When her shoes were on, she walked to the stereo system. The soft tap of her heels on the floor made her smile. She selected one of her favorite reels and slid the CD into the player.
She tapped back to the center of the floor and waited for the first plaintive strains of the fiddles. Spine straight. Shoulders back. Head up. Keep the body proud. Her mother’s voice echoed in her head.
The music swept through her. Her feet moved of their own accord. The staccato rap of her steps joined the beat of the reel and filled the studio with the sound of life.
Too long she’d ignored the need to dance. Too long she’d been afraid to deal with her mother’s death.
Her feet flew as she kicked and twisted across the floor. The notes pulsed in her veins like a second heart. Sweat drenched the back of her neck. She pulled Alrik’s T-shirt off and leapt into the air. The sheer joy of dancing again filled her with happiness.
Faster. Harder. Higher. She skimmed across the entire studio, almost flying. Her breath came in little pants and her lungs ached but she refused to stop until the fiddles did.
At last, the final notes echoed through the empty space and the reel ended. She collapsed, shaking and spent and the happiest she’d been in many months. Her mother would be proud. She glanced heavenward and smiled.
“I shouldn’t have given it up. I shouldn’t have closed the studio,” she panted.
“I’m sorry, Mom. But I’m ready now. I’m ready to dance again.” She lay back against the wood floor, relishing its coolness on her sweaty skin.
If only she had her Viking. Everything would be perfect.
***
When the flames vanished, Alrik stood in the Hall of Fire, the place in Valhalla where every Phoenix returned to make changes. He was as stunned, as if he had been hit broadside by an unexpected blow. Calleigh had sent him away thinking he had betrayed her and there was nothing he could do to change that.
His heart ached so badly he wanted to rip it from his chest. The knowledge that sweet, beautiful Calleigh had been hurt felt like a deathblow. There was only one solution his throbbing brain could think of.
Freya must die.
Somewhere, in the small part of his brain where rational thought still existed, he knew the impossibility of this. And what it would cost him.
He could not find a reason to care.
The Hall of Swords rang with the clink and clang of metal striking metal and the grunts of sparring Phoenixes. As Alrik suspected, Vincentius stood in the midst of the melee, about to face off with Si-Khu, one of the Egyptian Phoenixes.
“Keep the sword up higher. Not that high. Aye, like that.”
“Vincentius,” Alrik called, interrupting the Roman’s lesson.
The Centurion looked up. “Back so soon?”
“I need to speak with you. Now.” Alrik motioned toward the doors, beyond the hall.
“I suppose this will not wait until I have shown Si-Khu why Roman iron is superior to Egyptian bronze.”
“Nay. It will not.” Alrik crossed his arms, resolute.
Vincentius shook his head at Si-Khu. “Seems you have been spared. But the reprieve is temporary. Tomorrow then?”
Si-Khu nodded and went off to find another sparring partner.
The Roman fell into step beside Alrik. “What is on your mind?”
“Not here.” Alrik uncrossed his arms and glanced sideways. One of Freya’s pets, Dimitri, watched them.
Vincentius followed Alrik’s gaze. “I understand.”
Not until they were well away from everyone did Alrik speak. “I need your sword.”
“What’s wrong with yours?” Vincentius wrinkled his brow.
“It needs sharpening.”
“So sharpen it.”
“I have need of a sharp sword now.” Why were Romans so thickheaded? Could the Centurion not see this was a matter of great importance?
“For what?”
“So I may kill Freya.”
Vincentius eyes went wide. “Are you mad? You cannot kill the goddess. She is immortal. Besides, she will banish you from Valhalla.”
“I would rather be banished than spend my eternity in her service.”
“And what of your charge’s final change?”
Alrik stared past the Roman’s shoulder as his final moments with Calleigh played through his head. He closed his eyes and sighed, running his hand through his hair. The thought was painful enough. Putting it into words knotted his gut.
He glanced at Vincentius then dropped his gaze to the intricately inlaid marble floor. “She gave her last change to me.”
