Phoenix (27 page)

"I've been better." It's been thirteen hours since I've seen Beck, and the changes are remarkable. He's awake and talking for one thing, and there's pep in his voice. "Come closer, I don't bite...unless you want me to." He laughs heartily. When I hesitate, he adds, "Ryker and I were just watching some videos."

My spine tingles. This is the Beck I know and love.

"Can you excuse us, Ryker?" I ask. My heart is a whirling mess of anxiety, knotting itself up and making my blood race.

Our friend screws up his face. "I'm not supposed to leave you alone together."

I roll my eyes. "Do I seem dangerous? Does Beck?" I slide into the room. "Besides, I need to talk to him about what you and I researched last night."

Ryker stands and nearly knocks his wooden chair over. "Fine, but if anyone asks, you influenced me."

I huff. "Okay."

He slinks out of the room and closes the door behind him. His voice and Kyra's waft in from the hallway. Neither seem surprised by the turn of events.
 

Beck reaches out to me. "Come here, Birdie."

I crawl up on the bed and nestle into his arms. "Tell me what happened," I order, not wasting any time.

A long sigh escapes Beck's mouth. "I really don't know. I was out-of-control." Shame fills his words, and he drops his head to his chest. "I killed people."

"I know."

"Do you think it's true? That I'm going crazy?"
 

Because of me
I fill in, in my mind.

I run my hand down his arm. He's shaking. "Are you okay?"

"No. What the hell did I do? One minute, I felt fine; the next moment, everything was red and burning hot. I couldn't stop myself. It was like I was floating over my body, just watching me wreck havoc. I couldn't stop myself."

"I know how that feels. Only with me, the more I do it, the more I want to do it. I feed off the feelings of the crowd."

Beck pulls me closer, and his heart beat thunders in my ears. "It wasn't like that for me. I wanted to stop. I wanted the burning and rage to end."

"That's good," I say, hope peppering my words. "That means you have some control over it."

"What are we going to do?" His voice hitches. "I don't want to live a life without you, but I don't want to live like this either."

"Did Ryker tell you anything about our research?"

Beck shakes his head.

I consider my words carefully. "The curse may not be about us. We may not be destined to kill each other." I pause before adding the most important part. "There's a good chance it's about Callum and me."

My mate pushes me out of his arms and stares down at me. "What are you saying?"

"That you may be going crazy, but like me, you can learn to control it. You don't have to give in. Your death isn't inevitable. The very fact that you wanted to stop tells me you have more control than I did early on."

Beck collapses back into the pillow, and his breath whooshes out of him. "Do you believe it? That the curse isn't about us?"

I nod. "My mother did, too."

With that, Beck swings his long legs off the side of the bed.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"We're going to find Callum and end this once and for all."

As much as I'd love to have Beck by my side, I know this is a confrontation I have to have on my own. "No," I say. "You can help me find him, but I need to be the one to end things."

Beck studies me, and I allow my emotions to run freely: nervousness, horror, worry, and resolve.
 

"You're committed to this, aren't you?" he asks.

"If it means keeping everyone - witches and humans - safe, yes I am."
 

I crawl over the bed to where Beck sits and take his hand. "Do you remember asking me what I wanted?"

He bobs his head.

"I know now. I don't only want to be safe. I want the quiet normal life you and I planned. I want to wake up each day with you next to me, knowing we're not going to hurt each other. I want a job at the Ag Centers like I dreamed before all this started. I just want to be normal."

Beck kisses my forehead. "I'd like to wake up like that, too."

"Every occasion of normality would be a celebration," I say, laughing.
 

"Every day with you would be," he counters.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Annalise sits behind her desk. Normally, actually always, she comes to me, so when she spots me standing in the corner of her office, she does a double take.

"Lark! What can I do for you?"

I glance around the nearly sterile office. There's a desk and two chairs, but not much else. If I thought mine was bare, hers is downright spartan.
 

"I thought you could brief me on Callum."

