Read Phoenix Contract: Part Five (Fallen Angel Watchers) for Free Online Page B

up the Heart. “I’m taking what belongs to me by right. What you were too weak and undeserving to possess.”
    “You’re a bigger fool than I thought,” Cassio retorted scornfully. “The Phoenix cannot be taken, it can only be given! AND I DO NOT CHOOSE YOU!”
    Cassio’s hand shot out, and a jet of fire erupted from his palm and seared toward the Frenchman. Clutching the precious Heart in one hand, Guillaume extended his other and shouted words that were lost to the howl of the wind and the roar of the fire. The fiery attack blasted against an invisible barrier with tremendous energy.
    Realizing he couldn’t penetrate his opponent’s defenses, Cassio allowed the fire to dissipate. “You can’t win,” he told Guillaume, but a detectable shade of doubt crept into the Immortal Watcher’s voice. As always, Cassio gave up easily, unwilling to exert an effort in the face of any obstacle that presented the least bit of a challenge.
    Mariah’s jaw set in disgust and anger, and her breath hissed through her teeth. So intent upon the fight, she nearly forgot the man holding her prisoner.
    “If that’s your best, then this is going to be a disappointingly short fight,” Guillaume remarked. “Why don’t I save you the embarrassment?”
    The Frenchman gestured in Mariah’s direction. In response, the man restraining her shifted his grip. One of his arms crossed over her torso and firmly pinned her arms as he produced a dagger and positioned it with the tip over her heart. Mariah’s token resistance was a futile effort in the face of the man’s over-whelming strength.
    “Let’s trade,” Guillaume said. “A heart for a Heart. Put away your weapon or my henchman will kill the girl.”
    In the act of drawing his saber, Cassio froze in his tracks. “Let the girl go. She’s done nothing to you,” he said, tone taut with tension. Indecision was written in every inch of his lean frame, paralyzing him.
    Mariah could almost read Cassio’s mind. She knew that the Immortal Watcher did not fear for the loss of his wife’s life. Rather, he feared failure. He was trapped, terrified, and faced with a terrible quandary. His Heart had already been removed, the Ritual of Ashes and Rebirth already begun. There was no going back. Cassio had to die, and another Phoenix must rise in his place.
    They were hundreds of miles from another suitable heir. If Mariah died, then Cassio had no choice but to transfer his power to Guillaume. If Cassio failed to choose even a marginally competent heir, then his name would be cursed for generations to come, and their people would be lost. Even Cassio wasn’t callow enough to risk the fate of the Phoenix to a killer’s knife.
    “Actually, the girl is everything to me,” Guillaume replied with an ironic smile. “Because you’re about to bestow upon this pathetic child what is rightfully mine. Look at her. She’s a lamb, not a lion. Bad enough that I had to track you to the ends of the earth, but did you really think you could elude me?”
    “I had to try. How did you find us?” Cassio asked, mournfully resigned.
    Mariah’s fingers itched, and her anger roiled. If she could’ve reached the man’s throat, she’d have strangled him.
    “Spies, Cassio, spies. The enlightened and wise general employs them, and I’ve always fancied myself a divine manipulator of the threads,” Guillaume said.
    “Another lesson that you never mastered,” the Frenchman continued, shaking his head with mock sorrow. “In five centuries of complete incompetence, you’ve made plenty of enemies—our own people turned against their divine leader. It’s shameful.”
    “You have no idea what I’ve endured for the sake of our people!” Cassio informed him, bristling with indignation. “You’re a fine one to be making such accusations! It’s your actions that have brought Shemyaza to the brink of ruin!”
    “You fool! Our House is ruined!” Guillaume snapped. “You’re too blind to see what’s