women in the kitchen bantered about the food, the weather, and
the men in their lives while his feathers became heavy with the heat and
humidity of the attic above him.
The sound of running water signified Liza would be in the
mix again soon. Hopefully, she’d run those stragglers back to the party in the
yard and Phoenix could resume his search. “What are you ladies doing inside?”
she asked.
“Just cooling off a bit. The air conditioning in here
feels great,” another voice answered.
Yet another voice spoke the last words Phoenix wanted to
hear. “Speaking of air conditioning, Tori’s power bill this month will be
enormous with her attic door open like that.”
Before they reached the hatch and forced it shut,
squashing his host in the process, Phoenix squeezed his feathered body through
the space beside the folded ladder and up into the safety of the attic. The
incredibly hot attic. The shadowy space held only one small window. A circular
pane of glass divided into four quarters by crossed pieces of wood. He flew
over to it, but a quick glance told him that window held no purpose other than
to beautify the outside of the house. He pecked at the glass with as much force
as he could muster, but his beak didn’t have the strength to break it. He
wouldn’t be getting through it, nor would any fresh air from the outside.
********
“Phoenix? Are you all right?” Gracey asked.
He’d been so focused on his bird host avoiding Liza that
he’d forgotten he was involved in a human conversation at the same time. “What?
Sorry. I must have zoned out for a minute there. What were we talking about?”
“Nothing important. You don’t look so good. Are you coming
down with something?” She placed her hand on his forehead. “You’re burning up.
We should get you home.”
Phoenix’s body often reacted to the environment his host
occupied, but because he could only connect to a bird close by, it had never
been much of a problem. Now, with his host locked in an oversized oven, he
could feel his own body temperature rising as well.
“Tori, would you grab a glass of iced water for my friend,
please?” Orano waited for her to step away, then asked, “What’s going on?”
With a quick glance at Gracey, Phoenix answered as well as
he could. “I feel like I’m locked inside a sweltering attic or something. I
just need some air and I’ll be fine.” He hoped Orano understood his meaning.
Gracey wrapped her arm around his waist. “Let’s get him into
the air conditioning for a while. He might be suffering from heat stroke.”
“Good idea,” Phoenix said as he allowed them to help him to
the kitchen table. He chugged the glass of water Tori handed him, but it didn’t
help. Nothing would help until he could get his host out of there.
Disconnecting from it would save Phoenix, but the bird who’d allowed him to use
its body would be left to die. He couldn’t do that. Just as he could feel the
effects of the heat surrounding the bird, the bird could also feel the effects
of the cool air in the kitchen surrounding Phoenix. That was probably the only
thing keeping his host from boiling in its feathers.
While the women fussed over him in the kitchen—something he
would have enjoyed under other circumstances—he locked gazes with Orano,
jerking his head in the direction of the ceiling hatch to the attic. His
partner nodded and slipped away unnoticed.
********
A sliver of light rushed into the attic through the hatch
as it cracked open, bathing the plywood floor around it. An old masonry jar sat
a few inches from the opening with what looked like a misshapen doll inside. As
the hatch lowered, the light illuminated the jar and the name scrawled across
the front of it in black marker. Gracey McMillan. Phoenix struggled to
remember what Gracey told them about how the coven bound a witch’s powers.
As long as the totem remained bound, so did Gracey’s
powers.
Through the hatch opening, he could see Orano
the men in their lives while his feathers became heavy with the heat and
humidity of the attic above him.
The sound of running water signified Liza would be in the
mix again soon. Hopefully, she’d run those stragglers back to the party in the
yard and Phoenix could resume his search. “What are you ladies doing inside?”
she asked.
“Just cooling off a bit. The air conditioning in here
feels great,” another voice answered.
Yet another voice spoke the last words Phoenix wanted to
hear. “Speaking of air conditioning, Tori’s power bill this month will be
enormous with her attic door open like that.”
Before they reached the hatch and forced it shut,
squashing his host in the process, Phoenix squeezed his feathered body through
the space beside the folded ladder and up into the safety of the attic. The
incredibly hot attic. The shadowy space held only one small window. A circular
pane of glass divided into four quarters by crossed pieces of wood. He flew
over to it, but a quick glance told him that window held no purpose other than
to beautify the outside of the house. He pecked at the glass with as much force
as he could muster, but his beak didn’t have the strength to break it. He
wouldn’t be getting through it, nor would any fresh air from the outside.
********
“Phoenix? Are you all right?” Gracey asked.
He’d been so focused on his bird host avoiding Liza that
he’d forgotten he was involved in a human conversation at the same time. “What?
Sorry. I must have zoned out for a minute there. What were we talking about?”
“Nothing important. You don’t look so good. Are you coming
down with something?” She placed her hand on his forehead. “You’re burning up.
We should get you home.”
Phoenix’s body often reacted to the environment his host
occupied, but because he could only connect to a bird close by, it had never
been much of a problem. Now, with his host locked in an oversized oven, he
could feel his own body temperature rising as well.
“Tori, would you grab a glass of iced water for my friend,
please?” Orano waited for her to step away, then asked, “What’s going on?”
With a quick glance at Gracey, Phoenix answered as well as
he could. “I feel like I’m locked inside a sweltering attic or something. I
just need some air and I’ll be fine.” He hoped Orano understood his meaning.
Gracey wrapped her arm around his waist. “Let’s get him into
the air conditioning for a while. He might be suffering from heat stroke.”
“Good idea,” Phoenix said as he allowed them to help him to
the kitchen table. He chugged the glass of water Tori handed him, but it didn’t
help. Nothing would help until he could get his host out of there.
Disconnecting from it would save Phoenix, but the bird who’d allowed him to use
its body would be left to die. He couldn’t do that. Just as he could feel the
effects of the heat surrounding the bird, the bird could also feel the effects
of the cool air in the kitchen surrounding Phoenix. That was probably the only
thing keeping his host from boiling in its feathers.
While the women fussed over him in the kitchen—something he
would have enjoyed under other circumstances—he locked gazes with Orano,
jerking his head in the direction of the ceiling hatch to the attic. His
partner nodded and slipped away unnoticed.
********
A sliver of light rushed into the attic through the hatch
as it cracked open, bathing the plywood floor around it. An old masonry jar sat
a few inches from the opening with what looked like a misshapen doll inside. As
the hatch lowered, the light illuminated the jar and the name scrawled across
the front of it in black marker. Gracey McMillan. Phoenix struggled to
remember what Gracey told them about how the coven bound a witch’s powers.
As long as the totem remained bound, so did Gracey’s
powers.
Through the hatch opening, he could see Orano
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