“Okay! That’s enough!” Benyst called gruffly from across the clearing, his earlier tears dried and gone. “No sense wasting any more time. Let’s get going.” I came to a running stop in front of them.
“I’m ready.”
“Well, you look the part, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed if you don’t mind.” He held up his hand, showing me two of his pulpy and misshapen digits intertwined.
“Here, you’ll need this.” Noiryn handed me my bat.
“I’ll look after it while we Travel.” Benyst pulled the bat from my hands and shoved in my bag, which he wore across his body.
“Thank you guys.” I looked at them each in turn. “Thank you for everything.”
“It was our pleasure.” Noiryn beamed.
“Alright, let’s get out of here. We’ll do the focusing; you just throw your energy into the mix, okay?”
Benyst stepped forward with both his hands outstretched. We each took one. I looked down at Noiryn’s blue hued fingers grasping the fleshy redness of Benyst’s hand, my own sweaty palm absorbed in his meaty grip. Reality sunk in. I was about to go to The Void. The place where this had all started; a place more foreign to me than any other I had visited, and I was going to pick a fight with some very powerful beings. Me, with my lonely little wing. I paled, and before I could stop it, a tiny whimper left my throat.
“Don’t be scared,” Noiryn whispered. “You’ll know what to do.”
“Bah!” Benyst snorted. “Oh, course she will. She’s The Phoenix!”
I smiled wanly at them both. Noiryn took my hand, and we Travelled.
27
Everywhere was lit with a bright grey tinted light and the wind was ridiculously strong. I could feel my hands wrapped around Benyst and Noiryn’s, but I couldn’t quite make out their faces in the trembling atmosphere. The wing made it much easier to endure, more normal somehow, and I think I would have landed on my feet had I not been attached to my companions.
We land in a heap. Benyst on the top, me on the bottom. It was a Noiryn sandwich with my wing as the bottom slice. Fortunately, the wing is pliable and alive, and it moulded to my body. After much groaning, mainly on Benyst’s part, we finally got off the ground. I stretched the wing a couple times, and no damage had been done. Once I had decided the wing was all right, I could focus on more important things. I was in The Void.
It was exactly as it had appeared in my memories. The sky was a shade of grey only a few shades lighter than the ground, making everything feel like it was far away yet close enough to kiss. The dark grey earth was smooth and appeared to be hard packed yet gave under my feet like it had under-padding. There was a light, ever-present breeze that caressed my face and set the tendrils of my hair in motion. A few tall and skeletal trees broke the rolling skyline, and in the distance, I could see a stream. There was very little sound, and I could see no other life. An intimate solitude reigned here.
“Welcome home.” Benyst’s voice broke my reverie. Neither he nor Noiryn looked happy to be there. “Here.” He passed me my bat. “We’ll wait here with your stuff. You’ll find The Guard that way…” He pointed off into the grey. “Just two rises over.” I couldn’t see anything out there. Noiryn read my mind.
“Looks are deceiving here. It will reveal itself to you when you are closer.” I nodded my reply and stared out at the grey place I was to explore.
“If I’m not back soon, head home.” I looked over my shoulder and smiled grimly at them. “Bye.” Noiryn waved meekly, and Benyst grunted. I started walking.
It was hard, but I walked for about five minutes before I looked back. They were my only friends here, and the landscape was making me feeling increasingly alone. When I finally looked back I expected to see tiny figures of Noiryn and Benyst, and perhaps get another wave, but all I saw was grey. The rules of distance seemed not to apply here, and I wondered how long I had before I would be at The Guard’s meeting place. They could be miles away, or they could be just over the next hill. I couldn’t decide which was more frightening. I had to go forward; I needed to finish this for my own sanity. I needed to know the truth about who I had been. Feeling scared wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I flapped my wing and floated a few feet forward.
