Phoenix Tonic Read online

  Phoenix

  Tonic

  Shelley Martin

  Silver Seraphim Press

  ShelleyMartinFiction.com

  Copyright © 2014 Shelley Martin

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be resold 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 the purchase-point and purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Published by Silver Seraphim Press

  Cover art by Ashley Byland with Redbird Designs

  ISBN-13: 978-1502777522

  ISBN-10: 1502777525

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to Heavenly Father, who has made me all that I am. Thank you to my parents for sticking by me through the rough patches. Thank you to my sister for always wanting to help. Thank you to my children, who have taught me so much patience. Thank you to my critique partners; you are pillars in my world. A big thanks to my beta readers, who are too many to mention, but I am grateful to every one of you! And last but not least, thank you to all my friends who let me bounce ideas for stories off them. You’re all amazing!

  Phoenix law states that when the tonic is given to a chosen human mate, it must be administered near the mortal’s death. Their weakened state will maximize the chance of the tonic’s effectiveness, and will lessen the new hybrid’s pain during transformation. Upon awakening, the hybrid fledgling must be married and mated to stabilize their new powers. Immediately.

  Chapter One

  Hailey didn’t know who to punch first, her father or her ex-boyfriend.

  In disbelief, she closed the rich oak door to her father’s high-rise office. Standing behind his desk, he clasped his hands in front of him. Short salt and pepper hair framed his aging face, his Italian suit meticulous, as always.

  Guilt creased his brow, as well it should, because the man she hated more than anything stood to his right. Hailey tried not to stare at Kallian Markham’s impressive form. His height dwarfed that of her dad. Strands of his brown hair fell in his eyes, giving playfulness to his professional appearance. She keenly remembered its softness when her fingers used to run through it.

  She dropped her purse on one of the two over-stuffed couches. “Dad, what is he doing here?”

  “Uh, Comet,” his eyes darted from Markham back to Hailey, “we have something we’d like to discuss with you.”

  She fixed her gaze on her father alone. She refused to acknowledge the other party in the room. “I’ll discuss things with you, and no one else.”

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Markham’s eyebrow raise. Did he just smile at her? “How are you today, Hailey?”

  Her name wrapped in his silken voice quickened her pulse. But she stood her ground. Her level stare held only her dad.

  After a moment of silence her father stepped forward. “Comet, I’ve asked Mr. Markham here to help you—”

  “You do realize Markham is the reason I’m dying in the first place, right Dad?” Tight and controlled, Hailey’s voice dominated the conversation. “You told me yourself, he was the one who informed the medical study team you were my father.” Her hands curled into fists. “He killed me with those words, and now he wants to help me?”

  “Yes, well…” Her father toyed with a cufflink.

  “Look, I don’t know what is going on between you two, but I don’t like it. I want Markham out of here—”

  “I’m right here, Hailey.” Markham leaned into her line of sight.

  Did she care she was talking about him as if he wasn’t there? No.

  Her father’s shoulders fell. “Comet, he can help you.”

  Oh, Dad is going to resort to begging now? “No,” she said flatly. “I don’t want help from him.”

  “Please, I know you’re hurting.” She’d rarely seen that broken look on her father’s face. She shuffled back a step. “I don’t want you to suffer any longer. I’ve done everything I can to find you something, anything, that will save you.” His voice softened. “You’re my little girl.” Yeah, his raw emotions were making a dent in her armor. “And this is the only man who can save you.”

  Hailey meant for her next statement to come out much harder than it did. “You shouldn’t have gone behind my back, Dad. There isn’t anything that will work on me. I have cancer, you need to accept that. And bringing in the man I hate most in the world will not—”

  “Shut up, Hailey.” Markham’s comment came soft, but stern.

  She blinked, and turned to Markham. “Excuse me?”

  He sauntered forward slowly, letting his fingertips drag against the cherry wood of her father’s desk. “I said shut up.” His lips turned up at the corners, but his eyes were full of sorrow. “Your father is trying to help you.”

  Her focus narrowed at the jerk. She walked to her father, whose mouth gaped as he stared at Markham. “Dad,” She tugged on his arm, “I think it would be best if you let us talk alone.” She dragged him to the door with him protesting all the way.

  “We’ll just be a minute,” She said sweetly, closing the door on her father. Leaning against the door frame for a moment, she built up courage for what she was about to do.

  “You’ve lost weight.” Despite the distance between them in the spacious office, the pain in his voice traveled up her spine.

  She turned and marched back to him. “The weight loss is your fault. The pain is your fault. My family’s suffering is your fault.” His face fell a bit. But it wasn’t enough, she wanted answers. “Why did you do it? I thought we had something. You held me in your arms when I got the rejection for the grant and the study, you schmuck. You kissed me and held me and made me feel safe. Why bother making me feel better after sentencing me to death?” Heated tears stung her eyes. “Why did you ruin my chance at living?” She glared at him through the blur.

