wasn’t. Rachel would hoot with sarcastic laughter if she could see him now, leaning his head toward Talis so he could breathe in that amazing scent. It wasn’t quite sweet and not quite musky, and while he couldn’t identify any one component, he ridiculously thought it was a combination of all the things he thought he might love best in the world. Nose against Talis’s fragrant blond hair, Artemis drifted into a dreamless sleep.
T
HE next day was a repeat of the one before. People in assorted physical and mental distress poured into the receiving room and quietly waited until Phoenix got to them. Artemis watched from Phoenix’s couch. Ammon, standing beside him, hands linked behind his back, observed as well.
“Ammon, did he kill those young men?”
“I am not qualified to answer that. I was not present.” “Is he capable of it?”
A smile tugged at Ammon’s lips. “You have witnessed
his doings here. What is your opinion?”
Artemis’s lips tightened. “I’m a cop. I’m not entitled to an opinion.”
“You are not a cop here.”
“I’m a cop everywhere.” The words popped out of his mouth, but they had no force. Ammon was correct. He didn’t feel like a cop anymore. He felt like a man on the verge of falling in love, and it scared the shit out of him. He decided a change in subject was required. “Why is it that photos and videos of Phoenix are not all over the internet?”
“Phoenix cannot be photographed, nor his voice captured.”
Artemis considered this. "But Talis can be photographed and recorded... because he's human?"
Ammon nodded. “Do you have your cell phone?”
“Yes….”
“Try it. You’ll see.”
Retrieving his phone from a pants pocket, Artemis turned it on and discreetly snapped a shot of Phoenix where he sat, folded legs beneath him, before a young girl wearing a leg brace.
“Now look at it,” Ammon said, smiling.
Artemis did so, seeing the young girl with upturned face, joy sparkling in her eyes, and where Phoenix should be… nothing but a blur of red and yellow. “This happens every time?”
“It does. Phoenix could not properly fulfill his destiny if the world confirmed his existence.”
Artemis turned off his phone and put it away. “It seems the pharaohs thought of everything,” he said dryly.
Ammon responded with a straight face. “You are sometimes quite amusing.”
Smirking, Artemis shifted into a more comfortable position on the plush cube. “Why aren’t people amazed or shocked by a giant talking bird? I almost shit myself the first time he transformed in front of me.”
“He exudes reassurance. They accept without question and, soon after leavingit may be hours, a day or twoforget him entirely.”
Startled, Artemis shot him a look. “Are you serious?”
“I am.”
“So if I were to go away, I’d soon forget I’d ever seen the phoenix?”
“Yes.”
He followed Phoenix’s progress around the room for a few minutes. The bird almost glowed under the light pouring down through the glass ceiling. “He heals them, they leave, and he’s forgotten. That’s sad somehow.”
“It is best. He would get no rest otherwise.”
“How do they find themselves here in the first place, then? If the phoenix is merely another myth?”
“They talk at first, while their memory of him is still clear, and others hear about him. They are desperate. They want to believe.”
“And so they come.”
Ammon nodded. “Just so. In a few days, we will go to Egypt, where more supplicants await him.”
The young girl removed her brace and tossed it aside, laughing ecstatically, while her father cried with happiness. “Will I go with you?”
“I am sure you will.” Ammon’s gazeslid to Artemis. “You will not object to this?”
The girl threw her arms around Phoenix in a loving embrace before moving away to dance a clumsy impromptu jig for her father. “I won’t object.” He determined in that moment to stay with Talis/Phoenix until he knew the truth.
Chapter Seven
T
HE next day was a repeat of the one before. People in assorted physical and mental distress poured into the receiving room and quietly waited until Phoenix got to them. Artemis watched from Phoenix’s couch. Ammon, standing beside him, hands linked behind his back, observed as well.
“Ammon, did he kill those young men?”
“I am not qualified to answer that. I was not present.” “Is he capable of it?”
A smile tugged at Ammon’s lips. “You have witnessed
his doings here. What is your opinion?”
Artemis’s lips tightened. “I’m a cop. I’m not entitled to an opinion.”
“You are not a cop here.”
“I’m a cop everywhere.” The words popped out of his mouth, but they had no force. Ammon was correct. He didn’t feel like a cop anymore. He felt like a man on the verge of falling in love, and it scared the shit out of him. He decided a change in subject was required. “Why is it that photos and videos of Phoenix are not all over the internet?”
“Phoenix cannot be photographed, nor his voice captured.”
Artemis considered this. "But Talis can be photographed and recorded... because he's human?"
Ammon nodded. “Do you have your cell phone?”
“Yes….”
“Try it. You’ll see.”
Retrieving his phone from a pants pocket, Artemis turned it on and discreetly snapped a shot of Phoenix where he sat, folded legs beneath him, before a young girl wearing a leg brace.
“Now look at it,” Ammon said, smiling.
Artemis did so, seeing the young girl with upturned face, joy sparkling in her eyes, and where Phoenix should be… nothing but a blur of red and yellow. “This happens every time?”
“It does. Phoenix could not properly fulfill his destiny if the world confirmed his existence.”
Artemis turned off his phone and put it away. “It seems the pharaohs thought of everything,” he said dryly.
Ammon responded with a straight face. “You are sometimes quite amusing.”
Smirking, Artemis shifted into a more comfortable position on the plush cube. “Why aren’t people amazed or shocked by a giant talking bird? I almost shit myself the first time he transformed in front of me.”
“He exudes reassurance. They accept without question and, soon after leavingit may be hours, a day or twoforget him entirely.”
Startled, Artemis shot him a look. “Are you serious?”
“I am.”
“So if I were to go away, I’d soon forget I’d ever seen the phoenix?”
“Yes.”
He followed Phoenix’s progress around the room for a few minutes. The bird almost glowed under the light pouring down through the glass ceiling. “He heals them, they leave, and he’s forgotten. That’s sad somehow.”
“It is best. He would get no rest otherwise.”
“How do they find themselves here in the first place, then? If the phoenix is merely another myth?”
“They talk at first, while their memory of him is still clear, and others hear about him. They are desperate. They want to believe.”
“And so they come.”
Ammon nodded. “Just so. In a few days, we will go to Egypt, where more supplicants await him.”
The young girl removed her brace and tossed it aside, laughing ecstatically, while her father cried with happiness. “Will I go with you?”
“I am sure you will.” Ammon’s gazeslid to Artemis. “You will not object to this?”
The girl threw her arms around Phoenix in a loving embrace before moving away to dance a clumsy impromptu jig for her father. “I won’t object.” He determined in that moment to stay with Talis/Phoenix until he knew the truth.
Chapter Seven
Similar Books
