The Phoenix and the Witch

by H. M. Gooden

  Once again, it was an early night for everyone. The drama at the hospital had tired them out and packing and running away hadn't done much to refresh any of the girls. Luckily, the house was big enough so that they all had a room to themselves and would have a chance to get a good night's sleep. Once their meager supplies were stowed, they sat down around the kitchen table and had tea that Zahara provided from the stash she'd found in the kitchen.

  "So, now that we're all settled, what do you think we should do for the night?" Vanessa asked, blowing gently on her tea.

  "What do you mean?" Mai asked, frowning.

  "Should we take guard duty overnight? In case anyone attacks?"

  Cat hadn't thought about that. They hadn't been attacked inside before and she'd always felt pretty safe once she was off the street.

  "It's not a bad idea. My only problem is that I'm exhausted. I'm pretty sure you guys are too." Cat looked around the table to nods of agreement.

  "Does the house have an alarm system?" Evelyn asked.

  "I'm not sure," Zahara replied. "It might, but I don't have any instructions if it does. To be honest, I doubt it. It's not exactly a high crime area and some people still don't even lock their doors out here."

  "I think we should take turns," said Vanessa. "Since there's five of us, we could do shifts. I can take the first one, as I've been pretty wired since my little flight. You guys go ahead. I'll turn on the TV and chill for a bit and then come wake Zahara in two hours. Sound okay?"

  Vanessa waited for a response. There were a few groans and nods before Zahara responded.

  "Yes, that's a good idea. I'll take a fox nap and be good to go. Wake me sooner if you find yourself getting too sleepy."

  Their plans made, the girls finished their drinks and went to their respective rooms. As the lights turned off, the girls' thoughts turned to the days ahead. Would they confront Carman immediately? What would they be up against? The questions stayed on their minds as they drifted off to sleep, resting up for the day ahead and only God knew what else.

  THAT NIGHT, EVELYN dreamed of the garden at Zahara's. She stood alone in the moonlight, with the stars so bright and big that she felt as if she could touch them if she just reached out her hand out a little. She lifted her right arm and felt something brush her hair softly. Startled, but not afraid, she turned around curiously. She saw a tall young man with dark brown skin and old eyes who was looking at her, waiting quietly. She tilted her head, confused by a strong feeling of familiarity that accompanied this man she didn't know. He was handsome, but there was more to her reaction than just that. She felt a connection and closeness to him that was unexpected. He brushed her face with his hand now and the sensation was almost intoxicating. She was strangely attracted to him, and as he moved closer to her she remained in place, staring raptly up at him, waiting for him to do something.

  A smile turned up one corner of his mouth and he came even closer, touching his lips gently to hers. It was an innocent kiss, with only brief contact, but it hit her with the full heat of summer. She felt warmth course through her and found her feet rooted to the ground, unable to move closer or further away from him. Abruptly he stepped back, sitting on the lovers' bench under the gazebo, then patted the space next to him. Now able to move, Evelyn slowly approached him, feeling as if she was wading through thick molasses even as she tried to walk more quickly. She sat down on the bench and waited for the man to speak.

  "I've missed our time together, Evelyn."

  The man spoke warmly and Evelyn felt another piece click into place. His voice sounded so familiar, but deeper than she remembered somehow, if she remembered it correctly at all.

  "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting. Please, tell me what to do."

  She felt the answer to his presence was there in front of her, but just out of reach. She felt loved and safe, but also incredibly off balance.

  He smiled at her and once again brushed her hair back from her face.

  "We have been connected for such a long time, you and I. I have been waiting until you were ready, my Olukun. You are so much more than you realize, part of something much bigger than you understand. I can't give you all the answers, but I am always here with you, and for you. You and your friends are my champions and I believe in you. It is up to you to rid my lands of this creeping darkness. You have all the power you will need to overcome it. But you, in particular, will be changed by what comes next. I will be here for you, waiting to help when you most need it. It is destined to be so."

