

Book three of the Avery Clavens series

Amber Lynn

Copyright © 2012 Amber Lynn

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.
Author's note

Work is hard, distractions are plentiful, and time is short

So at this point in the story there are two groups of people. The ones who hated the twist in the last book and those who loved it. I've seen notes from both camps letting me know there isn't a lot of in between. In the first book, I wasn't sure if I was creative enough to pull off a paranormal series. I'd read so many over the years that I thought all the ideas were taken.

I've realized as time has gone on that I'm not as limited as I thought. Even when creatures of the night or gods and goddesses have other stories about them, there are always different adventures they can take. That's one of the things I've grown to love about writing; the possibilities are literally endless. If you give two people a subject matter and tell them to write a story, chances are there won't be a thing other than the original subject that is the same about the stories.

For Avery and her friends, the things that go bump in the night are just starting to come out of the woodwork. She's getting some of her memories back, and there are more to come, big ones. The real world takes the backburner in this adventure as Avery finds out how different the world really is.

I hope you enjoy this little tale. The fun is about to begin.

Amber

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

CHAPTER 1

Save the drama for your mamma

I hummed along to a country song about a guy being a total loser as I assaulted a punching bag. I'd been at it for a while and the end of this song seemed like a good enough place to stop. With one last punch, I ended the abuse and snatched a towel that was hanging nearby. I loved having a gym in my house. Nobody was around to witness my violent streak.

"You sing like an angel," Nate said, letting me know he was in the room. As far as Nate was concerned, I could do no wrong, so even though I sounded like a frog, he thought it was beautiful.

"Yeah, a tone deaf angel," I said, grabbing some water from the mini fridge I'd insisted be installed. "We've been idle for a while now; do you have any word on our next assignment?"

As I started chugging the water he said, "Sure do. We have to go to Vegas to try to work ourselves into an underground fight club, where they do fights to the death. You get to go undercover as a stripper." Too bad he wasn't standing closer, because he would've gotten a shower as I spitted up a mouthful of water.

"You're either joking or looking to be kicked where the sun don't shine. I'll give you five seconds to make a decision on which it will be."

I took menacing steps towards him, not necessarily staring at my intended objective, but looking in the general vicinity. His family jewels tended to get threatened at least once a week it seemed. They were an easy target, and I figured he'd had enough fun with them over the years.

"Avery, it was a joke and you know it. Don't you dare kick me there. I'm sure one of these days you'll actually want to make sure it works." His hands moved to try to protect himself.

"Rumor has it you've already used it enough," I said with an evil glint still in my eye.

Supposedly, we had five kids together. I didn't really remember them, only little bits and pieces I'd seen in visions. I definitely didn't remember any moments of conception. I was slowly getting my memories back, but I made sure to eject from a vision if things started getting freaky between Nate and I.

Apparently that used to happen a lot. Since it hadn't happened in the present time, I preferred not getting to know Nate when I couldn't control the situation. Nate was ever so helpful when it came to suggesting how we could remedy my inexperience, but so far I'd held strong.

"That's kind of what I came down here to talk to you about."

"What, having sex? The answer is still no. I think you can wait a while longer before the relationship moves in that direction. It's only been a month since I accepted your proposal," I said, sticking to my guns. The man may be drop dead gorgeous, but I had to try to have some dignity in the relationship.

"Not sex. Jeez is that all you ever have on your mind? I just got a call from Sophia, our oldest daughter."

Before he could go any further I interrupted. "Do I finally get to meet her? I've seen her a couple times in visions, but she was never an adult."

"Not just yet. She called to say our youngest daughter, who's currently named Elizabeth in case you've forgotten, missed a meeting that they have every year to catch up with each other. She's worried because she hasn't been able to get a hold of her all week."

"I'm guessing from the worry that this isn't something Elizabeth usually does. What did Sophia want us to do?" I asked.

I couldn't wait until the day I had my memory back, then I would know the personalities of my children and not have to rely on what Nate told me. I figured as a woman I would see things just a little bit different than him.

"No, Elizabeth wouldn't have missed their special day. Sophia was hoping we'd go check on Elizabeth in person, since we're a little closer than she is."

"I'm guessing she doesn't just live over in Jersey. How far are we talking and is travelling on two wheels a possibility?" I asked, already dreading the answer.

"Elizabeth has been living in Alaska for the past ten years."

"Did we raise a deranged child? Why in the world would she be living in that cold climate? It's bad enough we live in New York. We're born of fire, we really should be in a warm climate, even if my pasty skin can't handle direct sunlight," I rambled on, thinking just how far away Alaska was from us. I'd made one roundtrip on a plane and I was still not comfortable flying.

"You're a phoenix, Avery. You really need to get over this fear. Once I think you're ready to change forms, you're going to be able to fly yourself," he said as he reached out to touch my cheek. "We have to move around every twenty years or so as it is. That is fifty times in one of our lifetimes. It tends to mean we have to relocate to other countries every once in a while."

"Yeah, and I keep being told by you and Rick that I'll love flying. I don't believe I'll have a problem with that in phoenix form, because I'll be under my own power. If the plane starts rapidly losing altitude I can't exactly fix that problem. I haven't stored up enough courage to go get my pilot's license."

Technically, with the telekinesis ability I recently picked up, I might have been able to just stop the plane in midair, but my biggest test subject for movement had been a hundred and eighty pound man. I didn't know if my mind could handle a whole jet.

"Avery, she's our daughter and we need to go find out what happened to her," Nate said with authority.

"I never said I wouldn't go. In fact, I can't wait to finally meet one of our children, but you're crazy if you expect me not to complain about having to fly. When do you want to leave?"

"I have to make a few calls and make sure Rick can get away, but I'm thinking this evening would be best. Sophia was freaking out and that has me worried. No one has the powers you used to have, but I've always trusted the female intuition around me," he replied as he led me into the living room.

"Is there even a flight available with that little notice? It isn't just a flight to Boston or Chicago," I said as I plopped down on the couch.

"That's one of the calls I was going to make. I was going to see if Frannie would let us use her jet. I'm pretty sure her and Gary are currently in town, so it shouldn't be in use. She didn't mention any unplanned trips to you, did she?" He took out his phone and started scrolling through the numbers.

"No unplanned trips, but they're going to need it in two weeks for their honeymoon. How long do you think we'll be gone? Maybe I can get out of being her maid of honor," I said hopefully.

Frannie was my best friend, and I loved her almost like a sister, but the orange dresses she'd picked out for the wedding party made me look like a dreamsicle. I'd gone as far as to tell her I'd rather show up naked than wear the hideous color.

To that, she laughed and told me she'd trust my opinion more if I wore something other than jeans and geeky t-shirts. I'd been looking for a way out of the wedding ever since, and a new best friend.

"I'm hoping Elizabeth is there waiting for us, so we can make it a short trip. Even if she isn't, I don't think it will take two weeks to track her down. It's really too bad that your amplified telepathic calls don't work both ways. If they did, I could just have you try to contact her now and see if you get a response."

"I think I have to have a connection with the person for that to work and with the current state of my memories, I don't know that it'd work. Where exactly in Alaska does she live?" I asked.

"You'll love this. Her last known location was Eek, Alaska where she was working as a doctor for the small city," he said, chuckling at the city's name.

"Are you serious? That's a horrible name for a town. You mentioned Rick coming with us and I know Vinnie isn't going to let me go without him tagging along. Who's going to take care of Romeo and Juliet?" I asked.

"Yeah, thankfully Vinnie got his new skin done in record time. It's a little creepy how lifelike it is though. Why did he have to make himself look like an actor anyway? I thought the idea of the new skin was to make people not stare at him."

It was a legitimate question, one I didn't have a great answer for. "He told me he picked him out from a top hundred sexist men list. Why he went for clone instead of just taking a few features, I don't know."

"I'm pretty sure I have a good idea, but it will only upset you."

"Half the things you say upset me. If you're worried about me being upset, maybe you should stop talking to me."

"Hey, I'm not the one who has a robot lusting after them. You know he chose that skin because he watches you pant at the screen whenever that actor is on it."

"That's a bunch of crap and you know it. I have you sitting next to me, why in the world would I need to pant over someone I'll never meet?"

"I know. I would say I'm irresistible, but you seem to be resisting just fine. Vinnie does like you more than a robot should a human. It's a little eerie to watch him stare at you."

"He's not that bad, and he only likes me because I treat him like a human instead of a machine. If it bothers you, I'll talk to him about making himself a robot girlfriend. Now, back to the dogs, what are we going to do with them while we're away? I really don't think we should take them to a boarding place. I would love to take them with us, but I'm afraid it will be too cold for them."

"No worries. One of the calls I'm making is to your parents. I'll have them stay over with Romeo and Juliet." He finally got me to stop talking long enough that he could make his calls.

While he was on the phone, I went to my room to pack. Let's see, what to take on a trip to Alaska. I headed for my dresser and grabbed the two pairs of long underwear I owned, plus all of my thickest socks. In the closet, I pulled out five pairs of jeans and most of my tops. Layers were going to be really important for me. I loaded everything in my suitcase, along with a few other necessities.

"That should do it," I said to myself.

"Are you going somewhere?" Vinnie asked from the doorway.

I wasn't expecting him, but I didn't startle from his voice. One would think a machine would make noise as it moved around, but Vinnie kept himself well oiled. He'd scared me enough the first days after he'd moved in that I'd gotten to the point where I expected him to start speaking all the time.

"Yes, we're going on a trip to Alaska just as soon as Nate secures us a plane and everyone is packed," I replied as I did a mental check to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.

"Does the 'we' include me?"

It was still a little odd to hear hope in a voice belonging to a robot. I hadn't looked into the code Vinnie had rewritten in his programming, but the original code didn't take his emotions to the places he was capable of going. It was harsher and didn't allow for subtle desires, which came like second nature to Vinnie.

"Yes, it includes you, so you better go get ready."

He left to pack without another word. With his new skin in place, I sometimes wondered why Vinnie stuck around. He was a super smart robot and could probably rule the world if he put his mind to it. I wondered what a certain brunette, chiseled A-list actor would think of his body double running for president. I pondered that until Nate came in to do his own packing.

It never failed with Nate. We'd lived in three separate places together and I always tried to keep our sleeping spaces separate, but eventually I found him sleeping next to me. It took him two days after moving into the mansion to crawl into bed after I'd fallen asleep one night. Before I knew it, his clothes had found places to hide in the room too.

"Everything's all set. Rick is packing, your parents are on their way and the jet is all gassed and ready to go," he said as he started throwing all his warm clothes into his bag.

"Good, Vinnie is getting ready too."

"Just so you aren't surprised, when I talked to Frannie, she decided her and Gary were going to tag along."

"You're kidding, right? Why in the world would Frannie want to go to a little town in Alaska?" That didn't sound like something that would appeal to her. I was sure they didn't have a shopping center there, and I doubted they had one of the coffee shops she couldn't live without.

"She hasn't been there before and evidently that's all that matters to her. I know it seems strange, but if something has happened to Elizabeth, having her and Gary there may be a good thing," he replied.

Gary was an attorney, so I could see how he might be handy, but Frannie didn't have any skills I could think of that would be helpful in the situation. Maybe the fact that she had a wardrobe suited for the Alaskan wilderness made her think it was finally time to use it.

"Okay, if you say so. Let's get this show on the road." I said, hauling my suitcase out of the room. I wasn't sure more company was going to be a smart idea with me on a plane, but I guessed we'd just have to see what happened.

CHAPTER 2

Just how smart are dolphins?

As far as comfort levels went, my previous plane rides weren't horrible, but they paled in comparison to the luxury of Frannie's jet. That didn't mean I was any calmer about flying. Rick laughed about it, Nate was trying every trick he could think of to keep me relaxed, and Frannie decided talking to me nonstop was the way to go.

Gary and Vinnie were doing their best to stay out of my way. I couldn't blame them. If I saw someone on a plane sweating and begging to be let out before the plane even started, I'd want to be somewhere else.

"I still can't get over how much you hate flying," Rick said as I glared at him.

"Just you wait, Freddie, one of these days I'm going to pay you back for you always laughing at me," I said with conviction.

"Oh, I have no doubt about that. I have to get my chuckles in while I can, though. One of these days you're really going to kick my ass, and after that I'm afraid I won't be laughing as much."

"Last time we sparred, I'm pretty sure I did just that, so why are you still laughing?" I asked, remembering our battle a couple of days prior where I ended up pinning him for the first time.

"I may have let you win, just so you'd quit whining about me always beating you," he replied.

"That's crap and you know it. You gave your all and I still beat you."

I was pretty sure that wasn't true, but it felt better to say it. He was supposed to be my protector, so being stronger and able to fight better than me was kind of in his job description.

"One of these days I'll let you see my full strength, and then you can make an educated decision on whether I held back or not."

Sometimes that man was way too cocky for his own good. I really needed to work harder, so I could for sure beat him at a hundred percent. Then we'd see who had the last laugh.

"So what do you think Alaska is like?" Frannie asked, breaking up what could've been a fun demonstration of my fighting skills. We'd been in the air for a while, and I was surprised she'd waited that long to talk about our destination.

"I don't know, but rumor is it tends to be cold. I hope you packed a lot of warm clothes," I replied. She already had her suitcases onboard before we got there, but I expected she had more than all the rest of us combined.

I was still in shock that she was actually even on the plane with us. After Nate informed me that she was coming along, I called her and tried to talk her out of it. It really wasn't a place where Frannie would enjoy herself and I'd like to not have to hear her whine about it for days.

"Of course. I brought things for every possible situation." I didn't doubt that. She probably had a couple evening dresses in case a spontaneous ball broke out. "How big is this town again? Do you think they'll have a place I can do some shopping?"

I started cackling. "Frannie, it's the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. I believe the Bering Sea isn't that far away if you want to check it out, but I'm pretty sure a mall was not high on the list of priorities for the people who live there. Not freezing to death is probably just a little more important. You're lucky they even have Internet access. I think you'll find this group of people live a very different life than you are used to."

I had checked to verify Internet would be available. There were a lot of things I could live without, but a computer capable of answering any questions I had wasn't one of them. Plus, I couldn't see Vinnie functioning without being in constant contact with a search engine.

She gave a little pout. "Well, maybe my arrival will be a good thing for them. I may just have to open up a shopping center for them."

At least the idea would occupy her time a little, but a city with no major roads coming to it didn't really need a big shopping center. I was pretty sure if even a discount chain store opened up there, the residents would go into shock.

"I don't think you'll have enough time to build anything. I'm hoping we can find my cousin quickly and fly back home."

We didn't tell Frannie and Gary that we were phoenixes. That really wasn't something that came up in conversation, so I made Nate tell them an alternate reason for us dropping everything and heading to Alaska.

He didn't think letting them know about the whole phoenix thing would cause any problems, but he didn't know Frannie as well as I did. That kind of information in her hands would be dangerous. I thought it was scary in my mother's hands, and she was a phoenix. Frannie wasn't, so self-preservation didn't factor in.

"I know and I have wedding plans to finish. I'm really glad I brought my satellite phone. The wedding planner had a bit of a fit when I told her I may not be reachable for a few days. I swear, sometimes she acts like this is her wedding," she replied. "How long is this flight anyway?"

"It's your plane, I would have thought you knew all the flight details," I said.

"I just get on the plane and let the pilot worry about any of the details," she retorted back and my head started to hurt a little.

Sometimes I thought she was a little too trusting. What if the pilot wanted to kidnap her for ransom and headed off in the wrong direction? She would never know. I, on the other hand, had learned at an early age to trust no one. The ability to read other's minds made that a little bit easier on me, but I still didn't even trust what they were thinking to be true. In the past few months, I'd had too many guns pointed in my general direction.

"We'll arrive in about twelve hours. We only have to stop for fuel once." Nate informed us as he continued to hold my hand while rubbing my palm.

It was kind of cute how hard he tried to make the experience as peaceful as he could for me. He hadn't found anything that worked yet, but it was still cute.

We'd been in the air for four hours, so only about eight more hours of going crazy. I just had to keep conversation going, so I didn't think about the gremlins working their way up the plane's wings. As long as Nate kept me from looking outside, I wouldn't have to see the little monsters either.

I'd looked out the window quickly before takeoff and I was fairly certain I saw a nest of green little goblins waking up to cause mayhem. Sometimes I had absolutely no imagination and others, well, let's just say my mind was a scary place.

"So, have you decided where the honeymoon is going to be?" I asked Frannie. Anything that had to do with her wedding should keep her talking for hours.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Gary has planned out two weeks for us at the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve in Ecuador. He wanted to show me the rainforest and has promised me I'll see pink dolphins. How awesome does that sound?"

"That actually sounds really cool. I thought a trip to Italy, France or somewhere else known for its 'romantic' places would have been your pick."

"My initial thought was to go to Venice, but since I'm getting everything I want for the wedding, I thought the honeymoon should be up to Gary. I'm glad I came to that decision, because it's so different," she said as she blew Gary a kiss. He was taking the staying out of my way literally and sitting across the cabin from me. "Have you guys made any more plans for your wedding?"

I looked down at the beautiful ring on my finger. I glanced at it often, hoping that something about it would bring back some of my memories. It had connections to Nate and my eldest daughter, but for some reason it didn't trigger any scenes of my old life.

"No. We haven't moved past the 'officially engaged' stage. At least I haven't. Nate probably has everything already reserved and is just waiting to tell me when I should show up."

"You guys have been engaged for a month, how can you not have at least talked about a date. If not a date, at least pick out a season."

As far as I was concerned, I had centuries to pick a date, so there was no need for me to rush into anything. "I'm thinking winter sounds good," I said out loud to appease Frannie. Mentally, I thought, "Yeah, when hell freezes over." Nate and Rick both laughed, obviously getting the message.

I got a little upset talking about a wedding between Nate and me because if I did wait the years I was planning, Frannie wouldn't be around to be my maid of honor. Since she'd already be married, it would technically be matron of honor. Either way, it was sad to think about the day when she wouldn't be around.

"That would be really pretty. You could look like an ice princess with your pale skin and the snow around you. We should start thinking about locations that would work for an outdoor winter wedding. How about Chamonix?"

"Stop right there, Frannie," I said, terrified of just the thought of her planning my wedding. "It might be years before I decide I'm ready to get married. Any location you find might not be in business by then. When the time comes you'll be the first to know, even before Nate.

"At that time, I will gladly accept any help you can give me for making the actual plans. Remember, though, it isn't going to be as grand as your wedding. I want something small and simple, so I'm pretty sure Chamonix is out. Just the way your voice changed made me think it's probably in France somewhere."

"You clearly aren't up on your Olympic history. The first winter Olympics was held in Chamonix. As far as your wedding goes, I just know one of these days you're going to wake up and decide that today is the day and nothing is going to be prepared. You'll end up going to the courthouse and not even wearing that pretty dress you picked out." Frannie's lower lip hadn't retreated. For effect, she even pushed it out a little further.

"Don't worry. My mother would probably kill me if I didn't include her, so we'd have at least three hours to throw something together in order for her to make it. If anyone can accomplish a dazzling wedding in just hours, I'm sure you two can. I don't understand what the big deal about having the wedding at the courthouse is. People get married there every day."

The look I received let me know that if I ever mentioned the word courthouse again, my life was at risk. I still found it funny that ever since I'd become engaged, everyone else was in a hurry to get me down the aisle. I'd figured out that I wasn't going to escape Nate, and once I got my full memory back, I was sure there'd be no reason for them to worry about me being a runaway bride.

Frannie continued to talk for a while, making me sleepy. I wanted to be wedding supportive, but it was topic that was almost better left as a bedtime story for me. Nate noticed and had me snuggle up next to him, so I could take a nap.

There were certain times that it was nice when the people around you could read your mind and fulfill your needs without having to speak. Other times it was extremely annoying, and caused me to launch things across the room at them. I tended to get a lecture anytime I used that particular power against Nate.

When I woke up, we were landing at a very small airport in Eek. I determined it was Eek by the snow I saw in every direction. Okay, maybe not every direction, but there was snow.

I was starting to think Nate's idea about knocking me out before flights was a pretty good one. Things went a lot smoother when I didn't have to picture all the ways the plane could fall out of the sky.

We made our way off the plane to greet the one person waiting at the airport. He was a very tall, burly man. He had long hair so blonde it actually looked white. With piercing blue eyes, he looked like a Viking. I was surprised to see him in just a t-shirt and jeans. The air temperature had to be below zero and I was already freezing.

"Hi, I'm Kyle. We saw an unexpected plane coming in, so I ran over to meet the new arrivals," the man said as he reached his hand out to Nate.

As he waited for Nate to shake, he took in the rest of us, winking at me after he'd gotten his fill of looking. I didn't think much about it, because I was taking in his features just as intently. That didn't mean he wasn't barking up the wrong tree when it came to his little wink.

Before Nate could raise his hand, Rick quickly moved to stand between them and took a protective stance. I knew the other guy looked big, but I knew without a doubt that Nate was perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

"Crap, did you know Elizabeth was living in a town of uniques?" Rick asked.

No one else made any noise of confusion. I technically didn't either, but my brain was trying to figure out what in the world Rick was talking about.

CHAPTER 3

If you want to win anything, you have to go a little berserk

"She didn't tell me specifically, but she's a doctor and it would make sense for her to cater to the uniques," Nate answered Rick. It sounded like he spoke English, but I wasn't so sure.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked, since no one else seemed to need an answer.

"How many uniques are we talking about, and why did you stop me from shaking hands? I can sense he isn't human, but your instincts on that matter are a lot better than mine," Nate continued, ignoring me. I really hated when they did that.

"From what I can sense, the whole town is uniques, not a human around. And he," Rick said pointing at Kyle, "is a berserker. With the aggression you're feeling for the way he looked at Avery, it wasn't a good idea for you guys to touch."

Okay, the boys had gone off the deep end, which was a spot they enjoyed visiting. What in the world was a berserker and what was the part about no humans being around? That didn't make any sense. My brain felt like it was going to melt as I tried to figure things out on my own.

"You must be high in your rankings to know what I am," Kyle said to Rick. "I have a similar ability. I know you two are birds, like Lizzie, those two back there are a panther and a Faie of some sort, and that one over there is made of metal, but that one is harder to pin down," he said pointing at me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not sure how the situation could get even more confusing for me. "If you know what those two are," I said, pointing to Nate and Rick, "you should be able to tell what I am."

I wasn't sure why he thought Gary and Frannie were anything but human. No one had mentioned that to me before, and I would've thought it was important to let me know my best friend was Faie. I had no clue what that meant either, but it sounded like fairies to me.

"Don't get me wrong, you feel like a bird, but there's something more to you. I can't tell if it's another animal or something else." He looked over to Rick, "Your ability is strong, what do you get from her?"

"She's different, but we haven't figured out exactly how. We don't know you, so we can't go into details about what we've found out. For now, I'll leave it at she's a unique phoenix," Rick replied.

It seemed to me like people had been keeping secrets from me. I knew I came back different, but I didn't know I came back as anything other than a full phoenix. Not only that, if Frannie hadn't been busy trying to look something up on her phone, she was clued in on the last secret I'd been keeping from her.

"Well, the shifters in town are going to have a heyday with this," Kyle said. "Phoenixes are like royalty in the shifter community, since you were the first. Not only that, I know at least one of you is high up in the hierarchy. That means Lizzie is a phoenix too, doesn't it? She felt like a bird, but she's kind of quiet about her specific variety."

"Elizabeth is our daughter," Nate said pointing between me and him. "Do you know where she is? Her sister called and told us she's missing."

"I can't say I've seen her around, but the doc is often needed to help out with the people who live close by, so she may just be out on a call," Kyle replied. "We do have a few other people missing though, and their disappearances aren't as easy to explain."

"While we're looking for our daughter, we can try to help find the others. If you don't mind a little outside assistance," Nate said. "Do you think you can take us to Elizabeth's place, so we can see if she left any clues?"

"Sure, with all of you it's good that it's the biggest place around. I can't think of anywhere else you'd all fit. Just to clarify," he said, turning to me, "you're spoken for, right?"

"According to this big guy," I said, going over to Nate and holding his hand.

Kyle towered over Nate in bulk, but I still felt safer standing next to him. I didn't know what a berserker was, but it sounded like they were aggressive from what I'd heard, and apparently they had an unhealthy fascination with me. Kyle had barely taken his eyes off me as we stood around conversing.

Turning to Nate, Kyle said, "You're going to want to stay around her then. I think it's just her uniqueness, but there's something about her that draws you in. We have a lot of unmated males around here, and even though she's mated in her primary species, whatever else she is may be around here looking to mate."

That didn't sound good. Just for fun, and to prove I could take care of myself, I concentrated on making the big man levitate. He was heavier than Rick, so it took a little more work. Slowly, but surely, he started rising up off the ground. I figured if Frannie knew I wasn't human, I might as well show her how weird I really was.

"Okay, which one of you is able to do this?" Kyle asked as he looked around. He seemed more amused than anything else.

"Put him down, Avery. It isn't a good idea to play tricks on a berserker. They tend to have short fuses," Rick informed me.

"I just wanted him to know I'm not defenseless," I said, taking a page from Frannie's book by pouting. "He was talking like I'm powerless and I didn't like it." I slowly lowered Kyle the two feet he'd risen.

"I know, sweetheart, but you know I have to die protecting you and I prefer not to have to fight our first day here. There's plenty of time for you to drive everyone crazy," Rick replied, causing me to roll my eyes. I didn't buy the protector crap one bit.

"Wait a second, you're the protector? I know phoenix lore and the only person who has a protector is the queen. Are you telling me I'm talking to the king and queen of the phoenixes?"

It was really unfair that everyone knew so much about me. I needed to find a book that I could lock myself up in a room over a weekend with to catch up on my own history. Clearly, if the berserker guy was in the know, there had to be something out there for me to read.

"That would be a correct statement," Nate said simply. His voice wasn't really different, but for some reason he started exuding a little extra pompousness. That probably wasn't the right word, but the air felt different in our little bubble.

"They kind of prefer not to announce they're royalty," Rick said. "Nate here is extremely modest about being picked for the king and Avery, well we'll just say she's special." That was one word for it. I had a long list of others.

"So we've pretty much had a princess living with us for the past few years. I don't think anyone is going to believe Lizzie is a princess." Even after, or maybe because of everything that had been said, Kyle's eyes lingered on me a little unnecessarily. I was starting to wonder how long Nate was going to let it continue.

Keeping a firm grip on me, Nate turned to Rick and said, "What exactly are we looking at here, as far as species we'll be dealing with?"

"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my," Rick said, laughing. "Really, I sense bears, wolves, foxes, hyenas, a few varieties of Faie, a couple bird species, and surprisingly a couple more berserkers. You don't usually see more than one of them in a place."

"What, no vampires?" I asked. With a list like that, I was curious what other things were running around out there.

"Vampires don't exist, silly," Nate told me as he kissed the top of my head. "So there shouldn't be anything we haven't dealt with before. I'm a little surprised to find them all in one place though."

"We're kind of a refugee camp for uniques who are tired of living amongst humans. We take in anyone who doesn't want to move around and change identities every couple decades," Kyle explained.

"Wait a sec, you mean all of those things are immortal like us?" I asked.

"Yup," Rick answered. "As long as the animals shift every once in a while they won't age. The Faie and berserkers don't have to do anything. They're lucky that way."

I turned to Frannie, "So you aren't going to be dying on me?"

She laughed, "Of course not. You may have years on me, but we'll both live forever."

I felt like jumping up and down, but kept myself grounded. Kyle was already looking at me strangely; I didn't need to give him a reason to stare.

"That's great. I've been worried you wouldn't be around to be my matron of honor whenever I decide to finally get married. I was thinking of making Nate wait a century, but you wouldn't have been available if you were human."

"Don't worry. Me and Gary will be there with bells on whenever you decide to go through with it."

"How long have you known what I was and just what exactly are you?" I asked, not caring that we were supposed to be on our way to my daughter's house.

"I've known you weren't human since we first met. Kyle was right about you having some kind of special aura around you. It drew me to you in class. I didn't know exactly what you were until Nate told me after that blind date we set you up on.

"He'd been moping around ever since he'd turned back to a human. I decided to try to get him back into the real world and thank God I did. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have found your way back to each other."

"I don't know about all that. We would've met the very next day, but I suppose it was better to not have that meeting in front of coworkers. They might have thought the FBI assigned us with someone not able to speak, based on how long it took Nate to string words together."

"Say what you will, but you know it was all me. As for your question about what I am, I think we'll have to have a private conversation for that one. We have more important things to worry about right now."

I almost dramatically fainted, but I was sure the floor was too cold for that. Frannie not wanting to talk about herself was a miracle.

"Answer me one thing first. Is the man you claim is your father, who owns all the hotels, really your dad?" I knew Nate had a false cover story about parents, but I'd actually met the man Frannie said was her father, and I believed they were related.

"Yes, you haven't actually seen the real him before, though. He uses a glamour to look old enough to be my dad. We don't always play father and daughter because, like your parents, he doesn't look much older than me. Sometimes my parents like to play a young couple in love, and then I'm not in the picture at all."

I was learning all sorts of new things. Whether I'd ever be able to make sense of those things was still to be decided.

"Okay, I think everyone here has a lot of explaining to do. It seems there have been a lot of secrets kept from me and I'm sure each of you knows exactly how that makes me feel."

"Don't worry, my little butterfly. Nothing that was kept from you would actually cause any harm. I'd explain further now, but I don't want to reveal too much about the situation. We've probably already let more slip out than we should," Nate said as he nodded his head to the side a little.

Evidently they didn't trust Kyle. I couldn't say I blamed them because I didn't either, but I didn't trust anyone. I hadn't tried to pick up where his thoughts were, mainly because I thought his facial expressions did a pretty good job of explaining what he was thinking.

"Don't look at me," Rick said, defending himself from my wrath. "Any important decisions are made by your fiancé. I just do what he tells me to."

"I know, Freddie. We're still going to spar over it though. You know you're my favorite person to take out my aggression on."

"That's only because you can beat everyone else up and it really hurts them."

"That's true, but you also have the tendency to laugh at me too much and I like wiping the smile off of your face," I said as I walked over and gave him a hug. "You know I love you even as I'm trying to bruise that pretty face."

"Ha. Now you're just trying to butter me up. What do you want?" he asked.

"Right this second, nothing. I'm pretty sure I'll think of something before long, though."

"As fun as watching all your interactions has been for me, we should probably go get you guys settled at Lizzie's. Her place isn't far from here. If we don't leave shortly, others may be showing up soon looking for me. They sent me to check things out since it's hard to take me by surprise," Kyle explained.

"Thanks, Kyle. Give us a second to grab our stuff and we can be on our way," Nate said, moving into action.

Everyone except Frannie grabbed their bag. Frannie brought eight bags. I guessed she wasn't joking about being prepared for any situation. To solve the problem of all the extra luggage, everyone except me carried one of her bags. The last two I just levitated behind me as I walked.

I'd already shown that was one of my abilities, so it didn't hurt to go ahead and keep using it. Kyle led the way and everyone else took a protective stance around me. They evidently didn't get the memo that I could take care of myself. I thought about making them all levitate as I walked on, but decided I didn't want to deal with Nate telling me I shouldn't strain myself.

CHAPTER 4

It's not a real fight unless I win

We were led through what I supposed were a couple of small streets. If there were roads, they were covered in snow. The houses were cute little log cabins. Every once in a while, I saw someone peeking out behind curtains, but no one came out to greet us.

The way the others were walking around me screamed that there was something special about me. Whether they understood they were drawing more attention to me by their antics, I wasn't sure, but I was fairly certain every single one of them knew I didn't like that attention.

"Here you go," Kyle said, leading us to a large two-story home. "Most of the lower floor is set up as a place to see patients, but Lizzie's room is also down there. The top floor has some guest bedrooms, so you should be able to settle in up there."

We were able to walk right in the house; evidently they weren't worried about crime there. When we first walked in, we saw the doctor's office area that Kyle told us to expect. There were a couple patient tables, cabinets filled with medicine and a few filing cabinets.

"I'll leave you guys to get settled and I'll let everyone else know who you are, so they don't worry and cause problems for you. When you're ready, if you were serious about helping find the other missing uniques, I live three houses down to the right. I can fill you in on who's missing and the little information we've been able to find," Kyle said.

Kyle seemed nice, but Rick and Nate were extremely leery of him. I didn't think it had to do with the way Kyle looked at me, even if that was probably part of it. I still thought he looked like a Viking, which made me wonder if berserkers and Vikings were related.

"Don't worry. You have two FBI agents and a NYPD detective here, so if something fishy is going on, we'll get to the bottom of it."

For some reason, saying those words out loud made me think I was part of a cartoon crime-fighting show. I didn't really consider myself FBI, having only gone on one kind of case, but I had worked for the government for a while, and was good at puzzles.

"And would you happen to be included in those law enforcement agencies?" Kyle asked me.

"I would be one half of the FBI agents."

"Then we have nothing to worry about," Kyle said, giving me another wink as he took his leave.

I was hoping he was just doing that to get under Nate's skin. If he was, he and I would be great friends, because I loved to antagonize Nate as often as I could. On the other hand, if he still thought I was available, I was going to have to stab him a time or two to let him know I wasn't interested. I figured it would take something that extreme to get through to him.

"I don't like him very much," Vinnie said, speaking for the first time.

In new situations, Vinnie tended to hide in the background a little bit. I was sure he was just running computer programs to analyze the situation, so he could warn us of any danger he perceived, but it was kind of funny with how outspoken he usually was in private.

"I imagine that your reasons align with mine," Nate said with a little extra gruffness in his voice. "He knows you're spoken for Avery, but yet continues to flirt. I'm starting to think we should have left you at home."

"Ha. That would've been a fight I doubt you could have won," Rick said. "Even with her fear of flying, she wouldn't have given up on being able to meet her little girl. Plus, even though she won't admit it, she hates being away from you."

The best answer I had for that statement was physical, so I walked over to him and kicked him in his right shin. I didn't use my full strength, but the boots I was wearing to help keep my feet warm wouldn't have felt great no matter how much force I put into the action.

"You are such a dork sometimes, Rick."

"And you are way too violent for your own good, little girl," he replied as he tackled me to the ground. "You're lucky I was named your protector, or sometimes your life would really be in jeopardy."

As was usual when I got pinned to the ground, I dug one of my knives out of my pocket and brought it up to his side jabbing just a little bit. He'd felt the point of one of my little friends enough that he should've known it was coming.

"You know that I'd give you a big fight if you ever turned on me. You said you don't fight at a hundred percent, but you know very well that I don't either, because I could just concentrate and make it so you don't fight back. I love you, Freddie, but sometimes you really piss me off."

We both started laughing as he rolled off me. It was hard to get a good fight in when neither of the opponents wanted to hurt the other one. Our fights sometimes turned into something reminiscent of a choreographed dance instead of the battles they should've been.

"Are they always like this behind closed doors?" Gary asked.

I'd been so careful about hiding who I was around Frannie that neither her nor Gary really knew the real me. It was weird to be able to act like myself in front of them.

"Usually they're worse. I think they're being good because of the present company," Nate suggested, and he was right.

"Yeah, you're pretty lucky Avery only took out one knife. They usually draw blood by now," Vinnie added.

"He's joking," I said, not wanting them to make me sound insane. "We're always on our best behavior."

I tried to give my most innocent eyes, but that failed when I started laughing again. Best behavior was something I found impossible when I was playing around with Freddie.

