Blood of a Phoenix (The Nix Series Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Blood of a Phoenix

  Shannon Mayer

  Contents

  Blood of a Phoenix

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  2. Chapter Two

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  6. Chapter Six

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  12. Chapter Twelve

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  16. Chapter Sixteen

  17. Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  21. Chapter Twenty-One

  22. Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  25. Chapter Twenty-Five

  26. Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter 27

  28. Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter 29

  Afterword

  Sneak Peek!

  Blood of a Phoenix

  (The Nix Series Book 2)

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you doesn’t seem enough and you’d think after this many books I would run out of people to say thank you too but the truth is the list just keeps getting longer. My author peeps, my readers, my ARC team, my editors, copy editors, proofreaders, my mom, some of my siblings (HA!), and then there are the characters that I couldn’t do this without. Sure, I come up with the main idea, but they spring to life and take me on as big as an adventure as I hope they take you on. Thank you to you all, to your belief in me, in Nix, and in the worlds that keep spinning out of my head.

  I just hope that the day the threads stop spinning never comes.

  Copyright © 2017 by Hijinks Ink Publishing All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Names, dates, or places are coincidental and in no way real.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2017

  ISBN 13: 978-1-987933-33-8

  www.shannonmayer.com

  Created with Vellum

  Chapter One

  “Romano, you disappoint me, yet again. You were supposed to kill your daughter, and as far as I can tell, she is still very much alive.” Mancini sat in his chair behind a large dark walnut desk. His hands were clasped and his elbows balanced on the armrests.

  Solid gray hair marked him as aged, but his face was not heavily lined, and his features gave the impression of a kindly man, a man of compassion. That is if you didn’t look too closely at his eyes and the way the irises danced and jigged as if they were a living creature that had taken up residence within the orbs.

  If one looked long enough, his eyes seemed to have eyes within them, looking back at you. Judging you, weighing your value.

  Luca Romano stood with his hands tucked behind his back, fingers interlaced, not a drop of sweat running down his spine underneath the ten-thousand-dollar suit. “I’m well aware that Phoenix is alive. It was never my intention to kill her.”

  Mancini smiled at him, the edges of his teeth showing. “I want her dead, Romano. She took my money and destroyed the only manufacturing plant in North America that had Diva up and producing. Genzo and his Yakuza are not happy that they didn’t get their shipment. It was meant to be used in conjunction with their production of a new myst, which they have yet to discuss with me.” He frowned and then went on. “They will be even unhappier when they realize their shipment isn’t late, but will not be arriving at all. I do not need another turf war.”

  Romano dipped his head. The last turf war between Mancini and Genzo was something out of legend if the tales were to be believed. The damage done to the abnormal community was still healing, and yet they’d managed to keep the worst of it from the humans. Yes, the humans knew that abnormals existed, but they were considered peripheral to human society and more of a nuisance than a threat.

  That was going to change if Romano had his way.

  Romano smiled slowly. “I know we can use the Phoenix to our advantage. As much as we both want her dead for her crimes, we also must admit she is a weapon, a valuable weapon, that if used correctly, could help us . . . manage . . . Genzo and his Yakuza. Thus, preventing another war.”

  Mancini leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening, Romano, but understand this is your last chance to impress me and the Collective. You’ve fumbled the ball in the end zone far too many times. Only your connections have kept you afloat.”

  Romano took a step forward and pulled a piece of paper from under his suit, then spread it on the desk. “The Yakuza are developing a new myst spell, a myst they are deliberately keeping from you.” This was information Romano had received directly from the Yakuza because they believed Romano would side with them against Mancini. He smiled as Mancini leaned forward, a glint in his disturbing eyes.

  “What kind of myst?”

  Romano smoothed the paper. “They are calling it Ikimono. Loosely translated, it means creature.”

  “And what does Ikimono do?” Mancini didn’t look up. His eyes were glued to the words on the paper that spelled out the new myst and how the Yakuza had stumbled on its creation. An abnormal scientist dabbling in genetic mutation and magic at the same time. For the moment, it had only been tested on animals, but they were moving on to abnormals in the next week if the dates on the paper were to be believed.

  “By all accounts, Ikimono attaches to the host’s DNA and twists it, opening it for insertion of a companion DNA which is pre-determined and already present in the injection.” Romano tapped his finger on the paper. “The plan is to create a new, stronger breed of abnormals. One that outstrips anything magic has ever created on its own. Ramping things up, and making it so Genzo could potentially have his own army.” Romano knew he was playing a dangerous game. He’d all but told Mancini that he was no longer the strongest bully in the schoolyard.