  Evelyn looked into his eyes and their warm brown colour wrapped around her soul. In his eyes, she read the passing of the ages and could feel his loneliness and sorrow. He was so very old and alone. She wanted to take away the tears that had never fallen. She wanted to wrap him in her heart forever. And as she felt all these new emotions rushing into her heart, her memory awoke and she knew who he was.

  "Robin? Is that you?

  He smiled. The look on his face took her breath away.

  "But I don't understand. How?"

  Evelyn couldn't stop staring at him. The last time she'd seen him he'd looked older than the first time they'd met, but she'd never expected to see him in the shape of this handsome young man. He'd been a little worn out, but had still seemed as mischievous as the first time she'd seen him in her nightmares over a year earlier.

  "There are many forces at play right now. I have not seen things move this fast for at least a millennium. I believe you five are a part of why events are unfolding the way they are, but I also believe this was all meant to be."

  Once again, Robin answered her questions cryptically, not leaving her any further informed.

  Evelyn shook her head. "That's a crock and you know it. If I wanted that kind of answer, I'd go to a fake psychic. I know that speaking straight is a challenge for you, but come on." She glared at him, surprised by how quickly she'd become so irritated.

  Robin laughed, the twinkle returning suddenly to his eyes. "That is what I have been waiting for. This fire. You have so much depth within you, Evelyn. I wish I could give you all the answers, read them to you like a nighttime story. But it is not my place to lead you to where you need to be."

  His smile faded again, his face becoming solemn. Evelyn saw a look in his eyes that she'd seen a few times in the faces of others and blushed.

  "I would like to stay with you though, while you find your own answers, Olukun." Robin said, so softly that she almost didn't hear him.

  When she was able to process his words despite the leaping sensation in her heart, she realized that he'd twice called her by a name she'd never heard before.

  "Olukun? Why are you calling me that?"

  Evelyn watched as his gaze flickered away, so fast that she almost missed the movement, before it returned to her face. Robin leaned over, bringing his lips within a breath of hers. Her heart skipped.

  "You will always be my Olukun. For eternity and in every form you decide to take. I wish I could say more, but it's not yet time. For now, sleep, my beauty. You will find your answers soon."

  He breached the small space between them as his words finished, not giving her any time to think about his meaning when all thoughts were vanquished from her mind, replaced by a set of warm lips and a feeling of homecoming in his strong arms.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Cat rolled out of bed the next morning, groaning with stiffness. It had been too long since she'd been running and her muscles were complaining about their lack of exercise and the overuse of her less physical attributes over the previous few days. She did a few quick stretches and threw in several downward dogs and hip opening poses to try to loosen up. By the time she entered the kitchen searching for coffee, she felt much more human. So it surprised her when she saw that she wasn't the first one awake and that the last night watcher wasn't Mai, as she'd expected.

  Cat was often the first person awake now, ever since the whole phoenix thing had happened to her. Apparently, her powers also invo
lved her turning into an early bird. But today, Evelyn was the one that was awake, sitting next to the window with a steaming cup of coffee in her hands and a distant stare out into the street. Cat looked at her curiously, pouring herself a cup of coffee before going to sit beside her friend. Evelyn didn't even acknowledge her presence until Cat waved her hand in front of her face, breaking her gaze. Evelyn looked at Cat and smiled sheepishly.

  "Hey, good morning. Sorry, didn't hear you come in. I've just been thinking about last night. I couldn't sleep after my dream, so I sent Zahara to bed. I've been sitting here since about three o'clock, thinking."

  Cat tilted her head, waiting for her to explain.

  "I had a dream, Cat. And oh my god Cat, what a dream! I can honestly say I've never experienced anything like what happened last night."

  Cat took a sip of her coffee, waiting for her to elaborate. When Evelyn didn't continue and looked as if she'd would zone out again, Cat took charge of the conversation.