"There's a reason why we have to keep them on opposite ends of the house. No one else would get any sleep if they were allowed to be closer. If I didn't know they actually like each other, I would think they were enemies." Nate was giving away more details than necessary, so I decided to change the subject.

"Whatever, let's go check out the sleeping arrangements and take a look around."

It turned out there were three rooms upstairs. Frannie and Gary called dibs on the biggest room. That was fine; I knew Frannie was used to things being a certain way. Vinnie had no problem just hanging out downstairs, so that left me, Nate and Rick to fight over the last two rooms.

"Why don't you two share a room?" I asked, knowing that I was going to end up in a bed with Nate.

That really wasn't that big of a deal. We had separate rooms at home, but I almost always woke up to find him snuggled in with me. He claimed I was having a nightmare and he was only there to help me. I claimed he was full of it, but didn't fight him on the matter. The truth was I slept better with him around.

Of course, they both laughed, thinking I was joking about them sharing a room. If I didn't know they'd shackle me to a bed, I'd tell them I was going to go stay with Kyle. That would make them think twice about laughing at me.

"Come on, we're taking this room," Nate said, dragging me into a room.

Just before the door closed, I yelled, "Rick, if I'm not out of here within five minutes, send in a search party."

"You're so silly sometimes," Nate said as he pulled me in for a thorough kiss. By the time he was done, my breathing was only starting to regulate itself. "Don't think I didn't pick up that thought about staying with Kyle. Do I need to chain you down now, or will you behave?" he asked as he pulled away.

"I watched you pack and I know you left your chains at home, so that's kind of an empty threat, don't you think?"

"I'm sure I could dig something up if I thought the moment warranted it. Let's get unpacked so we can take a look around. I'd really like to find Elizabeth and get out of here as soon as possible. I have a feeling I'm not going to want many people to lay eyes on you."

With the hard part of the trip out of the way, I thought I'd be able spend some time getting to know Elizabeth. It wasn't like we had to get back for work. I didn't know what kind of deal Nate had with his supervisor, but it seemed like he could take any case he wanted and he hadn't found anything he wanted me involved with.

"Have you tried to reach her telepathically?" I asked. "I don't really know her, so it's difficult for me to try to focus in on her."

"I've tried and am getting nothing back. I'm hoping that's just because she's beyond my range."

Looking around the room, I saw a bed that looked like we'd both fit on fine. It pretty much worked out that if Nate fit, we both did. The bed was topped with a dark blue comforter and four pillows. Also in the room, there was a dresser and a door that led to a closet.

I didn't see another door, so I guessed there was a communal bathroom we were all going to have to share. I really hoped there was at least one more in the house, because I doubted anyone would be able to get in whenever Frannie decided to take a shower.

After stuffing our clothes in the dresser, we hurried and made our way downstairs to find Rick and Vinnie. I assumed with the eight bags it was going to be a little while before Frannie bestowed us with an appearance.

"Where do you guys want to start? With the other disappearances, I'm a little more worried about what's going on here," Rick said. I had the same feeling. If just Elizabeth was gone, then maybe there was a good explanation, but with others missing, there was reason to be concerned.

"I don't know anything about Elizabeth's personality, so I'm not sure what normal behavior is for her or what might be a clue. I think I'll leave that up to you guys. Just tell me what you need me to do." I didn't like deferring to others, but the guys knew my skill set.

"If someone was in need of her help, I believe she would have dropped everything and gone to the rescue. Hopefully that explains everything and she'll be showing up within the next couple of days surprised by our visit," Nate said as he glanced around the clinic area we were standing in.

I followed his gaze and wondered how anyone slept with a mini hospital set up in their house. I couldn't smell the usual antiseptic that went along with a hospital, but I imagined there were bottles hiding in one of the cabinets. I wondered again if Kyle had room at his place.

Nate was quick to bring my thoughts away from the berserker. "Let's start looking around and see if anything has been disturbed. Try to find any planners or calendars. They're our best bet at figuring out what her day-to-day life was like. I don't see any evidence of a fight and she's too much like her mother to allow herself to be kidnapped without maiming someone."

We took a look around and saw nothing disturbed. Rick found a calendar that had the day marked for when she was supposed to meet Sophia, but nothing else indicating where she could be. As we were wrapping up our search, Frannie and Gary made their way downstairs.

"Anything we can do to help?" Frannie asked.

"We've searched the downstairs and didn't find anything helpful. I doubt the upstairs will reveal anything because it doesn't seem it's used often," Nate reported.

"Is anyone getting hungry? I took a peek in the fridge and cupboards while I was looking around, and I could whip something up," I said, looking for something to do.

When I wasn't sure what to do, I always turned towards the kitchen. Something about that room in a house made me feel safe, and often I found myself thinking clearer there.

"Yeah, we haven't eaten for a while. Why don't you do that and we'll rearrange the waiting room into a sitting area, so we can eat and talk about next steps," Rick suggested.

I didn't need to be told twice as I headed off to the kitchen with Frannie following behind me. I was hoping she would. I had a lot of questions I needed to get answers to and my best friend had a lot to answer for.

If she knew I was different the whole time, I couldn't believe she didn't give me a clue that she was too. I didn't think she could've known that I wasn't aware of my specialness. You never knew though, I might have been wearing an "I am special and don't even know it" sign for years.

The fact that I'd been out on my own and other special people could sense me, made me want to smack my parents a few times. We hadn't really gone into details about why they did what they did, but I had to believe they had someone keeping an eye on me. The thought of that made me get a little agitated, so I focused in on food.

I decided to make some quick potato chip breaded chicken breast with a side of rice. It was getting late and I didn't want to be stuck cooking forever. I turned on the oven and quickly coated the chicken. Once in the baking dish, I threw it into the oven, calling it good.

Frannie had stood off to the side as I worked, careful not to get in my way. The food wouldn't be ready for thirty minutes, so it was time for the Frannie grilling to commence.

CHAPTER 5

Cats are magical; the more you pet them the longer you both live

"Spill it, Frannie," I said as I washed my hands.

The girl had a lot of explaining to do as far as I was concerned. Pretty much everyone I knew had explaining to do, but I figured I might actually get the answers I was looking for out of her.

"What on earth do you mean?" she asked, giving me her innocent puppy dog eyes. I hated anyone who could pull off the look because I couldn't.

"Don't even try it, Frannie. Let's start with what exactly you are. After that, I'm sure I'll have enough questions to keep us in here for at least an hour," I said, folding my arms across my chest.

"I'm sure the guys would get hungry and come in and break things up, but for the sake of keeping that throbbing blood vessel in your neck from breaking free, I'm what's known as a Cat Sidhe."

I got the feeling I was going to have to pull teeth to get details out of her, which was a little different than how things normally worked between us. Usually, Frannie wouldn't shut up, and since I had no idea what a Cat Sidhe was, she had more enlightening to do.

"And what exactly does that mean?"

"Mainly this," she said as she transformed in to a black cat with one single white circle on her chest.

She was bigger than a house cat, but not as big as a say a tiger. I guessed her height to be about two feet and her length to be about three or four feet. Her fur, though black, was kind of a blue-black that reflected pretty colors in the light. She quickly changed back, so we could continue our talk.

"You get to keep your clothes during your changes? Nate losses his when he shifts." I was all for learning how to change into a phoenix, even if Nate didn't want me too, but part of me worried about the nakedness that came when I changed back to human.

"Well, the guy catches on fire, what do you expect?" she laughed. "Actually, retaining clothes is because I'm Faie, not just a shapeshifter. The transforming is kind of magic for anyone who changes form, but mine is Faie magic, so I have more control."

"Can others gain control of the magic or is that specifically limited to Faie?" If it was something I could learn, I'd be all for it.

"I haven't heard of anyone else being able to control their magic with as much precision as the Faie, but you never know."

I got the feeling the topic of supernatural beings was a little boring to Frannie. She hadn't started sighing, but I predicted one was near.

"I guess the whole cat thing makes it not weird to be engaged to a panther, if Kyle was right with his guess."

"Yup, Gary is all cat. It's really fun to make him purr," she said, making a little purring noise. I really didn't want to think of what she did to make him make that sound.

"I think you just went to the point of too much information. Let's move on to another question. Why didn't you ever tell me you knew I was different?" I asked. "We've been friends for years now."

"At first you never asked me about what I was, so I just figured you didn't want to talk about how we're different. All uniques can tell when another person is unique, but they can't always tell what flavor they are. I had no idea what you were for sure; you could've been a wolf. I'm not sure if you know this, but kitty cats and puppy dogs don't tend to get along."

"After hearing all the different species just living in this city, I guess I can understand how you'd be hesitant to find out if I'd feel like ripping your head off. So, are you one of the people who knew me in my former life? Now that I ask, I'm guessing you didn't, because you just said you didn't know what I was and you've never acted like you've seen a ghost."

"I did not. I met Nate after me and Gary started dating, and Gary had known him for a couple years," she replied. "He didn't know who you were either. He'd heard you existed from Nate, but he didn't know you by looks or anything."

"How old are you really? I've heard I'm practically older than dirt, or something like that. I don't understand all the resurrection stuff."

"Yeah, well, most phoenixes are older than the rest of us. I'm four hundred years old, so compared to you I'm just a baby."

"Good. For your next birthday I'll be getting you a diamond adorned pacifier. You mentioned uniques being able to tell when they meet another one. I don't think I have that ability. I mean, if I thought about it, I should've known Nate was different because he shocks me every time we touch, but I haven't had any tingles in the back of my mind for any of the other people I've met."

"I don't have any explanation for you on that subject. Rick is usually around you and because he's your protector his ability to see other species is really strong. I don't know of your past to know if it's something you used to be able to do, or if you've never been able to feel others," she said.

"I think there are a lot of questions I need to ask my protector and mate. It may just be something he needs to teach me to do, like when we first started talking telepathically. All I know for sure is, I'm a little tired of being a mushroom."

Speaking of mushrooms, I needed to start some rice and I noticed a jar of mushrooms that I thought I'd add to it. I got the water boiling and went about making the rice. Not surprisingly, Frannie stayed at her post and didn't offer to help. I was glad she didn't, because I only had one assistant in the kitchen and he was in the other room.

"So are you all questioned out?" Frannie asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I don't know. There are all sorts of things I think I should be asking, but I don't want to sound like an idiot. The easiest answer to my problem would be to ask if you know of any books I can read that talk about all the different things that are out there. I want to be prepared if I ever run into something new."

I doubted I'd be allowed to go anywhere without my two, make that three with Vinnie, shadows, but knowing what was out there was probably a good idea. Just knowing about the people I'd heard lived in Eek would've been a good place to start.

"That's kind of funny actually. Your eldest son has written a couple books. He's been studying uniques for a few hundred years now. I'm pretty sure if you ask Nate, he could get you a copy of whatever you want," she replied.

"You don't live with the guy. Asking for anything is pretty much a pain. He read a note I wrote during my last life cycle and he's worried about me learning too much, too quickly and only feeds me bits and pieces if I have something to start with. I'm lucky he let me come here where there's the possibility to meet part of my past."

"You have to see it from his point of view. After he originally found you a zillion years ago, he only missed you the few months every thousand years when you resurrected. All added up, you might have missed each other a few years.

"Then all of a sudden you were gone for not just the usual months, but half a century. The man couldn't deal with life and went phoenix for decades. Now he's going to do everything in his power to make sure you never leave him like that again," she explained.

"I know all of that, but it doesn't mean he can run my life how he wants," I said to her out loud. To Nate personally, I mentally added, "I know you're listening, is it sinking into that thick skull of yours?"

"My little butterfly, you're so funny sometimes. I hear what you're saying and you have to admit I've been better lately. When we're alone tonight, I'll fill you in on some of the things you're so upset for us keeping from you."

"I'll admit to nothing of the sort," I thought back to him. "Let everyone know dinner is just about ready."

It'd been a while since I'd abandoned the rice while it cooked to lean against the counter and continue talking to Frannie. I turned to shake the pan a little, seeing that most of the water had disappeared.

"Did you have a nice conversation with Nate?" Frannie asked.

"Do I look funny when I do the whole telepathic thing?"

"No, I wouldn't exactly call it funny, at least not on your face. It kind of looks like you want to stab something. I think we all know you with knives is a scary thought."

"Really? What does it look like when I'm talking to Rick?" I agreed with her assessment of me and my knives, and it made sense to me that I'd have that particular look when dealing with Nate.

She chuckled. "I think that depends on the subject matter being discussed. Sometimes you look happy, others I'm afraid to let you near any red buttons that may launch nuclear devices."

"That sounds like accurate descriptions for how I usually feel. I imagine the nuclear look is any time we're discussing Nate. I think Nate should just be thankful I stopped planning his demise a while ago."

"The only reason you stopped is because you had so many ways to kill the man all planned out that your brain couldn't hold anymore until you actually started using them. If he ever pisses you off enough, he should consider himself lucky to be immortal. Or maybe not, with some of the more painful things you've thought about."

I'd shared some general ideas with Frannie, but they were the versions meant for human ears. If she knew some of the better plans I'd come up with for Nate's death, she wouldn't feel safe being in the room with me.

I checked on the chicken. It looked cooked through, so I grabbed a mess of plates from the cupboard and started plating everything. We each took a couple plates and headed toward the rearranged sitting area. After handing the plates out, I went back to the kitchen and retrieved the last one for myself.

"Okay, what does everyone want to drink?" I asked. "Looks like there's water, milk and lemonade." I wondered what kind of grocery store they had. If we stayed too long, I was definitely going to need to stock up on some things.

I took their orders and started my way back to the kitchen. "Do you need any help carrying all that?" Nate asked.

"No, you guys go ahead and start eating. I'll grab a tray and carry everything back in at once."

In the kitchen, I didn't really find a tray, but I did find a rectangular cookie sheet with sides, so I made do. I filled the glasses, carried them back out and passed them around before sitting to enjoy my dinner.

After getting a few bites of chicken, we heard a knock at the door. Nate got up to answer it and escorted a solemn-looking Kyle into the house. I was guessing whatever news he planned on delivering wasn't going to be good.

"Come on in, Kyle. What can we do for you?" Nate asked.

"Sorry to interrupt your dinner, but we found one of the missing people and she's in pretty bad shape. We've tried everything we can think of for her, and wondered if you wouldn't mind coming and taking a look," he said grimly. For someone who was supposed to be immortal to be in bad shape, I imagined the scene wasn't going to be pleasant.

"It isn't Elizabeth is it?" I asked. It'd be horrible to come all the way and find out she was severely hurt. Of course, finding one of the missing hurt, didn't give me happy thoughts about a reunion with Elizabeth.

"No, it's Miranda," he answered, not giving any more details.

"Okay, give us a second to grab our coats and we'll follow you to her," Nate said as we all stood up to quickly get ready.
CHAPTER 6

The sleeping fox catches no poultry

We followed Kyle a block over to a small house that looked like each of the other houses we passed along the way. When we got there, he walked right in and led us to a bedroom in the back, where we could hear voices speaking softly.

"I don't know what we can do. None of us are strong enough to make her change," a female voice said. I could hear subtle crying, but I didn't know if it came from the woman who'd spoken.

As we entered the room, the voices stopped and five sets of eyes turned to us. There were two men and three women. One of the men looked similar to Kyle, with long white hair and bright blue eyes. I didn't think I was going out on a limb to guess he was one of the other berserkers. The other man was tan with very dark features. The women all looked somewhat similar with long blonde hair and gray eyes.

"Oh no." I heard Frannie whisper from behind me.

"What is it?" I asked. Like usual, everyone else knew something I didn't.

"Her heart was taken out," Kyle informed me.

I didn't know much about uniques, in fact I hadn't heard the word used to describe anyone until that day, but I didn't think it mattered what you were as far as missing a heart went. I was always taught that was kind of a necessity to remain in the land of the living.

"Usually, even that wouldn't be fatal to her if she had changed recently or was able to change," Nate started to explain. He turned to Kyle and said, "I smell the ghost orchid in the air. I'm guessing someone used it to halt her change."

"She has been gone for almost a month now. We think whoever took her used it to weaken her, and then cut out her heart, so she wouldn't be able to heal," the man I assumed was a berserker said.

"Those three," Kyle said, indicating the women in the room, "are some of the other foxes we have in the community. We were hoping that one of them would be able to force a change on her and allow her to heal. It seems none of them can, though. We were hoping you might have some way to do it."

"We'd have no problem with another phoenix, and maybe even another species of bird, but a fox would probably be beyond any of our abilities," Rick answered.

"How would you force a change on someone in the first place?" I asked, wanting to learn more about abilities I could have. I was aware it might reveal that I didn't have all my marbles, but it was something I thought could be important.

"We go in and speak directly to the animal within. When we make contact, we call them out and force them to the surface. It isn't something really done amongst our kind, because we don't have the same monthly requirements for shifting," Nate said. The hold he had on my hand tightened slightly.

"Is there anything you can do?" I asked my group of friends.

"I can't reach the fox," Nate said. "I tried as soon as I realized the situation and I'm getting nothing."

"Same goes for me," Rick said.

"My cat won't call to a member of the Canidae family," Gary replied.

"I have a similar situation. I don't know that any Faie could help, but being of the cat branch of the family, my powers would be very limited," Frannie put in her two cents.

"Well, everyone keeps telling me I'm special, maybe I should give it a try."

I didn't think it would hurt me and it didn't seem like it could hurt the woman any more than she already was. Trying to take a look around wouldn't cause her heart to stop, so other than turning her brain to mush, I didn't think I could make things worse.

"Avery, are you sure? You haven't tried anything across species before and we don't know what could happen," Nate said in his usual overcautious tone.

"I prefer not to watch her just die. If there's anything I can do, I think it's a good idea to try," I replied.

"I can understand where you're coming from, I don't know that this is a good idea," Rick said. "Would it be best to try with one of the healthy foxes? That way they can maybe assist with showing you how to do it."

"That I could live with. I don't want you getting overtaxed trying to find the fox within and hurting yourself in the process. We don't mind helping, but my wife's health comes first." Nate more than likely only used the W-word because there were too many male eyes in the room studying me.

"I'll volunteer to be the test subject," one of the women said, stepping forward.

With a test subject, I went to work trying to figure out what I was supposed to do. To start, I tried to talk to her with my telepathy. I figured if she wanted to show me anything, I needed to get in her mind. I hadn't attempted it with anyone other than phoenixes before, so I didn't know if it would work.

"Can you hear me?" I asked.

"I can," she replied, using her voice rather than her thoughts. "I don't have telepathy myself, so I can't speak back to you via my mind."

"I can pick up your thoughts, so you don't have to really speak to me, just think and we should be able to communicate." I continued keeping the conversation just between us as I used whatever part of my brain was capable of listening in to other people.

_This is really weird; I don't think she'll actually be able to pick up my thoughts. I mean I've heard of people with that ability, but that would just be wrong to go around plucking stray thoughts out of people's heads all day._

"I don't do it all day. I rarely do it at all except with my housemates when I think they're keeping something from me. In case you didn't think of it, they're probably monitoring every thought going around the room. They can be annoying like that."

_Oh crap. I didn't think she'd be able to do that. Okay, let's see how we should do this. She needs to look into me and find the fox. How do I describe where to look? I guess I'll start with a description of what she looks like. I'm sure she's seen a fox before, so that shouldn't be too difficult._

"You don't need to go into great detail. When you started thinking about her, I found her. Come here, little fox. You're so cute," I said to the fox. I wasn't sure where to go from there, so I closed my eyes and started chanting in my mind, "Come to me, change your forms now and let me see you in real life."

There was probably some easier way to do things, but no one from my side of the party was helping by talking me through it. After a few minutes of my repeated requests, I heard a little bark and felt something running around my feet. I opened my eyes and saw a little white fox spinning in circles.

"You did it. How are you feeling? It didn't drain you or anything did it?" Nate asked, coming over to me and giving me a hug.

"I'm fine. I wasn't sure what to do, so I just kept telling the little fox to change. Are you sure I really did anything? Maybe she just got tired of standing there. When will she change back? I don't even know her name and I'd like to make sure I didn't somehow hurt her, if I did cause the change. Right now her thoughts seem to be about running and playing."

"Normal shapeshifters use a lot of energy to change, so she won't be changing back for an hour or so. The change only looked more hurried than normal, which tells me that she didn't initiate it on her own. I'm sure she'll be fine," Gary informed me.

"Her name is AnnaBelle," one of the other females said. "I'm Jackie and this is Kelly."

"I'm Liam," the man who looked like Kyle said.

"And I am Joesph," said the last of my new friends.

"We'll go through our introductions once we see if Avery can help Miranda," Nate responded for us. "I don't think she can hold on too much longer. Whenever you're ready, I suggest you hurry."

Not being connected with all my phoenix senses, I didn't know how dire the situation really was. The missing heart said a lot, but hearing that a unique could live through something like that left me unsure as far as severity.

When I touched Miranda's mind, I got complete silence back. I hadn't touched enough people to be an expert, but I always felt something greeting me when I tried. Without any help from Miranda, I began searching around for the place I found AnnaBelle's fox.

It took a while, because Miranda's wasn't a playful little thing looking for attention, but I finally found a little white fox curled in a ball. I tried to speak to it, but it didn't move at all. Giving up talking, I started yelling at it.

"Wake up, you little fox. Right now. Don't you want to live? You can't survive if you don't shift and I want you to shift right now!" I continued screaming "shift now" over and over in my mind. It got to the point where everything kind of disappeared around me and it was just me and the fox, and in the end it was just me chanting.

"That's enough, Avery," Nate said, touching my shoulder. "You did it, so come out of your trance."

It took a second for his words to sink in. I shook my head and opened my eyes. On the bed, instead of a woman was another little white fox. The AnnaBelle fox jumped up on the bed and started licking the Miranda fox.

"Oh thank God," Jackie said as she ran over to the bed. The Miranda fox looked healthy and was snuggling into Jackie's hand as she pet her.

"How many other people are missing and how long have they been gone?" I asked. I couldn't imagine what the others might be going through.

"There are three," Liam responds. "We have a bear, a hyena and an eagle missing. Miranda disappeared first and the others have been gone between a week and two."

"You aren't counting our daughter in your number of missing?" I asked.

Liam looked confused for a second, and then I saw the light bulb go off in his head as he put the pieces together. Kyle must not have had time to fill everyone in on what we were doing in town.

"Sorry, the doc has been known to go off to help people not in the community, so not seeing her for a week or two isn't out of the norm," Liam replied.

"I hope you're right and that's why she's missing. Your other missing people are worrisome. Hopefully, when Miranda is able to change back, she can give us some information and we can find the others," I said.

"With her injuries she's probably going to be recharging for twelve hours or more. That much damage takes some time to heal," Kelly informed us. I was pretty sure everyone but me already knew that information.

"Okay, why don't we go ahead and do formal introductions. After that, I think we'll head home and try to get a little sleep," Nate suggested.

He went around our little group and introduced each of us and explained what we were, so there'd be no surprises. I found out Liam was for sure a berserker and the other man was a wolf.

"Kyle may have left out the part about what you guys were doing here, but he filled us in a little on what to expect when we met before he ran to get you. I have to say, your little lady is even more than what I expected," Liam responded.

I'd felt his and Kyle's eyes almost burning through me from the moment I'd entered the room. Nate had a staring problem, but there was something about the berserkers that made me even more aware of their gazes.

"I'm very much aware of that, but as Kyle was told, she's very much spoken for. We've been together as husband and wife for millennia, so don't get any ideas." Nate sounded testy, which wasn't new.

"I won't, but as I'm sure Kyle warned, you need to keep her close. We're a civilized group here, but I have a feeling the power she's giving off may be addicting to some. Working miracles like she just did, didn't help matters as far as that goes. I'm thankful she was able to help, but it doesn't change the fact that it felt like a nuclear bomb went off in here as she exuded her raw energy."

"Any ideas on how I could tone down the power? I really don't want to draw extra attention to myself." I hadn't felt anything unusual, but I hadn't exactly felt like I was in the room with the others at the time.

"Sorry, no help for you there. I'm sure you don't even know you're emitting it. Whereas Kyle can sense what species other people are, I can feel the energy coming off people. You three phoenixes are radiating a lot of power between you. You, though, are by far the most powerful person I've run into in my almost two thousand years," he said to me.

"That's not something I really want to hear," I replied, looking in his blue eyes for some kind of hint that he was joking.

"Sorry, sweetheart, I just tell it like it is."

"It's okay, Avery, we've known for a while you're getting stronger," Nate said, giving me a little hug. "Let's head out for the night. We need to get some rest, so we can regroup in the morning."

We made our way back to Elizabeth's house without really saying good-bye. I could tell Nate and Rick were uneasy around the new uniques, but I didn't bring it up. Nate and I settled into bed and I quickly fell asleep before we could broach the subject of how messed up I was.

CHAPTER 7

A doll is a girl's best friend

My dream was so vivid that I remembered every detail about it when I woke the next morning. I hadn't had one of my visions of the past while I was asleep, but it was just like one of them.

_I am walking through a jungle. I can hear the wild animals growl as I walk by, but I'm not afraid. I make my way to a small hut where there is a man and a woman standing with a small child. They look like a nice little family, I think to myself._

_The small child runs to me and says, "Mama, you're home." She wraps her little arms around my leg and gives a big squeeze. Evidently the nice family belongs to me._

_" Elsie girl, I was only gone for an hour. You act like I've been gone for months," I tell her._

_" But, Mama, it seemed like forever. Look at the new dolly Sara and Henry helped me make," she says, sticking out the little doll for me to inspect. From my body's memories, I gather that Sara and Henry are my oldest daughter and son. All the name changes over the years must have been difficult, because I've only heard a few of the different names and I'm totally confused._

_Looking down at the doll in my hand, I see that it is the doll I currently have sitting in the shoebox on the dresser. I wanted to bring it along on the trip in case Elizabeth recognized anything from it. It seems the doll was hers, however many years ago in the past I am currently witnessing._

_" That is the prettiest dolly I have ever seen. Does she have a name?" I ask my littlest girl._

_" Her name is Callie," she reports. "And I'm going to keep her forever." Well, maybe not forever, since I somehow got a hold of her._

_" Do you want me to play with you and your dolly?" I ask._

_" Oh yes, Mama. Can we play hide-and-seek?" she asks. "Me and Callie will hide and you have to find us."_

_" That sounds like a perfect idea," I say to her._

For the rest of the dream, I spent the day playing with my little girl and her new doll. It made me depressed to think of all the memories that I was missing. Getting up from bed, I went to the shoebox and took out the doll. The second I touched it scenes started flashing before my eyes.

I didn't know how much time passed as I stood like a statue in place, but at some point Nate started shaking me and shouting my name. From the look on his face, a day very well could have gone by.

"Avery, are you okay?" he asked. "You just stood there when I called for you and wouldn't move. You were out of it for at least five minutes." He gathered me in close to hug me, before he allowed a little distance to make it easier for him to study me.

"I'm fine. Actually, I'm more than fine," I replied.

He looked down at me with concern lining every inch of his face. "Then why are you crying?" he asked, wiping a tear from my cheek.

"Because I remember her," I said simply.

"Remember who?"

"Sana, I remember Sana and everything about her. I know she has my eyes and your smile. She loves to help people and is a little bit of an adventurer. I know that when she first changed into a phoenix you made her a little phoenix statue carved from a tree branch. I know that my nickname for her is Tulip. Her favorite color is turquoise. She loves anything with onions in it. There are so many things I remember. I know every detail of her life until my last resurrection," I explained.

I saw moisture well up in Nate's eyes. "Is it just her, or are there other memories that you now have?"

I hated to crush the hope I saw in his eyes, but I couldn't lie to him. "Right now it's just her. I had a dream about her and this doll the first day she got it. When I woke up, I wanted to see the doll to feel close to her and the memories just started coming. Do you think the other things in the box will eventually have the same effect?"

I looked at the different items and wondered what they had to do with anyone I was connected to. They seemed so random.

"Since each item belongs to one of our children, they might." He'd moved to stand behind me, with his arms wrapped around my middle, as we both looked down into the box.

"Wait, you know what the other items are?" I asked, pondering how hard I was going to need to kick him.

I remembered asking my parents, him and Rick and they all claimed they were probably just some mementos or something. They'd acted like the knick-knacks were things they'd never seen before.

"We didn't lie to you. They are mementos, but we didn't want you knowing who they were attached to for fear it might trigger something too early."

"So you still won't tell me about them?"

"No, but I will say all the items in the box except the knife are from our children. The knife we still have no idea what significance it holds. It isn't a knife any of us have seen before and Rick has had our researchers searching old texts to try to find out if it's important."

"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have packed it away unless it was important. You don't think it's the weapon that can kill phoenixes do you?" I asked.

I didn't think it was, but my former self didn't seem exactly stable, and I wouldn't doubt she was crazy enough to pack a weapon without letting anyone know it could kill them.

"No, it's not. We've had it tested and it's very old, but nothing about it would cause us permanent damage," he answered.

We'd been standing there, hugging for the entire conversation, and my stomach decided it was time for us to step away from each other. We made our way down to the kitchen, where Rick and Vinnie were already enjoying pancakes. Vinnie really wasn't eating them, but he was flipping them in a skillet.

"How did you guys sleep in the new bed?" Rick asked.

"I slept very well, while Avery may have slept well, but had a little bit of a rude awakening," Nate responded.

"Oh really? Do tell," Rick replied.

"It's nothing really. I just regained all my memories of Elizabeth," I said, shrugging.

Saying her name aloud made me realize that there was nothing stopping me from trying to get a message to her. I knew who she was and I didn't need an exact location when I'd relayed messages to Rick and my parents from miles away. I knew she wouldn't be able to reply because she was outside of Nate's distance to talk, but I could at least try to send something.

"Elizabeth, please come home. There's an emergency and you're needed," I sent her way mentally. I hated that I couldn't get back some sort of message received indicator.

"Really, all the memories? That's great. Do you know anything else?" Rick had dropped his fork and was searching my face for something.

"No, but I'm mad at anyone who knew the significance of the items in that box and kept the information from me. You guys need to stop treating me like I'm fragile. I don't care what my past self wrote in some letter. Every once in a while you need to share information with me. As an example, it would have been super cool to know my best friend wasn't human and I didn't have to watch everything I said to her." My hands had migrated to my hips, and I took on my "I mean business" stance.

"I told you she'd be mad about that," Nate said to Rick, ignoring me.

"And I told you I'd just blame you and I bet she'd forgive me."

"You guys are such dorks. Vinnie, could I please have some pancakes?" I asked. "Arguing with knuckleheads makes me hungry."

"No problem, darling, you just sit down and I'll get you a plate set up," Vinnie said, grabbing a plate.

"So, tell me more about this ghost orchid stuff you were smelling yesterday, Nate," I said as a plate of three pancakes with blueberry syrup was set in front of me.

"Ghost orchid is a very rare poison to shapeshifters. It prevents them from changing forms. As you saw last night, if they can't change forms, certain things can cause their death. It isn't usually instant as the other part of them has to give up the fight. We were lucky you were able to help Miranda. Whoever dropped her off must have known none of the foxes were strong enough to help."

"Does it affect us?" I asked Nate in between bites. He seemed to be the one answering question, but it turned out they were tag teaming their responses.

"Since we don't have to change every month, like a regular shifter, the same thing wouldn't have happened to us. If a person could kept us on it for a millennium, we may have an issue, but I doubt it. There's no real rules when it comes to how we live our lives. That's one of the reasons other uniques treat us like royalty," Rick said.

"You said you could smell it. I don't remember any unique scents, and being able to smell a potential poison would be very handy."

"If you know what to look for, it isn't that hard to pick up the scent. It's very sweet; I relate it to cotton candy. I don't know why, just when I smell that scent I think of cotton candy," Nate relayed.

Okay, run whenever I smelled something that reminded me of cotton candy. That seemed simple enough.

"I'll store that tidbit of information for later use. I'm going to go take a shower and get dressed, but when I'm done I want to go check on Miranda. Are there any arguments?" I asked.

"No, I think it's a good idea. I want to see if she saw Elizabeth wherever she was being held," Nate said.

I finished my pancakes and thanked Vinnie before running upstairs to use one of the two bathrooms in the house. After the quick shower, I threw on my long underwear, some jeans, two t-shirts and a sweatshirt that said _Cold enough for ya?_. I added two pairs of socks and my boots. With my big winter jacket on top, I hoped I'd be warm enough.

I headed back downstairs to sit with Vinnie while I waited for Nate and Rick to get ready. I hadn't heard from Frannie and Gary, so I assumed they chose to sleep in. It wouldn't be surprising if they entered a sort of hibernation phase. Even inside the house, I felt the cold from outside trying to seep inside.

"So, Vinnie, how's the cold treating your electronics?"

"No problems. I coated my wires with something to protect them from any kind of extreme temperature," he replied.

Listening to Vinnie speak was sometimes fun, especially when we were alone. He liked to try out different voices to see how I reacted to them. The current one was deep, and reminded me a little of Kyle's.

I did my best to limit my reactions. It was fun to watch Vinnie develop into his own person and I wanted my opinions to have little to do with the end result. Of course, if he started speaking in a voice that made me want to jam pencils in my ears, I'd add my two cents, but until then, he was on his own.

"That figures, you're always ten steps ahead of everyone. I bet you already know who's kidnapping the uniques around here."

"You give me too much credit, Avery. I don't know yet, but if you allow me to go with you when you talk to the fox, I may be able to run whatever description she has of the perpetrator through my database to get a list of suspects who might be in the area."

"That would be very helpful, Vinnie. Do you have any input on the people we've met so far?" I asked.

"You already know I don't like that Kyle character. Neither of the other two men we met last night are high on my Christmas card list either," he said.

"I know, like Nate, you don't like other men having any kind of interaction with me. How about the girls, did you get anything from them?" I asked.

I really needed to find a man to be in my life who wasn't super protective of me. It was bad when the robot in my life didn't like how long a guy assessed my assets. I really wished telling any of them that I could take care of myself would make a difference, but I'd gone almost hoarse from trying.

"I guess the two who changed made pretty cute little foxes. I think Romeo and Juliet might like us to bring one of them home, so they have a new friend. Other than that, they seemed like weepy females," he replied.

While we were waiting, I had him run some searches on the ghost orchid flower, so I could find out where it grew and any other characteristics that could be interesting. He started running a thorough scan of his databases and let me know the report would be back in an hour.

I would've liked to have it sooner, but with the amount of databases he was zipping through, I didn't mind a little wait. If I tried to do the search myself, it would've taken a bit longer to hit each of the millions of sites out there and analyze the information into something usable. Having a robot was really cool sometimes.

CHAPTER 8

Baby, it's cold outside

"Okay, what gives?" I asked when Nate and Rick reappeared dressed in jeans and t-shirts. "We're fixing to go outside and you guys aren't dressed for the weather. Unless there was a heat wave someone forgot to mention."

"That, baby girl, is a benefit of being a phoenix who knows how to use all their abilities," Rick said as he walked to the front door.

"Don't tease her, Rick, or we'll never hear the end of it," Nate said, taking my hand and leading me after Rick. "What he means is, if we're cold, we can just turn our internal temperature up a little. That's something that I can probably teach you without any fear of side effects. And after that trick you did with heating up Katie's gun in Montana, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out by yourself."

"When have I ever had any side effects? I do things all the time without any issues," I said, whining because I wanted to be able to walk around without looking like an abominable snow person.

"You had that nose bleed when you were first getting your memories back," Rick pointed out, which shouldn't have been allowed since he wasn't there to witness it. "That's more than enough to keep Nate from allowing too much, too soon."

