Crucible (A Phoenix Novella)

Chapter 1

P oint made, Sparky. Phoenix wrinkled his nose and crossed out some entries on the list laying on the countertop. We probably shouldn’t try any more fruit.

The apple had been flung in the air like a ball, whereas the banana had been slowly chewed then spat out at his feet—while maintaining eye contact. Other fruit had triggered a more visceral reaction. He couldn’t tell if the fruit was actually toxic or if the creature sitting on his kitchen floor had forced herself to puke out of protest, but either way, he wasn’t going to repeat the test. Both of his adult children had vanished after the vomit incident, leaving him to clean it up.

He gave the creature one last hard look, trying to gauge if she were likely to throw up again. She was rolling on her back as if scratching an itch, so he supposed not. Sparky was likely a demon, and an ugly one at that. She resembled part dog, part gremlin, and even had a horn on her snout. For a year, she had been under the care of a six-year-old who assumed she had a pet dog on her hands. That was how strange the world had become.

He found some cleaning materials, filled up a basin with hot soapy water, and set to work. He didn’t mind the labour. His childhood had been privileged, but the people who cleaned up after him had been forced into a life of indentured servitude by his mother, one time leader of the fae and member of the old ruling supernatural Council of Ireland. He hadn’t been allowed to lift a finger in front of her. Cleaning was now comforting, something he could control.

He wasn’t sure if that had something to do with the section of his past he couldn’t remember, or if he was still rebelling against everything his mother had deemed beneath him. Not that she could touch him now. He had taken her life, after all.

Are you ready to try something else, Sparky? he asked when he finished cleaning. I think you might enjoy the next test.

Sparky didn’t look impressed. As a member of the Senate who now dealt with supernatural creatures in Ireland, Phoenix should really have made her existence public and then taken measures to exterminate, but the creature had saved the child who cared for her from a dangerous demon. He felt obliged to give her another chance. The tests were a stopgap in a greater scheme.

He opened up the fridge and pulled out some raw and cooked meats. Sparky leapt onto the counter before Phoenix could lay the food.

Hmm. Phoenix smirked. "So you don’t live on treats that a child has sneaked outside to you. He cut off a piece of raw steak followed by some from the cooked leftovers. He left both in front of Sparky. Now. Which do you like best?"

Spark used her unicorn horn to steal both larger chunks of meat from the plates then leapt off the counter and ran away with the food.

You little… Shaking his head, Phoenix jotted down some notes.

Although he planned on shipping the creature off to an expert, he had to admit to a fascination with Sparky. She was new, a missing link between worlds that had once crossed each other. A long time ago, demons had been trapped in books by a great deal of magic. A desperate man had gone through copious amounts of dark magic to open one of those books again. That was likely where Sparky had sprung from.

And yet she wasn’t the demon the world imagined. She didn’t hurt people; rather, she protected them. But if he shared news of her escape from the book with the rest of the Senate, they would out-vote him on the matter of her existence remaining permanent. The unknown was too terrifying, the world too unsettled. People were still rejoicing over the capture and death of the last discovered demon. What they didn’t know was that Sparky had been the key to that particular success.

There was still so much to understand. Sparky had normal bodily functions and a tongue that had somehow dissipated the toxic saliva and blood from a demon who had hunted down pets and small children in a suburban neighbourhood. She had the potential to be useful. Just like the werewolves who had been sentenced to extinction so long ago. The secret pack that had been kept hidden was only alive because they had been useful. If he could prove that Sparky wasn’t dangerous, that the country needed her help, then perhaps he could save her, too.

According to Gemma, the little girl who had been secretly feeding his new houseguest, Sparky had been attempting to drive a larger demon away. That particular demon had made the mistake of trying to hurt Gemma. In another time, that might have been enough to sway the rest of the Senate. But they were cautious and fearful, and frequently under watch from a higher power. Phoenix didn’t have enough evidence to give his colleagues yet.

There were many evil beings in the world. Phoenix knew; his mother had been one of them. Her cruelties had kept her in power, while the hint of this creature’s appearance—and more importantly, her possible release from a book that contained many demonic creatures—could lead to her execution without trial. Anyone capable of protecting a child from a predatory monster was okay in Phoenix’s book, so he planned on doing his best to protect Sparky. His reasons weren’t entirely noble. There had to be more demons who escaped from the book. Sparky had the potential to become Ireland’s best defence—if he managed to keep her alive.

Phoenix had been forced to speak privately on behalf of a number of Irish supernatural creatures after the changeover of governments. If he hadn’t, they would likely have been removed for the greater good. As much as he despised being a part of something so judgemental, his stepping down would endanger too many people that he and his children cared about. The appearance of a paragon had whipped up the Senate into a semi-hysterical frenzy. Until the world became a more broad-minded place, Phoenix would play the game for as long as it took.

He ran his long, slim fingers along the marble counter-top. He had allowed a human to redecorate the room in a modern style, but the outcome felt… sterile. It wasn’t home to him, and he couldn’t figure out why. Nobody else seemed to notice, but he felt uncomfortable in the room.

He took his notes and moved into the room he hadn’t redecorated. Folsom, the goblin who had owned the house before his death, had made a crafting room for his wife. The atmosphere in that room sang to Phoenix. The fae prince found himself in his new office more often than not. Phoenix couldn’t even remember why or how he had befriended Folsom, and the goblin had died before Phoenix discovered the truth about his missing past.

Or at least the important parts. His mother had separated him from his human witch wife and mixed-breed children. She had taken his memory of them and sent the twins to a slave market in Hell. And his wife had died not long after being reunited with them. He still couldn’t remember her and never would. His memories had been destroyed completely.

Inside the office, Sparky was enthusiastically chewing on a chunk of meat. Lucia sat on the floor next to the creature. Her pale green eyes were cool and focused as she watched. Mute, she sometimes had visions that she could pass on to her twin brother who would retell them to those concerned. She had a way of sitting extremely still, of staring without blinking, that many found unsettling, but not Phoenix. He might not remember her birth, but he knew she was his child. He might as well have spit her brother out of his mouth, their physical resemblance was so close. Lorcan was more human than his sister, who had the air of the fae about her.

Phoenix moved to the chair behind the large desk he had moved in there. Lucia turned to look at him, unblinking. Finished with the food, Sparky rolled over and leaned against Lucia, careful not to stab his daughter with the pointed horn on her snout. The creature gazed at him, her golden eyes soft and human, somehow.

Do you like her? Phoenix asked.

Lucia slowly nodded her head. He was concerned about the fact she didn’t speak. He hadn’t yet figured out if she couldn’t or wouldn’t. Her lack of speech had kept Lorcan with her when they were for sale. It was possible that it had begun on purpose. Her mother was a witch; it wasn’t so far off the realm of possibility to consider the fact that she had simply willed it so. But they had time to learn those things. Now they were all together again.

Lucia! Have you seen my… oh. Lorcan had burst into the room, running his hands through his shorn black hair, but when he saw his father, he stopped. As usual.

What have you lost? Phoenix politely enquired. He didn’t know how to talk to his son, not yet, but he would figure it out.

Nothing.

Lucia made an exasperated sound with her tongue.

Grinning, Lorcan shrugged. People will start to think you’re missing Hell, Lu. Hanging out with a demon and falling for a hellhound makes it— He let out a heavy whoosh of breath as a hardback book