  His face melted before her. He took a step forward, and she took a step back. “I’m so sorry.” He shook his head. “You were never supposed to find out.”

  She wiped the tear from her cheek and furrowed her brow. Did I just hear him right? “So, you’re sorry you got caught?”

  He screwed those beautiful lips to the side. “You would have gotten caught. The study and grant clearly stated it was for people for medical and financial need. How long would it have taken them to find out your father has millions? Not only that, but I’ve heard of torture methods that are less painful than that procedure. The thought of what you would have had to endure…” His lips pressed in a hard line as he shook his head. “I couldn’t allow you to hurt more than you already were.”

  How could he turn this back on her? Markham knew about the study. They’d only dated for a short time, but she remembered those days vividly. He never left her side. He put all he had into learning about the procedure and her chances. “The study had a fifty percent success rate. There was a chance no one would have found out about Dad’s money. And I could have dealt with the pain, believe me. That kind of pain eventually stops.” She took a deep breath, and bit her lip to keep it from quivering. “At least I would have had a chance.”

  With drawn brows, Kallian stared at her in silence. She star
ed right back. Finally, he broke the tension. “I could not allow you to go through the physical torture of the procedure, then the agony once they told you it hadn’t worked. That study would have consumed what little time you had left with pain, and finally rejection. It would have never worked. I was trying to protect you.”

  “But you don’t know it would have failed. No one could know that.”

  His eyes flashed with something she could never quite explain. As if he hid secrets and knowledge behind them. “I do know.”

  Her fingers ached as they dug into her palms. “But it was my choice to try. I could have fought though, unless you know something I don’t…”

  His eyes focused in the distance. “Do you remember when we were flying back from New Zealand? Your shoulders and back were sunburned from all the hiking, hang-gliding and snorkeling. As I rubbed aloe on your skin I promised I would protect you, if you would let me. Even from the sun.”

  She did remember his words. They were only out of the country for three days. It was a business trip for him. He said New Zealand was the perfect place to teach her to fly, to make that childhood dream come true. They spent hours hovering over the landscape in hang-gliders. It was the one perfect day in her life.

  Less than a week later he betrayed her.

  When Hailey didn’t say anything he stepped forward. He didn’t stop until he stood before her, his six foot four frame towering over her petite one. “I came here to set things right, Hailey.” His voice hedged on pleading, but she was just trying to hold back from pounding her fists on his chest. He hesitantly wiped another tear from her cheek. She allowed it only because she was so mentally consumed at how much she loathed him, and how genuine his emotions played on his face. She loved him so much, and he betrayed her as much as any man could.

  “I can save you… If you marry me.”

  Again, she stared at him dumbly. Her mind blanked out before a flood of reactions raced through her head. He looked serious. As if he could actually save her. The twinkle of hope snuffed itself out as she digested the rest of his words. She had to marry him? It was a trade? Did the man have no compassion? The guy was treating her life like a game. So, if I don’t marry him, he’s gonna let me suffer the last few months? He is going to let me die? Who on earth would do that to someone they cared about?

  She would never let someone die if she could save them. Ever.

  Her hand pulled back. She slapped him so hard the reverberations echoed off the office walls.

  He staggered back a couple of feet, pressing his hand to his reddened cheek. His eyebrows arched as he gawked at her.

  “No.” She walked over to the door and held it open. “Get out.”

  Chapter Two

  Kallian Markham glared at his phone before placing it back over his ear. “Thanks Malachi. I didn’t think she’d accept either, but you didn’t have to put it like that.” His stride consumed the parking lot as he pushed back the unruly dark strands hanging in his eyes.

  “I’m just outside. We can continue this conversation in a moment.” He shut the phone off and stepped into the Eden Animal Preserve. The clinical white walls always felt too sterile, making him hurry through the corridors. His dark suit stood out among the sea of white lab coats. Yanking off his sun glasses, he exposed his eyes to the fluorescent lighting.

  “Oh, good morning Mr. Markham!” A girl with a clipboard said.

  “Morning,” he plastered on his fake smile as he continued his fast-pace march through the facility. He usually liked to get a feel for how the medical team was doing on the drug, but today he wasn’t in the mood.

  “Morning, Mr. Markham,” an animal handler called.

  “Morning.” He did the smile and nod thing, not stopping once.

  “How are you today, sir?”

  He recognized a face behind a boiling beaker. “I’m good Carol. Hope your reunion went well.”

  “It’s good to see you again, sir,” A young man peeked over his dropper full of liquid.

  “Hey Max. I was right about that restaurant, wasn’t I?”

  He nodded. “You have great taste in food, sir.”

  Kallian slowed as he reached the end of the lab.

  A woman with wavy dark hair stood at her desk as he neared. “In a hurry today, Mr. Markham?”

  Kallian paused briefly before the secretary. “Yes, Phyllis. Is my brother in his office?”