"Fine, but you're teaching me this heating trick. I want to get out of these layers, but at the same time, I don't want to boil my blood."

There was a big difference between heating an inanimate object and my own body. I didn't consider myself brilliant, but I had enough sense not to light myself on fire without supervision. We made our way over to the house we'd visited the night before. When we arrived, Rick knocked on the door.

Joseph answered and said, "Come on in, she just woke up and is getting a shower."

He led us into a small living room, where we took our seats to wait. I ended up sitting on Nate's lap because there wasn't a lot of room. That's at least what I told myself. Joseph hadn't openly stared like the berserkers had, but I knew Nate wanted to brand me as his.

"Could she possibly sit on the robots lap?" Joseph asked, staring at the ground as he spoke.

"I prefer that she sits with me." Nate answered.

"I know, and I'm sorry for asking, but ever since she walked in the room last night, she's been drawing me in. It's been mentioned, and I concur, that there's something about her. I know you guys are mates and I'm not trying to get in the way of that, but she makes a part of me feel extremely protective of her. And I'm sorry," he said, studying Nate, "I just don't know you well enough to trust her around you."

"You think you can trust her with the robot?" Rick asked, laughing.

"I guess it isn't so much trust, but I can feel Nate's emotions for her and hers don't jive with his and it's making me edgy. I can't pick up emotions from Vinnie, so I don't think it will be as bad," he explained.

"Where are you in the wolf hierarchy?" Nate asked, not making any move to let me up.

"My original name was Fenrir, if that's any indication," Joseph replied. It meant nothing to me, but I got the usual sense that everyone else in the room knew what the name signified.

"Fill me in, please." I said when no one rushed into details.

"Like Nate, we have another original to their species in the room," Rick said.

I looked at Nate to see how that news sat with him, but his game face was on, revealing nothing. I didn't mess around in his head to figure out if there was an issue. It was enough for me that he hadn't immediately issued a challenge to decide who the most powerful person in the room was.

"So, you were the first wolf shapeshifter?" I asked, making sure I'd heard correctly.

"Something like that," Joseph replied. "My father was actually worshipped as the God Loki. I'm the template for the wolves who came after me, but I have a little bit more leeway when it comes to shifting and such. You could say that even though I turn into a wolf, I'm more like you phoenixes in abilities."

"That's why you were here last night. Being an alpha dog, you could've been able to help Miranda shift," Nate said. He still showed no signs of letting me move.

"That's correct. She was too far gone for my abilities, though."

"Are there other originals living in this town?" Rick asked.

"We have Nanook, Crocotta, and Habrok also living here."

"You have not only the king of the wolves, but the polar bear, hyena and hawk kings all living in one small town. I'm surprised anyone is left standing." Rick was finding so much joy in the conversation that I thought we'd have trouble removing the grin from his face.

"We also have the phoenix king as a temporary resident. Do you think he's going to cause any issues?" Joseph asked Rick. He'd been very careful about looking at me, but had no problem looking at everyone else in the room.

"Doubtful. It's just odd to find such a bounty in one place," Rick replied.

"It is. Nanook, who is currently going by Ben, has been here with his mate the longest. Crocotta, also known as Harry, and Habrok, Jeremy, have been here about six years. I moved here three years ago just to get away from city life for a while. I've been thinking about returning to city life in recent months. There's only so much snow I can take," he said with a smile.

"Back to what originally started this conversation," Nate said interrupting the lighter conversation. "You said you were feeling protective over Avery, but it wasn't in a romantic way."

I didn't remember romance being brought up. I heard he wasn't going to get in the way of Nate's intentions for me, but that didn't mean his heart didn't flutter when he saw me. The thought of drawing another guy's interest made me want to find a dark room and lock myself in it, so I hoped Nate's statement proved correct.

"Last night, as you may have noticed, I stayed in the background. I was having issues seeing you two together and I was definitely feeling romantic notions. I believe I've swallowed those down enough that my interest can remain protective. I really don't want to come in between the two of you. Your relationship is legendary amongst the world of uniques. That being said, I will not deny that if you were not here, I would try to pursue a relationship."

"Yeah, good luck with that one. I think the line goes out the front door and down a block or two," Rick said. He must have put on his " _I am a comedian_ " boxers.

"I think we should share with him the information we recently found out," I said, interjecting into the conversation. Rick was right that him trying to pursue me romantically would be futile on his part, but if he wanted to protect me, maybe I could start to build an army to fight whatever war was coming.

"I can see what you are thinking, Avery, and I think you might have something. I've been busy keeping up with you, so I haven't had a chance to really delve into the protection you probably need," Nate said, giving me a little kiss on the cheek.

"Shall I tell him?" I asked.

"It's probably best that it comes from the horse's mouth, so to speak," Nate replied.

"So here's the deal, Joseph. For some reason, I think I can trust you, but I don't want what I'm about to tell you leaving this room unless you're given my okay," I started off saying. I didn't know that I really did trust him, but people liked to hear crap like that.

"My lips will be sealed until you give me the authority to tell others," he replied, raising his left hand like some sort of oath.

"Good enough. Long story short, as far as I'm concerned I'm not really the phoenix queen everyone thinks I am." He looked at me in shock, so I hurriedly continued, "Don't get me wrong, I am her, I just don't have all her memories. During my last resurrection something went wrong and I was missing to the phoenix world for fifty years.

"I've just recently started getting memories back and I've been told who and what I really am. In this quest for self-rediscovery I found a letter that I'd written saying I would regain my memory soon and that there was some war on the horizon and if I didn't prepare, the people I loved would die." I took a break to catch my breath.

"Uniques don't have wars. It's stupid to try because of how hard it is to kill each other," Joseph said after taking everything in. "I mean, technically, if we did what was done to Miranda we could, but that's just cruel."

"We don't really know what the message means. Avery's previous incarnations were able to see the future, though, so we've been working to try to find out what could cause a war. We don't know if this war is amongst uniques, if it's just against the phoenixes or if it's against all species of uniques," Nate said.

"I understand. Do you mind if I have my researchers take a look in some of our texts and see if there are any prophecies or mentions of some super weapon that would actually cause you damage?" Joseph asked. "I understand that you might not want anyone to know about the memory thing, since it could be seen as a weakness, but I think I can request general information about phoenixes without raising suspicion."

"We've been looking through our texts, and so far have found nothing, so if there's anything to be found in yours, we'd greatly appreciate the information," Nate replied. "And I thank you for any discretion you can use."

"I'd like to take this moment to comment on something Joseph said," I said, trying to not show any aggression.

"Oh no," Rick and Vinnie said in unison.

"Avery, please don't do anything stupid," Nate implored.

Evidently they'd been living with me too long. It was bad when the robot in your life knew you were going to do something on the crazy side.

"I'll take requests if you prefer. My initial thought would ruin too many things," I replied.

"There's a fireplace. I'd go with that. It will get you the effect you want, without involving breakable objects or people," Rick said trying to appease me. "As cute as the tricks you do with sharp objects are, I forgot my spackle at home."

"Okay, just remember it was your choice," I said as I closed my eyes and concentrated on the logs in the fireplace that weren't lit. Since my little showdown with warming up Katie's gun, I'd been doing some exercises to better hone my heat projection ability.

I envisioned a huge roaring fire in the fireplace, wanting to be dramatic, instead of starting a slow fire; I engulfed the wood with flames immediately. There was a whooshing sound as the air in the room moved to feed the flames.

"Ta da!" I announced as I put the fire out with my mind. "I don't like being seen as a weakness. In fact, I believe Rick thinks I get just a tad grumpy when I'm called one. I may not have my memories and I'm currently restricted from changing forms, but I'm strong physically, and have very strong telekinetic and telepathic abilities. The telekinesis, as you can see, has expanded to me being able to do really neat things with fire."

"I'll do my best not to doubt you," Joseph said, looking at me with a smile across his face. At least he'd graduated to the point where he could look at me.

"What was that?" Miranda asked, standing in the doorway. "I felt the air pressure in the house totally change."

"That was just Avery showing off," Rick said. "You're lucky we were able to keep the house in one piece."

All eyes in the room turned to me and I didn't appreciate the eye roll I saw from Rick.

"Hey, it isn't my fault someone needed a demonstration. Let's try to focus on why we're here and our investigation into the other missing uniques."

I wasn't even sure whose house we were in. There weren't any photographs giving away any clues. Miranda moved into the room to join us, sitting in the seat we left open for her. I was hoping we could learn a great deal from her, but after what she'd been through, I wasn't sure how quickly we'd get the information.

CHAPTER 9

Today is going to be a good day, then I woke up

"Hi, Miranda. First, I'd like to say it's good to see you up and around. We were worried you wouldn't make it," Nate said. "I'm guessing the heart has finished growing back."

Miranda looked pale, but after seeing the other foxes, I didn't think that was a result of her recent injury. I hadn't gotten close enough to study the hole in her chest, or to even see if there was a hole, but I didn't see any blood seeping through her white sweater.

"It's almost there. Maybe a couple more hours and I think I'll be whole. I have you to thank for that, I'm told," she said to me. I was happy to see she wasn't afraid to look at me. "I want you to know that if you ever need me, I'm there for you. My life is now at your disposal."

I held my hands up like I was trying push her words back to her. "Don't go all crazy on me. With all the males who follow me around vowing to protect me with their lives, I have enough to deal with. I don't need to start having females do the same. Anyway, I couldn't just sit back and watch you die."

"You'll find Avery doesn't always care what the rules of etiquette in the unique world say to do in a given situation," Joseph interceded, evidently on my behalf. "When normally her saving your life would mean you must be with her until your debt is repaid, she calls the debt paid in full by just a thank you."

"I understand she doesn't require it to be paid, but nevertheless I look forward to trying to find a way to even our score," Miranda replied.

I could tell by the conviction in her words that if she didn't do it by the time we were done there, the pups were getting a new play fox. Thankfully, we lived in a mansion.

"Now with the formalities out of the way, I need to ask if Elizabeth was with you wherever you were being held." Nate squeezed my hand as he spoke. We were both anxious to hear the answer.

"Elizabeth? No. she wasn't there. The three others who I've been told are missing were and a couple others I've never met."

I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried that she hadn't seen Elizabeth. Did the same person take Elizabeth and somehow dispose of her before getting to the place where the others were held? Did someone else take her? Was she just off doing whatever it was she did when she wasn't home? I had so many questions and I had a feeling none of them were going to be answered.

"Can you take us through what happened to you?" Rick asked.

"Sure. A few weeks ago I was out running in fox form. We've never had problems with traps in the area, so I wasn't even looking when I was surrounded by a net. I tried to get out, but the net was coated in something that made me change back to my human form, leaving me without pointed teeth and claws. After a few hours, a man came by to check the trap and was thrilled to find me in it. He pinned me down and injected me with something. Before I knew it, my body was frozen, so I still had my senses, but I wasn't able to move."

"You were conscious when he took you to his lair?" Rick asked.

"Yes, I was a little loopy, but I know where it is. It isn't that far away, maybe twenty miles out of town. When he took me there, he just threw me in a kennel and left me for days. He'd once a week bring me something to eat. I saw when the others were brought in. They were in the same situation as I was, not being able to move.

"After two days, that ended up wearing off, but we still couldn't shift. Eventually, he shot me with a tranquillizer dart to make me go stiff again. At that point, I was so weak I probably couldn't have even fought him. He hauled me out on a table and carved out my heart in front of the others.

"He never spoke, but once he had the heart in his hand, he threw it on the ground to stomp on it. Nothing has ever been as painful as that moment. When he was done with me, and sure I wouldn't be lasting long, he ended up dragging me back to the place where I was found. I think I was a message of things to come," she finished her speech and started crying.

We all kind of looked at each other, trying to decide who should comfort her, and we came back empty. One of her fox friends should've probably stayed around in case of emergencies. They seemed to know what to do in emotional situations. I thought about offering her some water, since I figured her throat might be a little dry after her story, but I had no idea where the kitchen was.

"I think you should rest up today and finish regaining your strength, but tomorrow we really need to go after this guy. We can't let him kill the others," Nate said. "Avery claims she didn't have any problem helping you, but I don't know how many more times she can do it. We also don't know if he'd leave the others where we could find them."

"I know, and I'll do anything you tell me to, it's just still traumatic for me thinking about it," she replied, trying to wipe the tears from her face.

"I'm very sorry for what you've had to go through. I've been kidnapped a couple times. My worst injuries were only bullet wounds, but I know a big part of the recovery process is getting to the point where you don't feel like a victim," I said, letting my compassionate side kick in a little. "We'll get this guy and I promise there'll be nothing left of him when I'm done. Do you know if he was a unique by any chance?"

"I don't think so, but I don't think he was human either. There was some magic about him. Maybe a warlock, he had a very strong presence of evil," she replied.

To do what he did to her, there was no doubt he was evil, but a warlock was another being that I only knew about from books and television. I couldn't tell if she was using the word figuratively or if warlocks were real things.

I quickly sent Nate the message, "You're going to have to explain it to me later."

He gave me a pat on my thigh to let me know the message was received. Maybe I'd actually get full disclosure on what he told me. Then again, it was Nate, so I'd probably end up with only what he wanted me to know. I was going to have to see if Vinnie could help. He loved it when he could one-up Nate.

"Is there any other information you can give us?" Vinnie asked. "Maybe describe the man's features."

"Sure, he wasn't trying to hide who he was. I assume that's because he didn't expect me to survive. He had chalky white skin, was bald and maybe six foot tall. His eyes were dark brown or black. He wasn't as muscular as any of the men in this room, but he wasn't lacking, because he carried me for quite a ways.

"The only real unique characteristics that I saw were his left ear was full of earrings and he had a scar that went from the corner of his eye to his chin on the right side of his face. It wasn't a thick scar, just like a faint pink line," she informed Vinnie. I could see him already starting to catalog the information, looking for a match. "You know you're pretty cute, what exactly are you?"

I knew with the movie star skin Vinnie would be hit on, and judging by the look on his face he didn't like it. That would teach him to pick someone from the sexist men list.

"Sorry, I don't have a pulse, so any advances are best left for those who do," he said.

Vinnie evidently missed the course on letting the girl down easy. I'd give him props for including the word sorry though. Before Nate came into my life and helped remove the shell I lived in, I wouldn't have bothered doing more than running away if someone tried to hit on me.

Rick started snickering. "I'm pretty sure there's one person in the room who you'd set the pulse issue aside for. I'm not certain how particular things would work out between you, but there are times I want to just sit back and watch."

"Leave him alone, Rick. Just because she didn't hit on you doesn't mean you have to pick on Vinnie," I said.

Vinnie didn't really think of me as a girlfriend, like the guys constantly claimed. He just liked looking after me since I offered him refuge and had a mind that he was able to talk out theories with.

"There's nothing wrong with Rick, I just know he's already a phoenix and you guys tend to stay within your species. I wasn't sure if Vinnie was something that was okay with intermingling," Miranda said, winking at Vinnie.

I was happy to see that the tears had dried up in Miranda's eyes. I was a little confused why we'd taken the turn in the conversation, but if a cute guy could help take her mind off her regenerating heart, I wasn't going to rain on the parade.

"So you draw robots to you as well?" Joseph asked with a laugh. "I'm starting to wonder how they allow you out of the house each day."

"It isn't what you think. Vinnie was being misused by his creators and when he saw a way out by following me home, he took it. He values my mind, even though no one else seems to understand that."

"Yeah, because all robots call you darling and make you breakfast every morning. One of these days you're going to wake up and see what is right in front of your nose," Rick responded.

"I'm pretty sure all robots get jealous when you spend too much time with your fiancé, too," Nate added.

"He wasn't jealous, just bored. That was before we got his lab all put together so he could work on his improvements. You guys are just jealous because he's smarter than you." I didn't understand why we had to have the same conversation over and over.

"I have to agree with everything Avery has said," Vinnie backed me up, which he always did, unless we were discussing my safety. During those arguments, he was usually all for shackling me to the bed so I couldn't get in trouble.

"Of course you agree with her. Like the rest of us, you don't want her mad at you. We've all seen what happens to people who piss you off," Rick said.

Mr. Chuckles was really getting on my nerves. He was exaggerating about what happened to people who crossed me, but his words deserved my attention. I'd already given my fire demonstration, so I thought it was time for a levitation show. I lifted Rick off the couch until his head came close to the ceiling, and then spun him around, so his head was towards the ground.

"You just lifted me a foot or so above the ground," Kyle said, entering the room with Liam. I had no idea where they came from, or why they were just then joining us. "I hate to know what he did to deserve that."

"He told one too many jokes, so let this be a lesson to you all," I said as I reluctantly put Rick back on the couch. "How are you guys doing today?"

"So far, so good. We haven't found any more of the missing, though," Liam answered.

"Miranda is going to help lead a rescue party tomorrow. We should be able to get back your three missing, but we're still looking for where Elizabeth could be," Nate informed them. I didn't miss the fact that he somehow tightened his already firm grip on me as soon as the berserkers showed up.

"We're going to want to be involved with any rescue attempts, which I'm sure you already realized. We thought we'd come over and check in to see if you guys needed some supplies. With five of you in the house, there can't be a lot of food," Kyle said.

"With three growing boys at home, the food is going to be gone before we know it, so yeah, we probably need to figure something out. I wasn't sure if there was somewhere in town we could go." I replied.

"We don't have anything in town, but Bethel is only about forty miles away, and they have Sammy's Market. We were going to get some supplies ourselves, so we thought we'd be nice and ask if you wanted to tag along. I know you guys are busy working to find your daughter, but it's important up here to keep fueled. At least most of the uniques around here find that important." Liam said.

"Thanks for thinking of us," I said, genuinely happy they were giving us something to do. We hadn't found any clues and aside from going door-to-door asking if anyone knew where Elizabeth was, I wasn't sure what we were going to do. "I haven't seen a lot of vehicles around here; I should probably preface that by saying I haven't had a chance to look around yet. Anyway, how are you planning to get there?"

They both looked at each other and smiled before Kyle said, "Snowmobiles, of course."

I'd gotten a good chunk of memories back, Miranda appeared to be fine, we had a lead on an evil doer, I got to hang Rick by his toes, and I was going to ride on a snowmobile. If we could figure out where Elizabeth was, I would've said the day was turning out to be perfect. It was my life and still early, though, so things were bound to go downhill at some point.

CHAPTER 10

Dogs come when called; cats take a message and then get back to you

We left Miranda to rest, even though she tried to persuade us to let her tag along. Not hearing from Frannie all morning, we checked in on the lovebirds before we hopped on snowmobiles heading out of town. They looked to be just getting out of bed.

At least Gary kind of did. I wasn't sure how she did it, but Frannie looked perfect. I was going to have to guess that had something to do with the glamour she mentioned her father using to look young. I imagined she didn't look that much different than I did when I rolled out of bed underneath whatever magic she controlled.

"Hey, sleepy heads, any new developments on the home front?" I asked.

"We finally got out of bed, that's pretty much it for developments," Frannie reported. "Do you think I should submit an op-ed to the local paper to let the whole world know?"

I couldn't think of a time where I'd woken up that late in the day. Other than during my hospital stay a while back, but I didn't really have control over that situation. If I'd been in charge of things then, the doctors wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near me with drugs.

"I'm afraid they'd actually post it, so let's keep your sleeping habits internal for now."

If it was me, I doubted any newspaper would even open the letter, but Frannie had a following in a way and I wanted her to get the idea out of her head immediately. Going out shopping with her was already a painful experience. Adding in fans would only make it worse.

"It's a good thing we've made some progress, because you two like to take a lot of cat naps," Rick added. When Frannie glared at him, he finished by saying, "What? Avery knows now, so I get to use all my kitty cat jokes." It was fun to see him annoying someone else.

"We made a lot of progress, Miranda is practically healed and she knows where the crazy guy is holed up, so we're going to go rescue the others tomorrow," I said, after giving Rick a quick mental slap for continuing his quest to become a comedian.

"That's no fair, Avery. You can't use your telekinesis to just slap me or levitate me whenever you want," he said, rubbing his arm. For some reason he seemed to be suffering memory loss.

"Are you sure? Because I'm pretty sure I just did, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." Feeling mature, I stuck my tongue out. I didn't know why, but I couldn't help but egg him on.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," he said as he started running after me.

I let him catch me, yes I said let, and we ended up rolling on the ground, yet again. While we continued to figure out dominance, Nate decided to finish filling in Frannie and Gary. With the berserkers around, he didn't give them the good news of my chunk of memory returning. I didn't think it was that big of a deal, since we already told Joseph. Kyle and Liam seemed just as trustworthy.

"Any information on Elizabeth?" Frannie asked.

"No, Miranda said she wasn't with her where she was locked up, so we're still at square one for that search," Nate replied. He worked to show no emotions, but I knew the lack of news added to the worry of finding Elizabeth not in perfect health.

"Okay, well Gary and I will go get ready for the day. We'll try to make it quick, but as Avery can tell you, I tend to take my time in the bathroom," she said, dragging Gary from the room.

Past experiences told me it might be a day before she was ready to go anywhere. I didn't understand the length of time if she could make herself ready with a mere thought. Having my full memories probably wouldn't help explain what made Frannie tick, but I didn't doubt they'd at least giving me a little insight.

"Hey, we're taking snowmobiles to the city closest by with a store, so dress appropriately," I screamed as Rick thought he had me pinned, but I quickly reversed our positions.

"You're okay with her rolling around with him?" Joseph asked. "It's giving me fits and I barely know her."

"No matter who the male is, it's not fun for me to watch, but Rick's her protector, so he'd rather die than allow her to get hurt. As time has gone on, I'm more worried about him. She has a little bit of a temper sometimes," Nate replied. The unheard "duh" echoed in everyone's head.

"It doesn't take long to get used to it and she's always the first to pull out a knife and draw blood," Vinnie added. Two times in as many days Vinnie was telling my knife secrets. I was going to have to sit the robot down and have a talk.

"You guys are so not helping my delicate flower image," I said as Rick and I stood up, calling a truce for the moment. "You still love me, Freddie?" I asked.

"You know it, baby girl," he said, giving me a quick kiss on the top of my head. "I'm going to go grab a jacket. I don't need it for the heat, but it will help with any wind that might hit us."

"I better do the same," Nate said, following Rick out of the room.

It was the first time I'd been left alone in a room without one of them present. I predicted they were just testing the people new to us to see if anyone decided to pull off some kind of sneak attack. I wished I could come up with a good way to exploit my freedom, but nothing came to mind. Vinnie would probably be all logical about whatever I decided and stop me anyway.

"You have a very interesting group of friends," Liam informed me.

"And you haven't even met my parents yet. What can I say; I'm a magnet for weirdoes. No offense, Vinnie," I said to him, just because he happened to be in the room and often sided with me.

"I know I'm one of the strangest things in your collection, so you don't have to worry about offending me," he replied.

"You're probably the most unique; that's for sure. So how many snowmobiles are we going to be taking?" I asked the berserkers.

"I imagine you and your female friend want to ride behind one of the guys in the group, so I guess seven," Kyle responded.

"Better make it eight. I know Frannie will ride with Gary, but I tend to ride my own. Granted, I haven't ridden a snowmobile, but I can't imagine it's more difficult than my Harley."

I didn't care about the inevitable fit Nate would throw. He knew the person I was, even if it didn't mesh with the image of who I used to be.

"You're a motorcycle mama?" Liam asked.

"You better believe it. There's no way you'll see me trying to navigate the New York City streets in a car. I don't have to battle it much anymore now that we've moved up north, but I still wouldn't trade Winnie in." We had a full garage that was really only missing a tank. Technically, we had one of those, but only because Nate named his motorcycle Tank.

The three men not acquainted with my life gave questioning looks, so Vinnie supplied more details, "Winifred, or Winnie, is her motorcycle and almost like a child to her, so I'd be respectful."

"Oh no, they have her talking about the bike. We'll never get out of here," Rick said as he entered the room.

I gave him a look and pointed my finger at him. He instantly raised his arms in defeat.

"You know, a mute button would come in handy on his mouth," Liam said, drawing my attention from my annoying friend.

"I've been saying that for months, but no one ever listens to me. Liam, I think you and I are going to be best friends." Nate hadn't returned, so I gave the berserker a quick wink.

"No fair. I wanted to be your best friend," Kyle said, with a pout on his face that would give Frannie a run for her money. "I saw you first, so it's only fair. I promise I can agree with everything you say, too."

"Are you guys brothers?" I asked. "You remind me so much of each other, but I'm not clear whether that's a berserker trait or genetics."

"Guilty," they said in unison.

"What's this about replacing me? I'm out of the room for five minutes and you're already looking for someone else," Frannie said with a little huff.

I had to do a double take to make sure Rick or Vinnie weren't throwing their voices. My idea about her using the glamouring thing and throwing on warmer clothes seemed highly plausible.

"Sorry, you know when someone sides with me on an issue that always puts them at the top of the list," I said, shrugging. "Usually you're right there agreeing, but you left the door open for someone else."

"Fair weather friend," she said, buttoning up a huge baby blue parka. I was fairly certain the parka had one of her eight suitcases all to itself.

"I don't think so, maybe fair weather best friend, but we'll always be friends," I said with a grin.

"You're impossible sometimes, Avery. There was a time that wasn't the case and I'm starting to think Vinnie has something to do with it."

She couldn't very well say Nate, since she didn't know how much anyone had been informed about our personal situation, but I had a feeling he was who she really meant.

"I know. I do it on purpose to see if I can drive any of the testosterone away. So far nothing has worked. That must mean I have to try harder."

"So is everyone ready? I'd like to make it back before dark," Nate said, coming over and grabbing my hand, ending the conversation.

"As fun as this has been, you're right. The trip is about two hours each way. With time in the middle for the girls to look around the town, we're looking to be gone at least six hours. We should head over to the shed that holds our transportation. We're going to have to hook up a sled to a couple of them to be able to transport the supplies back, so that will add even more time," Kyle said.

With no objections, we headed towards their airport, where a large shed housed their snowmobiles. They were all bright red, so there wasn't really an option on color. If I stayed there longer, I would've tried to get a custom paint job done.

"Just to double check, because I know it will make you giggle, Avery, are you sure you don't want to ride on the back of someone else's?" Liam asked. "I'm not saying it has to be someone with your group. Being your new best friend, I'd love for you to share a snowmobile with me."

I laughed for the heck of it. "You know very well a statement like that isn't going to make me giggle, Liam. Thank you ever so much for double checking, but I think I'll stick to my own. And if you think Nate is really as laid back as he seems as far as guys messing with me goes, I can dig up a dead body to show you what he does to people with an unhealthy interest in me."

Liam's smiled didn't disappear as they rode the eight snowmobiles out of the shed and grabbed two sleds to attach to the backs of the berserkers'. Once they were attached, they retrieved a ton of gas cans and loaded them up on one.

"It's always a good idea to have extra fuel. You don't want to get stuck out here. We'll also fill up some empties while we're in the big city," Joseph explained. It made perfect sense to me. Of course, over half of the party was able to change shape and probably travel just as fast as the snowmobiles, so I didn't think anyone was going to be stuck.

Everyone mounted their designated snowmobile and we started heading northeast. I was extremely glad I dressed in layers, because the roughly two hour ride was bitterly cold. I loved feeling the wind in my face, as long as it was above sixty degrees. The wind chills running into me felt like they were in the negative teens.

It took forever for the barren land to provide glimpses of buildings, and I couldn't wait to get into the warm indoors for a while before I had to turn around and head right back. When we found Elizabeth, I was going to have to sit her down and explain we just weren't made for cold weather climates. I remembered that she could regulate her heat differently than me, so I guessed that wasn't exactly true. Oh well, I'd still have the sit down with her to hopefully ensure any future visits were to somewhere a little warmer.

CHAPTER 11

Ready, set, wait for it

Bethel wasn't very big by my standards, but it was gigantic compared to Eek. When we made it into town, there were thousands of people standing around at what appeared to be a finish line. We got off our snowmobiles and I scanned the crowd for an idea of what was going on. At the same time, I kept my eyes open for anyone who matched the description Miranda had given us.

I didn't see anyone resembling a weaselly prick, who didn't have the guts to take on his victims without the assistance of an equalizer. I didn't condone becoming a serial killer, but if one were to take up the hobby, I thought they needed to be able to take their victims only after they defeated them in some kind of battle. It was a weird stance, and I had no idea why my mind thought about it at that moment.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking at the bundled up crowd. I thought the whole town was out celebrating something. My hope was that they were having a groundhog shadow seeing ceremony that indicated summer was coming within the next hour.

"Oh, it's just the finish of the K-300," Liam answered, like it was an everyday event. His tour guide responsibilities needed a little attention.

"And that would be?" I questioned, looking for a more detailed explanation.

"That, dollface, is the Kuskokwim 300. Kuskokwim being the name of the river you currently cannot see under all the snow and ice," Kyle informed me, while putting his arm around my shoulder.

"Please tell me you didn't just call me dollface," I said, glaring at him out of the corner of my eye.

"I think it's a great nickname for you, but if you want me to come up with something better, I can try," he said as he removed his arm and gave a little shrug.

With all my nicknames, I really didn't want another one. I determined guys had a special annoy females with nicknames gene. I thought my real name got used about once a week, and it was getting close to the point where I needed to tattoo it on my forehead so people didn't forget it.

"What exactly is a Kuskokwim 300?" I asked. "With the clues of it being the finish and the 300 part probably meaning distance of some sort, I gather it's a race."

"You would be right. It's kind of a big deal in dogsled racing. The conditions aren't always great, so it brings in the best mushers who want to try to tame the trail," Joseph replied.

"I bet my two dogs would be great in a dogsled race," I claimed, knowing that was the furthest thing from the truth. The little guys probably wouldn't even fit in the harnesses.

"Oh, you have dogs?" Joseph asked. "If I ever come visit you, do you think there'd be an issue with me being an alpha dog?" If my puppies didn't have a great disposition, it'd be a legitimate question.

I acted like I needed to think about it and was surprised that no one else had burst out laughing from my camp. I was pretty sure that my babies would run and hide from a dominant dog, but I couldn't help but tease, just a little bit.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea. They're vicious attack dogs and are very aggressive towards any authority figures. We could have a big dog fight on our hands." I was able to get that all out with a straight face. Miracles really do happen.

Rick couldn't hold it any longer, though. "Baby girl, you described yourself, not Romeo and Juliet."

"Ah, that must have been why I was able to say it with a straight face," I said laughing with him.

"Romeo and Juliet are bichons," Nate informed those not aware. "They don't have an aggressive bone in their body. I imagine if you came for a visit, they would spend the entire time hiding in their room, unless you gave them some kind of sign it was okay to come out."

"Yeah, they don't even have a problem when the kittens come for a visit," Rick added, indicating Frannie and Gary.

"You have two little cotton balls for dogs?" Liam asked. "Now that's pretty funny. You seem more like a pitbull type of girl, or a wolf. I could see you having a wolf for a pet."

I watched Joseph to see his reaction to that statement, but he didn't seem to mind. I thought about claiming I preferred berserkers, but I still didn't know what they were and I didn't want to give anyone the notion that I was looking for more pets.

"I don't need a big dog to back me up. I think their small size and fluffiness let's everyone know just how strong I am by myself. Plus, they were a housewarming gift from Rick. Since he lives with us, it would've been rude not to accept the gift."

I would have taken the little flufferbutts in even if Rick lived across the country. They were the cutest things and I always found it hilarious when they started blitzing around the room, running at full speed. We'd been trying to teach them tricks, but that wasn't going very well.

"Did I hear you right? They get their own room?" Kyle asked. "Can I move in with you too? If the dogs have their own room, the house must be larger than anything we have in any of the towns around here."

"Our house is bigger than all the houses in Eek put together," Nate said. "We don't have as many acres of land, but I feel secure with the layout of the place when it comes to safety."

He really loved the house and the secluded nature of it. The fact that we'd built it together over a hundred years prior probably had a lot to do with that. I'd grown to love it to, even though sometimes I missed the days of living by myself in my apartment.

"I don't know about size comparison to Eek, but it does have eight bedrooms. As you can imagine, I live on one side of the house and Rick lives on the other. That doesn't always help him from my sneak attacks, but we make do." I didn't want the house to sound too good. Although, I didn't think the news of me attacking whenever I felt like it would deter anyone in the group from moving in.

"I'm pretty sure everyone in the house is in danger when you decide to do a sneak attack," Vinnie said. "Every once in a while they backfire on her."

"Why does everyone always have to bring up the one time something didn't go as planned? It really isn't fair," I said, pouting. I couldn't believe they'd driven me to stick out my lower lip. "Anyway, the best room in the house is the state of the art gym. Surprisingly, enough, I'm allowed to fight in there without referees."

"She seems like a very violent person," Joseph said to Nate, not even whispering to pretend to hide the conversation. "Isn't there some kind of medicine out there that could help with that problem?"

"I don't think there's enough medicine in the world to make Avery less violent. Frankly, it'd be wrong to try to take that away from her. It really is a part of who she is," Nate replied. "It's one of the reasons I love her. She won't take crap from anyone, even me. Sometimes that's annoying, but I think everyone needs someone to serve as a balance, and we've always complimented each other that way."

I was surprised to hear he wouldn't change me. I would've thought he'd love to see me take it down a couple of notches. With all the talk of a war coming sometime in the future, I'd really stepped up my game in the physical aspects of protecting myself and that included ruining two punching bags.

"It sounds like the crowd is getting even more excited," Frannie said, grabbing my hand. "Let's go see the end of the race."

Not really interested in the race, I followed along. I'd noticed while we stood around conversing that Frannie had kept her eyes glued to the crowd of people, and with everyone wrapped up in layers, I didn't think she was checking out what everyone was wearing.

I didn't really know the three guys with us well, but I liked that when I saw them glancing away and followed where they were looking, the person receiving their attention was a man either displaying a bald head or had a hat on that could potentially cover one.

I almost ran over to the two people I saw not wearing a hat and asked them what was wrong with them, but I refrained. I didn't see anyone with earrings or a scar, so wasting energy questioning someone's common sense seemed useless.

"Tell me more about these types of races. I don't know anything about dog sledding. I mean I've heard of the Iditarod and know there are movies out there about it, but I haven't sat down to watch any of them," I said. I couldn't see through the crowd to what everyone was staring at. Frannie had threaded her way ahead of me, and I was fine watching her go.

"You mean you haven't seen _Balto_? I'm shocked," Liam said with mock surprise. I stuck my tongue out at him and immediately regretted it. It was too dang cold to be standing out there in the open. My need to act childish seemed to crop up at the worst times.

"Let's see. For this race in particular, it follows the river, it's three hundred miles long, the teams usually head out with around fourteen dogs, and it takes about two days to pass through all the checkpoints and get back here. That's about the gyst of it," Kyle informed me.

"It seems kind of boring to watch. I'm sure it's awesome to actually be a participant, but it doesn't seem like a spectator sport," I said. I loved dogs, but I didn't see why the spectators were so excited. It was kind of like golf for me. I just didn't get the appeal.

"We arrived too close to the end to see all the other things going on to keep people entertained while they wait. Whenever a leader's sighted close to the final leg, everything gets abandoned to watch. Being the first person to see the winner is almost a side game to the race."

Kyle's further explaining didn't make it more exciting for me. I wasn't in a position to play the side game, and I didn't care who won. I stood back with Nate's arms wrapped around me, waiting for things to be over so we could get our shopping done.

Not concerned with what was going on, I worked to send more messages out to Elizabeth. I didn't feel her around, which I had unrealistically hoped I would. There had to be a reason why she wasn't answering her phone and no one had any idea where she'd gone off to.

