Phoenix in My Fortune (A Monster Haven Story Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

that he’d been there. I’d called in the troops. And when we’d watched the news, I hadn’t questioned seeing Shadow Man in the background.
    I didn’t think for a second there was any other cause for those missing children. But so far, he hadn’t been leaving us a lot of clues to follow to track him down.
    When Riley returned, he wrapped both arms around me and held on for a moment before pulling away. “Tony’s working today. He said...” Riley trailed off, a thoughtful expression furrowing his brow. “He said that all six kids smelled like they’d been rolling around in a pile of gingerbread.”
    Darius looked startled, which was interesting, since I couldn’t recall his ever looking startled before. “Gingerbread? How truly bizarre.”
    I had to agree with his assessment. “What does it mean?”
    Riley shrugged. “Beats me. But it’s the only real clue we have.”
    “But...” Mom hesitated, her face thoughtful. “In all the research we did on Shadow Man, we never found mention of odd smells—gingerbread or otherwise.”
    She was right. Queasy stomachs, occasional nosebleeds, paranoia, chills—nothing about odd aromas. “Maybe it was one of his lackeys. Is there a type of Hidden I don’t know about that smells like baked goods?”
    Mom shook her head. “I saw a movie once where angels were supposed to smell like chocolate chip cookies.”
    “You think that’s it?” Riley asked. “Angels saved the kids and left them smelling like a pastry shop?”
    “Not likely.” Darius folded his arms across his broad chest. “There hasn’t been an angel sighting in over forty years. And they smell like dusty books, not food.”
    Mom gave him a questioning look, and he refused to make eye contact. Weird. I’d never thought about Darius having a past before he met Mom. Looked like he not only had one, it was a doozy and he didn’t want to talk about it.
    Gradually, the crowd thinned and the parking lot emptied. The ambulances carried off their shivering cargo with parents following in their own vehicles. With the kids gone, the media cleared out, since the police weren’t talking in front of the cameras.
    I considered dragging everyone back to the hole where Mom and Darius had found the kids, but the police had it cordoned off, and if there’d been anything immediately easy to spot, Darius would have already found it anyway.
    We’d have to go home and regroup. We still couldn’t rule out an unrelated kidnapping, but Mom and I both felt the truth in our guts, even if we couldn’t prove Shadow Man had done it. But he’d left us several clues. If we could figure out his game, maybe we could stop him from taking anyone else.
    By the time we made it home, I was starving. The smell of something rich and savory cooking in my kitchen hit me head-on the minute my foot touched the front porch. My mouth watered, my stomach rumbled and my heart sped with joy. The smells could only mean that Maurice and Sara were home.
    I threw the door open, grinning, and grabbed Sara as she was trying to come out. Her arms were more muscular than they used to be, and I was still getting used to maneuvering around her new horns, but demon or not, she was my best friend, and I’d missed her. I hadn’t let go yet before Maurice moved in and hugged us both.
    “We saw you on the news,” Sara said once we’d disengaged. “Since nobody was here, we turned on the TV and there you were, standing in the background on the beach.”
    Maurice nodded. “You looked cold. I made chicken soup. Anybody hungry?”
    Riley and Darius groaned and headed for the kitchen. Mom kissed the closet monster’s cheek, patted Sara on the arm and followed the guys.
    I stepped away from my friends for a good look at them. Maurice, especially, appeared different somehow, in a way I couldn’t immediately place. Then it hit me. “You’re tan!”
    He grinned so wide I thought his jaw would break off. “I got to be in the sun! Australia has so much open