Free Beautiful Dead 02 - Arizona by Eden Maguire Page B

anyone ever betray you?" and I said no, not that I know about.'
    Phoenix's low voice ceased. I waited.
    if it was possible, I'd say the guy had aged,' he went on. 'He stooped under a heavy weight; he looked confused.'
    'This is Hunter we're talking about?' I checked.
    'It turns out he'd had a confrontation with Arizona.' 'Wow. The girl's either brave or crazy.'
    'Hunter spel ed it out to me. Arizona had accused him of not working
    hard enough to sort out her mess. She'd told him no way would you break
    through the wal s of silence out there without more help.'
    'She chal enged the overlord?' This didn't happen - ever! I was
    amazed Arizona was stil here on the far side.

    'Worse. She said, how come he was so sure he was right? Didn't it occur to him that things didn't always happen the way he saw them?'
    'And Hunter told you this?'
    'Yeah. Arizona must have been crazy by this point, because she asked him was he sure about the way he died, defending his wife? Was it possible that Marie hadn't been fighting off her attacker, that she'd actual y betrayed him with the guy ...'
    'Peter Mentone.'
    I already mentioned part of this story. To recap - way back at the beginning of the twentieth century, Mentone was Hunter and Marie's nearest neighbour. He'd cal ed when Hunter was out. Hunter had got back
    early and discovered the two of them together.
    'You can't say that to Hunter!' I gasped. The shock made me sit up.
    'Arizona did,' Phoenix insisted. 'You think the guy's made of steel, but you should've seen the way he looked when I walked into the room. He was a broken man. That's why he asked me the stuff about betrayal. And then he stood up and tried to shake it off. He said he had something he wanted me to do.'
    'I thought you were supposed to rest up?'
    'He changed his mind. He said I had to bring you up to Foxton right away.
    My heart gave a leap - Phoenix was here to take me back with him. I 62
    got ready to leave.
    Phoenix made me wait. He hadn't finished what he had to tel me. 'Only, Hunter didn't say, "Fetch Darina", he said, "Fetch Marie".'
    I gasped. Why did this slip of the tongue make me tremble and send a shiver down my spine?
    'Summer says you look like Marie, remember.' Phoenix took my hand and led me to the window. 'She saw the old photograph.'
    'Don't. This messes with my head. In any case, you knew what he meant, so here you are to fetch me. Did he tel you why?'
    'Because of Arizona,' Phoenix explained. 'There's more stuff she's not been saying. Hunter found out she's been holding out on us big time.'
    I wasn't so shocked by the revelation as Phoenix thought I would be.
    So now Hunter and the Beautiful Dead knew what I'd felt al along -
    that Arizona hid important truths for her own reasons. In other words, she was one of them but you couldn't always trust her.

    'So now you know,' I told Phoenix as he got ready to dematerialize
    me. And now I'm not fighting a lone battle Hunter wil force the truth out of her, won't he?'
    'I have no idea. This is new territory,' he admitted. ' OK, Darina -
    Hunter needs you there sooner than we could get in your car and drive
    out, so we do it the Beautiful Dead way.'
    'I'm ready!' This was also new - me getting to travel through space their way and I was definitely eager to experience it.
    it won't hurt,' Phoenix promised. 'Just remember - don't let go of me.
    I nodded, excited by the beating wings that had descended around us, raising the light silk drapes in a flurry of activity. They caused a breeze that sucked the fabric out through the open window.
    Phoenix faced me and took both my hands. 'Close your eyes,' he
    murmured, 'and don't open them again until I tel you.'
    I did this, a little nervous now that the wings beat louder and their energy was more threatening. 'I'm holding tight,' I promised, scared too by the moving patterns imprinted on the inner side of my eyelids - 63
    zigzags and darting shafts of orange and purple. 'How long does this
    take?'
    Phoenix didn't answer.