Since I did the cooking, I was needed on the supply trip, but if I'd been thinking things through, I should've suggested that at least two people stayed behind to canvas Eek. The trip to Alaska hadn't held the seriousness I thought a missing child should, but I remembered Tulip being one to drop everything to help someone. That fact seemed to be in the back of everyone's mind, even though we'd come into the situation thinking the worst.

As a full-grown adult, she had the right to do what she wanted with her life, but if she was aware of the kidnappings going on in town, she should've at least left a note. I didn't know the whole situation, so it was hard to really judge, but I was working up a scolding for when we found Elizabeth. I tried to remain positive and believe she was just off on her own.

After standing in the cold for twenty minutes, the leader crossed the line and everyone around me went crazy. I shouldn't say everyone, our group was kind of unaffected by the phenomenon. I wondered just how long all the other people had been standing out there. For me, it got boring quickly. I couldn't get through the crowds to pet the dogs, so that pretty much took all the allure out of it for me.

"Okay, now I can say I've seen a dogsled race. Can we get some food, so we can head back home?" I asked. I really didn't qualify what I'd seen as a race. There wasn't a second place finisher anywhere in sight, even standing around for an extra five to ten minutes as the crowd calmed.

"That's a good idea. We spent more time than we probably should have watching the race," Joseph said, leading the way through the crowd.

I'd never been to a grocery store out in the middle of the wilderness, at least not that I remembered, so I was hoping they had things I considered edible. I knew Elizabeth had chicken, but I didn't know how often they got in shipments. I hadn't done research on what other protein was available in the middle of nowhere, but I was particular about my protein, which made me anxious to see what I had to work with.

CHAPTER 12

You have died of dysentery

On our way over to Sammy's Market, I took in the various storefronts. I couldn't help compare things to the other small town I'd most recently been in, prior to Eek. There were similarities between Bethel and Vida. The whiteness of almost every house in Vida almost matched the snowy landscape of Bethel.

The big difference was that Bethel, as small as it was, was at least twice as big as Vida. The people didn't appear to be pompous idiots, which was a big improvement in my book. I hadn't had the chance to speak to anyone, but I doubted from the curious glances in our direction that anyone would look down their noses at us.

Kyle interrupted my evaluation by saying, "If you don't find something you want here, Swanson's is another option. We just know the owner of Sammy's, so we tend to go there."

"I don't think I'll need anything too crazy. I'm hoping we'll only need to get a couple days' worth of food. From the sound of things, we should have your missing people back tomorrow, and if we could just find Elizabeth, we can head back to warmer climates," I replied. "I don't know why it feels so much colder up here, but I don't remember being this cold back in New York."

"We don't make the trip up here more than once a week, so I recommend at least getting that much food," Kyle informed me. "And you could always start a fire if you need to keep warm. I didn't think the cold would be much of an issue for someone like you."

"What do you guys tend to do with your time?" Frannie asked, changing the subject before I could come up with a response. "There doesn't seem like there's a lot of stuff to do."

There was a second where Liam and Kyle looked partially confused, but they went with the flow. I could tell they filed the quick change away to bring up in a more private setting.

"You're right, and after living here for five years, we're getting a little bored," Liam said, which didn't surprise me. "Most of the town does a lot of reading and we have Internet now that keeps us occupied. The guys tend to find things to build or fix to keep busy."

"Where are all the hockey rinks? I thought that was a requirement in Alaska," I said. I'd always heard there were two things to do in Alaska, but I wasn't going to mention the other one.

"We have an annual game along with a town festival of sorts. It doesn't really have a set date, so we can make it the end of the week, if you'd like to see how we party," Joseph said. "We could use it to celebrate the return of our people."

"I'm sure you picked up what a party animal I am, but it would be fun to meet more of the different uniques you have living here. I'll probably meet most of them before that, but people don't usually warm up to me if I'm interrogating them, not that I have a lot of experience doing that, but I do need to check around to see if anyone has any idea where Elizabeth disappeared to." I imagined past me had met the different varieties, but they were all new to present me.

"Avery, you know what I like to eat, so Gary and I are going to take a little self-guided tour and see what the town has to offer. I think I saw a bed and breakfast that I'm interested in checking out," Frannie said as she started to drag Gary away. Frannie was turning into a subject changing pro, which worked as long as I wanted to start a new one.

"Okay, meet us back here in an hour, so we can start the trek back," I said as we stood out in front of the store. "Of the remaining folks, who will be eating what I make, anything in particular you want?"

"Do we get to try your cooking?" Liam asked.

I looked over to Nate and he shrugged. "I suppose if you want to, we won't stop you," I replied.

"Good, I'm tired of eating Kyle's cooking," he said.

"Hey, it isn't that bad," Kyle defended himself.

"No, you make great chili mac, but that's all you make. I need a little more variety," Liam explained.

I thought the answer to his problem was fairly simple. If he didn't like what his brother made, he should've took over the kitchen duties and made something himself. I didn't bother pointing that fact out, because I assumed he was smart enough to figure that out, and since he hadn't done anything about it, he was a horrible cook.

"With the weather so cold, I'm thinking a hearty chicken noodle soup with fresh bread is in order," Rick said. "I know that usually warms you up, Avery."

Rick only used my real name when he was trying to get on my good side. I didn't think that he necessarily was working that angle. It had gotten to the point where everyone around me had a nickname for me and to be unique, it required you to use my actual name. More than likely I was thinking about it too much, but I hoped it was a new trend.

"I like the idea for tonight. Any other requests, or am I just getting a bunch of stuff and making whatever sounds good on a given day."

The others in the group had better chances of knowing what was available to work with, so I reluctantly opened up the list for suggestions. I'd been doing better about providing food without input.

"You make the best stuff when we don't make requests, so I'm all for you just grabbing stuff," Nate said.

"Can I make one request, since I'm going to be sneaking into your house every night you are in town?" Kyle asked.

"Go ahead," I replied. Nate made a grumbling noise in his chest, warning Kyle to choose his words wisely.

"At some point can you make biscuits and gravy? It's been a long time since I've had what could be classified as home cooking," he said.

"Sure, no problem. I can make it tomorrow for breakfast, if you want to mysteriously appear on our doorstep around eight," I said. The time would give me enough to cook and make sure I didn't look like a zombie when they showed up.

"You know, dollface, I think I love you," he said as he picked me up and carried me into the store bridal style.

"That's my girl you got there, Kyle. Leaving my sight with her in your arms is hazardous to your health. Since I've had her cooking, I can understand your enthusiasm, but I'm not very lenient," Nate hollered after us.

"Don't worry, I'll return her soon enough," he said, taking me to the front of the store. "Hey, Sammy," he yelled, causing my ears to ring.

"Is that you, Kyle? What in the world are you yelling about?" a man said as he walked out of an office.

He was tall, like the rest of the men I was with. He had long black hair and blue eyes similar to my berserker companions. If he had blonde hair, I would've said he was also a berserker. In blue jeans and a short-sleeved black top, nothing screamed the man was a unique, but I had a feeling he wasn't human.

"I just want you to meet someone," Kyle told him.

"What ya got there? You finally find a little lady who will put up with your crap?" the man replied.

"You and I both wish," Kyle replied. "Sadly she's already spoken for. She's going to try to feed me actual food while she is around, though. I think that warrants an introduction."

The rest of the group had joined us and I was trying to find an escape route. "Kyle, quit hogging my best friend," Liam said, stealing me away from his brother.

"I can walk, you guys, or haven't you noticed?" I asked. "This isn't any different than me wanting to pilot my own snowmobile."

"But a queen such as yourself shouldn't have to," Liam said. "Guess what we have here, Sammy."

"A woman who's getting ready to kick you two straight to the moon," Sammy replied. My gut told me I was going to like Sammy.

"We have the phoenix queen, is what we have," Kyle said. I didn't know we were sharing that secret with the world.

"Do you now? I know Joseph, so I'm guessing one of the other gentlemen with you would be the king. I've heard they don't tend to travel separately," Sammy replied.

"That would be me," Nate said, stepping forward to shake his hand. "I'm Nate. The woman the knucklehead twins are fighting over is Avery. The other two men with us are Rick, Avery's protector and Vinnie, Avery's protector from another mother."

"I like the way you said that," I said, trying again to wiggle free. "I think I'm going to have to use that line myself."

"You have a famous actor as a protector?" Sammy asked. No one seemed concerned about my desire to stand on my own two feet.

"I'm not important enough for him to change his schedule that drastically. Vinnie is a brilliant robot and he was allowed to choose his own shell. I did talk him out of mimicking the voice, thankfully, just in case the real person shows up on our doorstep one day."

"He won't be showing up on the doorstep if I have anything to say about it," Nate said. "You can deny it all you like, but I know you have a crush on him."

"That remark deserves no comment," I replied.

"I'm going to assume my loud mouth sons have already relayed my name, so I won't bother introducing myself, even if tradition says I should. You'll find I like to be a rule breaker," Sammy said.

"Holy crap. You're their daddy? That's awesome. Is their mother around? If she's anything like mine, I'm sure she could tell me all sorts of dirt I could use to make sure they never pick me up again."

"Sadly their ma was human and died a very long time ago," he replied. He didn't sound too sad about it, so I didn't feel as bad as I probably should have.

"Sorry, I just thought that since you guys were berserkers that maybe she was one too."

"Nah. It's easy to forget that only men can be berserkers, and there hasn't been a new one born for centuries," Kyle said.

I felt like he was covering up my misstep of not knowing something I probably should have and he did it quite well. I knew he didn't know everything about my situation, but he'd overheard more than one conversation when I was lost and confused.

"I think most of the uniques have had trouble reproducing as of late. I haven't heard of a new one being born within the last couple centuries," Rick said.

"It's really too bad. The young ones are always fun to watch when they first realize they're special," Sammy said. "So I'm guessing you're here to do more than show me your new lady friend. What can I get for you guys?"

"Can I just ask one thing before we get to the meat and potatoes of our visit?" I asked.

"Sure, fire away. If it's dirt on the kids you want, nothing is off limits."

"I may ask about that later, but what I was wondering is why you have black hair. I know it's silly, but I noticed the eyes right away and thought berserker, but the hair threw me."

Sammy laughed. "I was just bored a couple days ago and decided to see what it looks like. I don't really like it, so I'll be changing it back to white soon," he responded.

"Good. I don't think the black matches your features very well. Anyway, we're visiting Eek for at least the next day or two and I need to get some food or they may all die of dysentery." I wondered if anyone would get the joke.

"Seriously, Oregon Trail?" Rick said. It figured. He always somehow understood my unique language.

"Freddie, I have to keep you on your toes. No one else understands my code speak like you do," I said. "Now, Liam put me down, so we can do something about the lack of food in my cupboards."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, finally lowering me.

"Lead me to the shopping carts and let's get this show on the road. I want to be home before it gets any darker, and I'm terrified what a trip through the store will be like with all of you." I rejoiced at the feel of floor beneath my feet.

"Right this way, your highness," Kyle said, directing me.

"You know I don't like that your highness crap," I remarked.

"It's that or dollface, take you pick," he retorted.

"Do you really think giving me a lame ultimatum will work in your favor? Maybe you should ask Rick what happens when he gives me a choice like that."

"I'm pretty sure I have a good idea," he replied as I took a shopping cart and started my trek through the store.

The store wasn't very large, but thankfully the order of chicken had come through. I got what I thought was enough groceries to feed our growing family and headed to the checkout. Somehow everyone else just stayed at the front of the store while I made my way around. I wasn't sure who I had to thank for that, but it made life easier.

I made Nate pay for everything, and then helped carry the items out to our waiting snowmobiles. Frannie and Gary were just arriving back. We couldn't have timed it better if we'd tried.

"I bought a bed and breakfast," Frannie exclaimed.

"Why in the world would you do that? You do remember this is Alaska, right?" I asked.

"I figured by the time you and Nate get married this resurrection Alaska will be the new Bermuda and you'll need a nice place to stay."

"You're always planning ahead," I said as I climbed onto my snowmobile.

Everyone else got on theirs and we headed back towards Eek. The way back seemed to go a lot faster. I wasn't sure why I always got that impression, but I was happy for it in that situation.

CHAPTER 13

Chicken noodle soup can accomplish miracles

When we got back to Elizabeth's, the house was dark, indicating she wasn't there waiting for us. I sent her another urgent message that she was needed at home, and then assisted taking the groceries in the house.

"Do you need any help in the kitchen?" Joseph asked as we walked in the door.

"If you want to help put the groceries away while I get to work on the bread, that would be appreciated," I responded.

Nate trotted over and gave me a kiss on my cheek, "I thought the kitchen was our special place."

"It is. He's just putting away groceries, not helping with the food preparation. I promise," I said as I gave him a quick peck on the lips to help reassure him that no one would replace him.

"Joseph, if I hear you two having a food fight, we're going to have problems," Nate called after us as we made our way to the kitchen.

"Don't worry, I'm too afraid Avery would beat me if I did," Joseph answered.

In the kitchen, I went to work getting out a bowl to mix the bread in. Elizabeth's lack of kitchen appliances left me missing my own kitchen. Usually I'd just throw the dough in the bread machine, or if it was for some reason busy, I'd put the dough hook on the stand mixer and let it do the work.

Without any equipment, I was left to do it the old-fashioned way of stirring and kneading. It was too bad I wasn't in a bad mood. When I was, kneading dough turned out to be therapeutic.

"Do you have any preference where I put things?" Joseph asked.

"As long as the cold stuff either goes in the refrigerator or freezer, I don't really mind. I can usually guess where anything else ends up," I said as I poured my measured flour into my bowl.

"Okay, just to warn you, I may end up hiding stuff for fun," he replied.

"No worries, I live with Rick, remember. He is the king of practical jokes."

"So about your living arrangements, do you think there'd be room for a wolf king in your midst? I already told you about my protective instincts towards you and I think that might have to do with the stuff you told me earlier today. I believe you'll need all the man power you can get in the coming months and I'm really looking for a change of scenery."

I'd just started getting my rhythm kneading the dough, and I paused to look up at him. "You'll have to clear it with Nate, but as long as any feelings stay protective in nature, I don't have a problem with an additional person in the house. I don't want you growling at my babies, though. One growl and you'll be out of there faster than you can say 'I'm sorry'." I doubted Nate would have any problems with added protection for me, so I was pretty sure I was looking at my new roommate.

"I see all the men already trying to be in your life romantically, and how you shut all of them down, even your soulmate. I don't want to deal with that, so I'm removing myself from the playing field at the very start. I'm also smart enough to know I don't have a chance with Nate in the picture."

"It's only Nate trying the whole romantic thing," I said, setting the bread by the oven to rise. Not ready to start the soup just yet, I leaned against the counter, so we could talk.

"I've only seen you around the men here and Sammy, but all of them have more than just a friendly interest in you. I know the berserkers won't do anything about it, other than flirt, because they respect soulmate bonds. I'm pretty sure your protector won't do anything either since Nate would skin him alive. The robot is another story. He isn't alive in the same sense as the rest of us, so I can't get a good read on his emotions, but you can tell whenever you're in a room because his eyes don't leave you."

"Do they have hallucinogens in the water up here? The berserkers are a bunch of flirts, you're right about that, and I hear almost every day how in love with me Vinnie is, even if it isn't true, but Rick liking me as more than a sparring partner is just insane." I planned on mentioning that to him later, so we could share the laugh. Even if he joked around by flirting, it was just to mess with Nate.

"Hey, I don't make up the emotions I sense off people. I know you've heard it at least once since you've been here, but whatever power you have coming off you attracts men to you."

"So far it seems to be attracting big, strong men, so maybe it's just recruiting for what we spoke about earlier," I said, trying to get rid of all the silly notions of me pretty much gathering a harem of studmuffins. "What about Gary? He's around me quite a bit and no one has ever accused him of liking me too much."

"You're right. Gary isn't one of your followers. I think it either has to do with the fact that he's already mated to Frannie, in case you didn't know their wedding is just a technicality, or the fact that although he's in good shape, he just isn't anywhere near as equipped to fight as the rest of us," he replied.

"Why in the world do I have to attract the testosterone laden freaks? That just isn't fair. I need more computer nerds in my life."

"I really can't see you hanging around computer nerds."

"I am a computer nerd. That's where Nate found me. In a basement, working as basically a legit hacker," I said, glaring at him a little as I saw his smile grow.

He started laughing, "Seriously? You were a computer nerd, this is just great."

"I'm glad I can amuse you. It isn't something in the past tense, though. I still spend a lot of time on the computer. If you haven't noticed, I kind of have my own robot. The only thing that has changed somewhat is that I'm not as shy as I used to be. Before, if you would've tried to talk to me, I wouldn't have been able to string two words together."

"I'm told I have that effect on some women," he said with another little laugh and a wink.

"I don't doubt that one bit. I'm surprised you don't have a little women waiting for you at home," I said as I decided to start cutting the vegetables for the soup.

"They actually let you handle knives? I thought they were joking about you drawing blood," he said, ignoring the little women statement.

"That's funny. A little known fact, that you'll find out if you spend any amount of time with me, is that I always carry multiple knives on me." I displayed my expertise with knives as I chopped up carrots and continued watching him.

He looked me up and down, then said, "Nope. I don't see anywhere they could be. Of course, you're wearing a few layers, so that probably makes them easier to hide."

"It would, but it doesn't matter. I have custom sheaths. Unless something is totally plastered to my skin, you shouldn't be able to find them. As you can imagine, I don't tend to wear tight clothing." I got out a big stock pot and poured a couple large containers of chicken broth in, followed by the vegetables.

Once those were set over a medium flame, I went to work on dicing chicken breasts. When they were all little perfect cubes, they got thrown in the pot too. I placed a lid on it and called it good. After about a half an hour I'd throw in the frozen egg noodles, but until then, I was in a holding pattern.

"So back to the little woman at home statement. You've been alive for quite a while, haven't you ever felt the connection with anyone?" I asked.

"Actually, the only person I've felt anything more than a whisper of appeal from, is you. We both know that isn't going anywhere, so it isn't something to dwell on. Your friend Rick has been around a while too and I don't see him attached," he commented.

"Yeah, whenever I ask him about that he just says he works too much to find someone. When whatever is supposed to happen does, I think I'll convince Nate he needs a vacation."

"You can try that, but I'm not sure his protective instincts will allow him to be away from you. I'm not even going to bring up the romantic stuff, but that man probably constantly monitors to make sure you're safe. I imagine that's just part of the whole missing for decades thing that both the guys are having trouble getting over," he said.

"Earlier today was the first time I've been left in a room without one of them, at least since Nate permanently planted himself in my world. Sometimes I feel special from all the protectiveness, other times I want to stab them both repeatedly."

I went over to check on the bread and saw that it was ready to transfer to what it'd be cooked on. Elizabeth didn't have a bread pan, so I molded it into a round loaf and put it on a cookie sheet. As much as I loved fresh bread, all the rising time drove me crazy.

"So, I have to ask. All this violence, were you always like that or just after Nate showed up? I don't have the full story, but it's sounding like things changed drastically when that event happened."

"That's a good word for it, but I carried the knives before him and spent time at the gym working out aggression. I will admit that it did get worse after we met."

"That's what I thought. There's a cure for the extra hostility, but I'm guessing from what little I know about you that you aren't going to like it."

"Like most of the guys in my life, I can imagine where your mind is and it isn't going to happen. Well, at least not anytime soon. I'm sure when my head is back on straight it will be one of the first things I want to do, but until then, I enjoy fighting with him about it."

The bread was getting close enough to its last rise being done that I decided to turn on the oven. Spinning around to face Joseph, I could tell by the smirk on his face that I was right about what he was going to suggest. It didn't matter what species a male was, all their minds seemed to be focused in on one thing.

"It looks like things are about done in here. I think I'll go check on the wild ones in the other room and make sure no fights have broken out," he said, heading for the door.

"I'm kind of surprised they left us alone this long. That usually means they're plotting against me. I should start moving objects around willy nilly just to make them reconsider whatever plan they thought was a good idea."

I was pretty sure Nate was testing Joseph, like he'd done earlier when he'd wandered off to get his coat. I was looking forward to talking after we lost our new friends for the night. Falling asleep immediately wasn't an option. I needed to know more about who we were dealing with and whether it was safe for me to keep running my mouth as far as not knowing things I should.

I'd already seen the berserkers sharing secret messages when I said something strange. They knew something was off about me, and even though they didn't need to know my backstory, I preferred if they didn't think I was a nutcase. I never used to care about that, but I was adapting to my new life.

"I'll make sure they get the message without you doing any damage to Elizabeth's home. Just give a shout when you need help carrying things, and I'll come running."

With that I was left alone in the room. Ah, peace and quiet. I didn't tend to find that often, and was fairly certain someone would appear to keep me company before I even finished a thought. I put the bread in the oven and gave the soup a quick stir to make sure the chicken was cooking properly. It had been in there long enough that there was no reason for it to be raw, but I liked to make sure everything was perfect.

As I put the lid back on the pot, I heard a throat clear softly from behind me and I turned around to see who got tasked with keeping an eye on me. At the back door was my littlest girl staring at me with a huge smile on her face.

"Mama, what are you doing in my kitchen?" Elizabeth asked, running towards me, arms outstretched for a hug. I was caught up in my shock for only a moment before I wrapped my arms around her and hugged with all my might.

CHAPTER 14

Butterfly, I believe we were meant to be

"Tulip, where in the world do you think you've been?" I asked as we danced around hugging. "Your father and oldest sister have been worried sick."

"Oh no, I forgot to call Sophia and let her know I was going to be delayed. I'll have to call her as soon as we're done talking. Last week I got a message that one of the unicorns that lives up near Nome got sick. They've never dealt with illness before and heard I was close by. I left as soon as I could, flying up there in phoenix form to help," she explained.

She unknowingly added another creature to my list of real mythical beings. At the same time, her words generated a handful of questions.

"Is everything okay? Does the unicorn still need help?" I asked. I really wanted to ask when I could go meet one myself, but I'd save that for later.

"Everything seems to be fine, it was just traumatic for them because, like I said, they've never been sick before. Mama, when I walked in you called me Tulip and you actually knew who I was. Did you have a recent vision that Daddy hasn't told me about?" she asked. "As far as I knew, you hadn't seen me yet."

"I'd love to give you more details, but we have company in the living room, so I don't know if it's the best time to go into details about recent events," I started before I was interrupted.

"Don't not tell her on my account," Kyle said from the doorway. "Your fiancé decided to trust me and Liam enough to fill us in on what was going on in your world, as if we didn't have our own assumptions. I came in to check on all the screaming. Nice to see you in one piece, Princess Lizzie." There was a lot of sarcasm in his voice.

She looked confused, "I try never to be in multiple pieces, but I'm guessing there's more significance to your statement."

"You've only been gone a week, so I'm sure you remember that some of the other members of the community have been missing. We thought they'd just decided to move without telling us, but it turns out they were kidnapped and tortured. We got Miranda back, and thanks to your mom she's going to be okay. Tomorrow we're heading out to try to rescue the rest of them and take care of the madman taking them," Kyle explained.

"That's horrible, but you said you healed Miranda, so that's amazing news. I'm not probably going to be good for the fighting, but I'm able to help with the injured. Just let me know what I need to do," Elizabeth responded.

The oven timer dinged, so I grabbed a hot pad and took the bread out of the oven. "Well it looks like soups on. We can ask and answer more questions while we eat," I said as I started cutting the bread.

"Come and get it!" Kyle yelled at the top of his lungs. It was going to be a surprise if the whole neighborhood didn't end up at the front door looking for food.

"Hey, sweetheart, how are you doing?" Nate asked as he walks through the door. "I felt you enter the house, but wanted to give your mother a chance to tell you her big news. I heard she was being cautious for once and didn't get a chance to tell you before loud mouth over here interrupted," he said, pointing to Kyle.

Elizabeth laughed. "Yeah, I figured something was up, but I'll let her tell me whatever it is when she gets a chance." She walked over to Frannie and stuck out her hand. "You must be Frannie. I've heard so much about you from Dad."

"Hmm. I don't believe he's ever mentioned you before," Frannie said with a giggle as she brought Elizabeth in for a hug. "This lug over here is my very soon to be husband, Gary."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you as well," she said as they shook hands.

"It's nice to finally match a face to a name," Gary replied.

"Hey, little ninja, it's good to see you home," Rick said, picking her up and swinging her around in circles.

"Uncle Rick, you put me down right this second. I just got in from a long flight and feel the need to keep my feet on the ground for a little while."

"Fine, you little party pooper," he said, setting her down. I saw his eyes darken for a split second while he kept a smile glued to his face.

Elizabeth carried on the conversation before I could question the look. "So I'm guessing it was you, Mom, who was sending me the S.O.S. messages to return home."

It was strange for me to study someone I could see a lot of myself in. Even with my memories of her intact, it was hard to believe I had a daughter who looked the same age as me. She'd said she had been flying around in phoenix form, but thankfully she must have had some spare clothes stashed somewhere, because the sweater and jeans she wore didn't have any singe marks.

"You didn't tell me you tried to contact her," Nate said.

"At first I couldn't because of the memory issue, then after this morning I thought maybe it was possible, so I sent a couple short messages. I didn't think they'd work, so I kept them to myself."

Vinnie picked that moment to walk into the room and Elizabeth did a double take. Her eyes lit up, and I was afraid she was going to start squealing like a fangirl.

"Don't ask," I said before she could open her mouth. "I'll try to explain him to you later."

"Baby girl, I still claim there isn't a logical way to explain him," Rick provided.

I glared at him. Sometimes it was hard to tell if he really felt animosity towards Vinnie, or if it was just him messing with me. I couldn't recall one nice thing he'd said about the robot.

"There is too. Elizabeth, for now all you need to know is this is my friend Vinnie. He's of the robotic nature."

"Darn. You mean he hasn't really been sitting in my house. I was so looking forward to taunting Sophia with that knowledge, since we both have a little bit of an unhealthy obsession. Vinnie, you wouldn't mind posing for a couple photos later would you?" she asked.

"I have no problem with pictures," Vinnie replied.

Nate pushed a thought in my direction about asking Vinnie to change his skin. Apparently, it was bad enough that I liked the actor, but adding in two of our daughters was over the line. I still claimed to not have any attraction, so I didn't see the problem.

"Good, that should be all the introductions, now can we get some food?" Liam asked. "You've been torturing us with all the smells for over an hour."

"Yes," I said as I grabbed bowls and started handing them out.

We formed a line and filled our bowls, and then headed back out to the living area we'd created to eat. The room was bigger than the one we'd visited with Miranda in, but with the addition of three large men, it felt just as small. At least I didn't have to sit on Nate's lap to eat.

"So, the thing I almost told you about earlier," I started to say after I took my first bite of soup. After battling the cold, I was starving. "I don't know if it's just being in your house or what, but last night I had a dream of you when your oldest sister and brother made you a little doll."

"Callie?" she asked.

"That would be the one. When I woke up, I was sad because I started thinking of all the things I'm missing from my memory. I went to the shoebox I'm sure your father has mentioned me having, and took out Callie to hold. The second I touched her I started seeing flashes of your life. Nate says I stood there at least five minutes without him being able to shake me out of the trance.

"When I did come to, I remembered everything about your life. Well, except for the last fifty years that I've been missing from. It would've been great to get those years filled in, but I guess it will give us plenty to talk about."

"That's how you knew to call me Tulip," she said. The smile on her face reminded me of Nate's, which made me smile a little in return. "So only memories of me, nothing else?"

"Currently it's only you. Don't you go using that information to try to convince your siblings that you are my favorite or anything. I won't know anything for sure until I start remembering them too." I gave her a little wink.

"You don't have to worry about that. We've always known who your favorite was."

"What? A mother shouldn't choose favorites amongst her children. That's just wrong," I said confused. I didn't know exactly what kind of mother I was, but I couldn't believe I'd make any of my children feel more important than the others.

"Well, he is your biggest child, so we don't mind too much," she replied, doing her best to confuse me further. The smirk on her face led me to believe it was a joke of some sort, but I wasn't getting it.

"She's talking about me, Avery, so don't get too worked up," Nate said.

"Are you sure? Because I'm pretty sure she meant me," Rick added.

"Everyone knows I meant Daddy, Uncle Rick. You'd have to be blind not to know how much they love each other."

Nate looked over at me with a twinkle in his eye. I groaned and shook my head.

"Yeah, yeah, I know we're deeply in love and shouldn't be separated a moment longer. I'm pretty sure I've heard it all before. The answer is still you just have to wait until I'm ready."

"I know, my little butterfly. I always have to laugh when someone points out how much you love me. I should've recorded that first time you woke up to find me on your couch as evidence of just how much you loved me. You couldn't kick me out of the apartment fast enough."

I didn't bother commenting on that, and worked to stuff my face with food. We finished dinner and I assigned Rick to do the dishes as further punishment for all the jokes he made at my expense. Gary decided to be nice and helped him out.

"So, it's getting late and you probably had a long flight. I'm not exactly sure where the unicorns are hanging out, but if they're close, I would've thought Nate would attempt to get on my good side by introducing me," I said to Elizabeth.

"Yeah, I tried to hurry home and I'm feeling the effects of it now."

"Well, I'm making the berserkers biscuits and gravy in the morning, so why don't we plan some time to talk and you can catch me up on what you've been up to the past few decades. Now that I have memories of you, I want to know everything."

"That sounds like a great idea, Mom," she said as she gave me a hug. "It's really nice to have you back. I haven't seen Dad this happy in a long time." Her lips briefly touched my cheek before she wandered off towards her room.

We saw Kyle, Liam and Joseph out the door and the rest of us decided to call it a night too. When Nate and I were changed into our pajamas, we snuggled into bed. He pulled me in close to him and gave my head a kiss.

"Everything is going to work out okay," he said, evidently picking up on a little anxiety I was feeling.

"I know. It's just sometimes a lot to take in. All these changes in my life are happening too quickly. It's strange to be cooking in the kitchen one moment, then turn around to see someone with your nose and eyes staring back at you. She has your smile though, which is good. It's one of my favorite features on that handsome face of yours."

"It's good that you qualified that by mentioning my face, because I know what your real favorite feature is." I smacked him playfully, but didn't try to escape his grasp. "I know things are still confusing, and if you didn't know it already, you have a lot of people here for you if you ever need us."

"Oh yeah, about having people there for me. We may be getting a new roommate if you okay it."

"I know. I monitored your conversation. Before you protest, remember that I've barely known Joseph a day and he had already told me he felt connected to you. I can't leave you alone with him, even if it is in the next room."

"I understand your reasoning in this case. Just don't think I won't mind you listening when you shouldn't be," I said as I started to fall asleep.

"I always try to give you as much freedom as I can. That's all I can promise you, my little butterfly. _Butterfly, shall we always be together? Butterfly, I do not mean, just here on earth, I mean until the stars stop shinning. Butterfly, I mean, until there is no moon ... no anything, but my Butterfly and I. Butterfly ... I think that we will. Butterfly, I believe that we were meant to be._ "

"That's really pretty." He'd dropped his voice to just a whisper and it sounded like a lullaby.

"I can't remember who wrote it, but it always reminds me of you," he said, giving me another kiss on the top of my head. "Now, go to sleep. You've had a busy day and I imagine tomorrow will be even more so."

CHAPTER 15

History is the version of the past people have agreed upon – most people

No new memories awaited me when I regained consciousness the next morning. I really hoped I didn't have to go to all my children's houses to recover memories of each of them. Not that I wouldn't love seeing the kids, I just didn't want to have to fly anywhere. Maybe I'd tell Nate we needed to have a big family reunion.

I got up and threw on a pair of jeans and a top that said _I'll get my toolkit_ and had a picture of duct tape on it. I wasn't going to try taking a shower with all the people in the house, and more showing up soon for breakfast.

Nate started to stir just as I finished dressing, "I'm going to go down and start breakfast. If you want to sleep a little while longer that's okay."

"No, I need to get up. After breakfast we're having a planning meeting to figure out how things are going to go down today. There's a lot of alpha males in the picture and we need to come to an agreement on who's in charge. I'm afraid that might take most of the day," he said, getting out of bed.

I walked over and gave him a quick kiss before heading downstairs. Nate had tried to hold on to me a little longer, but I reminded him hungry berserkers were on their way and he let me slip away. In the kitchen, Elizabeth was making a pot of coffee.

"Good morning, Tulip. How did you sleep last night?" I asked as I made my way to the cupboards to get out the biscuit ingredients.

"I slept great being back under my own roof. The unicorns are fun to be around, but they don't really cater to humanoid comfort."

"Until you mentioned them, I didn't realize they were real, so I know next to nothing about them. Coming to your little town here has been a very eye-opening experience for someone who barely knew phoenixes existed," I said as I started mixing the flour and butter in a bowl.

"I bet. I'll have to take you to meet them while you're here. We can make a quick daytrip out of it. I'd say we should do a just girls trip with Frannie, you and me, but I doubt Dad will let that fly."

"You'd be correct on that assumption. Mama doesn't get to leave the area where I'm able contact her telepathically, and I prefer her to remain in the same room."

I didn't look up from my work as I heard Nate join us. It was too early in the morning to waste by breath by telling him I could take care of myself.

"That's fine. I'm sure Daddy won't mind going up to Nome with us."

"Don't forget, Avery travels with an entourage now," Rick said, joining us. The kitchen wasn't big enough to take on anymore lollygaggers, so I hoped the rest of my entourage stayed in bed. "You have Nate, myself and Vinnie who are currently always within shouting distance. It seems like Joseph is going to be added to that mix and I wouldn't doubt it if you pick up the berserkers too."

"Pretty soon I'm going to ask you guys to just carry me around everywhere. If you're following me, I might as well put you to work," I said. I finished mixing, so it was on to rolling out the biscuits. "Mali, will you turn the oven on to four-fifty?" I asked as I used a glass to cut out the biscuits.

"I will," Nate answered, making his way to the oven. "You're going to have to tell me why you called me Mali though."

Hmm. I didn't pick up that I'd called him that. "I don't know where it came from; I just thought it sounded good."

"It does sound good. It's been what you've called me since I took my original name. You said you wanted to call me that because," he started before I interrupted.

"Because I always wanted you to remember where you started," I finished. I remembered he'd told me he was originally called Malik, and it made sense that at some point I'd dropped a letter for a nickname. "It's kind of funny. Every once in a while I get a strong urge to say or do something. Little glimpses of past thoughts. I guess this is just the first one I've ever acted on."

"Well, I for one can't wait until you remember everything," Rick said. "Then you'll remember what a jerk Nate is and run off with me."

I happened to glance at Elizabeth and saw the look of horror on her face from the comment.

I laughed at the look and what Rick had said. "Sorry, Freddie, but I'm guessing I'll be remembering just how annoying you really are. Why don't you guys get out of the kitchen and let the women get breakfast on the table."

"Yes ma'am," Nate said, smiling and guiding Rick out the door. "If you need anything just give a holler."

I finished making all my biscuit circles, put them on a cookie sheet and got them in the oven. After that, I grabbed a couple pounds of sausage from the fridge to start it cooking.

"So, where do you want to start filling me in on all the things I've missed in your life? Or am I that interesting to watch?" I asked Elizabeth. It'd been five minutes and she hadn't moved from her spot by the coffee pot. I didn't like the daggers I felt from her gaze.

"Sorry, it's still hard to believe you're actually back. I'm sure there probably wasn't anything major that you missed. You know how life goes. I'm still unattached and moved three times during that time. First to Melbourne, and then to Barcelona."