Looking out at The Void I spotted a cluster of trees that shimmered like birch bark sometimes does, a stream wound its way around them and then headed off into the distance. It was beautiful in an eerie sort of way. It seemed so strange that I had lived here, that this had been my home. That thought brought a new peace to my bones. I had been comfortable here once, and I would be again. I just had to think positively, and possibly fight some Travellers with untold supernatural powers but I could handle it, right? I chuckled at my ludicrous situation, gave my wing a few good flaps and continued walking.
I focused on my task as I walked. I pictured the circle, imagining each of The Guards’ faces in turn. I could see Windiga, his armour shining as he spoke of the respect I should be paid, Silverwood’s sad eyes as I was Bound. Perhaps they would support me. I went through the memory of my attack and drew strength from the images of Cosima and Ganaraj orchestrating the onslaught. I went over the things Mastyx had said as his slithering companions writhed at his feet. I pictured The Archer as he grappled with Sid. He had my wing.
Power began to hum in the centre of my body, and I instinctively tried to rub my wings together. The move was incomplete, and the reminder of my missing limb turned the power in me to a deep red. I could see it in my mind’s eye, feel it in my flesh, a spinning red orb residing in my pelvis. It unravelled to become a blue flame that moved through my torso and crackled down my wing. A new kind of fluidity came to my flesh; I felt more in my body than ever before. I could feel every inch of my flesh, every molecule aligning and moving as one. With this new sense of movement came a resolve.
“I will have my wing.”
I continued this mantra as I got to the top of a gentle rise. In the valley below was a large circle of trees, obscuring what resided in the centre. Cosima’s harsh laughter crackled through the valley.
I had found The Guard.
28
I paused as the cold cackle of her laughter grated across my skin. Even laughing she sounded like a bitch. I took a few deep breaths and smoothed back my hair. Cosima was not alone, I could hear other voices rising and falling on the wind. I grabbed my bat in a two handed grip and swung it a few times. My wing undulated with the action giving the twist of my body extra power. I whispered to the air. “Alright, it’s ass kicking time.” Feeling strong, and a little reckless, I started down the hill.
I had no idea when they would register my presence or what they would do when I arrived, so I moved as silently as possible. As I got closer, I could make out more of the conversation and began to piece together exactly who awaited me in the circle.
“I told you to find her!” Cosima shrieked.
“Cosima, calm yourself.” A steady deep voice that I recognised to be Ganaraj rolled across the circle.
“We have looked everywhere. We cannot find her Light.” A third voice, old and frail. I had no idea who it could be. “Perhaps she has had help.”
“Oh we know she’s been helped.” Cosima’s voice dropped to a low growl as she spat out the venomous words. “Don’t we, lover.”
“Just a few corrections, my dear.” Mastyx drawled. “One, I did not help her, and two, you are no longer my lover.”
“You brought her to my home!” Cosima shrieked.
“To retrieve what is mine!” Mastyx bellowed in return. The rise in volume made the sibilance of his voice more pronounced. “Perhaps if you were not so weak she would not have bested you.”
“I should rip out your throat for that.” Cosima hissed. Ganaraj spoke.
“Wouldn’t you rather tear at Phoenix?” Silence. “She’s right outside the circle.”
I froze.
“What?” The surprise was plain as Cosima and Mastyx chorused their response.
“Yes, right ou
tside the trees. Phoenix? Please join us.”
I was a good ten feet from the circle of trees, and unlike the others in The Void, these were thickly branched. I thought they had obscured me. I was wrong. Honestly, running crossed my mind. I seriously considered it for about five heartbeats, then my wing flapped, and I knew what I had to do.
“Sure!” I called out. “Sounds like a party!”
I could hear Mastyx’s hissing laughter as I sauntered towards the circle. A break in the trees appeared as I got closer, not like the gentle bending the trees did on Benyst’s path, these trees just disappeared leaving a gaping hole in their wake.
I walked through the opening into the circle of The Guard seats. They had all rushed onto their daises, Ganaraj sitting in lotus, Cosima draped provocatively, and Mastyx feigning relaxation. God, they were so full of themselves. The person whose voice I didn’t recognise turned out to be an old woman, super old, like two or three centuries. She wore many shawls around her shoulders and had a large scarf over her head. Her face looked like an apple doll, and she held her gnarled hands clasped in front of her. A long shapeless wool dress skimmed the ground at her feet. She stood off to the side of Cosima and seemed to sway a little on her feet. I wondered briefly why they didn’t bring her a chair.
