an uppercut that I block. I use my power to flip over her, but she beautifully times her sweep kick to my landing and knocks me onto my back.
Halo Knights are self-appointed guardians trained by those who came before them to protect phoenixes against all human dangers—traffickers, hunters, alchemists. Seeing as all my enemies have been people, I’ve never had to fight a Halo Knight before. I wonder if all their skills are as otherworldly as this one.
“What do you want from me?” I ask from the floor.
“Your blood, Spell Walker,” she says.
“That line runs around the block,” I say. My dark yellow wings carry me off the floor and I charge a fire-orb while hovering over the Halo Knight.
She runs away from me and whistles at her phoenix. “STRIKE!”
The light howler sways on its black talons as a ray of lightning spits out of its throat. I glide out of the way before the lightning strike can blow a hole through my body, but as it blasts apart the fireplace, the aftershock throws me across the room and I slam against the painting of the woman and the hydra. Colors dance across my vision as the Halo Knight crouches over me and stabs my arm with a needle.
“No more fire out of you,” the Halo Knight says as she waves a tiny dart in my face. “No-Fly Tranquilizer. The same used to sedate phoenixes. You have roughly three minutes before you’re unconscious.”
I’ll be impressed if I can make it three minutes. I want to punch her but I can’t get my mind to connect with my fist.
“My parents were slaughtered at the Museum of Natural Creatures protecting a newborn century phoenix,” the Halo Knight says.
The night Atlas was killed. “That wasn’t me. The Halo Knights were dead by the time I arrived with the other Spell Walkers. We saved the century phoenix.”
“Where is she?”
“Dead now. You have the Blood Casters to blame for that.”
The elevator dings. The silver plate indicates that someone is coming from the sixtieth floor.
The Halo stands. “Is that them?” she asks.
“I don’t know, I’m not psychic—well, long story.” I’m beginning to feel delirious. “It could be Blood Casters or security since your pet blew apart a wall.”
“Roxana isn’t my pet.”
I’m slipping into sleep, I can’t get into the politics of her phoenix right now. “Get me out of here. When I wake up I will tell you everything about my powers and connect you with Emil Rey, who would’ve been there when your parents were murdered.”
“Why would I trust you?”
“I want the Blood Casters dead too . . .”
The Halo Knight looks back and forth between the elevator and Roxana before she drags me by my legs to the balcony. The phoenix sinks onto its belly as the Halo rests me onto Roxana’s feathered head that smells like rainwater. Spellwork rings through the penthouse, quickly drowned out by the heavy flapping of wings and thunder and rain as we fly away from danger. Then nothing as I fall asleep above the city.
Twenty-Three
Silver and Sapphire
BRIGHTON
I’m so hot that I’m pulled out of a dream where Prudencia telekinetically carries me into the sky and kisses me with the moon behind her.
Prudencia’s head is nestled against my left shoulder as my scaly arm is burning up like it’s trapped inside a fireplace. The heat spreads across my body, and as much as I don’t want to let her go, I slide out from under Prudencia. I step over the used condom and put on my boxers so I can get some ice-cold water to go with the medicine I need badly to cool down my temperature. I fall to my knees and I don’t realize I’m screaming until Prudencia snaps out of bed in nothing but the bra and underwear she put back on after we had sex.
“Brighton, what’s wrong?” Prudencia asks and her touch burns me even more.
I flinch. “It’s hot, I’m so hot—AHHH!”
There must be some inferno around my heart. The poison is eating me alive.
Emil runs into the room with groggy eyes.
I hold my shaking arm and it hurts to breathe so much that I almost don’t want to. “Emil, this is it, bro; I’m dying.” I scream again as I punch down on the floor with my left fist to try and fight through the pain. It’s a losing battle. I grind my teeth so hard they might crack and go down my throat and choke me to death before this poison can finish