Hell's Phoenix Read Free

knowing he could restrain the entity if it took over. She slowly exhaled and attempted to manage Pandora’s magic, visualizing one bubble of power at a time bursting to the surface. But in the best-case scenario, that would be next to impossible without Zen’s assistance. Without his aid, she couldn’t be positive of her ability to contain Pandora. She figured she’d have a better chance of stopping a runaway train with dental floss.
    Too slow . Zen’s telepathic voice touched hers, and he took control.
    The rancid magic vibrated on her tongue like metal and dirt, twitched her nerve endings and surged through her. With a cry of pain, she went ramrod-straight and lost her muscle function as Zen finagled the mojo while holding her steady.
    Aware of everything, but unable to direct anything, Madison put her faith in Zen as he whispered commands.
    “Focus on the horizon. A tsunami approaches. I’ve balanced the power. I need you to throw another tsunami at it to halt it in the Gulf of Mexico.”
    Or maybe he spoke in her head. She wasn’t certain, and she didn’t care. She nodded once and focused on grafting a tsunami wall in her mind. Nothing visible occurred, just the liquid presence of a magical tidal wave. She shoved her creation out over the sea and with a wobbly, untrained ghostly eye she followed its path across the span of water.
    The two walls of water—one spectral, the other real—came together and exploded like a bomb. Beachgoers hit the sand and screamed as a visible geyser spewed upward toward the sky. Wind whipped her hair and saltwater sprayed her face as Zen cooed words she failed to recognize. For all her knack with tongues, she’d repeatedly failed to pick up his language.
    “Excellent job, Madison. Now, pull it back.”
    Madison cried as she wrestled with the force in her head. The entity didn’t want to be controlled, but desired freedom.
    Madison , Pandora murmured, we work well together. We can make this work .
    She shook her head against the alien voice. Zen would never approve !
    Pandora latched onto that weakness. Keep just a smidge of me out. You never know when you’ll need my help .
    “Don’t listen to her, Madison.”
    “My head is going to split.” White exploded behind her eyes, wiping out her sight, a direct attack from Pandora. In a piercing buzz, her hearing went next.
    Zen jerked her around in his arms, but she went down, thankful for the blackness that consumed her pain.
     
    ***
     
    “My tsunami’s been attacked.” Nix stooped and submerged his hand in the warm sand. A moment later a bang louder than the breaking of the sound barrier vibrated the earth and a mile-high wall of water torpedoed into the air.
    “Excellent job in any event, Phoenix.” The resonance of a smile put a growl in Micah’s voice, probably because Nix hadn’t flinched at killing innocent mortals.
    Anything for Mads .
    Sifting sand through his fisted palm, Nix tapped into his destroyed magic. The taste of the opposing force coated his mind and he looked up at Micah. “Mads?” He stood quickly and scanned both directions of the beach as people screamed and fled in chaos. “I feel Mads in the opposing energy.”
    Micah glared at the disintegrating wall of water, his expression turning homicidal. “I know of one power capable of combating yours.” The sea misted his face and Mads’s presence grew stronger in his mind.
    “Pandora’s Box.”
    “But Mads….”
    “The Box would’ve reverted to Zennyo Ryuo’s control upon her death. Pandora most likely still wears the scent of Madison’s soul.”
    Nix shook his head. That explanation didn’t feel right. “I’m telling you, it’s her texture. Not Pandora.” He would recognize the difference.
    “Madison’s dead, Phoenix. You’re mistaken.” He turned and opened a shimmery portal only the two of them could see. “Let’s regroup and—”
    With a hand on Micah’s arm, Nix stopped his departure. A muscle in the King’s jaw throbbed,