I waited until I had walked nearly to the centre of the ring before I unfurled the wing. I opened it to its fullest length and let the power of a few flaps float me to the centre. I landed and gave them all a low curtsy, stretching my body forward and letting my wing point gracefully to the sky. When I rose from the bow, Cosima had a look of pure rage on her face.
“Well done,” Mastyx said gleefully. “It looks beautiful on you.” Cosima hissed at him.
“Yes, you always were a beautiful creature,” Ganaraj spoke, he looked so impassive. “Where did you find it?” I smiled broadly at him.
”I have great friends.”
“Ha!” Cosima snorted. Ganaraj glanced sternly at her, silencing the outburst.
“Where are my friends?” I asked in a low voice.
“Friends?” Ganaraj raised a hand to his chin.
“She means the Minion and the Yeti,” Mastyx said.
“I know who she means!” spat Ganaraj. He quickly regained his composure as he turned back to me. “I am just surprised you call them friends.”
“What do you call people who help you?” I countered.
“I prefer allies.” He began to rub his chin. “So you think they have helped you?” He stopped rubbing and looked me plainly in the eyes.
Okay. Things were starting to get sticky. I could feel it. That question was weird and what was going on with Cosima? I was sure she was going to rip me apart when she saw me. But there she sat, completely still, over in the corner with Grandma Scary. Yeah, scary was the right word. Anyone that old and hanging out with Cosima was not going to be making cookies.
“Yes. They have helped me.”
“Hmm… Now perhaps, but have they always?” Cosima grinned at his question, her fishy mouth stretching to its limit.
“I wouldn’t know.”
“And why wouldn’t you know?” Ganaraj painted concern on his face. I wasn’t falling for it.
“Because you bastards…” I pointed at him with my bat and shot my naked palm at Cosima. “Stole my wings and thus, my memory.” I smiled sweetly at him.
“They were not stolen.” He countered.
“Oh? You came up on me with an army, pinned me down and ripped them from my back? ‘Stolen’ not enough? Okay. Give me a second… How about snatched? Is that a better word?”
I can be really sarcastic when I’m pissed.
“They were not stolen because their removal was decreed by The Guard. No action of The Guard is wrong.” He crossed his hands in his lap.
“The Guard? Really? So everyone was there? Everybody voted?”
“The minutiae of the meeting are none of your concern.”
“Where are the others now, Ganaraj?” I shouted the words at him. “Where is the strength of The Guard now?”
“You question our strength!” He jumped to stand on his dais.
“Yes! The entire Guard did not vote that day! You rigged it in your favour!”
“How do you know these things?!” Cosima howled. I could see her turn to Mastyx in my periphery.
“I know what you did to me, Ganaraj! What both of you did!” I held both my arms out to them. I could feel power welling in my belly, my wing trembled with it. “Now call your ally, The Archer and have him bring me my wing!”
Ganaraj began to laugh. At first, it was a small chuckle, but it quickly grew into a full-bellied sound that rocked him back and forth on his dais. It was just as wet and nasty as Sid’s. I stood in shocked silence as he rolled, wiping tears from his eyes. He seemed to be saying ‘The Archer’ under his breath. Soon Cosima caught the joke, and the two laughed openly as they sat on their grey thrones. I tried to make eye contact with Mastyx, but he only glanced at me, refusing to meet my gaze. He looked ruefully at Ganaraj and then made to slip off the back of his dais.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Ganaraj and Cosima fell abruptly silent.
“Just stretching my legs.” Mastyx grinned. Cosima arched her body towards him.
“But you still have a job to do.”
“Yes.” Ganaraj chimed. “Let’s put her out of her misery.”
What the fuck does that mean?
“What the fuck does that mean?” I get sarcastic, and rude, a thrilling combination.