  Mancini lifted his eyes to Romano. “Genzo can’t be allowed to go forward with this.” He tapped a finger on the paper. “If we let him, he will wipe out both you and me.”

  Romano shrugged. He had his own secrets that would keep him safe. “It is possible, yes.” Best that he look like he was in the same trouble Mancini was. Which Romano knew he most certainly was not. He had a hold on Genzo that was ironclad.

  With a finger on the paper, Mancini pushed it across the desk to him. “And you think Phoenix could be used to do what, exactly?”

  He picked up the paper, folded it, and tucked it into hi
s coat. “She hates abnormals, Mancini. I trained her for that, drilled it into her to kill them on sight.”

  Mancini frowned, but Romano pushed on.

  “I believe we could direct her to the Yakuza, let her see the horrors they are creating, and she will wipe them out for us without more than a, let’s call it a gentle push, toward them.”

  The leader of the Collective was silent for a few heartbeats, his eyes hooded. This was the part Romano disliked—not knowing what was going on in the other man’s mind.

  The older man steepled his fingers and put them under his chin. “What will you use to force her hand? I doubt she would willingly work for you, now that you’ve killed her family. She and I are not on any kind of good terms which leaves me no way to coerce her. So, what do you have, Romano? Because I know you well enough to know you are a snake in the grass. There is always something you have in mind.”

  Romano smiled, though it was a stretch. He hadn’t planned on showing his ace up the sleeve, but with Mancini, it looked as if he was going to have to prove himself. “If I may introduce you to someone?”

  Mancini waved both hands at him, his eyes seemingly bored, but there was a flicker of interest. Curiosity was an abnormal trait that Romano despised. It was one of the things that made them so fucking unpredictable.

  Romano opened the office door and leaned out. “Come in. I want you to meet a friend of mine.”

  A young boy with dark hair and dark solemn eyes stepped into the room. He wore a school uniform with a crest of a dragon over the left side of his chest. Mancini’s eyes narrowed rapidly. “Who is this?”

  Romano put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “This is my grandson, Bear. His parents were killed in a car accident nearly five months ago. I have him in St. George’s school for exceptional boys.”

  Bear looked up at his grandfather, but said nothing.

  “I’d like a closer look at him.” Mancini beckoned with the crook of a single finger.

  Bear’s eyes shot to the man across the desk and his body stiffened under Romano’s hand. “It’s okay, son. Mr. Mancini is a longtime friend of mine.” He bent and whispered to the boy, “Don’t embarrass me.” Then all but shoved him forward.

  With a stumble, Bear slowly made his way across the open space between the door and the desk. Mancini stood and walked around the edge so he could crouch in front of the boy.

  He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Bear.”

  Bear held his hand out. Mancini caught hold of him and gave him a single shake and a tight-lipped smile. “Ah, that explains a great deal. A great deal.”

  Bear frowned and tried to pull his hand away. Mancini held on a moment longer and then let go.

  He stood. “Romano, you have a plan then?”

  “I do. I’d rather not speak in front of my grandson.” Romano gestured for Bear to go to the door. He walked beside the boy, his hand once more on his shoulder. “Do not move from that chair.” Again, he gave him a push, this time toward the only chair in the waiting room, then shut the door behind his grandson.

  Romano turned and strode back toward Mancini. “What do you mean by ‘that explains a great deal’?”

  Mancini smiled. “Your daughter is not human, Romano. And she passed her ability on to her son.”

  Blood drained from Romano’s face so quickly, he had to steady himself with a hand on the desk. “What? That’s impossible. She’s never shown any ability. Nothing. And I would know. I had her and her mother tested repeatedly.” And if she had been an abnormal, and he’d known, he would have used her abilities to his advantage. Just like he’d used his other children’s abilities. He’d always kept them quiet. Not allowing them to talk to even one another about what they could do.

  Except for Bianca, she had figured things out. His hand tightened on the wooden desk top.

  Mancini sat on the edge of his desk. “You do not have any natural ability, so you can be forgiven for not seeing what ran through the Phoenix’s blood. As it is subtle, and an old trait not often seen any longer. It would be hard for any but my kind to detect it.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I’m not sure it matters. But that boy has the same talents, along with something that seems to be flowing from his father’s side. I don’t believe his father was abnormal.”

  Romano shook his head.

