Read Online Phoenix Rising by Theo Fenraven - Free Book Online Page B

at his zipper, he hurriedly pulled his dick out and pissed. This seemed to last forever, with him weaving slightly in front of the bowl, and he sighed with relief. Never had draining the plumbing felt so good.
He flushed, washed his hands, rinsed his face, and leaned forward to gaze at himself in the bathroom mirror. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face looked drawn. Patting himself down revealed his gun was gone, but his cell was still in a back pocket. He took it out and checked for signal, disappointed when there was none, but accepting; he wouldn’t have been allowed to keep it otherwise.
His shoes had been removed. Stepping into the tub in stocking feet, he looked out the window and saw mountains. A few lights were scattered across their slopes. There were people around, though apparently not close. A gibbous moon rode low in the sky, adding definition to the landscape while wisps of cloud floated languidly across its face. Higher, stars shone. He recognized the Little Dipper in the northern sky, but he wasn’t much for constellations. The light pollution in New York City was too pervasive for the stars to be seen.
    Time to get some answers.
He returned to the bedroom, where the smell of sandalwood incense wafted past his nostrils. Talis had not moved. Artemis sat on the edge of the bed, hands dangling between his knees, staring at him.
“I was drugged.” His throat was so dry, it hurt to speak. He tried to clear it and only caused himself more pain.
“Yes.” Talis nodded at the nightstand. “There’s water in the carafe.”
Artemis poured into the waiting glass, pleased to see his arm responding as it should, and with very little shake. After drinking cautiously, he said, “Why?”
“To bring you here.”
“Where is ‘here’?”
“We are very near Kathmandu,Nepal.”
What the fuck. Nepal? “Is Rachel okay?”
“I did not need her.”
Artemis sipped again, watching Talis with narrowed eyes, turning over the words in his head. What the hell did that mean? Talis was still, calm, in total control. One thing he’d noticed about the man; he didn’t fidget. Artemis, on the other hand, felt anxiety churning in his gut and maybe a bit of fear twisting his intestines. “She’s safe, then? She’s still in New York?”
“I didn’t touch her.”
Artemis wasn’t sure he believed him, but there was nothing he could do about it at present. “But you need me?”
“More than you know.”
So Artemis wasn’t without power here. Good to know. “If I tried to leave, would you stop me?”
Talis drew in a shallow breath. “Please don’t make me do that.”
Artemis drank once more, set the glass aside, and leaned forward. “Start talking, or I’m walking out of here, and nothing you can do will stop me.”
They stared at each other for long moments, neither blinking nor looking away, until Talis finally held out a hand to him, turning it palm up. Feathers began to extrude all along his arm, which started to lengthen and change shape.
Artemis gasped. “It wasn’t an illusion! You on the stage. Jesus!” He watched the transformation of Talis to giant bird, mouth agape. This close, the change was overwhelming. Heart pounding, all his police training forgotten, he instinctively scrambled back, away from the creature, pressing against the bed’s headboard as if willing himself into the wall. This can’t be real. I must still be drugged, or dreaming.
The bird was as tall as Talis, and perched on the chair with its clawed feet neatly tucked beneath it, massive wings folded against its slender but powerful-looking body. The crested head tilted, gazing at him with amethyst-colored eyes that showed a remarkable level of intelligence. The clothing it had been wearing lay around it, ripped to pieces.
Crouched at the head of the bed, Artemis almost panted in shock. “Not an illusion,” he said again.
“Correct, although bursting into flames was a magic trick. That won’t happen until I die,” the bird said