The Phoenix Series

Chapter 4

4

The smell of clean, fresh earth and large trees woke me. I felt dirt under my cheek, its moisture bringing me back to myself. I had no idea how long I’d been out, but something told me it was merely an instant. I opened my eyes slowly. I laid sprawled on my side on a forest floor, feeling soft moss and dirt under my body. I looked around and could see large maples and oaks swaying in the mild breeze. Weak sunlight peeked through their branches to mark the ground, and a fine mist filled the void between them. I heard Sid moving nearby.

“My lady, are you hurt?” He had stopped using my name.

I rolled onto my back and looked up at the canopy. I did a mental check of my body, and everything seemed intact. Physically fine, I sat up.

“I don’t think so. Where are we?”

“A forest.” No s**t.

“But where?” He was already moving. I scrambled to my feet and chased after him. Sid took off into the underbrush, moving silently on his hands and feet. I had never seen him move so gracefully. He always looked so awkward when he walked around my apartment but now he practically danced over logs and around bushes. I didn’t do so well. Considering Sid’s silence, I tried to move with as much stealth as possible. I was twice Sid’s height and more than once got my hair caught on a branch that Sid had practically melted around. I was really glad he’d chosen flat boots.

The land slowly sloped upwards, like the base of a hill, but the canopy was thick and I couldn’t be certain. We had travelled in silence for about ten minutes when Sid took cover behind a large boulder. Panting, I sat down on the ground beside him. He was still for a moment then gestured for me to look around the rock. I moved onto my knees and stretched my upper body around the cold grey stone. We were definitely at the bottom of a large hill. About thirty feet away, on the side of the forest-covered mound, was a man-sized fissure framed with rubble.

I moved back beside him and we locked eyes. Sid nodded once and was around the rock before I could question him. I followed as closely as I could and within moments we were at the fissure. Sid moved ahead of me into the darkness. Wondering what the hell I was doing, I took what I hoped wouldn’t be my last look at sunlight and stepped through the opening.

The fissure opened to a large tunnel. It was much drier than I expected and was large enough for a big and extremely tall man. The tunnel was completely dark, but Sid had produced a lantern from his bag. The lantern was a small round orb about the size of a grapefruit with a curving hook of metal protruding from the top, which he held in his hand. The orb itself looked like pressed metal and the slits cut into it scattered unusual shapes around us. Soon the passage opened up into an enormous circular cave.

Sid scuttled around the cave lighting torches that were mounted on the rock. He moved without hesitation, he had been here before. As the light grew, I was able to make out more of my surroundings. There was a fire pit in the middle of the cave, with a cooking spit and pot suspended above it. High above that, in the ceiling of the cave, was a small opening, presumably for smoke. A sliver of sunlight peeked through. Around the fire were three stools. Two were of average size and simple construction but the third was enormous, easily five times the size of a standard chair. It was made from a large piece of wood that appeared to be the trunk of an ancient tree. Some of the roots remained and they reached for the ground like thick fingers. It was covered in intricate carvings that I couldn’t decipher in the torchlight. I looked at the giant spit. There were bits of charred flesh stuck to the ends and the handle was well worn. It could easily support the weight of a large dog and I’m just a little bit bigger than a large dog. Yay, I’ll make two suppers.

In the back reaches of the cave was a large cot the size of a king-sized bed; it was covered with pieces of fur and the headboard had been decorated with antlers. To the left of the bed was a long table so high I could have comfortably rested my chin on its surface. Beside that stood a bookshelf; from where I was I couldn’t make out the lettering on the spines. I just hoped they weren’t cookbooks. Although he had been here before, this was definitely not Sid’s home.

“Whose place is this?” I asked, trying to keep the fear from my voice. Sid motioned for me to sit by the fire. I took the stool furthest from the giant one, which unfortunately put my back to the entrance.

“It belongs to a friend of mine. You will meet her soon enough.”

Her? Oh god, this whole journey was decidedly freaky. Why had I just left my apartment with Sid? How would I get home? I looked at the giant spit. Were all these years some elaborate plan to gain my trust and then squirrel me away and eat me? Oh, I just know I’d be tasty too. I pulled the bat out of my bag and lay it across my lap. Until I got some answers, that was where it would stay.

Sid had been busying himself starting a fire and looked up at my movement. He saw the bat in my lap and exhaled the twin of that deep mournful sigh that had started all this.

“I am so sorry, My Lady. I owe you a great many answers.” He sounded so sad that I almost put the bat away. Almost, because that’s when they get you. “You have been very trusting to follow me this far. No human would fall so easily into such uneasy things.”

“I just want to know what’s going on!” All the fear and panic that adrenalin had held at bay were starting to bubble up. “Why the hell did you bring me here?” I was yelling now. “Whose house is this? And why do I have to meet them?” I jumped to my feet. “Look at the size of that bed!” I jabbed the bat towards it. “And that spit! They could f*****g eat me! Is that what this is? Huh? Some elaborate plan to eat me?”

I was breathing very heavily, my chest heaving I held the bat with both hands. Sid started to giggle. It was a phlegmy sound.

“Eat you?” His giggles grew fuller. “Eat you? Of course, I’m not going to eat you!”

