Chapter 8
A Day of Annoyance and Visitors
For a couple of weeks, Astrid would text Phoenix several times during the day. He had started sending her the information he had on the area, and it took her several weeks to process it all. At the same time, she started a large project for a tech startup company. Over time, and as that project seemed to be going smoothly, she had more time to focus on her personal project.
Astrid researched the area and the military base, supplementing what Phoenix had found with new information. When she found something she thought was helpful, she’d send it over a secure connection she had established with him so they could swap information.
After emailing him, she would text him, initially to let him know that there was something for him to review, but over time, she started checking up on him. Astrid asked how he was doing, if he had gotten enough sleep, and if he wanted to talk to decompress. Occasionally, he would call her later in the day; although the talks never lasted long, they did become more frequent.
This went on for a few months, and Astrid looked forward to chatting with him. It was a nice contrast to the tech project, and it was nice to have someone she could talk to, even if only by text most of the time.
She learned that he was working out of town most of that time, and Astrid wasn’t particularly interested in getting to know other people in town. She simply didn’t know whom she could trust. The only place where she might be able to return was the bakery, but her shame at what she had done and how Phoenix had cleaned up after her made her reluctant to go back.
It was easier for her to live a secluded life than to actually get out and interact with people who might be working with whoever was behind her brother’s death. Apart from the teams she was working with on the tech project, Phoenix was the only person she talked to in a meaningful way over several months.
He started to open up a bit to her, but overall, Phoenix remained guarded. As September rolled around, she hoped he would start feeling more comfortable about opening up.
One morning while eating breakfast, Astrid pulled out her phone and texted him.
Are you back in town? If so, would you like to meet up? I’ve been cooped up and could use a little human interaction. If you know somewhere safe, we could talk about the latest information I’ve found. Or I can make us dinner, and we could talk in the relative safety of my home.
At first, she hoped he would respond quickly, given it was early in the day. She tried to give him time so that they could text for a while before she started working. When she finished eating, Astrid knew he wasn’t going to answer. Not quite ready to settle into her work, she decided to try to water the dead grass outside her home. It had bothered her when it was mostly brown when she moved in back in May. Now, not even the weeds were green.
Astrid went outside and tried to turn on the sprinklers. The landlord had said back in May that the grass would probably come back once the rain started. Astrid looked at the brown yard and felt a sense of discomfort. She suspected that the reason the landlord told her not to worry about the grass was that he didn’t want to have to fix the broken sprinkler system. Looking up and down the street, Astrid was annoyed that her yard was the only one that wasn’t a lustrous green.
I’m not going to be that house on the street.
She bent down to look like she was fixing something in case anyone was watching. Placing her hand on the ground, she tapped into the water system. Seconds later, water was shooting across the yard. Astrid stood and folded her arms over her chest, watching the water moving in beautiful arcs that created small rainbows all across her yard. Satisfied that her yard would start coming back to life sooner, she headed inside. Once back indoors, she pulled out her phone to see if Phoenix had responded.
Nothing.
Knowing that his delayed response meant he probably wouldn’t respond for a while, she turned her attention to the work she was loathe to do. The smooth sailing had ended at the beginning of August, as managers started trying to get their way before the project ended, and that meant getting pulled into a plethora of pointless meetings where the managers would argue. Of course she was invited as the security expert, but they never listened to her during the meetings.
After three hours of hearing them bicker about what to do, the group decided to take a break. Grateful for a chance to escape, she stood up and stretched. Then, after deciding that she felt too stiff and restless to stay inside, Astrid decided to go for a jog to get some fresh air.
Such a waste of money, she thought . Pay for an expert, then ignore their recommendations.
Stretching her legs, she tried to get her head in a better space.
She shoved her earphones into her ears, still feeling a bit bothered by the managers and their quarrels. When she pulled out her phone, she saw a text from Phoenix. Everything else was forgotten as she read his reply.
I can’t meet up, but I did find something interesting. I’ll send it over later.
It wasn’t what she wanted to read, but she was even more disappointed than she had expected. Instead of responding, she turned up her music and headed outside. As she walked down the driveway, Astrid stopped the water spraying out of the broken sprinklers; then, she ran at a comfortable pace.
Just like that first day, she tried to think about what the place would have looked like to her brother. Every so often, she imagined Phoenix and Evander jogging together. It was one more thing she needed to ask him.
When she finally returned home, she returned to her desk. As the managers returned from the break and started arguing in the chat room, Astrid sighed and turned her attention to a more pressing problem.
She stared at Phoenix’s message, debating how to respond. It was clear he was going to try to keep his distance from her because he was afraid that his curse would kill her. The logical part of her wanted to dismiss it. Then again, the logical part of her was still having trouble accepting that dragons were real, so she knew that reality wasn’t nearly as cut and dry as logic made it seem.
Turning to the one place she always went when she wasn’t sure what to do, Astrid opened Tor and started researching curses. There was a lot of nonsense and claims that she easily dismissed.
Every once in a while, she had to interact with the managers as they sniped, bickered, and argued with each other. Since she knew they weren’t going to listen to her, Astrid was only partially aware of what they were asking. She had already sent her recommendations in an email to all of them and their superiors. Eventually, after the managers wasted enough time and money, they would undoubtedly end up doing as she suggested.
An hour and a half passed before she gave up on finding anything real about curses online. Most of the dark web covered the same kind of junk that could be found on the normal internet, except it tended to focus on how to curse others, not on how to break them. And none of the information seemed credible.