"And then for some reason you decided Alaska was the place to be?" I asked. The idea of being a phoenix in a cold weather climate still didn't compute, even if we could regulate our heat so we didn't feel the cold.

"There was a demand. A whole community of uniques needs a doctor. When you were shot, you don't think a human doctor stitched you up, do you?" she asked.

"I never even thought the doctor wasn't human. Of course, I didn't know I wasn't either, so I can use that as an excuse."

"We don't usually need doctors. We rarely get sick and we don't get a lot of injuries that don't eventually heal on their own, but there are times when we get injured in front of humans and that tends to mean a visit to the doctor. Thankfully, in most of the big cities there's always a unique doctor available," she explained.

"So what would a human doctor see if they were allowed to examine us?" For some reason I thought the doctors I'd seen were all humans who were trusted and specialized in people like me. I hadn't stopped to wonder if maybe they weren't human.

"It really depends what flavor of unique you are. Some of the stronger shifters can actually heal bullet wounds within minutes. You have nagas, which if you don't know, are snake beings, that are cold blooded. Really, with all the different kinds of things out there, it would probably drive a human doctor mad searching for all the possibilities," she said. It was making me a little insane just thinking about it.

"I need to get my hands on some books. I hear one of your brothers writes about uniques. You don't happen to have any of his books laying around do you?"

"Wayne does, and I do have some copies. I have to clear it with Dad, though. You know how crazy he is about you learning too much, too soon. He's driven that into each of us. I'm surprised he even told us you were alive until you remembered everything. It's been hard not to take an extended leave of absence to verify with my own eyes the stories are true."

"Yes, the dreaded T.M.T.S. I've stopped wasting time even saying the whole thing out loud. I'll convince him it's time and he'll listen to me or I'll find a way to rearrange his internal organs." The sausage was cooked through, so I added some milk, cornstarch, and some seasonings.

"I'm sure he would love that, but I'm pretty sure you don't have that ability, and it's probably for the best that you take things slow."

"You never know. I seem to gain new powers every day. I'm pretty handy at flipping Rick and hanging him by his toes. You missed my demonstration yesterday, by the way." I started getting plates out because the gravy was thickening and it would only be a few seconds before everything was ready.

"You don't happen to be doing encore performances of that show, are you? Seeing Uncle Rick hanging upside down might be fun." The mischief in her eyes was like looking in a mirror.

"No, it wouldn't," Rick yelled from the other room. "If you aren't careful, Elizabeth, you'll find yourself in the same situation. It's the little things that make her turn ornery."

"He's no fun," I said, not mentioning he was right. "So, isn't there anything interesting you can tell me about the time I was gone?"

"I'm pretty sure there was at least one or two decades in there that are better left forgotten. I imagine you've learned most of the historic events, like moon landings and presidential assassinations," she said.

"I was forced to go to school as a kid, so yeah, I'm down with all the boring stuff. What about your brothers and sisters, did anything cool happen in their lives that I should know about?"

"Nice try, but you know I'm forbidden to say anything that might trigger a sudden memory burst. All I can tell you is they're all doing well."

"Darn it." I had to try. Eventually I'd get someone to talk. I remembered Vinnie was collecting some information for me and we hadn't had a chance to discuss it. "Hey, Vinnie, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Avery, I can," he replied in his voice of the day. It was a little deeper than usual and I wasn't sure where he'd picked it up from.

"Could you come here a sec?" I asked.

"On my way," he said, walking through the doorway. "What can I do for you?"

"You were going to collect facts on the ghost orchid for me and I never had a chance to ask what you came up with."

"Oh yes. Judging by the talk of how rare the flower was, I decided they were speaking of the Eurasian ghost orchid. The American version is not quite as rare. The _epipogium aphyllum_ is becoming increasingly rare in Europe and Asia where it is from, if you couldn't tell by its name. They are parasites that live off fungal hosts because they lack chlorophyll. There's no research I could find on the effects of metabolizing the plant or introducing it to the blood stream. So I cannot provide further analysis," he reported.

"Thank you, Vinnie. I wonder if we can find a way to counteract what it's doing to the shifters. If it's as rare as you say, I'm hoping the crazy guy doesn't have unlimited quantities. We don't know how much he has to inject either. I'd love to get my hands on his supply, so we can do some hands-on research. "

"I would love to help with that," Elizabeth said. "I'm going to go grab some books from my room. Let me know when it's time to eat."

"The food is basically ready, but I can hold it for a little while if you want," I said. I thought the plates being out were a good indicator that I was ready to start dishing things up.

"Please do," she said, leaving the room.

"I don't like her," Vinnie said, catching me off guard.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked. "She isn't a guy, so there shouldn't be your usual issues."

"I cannot pinpoint the problem, but I just don't like her. When I figure out why that is, you'll be the first to know."

"Sometimes, I don't think you like anyone, Vinnie. Don't worry; we'll be going home soon enough. Then you'll only have to deal with the normal people you don't like."

"You're bringing home a new person, so we're going to have to adjust how things are at the house."

"Not really. I'm sure we'll just stick Joseph in a room and tell him to do whatever he wants. The house is big enough that one extra person isn't going to change anything."

Vinnie hadn't come far into the kitchen, only enough that he wasn't blocking the door. His face was showing mild agitation, which wasn't abnormal for the robot. He worried about everything.

"I think you're trusting these outside people too much. Right now we should be reinforcing your defenses, not adding more people we have to keep an eye on."

"I think adding Joseph to the mix will strengthen us. He acts like he'd be good in a fight and you know that's supposedly where we're heading. We need to start building an army to defeat whatever is coming our way," I explained.

"I know, but can't you get an army of strong ugly soldiers?" he asked.

"So that's the problem, you think I'll be attracted to Joseph. Don't worry, we've already discussed it and he isn't even going to try to get on my dance card."

"I've been around humanoids long enough to know they don't always say what they mean. I know you'll do what's best, though. I really think we should all sit down and discuss any future additions to our army, so the pros and cons are brought to light before decisions are made."

"I think that can be arranged. I imagine Nate would like me to clear things through him as well. I think the food has held for as long as it is going to. Are the guys here yet?" I asked.

"Yes, they're being nice and not just barging in the kitchen, but the smells were starting to get to them the last I saw."

"Great, everyone come and get it." I yelled as I got the biscuits out of the oven and set them on the counter.

CHAPTER 16

Operation Dark Monster

The kitchen turned into a tin of sardines as the guys started snatching plates, with Elizabeth taking up the rear. I just stood out of the way and let them do their thing. When they had their share, I took a plate and a couple of biscuits. From the fridge I got some strawberry jelly and put it on the biscuits. I headed to the sitting room where everyone else was digging in.

"Oh my goodness, this is so good. I think we're going to have to move to New York to live with you, Avery," Kyle said with his mouth full.

"Yup, I'm going to start packing now," Liam agreed. He actually closed his eyes, like he was savoring the food. It was nice to know your cooking was appreciated, not that Nate and Rick didn't voice their adoration of everything I made.

"Ha, I already have my bags packed and am just waiting to board the jet," Joseph said. I wasn't sure he'd show up for breakfast, but he claimed he needed to get used to my cooking. "So, where do you think my room is going to be?"

"I don't know. I think you can pretty much have your pick of the remaining rooms. I'd choose the room furthest away from Rick, but that's just me," I said.

"Wait a second, Joseph is actually going with you guys?" Liam asked. His plate was licked clean, literally, so his focus turned to the conversation. If there was still food involved, I doubted he'd have been paying attention.

"That's the rumor," Nate replied.

"Is there anything special he had to do to get this privilege?" Kyle asked. "Because we'd totally be ready for a change of venue and we want to keep dollface safe, too."

"Well, it has been decided my group has to have a team meeting before we add anyone new to our camp, so you'll have our decision within two days. I think that's the earliest I can see an opening in all of our schedules to discuss," I claimed.

"Even if you weren't joking, I can live with waiting two days for your decision. That is, as long as you don't decide to leave today after we're back from our mission. An extra day will help us prove to you we're good to have around. As surprising as it may be, we're more than just good-looking guys," Liam said.

"I think you said we have to stay for a party. Is that still going on as planned?" I asked. I wasn't touching the good-looking comment.

"Sure is. We told everyone else that in four days we're having the annual games. The day before the games we have a team picking contest if either of you want to try to make the hockey team," Liam directed the comment to Nate and Rick. "Sorry Vinnie, but a pulse is required for this game. I don't think there's ever been an official rule, but I'm making one now. The game can get violent and we wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"No worries," Vinnie replied. "Avery is fun to watch during hockey games, so I prefer to do that anyway. Plus, with my advanced mental capabilities, it'd be a little embarrassing for anyone on the other team."

"Is it conceited if it's true?" Rick asked. "I've played pool with him, and I don't doubt he'd take the same angles and measurement crap he used to humiliate me and work it into the game of hockey."

Vinnie only played pool a few times that I'd seen, and quickly became bored with it. He enjoyed showing off at first, but once he got a lab built to play in, he spent most of his free time coming up with ways to advance himself.

"Now, that everyone is fed, let's get down to business," Nate said, driving the conversation away from fun and games.

"Do we have a name for this operation?" I asked. I always loved the secret code mission names I saw in the movies. None of the missions I'd been involved with had them, as far as I knew.

"Sure," Nate said. "It's Operation Honeypot."

"Seriously? That's a horrible name." Nate and I watched all the same movies, so I knew he was aware I was going for something a little more dangerous sounding.

"Well, one of the missing is a bear. They like honey right?" Nate said, defending his stupid name.

"I'm pretty sure they like a lot of other things too. If that's what you're basing it on, why not Operation Fishkill?" I asked. I didn't like that name any better, but it at least had the word kill in it.

"Honeypot just sounded good. Anyway, we're going to have Miranda show us the way, and then she's going to run home. She's not a fighter and she has been through enough. She mentioned that she thought the man could be a warlock. If that's the case, we have to be prepared," Nate instructed.

It sounded like the person in charge had been discussed while I'd cooked breakfast. Nate had put on his "I'm in charge" pants and was running things. Working with him before, I didn't doubt that things would turn out that way, especially since the newcomers were trying to get on our good side.

"Okay, this is me playing the 'I don't know squat about the magical world' card. How would you describe a warlock, and are they different from say a wizard, witch or sorcerer?" I asked.

"Since we're speaking in the male sense, you can throw witch out of the equation. That's a term only for females. The other three words are used to describe different types of magic-wielders. A wizard is a person who has found a spellbook and uses the spells.

"A sorcerer is a person who doesn't need a spellbook, because they have a natural ability and can make their own spells happen. A warlock, on the other hand, is someone who has sold their soul to gain the ability that a sorcerer innately has. You can imagine what good comes from giving a soulless person the capacity to cast spells," Nate explained.

"Yeah, no good," Rick interjected. "Warlocks are nasty, but thankfully there aren't that many out there. Most people aren't smart enough to realize how easy it is to become magical. Those who want to dabble, tend to go the wizard route, and that has its limitations as far as how good the book you find is. Usually they're only harmless love spells that sorcerers like to inflict on the world."

"You said they sell their souls, to what the devil?" I asked. I got lost in Rick's explanation, so I decided to leave questions about it for a later date.

"No, just people who have set themselves up as gods over time. Usually, they're sorcerer shapeshifter hybrids who have lived long enough to make up some really good spells. As Rick alluded to, sorcerers aren't all bad, but there are some that let their power go to their head." Nate answered.

"Okay, so we're going up against a soulless guy who will throw magic our way. What's the plan?" I asked.

I was only prepared for human attackers, so I wasn't sure how to prepare for someone who'd use more than fists and normal weapons. Sure, I could throw some telekinesis at a unique attacker, but it seemed they were a little bit sturdier than what I was used to.

"Well, you could always just freeze him, and then we could hack him to bits. Alternatively you could throw fireballs at him and burn him to bits. Any way you look at it, I want him left in bits," Rick said.

There appeared to be a backstory that I was missing. I'd never heard Rick sound so ruthless, even after he'd spent hours interrogating murderers.

"I'd prefer it if Avery didn't go with us," Nate started. Seeing that I was about to interject, he held his hand up. "I know that's not possible, my little butterfly. I want you to promise to only fight with your current powers and not try to come up with new ones. I know it hasn't been an issue before, but in the heat of battle, finding new abilities can be a problem, especially against an opponent who could use them against you."

"I don't think that will be a problem. I've developed the powers I have enough that I can't think of a situation where I'd need to get creative or dream up something new."

"Good, you'll have your knives, and Rick and I will have our guns. Last I knew, berserkers didn't really need weapons and a wolf king is a weapon by himself. I think we should be plenty able to handle one person, so I think we'll let Gary and Frannie sit this one out."

"Yeah, even though I know she has some abilities, I don't think I can imagine Frannie putting herself in a situation where she might break a nail," I said. "What about Vinnie, is he coming? And how sure are we that it's only one person?"

"We aren't sure, but warlocks don't hang out with people who harness the same amount of power as they do. We might run into some minions, but part of the minion job description is that they're expendable. As far as Vinnie goes, if you don't mind, Vinnie, I'd like you to stay behind and do that research we discussed," Nate told him.

"I think that would be a good idea. Being in a fighting situation would take my processor time away from it," he replied.

Great. I thought I was the only one who gave Vinnie special research projects. I knew that if Nate asked Vinnie for something, it had to be important, and I was curious to find out what they were keeping from me. I assumed they were keeping it from everyone else, too, so I didn't open the floor to questions.

"So, while we finish getting mentally ready for the task at hand, do either of you two brothers have anything to say to pad the case for you moving to New York with us?" I asked. "You do realize that we can't stop you from moving to the city. All we can say is you can't live in our house."

"We can't get breakfast if we don't live with you. We're potty trained, can clean up after ourselves, can fight like ghosts, we have better hair than your current collection of men and are really good at scaring away door-to-door salesmen," Kyle replied. "In addition, we have excellent taste in music, movies and sports, can build you an ark if needed and have the prettiest blue eyes you have ever seen."

The last point was delivered with a wink. I was happy to hear they were potty trained. I was looking for roommates, not people I had to take care of.

"Well, you got me with that last one; no one has blue eyes quite like yours. The rest has been recorded away mentally for me to replay when we get together to make the decision," I said.

"Avery," I heard Nate say to me telepathically. "Why are you teasing them? You know you're going to let them come."

"Well, yeah, but I have a plan," I said back to him so no one else could hear. "It's going to be great, just you wait and see. Plus, I promised Vinnie we'd all be included in talks when it came to taking on new roommates."

"He was upset about Joseph, wasn't he?"

"He wasn't thrilled, but he'll live with it. Anyway, tomorrow morning I will need your guys' help with my plan." I messaged back.

"You and plans are always dangerous."

"If they aren't about you, there's nothing for you to worry about," I said, finishing our private conversation. I didn't add that not all my plans were dangerous. It turned out only about a third of them caused major problems.

"I'm going to start taking the dishes to the kitchen, so we can get everything cleaned up before we go. Are there any takers for doing the dishes?" I asked.

The room went dead quiet and I couldn't get anyone to meet my eyes. Fine. I thought it was a little unfair for the chef to have to do the cleanup, but I could handle it. For fun, I stacked all the plates together in my hand, and then floated the plates behind me into the kitchen. The kitchen didn't have a dishwasher, so everything was done by hand.

I made quick work of the dishes, and since I hadn't been taught the whole body heat regulation thingy, I was stuck bundling in layers before we set out. I decided not to use as many as I had the day before, and just put on a sweatshirt, thick socks and boots. My cozy winter coat went on over the sweatshirt. The lack of adding the extra layers had more to do with time than the fact I was likely going to freeze my butt off.

I walked back downstairs and said, "Let's get this show on the road." Not surprisingly, everyone going jumped to attention.

CHAPTER 17

When the music changes, so does the dance

We left Elizabeth, Vinnie and the sleepyheads and made our way over to Miranda's. The snow outside was indented with our tracks from the day before, and I could literally retrace my steps, which I of course did. Kyle knocked on the door and Miranda quickly answered it, not surprised to see us standing there.

"Good morning, guys," she said, ushering us in. "Let me just finish putting my boots on and I'll be ready to go."

We stood around waiting for her to finish. It was clear the house was actually hers, which I hadn't been sure of. I still didn't find anything that made the home personal, and I wondered if all the houses were like that. Elizabeth's had the doctor setup that said she lived there, but I hadn't seen any photos or anything that said something about the person who lived there.

"The place I was being held is up by Eek Lake. So it's about twenty miles away. What mode of transportation do you think is best?" Miranda asked.

I thought teleportation would be best, but I supposed that wasn't an ability anyone in the present company had. I wasn't sure if I'd prefer that ability or invisibility better. I needed to add to my list of things to do some tests to see if I was capable of doing either of them.

"I think walking would take just a little bit too long," Rick gave his two cents.

"I think we'll take the snowmobiles for most of the way and then walk the last few miles. We probably won't get there for about an hour, even walking that little, but we want to have whatever element of surprise we can get." Kyle said.

We headed over to the snowmobile shed. The guys attached a sled to Liam's snowmobile to carry extra gas. After we got a general heading from Miranda, we fired the snowmobiles up and took off. It was a little warmer, so I wasn't cursing the day snow was invented, or created if that word works better for you.

On the way to the secret hideaway, Nate and I decided to do some mental conversing. I'd gotten the hang of the snowmobile controls and my eyes had adapted to the snowy landscape, which meant he wasn't worried about me running into a tree.

"So, what evil plans do you have in place for the berserkers before you give them their answer?" he asked.

I could come up with all sorts of fun things to hassle the brothers with, but my idea was pretty simple. I thought asking them to wrestle a tiger or something would be a bit too exciting for them.

"I think it would be fun to come up with a list of everything that will be required of them if they make the move," I replied. "Mostly silly stuff like washing Winnie for me and other chores around the house."

"I could see that turning into an interesting list. You should let Rick help you. I imagine he has all sorts of good ideas, and he knows a little bit more about berserkers' personalities, which will help you figure out how far to take things."

He wanted me to work with Rick and not himself? That was a little weird, but not totally out of the blue. I could tell there were other things on his mind.

"The things he comes up with might scare them away, but I'll ask him what he thinks when things settle down. Everything okay with you?"

"Everything's perfect. No new memories overnight?" he asked, changing the subject.

He knew I could tell when he was lying, and something wasn't right about his perfect comment. He was known for hiding things from me, but I couldn't think of a new thing worth deceiving me.

"No, which is probably good. Yesterday was a major workload." Getting that whole block back was really cool, but it was just memories of one person in millennia worth of little moments, so I knew there was so much more I was still forgetting.

"You know, with the threats happening here to the uniques, I think it might be time to teach you how to shift. In a fighting situation, being able to shift and fly away might come in handy," he said, more than likely still working to get me away from the topic of what was on his mind.

I looked over at him. "Are you serious? That would be great. How soon are you willing to try this out? Do I have to wait until we get home or will you let me try while we're here?"

He smiled. "You'll probably practice in both places, but I'd be okay with showing you as soon as things calm down here."

I did a happy dance in my head. All the powers had been great, but to supposedly be able to change form and not be allowed to, wasn't cool. Especially since I'd seen him change before, so I had an idea of the freedom I was missing. Maybe we'd have to move somewhere more remote, so I could spend my afternoons soaring through the air. They kept telling me that once I could fly on my own I'd love it. I was willing to test the theory immediately.

"I was hoping we could figure out what happened with your resurrection and why it went crazy before you attempted a change, but I think we're running out of time. Now that we're dealing with a warlock and all this talk of some war, it makes me wonder if someone said some kind of spell that was supposed to either kill or contain you, and that's what caused the abnormality."

Neither of those options sounded great to me. I guessed I was kind of contained for a little while, so maybe I was just awesome enough to break free from the bonds. My mind started to drift a little and the reality in front of me changed.

Instead of the snow, I was looking at myself standing in a ball of fire. I couldn't see it very clearly, but my lips were definitely moving. I started getting thoughts coming across that told me what was going on. As the scene played out, the fire increased until eventually it and myself were gone.

"Avery!" I heard Nate shout both mentally and vocally.

I shook my head, coming back to reality and saw that my snowmobile had gone off course. I brought it to a stop and caught my breath. During any previous vision-type scenes, the world had always stopped around me.

"What in the world was that?" Kyle asked as everyone made their way to me.

"That was different," I said.

I wasn't sure how to describe it to people who may not have been clued in on the fun things that happened in my life. I didn't think Nate had enough time while I was out of the room to go into great detail about my visions.

"Why do you say that?" Nate asked.

"Usually, as you've witnessed, things stop around me for one. This is the first time life went on when I was having a vision. The other thing that was different is that I wasn't in my former self. I was watching it like a movie. Oh, and to answer your question Nate, I was the one that said the spell," I informed him.

"What are you talking about?" Rick asked.

"During my last resurrection I said a spell just before the fire consumed me. I don't know the exact words, but that's the reason why things were different. I needed this time to be different so I could prepare," I explained.

"Prepare for what?" Liam asked.

"The war. I remember my general thoughts leading up to those final moments. It isn't a war just against phoenixes, like we were hoping. It's a war against all uniques. I have a feeling these abductions are just the start of it. I remember seeing a vision that showed a final battle."

I looked over at Rick, and melancholy briefly seized my chest, because in the vision it sure looked like he was dying. I vowed to do everything in my power to make sure that didn't happen. Not wanting anyone to pick up on my emotions, I brought myself out of my funk before I let it settle.

"So, do you know who this battle is against?" Nate asked.

"The person heading it is one of those warlock shifter hybrids. I'm not certain of his name, but I'm pretty sure the shifter part of him is a big cat, like a tiger, but not the current day version of the model. Something bigger than what we see today and, with the warlock capabilities, way meaner."

I wasn't sure I trusted what my mind told me, which was a little unnerving. Something was telling me that maybe it wasn't a hybrid. I didn't know exactly where I got the information to begin with, so I didn't know if it was the source I questioned or what. I imagined whoever the opponent was, he or she was just as bad as what I'd described, so I didn't say anything about my doubt.

"Do you remember anything about the weapon that can kill us?" Rick asked. "That's what really has me concerned. Any information we can get about it is more important than the person we're fighting. If we can find it and destroy it, the war is over."

"Yes. It's most definitely a knife. He has been enchanting it over the years and believes he finally has the spell worked out. Supposedly, I did something similar to the knife we found in the shoebox during the days leading up to me going into the fire. It's the only weapon we have that can kill him."

I loved being able to pass along useful information, but I hated how bleak things looked. I'd done everything I could to make things winnable on our side. It didn't change how powerful the person we were up against was. I didn't have all my memories on the subject, but I knew things were going to be difficult.

"Do you think the guy we're going after now is this person? Should we go back and get the knife?" Rick asked.

"That isn't an issue. I have it with us," Nate told everyone.

It didn't surprise me. With all the people who'd been coming and going in the house, it was best to keep it close by.

"It's good that it's safe, but will be unnecessary for this trip. This guy is just one of his worker bees. I suspect he has people like him working anywhere there is a high concentration of uniques. They're trying to whittle down any troops who could fight against them."

"It's a good plan on their part, but we need to figure out a way to stop it," Nate said. "I'm still stuck on the part where you said you were the one who said the spell. You haven't ever used magic before."

"I don't have any answers that would comfort you. I know I cast the spell on the knife and when I was starting my resurrection I said something that caused me to come back a little altered, but I don't even know what I said, or exactly what it did."

I was glad I'd finally done something that was confusing to Nate. It made me feel not so alone in the bemused department.

"I'm not sure what you guys are talking about, but we still have about five more miles before you are close enough to walk," Miranda said.

"We better get on with it then. I'd like to get the rescuing work out of the way, so we can have some lunch," Liam said.

"Is that all you ever think about?" I asked.

"Nope, but I had a mighty good breakfast and I'm thinking you can whip something equally as good for lunch," he replied. I had a feeling our food budget was about to skyrocket.

Even though at least half of us wanted to continue trying to figure out what my most recent memory meant, we got back on our way and before long we made it to the spot Miranda thought was close enough to walk, but far enough away he wouldn't hear us coming. We parked our transportation so she could fill us in on where to go.

"Okay, you're going to head east for two miles and then turn towards the north for another mile. If I'm remembering everything correctly, you should run into an old abandoned cabin right about then. That's where I remember being taken. Are you sure I can't go with you guys? I'm supposed to help protect the queen," she said.

Not that stuff again, I thought to myself. Miranda didn't look any more defenseless than I did, but I didn't think for a second she'd be great in a fight.

"You're going to leave and go back home, and that's an order," I commanded. If she wanted to make a point that I was a queen, I'd use that against her and start issuing orders. "You're still healing and you don't need to worry about me."

"Fine," she said, reluctantly getting on her snowmobile to leave. "If you find you need anything, you've already spoken to me telepathically once, so just give a shout and I'll turn around."

"I will," I said, waving as she turned her snowmobile the other direction. "Let's get to walking boys."

We headed off in the direction she indicated, hoping the warlock hadn't planted any traps or alarms that would let him know we were coming.

CHAPTER 18

What do you do when all the psychos in the world turn against you?

We slowly made our way through the snow, keeping an eye out for any traps. It wouldn't do any good for the rescuers to get injured during the rescue attempt. I was klutzy enough that the possibility was greater than normal. We decided to travel in silence in case our voices carried through the wilderness. I couldn't even hear the snow crunching under the large bodies surrounding me.

Getting a little bored, I elected to strike up a conversation mentally with Rick and Nate for fun. Between all of our powers, we were able to have our own little conference calls.

"So, I'm thinking I didn't give up my soul. With that reasoning, do you guys think I'm some kind of sorceress?" I asked.

"You're different. Taking on sorceress abilities might be why you don't feel the same. If it's as simple as that, I'd be happy. I haven't heard of any phoenixes wielding that kind of magic, so I'm not sure it's possible," Rick said.

"How would I test the theory?"

"I believe you already have. Your amplified powers and being able to do pretty much anything you want if you concentrate on it, are not phoenix powers. Rick said he wasn't sure it was possible, but I contend that we've already seen it with our own eyes." Nate said.

"Are you upset about that?" I asked him.

"No. I'm actually thrilled. I've always told you I'm all for anything that makes you stronger. It doesn't really make you a different person, just adds some extra fighting power. And just so you know, if you magically turned into a squirrel one day, I would still love you."

"What about you, Freddie? Would you consider me some kind of mutant if it turns out I have sorceress magic flowing through my blood?"

"As far as I see it, it will probably make my job as your protector a lot easier. Except for when you decide to use it against me. Which it seems you do every day already," he replied. "As long as you don't turn against us, there shouldn't be an issue, but I'm kind of rooting for you to turn into a squirrel. That would be pretty funny."

"Sweetheart, it really isn't that big of a deal. We know eventually you'll remember everything and be able to fill in any of the missing blanks. You'll still be our queen and everyone will still love you," Nate said.

I wasn't so sure about that. Power had a way of changing people, and the people without the power tended to see things differently. I thought the things I could do were cool, but if there were more to come, I was afraid where things would lead.

Kyle signaled us to change directions. It wouldn't be long until we could see the cabin. I had no idea what we were walking into. Miranda said there were more uniques being held there than the three missing from Eek, but she didn't have a report on their conditions. If the warlock had gotten word that we'd fixed Miranda, he might have killed everyone and moved on to the next town.

After ten minutes, I got my first glimpse of the cabin to our right. I wished we were speaking out loud, because I really wanted to ask if anyone had an ability that could tell us how many people were in the cabin. Some hand gestures were passed around the guys that I had no clue what they meant. My repertoire of hand gestures tended to be hockey penalty calls.

"They mean we're getting ready to surround the cabin," Nate telepathically informed me. "You'll stay behind me at all times until we have a feel for what we're dealing with."

"I was pretty sure we already knew we were dealing with a lunatic," I replied.

As the others circled the house, we headed for the front door. When we got there, Nate stopped to listen. I did the same, but heard nothing. He slowly reached out and turned the knob to open the door. Inside I saw a room with cages lining the far wall and six bodies on the floor with their hearts cut out.

"Oh no," I said out loud, tired of worrying about who could hear us. It looked like we were too late to do any rescuing.

"Shh, it will be okay," Nate said as he whistled.

There were no other rooms to the cabin, so the warlock couldn't have escaped. The rest of the guys started coming through the door behind us.

"I didn't see anything. No people, no tracks, no nothing," Liam said while the other guys all repeated the same general sentiment.

"Something must have tipped him off," Nate said.

"Why do you say that?" I asked. "Maybe he was just done here. He did already kill everyone." Since I'd thought the same thing, I didn't need to get clarification, but I wondered if his reasoning differed from mine.

"They aren't dead," Rick said, walking over to check on one of the bodies.

"They don't look too healthy to me," I stated.

"They're all shifters, Avery, just like Miranda. They've been here less time than her and are already starting to regrow their hearts. If they were able to shift, they could do it faster, but they still have the ghost orchid in their system," Joseph said.

"Do you want me to try to bring their animals out like I did with Miranda?" I asked.

I was pretty sure I could do it again fairly easily. Six was a lot more than two, but there was no energy drain or anything when I called out the foxes.

"Let's take a look at their statuses and see. I can feel a couple of them are birds, so I know they aren't anywhere near as bad," Nate said.

"I feel a hyena and a wolf amongst them. If I were to make predictions, I would say within an hour they should be well enough to move," Joseph added.

To me, they still looked dead. I thought I should focus my energies more on developing the powers I had instead of coming up with new ones, so I knew what was normal for me. I said should; I doubted I'd follow through immediately though, because the new ones were just so much fun.

"So what do we do?" I asked. "What are the odds the warlock is coming back?"

"I doubt that very much," Nate said. "We still need to keep our guard up, but I think we're safe to hang around until they can move."

"Okay, well looking around, it doesn't seem he left us many clues on where he was going," I said. "You would've thought he would be decent enough to leave a forwarding address. How do you think he knew we were coming anyway? I didn't see anything we could have triggered on the way in."

"Let's hope our friends here can give us some indication on how he knew," Rick said. "Because it's starting to bother me. I didn't feel any spells activate as we were walking up and I'm pretty sure he's been gone for close to an hour judging by the conditions of the bodies. I don't think his hearing is good enough to hear snowmobiles from this far away, but I don't know his strength."

"Yeah, there's something that just isn't making sense," Kyle agreed.

There were meaningful glances passed around the guys before we studied every nook and cranny of the cabin and found nothing that helped answer our questions. After about thirty minutes, the first of the victims started mumbling and fidgeting.

"God damn it, that hurt!" he yelled as he tried to sit up.

"I'm not sure you should be moving around too much just yet," Liam told him. "I can't say from experience, but having one's heart removed is probably akin to major surgery, even for uniques."

That was the understatement of the year, I thought to myself. My worst injury had been bullet wounds and I thought I was going to die from them. I couldn't imagine having your heart ripped out.

"What happened here?" Nate asked, not allowing the guy to get too comfortable.

"I don't really know. All of a sudden the guy comes in mumbling to himself. That was odd by itself because before that moment he never spoke. I actually thought he wasn't able to. He took out a dart gun and started shooting each of us with that stuff that paralyzes us, and then grabbed me out of my cell.

"He threw me on the ground and started carving up my chest with a big knife. Let me just tell you, that is not something you want to be conscious during. As soon as my heart was out, so was I. I don't know what happened between that point and now, but it seems he gave everybody a turn with the knife," he said, looking around.

"As we thought, something must have tipped him off that we were on our way. Either he's stronger than I expected and hid the warning bells, or he has someone working with him," Rick said.

"Yeah, but who would that be? I can't see another unique siding with him to kill us," Joseph said.

"I'm sure we all have ideas about what could be going on, but we don't know how secure the room is, so let's keep them to ourselves. Until we can find this guy and confirm our suspicions, just realize he's probably going to be one step ahead of us," Nate said.

Great, I hated when he was all mysterious. At least I was pretty sure the weirdness and lie about everything being okay wasn't necessarily something about me.

"So, are these people the ones you were missing?" I asked. I hated the idea that there were more people out there potentially going through the same thing.

"Yes, Jim is the one that's already awake. He's the missing hawk from our town," Kyle said. "Over there," he said pointing, "is Carol. She's the hyena. The missing bear, Shane, is right in front of you."

"The other three are an eagle, a wolf and a lion. They go by Haley, Fred and Michael, respectively," Jim informed us.

"Well, even though the circumstances could be better, it's nice to meet you, Jim. I'm Avery," I said, and then proceeded to introduce Nate and Rick.

"You aren't from around these parts, where do you come into this mess," he asked.

"Well, you happen to be looking at royalty," Kyle said, making me want to kick him. "These are the doc's parents. They got worried when she couldn't be reached and decided to come check things out. I bet you didn't know our Lizzie was a princess to the phoenixes."

Jim looked up in shock. Yeah, I kind of had that effect on people. I couldn't wait for the time when everyone would just get used to me and Nate being whatever it was that made them think we were super special. I wanted to believe it was Nate's fault for being the king, but everyone we met focused in on me.

"You're really the queen of the phoenixes?" Jim asked.

"That's what they tell me," I answered.

I didn't get it. Nate was the first one created. I thought that was way more awesome than just being his spouse.

"It's an honor to meet you," he said to me before adding a little belatedly, "both."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, too," Nate said with a laugh. The laugh was more at my reaction to being a novelty than the fact that I'd found another person who focused in on me.

More of the injured uniques started stirring. We got basically the same stories out of all of them until the last one finally woke. She was the eagle, Haley.

After a little yelling about the pain, her eyes focused on me and said, "He had a message for you."

"Me?" I asked looking around the room, hoping she really meant someone else.

"I'm guessing it is you. He said, 'Tell the woman that I will wait two days for her to try and find me. If she comes alone, maybe we can end this war before it even starts.' Then he proceeded to cut out my heart."

"But he isn't even the big poobah. What would he hope to accomplish by meeting me?" I asked. A part of me hoped the warlock had expected another female to show up for the rescue, but the mention of the war wiped that away.

"Avery, I think it's obvious," Nate said. "He thinks if he can kill you, not only will it get him in good with his boss, but I suspect the minions are probably being told the war will be over as soon as you die."

"What in the world did I do to this guy? Did I turn him into a bug or something in a past life, and then squish him?" I asked.

"I already told you, you didn't use sorceress powers in a past life. I don't know what the guy's problem is. Maybe he's seen some prophecy he doesn't want to happen. You never really know what's going on in a psycho's mind," Nate replied.

"So how soon before we can get out of here?" I queried. "It seems I have an evil warlock to find before he does any more damage."

CHAPTER 19

O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!

"Avery, you do know I'm not going to allow you to go after the guy alone, right?" Nate didn't need to ask, but he did anyway.

I didn't figure he would, which meant someone had better come up with a good idea for taking the warlock down. If they didn't, I was going to find a way to get away and handle the problem myself.

"Of course I wouldn't think about going after an unknown by myself," I told him. "I want him to be stopped, though, so you better come up with a plan."

"The wheels are already turning in my mind. I think we can figure something out where you can get the bad guy and not endanger yourself," he replied.

"You better hope so." I had my own ideas turning in my mind if I needed to get away because he wasn't moving quickly enough.

"I'm way past ready to get out of this cabin," Jim said.

The others mumbled their agreements, so we helped them up and started the walk back to the snowmobiles. The atmosphere had turned even tenser than it had been when we were on our way to the cabin. Hearing what amounted to a direct threat to my life made Nate and Rick take on their demeanor that indicated they wanted to kill something.

"Sorry, but you guys are going to have to walk a few miles to get to the transportation," Kyle said.

