The Phoenix Series

Chapter 10

10

I was so warm, so cosy and warm. The bed was soft, and a thick duvet covered me. I was about to drift off back to sleep when I realised I shouldn’t be sleeping. I sat bolt upright and threw back the covers, realised I was naked and pulled the covers back.

I was alone and back in a cave. This one was very different from Yeren’s. The ceiling was much lower, but it was easily three times the size, like a giant bachelor apartment.

Everything was built into or around the rock; candles glowed in many of the small niches in the walls. I sat on a bed in the back right corner of the room; it was raised from the main level of the home and framed by stalagmites. Or was it stalactites. I don’t know, the ones that grow up. Light blue gauzy fabric draped from tip to tip of the stone pillars. The linens were plush, and the bed was wide. In front of the raised bed area was a sunken living room filled with soft cushions and pillows: it didn’t look that different from the bed. The other side of the chamber held what appeared to be a cooking area and a large open space where the floor looked most even and was covered by a thick multi-coloured rug. Even with all the rock, it was surprisingly girly. The most startling thing about the cave was the curtain.

Curtain seems too plain a word. Drape would be better but still not close. It ran the length of the cave along the wall I faced. It was made of a very heavy fabric that looked like the sea. There were shades of blue and green throughout the piece and as I watched they moved in and out of each other like living tie-dye.

I wanted to see just what it was hiding but first I needed clothes. Carefully holding the blankets to my chest, I scooted to the edge of the bed. I wasn’t as sore from the fight as I thought I’d be but my back cracked loudly as I moved. At the base of the riser, sitting on a small wooden chair, were my belongings. My tote bag was on the floor; a little worse for wear, with my bat beside it. The neatly folded clothes in the chair and coat swung over it looked freshly laundered. I looked around the room, it was still empty, I threw back the blanket and went for my bag.

I had to make sure the wing was still there. A few moments searching produced the rough brown sac. I opened the bag and looked inside. In what appeared to be a very large space was my wing. Not a feather was out of place. Reassured, I place the sac back in my tote and turned to my clothes. Whoever had cleaned them did a great job. As with the wounds on my body, all the bits of stone and blood were gone. I had packed extra panties in my tote but didn’t reach for them. My mystery maid had cleaned everything. I had packed a bra as well even though I couldn’t wear one with the suit. It didn’t seem right to leave the house without one. So I shimmied into the panties and pulled the suit on as quickly as possible. I slowed down once my breasts were covered. Although whoever cleaned this stuff had undoubtedly stripped me, I still didn’t want them to see me naked while conscious. Weird, I know. I was sitting in the chair, getting my boots on, when I heard the unmistakable sound of someone approaching.

There was nowhere to hide and I didn’t want to anyway. Escaping didn’t make a whole lot of sense because I had no idea where I was. I also needed to know what had happened to Sid and Yeren. So I remained where I was, in the simple wooden chair. I decided to feign confidence and threw and arm over the back of the chair, angling my body away from my captor. The noise seemed to be coming from the open area at the other side of the cave, but there was no door there. In fact, looking around there were no doors anywhere. With a sound like grinding gears, an opening appeared in the rock. Silhouetted by the glittering rock behind her, my captor stepped through. She was the most unusual creature I had ever seen.

The first thing that struck me was her skin. Parts of it were human and pink like mine but the majority of it was blue, a light pearlescent blue. Her hands and forearms were completely blue, so it looked like she was wearing very long gloves. The blue coated her legs and moved across her torso covering most of her breasts, but left her neck and shoulders pale. She had no hair, just a crown of this remarkable blue above her startlingly symmetrical face. She had big, round eyes that were a shade darker than the hue of her skin and a wide mouth that looked almost lipless from this distance. She saw me in the chair but did not react. She simply came towards me. As she got closer I could see that the blue was made up of scales about the size of a silver dollar, like a fish. They covered her in perfect rows that bent and flexed as she moved. Her body had the taut stealth of a swimmer and in her naked state I could see the muscles of her stomach and thighs move. Blushing slightly, I brought my gaze to her face. I could not see it when she entered but in the centre of her forehead it looked like she had a third eye. It was closed and had no lashes but it was definitely an eye. Closer still, I could see I was right about her mouth. She had no lips, just a heavy fold of skin above and below her mouth, the upper hanging slightly over the bottom. On her way across the room she turned towards the kitchen area. She produced two glasses and filled them with water. When she turned her back to me, I could see that the blue continued to mid back. Her spine was very pronounced. It seemed that every vertebra had a boney point, almost as if spikes should protrude from the meat of her back. She walked the remaining steps to me, a glass in each hand.

