His expression fell, and he shook his head. “Ah, well. I suppose you are all here to, uh—to see the phoenix. And as she’s about to start her change—her transformation—we’d best not delay. So, uh—the phoenix.”
He swept his thin arms toward the red velvet curtain behind him and seemed to shrink, as though he were trying to retract his head down into his shoulders. An awkward silence followed, and then the crowd applauded in a few faltering starts, until it caught on and everyone clapped. The guy was clearly used to his wife taking the spotlight. I wondered if all the gossip about her killing her first husband had caused her to hang back in the wings.
The curtain jerked skyward, revealing the enclosure behind. Lush, tropical plants and a two-story-tall waterfall filled most of the space. A woman beside me gasped and pointed. Several other cries rose from the crowd. I rose on my toes and planted a hand on Heidi’s shoulder to balance myself as I strained to see what everyone was getting upset over.
The tall, thin man on stage blinked, then turned toward the enclosure and startled. “Malorie!”
I caught a glimpse of two women—one blond, the other with dark gray hair—sprawled on the ground, unmoving, inside the phoenix enclosure.
DEAD, DEAD, GOOSE
“Help! Someone help!” The tall man’s face had gone pale. “Call an ambulance! Summon the police! Help!” He reached into the pocket of his alligator print tux and withdrew a quill. He dropped it, then reached back in and pulled out his wand. “Malorie! I’m coming, sweetie.”
His lips moved, like he was trying a spell, his hand shaking badly. He dropped his wand, stooped to pick it up, then spoke again. The magical force field around the enclosure shimmered, and he pushed through, dropping to his knees beside the blond.
Someone shouted something about the phoenix, and the thin man looked up. He swept his wand, a flash of light erupting from the end, then turned and looked over his shoulder toward all the partygoers. “The phoenix isn’t in here anymore! It’s gone!”
I rose on my toes as the crowd erupted in cries, some scrambling to get a closer look, others rushing toward the exits. I couldn’t see much, except the man cradling the blond’s head in his lap, rocking. I sucked in a sharp breath and sank back down on my heels. “Snakes.”
I lurched as someone slammed hard into my left shoulder. Shouts and screams sounded all around us as word spread and the party erupted into chaos. The sharp crash of breaking glass sounded, and the sea of partygoers churned and jostled as most headed for the exits.
“A killer’s on the loose!”
“Where’s the phoenix? It’s going to erupt any moment now!”
“It’s on the loose! The phoenix could burn us all alive!”
A woman shoved past me, whimpering. “Who knows what other creatures could be out.”
Heidi grabbed my hands and huddled close to me, her dark brows pinched with worry. “What do we do?”
I gulped. “Alright, can you tell Peter what’s going on?”
She squeezed my hands even tighter, eyes wide, but nodded. She raised a trembling hand to her ear and pressed the magical communication device with one finger. “P-Peter?”
She nodded at me, and I leaned close and spoke into her ear.
“Hey, Flint—it’s your girl.” I grinned to myself—wouldn’t get tired of saying that, even in the middle of a real situation. Screams sounded, and more shattering glass made my shoulders hunch.
“What’s going on?”
I pressed close enough to Heidi to make out Peter’s faint, deep voice through the device. “Two women appear to be dead inside the phoenix’s cage, and the bird itself appears to be missing—it’s total chaos in here. We need an ambulance, and if you and Days can get in here, that’d be great.” I glanced up at the stampeding guests. “Also, all of our fancy-pants witnesses and suspects are headed toward the exits right now, so you should probably lock the gates before they all hightail it out of here.”
“Stay safe. We’ll be right there.”
Static sounded, and I leaned back, feeling more reassured. Peter would handle everything. In the meantime, I squeezed Heidi’s hand. “You okay?”
She blinked, looking slightly stunned, then nodded and straightened. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.”
I nodded at her. “Head back to the kitchen and wait there. It’ll be quieter and safer.”
“What about you?”
I glanced toward the phoenix’s enclosure. Behind it, a suspended wooden pathway, like a rope bridge, threaded through more lush tropical plants. Glowing eyes peeked out from behind large leaves, and from the depths of the sanctuary, monkeys screeched, bears roared, and wolves growled, no doubt alarmed at the chaos. I certainly hoped the panicked guests weren’t right and that even more creatures besides the missing phoenix were on the loose.
I let out a breath. “Given the number of animal witnesses, I’m guessing I’ll be working this one.” I gave her a brief grin. “I’ll come find you when I can.”
She nodded, then we parted ways, Heidi heading toward the kitchen while I dashed toward the phoenix enclosure in little spurts, dodging stampeding guests. The palms and tropical plants with leaves larger than my head loomed closer, the soft rush of the waterfall barely audible over the cacophony of the guests jostling to get out. I shouldered my way through the lineup of gawkers to get a look.
Both women lay mere feet away on the pad of black volcanic rock near the front of the raised enclosure, at about my chest height. I scanned the cage—from the lush vegetation, to the waterfall and the small pool behind the women, to the railing on the second story that overlooked everything.
The thin man continued to hold the blond, wailing and rocking. With his back to me, I couldn’t see much, but made out some dark blood pooled on the ground near her head. Her sequined orange-and-red dress, glittering with flames,