In the shape they were in just an hour ago, I was still shocked they were even up walking around. It made me curious why I'd been knocked out in the hospital for two little bullet wounds.

"I think we'll be fine. I'm feeling at least eighty percent," Hayley said.

We made the long trek back to the snowmobiles without any problems. We had six snowmobiles to get twelve people home, so that meant there was going to have to be some doubling up.

I didn't remember all the shifters names, but Jim rode behind me and Rick got Haley. Nate got the bear; Kyle, the hyena; Liam got the lion and Joseph got the wolf. I was going to have to buy everyone nametags, or come up with nicknames based on their species. I thought they might be offended if I yelled "Hey, hyena, how ya doing?"

On the way back, we weren't as worried about talking out loud, so we were able to have vocal conversations. The conversation kind of echoed around the wilderness surrounding us, so I hoped they knew what they were doing.

"So, you guys said the doc is missing. Have you been able to find her? I don't think she was caught by the guy that was holding us," Jim said.

"It turns out it was just a misunderstanding. She had to go help the unicorns and forgot to cancel an appointment before she left," I explained.

"That's good. She may be busy for a while when we return," he replied. "I don't think there's permanent damage, but I'm not the expert."

"Where does everyone call home?" Liam asked.

"We live about twenty miles west of Eek, in Tuntutuliak. It isn't an all unique town, but there are probably thirty or forty of us. After talking with Jim, Carol and Shane we've been thinking about maybe moving, so we don't have to hide who we really are. It has to be freeing not to have to worry if you run faster than you should or make purring noises when you're happy," the lion said.

"Living in Eek isn't bad, but after living around here for a while, things can get a bit tedious. We're having our annual games in a few days. You should come and check them out. It's basically just a big party with a hockey game and a carnival type atmosphere," Kyle said. "It would give you a chance to meet all us crazies before making a decision on a move."

"We might just have to take you up on that," Haley said.

Hearing Kyle mention a carnival made me think about kids. I hadn't seen any kids around town, so I decided to ask Nate about it telepathically.

"Nate, why haven't I seen any unique kids?"

"I remember one of us mentioned it briefly recently, but uniques have had a lot of problems reproducing for a while now. We haven't found a reason for it, but it has been depressing some couples and most have given up trying."

"Do you think it could be part of this war?" I asked. "Maybe the warlock shifter did some kind of spell that doesn't allow us to have kids."

"Could be, we really don't know what he's capable of. You're the one with the most knowledge on the subject, so if you can't answer the question, I doubt anyone else can."

"Hey, Avery," Liam said in a sing-songy voice, breaking up our conversation.

"What Liam?" I replied.

"Looks like we are going to be back in time for lunch. What are you going to make me?" he asked.

"I think a rock stew may be in order for you, but I haven't been able to find enough rocks," I said, sticking my tongue out at him. "Lunch usually isn't a big meal part of the day, so how about some chicken salad sandwiches and chips? The real question is, how soon after lunch are you going to be asking about supper?"

"Hey, I'm a growing boy," he said. As huge as he already was, I couldn't imagine him getting any bigger.

"Well, I'll warn you, everyone is going to be helping out with supper," I replied.

"Are you sure there'll be enough room?" Nate asked. I could tell he didn't like my idea. "Elizabeth's kitchen isn't as big as ours."

"We'll make due. I have to try to get Liam and Kyle better prepared to feed themselves in case anything ever happens to me," I said. It was meant as a joke, but it wasn't the best time to tell it.

"As your protector, I just want to go on record that I don't like the way you just said that," Rick said.

"I wasn't really meaning if I die, but what if we vote and decide they don't get to come with us, or if I'm called away on some assignment?" I asked, throwing some ideas out there.

"I'm pretty sure they'd follow you around on any mission, and you know you're going to let them come with us," Rick replied.

"I know nothing of the sort," I retorted. "Vinnie wants to be included on the decision and I haven't had a chance to speak with him yet. What do you think he's going to have to say about the idea?"

"Yeah, that might be a tough sell. He probably won't want you bringing more men in the house. Is it a vote? I think it might pass if we can bring it to a vote," Rick said.

"We'll discuss it tonight after everyone leaves," Nate said. Good, I didn't want Rick to push it right that second. I needed time to prepare my list of demands.

"So, any more thoughts on your plan?" I asked Nate. I was chomping at the bit to get the guy out of the way before the end of the day. I had an issue being forced to look over my shoulder.

"Yes, we're going to get everyone back to Eek, and then have a meeting to discuss what I think should be our plan of action," he replied.

"No hints at all? What's up with you and all these meetings?" I asked rhetorically as I sped up, hoping everyone else would do the same.

We made it back to Eek quickly and got the six injured uniques in to see Elizabeth. While they were being tended to, we grabbed Vinnie and the finally awake Frannie and Gary and headed outside.

"So how did things go?" Frannie asked.

"The rescue was a success, but the evil villain is out there hiding, waiting for Avery to come play with him," Rick said.

"Oh, how fun for you, Avery," she replied sarcastically. "Are you keeping track of all the evil masterminds that you get caught up with?"

"Don't worry. Nate has a plan. I'm sure he's getting ready to tell us just what that plan is, so we can cross this guy off the list and move on to the next," I said.

"The first question I have is do you have any uniques who are good trackers?" Nate focused on the berserkers as he asked his question. I would've thought the wolf king was a good option, but I didn't know what berserkers were.

"You're looking at one of the bests," Liam said. "I'm good at tracking energy and it seems this guy should output a pretty good signature. I haven't felt it today, but I'm sure I'll feel it when he's close by."

"Great. That's mainly what we're looking for. We'll all go together until you pick up the signature. Then we'll let Avery go on ahead to give the sense she came alone. Avery, sweetie, you're going to try to keep him occupied while we surround him as quietly as we can. I know he has powers, so we have to watch out for alarms," he explained.

I about fainted. He was actually planning on letting me go in by myself. I thought about having Elizabeth check out his head to make sure he hadn't hit it on something, but I didn't want him changing his mind.

"Seems easy enough. How does one go about killing a warlock? They are killable, right?" I asked.

"Yes, they aren't like uniques, but you do have to cut off their heads and burn their body and head separately. The head is probably enough, but we like to be extra careful. Their powers come from 'gods', so we want to make sure they can't be brought back with a spell," Nate replied.

"I did mention I wanted him in bits," Rick said. "I wasn't joking."

"Okay, so when do you want to head out?" Kyle asked.

"Well, I think we better get some lunch, so Liam doesn't starve and he can keep his mind on the task. After that, I think we should get this over with as soon as possible," Nate said. "I won't get any sleep until I know there isn't a threat lurking right out my window looking for my wife."

I wanted to remind him we weren't technically married, but I left it alone. In times of danger, our relationship always elevated from the fiancé status.

"Sounds good to me," Liam said.

We headed into the house and I made the chicken salad quickly. The rest of my group scarfed it down, but I was too busy thinking about Nate's plan to really eat. I wished I knew more about warlocks, so I knew what I was heading into. It was just another thing to add to my growing list of things to do research on. When I was finally allowed in the library with all the secret books, I wasn't going to come out for days, maybe months.

When they were done eating, we started the trip back to Eek Lake. We figured if he wanted to be found he'd stay in that general area. About ten miles out, Liam stopped us.

"I'm picking up an energy signature that I didn't feel earlier today. It's about five miles to the west of here away from the cabin," he said.

"I think we can safely walk three of those miles before breaking up and forming our circle," Nate said. "At that point, you should be able to better pinpoint his location, right?"

"Yes, two miles out he'll probably be glowing for me. Don't worry, Avery. You're still the strongest person I've ever met. From what I'm feeling, this guy has nothing on you," Liam replied.

We headed in the general direction Liam indicated. We walked in silence, not even mental conversations were taking place, because we wanted to keep on our toes and watch for any early warning alarms. I didn't have any clue what I was looking for, so I just walked along.

After almost an hour, we hit the spot where we had to separate. Still not speaking, Liam came and stood behind me and pointed me a certain way. Evidently if I followed the path, I'd meet the person who would like to end my life. At least one of the people anyway.

I gave Nate a quick kiss and took off down the path. After twenty-five minutes, I felt a sort of pressure change and saw almost like a transparent blue wall that appeared to encircle a thirty foot circle around me. I didn't take the new structure as a good sign.

A man stepped out behind a tree towards the other side of the wall. He smiled and said, "Well, if it isn't the queen of the phoenixes. I'm so happy you could join me, and just in case you decided to bring any friends, I've ensured this encounter will be private."

He swept he hands around to indicate the wall was probably going to keep the guys out. I didn't know if he'd ever met my friends, but I was hoping not even a magical wall could keep Nate away from me. I didn't like the idea of my first standoff with a person not exactly human happening without a little backup.

CHAPTER 20

Off with his head

Before I had a chance to open my mouth, the guy shot a blue ball of energy at me, hitting me in the stomach. I wasn't expecting it and it felt like more than a mild tickle.

"Ouch, you jerk," I said, rubbing my stomach. "That stung."

There was nothing special about the man standing before me. He was a little on the short side, maybe five-four and wearing a black cloak. He had brown hair and brown eyes. I wouldn't call him attractive, but I lived in a house with Nate and a robot who looked like a movie star, so I was used to pretty boys.

"It was supposed to do a little bit more than sting, fair queen," he replied. I'd figured as much, but I didn't say the 'duh' I thought in my head out loud.

"Who are you and what's your issue with me anyway?" I asked.

"So you don't know. That will make this so much sweeter. The war won't have to happen, because you'll never gain your full powers. Master will stop worrying and our lives can go back to normal," he said. "Oh, and you can call me Alexander if you must. I don't think you'll be around long enough to have to worry about having a proper conversation, though."

"Alex, I think you and your master are delusional. Why have you been trying to kill the shifters in this area?" I asked.

Before we got down to really fighting, I wanted to get as much information out of him as possible. I had my mental powers that I'd been practicing and three knives. I was sure some of his powers could limit some of my telekinesis, if he saw it coming, but I was hoping I could get close enough to use the knives.

"It's Alexander," he said a little testily. "Master sent us out to try to get your attention. If you had your full powers, you would've been able to feel the shifters in distress. From the sounds of it, you don't even have all of your memories back yet. We've been getting reports that you were slowly gaining them. We hoped to have you tracked before you got too many more. Lucky me, I was the one to figure out you were nearby, so that means I get the privilege of killing you."

"That doesn't sound like much of a privilege to me. What makes you think you can even beat me? It isn't like I'm totally powerless. In fact, there's a rumor that I can't actually be killed."

He studied me for a while, trying to see through my bluff. I didn't think I was bluffing, but no one really knew whether I could be killed or not, and I liked the idea that I couldn't.

"Without your full powers, you may be weak enough that it could be possible. That's all that matters. The orders are try to kill you before you get stronger. Master would've loved for one of us to bring you to him alive, so he could do the job himself, but he said he'd settle for your head," he said with a smile.

Little did he know, I happened to enjoy where my head was currently sitting. I also thought his would look better on fire.

He threw another one of his energy balls at me, but I ducked out of the way behind a tree. While I tried to think of the best method for dealing with the guy, I grabbed both of my throwing knives out of my front thigh sheaths. Having them in my hands was a bit of a comfort. I had magical abilities, but knife fighting was where I started out, and it was my go to offense.

I peeked out from behind the tree to see if he had moved. He was walking forward, working his way to try to flank me. I adjusted the knife in my right hand, so I was holding it upside down by the tip. I quickly brought my arm up and back as I hurled the knife in his direction.

With his body somewhat turned away from me, he wasn't expecting the knife, so it embedded itself into his right side, around where his liver was located. If I didn't presume he was hard to kill, I would've consider it a big victory.

"Ouch, you filthy hen, that hurts," he said, turning to face me. He didn't worry about taking the knife out, which was a little disappointing. He acted like it was more or less a bee sting.

"Well, you know what they say about payback. I'm already tired of playing around. Why don't you show me what you got," I said, stepping out from the tree.

When it came to fighting, I tried to show no fear. Inside, I felt the fear, but it wasn't really for my death. I honestly didn't think Alex could kill me. I didn't know where the fear was coming from, but it was trying to creep out, so I bottled it down.

"You want it, you got it," he said, shooting a red stream of energy at me. It reminded me of a flamethrower jetting fire at me. Anything similar to fire was a bad idea to bring to a fight against a phoenix. Well, at least against a phoenix who was really good at manipulating fire.

I was screwed up in a lot of areas, but fire was my toy. I concentrated and redirected the red energy straight up in the air, without moving a muscle. Before long, he realized he needed to change tactics and stopped the flow of energy.

"I really hope you have something more in your bag of tricks," I taunted.

"No worries, there's plenty more for me to try," he said as he lowered his hands and the ground started to vibrate.

Ice daggers began to hover in front of him. It was odd how all of them seemed to be pointed in my direction. I thought they'd look better pointed at him. He started launching them quickly at me. I tried to dodge them, but eventually one hit me in the leg. It didn't embed too deep, so it wouldn't impede me, but it still stung.

Tired of running, I put a thin heat barrier around me. There wasn't anything visible, but the air around me was at least a hundred degrees, causing the ice daggers to melt before they could get to me. I made note to remember the trick for any future outdoor activities, so I could look cool running around in a t-shirt.

I'd seen blue energy, red energy and ice, and so far there hadn't been any issues. I thought I was doing way better than anyone expected against the great unknown force. Maybe everyone but Liam, he'd said he knew I had the upper hand in the power department.

"It seems I'm going to have to bring out the big guns," he told me. Unless he had actual guns, I wasn't too scared.

I was sick of being on defense. It was time for offense. I tried to concentrate on getting him to levitate off the ground. He didn't seem to cooperate, though. In fact, it looked like he was laughing.

"That won't work with me," he said.

I gave him my mean look and shrugged. Like Nate had once done, he laughed when I squinted my eyes and tried to kill him with just the look. I didn't understand why people didn't believe I could hurt them.

"Fine, try this," I said as I made my own little fireball and launched it at him. He was able to stop it in midair and send it back my way. I put out the fire before it got too close. That pretty much did it for me and magical abilities.

I realized that I hadn't heard Nate yelling at me, so I assumed the blue circle was also keeping thoughts out. I wanted to get rid of it. Changing tactics a little, I started launching the fireballs towards the wall. I created a giant fireball and launched it into twenty directions. It hit and started making small holes. It was going to take a while if I continued using the method of small balls in every direction.

I didn't have time to divide my attention, so I refocused back on the warlock. I worked my way closer as he stood watching me. His face lacked any concern, but to me that just indicated he didn't know me very well.

I had two knives left, one of them already in my hand, and it seemed the magical stuff ended up leaving us at a draw. My plan was to finish things hand-to-hand.

He tried shooting the blue balls at me as I approached, but I deflected them without a thought. Surprisingly, he never backed up and when I got within touching distance, I curled my right hand into a fist punched him square on the jaw. Ha, bet he didn't see that one coming.

I launched myself on him and tried to stab him as many times as I could with my knife. I moved it to my right hand for its better stabbing ability. It seemed the warlock was all magic and had no clue how to fight. After about ten stabs, he was able to launch the knife away from my hand and knock me backwards.

"You'd think your master would teach you how to fight. The world is full of scary people, if you haven't heard, and chances are there's always someone stronger than you," I said, teasing him.

He tried to take a quick inventory of all his cuts, while I returned to a standing position. He looked like a pissed off cat had used him for a scratching post. His dark clothes covered the blood, but they didn't instantly knit back together to hide my handiwork.

"There's no need for us to fight in such a prehistoric fashion. The world of the future will bow to our superior fighting methods," he said. Oh goody, it sounded like the "master" had ideas of taking over the world.

"I really hate to burst your bubble, but you haven't impressed me so far," I said as I tried to find a way to get behind him.

I had one last knife and I'd been saving it because it was the only one I could possibly take his head with, unless I wanted to spend all day sawing. I assumed a quick beheading was the only kind that would work, so getting a clean hack was important.

He started with another barrage of energy balls, trying to change it up by having them come from behind me. After that first hit, they weren't effective and I was a little saddened that they seemed to be all he had to offer. The icicle trick had been more amusing, but evidently he was partial to blue.

I couldn't communicate telepathically outside the circle, but I wondered if I could pick up something from his mind to help me. As I deflected energy balls, I started listening in. Evidently, his barriers to fight against the telekinesis didn't protect his thoughts.

_I really need to end this now, but I'm not sure what else I have to go against her. The spell keeps her telekinesis from being used against me, so I just need to find a way to get my magic through to her._

_I wonder if that spell Master told me would work against her. It's worth a try. He said to only try it if things weren't looking good. Things don't look bad, but this is getting monotonous and I can't wait to carry her head back to Master._

As he was pondering using the spell, I'd found it in his mind and started to mumble it myself. It was probably the dumbest thing I'd ever done, but I was surprised I was able to actually get it from his mind, so I was going with it. Usually, I could only get active thoughts, and the exact words weren't actively going through his mind.

I wasn't sure if just thinking it was enough, but on TV they usually said things out loud. I didn't know exactly what the spell would do, but the way I saw it was if he was going to try to use it against me, he deserved whatever he was about to get. When I finished the spell, I felt the energy in our bubble change drastically.

"What have you done?" he screamed. The energy balls stopped coming and he fell to the ground. "How did you find that spell? The Master created it, you shouldn't have known it. I was supposed to use it against you to give me temporary control of your powers, but I wasn't sure if you were too strong for it to be used against you without it backfiring."

"Sorry, don't know what to tell you," I said as I tried to figure out exactly what I did.

The blue wall came crashing down, and not wasting any time since he was weakened, I ran towards him and grabbed the machete that was in my back sheath. When I got to him, he was curled in a ball.

It seemed a little unfair to kill him, but he mentioned the spell was only temporary. I quickly raised the knife up and brought it down as hard as I could, trying to sever his head from his neck. I didn't have enough force to get it done, but Kyle ran over and snatched the machete from me to finish the job.
CHAPTER 21

Son of a bleep, oh wait sorry mom

Thankfully I didn't have a weak stomach, because Kyle was taking great joy in hacking Alex to bits. Nate came over to me and wrapped me in a big hug. He started kissing my face all over, ending with a very thorough tongue wrestle.

"How badly are you hurt?" he asked, stepping a little away from me, but keeping me held in a hug.

"On a scale of one to ten, maybe a two. He caught me off guard and hit me with an energy ball, but I don't think that did any damage. I have a cut on my leg; other than that, I think I fought everything else off," I assured him.

"Are you sure nothing else got through, and the energy ball didn't cause any damage?" he asked.

"Not even a mark on my shirt from where it hit. He was hoping it'd do more damage, and I was happy to expertly deflect the hundreds that followed."

"Hey, Avery, you want to help with the burning part of the killing a warlock equation?" Kyle asked, finished with his chopping expedition. I didn't expect there was a lot of Alex left.

"Sure. What do you want me to do?" I asked. I hadn't been able to separate his head from his shoulders, but I could catch him on fire.

He kicked the detached head, so it was about twenty feet away from the body. I unwrapped myself from Nate and walked over to the headless body. The snow around it was soaked in blood.

"You can burn the pieces now that they're separate," he answered.

I looked at Kyle and saw a light glow around his body. I was checking to see if he'd made a mess of himself while he worked, but I wasn't expecting the glow. He saw me studying it and shrugged his shoulders. I left it alone and moved on to my task at hand.

I concentrated and produced a nice little fireball in my hand. I usually tended to just think the fire into existence where I wanted it to burn, but creating the fireball, and then hurling it was just a tad more personal. I made short work at catching all the pieces on fire and verified sure not even a drop of blood was left unscorched.

"You sure you're okay, baby girl?" Rick asked as he took my hand.

"Yeah, warlocks aren't that tough. He had a spell that stopped my telekinetic abilities from working on him. If that wasn't in place, the fighting would've been over within seconds," I told him.

"So did he spill all his secrets on what's going on?" Liam asked.

"He was a little talkative, but no real specifics. There are people out there doing similar things, all trying to get my attention. It sounds like his 'master', as he called him, wants to take over the world, but for some reason I'm in the way. The master has issued orders to his minions to find me and kill me while I'm still weak. He told me if I had my full powers, I would've been able to feel the uniques' pain."

"That's a new one. You were always strong, but you never felt other people like that. I'm guessing he wasn't kind enough to explain that theory," Nate said.

"For some reason he just wasn't that accommodating," I said.

"I'm curious how you ended up beating him. I didn't get a good look before blood-thirsty Kyle moved in," Joseph said.

"Even though the telekinesis wasn't able to get through, I could still read his mind. I found a spell he was thinking about using on me and I just used it first. It was meant to take away someone's power and that's apparently what it did, because the energy balls stopped and the wall dropped."

"You guys ready to get out of here?" Rick asked. "I'd really like to get back to the house before any other surprises, like a giant bubble blocking us, magically appear. Just in case you're wondering, if a message says you're supposed to go somewhere alone, I'm going to be glued to your side. We tried it the other way once, and no matter the outcome, the ulcer I got tells me it ain't happening again."

Nate didn't have to tell me he felt the same way. It was still a mystery why he'd let me go off on my own. There had to be a story behind his lapse in sanity.

Everyone was in agreement that we wanted to get out of there, so we rambled back to the snowmobiles. By the time we reached them, I was a little pooped from the walking and fighting of the day. Thankfully for the rest of the trip I could sit back and let the snowmobile do all the work.

"So, any more hints on what we're having for dinner?" Liam asked.

"Can you seriously be thinking about food after that mess you just saw?" I asked him.

"It's your fault. Before you came around I actually thought about all sorts of boring stuff. Then you show up promising home-cooked meals and everything changed," he replied.

"If you come back to New York with us, I'm going to have to keep you busy, so you can put your mind to good use." I was sure he'd be interesting to spar with. It'd probably take some convincing to make that dream come true, but I'd been practicing my puppy dog eyes.

"I imagine New York has a lot more to do than Eek does, so maybe that won't be much of a challenge," he replied.

"Since we've met, you seem to be keeping yourself plenty busy," Rick said.

"Well, we have you guys to thank for that. I think that's part of the reason why we want to go with you. You guys live such interesting lives," Kyle said. "It's been a long time since our skills have been useful."

"It usually isn't like this. In fact, we really like to live low-key lives. I was even more low-key before Nate found me. All this excitement is new to me," I informed them. I didn't want them to get their hopes up that we went around looking for fights on a daily basis.

"I don't think you're going to be able to go back to low-key after this. Uniques around the world are going to find out what's going on and I'm sure they'll be uniting behind you," Joseph said.

"Why do they have to unite behind me? I think they'd be in much better condition if they followed one of you guys. I barely know who I am."

"You've been named a key player by the opposition, so that bumps you to the top. We have no problem standing behind you as lieutenants," Nate told me and I wished I was in a position where I could kick him.

"Really? Because a couple of you are kings among your kind. I can't imagine you want to sit back as some woman takes over."

"There's not a woman out there who I'd rather stand behind," Joseph said, and the rest of the group mumbled their agreement.

"Whatever," I said. "Let's just get back to the house and we can discuss this mess later. I'm going to ask Elizabeth to check each of you for brain damage."

We made it back to town relatively quickly. I shut off the snowmobile and went to get off, but before I could Nate was there picking me up.

"What are you doing?" I asked. "I'm capable of walking and I'm going to have a shirt made indicating that."

"I know, sweetheart. I just want to get that leg looked at. The bad guy thought you could be killed, so I want to make sure you get it disinfected and sewn up, if it needs it," he replied.

"You do remember I just walked miles in the wilderness and I'm still alive," I pointed out. Sometimes he really didn't make a lick of sense.

"Let him be, Avery. He was still in shock at that point," Rick said. "You should've seen him freaking out when he couldn't get into that bubble. That was a scary fifteen minutes for him, and it's definitely not something I want to witness again."

"Fine," I said, being carried into the house.

"What happened?" Frannie asked the second she saw me. She and Gary were hanging out in the sitting area. She rushed over, worry spread across her face.

"See, your craziness is scaring Frannie," I told Nate. "Nothing happened, other than a little scratch. Nate is just being his overprotective self. You've seen how he gets. I'm lucky I'm not prone to paper cuts, because he'd wrap me in bubble wrap."

"Frannie, would you mind taking a look?" Nate asked. "I imagine Elizabeth is busy with the others still."

"I think she's sent everyone home, but if you want I can do it," she replied.

"Please, I don't want to have to bother her," he dropped me off and headed back outside.

"It really isn't anything. Just a little scratch. I'm surprised he just dropped me off after making a big deal about making me get it looked at."

"That's because he knows I have mad skills. Now, just sit still a second and I'll get you all healed."

I did as I was instructed and she inspected the cut. It was only about a quarter of an inch long and just skin deep. I'd cut myself worse shaving. I didn't see any dirt around the area, even after walking and riding home.

"You're right, this is nothing. I'll go ahead and seal it, though, to make Nate feel better," she said.

She held her hand over the cut and I felt the skin start to warm slightly. She mumbled a few words, and then removed her hand. I looked down and saw no sign of the cut.

"Wow. That's awesome. What did you do?" I asked, amazed that the cut had totally vanished.

"Oh, nothing really. It's just one of the benefits of being Cat Sidhe, or Faie in general. We have healing powers." She shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal. Evidently to her it wasn't, and if I had all my marbles it probably wouldn't be for me. "So what happened out there?"

"Can you ask later? I'm really tired. The short version would be that the bad guy was killed and we didn't learn much to help us find the guy calling the shots," I replied.

"No one else got hurt?" Gary asked. He'd been sitting off to the side, watching his fiancé slash mate work. "If something made its way through to you, I would've thought there'd be other injuries."

"No one else was involved in the fighting," I answered, yawning. I knew I felt tired, but I hadn't thought I was close to falling asleep where I sat.

"Okay, no more questions. Off to bed with you," Frannie said, shooing me out of the room.

I made my climb up the stairs. I didn't bother changing my clothes, and just crashed on the bed, falling asleep immediately. When I started to dream it was similar to the one I had about Elizabeth when she was a child.

_I'm in a one-room hut by myself, sewing up holes in clothing. In my past lives, I was way too domestic for my liking. As I continue unwillingly sewing, I hear some noises outside. I put the sewing down and go out to investigate._

_I make my way out of the hut; evidently doors weren't big in whatever time period or location I am in. Outside I find a little boy talking with Rick. I check the mental database and know the boy is Omar, my first son._

_" Mama," he says running towards me. "Look what Uncle Zaccheus got for me." He holds out his little hand to show me the jacks I have sitting in the shoebox. Maybe this means I will get more memories when I wake up._

_" That's great," I tell him._

_" Omar, why don't you run along and play with your friends," Rick tells him. Omar follows the suggestion and runs along._

_" So, baby girl, what have you been up to today?" he asks me._

_" You know I hate when you use that nickname. Why after all of these years do you insist on calling me that?" I ask._

_" Sorry, but being born an hour after me will always make you a baby in my book, Sis," he replies. He comes over and gives me a quick kiss on my head. "Is my brother-in-law around?"_

_You have got to be kidding. The dream had to be some kind of joke. Rick is going to have a lot of explaining to do when I wake up._

_" He's around here somewhere. I think he took the girls out hunting," I reply._

_" So I can play hide-and-seek. That just happens to be one of my favorite games," he says heading off into the woods._

I woke up surprised to see only fifteen minutes had passed. I walked over to the shoebox and picked up one of the jacks. As I was hoping, just like with the doll, memories started flashing in my mind.

After ten minutes, I came back to myself, not only with the memories of my first son, but also equipped with the memories of my idiot brother.

"Freddie!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. That man was going to get a beating for acting like a romantic interest off and on for months. The only plus side was that I'd get to tell Joseph he was totally off base.

CHAPTER 22

Being bored is the most frightening thing in the world

"Freddie!" I yelled again when he didn't immediately show up in front me. I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs and Nate appeared in the doorway.

"What is it?" he asked, looking concerned and ready to fight anyone harming me.

Yelling like I had may have been a bad idea after just coming from a fight that had Nate worked up. I didn't feel like wasting time passing messages telepathically. Gutting Rick was something that had to be done in person.

"Where is he?" I asked, still raising my voice. "I want Freddie standing in front of me right now."

"He's outside," Nate told me. "What has he done now? He didn't put a snake in the bed, did he? I told him that was a bad idea."

"It's between me and Rick, although I'm pretty sure you already know," I said, getting up and running down the stairs. Fifteen minutes of sleep was more than enough time for me, because I felt like someone had poured a pot of coffee down my throat.

I got to the front door and found Rick standing with the berserkers and Joseph. They had looks that made it clear they'd heard me yelling, and they were curious what all the ruckus was about. I walked over to Rick and punched him right in the gut. It made me feel a little better.

"What was that for?" he asked as he doubled over. I'd put as much force as I could behind the punch.

"That, dear brother, is for failing to let me know you are in fact my brother, and hitting on me like a creep," I said, while I pondered whether I should hit him again.

"Oh, you remember that now, do you?" he said straightening back up. The questioning look had melted away to an evil grin.

"Seriously dude? You're her brother?" Kyle asked. "I didn't see that one coming. I mean I guess I can kind of see the resemblance, but it's a little bit of a shock."

"Told you, Joseph. He's not interested in me romantically; he's just a weird pervert."

"If what you say is correct about the sibling bond, I'd agree on the pervert comment. The feelings of love I was picking up evidently, or should I say hopefully, were not in a romantic nature," he replied. "I don't think I've seen a love that strong in a brother and sister relationship. You must really have something special."

"I'll go on the record saying that I don't have any kind of romantic feelings towards my sister. It was just fun to mess with her while she didn't remember," Rick said.

I looked over and saw Nate laughing up a storm in the doorway to the house. I thought he might need punched in the stomach too.

"And just what do you think is so funny?" I asked him.

"I warned him. I told him he's an idiot for trying to hit on you, because when you remembered who he was, you were going to be pissed," he said, trying to catch his breath from laughing so much.

"Not only are you my brother, but you are my twin brother. That is really weird when I've heard you more than once ask me 'when are you going to wise up and leave Nate?' Creepy much?" I said, glaring at him. I wished I could burn holes in him.

"As you can imagine, I was joking when I said those things. I've spent my entire life, even before we debuted out of the womb, protecting you. I haven't had a chance to really venture out and find a girl of my own, so I used your memory loss to hone my flirting skills. You have to admit, I'm getting pretty good at it," he said.

"Was your end goal to get punched in the gut? If so, I think you did a bang up job. You really should've found someone who's susceptible to flirting. Since I'm immune, I think you wasted all your creepy thoughts," I responded.

"How many times are you going to call me creepy?" he asked.

"Until it stops feeling so creepy in my mind. You may be hearing it for a while, creep."

By then, Frannie, Gary, Vinnie and Elizabeth had joined us outside. Looking over at them, I checked out their expressions and didn't find any hint of surprise, like I saw on the local faces. I was aware Elizabeth knew, she'd even called him uncle in front of me, but I figured that was because he'd hung around us so much throughout the years.

"You all knew?" I asked my group.

"Well, we kind of had to tell Vinnie about it. He was plotting ways to kill Rick that put all your ideas for killing me to shame. I mean if you ever need a gruesome death, just ask him. He's done a lot of research on the Internet for the most painful deaths possible," Nate informed me.

"That makes sense," I said. It was sad that it did, but Vinnie had seemed a little aggressive as far as Rick was concerned. He didn't like Nate a whole lot, but there was a time when I thought he stood over Rick with a knife as he slept.

"We also felt we needed to let any uniques you spent time with know, just so they didn't think there would ever be a throwdown between Rick and me. They knew we were soulmates and usually you don't allow another person to show interest in your mate. My allowing him to flirt would've been seen as a sign of weakness and that's something we didn't need with a hidden threat out there," he finished the explanation.

"Dang it. Why can't you guys ever do anything for illogical reasons, so I can stay mad?" I asked. "It still doesn't excuse him from being a creep, though. There is nothing you can say that makes that okay."

"You'll forgive me eventually," Rick said confidently. "You've never let something I did bother you for more than a year or two. Remember that time back around 500 B.C. when I locked you in the tomb as a practical joke."

"With the memories I now possess, I know you speak the truth about me forgiving you, but that doesn't mean things can't change. And just imagine, not only is the memory you mentioned fresh in my mind, but so are all the other little pranks you pulled on me over the years. All the agony you've caused me is right here, waiting to be avenged," I said, pointing to my head.

"So you didn't just get a single memory?" Nate asked as he walked over to me. The news of what had happened had been overshadowed with my plans to punish Rick.

"Nope, I got the memories of Omar and the creeper over there in one combined download," I told him.

"Is that why your power feels stronger?" Liam asked. "I wasn't sure what was going to come out of the house as a tidal wave of strength flowed our way."

"Probably. Alex said something that indicated that may be the case. He said they were hoping to find me before I gained too many more memories, as if me getting more of them would make me harder to defeat."

I read the information as I better hurry and get the memories back before I had to meet the head honcho. I had a feeling that Alex was nothing compared to what he'd be. I didn't think I'd had a ton of problems with Alex, but I had a lot to learn before I went into battle with someone stronger.

"If you're this powerful now, I'm a little frightened to see you at full power. The energy radiating off you is pretty intoxicating," Liam said as he closed his eyes, evidently basking in my energy levels.

"The people over in the warlock camp seem to be in agreement with you. They were hoping that not having my full powers would make me easy pickings. I hope today showed them they have something else coming to them if they try to kill me."

"Yeah, my baby sis was even a lean mean fighting machine without any powers. They should've seen what you did to the guys who have kidnapped you before," Rick said.

"I'm pretty sure Nate was the one who really took care of those two, and one of them left me with a couple bullet holes, so I'm not sure that's a good example, Rick."

"But those wounds weren't all that life threatening. They even left one of the bullets in place," he replied.

"If I remember right, I was knocked out in a hospital recovering from them. Let's agree to disagree and move on to what we're going to do around here for the next couple days waiting for the big party to happen. Today is over half done, but I'd like to have an idea what we can do around here to fill our time," I said. I wanted to move on from any conversation focused on the war.

"Well, the rest of the day you're going to spend with me," Nate said. Not giving me anymore information, which earned him the glare that hadn't quite left my face.

"There isn't a whole lot we can do around here without having to fly somewhere," Joseph said. "I've heard rumors that you don't enjoy flying, and I'm pretty sure we've mentioned to you how boring it can be here in the middle of nowhere."

"Flying anywhere would be out of the question. I'm already working up my nerves to make it back home, but I really thought you had to be joking about there being nothing to do. How have you lived here for more than a week?" I asked. "I can get lost in my computer, but I don't imagine the household chores you mentioned before take up that much time."

"You find hobbies quickly. I personally picked up wood carving and have a house full of all the different things I've made over the years," Joseph replied.

"You'll have to show me your collection sometime, because I'm having trouble picturing that. Are you planning on bringing it all with you?" I asked. Joseph wasn't huge, but when I pictured wood carvings they were usually delicate and I wasn't able to correlate that with the size of Joseph's hands.

"Haven't really thought about it. There are probably a couple hundred pieces, so it may be hard to transport."

"Since we're leaving in a few days, I think you'll need to figure that out sooner rather than later," I told him. "So, my afternoon is going to be spent with Nate and tonight we have a dinner to make, but what about tomorrow, any ideas?"

"We could take you over to Bristol Bay, so you can say you've seen the Bering Sea. It isn't too far, maybe twenty miles and if you're up for a forty mile trip, we could get into Wood-Tikchik State Park," Kyle suggested.