“You’re probably very thirsty.” She held out a glass as she drank from her own. I was thirsty, but had I not seen her drink the water first I wouldn’t have taken it.

“Thank you.” I took the glass and drank deeply.

“And you’re probably wondering what’s going on.” I pulled the glass from my lips.

“Oh, you’re quick.” She winced. “Just where the hell am I? And where are my friends?”

“You are in my home, which is very safe. No one ever comes here.” She looked down as she said the last.

“And where exactly is home?” These Travellers were so cryptic.

“Embedded in a reef in the warm waters of the pacific coast.” I gaped at her. “Here, I’ll show you.”

She went to that fabulous curtain and began to pull it aside. I was distracted by the movement of her scales until I saw the view. We were indeed in the middle of a reef. There were thousands of brightly coloured fish swimming past the window. I crossed to the glass and pressed my hand against it.

“Ahh!” I stepped back as the view rippled. What I thought had been glass was pliable under my hand. In fact, my hand was wet.

“It is only my power that keeps the water back.”

“Wow.”

“It is a simple thing, Phoenix.” I looked at her sharply.

“I thought my name was not to be used.”

“That was before. After your incident in the woods, all the Travellers will soon know that you have returned.” She barely made eye contact with me, choosing instead to look at my chin or shoulder. It was incredibly unnerving. “Sid had wanted you kept secret until both your wings were recovered. But he underestimated Baba, or overestimated himself, whichever you prefer.”

“Where are Sid and Yeren?” She looked at me.

“They have been taken by The Guard.”

“We have to get them back!”

“That is impossible. They are in The Void now. There are too many there that would have your heart before they’d see you return.”

“s**t!” I yelled it and the water rippled. “s**t!” The water pulsed and I threw my glass against it. The wall of water held but my glass was absorbed. I watched it float away as I steadied myself.

“What’s your name?” The creature had cowered as I raged and didn’t answer right away.

“What is your…”

“Noiryn.”

“You cleaned my clothes?” She stood straighter.

“Yes, they were covered with Rider blood.” She must have felt my guilt. “Don’t worry. You can’t kill a Rider.”

“No?”

“No. They never die.”

“That’s a scary thought.” I shuddered then gestured at my suit. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She gave me a weak, lipless, smile.

“What’s your role in all this, Noiryn?” I wasn’t raging anymore, but I wasn’t happy.

“I am one of the few who refused to push you from The Void. I joined with Siddhartha to see you restored.”

“Restored to what?”

“To yourself.” I was ready to scream again.

“Damn it! Won’t anyone give me a straight answer? I don’t know what ‘myself’ means! A few days ago… hell, I don’t even know how long I’ve been here!” I began to pace back and forth across the room. “Before Sid pulled me from my bed I had no idea I was even a part of this place! Noiryn…” I turned to see her on the floor. She had curled into a tight ball with her arms over her head. I softened my voice.

“Noiryn?”

“Please, your anger… It hurts… Please stop.” She looked so pitiful that I dropped to my knees beside her.

“I’m sorry, Noiryn.” She raised her head towards me. A tear rolled from the corner of her third eye.

“You need to touch the wing.” Her voice was barely a whisper but as she said ‘wing’ a flash of power moved quickly through my body making me inhale sharply. I nodded and we got to our feet.

I got the satchel from my bag and handed it to Noiryn. She gestured for me to sit in the middle of the living room cushions. When I was in place, she took the bag and gently shook the wing out to lie in front of me. It was more beautiful than I recalled. In the extreme of the fight, I wasn’t able to fully appreciate just how exotic and marvellous it was.

“When you touch the wing memories will come.” Noiryn knelt close beside me. Since my apology she was much more comfortable. “Let them. Do not fight them no matter what they show you.”

“Is it bad?” I was really scared.

“Only you, Phoenix, know what truly happened. This is the only way to find out.” I gave her one of Sid’s patented nods. “I will be here when you emerge.” She got up and left me alone in the centre of the cushions.

I stared at the wing and was afraid to touch it. We had worked so hard to find it, but now the moment was here, and my friends were not, and everything was riding on me remembering. They wanted me to be ‘myself’ again. What if I didn’t like who that was?

The wing was no longer willing to wait. It began to pulse, waves of power emanated from it and moved into my body. They were warm and felt like home. The tension left my body. I reached both hands out in front of me and lowered them onto the wing.

The moment my hands touched the feathers it began.