"You have great timing," she says. "I was just going over the latest intelligence." She waves her hand, and a screen appears on the wall nearest me. The information from her tablet populates the screen.

"I believe," she says, studying her tablet, "that he's in Vancouver. At Malin's country estate."

My jaw clenches. Of course he'd hide there. Since Mother's death, he's been angling to gain possession of both her San Francisco house and the estate. I've been too busy putting out fires to deal with it all.

"I'm going to him," I say.

"Not without a full guard."

I cross my arms. "I have to do this alone."

"Lark, I can't send you into who-knows-what with no back up. At least take Ryker and Kyra."

I consider her request for all of two seconds. "No, it has to be me."

"Then take Beck."

My jaw drops open. "I thought you wanted to keep us apart."

She shakes her head. "What's the point? You're just going to sneak around. We all know it." She holds up her hand when I begin to protest. "Plus, the two of you together are formidable."
 

"Is he strong enough?" I ask, taking a seat on one of her chairs.

"He will be." She pushes back slightly from the desk and rests her hands on her stomach.

"How much longer?" I ask, pointing at her belly.
 

She pats her tummy softly. "Soon. Within the next couple of weeks, I believe." Unlike humans, witches have a gestation time of just four months.

If I'm honest, I wish Annalise could accompany Beck and me when we confront Callum. Of the three of us, she knows him best.
 

"Before you go, let Ryker work with the two of you. Let him give you some sort of training."

I consider her offer, but in my heart I believe that the longer I wait, the more time Callum will have to prepare. He has to know someone - maybe not me, but someone - is coming for him. "No. The faster we do this, the better. And we should keep it quiet. The less people who know, the less likely Callum will find out."

Annalise folds her hands on the desktop. "I don't like this, Lark." When she pushes away from the desk, I can see how swollen her belly has become and wonder how she doesn't tip over when she stands.
 

"You know it needs to be done. Either Callum will survive, or I will." I try to sound braver than I am, but I'm terrified. Because he hid his abilities for so long, I have no idea what Callum is capable of doing.

"Then let Ryker train you. It doesn't have to be months, or even weeks, just give us a few days to get you ready."

There's wisdom in what she's asking. I take a deep breath and focus my energy on making a solid decision instead of my usual rash reaction.

"Okay," I say. "I'll work with Ryker, but we need to start right away."

Relief washes over Annalise's face. "I'll make the arrangements."

#

"Not like that, Lark. You'll give yourself away before you're within striking distance."

I fall back onto my rear end, discouraged. I may be able to amplify others' magic, but I can't seem to learn how to perform basic maneuvers - like sneaking into a room. I lie down on my back and stretch my arms over my head. We've been at this for three hours, and I've yet to make what I feel is satisfactory progress.

Ryker gently kicks at my leg. "C'mon. Get up. No quitting."

I sigh and roll up into a sitting position. Beck stands across the room with an amused smile on his lips. "What happened to Little Miss I-Can-Do-Everything?" he teases.

"Hush, you," I say and put a silencing spell on Beck before he can stop me.
 

When Beck opens his mouth to speak, nothing comes out, and Ryker laughs. "She got you," he says.

Feeling generous, I undo the spell, and Beck sputters, "That is not fair!"

Suddenly, a wave of seriousness overtakes me. "Callum won't be fair either."

Ryker paces between us. "Are you two done?"

"Why don't we focus on offensive magic," I ask. "How do I get...him first?" I've taken to not using Callum's name per Ryker's instruction. He's my target and the objective, but not my brother or Callum.

Ryker rolls up his sleeves. "Remember how you set me on fire?"

I groan at the memory. "Yes."

"Well I didn't see it coming because you got me talking. I wasn't paying attention to what else you had going on."

I scrunch up my face. "So I should talk the target to death?"

Ryker huffs. "No. But distraction is probably your best tool. The object likes to talk about himself. Get him going about that."

"That will only work if I can get close enough to him. What if he's surrounded by his followers? You've seen how un-stealth I am."

Ryker moves across the floor panther-like until he's just short of the doorway. "See this space between us?"