"And what would we find in the park?" I asked. There were plenty of trees everywhere that we'd been; it felt like I was constantly in a park.

"Mostly what you find everywhere up here. Wilderness," Liam answered.

"Okay, and the next day you mentioned something about people competing to get a spot in the games. Is that some kind of spectator event?" I asked.

"Sure is. So see, you should have enough to keep you busy until it's time to fly back to New York," Joseph said.

Good. I was worried we'd all end up sitting around staring at each other. If it came to that, I was going to end up wrestling with Rick, and I was still mad enough at him that he'd end up hurt.

"That's too bad, when I get bored, I like to bake cookies," I taunted, mostly Liam, but I was sure the others would try to get me in the kitchen.

"You are an evil woman," Liam said. "Do you know how long it's been since I've had homemade cookies?"

I laughed at him and turned to Nate. "So what do you have planned for our afternoon?" I asked.

"It's a surprise," he said, taking my hand. "We're going to head over to the airport for a little while. I would prefer that we're not disturbed."

"We can ensure you'll have your privacy," Rick said. "Call me if you want any assistance."

"Thanks. I'm pretty sure I'll be okay, but it's good to know you have my back, as usual," Nate said. "I'm also extremely glad to know you aren't going to be flirting with my mate anymore. I was almost to the point where I was going to tell her about you just so it would stop."

They both started laughing as Nate led me over to the hanger. When we got inside the suspense was killing me, so I asked, "What are we doing in here?"

"It's time for your first phoenix lesson, and I figured since you may burn your clothes off, you'd like it to be in private," he responded.

I was so happy that I was going to attempt changing forms, that I glazed over the fact I might be naked in front of Nate. All cool things in life come with a price, right?

CHAPTER 23

It's a bird, wait it really is a bird

"Is it my birthday by any chance and I just don't know it?" Nate had been a little weird all day, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.

"I'm pretty sure your birthday hasn't changed. I just thought it was time for you to learn something new."

"The king of wanting me to live in the dark as far as my powers goes wants me to play around with them. I'm not going to question this gift anymore right now, but don't think I'm not smart enough to figure out something is going on." I looked in his eyes for any hint of acknowledgement that I was on to something, but nothing in his eyes changed.

"Stop being paranoid about my ulterior motives and get ready to have some fun."

"Okay, so where do we start?" I asked.

I was a little nervous that something would be wrong with me, and changing wouldn't be possible. Nate had said he'd accept me as a squirrel, but would he really still love me if I couldn't change at all?

"It would probably help if you weren't so excited. We're dealing with fire, you know." He was smiling, which elevated some of the queasiness in my stomach.

"I doubt you'll get me less excited, or nervous. I do have a question, though. If my parents didn't know who I actually was, why didn't they ever teach me this? In fact, why didn't they ever tell me I was a phoenix?" I asked.

I'd been wondering that for a while. It seemed mean of them to just let me think I was a human. Maybe mean was the wrong word, but I didn't like the fact that I didn't know.

"You have memories of two of your children now, you should know the answer to that," he responded.

"I do, but it doesn't totally make sense to me. Why do we wait until the kids are thirty before letting them in on our little secret? It seems kind of callous to let them go through that many years feeling something inside them that they can't explain." I said.

"It's funny you say that. When you get more memories back, or at least on that particular subject, I think you should ask yourself that question. I'll plead the fifth for now. I'm sure you know there are ways to limit their powers, so the kids don't necessarily know they are missing out on anything."

"I do, but it's all confusing. You better hope I get the rest of these memories back soon. I'm getting really tired of having to wait for answers." If he wasn't fixing to teach me the new trick, I'd probably be grumpier.

"I know, but I don't want to tell you something you don't remember and have you doubt what I say is true. Let's get back to the practice. I think we'll start with the internal warming you were so jealous of me and Rick doing," he said.

"That's a good idea. I'm tired of looking like a yeti while everyone else is in jeans and a t-shirt. How do I not boil myself when I try to do it? I was able to make a heat wall during the fight with Alex, and that worked well, but there might be times I don't want to share my heat."

"Well, first, boiling yourself is impossible to do. You can't warm yourself enough that it would actually do you any harm. You may warm yourself so that it's noticeable to others and for that you need to learn to regulate it, but otherwise there isn't a thing you can actually do wrong," he stated.

"Okay, so what, just think warm thoughts?" I asked.

Everything else I could do, I just thought it and it happened. The only reason I hadn't tried it with that skill was because I'd been afraid to cause permanent damage. I guessed in the future I might as well just wing things.

"Let's begin with you closing your eyes," he said as I followed directions. "Picture yourself in a nice warm bath."

"All right, me in the bath, got it. Don't think I didn't notice you chose an option that has me sans clothing," I commented.

I saw me in a tub with the water super warm, just the way I liked it. I added some bubble bath to the water just for fun. It made me feel less naked, and helped cover things if Nate was tuning in, which I was certain he was.

"Imagine how the water warms you. How you feel it from your head to your toes. It's so nice and warm you don't want to get out," he instructed in a hypnotic voice.

"Yup, definitely staying in the tub," I said.

"Now, I think you need to turn the water temperature down just a tad because your skin is starting to turn pink."

"What?" I screeched, coming out of my trancelike state. I looked down and sure enough my skin had started to change colors. "So I did it? All I have to do is think about a warm bath and I can heat myself?"

"That's the method I thought would be easiest for you. Like I said, you're going to have to work on regulating how much heat you generate, but you shouldn't have any problems with that. In the future, you won't need to close your eyes. I just had you do that to make it easier to concentrate."

"Awesome, you made it seem like it was something I'd finally find difficult," I said, working on adjusting the heat. I settled on warm apple pie temperature.

"If I scared you into waiting, I got to be around when you were picturing yourself naked, not that I don't know what that already looks like. So, now that you can control the fire within you, let's work on turning you into that fire," he said, hurrying to get away from the subject of my clothing. "This will be more difficult, and like I mentioned before, the fire will touch you briefly, but don't be afraid of it."

"Okay, I think I remember what I saw when you transformed for me."

"I thought about giving you another demonstration before I explained things to you, but with the whole clothes disappearing in between shapes, I decided against it," he said.

"Good idea," I replied, ready to try shifting.

"A lot of movies and books act like people who shift forms have two beings living inside of them that can actually converse with each other. I know you saw a fox inside of Miranda, but it's really not a separate being. It's just a projection we keep locked inside to aid us in shifting.

"For a normal shifter they just think of that spot in their mind and they can change forms. For us, it's a little different. We have to increase our temperature to be able to let the phoenix out."

"Even I have a projection just sitting in my head?" I asked. "You would've thought I might have noticed it at one point during my life."

"I doubt you've thought to search your head for a phoenix hanging out. It should be similar to the foxes, though. Take a second and look around until you can find it. Once you do, we can proceed," he said as I began my search.

I started looking around and was having trouble finding the thing. I tried looking where I found the foxes, but I didn't see anything there. I dove in deeper and finally found it in something that looked like a glass display case with a mirrored back. The projection reminded me a lot of what Nate looked like, but I saw the black star he described marking me as different.

"Um, is there a reason she's in a case?" I asked. I didn't remember either of the foxes being in one.

"No, that would be something different. I don't think you've ever kept it in one before. You must be giving the projection a level of importance to see it encased. Usually they're just kind of floating around," he said. Maybe my projection was just vain and needed to look in the mirror often.

"You're going to have that checked out, right?" I asked. "I know when anything weird happens with me, you get Rick to consult his people, who evidently are the keepers of the sacred texts."

"Yes, I'll have Rick look to see if there's any significance of a projection being on display," he replied.

"I have to say, if that's what I look like as a phoenix, I'm pretty hot. No wonder you have problems keeping your hands off of me," I joked.

He laughed. "Yeah, my mate is the fairest in all the land. Are you done gazing at your beauty? I think it's time to proceed."

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. What do I need to do?" I asked, still concentrating on my caged bird.

"It's time to turn the heat up in your little bath. Picture fire around you and try to raise your temperature to a couple hundred degrees," he instructed.

"If you say so. That sounds kind of painful to me." I pictured turning the knob on a stove until a wall of fire surrounded me and I felt the heat.

"You'll be fine. You should be hot enough now. Think of the spot you found your phoenix and picture yourself looking like it," he explained.

I concentrated on the phoenix and thought of how pretty I'd be if I were her. Before long I felt a little change and heard metal fall to the ground. I opened my eyes to see me floating in the air with fiery wings and a long beautiful tail that was a mix of every shade between red and yellow.

"Yara, you are beyond beautiful. I've never forgotten how true that is," Nate told me telepathically, using my original name. "Do you mind if I change as well? Then we can do a little flight training."

"Please do," I responded while I got used to having wings. The clothing issue was forgotten, because of the miracle of me being a bird. He quickly changed and looked exactly like I remembered.

"Okay, it's pretty simple and I have to think you've remembered a little bit about how it works, since you didn't crash to the ground when you transformed," he told me. "Watch me and try to do as I do."

He shot up about five feet into the air; too bad we were inside, because I was sure he'd light up the sky. I followed by flapping my wings, making twists and turns as I tried to catch up.

"You ready to take this dance to the night sky?" he asked after he was sure I had the hang of it.

"I thought you'd never ask," I said as I followed him out of the hanger. When we got up high above the ground, I had to admit that he and Rick were right. I loved flying under my own power.

"I knew you would. I don't think it will reveal too much to tell you that we went out at least once a week in our previous lives, just so you could stretch your wings," he told me after reading my thoughts.

We continued to dance around in the air until he reminded me people were waiting for us down below. I didn't want the fun to end. Up in the air, it felt like nothing else mattered. Nate had told me that's how it was, but I couldn't understand it until I experienced it for myself.

"So, about the whole changing back and not having any clothes issue," I said as we made it back into the hanger. I found myself flying slower the closer we got to having to change back.

"No worries. When I left you with Frannie earlier, I first asked Rick if he was okay with it being only you and me at your change. Then I grabbed you some clothes. They're over on that shelf," he said, pointing to the corner.

"And just where are you going to be while I am changing?" I asked.

"I put my stuff on the other side of the hanger, so don't worry. I know you like your privacy." He was flying away to change before he'd finished his thought.

I went to my corner. Not having been told how to change back, I thought of my humanoid body and thankfully that did the trick. I threw the clothes on quickly and went to pick up my knives that had clattered to the floor earlier. I wondered what would happen to them when the fire touched them. They were a little warped, but not so much that they were unusable.

Nate grabbed me and issued a solid kiss to my lips. "You did really well. Next time you have to fight a warlock, you'll have another weapon in your arsenal."

As we walked back to Elizabeth's, I started wondering if I could pick up an opponent with my talons and drop them from a high elevation. Too bad I'd already had my fight with the bad guy, because I really wanted to try that out.

CHAPTER 24

You say taco; I say taco, taco, taco

When we made it to the house, my friends were all waiting outside. They seemed to be more like an extended part of my family than just friends. It was kind of weird having so many people to be able to trust, when not that long ago none of them even knew what I did for a living.

Having not seen her since she'd led us to where the warlock was holed up, I was a little surprised to see her with the rest of the group, but Miranda ran up to me and gave me a hug.

"Thank you so much for taking care of the warlock and helping us. We were strangers to you, but you still stood up for us."

"The strong should always protect the weaker amongst them. I keep getting told I'm the most powerful person around, so I kind of had an obligation to help. I'd look rather foolish for me to claim to be a queen, and then hide behind someone else."

"You are a great leader, my queen, and I am honored to serve you," she replied, stepping back from our hug.

You bring a person back from the brink of death and they get totally weird on you. Next time I was in the situation, I'd have to think twice before saving the person. Okay, that would be just wrong, but they better not turn out all weird like Miranda.

Before I could tell her to knock it off, Kyle cut in. "That was quite a show you put on."

"Sure was, little sis. It looks like you didn't forget a thing," Rick added.

"Does this mean I get to fly home in phoenix form instead of getting on the plane?" I asked, already knowing the answer was no.

"Sometimes you are so silly, sweetheart," Nate said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "I wanted to let the guys of the group know, now that Rick isn't playing his stupid little game and Avery knows he's her brother, any flirting I deem inappropriate won't be tolerated. I let it slide for a while, but she's mine and always will be. Anyone who wants to challenge that will have a fight on their hands."

The guys all shrugged their shoulders. "We kind of expected that when we learned the truth of the situation," Liam said. "It wasn't like we didn't already realize she was off limits. It's hard not to try to fight for her, but we know our places."

"Can I still call her dollface?" Kyle asked.

"I don't tend to mind nicknames, as long as they aren't too personal, but you might want to clear it with her," Nate replied. "She's hated just about every nickname I've ever heard a guy call her."

Kyle looked at me with sad, puppy dog eyes. It was kind of funny to see, because it made his tough shell look a little vulnerable. I was so happy that all the flirting would be gone, that a nickname here and there didn't seem so bad.

"I will allow nicknames within reason. Think of things you would call your sister and those are acceptable options," I told them. I wasn't sure if berserkers could have sisters, so the comparison probably didn't work as well as I wanted it to.

"Just as long as no one starts calling her Peaches. That's my nickname for her and I don't share," Frannie said, smiling.

"Right, what Frannie said. Now, let's get inside and make some dinner before Liam starves to death," I said as I headed towards the house. "I think his cheekbones got a little more pronounced since I saw him last.

"That's a plan I'm totally behind," Liam said, jogging after me. I was surprised the ground didn't vibrate as the big man ran.

When everyone made it to the kitchen, I ordered them to wash their hands. As they formed a line and got cleaned up, I started grabbing the ingredients for tacos. Looking at my troops, I saw Frannie and Gary missing, as I expected. It was best to keep Frannie far from the kitchen, and I knew she'd keep Gary with her so she wasn't bored. It was a fluke that she'd spent a few minutes talking to me the night before with an oven turned on nearby.

"Liam, since you're so interested in food, I want you to start browning a few pounds of hamburger. That shouldn't be too hard."

The kitchen was cramped with everyone in it, but I knew I'd have fun bossing them around. I could pretend I was a world famous chef running my five-star restaurant.

"No problem," he said, grabbing the hamburger from me and heading for the stove. I watched to make sure he didn't catch the place on fire as he turned on the burner.

"Okay, now I need three people to help dice up vegetables. Kyle, Joseph and Rick you're my choices for that task. On the counter are tomatoes, olives, onions and lettuce. I need the lettuce washed and shredded and then everything else chopped up."

They hurried to get the things to complete their tasks and headed out of the room where there'd be more space. I wanted to follow and make sure they weren't using hospital beds as tables, but I had other things to worry about. If the food tasted like antiseptic, there was going to be hell to pay, and I assumed they knew that.

"Is there anything for me to do?" Miranda asked.

"I need someone to cook up some chicken breasts, and then shred them. Do you think you can handle that?"

"No problem," she said and went to work. The whole "do as I tell you and don't ask questions" was working well for me. If the men in my life could only be that agreeable when food wasn't involved, I'd be in heaven.

I saw Nate and Elizabeth left with nothing to do. For some reason I was just noticing that my robot was missing. Since he was rarely ever too far from me, it left me suspicious.

"Nate, where's Vinnie?"

"Don't worry, he's just running an errand for me. He should be back shortly," he replied, being vaguer than I appreciated.

"He seems to be taking orders from you a lot lately," I responded.

"Anything that has to do with you is a top priority for Vinnie. Since the task is something that will affect you, he had no problem doing as I asked. Don't worry that it will become a habit of his. I'm fairly certain it's a one-time thing."

I was extremely curious to find out what kind of errand a robot could be running for him out in the middle of nowhere. I had other things to worry about, so I let it go, but I made a note to talk to Vinnie.

I thought it was great that he was listening to someone else, but I wanted to make sure he knew there were times when it would make me happy to know about Nate's little secrets. Since Vinnie loved to make me happy, there was a chance I could learn some of the secrets everyone was keeping from me.

"The only things left to do dealing with the food preparation are opening up the sour cream, salsa and bag of cheese," I told them. "You guys could get out all the plates and silverware we'll need."

"No problem," Nate said. "I'll grab the silverware."

"And I have the plates," Elizabeth said.

"Hamburger looks done to me," Liam said. I walked over and approved his work. He turned the burner off while I checked in on the chicken.

"I'm just going to shred it real quick, and then it should be ready too," Miranda told me.

I opened the toppings and my choppers brought in the veggies. It was amazing how quickly things could get done with eight people in the kitchen.

"Frannie, Gary," I called, and watched as they hurried in. "Okay, here are the taco shells and plates. Everyone, get to building your own tacos," I announced as I observed the guys diving to be first in line.

We assembled in the sitting area when we had our tacos made. At first, everyone was too busy chewing to really carry on a conversation. As the food began to disappear from the plates, the words start pouring out of their mouths.

"Why haven't I ever made these before?" Liam asked. "Anyone can brown hamburger and chop up a few vegetables."

"That's true," I responded. "I was a little surprised to find the fresh vegetables in the store. How do you have them shipped in? It seems like they'd go bad before they got here."

"Actually, our dad has a huge climate controlled greenhouse. He can't live without fresh vegetables, and he decided to grow enough to sell," Kyle said. "The other grocery store has veggies too, but they spend a fortune to get them flown in."

"It's no wonder they taste so fresh. I'll have to thank him for putting in the extra effort if I see him again."

"So, Mom, how was it turning into a phoenix for the first time that you remember?" Elizabeth asked. "It didn't happen to trigger anymore memories, did it?"

"I don't know that there are words to describe how awesome it was. One second I was standing there little ol' me and the next I was this beautiful, blazing bird flying around," I explained. "I didn't get any new memories, but since I already got quite a bit today, I wasn't expecting anything new. Living in the moment was enough for me."

"Does she still have her freckle," Rick asked Nate.

"Yup. The star is still there. Her phoenix form looks exactly the same as it always has. We found a little abnormality that I'll need to have checked on, but I'll fill you in on all the details later. You can decide who's best to look into it. You might want to get a couple sources doing research," Nate replied.

"No problem, bossman," Rick responded with a little salute. I thought the request was convoluted at best, but Rick sounded eager to find answers.

We finished eating and took all the dishes to the kitchen. With that many people it was kind of a mess. I wasn't always the cleanest cook, but I rarely left a kitchen looking like a tornado had ripped through it.

"Liam and Kyle," I said sweetly. "I'll make you a deal. You guys get this kitchen back in order and I will make you each a dozen chocolate chip cookies."

"You got a deal," they said in unison and got to work.

"Hey, Rick, can I speak to you outside for a second," I said, heading for the door. I didn't grab a jacket, so I'd be able to see how well I could keep myself warm.

"Sure thing, baby girl," he said, following me.

"So, I've heard no objections to having the berserkers come with us. I wanted to give them a little bit of a rough time, though, and make a list of all the things they'll be required to do if they make the move."

"You know, being twins, we've always thought along the same lines. I've really missed our evil minds working together," he said.

"Aww, Rick. I think that is the nicest, non-creepy thing you've ever said to me," I said with a little laugh. "So, do you have any good ideas for my list? So far I was thinking things like washing Romeo and Juliet, running any errands I need, and washing the windows. I thought about include washing Winnie on the list, but you know how particular I can be about my girl."

"Ha. It's a good start, but just a little boring. You need to add wiping down the mats in the gym after each workout, cleaning toilets and purchasing your feminine products," he explained. "I imagine they'll still agree, but I want to see their faces when you tell the about the girlie products."

"You are way too evil. You do know I'm not going to actually expect them to do any of these things. I'm just having a little fun," I reminded him. The thought of any guy buying my monthly products was something I didn't want to think about.

"I know, and that's part of the fun for me. I know these things won't be required and they don't."

"Fine," I said, sure that my grin matched his wicked one. "I'll make up a formal list and hand it to them the day of the big party. Let's get back inside before they notice we're gone. I have cookies to make."

We headed in and I checked on the kitchen and saw that it was ready for me. I went to work quickly making up five-dozen cookies and gave the berserkers their promised dozen a piece. When everyone had their fill of milk and cookies, we called it a night and went our separate ways to bed. Just a few more days and I'd be back in my own bed. I was already starting to count the hours.

CHAPTER 25

What's the magic word?

I woke up to find Nate staring at me. Seeing that I was awake, he smiled, showing off his pearly whites. Sometimes I really thought the past months had been nothing more than a dream. I mean, waking up next to a hunk was something I never imagined possible in my life.

"Good morning, handsome," I said, giving him a quick kiss. For some reason I was in a really good mood that morning.

"Good morning, love," he replied. "I take it you slept well?"

"I do believe I did. You want to know a secret?" I asked.

"Sure." He gave me a kiss on the top of my head.

"I'm ninety-seven-point-three percent sure I love you," I told him.

I doubted it was much of a secret. We'd been together for months and I acted nowhere near as repulsed as I used to. Shoot, I hadn't even said a word about finding him in my bed more often than not. That had to give me some kind of indication where my heart was.

He looked at me questioningly. "Who are you and what have you done with my fiancé?"

"Well, us space aliens were hovering over the city last night and thought she'd be a good person to take back to the home world to study," I said jokingly, in an off-voice that I imagined real aliens spoke in.

"Seriously, Nate, I know eventually I'll get all these memories back and be so in love with the person I remember over the years, but the truth is I already do love you. I don't have to remember the millennia we've been together to know that. I'm thinking we let Frannie and Gary get their big to-do out of the way and after they get back from their honeymoon, we can have that small ceremony we've talked about. Of course, after this little trip, the attendees list about doubled, but I still think we should get it out of the way."

I shocked him into silence with my suggestion. It was a little out of the blue, but we'd been working towards that goal, and I was wearing his ring. It felt right to go ahead and make our reuniting official.

"Personally, I'm all for the idea, but I want to make sure it's really what you want. I have no problem waiting around however many centuries you deem necessary," he replied, when he could put words together.

"I know and that's a big part of the reason I'm willing to proceed with the wedding before the memories return. Once I told you to back off, you did in a big way. I'm sure it was just part of your evil plan to get me to want you, but no matter what, it worked. Eventually, I'm going to want our little kisses here and there to move further, and I don't think I want to do that until we are man and wife."

"I'm not sure how I feel about you only wanting me for my body. I guess it will be something I just have to get used to," he said, giving me a firm closed mouth kiss. "So do you have a specific date in mind?" he asked, pulling away. "Like I said no hurry, just wondering how soon you're really talking."

"Well, it's getting to be the end of January now. How about March second?" I asked.

"Wow, that is really soon. You're sure Frannie will be okay planning everything out by then?"

"Hey, it's Frannie. I might not even tell her it's going to happen until March first," I said, laughing at how dead I'd be if I actually did that.

"You know, soon-to-be wife, you can be really evil sometimes. It must be why I love you so much," he said, still smiling. I didn't think anything was going to wipe that smile off his face in the foreseeable future.

"Well, soon-to-be husband, I'm going to tell you something I've never told another person other than in a joking matter. I love you, too. Now, what do you say we go down and rustle up some breakfast before our trip to the Bering Sea today?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure if you asked me to eat mud right now, I would take a big bite," he said as he rolled out of bed.

We headed downstairs in our pajamas, holding hands. My pajamas consisted of a long t-shirt and workout pants. Nate's was a pair of sleeping shorts. Any woman that saw him would wonder why in the world I'd waited so long to set a date. I'd have to tell them, first off we hadn't even known each other a full year. Secondly, they should know a woman needs to play hard to get.

When we got to the kitchen, Vinnie was sitting with the look he usually got when he was running his daily indexing of the Internet. Not wanting to disturb him, I went to the cupboard and grabbed a box a cereal.

"This okay?" I asked Nate.

"Sure, I'm always game for Frosted Flakes," he replied.

I grabbed a couple bowls and filled them with cereal. Since we each preferred different levels of milk, I liked cereal still crunchy, he liked it soggy, we poured our own milk. Picking up some spoons, we made our way out to the sitting room to enjoy our breakfast.

"So, are you still not going to tell me what you had Vinnie off doing yesterday?" I asked.

"I wish I could, but for right now it's best you don't know. You know, even though it seems I find joy in keeping things from you, I actually hate it. I imagine within a few days you'll know what I'm currently up to and I know you'll understand the secretiveness," he replied.

"Darn, so telling you I love you doesn't automatically make you spill all of your secrets. I was hoping that was one of the perks," I said teasingly.

"Avery, tell me you didn't," Rick said, walking into the room with his usual awful timing.

"What, confess my undying love for Nate? I wouldn't say it went that far, but the three little words may have escaped from my lips this morning."

"It's about time. You've been making the poor boy suffer, little sis. Now, on to more important things, is there anything good for breakfast?" he asked. I was surprised there wasn't more mocking.

"We settled on cereal. If you want something special, Vinnie might be able to whip something up, but the last I saw he was downloading," I told him.

"Don't want to interrupt a download, so I'll go with cereal too," he said, disappearing into the kitchen.

When he returned, we discussed the trip of the day. We'd all evidently seen the Bering Sea before, but I was the only one that didn't remember it. It sounded like, and made sense, that I'd been to every known place on the planet. When I'd only ever lived in two cities during the time I had full memories, it was weird to except that truth.

"So, do you think the others would mind if we flew?" I asked. "We could follow them from the air. I think it would be a great way for me to get some more practice in."

"What about all the people watching from the ground?" Nate asked. "Aren't you worried we'd be noticed?"

"Good point. To solve that problem, I'm supposed to be a sorceress, right? Can't I just cast an invisibility spell on us so we can fly under the radar?" I asked. "I was able to say a spell yesterday."

"Do you think you could actually cast a spell to accomplish that?" Rick asked.

"Sure, why not. Let me give it a try," I said, trying to think of something that sounded good. "Now you see me, now you don't; just like an evil crocodile, lurking in a moat." Most of the spells I'd ever heard rhymed, and it was the best I could think of on the spot.

"That's just creepy," Nate said.

I looked down and clearly saw myself, so I assumed my words did a whole lot of nothing. "If you can come up with a better spell, let me know and I'll try it out," I said. I hadn't really expected it to work.

Frannie and Gary walked into the room, surprisingly early for them. Frannie looked at us and screamed.

"What are Avery's eyes doing floating around in midair?" she asked.

"What are you talking about? My eyes aren't floating." I wanted to ask if they were tripping on catnip, but I wasn't sure about unique etiquette as far as teasing a person based on their animal.

"She's doing her crocodile impression," Rick said laughing. I had no idea what he was talking about.

"She's testing an invisibility spell. It worked exactly as she spoke it," Nate informed the room. "A line of the spell referenced a crocodile lurking in a moat. Usually when I've noticed them lurking, all I see are their eyes, just like all you can see of her is her eyes."

"Wait a second, the spell actually worked?" I asked. I looked down again and still saw myself.

"It sure did," Rick said. "Do you think you can think of something to cover all three of us?"

"I don't see why not. How about this," I said, quickly arranging words in my head. "Now you see us, now you don't; we still see each other, but others won't."

I looked over to Frannie for some indication that it worked and rather than screaming like a lunatic, she was smiling. "That is so cool. You guys just totally disappeared."

"No eyeballs floating?" I asked.

"Nothing at all," Gary confirmed. "That should come in handy."

The doorbell rang and I decided to test the invisibility further by answering it. I walked to the door and looked out to see the berserkers standing on the other side. I rubbed my hands together thinking about the fun I was going to have. I opened the door wide and they both looked inside, trying to find who had opened the door.

"Umm, hello?" Kyle said, still standing outside.

"We're in here," Nate called from the sitting room.

They stepped inside and could see Frannie and Gary sitting down. Once they cleared the door, I shut it behind them, causing both of them to spin around. Not seeing anything, they turned around to talk to Frannie and Gary.

"You guys experiencing some weird drafts today?" Liam asked.

"No, it's just Avery messing with you," Frannie told them, and she wondered why it was easy to replace her as my best friend.

I moved to stand right behind the guys and said, "Frannie, you're no fun. Why did you have to go and tell them so soon?"

That caused them to spin around again, their eyes searching for me. I took the opportunity to make funny faces at them. Since only Nate and Rick could see me, I tried some of the more crazy ones in my repertoire.

"You won't find her. She's invisible," Nate said.

He had moved to stand next to me, so they were a little startled to hear him so close. They were big guys, so I wouldn't say they were scared, they only jumped a little bit.

"How exactly did she turn invisible and am I right in thinking Nate is also currently not able to be seen?" Liam asked.

"That would be a correct assumption, but don't forget I'm also visibly impaired," Rick said joining in on the fun by standing behind them.

"Hmm. What to say to make us reappear. Once was hidden, now is not; make us visible, to the whole lot," I chanted.

"Wow, that was so cool," Kyle said. "How long did it take you to figure out that spell?"

"I didn't time myself, but probably ten seconds. It really isn't as hard as I expected. I'm not sure the rhyming is necessary, but it makes it even cooler as far as I'm concerned," I replied.

"What else can you do?" Liam asked.

"I don't really know." There were so many possibilities that I wasn't sure where to start. I looked down and saw I was in my pajamas, so I decided changing my clothes was in order. "Ready for a ball, I am not; wrap me in purple silk, and make me look hot," I said, waving my arms a little for effect.

"Holy cow," Liam said, taking in the ball gown that enveloped around my body.

It was a grape colored, full length ball gown. The top was a form fitting bodice that had silver paisleys running up and down it. The skirt was a huge organza slash taffeta draped number with rhinestones here and there to add a little glam. I didn't really know the fashion terms to describe it accurately, but it was one of the prettiest things I'd ever seen.

"My darling, that looks amazing on you," Nate said as he grabbed my hand and twirled me around.

"Well, I can't be dressed up for a ball by myself. Nate's boxers are not enough, I want to see him in a tux," I said. It didn't exactly rhyme, but it did the job. In a matter of seconds, he was standing in front of me, very debonair looking in a black tuxedo.

"Okay, you two, enough fooling around," Rick said. "Let's go get dressed in some real clothes and we'll discuss how we're going to get to our destination today."

"Aye, aye captain," I said as I picked up my skirt and headed to my room. I was beginning to enjoy the sorceress powers and was thrilled with my former self for picking them up. The possibilities seemed endless.
CHAPTER 26

Fences are made for those who can't fly

We threw on jeans and matching navy blue t-shirts as fast as we could; I managed to get my top on right side out, with the tag in the back. Some days I found that task challenging. By the time we came back downstairs, Joseph and Miranda had both arrived and Elizabeth had come out of her room. Rick was filling everyone in on my desire to fly instead of riding a snowmobile.

"I don't see a problem with that," Liam said. "I'm guessing you can fly low enough to follow us, if you're invisible."

"You're really able to go invisible?" Elizabeth asked. She looked a little skeptical and I couldn't blame her.

"Yup, I was giving a demonstration this morning. It seems I can do just about anything. Maybe when I threaten Rick with turning him into a toad, he'll believe me now," I said.

The magic stuff was a wish come true for the me before I was told who I really was, but there was a part of it that scared me. I wasn't sure where the line was that shouldn't be crossed. As I learned more about it, I knew it would become clear, and until I found it, I wanted to have fun where I could.

"You wouldn't dare," he replied.

"It seems like a fitting retribution for all your creepiness. Being creepy should be banned, make a toad appear in my hand," I said, holding out my hand to show everyone the toad. "If you're not nice to me, this is what you have to look forward to," I taunted. I didn't really turn Rick into a toad, but a toad appearing out of thin air carried the same effect.

"I don't think you'll have any problems keeping your soldiers in line," Nate said. "Can we lose the toad and head out?"

"Sure. Thank you, toad, you have proved your point; now why don't you get out of this joint," I chanted and the toad disappeared. "Okay, now I just need to wash my hands."

I wasn't disgusted by toads, but I had no idea where it had been before I called it. I headed to the kitchen and washed with enough anti-bacterial soap to fight anthrax.

When I made my way back to the others, I heard Elizabeth speaking. "I'm just going to stay behind. I have so much work to catch up on after being gone, and I want to do an inventory of supplies."

"That's fine," Nate said. There was something a little strange in his eyes. I clearly got the notion he didn't care what Elizabeth did, which sat wrong with me.

"That's too bad," I said, trying to counteract his dismissiveness. "We could have used you to help even out the testosterone to estrogen ratio. Anyone else staying behind?" I asked.

"I am," Vinnie said. "I'm not big on sightseeing and sea water makes my gears cringe. I implore you to be careful, though. Even if there aren't more warlocks out there causing havoc, there are polar bears."

I got that he was joking, but I was going to have to point him to some better joke sites. There was nothing funny about getting mauled by a polar bear.

"Frannie, Gary, you guys coming?" I asked.

"Wouldn't miss it," Frannie responded. "You never know when you might be able to pick up some sea front property for cheap."

"Okay, first things first," I said, moving to stand next to Nate and Rick. "Time to fill my greatest desire; make our clothes able to stand up to fire."

I didn't know for sure if it would work, but it would take me a second to think of a spell to dress me after I changed back and I preferred not to stand in front of everyone in my birthday suit. Plus, there was that split second before the change where we'd be naked.

"I'm thankful you're so clever," Nate said. "Let's hope that spell works. We don't want anyone else to get a view of us without our clothes; they might get jealous."

We were heading towards the snowmobile shed, when I had a brilliant idea. Being able to do anything I wanted was turning me into a genius. I needed to see how strong my abilities were, and my plan would give me insight into how just a few words could do the impossible.

"Why don't we all fly? I could say a spell that makes everyone a bird. We could probably get there faster by air and that would give us a chance to do more sightseeing."

"If you can do that, I say we head over to Round Island where there's a game sanctuary. It's the dead of winter, so most of animals probably won't be around, but you never know with all this global warming going on," Liam said.

"You sure about that, bro?" Kyle asked. "That's probably a hundred and twenty miles away. I've never flown as a bird before, but that might take a while."

"It just depends what kinds of birds she makes us. I volunteer to be an eagle," Liam said cheerfully. He adjusted his neck in a way that reminded me of a bird.

"You guys seriously have no problem with a person who has only started casting spells using you as guinea pigs?" Joseph asked. I couldn't help but agree with his logic.

"As long as she doesn't turn me into a guinea pig, I'm totally fine with it. If something goes wrong, she can fix it. I have faith in her," Liam told him, while he made a gesture with his hand and eyes that made me think 'duh'.

"Maybe it's because you guys don't already change into another shape, but I'm a little apprehensive of changing into a bird," Frannie said. "Remember, I'm a kitty cat and we don't always play nice with little birdies."

"I could make you a flying cat, if you want," I provided helpfully. If we were worried about what people would think about seeing phoenixes in the sky, I could only imagine what would happen if they saw a flying calico.

"No, if I'm going to fly under my own power, I don't want to look silly doing it. You can change me into a bird, but it better be an awesome bird," she replied.

"So, everyone is good with me trying?" I asked. After they all agreed, I started thinking of what I should say. It was going to be a little more complex to get everything I wanted. "First, make sure we can still speak; even though they will have beaks. Now with a mix of gold and white; make them all eagles so they can take flight."

I needed to pick up a wand somewhere. Even if it was only a prop, it would make spellcasting more fun.

There wasn't any smoke and mirrors. Three golden eagles and three bald eagles appeared in front of me. Other than flapping their wings to get used to the feathers, they didn't move from their spots.

"You are an evil genius," I heard Liam say in my mind. He started flapping his wings enough to levitate off the ground. "This is so cool."

He launched himself into the air and I was impressed by how easily he took to flight. I had a feeling he spent a lot of time in front of the television watching nature shows. As long as he didn't go apex predator on me and start hunting prey, things were going to be okay.

