“It is time for the new couple to take the place at the top of our society. They have been joined in marriage and now they will be joined in the unity of the legendary Phoenixes. We must thank Our Creator for this gift to this world,” the old guy shouts, followed by the crowd’s shouts of thanks.
More chanting begins as the robed people continue to stay on their knees. “Flames to spirit,” they all say.
What does that mean?
The pole Ally’s jackass prince is on begins to move forward. “No!” Ally screams as she looks at him with tears streaming down her face.
“It’s going to be okay, Alyssa, my princess. It’s time. Have faith. I love you,” he shouts to her.
Dear God! They’re taking him towards the pit of fire!
Oh my God, please save him. I know I said I was going to kill him, but I didn’t mean it. God, please don’t let these crazy people kill him!
The pole moves closer to the pit and I find I can’t watch anymore. I turn my back, leaning up against the glass wall.
This isn’t real. It can’t be.
I close my eyes and will myself to wake up from this nightmare. This cannot really be happening.
I can still hear the insane chanting going on, but my mind moves far away. I think of Ally and me walking in the forest, back in Cloudcroft. The way her hair smells in the summer, like lemons and honey. How her hand feels in mine. Small and fragile, like she needs someone to protect her.
Her scream pierces my brain, “Eden! No! Stop!”
I close my eyes even harder and put my hands over my ears. The sound of the flames bursting into the air can still be heard.
They’ve killed him!
There is no way I can turn around and witness this. It’s obvious they’re about to kill my Ally, and most likely I’m next. Thunder booms, and a strange screech rings in the air, yet I cannot make myself look.
“Eden!” Ally screams.
Why did she sound so surprised?
I turn around, my eyes still closed. It takes everything in me to open them and look at my Ally. Her pole is moving towards the fire. She’s looking up and she seems unafraid.
It must be some powerful drugs they gave them both!
I hope they give me some before they do whatever horrible act they’re bound to do to me, so I don’t freak out.
I place my palm on the glass, wishing I could touch her just one more time and hold her in my arms once before they take her from me forever.
Please let there be a heaven where I’ll see her again as soon as they take my life. Please let God be real!
Across the sea of red-robed people kneeling and chanting, my Ally looks at me. Her eyes glisten with tears as she shouts out to me, “Kyle, don’t worry. I’ll be okay. I’ll be back for you. Please don’t worry.”
She’s delusional and I have to watch her go into the flames. I must bear witness to her execution. If I do manage to escape, I must be able to get justice for this horrible crime.
“I love you,” I yell, but I doubt she can hear me through this glass.
“I love you too, Kyle,” she shouts back. “I’ll be back to get you.”
The bottom drops out from underneath her small feet. Her hands must have been released, because her arms dart out and turn in the air as if she’s trying her best to fly instead of fall into the red-orange flames.
My heart stops beating as her body disappears into the pit of fire. “Ally,” I find myself screaming over and over again as I pound on the glass.
She’s gone! Gone forever!
My body and brain go numb as I fall to my knees. Tears fill my eyes and my breath catches in my throat.
I can’t quit staring at the flames, praying she’ll come out of them unharmed. Though, even in my current state, I know it can’t happen.
Something dark, and large rises from the flames, moving slowly up. I wipe my eyes to clear the tears which blur my vision. Standing back up, I watch as long, black wings unfurl just above the flames. The thing emerges, flying straight up. A shriek breaks the night air.
‘It’s me, Kyle,’ I hear Ally’s voice in my head.
It can’t be! I’ve gone insane!
‘You haven’t gone insane, Kyle. It’s really me,’ her voice fills my mind again.
I hope they take my life quickly. I’m going crazy fast.
‘You’re not going crazy. This is real. Watch, I’m about to fly right by the glass container you’re in. Look at my eyes as I pass you and you’ll see it’s really me,’ the Ally voice says in my head.