I nod.

"It's too close. You need to be at least fifty feet away if you want to remain stealth. He needs to not know you're there."

I sigh. "Which is the problem. I can't move panther-like the way you and Beck can."

Beck crosses the room and leans over me. "Here," he says, offering me his hand. "Let's go out into the Presidio and practice some offensive magic."

My heart sinks. The last time I practiced magic in the Presidio was with Oliver and Dawson. How long ago it seems. How long and how sad. I swallow the lump in my throat, thinking about Oliver, Annalise, and the baby. "Okay," I say, gulping down my sadness.

"Let's meet by the eucalyptus grove," he instructs.

I nod, blinking back tears I shouldn't be shedding. Ryker and Beck spin into the void, leaving me behind. I wipe my damp eyes and follow them. Cool air whooshes over my body, and when I land, I've pulled myself together.

"What took you so long?" Ryker teases. Then he takes a good look at me. "Hey, are you okay?"

I suck on my lower lip. "It's just all the memories of everything that's happened here. The picnics, the games, what I did to Lena...that battle with Eamon, and you and Beck." Tears begin coursing down my cheeks. "And Oliver."

"Lark, if you want to be successful in your mission, you can't think about anything but the objective."

I wipe my face with my sleeve. "Okay. I can do this."

A wisp of magic weaves around me, gently squeezing the air from my lungs.
 

"What are you doing?" I gasp. "We're supposed to be working on offensive magic."

The magic squeezes me harder. Stars twinkle before my eyes. I inhale as deeply as I can, and force myself to focus. Suddenly, it comes to me. Instead of trying to break the spell, defensively, I need to strike Ryker offensively. Visions of fireballs and water walls float through my increasingly groggy mind.

"C'mon, Lark. You can do this."

And that's when the lightening strikes near Ryker, breaking his concentration. I take the precious seconds that he's distracted and throw a fireball at him. He spins suddenly and deftly avoids my magic.
 

"Everyone knows you can play with fire, Lark. You need to do something different. Something that no one expects."

I scrunch up my forehead. "So fire and storms are out."

"Yes, but the lightening was a nice touch." He dusts off his arms. "What else can you do?"

We're standing on a bluff above the gap where the ocean meets the Bay. The churning water below us gives me an idea. I flex my fingers, and the water rises to the height of the bluff. I hold it for a second before sending it crashing backward. Sea salt sprays all over Ryker and me.

"Cool trick, but how would you use that against Callum," Beck asks.

I cock my head and study the wild water. "If I can get him close to the ocean, I could knock him down."

Ryker puffs out his lips in agreement. "Clever, but what if you're on dry land."

I throw up my hands. "That's what you're supposed to be teaching me."

"Fair enough." He strolls closer to the tree line. "Hey, I forgot to tell you, I found something interesting in one of your mother's journals."

I stop mid-stride. "What? How are you just now telling me?"

"Well, I've been busy and honestly, it doesn't change anything."

I cross my arms. "I'll be the judge of that."

"Okay, so you're named Lark which is a bird, right?"

I give him an incredulous look. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Callum means 'dove' and doves are bringers of peace." He kicks at the ground. "I just thought it was interesting you're both named after birds."

"Fascinating," I say.
 

His face falls. "See I told you it wasn't important."

I place my hands on my hips. "Let's get back to what we were doing. We don't have much time before I need to make contact with the target."

"Have you ever tried using Annalise's heavy air to immobilize someone?"

I shudder at the memory. "No. It wasn't the most pleasant thing, and I tried to forget about it."

"Well it's rather useful. You can freeze up a lot of people at once from a distance." He rubs his hands together. "Let's give it a try."

The three of us practice for a good hour, with most of it being taken up by me immobilizing Ryker and then performing a pseudo-deadly spell. It all makes me a nervous mess. Like Beck, I don't want to kill anyone, but what can I do? It's either Callum or me.

"Your brain still all over the place?" Beck asks after my fifth failed attempt to set Ryker on fire.