When feathers appear, danger is near.

Deandra's grandparents, January and Morris Eyre, are hosting a fundraising auction at the Mermaids Club. While they're no strangers to auctions, they've never hosted one with a guest list this moneyed or with items this rare. The revenue from the event is sure to pull in a nice chunk of change for the much-needed renovations of the local library—but the lure of the self-igniting phoenix feather is also pulling in unscrupulous individuals.

A multimillionaire in the talisman industry—and the owner of a company with a shady past—has his sights set on the feather. When his invitation to the high-profile event is rescinded, Duncan Bettencourt works to discredit the Eyres by blasting flagrant half-truths across his popular social media page. His cornerstone claim is that the small philanthropic club doesn't have the resources necessary to pull off such an event.

When the phoenix feather goes missing, Bettencourt jumps at the chance to scream "I told you so!" from virtual rooftops. With renewed purpose, Bettencourt uses his online clout, gobs of money, and pure spite to relentlessly torment the Eyres. Deandra and Wendy must once again don their sleuthing caps, this time to help their grandparents track down a thief.

Because the missing feather isn't only rare, it's potentially dangerous. Under the right conditions, the self-igniting feather could be crafted into a bomb. The cousins must locate the feather before it falls into the wrong hands—not just for their grandparents' sake, but for Axia's.

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