t afraid.

I cleared my throat. “You’d better not have done the crossword, buddy.” I prepared my best stink-eye for when he lowered the paper and looked at me.

“Zoey! You’re up early. Muffins aren’t quite done.” Maurice bustled around the kitchen. The scent of strawberries and oranges drifted from the oven. “I’ll make you some tea. No coffee until the little one comes. Andrew’s orders.”

“Why aren’t you at the shop?”

“Sara kicked me out.”

“What?” My stomach flopped. It might have been the bad news, or I might have been hungry. I was always hungry lately.

“Kidding. Don’t look so shocked. She opened for me. Wanted me to make sure you were doing okay. We haven’t seen you in over a week.” He danced around the kitchen, still silly, but now a little older, a little more sure of himself. Maurice, I realized, had become a grownup.

Sort of.

“Zoey, Zoey, my friend Zoey!” His voice hadn’t improved any. “Got knocked up and has to go-ey! Zooooey!” He stopped singing and looked serious. “All the time. Seriously. I’ve been here for a couple of hours and you got up to pee twice.”

I smiled as he set the table and pulled the muffins out of the oven with his bare hands. “Smells good.”

He gave me a pointed look. “Well, what are you still standing there for? Sit, sit, sit.”

* * * * *

About the Author

Rachel’s head is packed with an outrageous amount of useless Disney trivia. She is terrified of thunder, but not of lightning, and tends to recite the Disneyland dedication speech during storms to keep herself calm. She finds it appalling that nobody from Disney has called yet with her castle move-in date.

Originally from Northern California, she has a tendency to move every few years, resulting in a total of seven different states and a six-year stint in England. Currently, she’s planning her next grand adventure. Rachel has one heroic husband, two genius kids, a crazy-cat-lady starter kit and an imaginary dog named Waffles.

She doesn’t have time for a real dog.

Catch up on all of your favorite moments with Zoey,
starting from the beginning.

MONSTER IN MY CLOSET
A Monster Haven Story, book
one

I stopped believing in monsters long ago. But I knew I wasn’t
imagining things when I found one in my kitchen baking muffins. I’d seen him
before: lurking in my closet, scaring the crap out of my five-year-old self.
Turns out that was a misunderstanding, and now Maurice needs a place to stay.
How could I say no?

After all, I’ve always been a magnet for the emotionally needy,
and not just in my work as a wedding planner. Being able to sense the feelings
of others can be a major pain. Don’t get me wrong, I like helping people—and
non-people. But this ability has turned me into a gourmet feast for an incubus,
a demon that feeds off emotional energy. Now, brides are dropping dead all over
town, and my home has become a safe house for the supernatural. I must learn to
focus my powers and defeat the demon before he snacks on another innocent woman
and comes looking for the main course…

The full Monster Haven Story series
is available
now!

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