Page 78 of Reaper Unhinged
“Okay, good. Gather the others and take a holiday, tell them…tell them it’s a boon for doing an excellent job. You’ll be paid, of course…double pay.”
She nodded. “Yes, Fee.”
“Good. But before you go, do you know where the guys go to send a phoenix?”
She stared at me in surprise. “Please don’t tell me the Masters haven’t shown you the aviary.”
We had an aviary?
* * *
The aviary wasn’t an enclosure,it was a garden on the other side of the quarters set on a ledge below the roof. It was a huge space with a dome over the top to keep out the elements. It was heated with windows here and there to let in the phoenixes, and what wondrous creatures they were.
Majestic birds that came in shades of red-orange and black, they ranged in size from the size of my forearm to the size of my thigh.
I stood amidst the blooms and the flora, staring at the creatures whirring up ahead. One moment they were there, the other, they winked out of existence.
I gripped Uriel’s forearm, my gaze still on the spot where the birds had just been. “What just happened?”
“They cloaked themselves,” he said. “They can do that. Wait. Watch.”
A gust of air brushed my cheek, and then a phoenix landed a meter away from me. It stood watching me.
“Wait,” Uriel said softly. He crouched and made a soft tutting sound.
The phoenix opened its beak, and a low whistle echoed around us.
“What does that mean?”
“It means it’s ready for your message. There should be scrolls and ink here somewhere.”
I found the items laid on a table to our left, which was almost obscured by plants, and wrote out a simple note asking Conah to come to the pack house if he could spare the time. There was a metal container designed for the scroll, so I rolled it up and pushed the paper inside.
“Now what?”
“Now you feed it to the phoenix and tell it who you wish it delivered to. A phoenix is a messenger, with the unique ability to find anyone whose essence it has tasted at least once. Every phoenix here has been fed essential essences.”
“Even yours?”
“Even mine,” Uriel said. “I’ve been the contact for the Dominus for a while. Hold out the scrolls to the bird and say the recipient’s name, and the phoenix will find him.”
Okay. I stepped forward and held out the scroll. “Please take this to Conah, blood of Lilith.”
The phoenix blinked lazily, and then its head shot forward, and the scroll was gone. It launched itself into the air and vanished.
I stared at the spot where it’d been a moment ago. “Now what?”
“Now, we wait.”
With the phoenix gone, it was time to head back, but we’d only made it to the third floor when I knew for sure that wasn’t what I wanted.
I wanted more time alone with Uri. I wanted to get to know him. To talk, to connect. Who knew what tomorrow would bring, and this mark on my soul…I had no idea how long I’d be able to avoid its effects or where I’d need to go to remove it.
The future was always uncertain, and the only thing I had control over was the now.
We made it down to the second floor before I gently took his hand and brought him to a halt.
He looked down at me with a small smile. “Are we staying?”