I guess if I have to be crazy and hear voices in my head, hers is not an unpleasant one.
‘Simply not an unpleasant one, Kyle? I expected you to like my voice much better than that. Here I come,’ her voice tells me.
Suddenly the sound of beating wings pound against the glass walls of my prison. Faster than I can see, something huge passes by me. “If that was you, I didn’t get to see much. You went too fast,” I say out loud, and now I feel really crazy.
‘I know. This flying stuff is new to me, remember. I’ll come back by. They’re about to let you out anyway. You have a special place in this society, Kyle.’
Speaking out loud again, I say, “And just what would that be, voice in my head?”
Beating wings pass by me again. This time I catch a glimpse of a dark blue eye.
Could it really be her?
‘It really is me, Kyle. Now some of our stronger male protectors are going to help you out of there. Promise me not to start trying to fight them. I promise nothing is going to happen to you. You are part of me and they cannot hurt you. Since I fell in love with you, Our Creator had to make adjustments for that. Though I cannot see the future, I can see you are to be asked if you’d like to join this society as my primary protector.’
I can’t believe I’m saying this out loud. They must be pumping the drugs into this glass cage, because I’m starting to believe the voice in my head.
“So, I have a choice?” I ask.
‘Of course, Kyle. Eden and I had no choice. We’re not completely mortal. You are, and mortals always have a choice in what they do. The only thing is, this is your one chance. It can’t be offered to you again, and if you decide not take the offer, your memory of this whole event will be taken from you. You’ll wake up in your bed back in Cloudcroft.’
“Where’s Laura?” I ask, feeling kind of dumb for talking to myself.
Maybe they need to pump some more drugs in here, because I’m not all the way mindless yet.
‘She’s asleep in one of the bedrooms at our mansion. She’ll be told she drank too much and had to be taken home. I’ll implant some fake memories of a reception which never happened in her mind. Also, at this point, she’s not to be told about what we are,’ the Ally voice tells me.
I settle into a squat as I lean against the glass wall and contemplate her offer.
Be a permanent part of my Ally’s life, or go back to my normal life, go to college, probably marry Laura. Or is that even possible?
‘You can marry whomever you want, Kyle,’ Ally’s voice tells me.
Okay, so I can still live my life how I want to and live this crazy life as some type of protector to Ally.
I ask out loud, “If I decline your offer, will I forget that I love you, Ally?”
‘You will.’
The silence after her simple statement fills my heart with a sadness I’ve never known before. That’s saying a lot, because I thought only minutes ago that my Ally was dead.
I can start over. I’ll forget about my love for her and be able to move on. How come that makes me sick?
“I want you in my life, Ally. If this is real, which I highly doubt, I want to be your protector. Hell, I always have been in a way. Tell them to come get me out of here and let’s get this show on the road. Wait! I have one more question. This just came to me,” I say.
Before I can ask the question, her voice interrupts me, ‘I will not always be a bird. I can transform back an
d forth.’
“Okay, then. Yes, I will take the place as your primary protector, Alyssa,” I say, and find a place in the glass squeaks as an invisible door opens. Four men, much bigger than me, wait for me on the other side.
I hope I’m not dead already. This is not my idea of heaven.
CHAPTER 36
ALYSSA
I follow Eden as we fly through the night, which is lit up by the full moon. The transformation is complete and our full powers given to us. I can communicate with Kyle telepathically as well I can with Eden.
Kyle’s agreed to be my primary protector, something I’m very happy about. Eden, not so much.
‘Stop thinking about it, Alyssa. You had to offer it to him. You had no choice,’ Eden sends to me.
His words tell me he’s taking it as best he can. I can feel what he feels though and his heart is aching.
‘I love you more,’ I send to him.
‘I know you do, princess. I’ll get used to this. Just give me time.’
Cool air blows past my face as we fly over Lake Pontchartrain. A fish jumps, a spark of silver against the dark surface. My imagination was nothing compared to the reality flying is.