“What? Is that possible?” Vincentius’s mouth hung slack.
Alrik shrugged. “It must be. She commanded it and now I am here.”
“Why? What happened? I thought you told her…” Vincentius swallowed.
“I did. This was afterwards. I was searching for Calleigh when Freya appeared. She forced herself on me. Kissed me. Calleigh saw it and would not allow me to explain. And here I stand.”
Alrik exhaled gruffly. “I promise never to ask you to look after anything again.”
“I did watch her but she slipped away from me and I did not see her again after that.”
“She got away from you? Some soldier you are.” A low growl vibrated in Alrik’s throat. So much for the power of the Roman army.
Vincentius threw his hands into the air. “Would you have me follow her into the bathroom?”
Alrik sighed. “Makes no difference now. What is done is done.”
“I am sorry.” The Roman shrugged, genuine remorse in his eyes.
“Then give me your sword.” Alrik held his hand out.
“Nay. I cannot let you do this.”
“Fine.” Alrik fisted his hands on his hips. “Then I will kill her with my bare hands.”
Vincentius grabbed Alrik’s shoulder. “Listen to me. This is madness. Calleigh must have given you her change for a reason.”
“Aye. To get the vengeance she thought I wanted so badly.”
“And do you still want it?”
Alrik thought for a moment. “Aye.”
Vincentius smiled. “Then that, my friend, is exactly what you should do.”
Chapter Nineteen
As Calleigh stood in the shower rinsing off her well-earned sweat, she couldn’t shake the niggling sense that she’d forgotten something.
It wasn’t anyone’s birthday that she could think of. Not Moreen and Corri’s anniversary. Bridget’s feis was still two weeks away.
“I’ve probably gummed up my circuits with too much sugar and cream,” she announced to Snickers as she dried herself off. She ignored the fact that everything made her think of Alrik so she’d been avoiding serious thought as much as possible.
She called Seamus and made a lunch date. No point in postponing the inevitable. Sooner or later, she’d have to tell him Alrik wasn’t available for any more shoots.
A little shopping in the city might be just the thing to cheer herself up, too. Worked for other women. Might as well give it a try. Her inheritance could support a spree or two. Or twelve.
Maybe she’d get a roommate and maybe she wouldn’t. One thing she knew for sure. It was time to reopen the studio.
Being in that space and dancing again made her feel closer to her mother than she had in a long time. And mom would want her to keep teaching. That much she was sure of.
The day was warming up nicely. Snickers sat in front of the bedroom window while she dressed. He yowled pathetically, so she opened the window.
Whiskers twitching, his little cat nose went to work inhaling as much spring air as possible.
His curiosity made her think of Alrik and she let herself dwell on the Viking for a few moments. She missed him so much. What she wouldn’t give to have him back, even for a day.
A day
. She knew what she’d forgotten. The third day. Today was the third day of the change. He’d be back, wouldn’t he? To make sure she still wanted him to have the last change? Wasn’t that how it worked?
Oh please, oh please be right for once in your life.
She squealed with sudden happiness. Snickers fell off the window sill, looking highly indignant.
“Sorry, Snickems!” She picked the furball up and spun around the room with him. Claws in her arm brought her to a stop.
She plopped him on the bed and grinned. “You’re a very hard person to celebrate with, you know that?”
Snickers ignored her and began cleaning himself.
“I know, I know. But I’m willing to overlook him kissing that blonde hussy if he’s got a good enough explanation. Besides, I hurt his feelings by not telling him I loved him back. Not to mention, that other Phoenix kissing me. There’s got to be some balance there, don’t you think?”
But how would she get him to stay when he came back? He’d ask if she wanted to keep the change. If she said yes, he’d disappear again and since it was her last change, if she said no, he’d be gone too.
She looked at Snickers again. “Well, what am I going to do?”
Snickers paused mid-lick as if considering her question, then jumped back to the window sill.