Lightly tapping on her keyboard, Astrid considered what to do. Finally, she started researching Elliott Sexton. They hadn’t talked since their dinner, but every once in a while, he would come up in the conversations with Phoenix. It was possible that he knew more about the curse or at least had an idea as to where to start looking for ways to break it.
Getting his information proved to be much harder than she expected. Eventually, she gave up trying to find him – he had no online footprint. She started researching other numbers for the family. When she came across a website that listed Sheriff Cooper Sexton, Astrid felt certain she had someone who might be able to help her.
Picking up the phone, she dialed the number.
“Sexton Sheriff’s Department. Cooper speaking.”
“Um, this is Astrid Lynnox. I don’t know if Elliott’s mentioned me, but I was wondering how to get in touch with him.”
There was a heavy sigh, and Cooper must have covered the mouthpiece. She heard him talking, but she couldn’t make out the words. When he returned to the phone, Cooper sounded less than friendly. “What do you want with him?”
“I ran into him and Phoenix Woodward in Ponderosa.”
There was concern in his voice as the sheriff responded, “Elliott’s spending time with Phoenix? That – I don’t – Alina hasn’t mentioned anything about this. Are they getting close?”
Astrid was astonished by the response. After the way Elliott had talked him up, she expected better of Cooper. Feeling offended on Phoenix’s part, she replied, “They are working together because of something that happened in Canada. Elliott offered his help to Phoenix, who initially turned him down. So don’t blame Phoenix for your brother’s choices.”
There was silence. “Do you have any idea how he affected my family?”
“I know that he blames himself for my brother’s death. We all make choices, so if you want to blame someone for Elliott’s choices, blame Elliott!”
She hung up before he could respond. She felt angry on Phoenix’s behalf, considering how lonely his life must have been. At least she’d had her father – until recently. It didn’t sound like Phoenix ever had anyone for long.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on her door. Unsure who would be visiting, she got up and headed toward the door. She looked through the peephole but didn’t see anyone. Then they knocked again, this time at her back door.
Frowning, she shifted and padded her way to the kitchen. She looked up through the vertical blinds and the glass of the back door. Standing next to the door was the man she was trying to contact with.
Stepping back, she shifted, then opened the door. “Elliott! How did you figure out where I live?”
“I texted Phoenix since I know you two have been talking. You may want to listen to him there and be careful. May I come in?”
Astrid folded her arms across her chest. “You know, I just chewed out your brother for talking like that about Phoenix. I’m not above doing the same to you.”
“Apologies. If you want to throw your life away, that’s not my business. May I come in?”
“No,” she said and stood in the doorway, blocking him. “I just talked to Cooper. How did you get here so fast?”
“I flew. Judging from his tone, I was under the impression that this was an emergency. Glad to hear it isn’t.” He then turned to leave.
“How can the curse be broken?”
Elliott stopped walking. She could see him ball up his hands a few times. “If we knew that, we would have done it already.”
“Do you know anything about the curse besides the fact that it might kill you?”
“No. I’ve heard of about a half dozen people who have died because they got close to Phoenix. No, I didn’t know any of them personally. I’m sorry that I can’t help you further. Good luck.”
Then, he just walked away, disappearing into the woods behind her place.
Astrid was at a loss as to what to do. Elliott hadn’t seemed particularly warm, but she hadn’t thought of him as being this cold either. When she saw something move across the sky in the distance, the cat shifter knew it was Elliott.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so short with him. He came here with no warning and without talking to me. Was he concerned?
Guilt began to set in, and that’s when she realized that she hadn’t gotten what she needed – Elliott’s contact information. Letting out a frustrated grunt, she pulled out her phone again. Calling Cooper after hanging up on him didn’t seem like the wisest idea, and she doubted that Elliott would return even if she did.
That really only left one option.
She rubbed her forehead, not really wanting to reach out to Phoenix again. After all, texting him was what had gotten all of this started.
I don’t really have much of a choice.
Putting aside her annoyance, mostly at herself, she responded to Phoenix’s last response.
Please tell Elliott I’m sorry and really appreciate him stopping by to help. His concern is touching.
The response was almost immediate.
What happened? Are you ok?
Astrid looked at the message, unsure why he would be concerned.
Yeah, I’m fine. Just didn’t have his contact information and had some questions for him. Unfortunately, it’s been a trying day, and I took it out on him. So please, let him know I’m sorry.
There was no response. Feeling like she had just wasted most of her afternoon, Astrid returned to her desk. She flopped down and slouched against the back of the chair. Her eyes followed the continuous argument going on in the chat.
“How in the world do these people end up in their positions?” she muttered as she swiveled around in her seat, very displeased by the direction her day had taken. “Maybe I should just go ahead and hack the base. At least that can get me somewhere that actually matters.”
As she continued to consider her options, there was another knock at her door. Astrid wondered if Elliott had returned because she had apologized. Deciding she wasn’t needed on the chat any longer, she messaged the managers.
Sorry, guys, but I need to get going. Send me a message about what you decide, and I’ll get started on it tonight.”
She hit send, knowing that they wouldn’t bother. A few wished her a good evening.
At least they’re nice about it, she thought as she logged out for the day.
She was halfway down the hallway when the knock came again, and it was the front door this time. She didn’t bother to look through the peephole before opening it.
“Thanks, Elliott. I—" She stopped as soon as she realized it wasn’t Elliott standing in front of her. Instead, it was three men dressed in suits, wearing sunglasses and looking menacing. Before she said anything, the one in the middle held something up and pulled the trigger.
Astrid looked down to see something sticking out of her chest. When she looked up, the world turned fuzzy. Taking a step back, the cat shifter shut and locked the door.
Then she passed out.