Phoenix in My Fortune (A Monster Haven Story Book 6) by R.L. Naquin Read Free Book Online

assure you, they’re not worshipping anything outside the tenets of this church, and they pose no threat to anyone.”
    The finality of his tone was intriguing. He’d gone from mildly helpful to terrified, then moved straight into closed-off asshole in five minutes. He must’ve been exhausted. I know I would’ve been.
    As one of the last two Aegises—the one with the badass reputation—I had a measure of authority that most Hidden recognized. As the leader of a church—regardless of how archaic and little-known the religion—Pastor Wendell had authority of his own. We were at a standoff.
    I thrust my hand into my magical, brownie-made purse without looking and pulled out a scrap of paper and pen. Without breaking eye contact with the elf, I reached in again and wiggled an entire lap-desk—with cup-holder and folding legs—from the much smaller confines of my bag, set it across my legs and jotted my phone number across the paper.
    The elf’s left eyebrow rose. Sniff. Flare. “Impressive. You have a bag of holding.”
    I gave him my sweetest smile and slid the paper across his desk. It wasn’t the first time I’d pulled something outrageous out of my magic bag to impress someone. “It was a gift from a good friend. Will you call me if anything changes, please?”
    While I whisked the lap-desk back into my bag, he stared at the number I’d given as if it were a chunk of gristle I’d already chewed. He recovered his neutral facial expression and offered me his business card.
    “I’d appreciate the same courtesy, Miss Donovan. While I don’t believe this person you’re concerned about is the actual Last Hidden, I believe he’s trouble. I can’t keep my people safe if I don’t know what’s going on.”
    I rose and extended my hand, which I was half surprised he shook.
    “Pastor Wendell, I feel exactly the same.”
    We made a quick retreat through the eerie, quiet church and out to the car. As I slid into the car, I peered up at the deceptively ramshackle building. A board slipped from the bell tower, revealing a watchful set of glowing eyes.
    I smiled and waved, and the eyes disappeared.
    “Subtle,” Riley said, pulling his door shut. “Did any of that in there seem weird to you?”
    I clicked my seatbelt and started the car. “Very. And the one question that kept bugging me the most was the one I didn’t actually ask him, because it seemed rude at the time.”
    “Who’s his tailor?”
    I stuck out my tongue. “No. What exactly
are
the tenets of his church?”

Chapter Four
    By the time we made it home, the sun had set, so Darius had changed form into a mothman, and he and Kam were at the beach looking for clues.
    Mom had the TV on, a commercial for a local car dealership blaring. Sara sat curled on the couch with her laptop. Maurice was on his hands and knees next to a bucket of soapy water, yellow rubber gloves up to his elbows, scrubbing the baseboards with a sponge.
    “What are you doing?” I dropped my keys on the table next to the door.
    Three heads popped up, and three voices spoke at once.
    “Watching a cooking show. I’ve always wanted to make my own mozzarella.”
    “Searching the Internet for any missing children in the area, in case the beach wasn’t the first incident.”
    “Honestly, Zoey, did you not clean at all while I was gone?”
    I’d kind of meant the question specifically for Maurice, and he was the only one who didn’t answer me straight. I shrugged and stepped away from the doorway to let Riley in.
    “They’re baseboards, Maurice. Most people never even notice them, and the few who do barely bother with them once or twice a year. You were only gone a few weeks.” I strode across the room, laughing, and bent to plant a loud kiss on his cheek, then turned to Sara. “Find anything interesting?”
    “They’re thinking of doing a remake of
Saved by the Bell
.”
    I scowled. “No.”
    Sara smirked without looking up from her screen. “I don’t think they asked