“Hmmph. Where’s the love? I feed you, I buy you toys you never play with, I clean out your litter box and what do you do? You ignore me. What kind of an answer is that?”
Calleigh thought for a moment. It might actually be the best answer of all.
If she ignored Alrik’s question, maybe he couldn’t leave. No answer, no end to his job as her Phoenix. The chance that it might work was slim but it was the only chance she had. Buoyed by the possibility, she finished dressing for lunch with her uncle.
She checked her watch. Plenty of time.
Her ability with a camera didn’t begin to compare with Seamus’s but she soon had a handful of decent photos of her wedding dress.
She logged on to eBay and clicked Sell. Maybe someone else would have better luck getting to the altar than she had.
Lunch patrons crowded McManus’s but after the petite, redheaded hostess hugged Seamus, Calleigh didn’t think they’d have to wait long.
“Come here often?” Calleigh asked.
“Occasionally.” Seamus winked. “Sandy’s an old friend of mine.”
“Old? How long could you have known her? She’s what, twenty-four?” Was there a woman in the state of New York Seamus didn’t know?
“Twenty-two and that’s a legal age, I’ll have you know.”
She held her hand up. “I really don’t need to hear anymore. Not on an empty stomach anyway.”
Her guess proved to be right. Sandy found them a table in minutes.
Calleigh studied her menu for something healthy. She decided on a chef salad and an iced tea. Seamus ordered a club sandwich and a Guinness. He looked at her expectantly when the waitress left.
“So, what’s on your mind?”
Where to start. “I have good news, bad news and news you won’t believe.”
“I like multiple choice. I’ll take the good news first.”
“I’m reopening the studio. I’m going to teach again.”
His eyes crinkled as he burst into smile. “That’s wonderful news, lovey! Ah, your ma would be so happy. What made you decide that?”
“Lots of things. Life’s too short to run from the unpleasant. Keeping the studio closed isn’t going to bring Mom back. That place was her baby. I owe it to her.”
“No, love,
you
were her baby. True, she loved that studio but she’d want you to be happy first.”
“Dancing is about the only thing that has made me happy lately.”
“I don’t buy that for a minute.” He nodded his thanks as the waitress set their drinks down. “Alrik certainly puts a smile on your face.”
And she did smile. A little. “And that brings us to the bad news and the news you won’t believe.”
Seamus groaned. “Merciful Joseph. Don’t tell me you broke up with the lad again. Me poor heart can’t take it.”
She twisted the edge of the paper napkin. “We didn’t exactly break up.”
He rolled his head back and stared at the beamed ceiling. “What exactly did you do then?”
Calleigh sat silently, trying to find the words, until she felt her uncle’s dark gaze boring into her. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Well, what did you do? Kill him? Is he in jail? Do you need bail money? For the love of Pete, will you tell me already?”
She cleared her throat. “Drink your Guinness already, would you?”
“You’re stalling.” He downed a hearty portion of the brew anyway.
She leaned a little closer. “Do you know what a Phoenix is?”
“You mean the bird that rises up out of the ashes?”
“Yes, well, that’s one type of phoenix. But there’s another kind, who’s not a bird but a man. A man with wings of fire who has the power to make your life different.” She stopped, not sure how much info to give him all at once. What would he think? Would he even believe her?
Seamus set his beer down. He picked up his fork, then put it back. He took another sip of Guinness, set the glass back on the table then straightened his knife so it lay parallel to the edge of his napkin. A long silence passed between them and Calleigh’s palms started to sweat.
Finally, Seamus spoke.
“So.” He looked directly into Calleigh’s eyes. “When did you make your last change and when’s he coming back?”
***
Few things stirred Alrik’s blood like the sight of Freya’s smug face. He knew somehow she had purposely crafted the moment she kissed him so that Calleigh would see it. He felt it in his bones, like the ache before a squall.
Except this time, the storm was coming for her.
Alrik took Vincentius with him when he went to face Freya. The Roman was a good friend and if it came to it, a handy sword.
