The Phoenix Prophecy: Nova

“So, Kole… are pancakes your specialty? Do you cook other stuff?” I know it’s a lame question, but his brooding silence is killing me. 

“Mack does evenings, Kole does mornings.” Tanner replies for him, shoveling a forkful of pancakes and syrup into his mouth. A bead of syrup catches on his lip. I wipe it with my index finger and, without thinking, put my finger in my mouth. Watching me, Tanner’s eyes look like they might pop right out of his head.

Blushing, I wipe my hand on a napkin then concentrate on moving a blueberry around my plate with my fork. 

As Kole gets up to make more coffee, Tanner leans in and whispers, “That was so fucking hot.”

My skin is fizzing. I’m thinking about what happened when I was hiding under Kole’s desk. When I tasted Tanner’s…

“Juice?”

I blink hard and shake my head. 

Kole is speaking to me. “Nova?” He is pointing at a jug on the countertop. “Juice?”

“Yes. Please.” I nudge Tanner with my elbow because he’s still leaning in close to me and the warmth of his body next to mine is getting too much to handle. 

Accepting the glass Kole offers me, I’m starting to wonder how I’m going to get out of my swimming lesson this afternoon. I didn’t lie when I told him I couldn’t swim—I really can’t—but of course, there’s a much bigger reason I don’t want to be in a bathing suit around him. I’m about to suggest that maybe we just stick to the picnic, at least until I’ve had a chance to buy something to swim in, when Tanner sits up and says, “Sounds like Mack and Luther are back.”

“Back? Where have they been?” I push away my empty plate.

Tanner shrugs. “Work, I guess.” But he exchanges a look with Kole, which tells me something else is going on here. 

Kole nods, almost imperceptibly, puts down the jug of juice, and stalks off into the hall. 

Tanner is still talking to me about swimming. Describing the lake and the town’s infamous falls. But he stops when raised voices float in from the hall. 

A few moments later, Kole is back. His eyes are dark, his jaw clenched. Instead of walking over to the table, he stays by the stove, lingering by the wall like a bodyguard or a cop.

Tanner looks at me, then slowly stands up, angling himself so he’s blocking Kole from my view. “Has something happened?” he asks, gesturing for me to stay seated.

“Mack and Luther need to speak with Nova.” Kole’s voice is almost a growl. 

Mack enters the room first. He sees me and walks straight over to the table, sitting down opposite me like we’re in an interrogation room at a police station. 

He must have noticed the panicked expression on my face because he pats my hand gently. “It’s okay, Nova, we just need to talk with you.”

Luther is next through the door. With him comes a wave of heat that almost knocks me from my chair. I look at the others to see if they’re feeling it too, but they don’t seem to have noticed. He’s holding his phone and sets it down on the table between Mack and I.

Sitting down slowly beside me, Tanner pats my thigh and moves his gaze from Mack to Luther. “What’s going on, guys? This all feels a little heavy, don’t you think?”

Still standing, Luther gestures to the phone. Mack unlocks it and slides it toward me. “Do you recognize this place, Nova?”

I study Mack’s face for a few long seconds before lowering my eyes to the phone. As I take in what he’s showing me, my gut lurches into my throat. A prickly heat breaks out on my skin.

“Nova?” Tanner points at the phone. “You know it?”

“It’s my apartment.” My voice comes out small and croaky. I’m staring at a photograph of my couch. A charcoal husk in the middle of a blackened room.

“There’s more.” Luther’s eyes flash with fire. Literal fire. I can feel it in him and around him, swirling through his veins. He’s a fire mage. I should have seen it sooner.

In response, my own body begins to feel hotter.

“Is this how your clothes were burned?” Mack asks me. “You were in a fire?”

I blink hard, then frown. “How did you know…?”

“We found your clothes.” Luther answers me, glaring.

Tanner’s hand is still on my thigh, but now I slide it away and push my chair back from the table. Standing up, I wrap my arms around my waist, then put my hands on my hips. “You guys have been snooping through my things? Going behind my back? Fishing for information about me? Why not ask me? Just ask me what you want to know.”

“We did.” Kole steps out from the corner of the room. “You lied.”

“I didn’t lie.” I look at each of them in turn. “My ex tried to hurt me. I ran away. That was all true.”

“Are you sure?” Luther reaches for his phone again. Does he have more photos?

“Yes. I’m telling you the truth.”

“But you didn’t mention that the place you ran away from was in the Anti Magick Belt.” Luther moves closer, staring me down.

But then Tanner stands up and slots himself between us. Putting his palm on Luther’s chest, he says, “Slow down, Luther. Slow down.”

“She told us she was from Thunder Bay. That’s a lie. She’s from a town called Ridgemore. A town with one of the most active factions of the Anti Magick Alliance in the entire country.”

Slowly, Tanner moves next to me. “Is that true?”

Without looking at him, I nod. “Yes. But…”

“We spoke to your colleagues at the pharmacy, and to your neighbors, and the doctors at the hospital. They all say it was you who started the fire.”

I shake my head. The heat in my limbs is fierce and intensifying. I snap my eyes open. When I speak, there’s a dark steadiness to my voice that I didn’t expect. “The hospital? Johnny’s alive? You saw him?”

“We didn’t see him, but we visited the hospital. He’s alive. Unconscious but alive.” Mack stands up and leans against the end of the table.

“Nova?” Tanner puts his hand on my arm. “Maybe you should tell us the truth? You can trust us.” He smiles and nods. “You can trust me.”

“I…”

“Enough.” Luther strides forward and pushes Tanner away from me, then grabs me by the shoulders, his fingernails digging into my flesh. “Tell us, right now, who are you? Why are you here? Are you A.M.A.?”

“I…” I’m shrinking back.

Tanner tries to pull Luther away from me. “Do you think this is the way to get answers? To scare her half to death?” His tone darkens. “By the moon, Luther, let her go or I’ll make you.”

Then Mack’s there, stepping between them. In one swift movement, he shoves them apart and, for the second time since we met, I’m almost certain a growl comes from his throat. “Cool it.” He holds up his palms. “Both of you. Take a breath.”

But Luther’s not in the mood for taking a breath. He flexes his fingers and their tips erupt into tiny orange flames. “You were there, Mack. You heard what her neighbors said. Her boyfriend is hooked up with the A.M.A. The day of the fire, she was at a fucking A.M.A. rally with him.” He spins to face me, and now there are balls of flames in his palms.

“Luther! That’s enough!” Kole’s voice shakes the room like thunder. In a few strides, he’s across the kitchen and standing in front of me like a shield. But Luther’s not cooling down.

I can barely breathe. Panic is taking hold. My body wants to erupt into flame, but I can’t let that happen. Not here. Not now. Then suddenly there’s water. Raining down from the ceiling. Luther yells and his flames sizzle. I turn to look at Tanner. His eyes are bright ice blue. His hand raised, fingers splayed in the direction of the sink, pulling an arc of water from the tap and up into the air in an attempt to extinguish Luther’s heat.

Luther lunges for him and the water stops falling.

Kole and Mack try to separate them.

And I run.