"Wow, you actually did it," Frannie said, unable to hide the surprise from her voice. "And I don't feel weird. It's actually kind of cool." She and Gary both launched off to test out their wings.

It turned out Frannie, Gary and Joseph were the bald eagles and Liam, Kyle and Miranda were the golden eagles. The males were huge and had seven-foot wingspans. The girls were a bit smaller, with probably just under six-foot spans. Joseph and Miranda took off, and after a little wobbling on Miranda's part they were soaring with the others.

I turned to Nate and Rick. "So, you guys ready to change?" I asked.

"I'm always ready to go phoenix," Rick replied. "You're still remembering what it's like to change, but we have to keep the urge to change under wraps almost all the time."

I saw him start a ring of fire around him and Nate soon followed. I did as Nate taught me and soon felt warm enough for the change. I found my beautiful caged bird hiding in the recesses of my mind and changed shapes. It was easier the second time, and it felt almost like a homecoming.

"Holy crap, Avery," I heard Frannie say. "You are one amazing looking firebird up close."

"Someone is going to have to take a picture sometime. I can see the projection in my mind, but I don't know if that's what I really look like," I replied.

"I'm sure what you see is what you get, but you could just change in front of a mirror," Rick informed me.

"I guess, but I still want a picture. Now I have to say something to make us invisible. Do you think the eagles need to be invisible?" I asked.

"Both birds can be found in the Alaskan skies, so I think they'll be okay. People might find it a little odd that they're flying together, but we should be going fast enough that no one will be able to get pictures. Even if they did, we'd be gone before the biologists could make it out here to investigate," Nate replied.

"Okay, back to our spell then. I need to tweak it a little so the eagles can see us. We don't want any midair collisions. Now you see us, now you don't; make it so our friends see us, but others won't."

"Since they can still see us, how do we know it worked?" Nate asked.

"Good question. Hold on just a sec." We were still in town, so I flew down the block to the closest house and knocked on the door. It seemed like the simplest way to test.

A man opened the door and looked around. He acted like no one was there and shut the door in my face. I flew back to the others. "It works. Let's get this show on the road," I said as I took flight. "Lead the way guys."

After a couple of hours flying at high speeds, we reached our destination. The eagles picked a rocky area and landed, so we followed. Okay, moment of truth. The phoenixes in the group switched back to humans and thank goodness our clothes were intact.

"Looks like you can save us a bundle on our clothing bill, if you just enchant all of our clothes. I wonder how many you can do at once. I assume our whole closets won't be anything for you," Nate said giving me a kiss. For once he didn't sound scared about me being able to do something special.

"I'll have to do some tests as soon as we return to New York," I replied.

"You going to change us back anytime soon?" Joseph asked.

"Sure. As fun as it was, eagles are not their fate; return them to their previous state." Clearly, all the rhyming books I'd read as a child were coming in handy.

"Awesome. We even have our clothes," Gary said. "I was a little worried they may somehow go missing in between the changes."

"It's a pretty handy trick," I said as I rubbed my temple. For some reason, my head started pounding like jack hammers were having a party.

"Everything okay?" Nate asked, the concern I was used to back in his voice.

"Just a little headache. I'm sure it will go away soon. Let's see if we can find any wildlife," I said, and started walking off in whatever direction I deemed good.

The others followed behind and I came to a stop on a small cliff. "So this is the Bering Sea?" I asked, looking out at the breathtaking view.

"That it is. This group of islands is called the Walrus Islands. In the summertime the shores are covered with over a thousand walruses. During the winter, you can probably find some foxes and such roaming around, but the main attractions are hard to find," Liam informed us.

"So, in the summer what else can you see here?" Gary asked.

"Sea lions, seals, and whales can be seen around the different islands. A lot of birds also nest on the islands. Mostly kittiwakes, which you would probably think are gulls. There are some puffins and parakeet auklets though that the girls would like," Kyle answered.

"It's still beautiful, even if we don't get to see all the animals. With the return trip eating up most of the day, do you guys want to wander around a little more before we head back?" Nate asked.

"I think that would be fun," Miranda said. "You guys are still invisible to everything but us, so you might be able to get up close and personal with the wildlife you can find."

After walking around for at least an hour, we didn't find any new friends for me to play with. There also weren't any people around, so we did whatever we wanted, which included games of tag and hide-and-seek. Our fun came to an end when everyone started getting hungry. We decided to head back and have an early dinner. When dinner was over, I called it a night, so I could rest and try to get rid of the headache that was still gently throbbing.

CHAPTER 27

Confidence - the feeling you get before understanding the situation

Stretching was the first order of business the next morning. The muscles in my arms were a little sore. Nate wasn't kidding when he said me and my phoenix were one in the same. I'd have to remember to not fly four hours in a single day again until I was more used to it. An extra twenty minutes a day lifting weights should help build a little stamina.

"So, about this whole getting married thing, you know we really don't ever have to go through with it."

I rolled over and faced him, a little shocked at the words that had left his mouth. He'd asked who I was the day before when I'd brought up the wedding and I had the same question floating around in my head.

"Why not? I thought that's what you wanted."

"I guess it's more that I want what it represents. Amongst our kind, after one in a set of mates resurrects we do a ceremony to renew our bond," he explained.

"It sounds like a reasonable thing to do. So why are you trying to get out of our wedding?" I asked.

I'd finally decided to move forward and he was backpedaling. I'd never been good at reading mixed messages. I expected a good explanation from him, or I was going to talk to Vinnie about all the ways he thought of killing Rick.

"The phoenix ceremony doesn't have to be a wedding. Weddings are relatively new in the scheme of things. Technically, no one even has to attend the ceremony other than us. In the past we've gotten married in modern weddings, but those were mainly because they were necessary at the time. During some time periods, us living together and not saying vows would've been a big no-no," he replied.

I couldn't believe I ever cared about what society really thought of me. I was sure every community wasn't the same and we could've found one that didn't mind us living in sin, so to speak.

"Can whatever is said or done during the phoenix ceremony be said at a wedding, too?" I asked.

"Of course. It's mainly what is said. We each say a couple lines that resync our souls. It can be done anytime."

"Good, then we can do it at our wedding on March second," I replied. "I know I've said that I never really wanted a wedding, but looking through the wedding dresses with Anne and Ettie made me realize I was going to miss out on something most girls live for. Plus, I have the perfect dress already picked out. I just need the occasion to wear it," I said as I rolled out of bed and ran to use the bathroom.

When I came back, Nate was dressed and waiting for me. Neither of us had been big on taking showers with five or six other people living in this small house. The first thing I planned to do when I got home was going to be taking a nice long soak in a tub.

"I also want you to know, even with all this talk of a wedding and us taking our relationship to the next level, I'm not going to turn into a girlie girl. I'm not going to be throwing myself at you, or magically be okay with lots of gross PDA," I informed him.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we sometimes have the weirdest conversations first thing in the morning."

"That we do, but more often than not, they're important. So, do you know when the tryouts for the games start, and what else they're planning other than a hockey game?" I asked. I loved watching hockey, so I was sure to be kept entertained by all that went into the game, but I knew a game didn't last all day.

"From what I understand, it's kind of like the Olympics. The hockey game is the main attraction, but there are also archery, snowboarding and speed skating events," he explained.

"So, it really is going to be a full day of stuff."

I wondered if anyone could enter the events. I wasn't really good at any of them, but the thought of accidently shooting an arrow in Rick's butt sounded like a fun way to waste a few minutes.

"Yup. Apparently it's a big party atmosphere and everyone really enjoys it," he replied. "I know you hate parties, but I think you'll enjoy this one."

"Should I be nice and make everyone pancakes this morning?" I asked.

"We'll need our energy to get our spot in the game, so that would be very kind of you," he said, leading me out the door. Food seemed to be a big motivator for all the men in my life.

Downstairs, we found Vinnie already fixing the pancakes, which wasn't surprising. "You know, Vinnie dear, you are lucky I like you. There are very few people I'm okay with cooking food for me. How have you been? I haven't seen you much the past couple of days."

"I've been well. Your fiancé has been keeping me busy, but I've been enjoying the work," he replied.

"You don't happen to want to tell me what you've been up to, do you?" I asked.

"I agree with Nate that's better you don't know just yet. I imagine by the end of the day everything will be revealed," he informed me.

"Just as long as we're in agreement that you two never side against me like this again."

"I don't think we're siding against you. We're both committed to protecting you and that's what we're doing," Nate said.

"Fine, whatever. You got any of those pancakes ready for me, Vinnie?" I asked, ready to refuel. Dinner had replenished some of the calories I'd lost from flying around, but I felt famished.

"Sure, here are four with your name on them," he said, passing me a plate. Nate grabbed his own plate and we sat down to spread butter over them before topping them with maple syrup.

As we were chowing down, Elizabeth entered the room and grabbed a plate for herself. Like me, she was still in her pajamas, which consisted of black silk pants and a matching top. I thought the fabric looked a little cold for an Alaskan night. I swore by my cotton clothes, though, so I was admittedly biased.

"Good morning, parental units," she said.

"Good morning," Nate and I said between bites.

"So, what are your guys' plans for the day?" she asked.

"Well, the tryout thingys are today, so I think most of the guys are going to be busy with that, while I watch from the sidelines," I replied.

"That's going to be boring. How about you ride up with me to Bethel, so I can get some supplies. When guys start playing together, there are always injuries and I want to make sure that I have plenty of bandages."

"That sounds like fun. Just let me know when you want to leave," I said, finishing off my pancakes. "I'm going to go put on some decent clothes for the ride, and then I'll be ready anytime."

I was hoping a little alone time would allow me to extract tidbits of my life Nate wasn't ready to talk about. I didn't truly expect to be successful. I wasn't sure exactly what he'd threatened everyone with, but the way people clammed up around me made me think his punishments weren't nice.

"I'll probably be ready in an hour, so take your time," she replied.

I got upstairs and changed into my jeans, boots and a top that said _National Sarcasm Society_ with a nice little logo and then a line that said _Like we need your support_. I ran a brush through my hair, which was getting increasingly greasy.

Not liking how it was sitting, I grabbed a ponytail holder and pulled it back. That was as good as I was going to get without a few hours in a bath, so I headed back downstairs.

Vinnie and Nate were deep in discussion, so I walked over to interrupt. As soon as they saw me, they stopped talking. If they didn't want to appear suspicious, they should've kept it up but changed the subject.

"What ya guys talking about?" I asked.

"Nothing important. You all ready to go into town?" Nate responded.

"As ready as I will ever be. Is anyone else going with us?"

"Nope. I think it will be good for you and Elizabeth to hang out together, but I want you to be extra cautious. You didn't choose today to forget to wear your knives, did you?" Nate asked.

"I'm packing my normal amount weaponry. Are you worried I'll run into a hungry polar bear?"

"You never know. I want you to be on alert and don't rely on a spell to save you. You're just learning how to use them and it takes time for you to get them out. If you find yourself in any kind of trouble that you have issues getting out of, turn in to a phoenix and fly back," he lectured.

"Yes, mother," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"You don't know how hard it is for me to let you go out without any of your bodyguards. I'm trying really hard not to freak out."

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I know. This is the first time in months I'll be without you and it already feels strange. I won't be gone too long. I'm hoping we can make it back before lunchtime, because I really would like to watch some of the tryouts."

The front door opened and Elizabeth walked in. That was kind of odd; I thought she was in her room getting ready.

"You ready to head out?" she asked.

"Sure, let's go." I gave Nate a final kiss good-bye and followed her over to the snowmobile shed.

We jumped on, starting the trip through the snow. For wanting company on the trip, Elizabeth sure wasn't talking. After about ten miles, I noticed my snowmobile chugging a little oddly. Three minutes later it stopped altogether.

"What in the world?" I asked as I jumped off to take a look.

Elizabeth doubled back around and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, it just died on me and I don't know why. We should've brought the sled thing with extra gas. I'm guessing it ran out," I said as I unscrewed the fuel lid to try to see inside. Without a flashlight I ruled that impossible.

Elizabeth got off her snowmobile and walked over to me. "That's too bad. What's the phoenix queen to do now?" she asked in a tone I didn't much care for. "Out alone without your guardians once again." She started laughing, a high cackle-like sound.

"Are you okay?" I asked, getting a little concerned for her mental health. I'd heard we didn't get sick often, but I wasn't sure if that covered mental illness.

"Why wouldn't I be? You killed my husband two days ago and acted like you did something special," she replied.

"Your husband? I killed a warlock two days ago. Last I checked phoenixes only married other phoenixes. How in the world was the warlock your husband?" I asked. The mental health issue was looking more promising.

"That would be true, you stuck-up pansies. No one is good enough for the phoenixes. You'll see what happens when Master gets a hold of you. You'll be begging for someone to help you, but no one will, because you're just too good for the rest of us," she said. The look of my death in her eyes was a little unnerving, but I'd seen the look before.

"You aren't my daughter."

"No, and I'm not as stupid as my husband to try to fight you with magic," she said as she pulled out a dagger.

She lunged at me and I tried to dive out of the way, but she delivered a slice into my side. Dang it. That fricken hurt. I grabbed the machete from my back sheath, not even bothering to go for a throwing knife. She wanted a knife fight; she was going to get one.

"Where is my daughter and what in the not nice word are you?" I asked as we started to dance.

"After I'm through with you, your daughter is going to be the least of your worries. This dagger I have can kill you," she taunted.

"Like hell it can," I responded. "There's only one knife out there that can and that little baby dagger is not it."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked as she took another dive at me.

"Because, you idiot, you've already cut me with it and I seem to be still standing. I'm pretty sure your 'master's' knife just needs to draw a little blood to do its job." Whether that was the case or not, I wasn't letting her sink the blade into me a second time.

"That doesn't mean I can't do a lot of damage before I take you to him to finish you off," she said, trying to figure out a way for her to get the advantage.

"Screw this," I said, tired of playing around with her. When it came to fights, I was always impatient. I threw the machete at her stomach. It was a big enough target that even though it wouldn't kill her, it would probably stop her for a second.

Seconds after I let the knife go, I heard Nate yell, "Avery, get down." I followed instructions and hit the dirt, or snow in that situation. Two guns firing in rapid succession echoed above my body.

When the firing stopped, I looked up to see Rick and Nate walking towards me. I glanced over to see a woman who no longer looked anything like my daughter. She had jet black hair and had aged ten or twenty years. I wasn't close enough to analyze all her features, but the blood pouring out of her and vacant eyes led me to believe she wasn't exactly amongst the living.

"Would someone like to explain what's going on?" I asked, dropping my hands to my hips.

CHAPTER 28

Tonight the wolf is silent and only the moon howls

Before my question was answered, Nate walked over and removed the machete from the lady's stomach. He quickly made short work of removing her head and kicked it out of the way.

"Do you want the honors of torching her?" he asked me. That didn't answer my question, but I thought it was fair to burn her after she'd drawn blood.

"Sure," I said, standing up and throwing a couple fireballs at her two parts. While we watched her burn I said, "I'm still waiting for an answer. What's going on?"

"That thing was a skin-walker. Nasty little things," Nate replied, spitting on the ground like he ate something distasteful.

"Can you give me some more details on what that means?" I asked. I didn't understand why we had to run into every creature known to man during our trip.

"Sure, little sis." Rick came over to put his arm around me as we watched our little bonfire. "That thing uses magic to borrow the form and memories from another person. The good news for us is that in order to keep the other shape they have to leave their victim alive."

"And just how long has it been known that she wasn't our daughter?" I questioned the two of them. I knew I was the last one to know.

"Well, Rick knew immediately that it wasn't Elizabeth. I'm pretty sure the berserkers probably did too. Liam would've been used to Elizabeth's energy signature and there's no way Kyle would have thought she was still a bird. She can take the shape, but she wouldn't have been able to replicate the phoenix part of our daughter," Nate explained.

"Why in the world didn't someone say something to me? Or say something in general. Shouldn't you guys have attacked immediately? When did you two know?" I asked.

"Rick and I didn't have a chance to talk that first night, we could've tried to send private messages, but I wasn't sure what exactly she could do. The following morning I knew it wasn't her. He later confirmed it for me.

"Before you ask, I knew because she ate the biscuits and gravy. Our real daughter hasn't eaten meat from animals with hooves for years. I'm sure the skin-walker knew that, but probably didn't think anyone would pick up on it," Nate said. "Vinnie also knew something was up. I'm still not sure how, but I think it's something with one of his systems that he's been tweaking to be able to tell when uniques are around. He told me he wouldn't do you much good without being able to analyze threats."

"Okay, the question of why I wasn't told is still on the table," I said. They hadn't answered why they didn't attack immediately, but I was having trouble following exactly what they were saying.

"That's simple, baby girl. We all know you're a horrible actor. Even the guys who just met you know that, and since it was determined between meaningful looks that we were going to let things run their course, we couldn't tell you a thing."

"I'm an undercover FBI agent, which kind of means I have to be a great actor," I countered.

After Rick picked himself off the ground from laughing, Nate very gently said, "I love you, sweetheart, but you're a horrible actor. If you recall, your first case you ended up telling the suspect we were on to him, and the second one you ended up getting sick of the suspects and pretty much told them to go screw themselves. In this case, our daughter's life was on the line, so we had to make sure that thing wasn't alerted that we were on to her."

"Okay, I see your point, but I'm getting better at my social skills. By the time we go on our next mission, I'm sure I'll be top of the line," I replied. "So how do we go about getting the real Elizabeth back?"

"Vinnie probably already has her. He's been following the skin-walker around and learned yesterday where she was keeping Elizabeth," Rick said, wiping tears from his eyes. I kicked him in the shin just for fun. It had virtually no effect on him, but it made me feel better.

"Can we head back?" I asked. "I'd love to meet my real daughter. I hope she's a lot friendlier than that thing. Now that I think about it, when it first arrived it tried to act overly friendly, but then pretty much tried to ignore us except for at meal time."

"I imagine she was limiting her time with us, so she wouldn't make a mistake and blow her cover. I don't think we can do anything more here, and our snowmobiles aren't very far away. Go ahead and jump on yours and follow us," Nate said after giving me a quick kiss.

By mine, I assumed he meant the one the skin-walker was on, since mine had a mechanical malfunction. He hadn't mentioned anything about the cut I'd received, so I hoped he'd missed that part of my showdown.

The trip back only took twenty-five minutes, thankfully. By the end of it, I was feeling a little bit woozy. I had a feeling my adrenaline was keeping the cut from hurting too bad. When I got off the snowmobile, I was lightheaded. Obviously I wasn't one of those uniques who was a quick healer.

"I really hate to ask this, but would one of you mind carrying me back to the house?" I asked. "I'm not feeling so hot."

Nate rushed over and grabbed me just before I hit the ground. I remembered him picking me up, but not much after that.

When I came to, I was on one of the patient beds Elizabeth had set up. I closed my eyes again, not wanting to keep them open.

"What happened?" I asked, hoping someone was in the room. Knowing my fiancé, I doubted he'd left me alone.

"The knife hit your spleen and it ruptured," Nate answered. "It's already grown back, so there's nothing to worry about."

"How long have I been out?" I asked, while I pondered how cool it was to grow back organs.

"Only about eighteen hours. Elizabeth wanted to wake you up a while ago, but I told her to let you rest. The knife also had some kind of poison on it. We don't think it caused any issues, though. Maybe it made you a little sleepy, but we can't prove whether it was that or just your body healing itself," he replied.

"I see my patient is up," I heard Elizabeth say. I opened my eyes because she sounded exactly like the other woman, and I wanted to see if I could tell any differences. "How are you feeling, Mom?"

"If you're really my daughter, I'll say I'm feeling pretty good." I didn't see anything that appeared that much different from the other person. It was still eyes that looked like mine staring back at me.

"I can turn into a phoenix if you want me to prove it," she said.

"No, that's fine. If your dad believes you're you, then that's good enough for me."

"But who's to say Dad is really Dad?" she asked. I supposed she thought I'd freak out, but there was an easy way to test that.

"That's easy to answer," I replied. Having been told I was all healed, I threw the blanket off and made my way off the bed, over to Nate. I was happy to see I was wearing clothing, even if it was only a long t-shirt. I'd have to ask later who dressed me. I grabbed Nate's hand and felt the soulmate shiver that let me know it was him. "Test accomplished."

"And that's a good test to keep in mind," he said. "No one will be able to duplicate what you feel when we touch."

"So where is everyone else?" I asked. It was awfully quiet in the house.

"The opening ceremony for the games starts in about ten minutes, so they went to check it out," Nate replied. "They knew it was just a matter of you waking up from your nap, so they didn't feel too bad about taking off to have fun."

"Well, what are we doing sitting around here? I'll get changed and we can go watch them too." I headed out of the room and up the stairs to get dressed. I threw on the first things I found, not caring that the shirt was actually one of Nate's. Grabbing my boots, I trekked right back down the stairs.

"Don't you look cute in my shirt," Nate taunted.

"There's no time for that discussion. We don't want to miss the ceremony," I said, grabbing him and heading for the door. "Hurry up, Elizabeth," I yelled, assuming she'd catch up.

Not knowing where to go, I followed a glow of light I could see over the buildings. It led to a gathered crowd. It was only a couple hundred people, and they were lighting some torches. It was a little cliché in my book.

"It's still pretty dark out," I said to Nate. "Do you want to light up the sky for them?"

"I think they'd enjoy that."

I quickly said the anti-burning clothes spell, since I wasn't sure it was permanent, and we ducked behind the nearest building to change, where we didn't think anyone would see us. When we donned our phoenix forms, we both launched ourselves high into the sky above the crowd. We gracefully performed a dance, leaving trails of light through the sky with our tails.

After a while we tired and floated back down to earth. Being unconscious for so long, it wasn't the brightest thing I'd ever done, but it was one of the most fun.

"That was beautiful," Frannie said, running over to us. We changed back into humans and were both sweating up a storm.

"I can't believe I forgot what it felt like to be up there," I said as I caught my breath.

"There's the grand marshal of our games this year," Liam announced, making his way with Kyle through the crowd.

"Who, me?" I asked.

"That would be you. We can't really start these games without our queen," Kyle replied.

"Do I have to do anything special?" I inquired. I was ready for another nap.

"Not really. Just call the start of the games," Liam informed me.

"Okay. Let the games begin," I said in my loudest voice. The people all cheered and headed off in one direction.

"Where is everyone going?" I asked.

"To get breakfast. Vinnie, Miranda and Joseph have been busy preparing it all morning. How they talked Joseph into helping, I'll never know," Kyle explained.

"He has a thing for the fox," Liam answered. "I think when he saw her close to dying, he developed a little crush on her. He has a thing for people who need a strong man in their life. That's the real reason why after he got over the initial draw to you, he didn't want to pursue a relationship, Avery. He realized what a fierce woman you are and backed off immediately."

"That was smart of him. I'm kind of hungry, why don't we make our way over to the food," I said.

We waited in line and eventually got fed. Nate and Rick were too busy playing with the skin-walker to make it to any of the tryouts, so they ended up hanging out with me. The different events throughout the day were fun to watch. Liam won the archery event, barely beating his brother. Miranda, the little speedster, ended up winning the female speed skating event.

I didn't know any of the contestants in the snowboarding event, but it was still fun to watch. Towards the end of the day, they finally got to the hockey game. All the guys I knew were on the same team, so I didn't feel bad cheering for one side over the other.

The uniques played a very brutal game of hockey. I should've taped it to show anyone who complained about the violence in the human version of the game. The guys didn't believe in a referee and it was almost like they thought the team with the most hits was who won the game. It was too bad the Elizabeth I went out with the day before wasn't the real one, because I was pretty sure she could've used all those extra bandages we were supposed to be going to get.

When things were finally called to an end, the team with my friends on it was the one to score the lone goal, making them the winners. I cheered with the rest of the crowd as they were presented with some kind of trophy. The people started breaking up and heading home. With the games over, that meant come morning I got to head to my home back in New York.

I remembered that I hadn't had a chance to make up my list of demands for the berserkers. I grabbed Nate and Rick and told them we had something that had to get done before the night was through. We made it back to Elizabeth's in record time. I got out a pen and paper and started writing, while taking any extra suggestions the guys had.

CHAPTER 29

A little more now you see me, now you don't

In the morning, I woke up excited for the trip to come. I was even working out a plan so I didn't have to fly. Nate was already out of bed, so I grabbed my list for Liam and Kyle and headed downstairs to find everyone, except Frannie and Gary, already gathered in the living room.

"Hurry up and pack, my little butterfly," Nate said. "We have a special stop we want to make before we head home."

Being a good little soldier, I did as he commanded and managed to get dressed as I threw everything in my bag. Not wanting to carry it down the stairs, I made it float behind me. I was enjoying the fact that I could show off a little. Everyone had already seen me do the trick, so it wasn't like anyone found it shocking.

"Okay, where we're going is less than an hour by plane, so let's head over to the airport," Nate said. "You can give the guys your demands during the flight."

"Doesn't them already being on the plane diminish the fact that I have demands they must agree to before I allow them to come live with us?" I asked. The plan to go somewhere special was cool, but it was messing up the fun I'd scheduled for the morning.

"Maybe just a little, but I'm pretty sure they've figured out they get to come. Especially when they were told to pack their bags last night by Vinnie," Rick stated.

"Seriously, Vinnie, you sold me out? I would've never imagined you giving them the okay," I said, whining. He was the one who said we had to vote on things.

"They're big and strong. We're going to need them to help protect you. I'm not sure I see the reasoning behind the fox coming along, but the guys make perfect sense," he replied.

"You mean Miranda is coming too?" I asked. I got the feeling I'd been in one of my comas again. It was like the second I fell asleep, everyone else went behind my back to make decisions.

"Yup," Nate said. "It's all part of that 'her life now belongs to you' crap. If we didn't bring her with us, eventually she would've ended up on our doorstep, so we decided to okay her move."

"We're going to run out of bedrooms if we aren't careful," I pointed out.

"We have enough room to add on to the house if need be. We could also do some remodeling to the existing house if we need more rooms. You know as well as I do that there's plenty of space we aren't using," Nate replied. I was glad he was already busy thinking about those things. As long as my room wasn't touched, I didn't really care what happened in the rest of the house.

I said good-bye to Elizabeth. "You know it's kind of sad that I spent more time with the fake you than the real you," I told her.

"No worries, Mom. I'm just happy to hear you got your memories of me back. That means I won't have to get intercepted by Dad anymore when I call wanting to talk to you," she replied. "I miss the long talks we used to have."

We gave each other a hug and I was hesitant to let go, "My phone line is always open for you, Tulip. I may not be able to give the best advice right now, but if you need to bend someone's ear, I'm there for you."

We headed out to the airport, where Frannie and Gary had been waiting for us, after making sure everyone else's luggage made it aboard the plane. The plane didn't seem quite as scary since I'd flown under my own power, but I still wouldn't be adding one to my Christmas list.

The plane took off, and I had no clue which direction we are heading. I started to wonder if everyone else was in on this special stop. I assumed they were. Little did they know, once we turned and were pointed in the direction of home, I had a surprise of my own.

Fairly quickly the plane made its descent and we landed. We filed out of the plane to see yet another snow covered view. So far the surprise wasn't too impressive. I looked around and saw nothing that told me the landscape was different than any of the other ones I'd seen while in Alaska.

"Wait for it," Nate told me. I thought that was what I'd been doing, but evidently I hadn't tilted my head the right direction for it to be effective.

All of a sudden a giant white horse landed in front of us, which caused me to take a step back. The horse not only had a single horn on the top of his head, but he also had a ten-foot-wide wingspan.

"Pegasus," I said in awe. I didn't know of any other white, winged horses, so I hoped I hadn't offended him by using that name.

He bowed slightly and said, "The king and queen of the phoenixes. I'm honored you have chosen to visit us."

"As are we at the fact that you have come to greet us personally," Nate replied. "My queen here was hoping to see the unicorns before we left Alaska."

"That will not be a problem. My children always love showing off for visitors," he said and he took to the skies. "Just follow me."

We remained on foot as he led us to a snow meadow; I didn't really have a better term for it. The meadow was full of about fifty white horses with single horns, better known to most as unicorns.

"Oh my goodness, look at them all," I said, taking in the view. They looked to be all full-grown, which was a little sad, because I imagined the babies were the cutest things. "I thought the skin-walker was joking about having to come help the sick unicorn."

I hadn't really given it a lot of thought, but I assumed since she was a giant liar, the part about visiting the unicorns was part of that. The fact that they'd existed had been backed up by the others, but I didn't think I'd get to see them.

"Elizabeth told me she made the journey the skin-walker mentioned the week before," Nate said.

"This is so cool," I said, unable to take my eyes away from the scene before me. "What are some facts you can tell me about them?"

"As you heard Pegasus allude to, he is the king of the unicorns. He is the only one of them that can fly, though. Their tears can cure illnesses and their horns can be deadly weapons," Vinnie informed me.

"Where did you read that, Wikipedia?" I asked him.

"No, Rick helped me download copies of many of your ancient texts. He figured having a computer that is able to process thousands of times faster than a human would make research a lot easier. I'm almost done indexing everything for easy access," he replied.

Rick and Nate were going to get smacked at some point. I didn't think it was nice to do it in front of our present company, but it wasn't right that they were letting Vinnie read the books and not me.

"That's pretty cool, I suppose. I'm guessing they've made it so I don't have unlimited access to your newfound knowledge," I said.

"You would be right, but I am getting you some copies of our son's books, so you'll be able to study up on the different kinds of uniques and other vital information," Nate responded. "After we ran into the menagerie in Eek, it's best you know what's out there and whether we have knowledge that would help you in a fight."

His words were music to my ears, and made the hour of watching the unicorns play even more enjoyable. When I finally had enough, we went back to the plane. Just before takeoff, I put my little plan into action.

"Well, I think one plane trip is enough for me in a day. We'll see you guys back at the house," I said, before reciting a spell I'd been working on. For how short it was, it was sad that it'd taken me more than a minute to put it together. "We are here, but want to be there; take me and Nate to his big comfy chair."

I closed my eyes, not sure what was going to happen, and suddenly felt like I was sitting on something lumpy, since I had been standing, it was definitely a change. I wiggled around a little and figured out the lumpiness was Nate.

"You know, you could've warned me you were going to do that," he said as he resituated me into a more comfortable position.

As he was moving me, I felt a sharp pain in my head that quickly went away. I was going to have to look into spellcasting causing headaches. The other headaches I'd experienced could be tied to me working a little magic, so I assumed there was some sort of correlation.

"What fun would it have been if you were prepared?" I asked.

"For you, probably none. For me, probably the same answer, but I could've at least closed my eyes. With them open, I got a sense of vertigo that wasn't enjoyable. We should probably call Rick and let him know we didn't just fall off the face of the earth."

"I got it," I said as I mentally sent Rick a message, saying we made it home safe. The telepathy thing wasn't tied to the sorceress stuff, at least I didn't think it was, and I didn't receive any extra head pains.

Romeo and Juliet scampered in to greet us. "Oh my little babies," I said, jumping up and running to pet them. "Mommy missed you guys so much. We're bringing new people home to play with you guys. You're never going to be bored again. We even found you a little fox to play with. Won't that be great?"

They were happy to just be getting their bellies rubbed and didn't care what I was saying. When they'd had their fill of me, they ran over and jumped on Nate's lap, where he proceeded to pet them as well.

"How in the world did you guys get in the house?" my father said from the doorway.

"I may have picked up a little magic while we were in Alaska and used it to bypass an unnecessary plane ride," I informed him, with a smile plastered on my face.

"Did you get everything sorted out with Elizabeth?" my mother asked, pushing my father out of the way to get a look at me.

"Yup, we should be all sorted. When the plane lands, the household is going to double. We brought back a couple berserkers, the king of the wolves and a fox who thinks I saved her life. I did actually save her life, but she's taking her repayment for that a little too far."

"You make the most interesting friends," my dad said. That wasn't the first time I'd heard that, but it was becoming even truer.

Nate dove in, telling them more details about what really went on during the trip. They were intrigued by the idea that I could cast spells. I didn't really want to suffer another headache, so I told them all demonstrations would have to wait for a later date.

"It's so nice to have you guys back," my mother said. "We found this note taped to the door yesterday. It was addressed to you, so we didn't open it."

She retrieved the note from a nearby table and handed it to me. I could tell I wasn't going to like its contents. Nothing ever good came from a note taped to the door.

"Thanks, Mom," I said, grabbing the note. I opened it to find a disturbing letter.

Dear Miss Phoenix Queen,

You have made a grave mistake murdering my son and daughter-in-law. I was previously going to just kill you, but you have upped the stakes. I think I will start by having my minions keep you a little busy for a while, and then, when you least expect it, I will come for you.

Now I know my son was lacking the proper brain cells to make his IQ even close to normal, but that doesn't change the fact that he was mine. I hope you are getting over that little fear you have a flying, because I have a feeling you are going to be taking a lot of trips in the future.

Until we meet and I am bathing in your blood,

Master

It was a little disturbing he knew about my fear of flying, and that he actually went by the name Master. I'd have to make sure I broke his crystal ball when we met, which I knew was something that would eventually happen.

"Who's it from?" Nate asked. He'd been nice enough to let me read it before trying to snatch it out of my hands.

"Just our new best friend. It seems our trip to Alaska has totally changed this game of chess. I hope you and everyone else is ready to battle," I said as I handed him the note.

It had been a long few days and I was ready for that bath I promised myself. I doubted the "master" was going to show up demanding to fight within the next hour, so I let myself relax and put off any worries until a later date.

**THE END**
AFTERWORD

If you want to know the end, look at the beginning

Well that's it. One more of Avery's adventures down. This was another fun book to write and about midway through I was thinking I would wrap everything up in one last book, but I figured out I had too many more ideas for stories floating around in my head.

As I go through the books, I want to get the idea across that Avery's abilities are growing, and they're really strong, but I want to walk the fine line of making it seem ridiculous, which when the possibilities are endless is kind of hard. I've been trying to put in checks and balances, and I think the next book will delve more into the idea that using magic always has a price.

The next book will have at least one wedding and we will meet more of the "master's" little minions, who of course are up to no good. The good news for Avery is she won't have to fly for this trip, even though it doesn't scare her as much anymore.

Thank you to those of you who have kept reading this series. I know the subject and my writing style isn't for everyone, but I've seen notes and comments letting me know people are interested in finding out what happens next. As long as there's one person out there who wants to know, I'll make sure we get to the conclusion.

**Amber**
About the Author

Amber has always had a passion for the written word. Along with that, she's always had ideas for stories swimming around in her head. It finally got to the point where she couldn't take it anymore and had to start getting her thoughts down on paper. There are still too many ideas, but she is working to get them out as fast as she can. Her hope is that one day her brain will be hers again.

Other hobbies of Amber's include: drawing, baking, arts and crafts, motorcycles, hockey and archery. She likes to think she has eclectic tastes where her hobbies are concerned. She loves to laugh and tries to make herself smile at least once a day. With the crazy thoughts going on in her head that usually isn't hard.
Other books by Amber Lynn:

Argonauts' Adventures

The Witch's Web

The Dragon's Fire

Daughter of Gaia Series

Daughter of Gaia

Queen of Aquima

Nightwalker Saga

The Nightwalker Knocks

The Nightwalker Teaches

Unlucky in Love series

Calypso in Love

Nani in Love

Rhea in Love

Hermia in Love

Desma in Love

Nyx Slaughter series

Night Calls

Night Marks

Night Bites

Night Howls

Night Lurks

Night Finds

Night Rises

Nyx Slaughter: Books 1-7

More Books

Searching for Home

Between Blood