Flanked by her two great blue cats, the goddess lounged in the throne room on her golden chaise. Dimitri knelt on the floor, massaging her feet. Eros, his face unreadable, sat nearby fletching arrows with Phoenix feathers.
“Welcome, Viking. I had not expected you back so soon.”
Liar.
“Really? When did you expect me back?” Alrik knew the tone of his voice was less than respectful.
Dimitri looked up, smiled slyly, then refocused on his task.
Her blue eyes darkened to the shade of the sapphire brooches fastening the silks she wore. “Did your charge tire of you so quickly then? Or perhaps she had other reasons for making her last change.”
Alrik ground his teeth together to keep from killing her at that moment. “What would you know about that?”
“Do not forget who you are speaking to, Viking. You seek me for a reason. I assume your charge has a change she wishes to make? Her final change perhaps?” She wriggled her toes in Dimitri’s lap, causing the Phoenix to harden noticeably.
Alrik’s stomach twisted. The hold she had over a Phoenix once she bedded him was sickening but Dimitri was the worst one of all. He had become little more than a pet. How Eros stayed as independent as he did was a mystery.
“Aye, my charge has decided upon her third change.”
Freya placed a fingertip on her smiling lips. Her eyes lightened to the pale sparkling blue of a sunlit brook. Glee nearly bubbled out of her. Alrik could not have been happier to speak his next words.
“She commanded I use her final change.”
“What?” Freya shrieked, her mouth twisted into an ugly scowl. “What? This cannot be.”
“Aye. It can.” Eros spoke without looking up. He continued lacing the delicate gold wire through the flight feathers of his arrows, binding them to the ivory shafts.
Freya’s chest huffed out and she jumped from the chaise. Dimitri yowled as she kicked him in her haste. “I forbid it.”
Eros slid a finished arrow into his golden quiver. “You cannot forbid this.”
Freya stomped her foot and fisted her hands at her sides. Her great blue cats growled. “I am a goddess, I can do whatever I wish.”
Eros stood and shook his head. His eyes were the same blazing blue as hers. “A charge may use her changes freely. That has always been the way of the Phoenix.”
“Get out. All of you.” Seething, she swiped her hands through the air. The throne room disappeared. Alrik and Vincentius had been transported to the courtyard.
A few Phoenixes looked up, greeting the pair with a nod before returning to their own diversions.
Vincentius threw his head back and laughed. “I have never seen the goddess in such a rage.”
Alrik grinned. Freya’s reaction was even better than he had imagined. And he had yet to tell her what his change would be.
He and Vincentius sat down to a game of Tabula. The Roman blocked Alrik and he returned the play with a defensive move.
“Viking.”
Alrik looked up into the calm blue eyes of Eros. He had not heard the demi-god approach but that was not unusual. Eros moved with an unnatural silence.
“Aye?”
“The goddess commands you come to her. It is time to make your change.”
Alrik glanced at Vincentius.
“Alone,” Eros added.
He nodded. So this was it. One way or another, in a few moments time he would no longer be a Phoenix. He reached out and clasped Vincentius’s hand. “Be well, brother.”
“And you. Go with blessings.” Vincentius’s face was solemn and Alrik knew he understood what was about to happen.
Eros led Alrik back to the throne room where Freya waited in full battle regalia, one hand on the hilt of her massive broadsword. Her eyes were so blue they were almost black. Dimitri was gone. Only her two blue cats remained.
“You have always been a great disappointment to me, Viking.” She fingered the egg-sized chunk of amber mounted in the blade’s pommel.
Because I did not succumb to your wiles?
He wanted to roll his eyes but thought better of it. He was too close to getting what he had waited for these last thousand years to ruin it now. “I am sure I have been. My apologies, goddess.” Playing the submissive rubbed him raw, but in this case, the pain was worth it.
Ever so slightly, her eyes lightened. “Tell me this, Viking, how could a mortal woman woo you when I could not?”