“Relax, darling, I’m just getting your friends.” Mastyx slid off his dais and walked towards the tree line.
I kept the other three in my sights as I watched him go, and let the bat rest loose and ready at my side. Granny in the corner was staring at me with her dark beady eyes. She was slowly rubbing her hands together and every once and a while her thick tongue would crawl across her lips. I was about to tell her to take a picture when a familiar voice cut through the silence.
“She will be back! She will make you all pay for your injustice!”
Mastyx entered the circle dragging Sid and Yeren in his wake. They were imprisoned in large orbs of magenta energy, and although they visibly fought against them, the orbs bounced into the circle like children’s toys.
“Sid! Yeren!”
I would have run to them had Mastyx not stepped between us. I made to move past him, but he whispered to me.
“Not a good idea, darling.”
“Are you guys okay?” I asked from where I stood.
“I knew you would come!” Sid cried. “Where is the other wing?”
“With The Archer.”
“I told you!” Yeren spoke to Sid in a harsh whisper that travelled throughout the circle. “She will not help us!”
Cosima began to laugh.
“Oh don’t worry, little one, she still thinks you are her friends.”
“And we are!” Sid pressed himself against the side of the orb. It swayed with his weight. “No matter what they tell you, we are! We have always been there for you, My Lady! Always!”
I looked at Sid, tears streamed down his face. Yeren had all but turned her back to me, her head hanging low. I looked at Mastyx, but his face offered nothing. This entire time Cosima had continued to chuckle. It grated like broken glass against my skin and was pushing me closer to the edge with every breath. I couldn’t take anymore, and I let her know it.
“Shut your fucking face!”
There was no burst of green power, no flash of red fire, just me and my lungs. And they shut her up good. She sat there opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water evidently trying to come up with some witty response. Ganaraj beat her to it.
“Well said.” All eyes turned to him. “We must move on. To return to your earlier statements, the entire Guard was not needed for the vote, Phoenix. You broke one of our most ancient laws. And breaking this law carries with it a swift and final punishment. Banishment. No more, no less.”
&nb
sp; “And what law did I break?” I spoke through gritted teeth.
“You Healed.”
“You have no proof!” My visions showed me I had Healed without leaving a trace of my energy. There was no way they could prove what I’d done.
“We did not need proof. We have eyewitnesses.” My blood ran cold. He looked over at Sid and Yeren. Yeren had curled into a ball at the bottom of her orb. Sid closed his eyes as I looked at him.
“No!” I shouted. “I don’t believe you! Sid! Sid! Tell me it isn’t true!” He wouldn’t open his eyes. I rounded on Cosima. “You must have tortured them! You did, didn’t you, you fucking coward!”
A smile spread across her face.
“There was no need. They sang like birds.”
She worked the word like a curse, and my wing reached for its absent partner. I could feel my power flare to a burning red in my belly. It rolled like a giant cat through my torso, turning to an icy blue as it stretched through my arms and down to the tip of my wing. The pain was too much. Sid. My friend for years, lifetimes, and he had betrayed me? I flashed back to their conversation in the cave. Sid had warned Yeren that I would remember everything. Is this the information they were afraid of?
“Sid?” I whispered. “Is it true?” He nodded. I collapsed to the ground, the bat rolled from my hand.
“Oh! It’s better than I thought it would be!” Cosima clapped her hands. “Look at her face! She’s completely broken! Let’s kick her while she’s down! Baba?”
“My pleasure.” The old woman spoke quietly with a voice that held every one of her innumerable years. “For my Riders.”
She moved like lightning. I had just registered the quick exiting shuffle of Mastyx’s steps, and she was on me. Her gnarled hands grabbed the edge of the wing and made to tear it off. But the wing and I were one now, and the familiarity of the tug brought a quick fury to my flesh. I stretched the wing out sharply, catching her off guard and sending her hurtling across the circle as its tunnel of wind brought me to my feet. I braced for another onslaught as I checked the ground for my bat. It was near the base of an empty dais, too far for a quick grab.
Torn From Stone (The Phoenix Series Book 1) Page 15