  She nodded. “I believe he’s expecting you.” She walked to the open office door behind her. “Sir, your brother is here.”

  “Come in,” Malachi barked.

  Kallian stepped through the door. “Thank you Phyllis.”

  She smiled, bowed, and politely closed the door.

  Malachi’s brow drew low over his eyes. “And what would you have done if she had accepted?”

  Kallian heaved a sigh and deposited himself on the plush leather couch in the corner. His older brother acted more like their father every day. And he was starting to look like his father, too. Age-wise Malachi’s body was about twenty years older than Kallian’s thirty years. His waist line was growing while his hair was graying at the edges. “What’s wrong with me wanting to get married? Using the tonic is the only way for me to have a wife. I thought you’d be thrilled at the prospect.”

  Malachi scoffed. “You’re just a pup. You don’t know anything about marriage.”

  He rolled his eyes. “You were younger than me when you got married.”

  “And I was too young.”

  Kallian scowled at his brother’s words. “You were happy.”

  Silence hung heavy in the air as the brothers stared each other down. “Are you sure you want to do this? You barely know her. Phoenixes mate for life, brother.”

  Kallian pursed his lips with a drawn brow. “When it came to the Princess of York you weren’t so hesitant.”

  Malachi sat forward and stared at his computer. “Yes. Well, we both remember how that went.”

  Kallian, unfortunately did remember how it went with the princess, and he wished he could erase that lifetime from his memory.

  After a few moments Malachi cleared his throat. “The problem is the way you handled it. A deal like that may have been acceptable two hundred years ago, but now? Are you crazy?”

  Kallian leaned toward his brother, slowly and deliberately. “I like Miss Simmons.”

  Malachi threw his hands in the air. “Then you shouldn’t have sabotaged her chance at that medical study.”

  “I could smell the cancer on Hailey the day we met. Nothing could have saved her. She would have suffered horribly until the end. But I’ve wanted her from the moment she spoke to me. And you know how that works. I have to give a human girl the tonic when she’s on the brink of death. I had to let the cancer run its course if I wanted to bring her across.”

  Malachi sighed. “You could have done it the way Kira’s parents did it.”

  A grimace shadowed Kallian’s face. “Poison her? No way. I couldn’t do that.” He eyed his brother. “I want to give her the choice. And I don’t want to be responsible for her death.”

  “Well, you kind of are.”

  “No,” Kallian stared up at the ceiling. “Nature did that.”

  “And then you prevented the humans from helping her.” Malachi shook his head. “Well, you’ll have to seduce her, or give up. She’s not going to say yes after what you did. And Phoenix law states you can’t give her the tonic if she doesn’t accept.” He chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

  “She doesn’t have time, Malachi.” Kallian pinched the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t know her illness had progressed that far until I hacked into her medical files.” He’d kept a close eye on her, but he’d never been able to get close enough to actually smell how far the illness had spread. He’d been reduced to visual confirmation until he stole the files.

  He made sure he had an invitation to every social gathering she attended. She was great with working a room, she shined when she danced, and was one of the few girls w
ho didn’t fall all over him. It killed him to stand in the shadows while other men entertained her. In hindsight, his brother was right. He should have just flown out and begged her forgiveness.

  “What the hell, Kallian.” Malachi’s eyes stared straight at Kallian’s hands.

  He followed his brother’s gaze and started. Something like liquid fire dripped from his fingers before a portion the size of a golf ball rose into the air.

  Malachi circled around his desk and joined his brother as they stood and watched the fire bubble float upward.

  Kallian looked at his now clear hands, then back to the flaming orb. “Malachi, what is that?”

  His brother, only a little shorter than him, furrowed his brow and met his gaze. “I’ve never seen this ability before.” His brow creased. “I also haven’t seen you lose control of your powers in a hundred years. This girl must really be messing with your head.”

  He continued to stare at the slowly drifting fireball that he’d produced. “You’d use any excuse at this point to keep me away from her.” He reached up, then thought better of it. “Maybe you should pop it, before it reaches the ceiling.”

  He snorted. “It’s your fire not mine.”

  “I thought you like to live dangerously, assassin.”

  “Ex-assassin. I just babysit you now.” Malachi shot him a sideways glance. “I don’t know what’s inside. You created it, you should be immune to it. You pop it.”

  Kallian took a deep breath through his nose and poked the bubble with his pointer finger. A burst of flame flash-lit the room, and burned out instantly. “Huh.”

  Malachi shrugged. “It was rather pretty. Maybe you should go back to court and put on a show for the Monarch’s birthday celebration? I’m sure the fledglings would love you.” Kallian shot him an annoyed look as Malachi sniffed the air. “Methane. It was a methane bubble.”

  Kallian blanched. “You mean I just farted through my fingers?” He curled his hands then let them drop. “Stupid chili I had for lunch.”