Strength fills my bird body as I glide through the air. Eden flies up high and I follow him over the tall treetops. We’re going back to the mansion.
Kyle has been taken there and he waits with Galchobar for our return. A brief ceremony to cement his commitment to me will be held. No one will attend. This is between Eden, me, and Kyle. Galchobar will officiate.
Guess The Creator is telling the old guy what to say. This is a new deal for the Phoenixes.
‘Yes, it is. Thanks to my stubbornness,’ Eden sends to me.
‘This is not your fault, Eden. Please stop blaming yourself. It was meant to be. Can’t you look at it like that? Our Creator makes no mistakes,’ I send back.
His sleek bird head looks back at me and he winks his large emerald eye. ‘You are right, my princess.’
I’m right! Wow! Marriage ain’t so bad! And my man makes a handsome bird.
‘You’re quite beautiful yourself, precious,’ Eden sends.
I feel as if I’m blushing with his compliment. Can birds blush?
The mansion is lit up. We can see it from a mile away. This night has lasted forever. I swear we’re in a time warp. Never has a night lasted so long.
As we approach the backyard, it becomes pretty obvious why it’s as large as a football field. We require a bit of room to land. ‘If I trip and fall all over myself, you better not laugh at me, Eden.’
His chuckle fills my head as he thinks about how funny that would look.
Okay, the scene does look funny I have to admit, but I’d rather not be the comic relief this evening.
‘Make sure you stay in bird form until you stop, or I’m quite sure you’ll take a tumble if your human legs try to keep up at the fast pace of our bird legs,’ he sends to me, along with a mental picture which frightens me.
So much to think about!
As we descend, my bird feet hit the ground running. I hold my wings out some to use the wind to slow my large body. My weight as the large bird is a burden I’m not used to, and I lean forward, threatening to take a nosedive into the lush lawn.
‘Raise your head, Princess.’
I do as Eden says, finding myself balanced and slowing. Once I stop completely, I picture myself as a human again.
In an instant, the weight of my body changes. My hands rub my arms, which are tired. Involuntarily, I run my hands all over my body to make sure I really am the same girl with all the same parts.
I hear Eden giggling as he runs up behind me, picking me up and tossing me into the air. His strong arms catch me as I come down.
“That was exhilarating, don’t you agree?” he asks me.
“I do,” I say, and he laughs.
Still holding me off the ground, he presses his body to mine. My legs wrap around his waist and my arms do the same to his neck as he walks with me.
“Thank you for saying those words so many times when I know it was hard for you a few times during our vows. I swear to you I will always treat you as the equal I consider you to be,” he tells me as he looks into my eyes.
Even if I wasn’t able to get in his head, his eyes would tell me he was telling the truth. I don’t know why I was ever afraid.
“You weren’t afraid, Princess. You were pissed. As well you should have been. We’ll get that changed straight away. I’ll not have our successors be subjected to such an outdated thing,” he says, then stops walking. “We’re here, if you care to stand on your own. It’s a bit awkward having Galchobar see us this way, don’t you think?”
I look back and see the old man and Kyle sitting by the swimming pool. ‘Damn, Ally, really?’ Kyle thinks to me.
Thankfully, there seems to be a privacy screen between the telepathy Kyle and I share and the telepathy Eden and I share, or I’m quite positive the two would never get along.
I glance at Kyle and send him, ‘You should see the things I’ve had to see about you and Laura in your very dirty mind, Kyle.’
He blushes and looks away. I smile up at my new husband and unwrap my legs from his waist. “I love you,” I tell him.
The touch of his hand on my cheek sends shock waves through me and suddenly this little ceremony can’t get over with quickly enough.
We need to start this marriage thingy, and quick. My body aches for him.
Eden turns me toward Galchobar. He’s ready to do the ceremony it seems, as he rises up into the air.
