Phoenix Revealed: An Urban Fantasy Adventure: Mythical Alliance: Phoenix Team

By Claire Luana

A ghost from his past. A secret revealed. Love may be the only thing that can set them free…

 

Desperate to keep Phoenix Team safe, Konstantin Bauer has no choice but to confront the Authority, his powerful vampire Maker. Armed with a rare poison that can kill Authentic vampires, Konstantin swears to kill her, no matter the cost to himself.

 

Determined to solve the mystery of Konstantin's sudden disappearance, Zariya and the team defy orders and track him to the Democratic Republic of Creatures, the seat of the Authority's power. Unwittingly, their rescue efforts lead the team directly into the Authority's clutches, leaving Phoenix Team at her mercy. Outgunned and trapped on enemy soil, the depth of Zariya and Konstantin's love may be their only shot to pull this one out of the fire.

 

Phoenix Revealed is the fifth episode of a SERIALIZED urban fantasy tale.  Approximately 28,000 words or 110 print pages. Cliffhangers ahead...

 

The Mythical Alliance series is perfect for fans of Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Lindsay Hall, and B.R. Kingsolver! Scroll up and one-click today to sink your teeth into this urban fantasy tale filled with fierce heroines, non-stop adventure, and irresistible romance! 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Live Edge Publishing
• Release date: Oct 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781948947077

Claire Luana

Claire Luana grew up in Edmonds, Washington, reading everything she could get her hands on and writing every chance she could get. Eventually, adulthood won out and she turned her writing talents to more scholarly pursuits, graduating from University of Washington School of Law and going to work as a commercial litigation attorney at a mid-sized law firm. While continuing to practice law, Claire decided to return to her roots and try her hand once again at creative writing. Her first novel, Moonburner, was published in 2016 with Soul Fire Press, an imprint of Christopher Matthews Publishing. She is currently working on the sequel,Sunburner. In her (little) remaining spare time, she loves to hike, travel, run, play with her two dogs, and of course, fall into a good book.

Book preview

1

The desert heat hit Konstantin like the bellows of a forge.

Next to him, Enigma pivoted slowly, a hand held up to block the sun. What are we doing here?

Konstantin examined their surroundings—the expanse of mustard sand behind them, the imposing ochre cliff that seemed to touch the heavens before them, broken only by a narrow, shadowed slot canyon. It did look like the middle of nowhere. And it was.

If you didn’t know what was here, hiding just out of sight.

"I am here to see an old friend, Konstantin said. You’re heading back to Base."

Enigma’s eyebrows raised behind the thick rims of his glasses. You want me to just…leave you out here?

I’ll be fine, I assure you, Konstantin replied. He needed the warlock gone.

Do you want me to get you a water bottle or something?

Go, Enigma, Konstantin growled.

Enigma wiped his brow, which was already glistening with sweat. Okay, your funeral.

Konstantin did his best to remain calm. It wasn’t Enigma’s fault he was in this predicament. One last thing before you go. You are not to mention this location to the others. That’s an order.

Enigma frowned but shrugged. Off the books. I get it. Be careful.

I’m always careful—

But Enigma had already disappeared.

The knotted tension in Konstantin’s shoulders relaxed. Finally. Every step from here was one he had to take alone.

The high, twisting walls of the canyon provided a blessed respite from the oppressive heat of the sun. He had taken this route once before, several lifetimes ago. He’d been searching for death back then, too. Though death of a different kind.

He shoved thoughts of his team to the back of his mind. Thoughts of Zariya—fierce and breathtaking and breakable. He couldn’t risk having his Maker targeting her or the rest of Phoenix Team.

As good as his team was, they couldn’t be on guard all the time. Eventually, someone would let down their guard, for just a moment, and someone he loved would end up dead. He couldn’t be responsible for that. No, he had to confront this problem head-on. Even if it meant vanishing and leaving only questions in his wake.

Konstantin had done this for them. Galu, loyal and stalwart. Daevin, brash and brave. Luiz, who hid his tender heart beneath that layer of cocksureness. Rex, enigmatic, brilliant, and more powerful than he suspected even Rex knew. And Zariya. Undeniable. Who’d walked right through all his defenses and stolen his heart.

He shook his head. If they’d known where he was headed, they’d never have let him go alone. Which was precisely why he’d left.

At least an hour passed before Konstantin found himself at a dead end—a wall of undulating rock that stretched hundreds of feet above him. He could climb it; he was strong and nimble enough.

But he didn’t need to. There was another way through. So he knocked on the stone, the rough rock scraping his knuckles. "Merhzad! Mitunam biyam tu?" Konstantin’s Farsi was rusty, but he knew enough to ask to come inside.

No answer.

He looked up, then around. His old friend was watching from somewhere. He must be.