I watched him struggle with the thick fluids his mirth created. His laughter rescued me from my dark thoughts. Sid was a third my size, the first time we met I had slammed him halfway across my apartment, and we had been friends for years: there was no way he was going to eat me. Not exactly happy, but considerably calmer, I sat down and tried to regain my composure.

“I’m sorry, I’m just a little freaked…” He began stoking the fire, his chest still rattling with silent laughter. “…This is just a lot to take in. I had years to get used to you and now in the space of an hour, you’ve told me I’m in extreme danger and dragged me to the home of some unknown creature, who’s definitely not a Minion,” I gestured at the big stool. “…In a place I don’t recognise.” I put the bat away. “I think I’ve handled the whole thing pretty well, but I’m nearing my breaking point. I need answers, Sid.”

He flinched at the saying of his name and threw his arms out to the side. A brief flash of warm power echoed through the cave and was gone.

“My lady, please do not use my Name. The Names Travel and we must not be found.” I opened my mouth to question him again, but he silenced me with the raising of his hand. “I understand your frustration and I will now end it. We are in the home of a very old and dear friend of mine. No harm will come to you here within this rock. The reason for our quick departure comes at the end of a long tale. A tale that I have intended to recount since you found me under your sink. I should have told you sooner, but always thought I would have more time. I now see how futile that was. You accepted my presence with such ease that perhaps the truth would not have alarmed you that night, but I was afraid. I was worried it would break your heart, My Lady.”

Silent tears ran down his face. His grey eyes held so much weight. I wanted to say something reassuring, to make his burden less, but before I found the words, he continued.

“The story starts in The Void.” The firelight danced in his eyes. He threw his arms out in a gesture I had become familiar with and a blast of warm power, stronger than before, filled the cave. The image of a shield burned briefly in my mind and was gone. He continued.

“I have told you of my species, the Minions, who live in The Void. But there are others, many others. Each has a distinct visage and frame, some more human in appearance than others. Their numbers do not run into the hundreds like we Minions, yet they all have a significant presence.

We have existed longer than the concept of Time in this fashion. The many species living together, Travelling from world to world and policing ourselves as necessary. We did not fear one another because in groups the power is shared. We Minions have little power due to our immense numbers. Aware of this sharing, the inhabitants of The Void work to keep our numbers so that no one being may gain control. But there was a solitary Traveller. A creature without a double let alone the numbers needed to share power. No one knew why or how she came to be but there she was, alone. She was graceful and beautiful, indistinguishable from human but for the beautiful wings that grew from her back.

The feathers were broad and soft. They held a multitude of colours, purples, greens, blues, and pinks coursed through them. To see her stretch them as she prepared for flight was a beautiful thing. But she was alone.

One day she ceased Travelling and took to wandering The Void. She moved incessantly across the grey landscape. As Time passed, it appeared that she had forgotten how to Travel. She had not taken flight through our grey sky in an age.

This time in The Void had made her powerful and yet vulnerable. Although she had never acted in malice towards a single being, whispers started. The others grew frightened. They feared her humanness. She so closely resembled those we Watch. What could come of such a creature? A movement formed to rid The Void of her.

On a cool dark day, without warning, they charged. Running at her back, they tore her right wing clean off before she knew the bombardment had begun. As she grappled with the many hands attempting purchase, she knew she had one option. To Travel. And it was in those final moments, as she began to hear her left wing tear, that she realised that she could never return. Without her wings wherever she landed would be her new home. It had been so long since she had Travelled, and with no time to twist the proper charm, she trusted to instinct. As the second wing was severed, she jumped headlong into the next world. Aeons and instants dissolved as she passed, screaming, into the bright world beyond.

I watched it all: disgusted with the actions of my brethren, but unable to stand against so many. As soon as she passed from The Void, a great cry of joy and frustration emptied from the mouths of the mob. They had wanted her blood not merely her wings. They tried to rip the wings apart but they would not rend. Keeping their shape, they were tossed about, various creatures sucking on what little blood resided in their joinings. The blood made them momentarily crazed with a power that was gone as quickly as it came. When the last of them had grown tired and lay dozing on the ground, I grabbed the wings. I secreted them away to other worlds. It broke my heart to separate them but together they were too powerful. Their Light would pulse, making them easy targets for her enemies.

I hoped one day to find her. Without her wings she would have no knowledge of who she was, she would begin her new life as an infant, a babe, in whatever world she landed. She would have no memory of her home.

Soon after her departure, The Guards came with a new decree, that she was to be forgotten and that to help her would be a violation of our ancient laws. Anyone with knowledge of her whereabouts was to report it immediately. They said it was too risky to bring a Traveller back in her condition. They said The Void did not need her, that she had no place in our grey home.

But I did not believe them. I knew their words were made of fear. Fear of what she would do when she returned. For all her silence, she knew the darkness and anger that had crept its way into The Void. She could feel it winning over the inhabitants. I was sure that in time she would have acted against it.

There were a handful of creatures that shared my thoughts and together we made a pact. We would bring her home. We would return her to The Void so she might see justice. None searched as diligently as I. It was difficult work, to search without being seen, always looking over my shoulder and playing the fool with The Guard. It took me fourteen years but I finally found her.

The Phoenix.”