Daisy St. James and the Forge of Fire ✔️

Chapter 6. Agent FIREBIRD

 Daisy dived behind a blocky museum cabinet as the shards and shreds of the doors and benches exploded everywhere. She held her knife up, and realized what she had to do— she had to buy time for the others.

Above her was a glass case, and in it was a shield with runes inscribed all along the edges. She couldn't just vault over it. But she wouldn't go down without a fight either.

She sucked in a breath of air. Screw your courage to the sticking place.

The MacBeth quote was prominent in her mind as she scrambled to her feet, using the corner of the cabinet to propel herself forward into a leap.

She landed in the center of the showroom. Her knit-cap fell to the floor, revealing un-dyed dark strands she'd tucked away. She shifted into a stance ready for battle. Dr. Gillespie had shown her how to stand right, how to give a good roundhouse, and how to throw a punch correctly when she first got into the family business.

But relief surged through her body when a figure emerged from the smoke, billowing out from what remained of the doors. A tall, skinny boy all in black emerged. On his jacket was the seal of ARI. His angular olive face appeared paler, especially in the relative darkness of the showroom.

He stepped forward and squinted. "Daisy?"

She gave a barely-perceptible nod, and he turned to the security cameras and snapped his fingers. The lights in the cameras died, and he pulled a small vial of what looked like silver sand out of his coat.

He scattered it around the doors, and it was like time was reversing itself. The silver sand whirled around, restoring the doors to perfection, as well as the benches and other furniture Daisy had used as a barricade.

He capped it, and looked to Daisy with indecipherable emotion.

"So Lyra's still helping you out?"

He ran forward and embraced her. "God, I missed you."

She touched her forehead to his, her eyes as luminous as the moon. "I thought you were in Russia!"

"How could I, when I heard my best girl was in town?"

"You know, I don't even want to know how you knew. I'm just happy you're here."

"You'd better be." He pulled away a little. "The security cameras would've identified you."

"They sent only the rookies in," Daisy admitted.

Phoenix peered over her shoulder, at the locked door. "I see. So that's who's in there?"

"Yes, but shh, we agreed we wouldn't talk about that stuff when we're together." Daisy's whisper was frantic.

Their courtship was stolen moments in the shadows, like this one. She tried to commit every detail, every shadow and gleam of his skin to memory, more accurately this time. They couldn't keep photographs, couldn't give anything to each other than a few seconds.

But every time she'd tried to be with someone else, she always found herself back in his orbit. They were like the moon and the Earth. They were pulled to each other with a gravity that neither understood.

Daisy didn't dare question it.

Not with only a few seconds to keep, to fantasize about and remember when she was alone at night.

"Right." He brushed a silvery-blonde strand out of Daisy's face. "What's with the hair?"'

"I'm the only one who went who's recognizable to ARI," Daisy said. "That's why the freckles are gone."

"But why not all of your hair?"

"To be honest, I don't think we thought any of this through."

"I can see that."

Daisy huffed a sigh. "Well, if you're not in Russia right now—"

"There's Club Bacchanalia," Phoenix said. "It's owned by the Proserpina Society— neutral territory. We can talk there— if you're free tonight?"

"I can manage it— we both know how badly the jet lag is for Mom," Daisy said.

"Did you bring the black dress?"

"I wish I had." Daisy stuck out her full bottom lip in a pseudo-pout. "But there's a new one. A sundress. It's cute, don't worry."

"We should probably fight, or pretend to," Phoenix said. "Your friends might get worried."

"You're too kind." Daisy stepped out of his embrace, a grin on her face. "This is always fun, anyway."

So they began their choreographed dance in the dark museum showroom floor. Darting out of the way just in time, before any real harm was done, all of it was just for show. No real force was behind any kick or thrown-punch, just slow enough for them to easily dart around, like it was just some elaborate dance.

It ended with Daisy and Phoenix falling down together on the floor, Daisy on top of him.

She gave a quick kiss, and then got to her feet, grabbing her knit-cap.

She stuffed her hair in the cap as Phoenix used an artifact that would temporarily knock him out in order to send out a flare. She would only have a few minutes to get everyone out.

But it was still worth it, she thought as she gave him one last look. It always was somehow worth it.

She burst through the door just as Gwen snipped at something in the control panel built into the cabinet housing the key artifact.

"Yes, got it!" Gwen cried.

"Good, we're about to get some company," Daisy said.

"What, why?" Thomas looked panicked as Cassandra grabbed the artifact— a bejeweled item that looked like a pomegranate, but it had strange symbols engraved upon it.

"I beat the agent they sent, but he put up a flare," Daisy lied. "We're about to be swarmed.

"Well, I've got it, so let's get out of here."

Daisy looked from the open door to the brightly-sunlit window. She then used her dagger to stab a glass case, and grabbed a heavy rock of some sort, one with a clear rune belonging to Thor, the Norse God of Thunder on it.

She angled it into the widest window, and threw it. The sheer force of it shattered the glass entirely, like it was made of paper or frosting. Daisy and company hit the floor as they watched it come crashing down, and managed to avoid being hit.

Daisy scrambled to her feet, and looked around for the other three. "Come on! Before they block up the roads!"

She remained behind long enough just to see the others out, and then leapt into the street. She landed rolling, as she'd learned from Dr. Gillespie, and effortlessly got to her feet.

"Come on, this way!" Cassandra yelled, pointing toward an exit.

Daisy helped Thomas to his feet, and they ran toward the crowd of people, slipping into the camouflage of thousands, waiting to the fire alarm to stop ringing.