  “Then a latent ability from somewhere in the bloodline on that side. An ability, again, that is difficult to pinpoint.” Mancini let out a long breath before speaking, as if gathering his thoughts. “What it tells me is that containing the Phoenix is going to be far more difficult than you believe. And if she realizes what her abilities are, and gains some proficiency in them, well . . . let’s just say if you thought she was dangerous before, it will be nothing compared to what she will become.”

  Romano worked his jaw back and forth. “Regardless. I have her son, and that gives me control over her. She will never risk his life. In that, she is her mother’s daughter. She would die herself before she let harm come to him.”

  Mancini tipped his head to the side. “Perhaps. Or perhaps you will anger her enough that she will just kill you.”

  “No,” Romano said. “She doesn’t want to kill me now. Not yet, anyway. She wants to make me suffer.” He had time, and he had tools, and he was going to use them both to make things go his way. “If she wants her son to remain alive, she will work for me. She will destroy the Genzo and his Ikimono myst.” And then the Yakuza would be Romano’s to control.

  “And what about my money?” Mancini asked. Romano knew money wasn’t really the issue for him, the leader of the Collective had plenty enough. The money was just another piece of leverage to hold over his head.

  “You’ll get your money when she takes down the Yakuza.”

  Mancini’s eyes flickered and danced, almost as if mocking Romano, and he knew it. “I believe you have one other you will need to deal with if you want to lock up your inclusion to the Collective.”

  Romano nodded. “Killian Fannin is on the short list to be handled. He and his Irish are not as strong as he thinks. There has been more than one defector. But first, let us deal with the Yakuza and their monsters before they get ahead of themselves. Agreed?”

  Mancini nodded. “Agreed.”

  They stood there, eyes locked. Two powerhouse men in their own rights. One born to that power as an abnormal of incredible strength and influence, and the other strong because he’d been willing to sell his soul to the devil in exchange for strength and influence.

  Mancini waited until Romano left before he sat in his chair. He tapped his fingers along the edge of the desk for a moment, then picked up the phone.

  The number he dialed was not one he used often. He didn’t like using freelancers, even though this one was one of the best.

  As soon as the phone picked up on the other side he spoke. “You and I need to talk.”

  “Unless you’re talking money, we don’t need to talk,” the man said, his voice pitched low.

  “Money, yes. Romano screwed you over on bringing in the Phoenix, didn’t he?” Mancini stared at the far wall of his office, thinking.

  Silence for a moment. “Yes.”

  “Unlike Romano, I hold to my word, which you know from working with me in the past. Bring her to me. I will make it worth your while and then some.”

  “You going to kill her?” His voice was hard, and Mancini heard the real words: I won’t bring her in if you’re going to kill her.

  Mancini laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re going soft. Let me put it this way. The Collective has put an open bounty on her head. Any abnormal can kill her without repercussion, right now, and not only will we cover it up, they would be rewarded with a king’s ransom. You’d be doing her a favor by bringing her to me. You have my word I will not kill her.”

  “Shit,” the man on the other end of the line muttered and then hung up.

  Mancini put the phone down, smiling to himself as he began to hum a song. He smiled more
widely as he got to the chorus and spoke the words softly.

  “Dirty deeds and they’re done dirt cheap.”

  Chapter Two

  Phoenix

  Flames licked around my body, and the heat drove through to the marrow of my bones, boiling me from the inside out. I was trapped in a fire of my own making as my enemies closed around me, tightening their hold on my skin. A crackle of branches in the wind rolled off the flames, and then the Stick Man was there, his flailing limbs whipping around as he flicked his hands toward me.

  Taller than any human, the guardian was made of a living wood that could not burn, and I’d killed him. And yet, here he was again, on fire as he reached for me. Demonic laughter coursed through the air and a scattering of living splinters shot from him like bullets.

  I dropped to the ground and rolled, rolled until I couldn’t stop as if I slid down an embankment. I reached for something, anything, and my fingernails snapped as I tried to grab hold of loose soil, and found only stones and roots, unable to gain purchase. I flipped over and over, until my head smashed against something metallic and cold, and my momentum stilled.

  The scene flickered and the flames and Stick Man were gone, but I was strapped inside of an old Ford that had sunk beneath the ice. A place I’d been before and never wanted to relive again. The water rose around me at a pace that would cover me in seconds. I fought to get loose, but was pinned by the twisted metal of the truck as it speared me through the leg. I pushed and pulled as the water slid up over my calves, knees and thighs, icy cold and numbing with each splash.