Konstantin’s stomach clenched in doubt. It had been hundreds of years since he’d last visited. What if Merhzad no longer lived here? Or if something had happened to him? Manticores were rumored to live for thousands of years, but Merhzad had already been old when he’d come last time—

A rumble deep in the rock set his teeth vibrating. Konstantin let out a sigh of relief as the rock face before him began to morph, pulling back to create a narrow opening.

Konstantin stepped inside and made his way through a dark passageway. When he came out the other side, it was like he’d stepped into a different world. A world of green leaves and fragrant blossoms and life.

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the rush of sensory input—the chorus of birds singing, insects humming about their business, the gentle burble of a crystal stream. The heat of the desert was filtered through the shade of the canopy, leaving the air sluggish and warm, smelling of jasmine and hyacinth.

A shadow fell across him, and he opened his eyes to find a beast that some might find terrifying. The muscled body of a brindle lion melded into wide golden wings, and the tail that twitched softly was topped with the sharp barb of a scorpion. The face was strangest of all—that of a wise old man, with silver eyes and a mane shot through with gray. Merhzad, Konstantin said with a grin. You don’t look a day over a thousand.

Merhzad mirrored his smile and opened his wings wide, curving them to pull Konstantin into an embrace. You are a sight for sore eyes, my boy.

Konstantin chuckled. No one’s called me that in six hundred years.

Well, if anyone can, it’s me. Now, come inside and let’s have some refreshments. No one comes here without a story to tell.

Chattering monkeys watched as Konstantin followed Merhzad through the pathways of the lush oasis. This hidden valley was a place of legend. Preserved, protected from the world by the very myth that made it infamous.

The Garden of Eden.

As they walked into a cool entryway carved into the rock of the canyon wall, Konstantin recognized a series of carvings on the wall. They told the story of this place—Adam and Eve, the first man and woman. And Lilith. The first vampire.

He’d been certain, back then, that the birthplace of Authentic vampires would hold the key to killing them. And he’d been right.

Merhzad led him into a large room with a soaring ceiling that let in streams of sunlight from above. They settled onto plush cushions around a short, carved table. Konstantin’s mind flashed back to centuries ago.

Will you pour the nectar? Merhzad nodded to a pitcher on the table.

It’s like nothing’s changed, Konstantin marveled as he picked it up and poured the nectar into his cup and Merhzad’s bowl. The manticore had large, lion-like paws, but he was amazingly dexterous with them. He could hold a bowl and drink as well as a man.

You’ve changed. Merhzad nodded. That much is clear.

Konstantin took a sip and the sweetness of the nectar hit his tongue. It was squeezed from one of the fruits that only grew here in the garden. I have.

Yet you are here for the same reason. Are you not?

A flush heated his cheeks, and he looked down into his cup. Merhzad had always been uncomfortably observant.

Merhzad placed his own bowl back on the table. When you came here to me, some six hundred years ago, there was a rage in you that burned so hot, I feared it would destroy you from the inside out.

Konstantin let out a dark laugh. She’d stolen everything from me.

Iona?

Konstantin’s gaze jerked up. Don’t say that name.

Merhzad shook his head briefly. She holds power over you, even after all this time. She is your Maker, yes, but you have always had the power to break free of her.

Konstantin exploded to his feet, storming across the room. She robbed me of my life. After she turned me, she let me escape, knowing I would run home to my family, knowing I would be unable to stop myself around them. Knowing I would… Images flashed in Konstantin’s mind that he’d spent centuries shoving down. His wife’s throat, torn and bloody. The glazed eyes of his little boy—

Yes, she wanted to mold you into as much of a monster as she was, Merhzad said. To unleash it in you. But you didn’t yield to the monster inside, did you?

Konstantin shook the images from his mind and paced across the room again. No, I tried to kill it. I tried to kill… Konstantin balled his hands in his fists to fight the numbness overtaking him. Remembering all the ways he’d tried to end himself. To kill the monster inside, even if it meant killing the shell of the man. But Iona had kept bringing him back. She wouldn’t let him die. Wouldn’t let him be free.

And so you escaped and found your way to me. Obsessed with the legend of Lilith, convinced that this place would have the answer you needed.

The way to kill an Authentic vampire. Konstantin rounded on him. And it does. You do have it. And—

Sit. Merhzad pointed. At least do me the honor of telling me the rest of your tale before you start asking.

Konstantin’s cheeks burned as he made his way back to his cushion. Goddammit, he’d forgotten that way Merhzad had of making him feel about ten inches tall. He sucked in a breath and let it out. After you made me stay here, for months—

Helping you heal from your trauma, Merhzad volunteered.

Yes. Konstantin softened. Merhzad had saved him. Perhaps not his body, but his soul. The manticore, through stories,