  "Okay, spill. What the heck happened to you? You're actually mooning over your coffee right now. Like, a lot. Is there something in there? If so, can I have some?"

  Evelyn blushed and Cat watched in surprise as her dark complexion continued to redden as she spoke.

  "In my dream last night, Cat," she began, then sighed before continuing. "I'm not sure how to say this without sounding crazy, so I'm just going to say it."

  She stopped again and ducked her head so that Cat couldn't see her face.

  "I think I'm in love with Robin."

  Evelyn shrunk into herself, looking away from Cat. Of all the things Cat had expected her to say, that was not one of them. Cat found herself lost for words.

  "Um, oh wow. Evelyn, I really don't know what to say right now. Can you explain that a little more? Cause I'm not sure how you can be in love with an eight year old, even though he's super cute and all. That's kind of illegal."

  Evelyn looked at Cat in shock, then her face twisted in amusement.

  "Okay, yeah, that does sound bad when you say it like that, agreed. But Cat, the Robin that I saw and talked with last night was all grown up and yummy, believe me. You think that Dustin from Vanessa's show is hot and has great arms? He has nothing on Robin, believe me." Evelyn winked at Cat before sobering again. "I felt as though I knew him deeply and that we'd been waiting for each other forever."

  Cat sat there, looking at Evelyn trying to figure out what to say. She must have taken too long to reply because Evelyn prompted her again, with eyes that sparkled.

  "Cat, we talked all night."

  Cat continued blinking at Evelyn, trying to process what she'd said. Cat knew by her aura that Evelyn was serious. This was a very important development and Cat knew she was telling the truth. Evelyn was in love with Robin today when she hadn't been yesterday.

  "I believe you, I do," Cat started speaking slowly, trying to find the right words to ask what she wanted to know. "When did this happen? I feel like he's been avoiding us the last few weeks and now you tell me that you guys are in love? It's a little sudden and really unexpected, too."

  Evelyn shrugged and looked at the ceiling. "I have no idea. I think maybe part of the reason he's been avoiding me, us, this year is related what we talked about last night. I've always felt close to him since we first met, when I was having those awful dreams that were tearing me up. He helped me then. He protected me and taught me so much, but I always felt there was something...familiar about him. But then last night, well, it was like he was a different person," Evelyn said, then snorted. "Hell, he even looked like a different person! I asked why we hadn't been able to find him the last time we looked and he just said he's been busy. He's had to adjust because of what's been happening and I think he's aged physically because of it. Or maybe because he wanted me to know who he really was."

  Cat nodded. "True, we always knew that he was ancient. Maybe you're right and he doesn't want to keep his childish shape because of everything that's going on. But with Robin, there's always a hidden motive."

  Evelyn shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. He also told me that I'm going to become different with the fight ahead, that I have more to discover about myself."

  Cat found herself leaning forward at that, her chin on her hand as she listened intently.

  "Go on, what do you mean different?"

  Evelyn raised her hands helplessly before dropping them.

  "You know what Robin's like. He only half-answers that kind of question. He wouldn't go into any details, but it sounds like my powers are going to change in the battle ahead, maybe become stronger? I wasn't too clear on what he meant, but it was kind of reassuring. He sounded really confident when he said he believes we can win this."

  Cat leaned back, processing Evelyn's words. It was incredible but as she listened, Cat could see that Evelyn had the same glow she'd first noticed when Mai had met Jake. It was something Cat was starting to recognize as an indication the soul was meeting its other half.

  "Why now though? How come this never happened all the other times you were together?"

  Evelyn shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe because he always appeared to be eight? I mean, I was fond of him and thought of him as a friend, but like you said before, he was eight. Last night was so different. Something in me recognized him in a way that I hadn't before. I felt like I was finally home, even though I didn't feel lost until that moment. It felt really, I don't know? Old? Familiar? Like I've been there before?"

  Cat kept watching her friend, focusing on her aura and as she did, she could clearly see differences that hadn't been there the day before. Her aura was still beautiful but more intensely so, with deeper reds and yellows and it had such a brilliant shimmer now that it was hard to look directly at it.

  "What are you doing, Cat? Do you see something?"

  This time it was Evelyn who leaned forward eagerly.

  "I don't know. But yeah, something's different about you. Your aura still looks great, actually, it's more beautiful than ever. But it looks way different, maybe more powerful? Maybe it's part of what Robin was talking about, or maybe it's because you're in love."

  Evelyn blushed. "It sounds so weird when you say it out loud. I feel silly and kind of like I'm robbing the cradle, even though he's, like, a million years old."

  Cat waved away her concerns, putting her hand on Evelyn's arm.

  "Don't be. You aren't. I may not know very much about love, but I do know it when I see it. And while it may be seriously crazy, what in our lives hasn't been crazy in the last few years? I'm happy, if maybe a little concerned for you. Whatever else is going on though, I don't think you're being silly."

  Evelyn relaxed her shoulders and took a deep breath. "So what should we do about all of this?"

  "I don't know. But I'm thinking we may want more people to help, if possible. Do you think we can get Jake in on this soon?"

  Evelyn took a sip of her coffee. "I haven't asked Mai what his status for awhile. I know that when we first got here we'd hinted at having him join us. I think she may have asked him to come the other day, after that dream she had with him as the costar. Why don't we ask Mai when she gets up? I know she'll be ecstatic to see him and it would be great to have an extra water power this close to the ocean."

  "Well, the sooner he can get here, the better. Things feel like they're heating up."

  As Cat and Evelyn started to formulate a plan, the other girls slowly trickled in, first to the coffee pot, before sitting on the available chairs to join the conversation. Cat and Evelyn brought them up to speed on Evelyn's dream of the night before and as expected, they were all stunned. They hadn't pictured Robin as an adult before, given his perpetually youthful grade school appearance, so picturing anyone in love with him felt a little weird and mostly wrong. But the part that worried them all most was the fact that Evelyn had said that she was in love with a god, more or less.

  "Seriously, what kind of odds do you have for a long term relationship? You're in grade twelve. He's been around for
a few thousand years, give or take a billion." Vanessa looked at Evelyn incredulously.

  Evelyn's face was a picture of confusion.

  "Yeah, I know. I'm pretty sure that the breakup will be amazing, if we're even actually dating. I really have no idea what our status is. I can only say that I'm pretty sure he was trying to tell me he was interested. I've seen that look on other guys' faces before and it's always been followed by an invite somewhere."

  Mai smiled and patted Evelyn's hand, her soothing touch making her smile weakly. "I can tell just by looking at you that this is big. A wise friend once said something that helped me when Jake and I started dating."

  "What?" Evelyn asked, looking at Mai suspiciously.

  "I think it was something like 'you can't screw this up, it was written in the stars.' Does that sound familiar?"

  Mai looked at Evelyn with her eyebrows raised and Cat laughed. It was such a role reversal from the previous year that she couldn't help herself.

  "I do seem to remember someone being all Ms. Experience when Mai was freaking out. Maybe Mai can give you some advice now?" Cat added slyly.

  Evelyn snorted and shook her head. "Okay, I deserved that. But you know, why not? Mai, I'll take any advice you want to share with me, but maybe later. Speaking of your experience, have you heard from Jake about when he can join us?"

  "Actually, he just called this morning. He's already left San Francisco and he should be here by nightfall. I'm not sure how he's travelling though. It was a little hard to hear him on the phone, so I may have the details wrong. "

  Mai's face lit up when she spoke. Cat knew she was excited at the thought of seeing him again, even if it meant that he would be joining them in fighting the darkness again.

  "Do you know anyone else we could call, Zahara?" Cat asked, knowing that they'd need everyone they could get. "Any friends you have that could help us?"