“Stand next to your primary guardian, if you will, Mistress Fontaine,” he says, with a bit less than the booming voice he’s used at the other ceremonies.
I move away from Eden and take the place next to Kyle, who’s risen from his chair. He smiles at me. “I can’t believe this, Al.”
“I know, right?” I say with a giggle.
Galchobar clears his throat, making us stop our childlike banter, and pay attention to him. “Our Creator has given you a choice Kyle, son of Joe.” Galchobar hesitates as if listening to something, then looks at Kyle. “Your father’s name is just Joe? Not Joseph or Josiah?”
“Just plain old Joe, sir,” Kyle answers.
“Okay, then. How very common. Who’d have ever thought, oh well,” the old man says with a shrug of his large shoulders. “Let me continue. Kyle, son of Joe. Do you vow to protect this special creature for as long as you shall live?”
Kyle looks at me. His sky-blue eyes sparkle as he takes my hand in his. “I do,” he says.
My heart just skipped a beat and then it felt like it was breaking as Eden’s felt pain.
Galchobar pulls my attention back to him as he says, “Mistress Fontaine, do you vow to follow this man and do as he bids you to, without hesitation, as he is your guardian for life?”
I look up at Galchobar with confusion. “For life? Do you mean his or mine?”
“Yours, Mistress Fontaine. As your primary guardian, he will live as long as you do. Special powers will be bestowed upon him. One is longevity, just as you have,” he tells me, and now I’m not sure I want to do this to him.
I turn to Kyle. “This is something I’ve had trouble accepting about my position, Kyle. It’s a surety we’ll outlive all those we love. Our children included. Are you sure you wish to do this?”
Pictures fly through Kyle’s head as he thinks over what I’ve said. He pats my hand as he says, “I will be with all my loved one's in the end, Ally. Let me do this. It’s far beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined.”
I look back at Galchobar and say, “I do.”
He looks back at Kyle as he says, “Kyle, son of Joe, with the power vested in me by Our Creator, I now give the female Phoenix to you to protect as you would protect your own child. You may place a kiss upon her wedding band as a sign of your acceptance of this position.”
Wow! Given to two men in the matter of a day! Do all the ceremonies have to be so arc
haic?
Kyle looks at me, a seriousness in his eyes I’ve never seen before, then says, “Alyssa, I will protect you always. Thank you for this. I love you.” His lips touch my wedding band as he bows in front of me.
I run my hand through his blonde curls. “I love you too, Kyle.”
Eden is at my side before Kyle can stand back upright. “Congratulations on the position, Kyle. It makes me very happy to know my wife has such a great protector. I know you’ll always treat her with the respect she deserves now that you know what a truly special creature she is.”
Kyle gives Eden a smile as he says, “You know I will, Eden. I would like to apologize for not treating her like the princess she is. If I’d known, it would’ve been much different.”
Eden moves between us, clapping Kyle on the back. “I’m sure you would have, Kyle. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m taking my wife to bed. We’ve had a very long evening as have you. I’m sure you’re just as exhausted as we are.”
Kyle’s eyes dart to mine. “See you later then?” he asks.
I smile at him. “Much later. When you decide to get up, take Laura and go see some of the sites. Just ask Niles to get the driver for you two. There’s so much to see.”
Eden wraps his arm around my waist as he leads us into the house. It’s evident he’s placing his body between mine and Kyle’s.
“Niles will be giving you your own credit card. It’s payment for your services to Alyssa. The Phoenix Foundation provides everything for us and they will for you as well,” Eden tells Kyle as we walk. “We’ll get together soon to hammer out all the details. In the meantime, consider this a vacation. Have fun, see the sights. Don’t wait around for us, okay?”
Finding we’re at the top of the stairs, we stop in front of the bedroom Laura’s been placed in. “Remember, Laura can’t know anything yet. Maybe never,” I say.
“Do me a favor, Al,” Kyle says. “Don’t send me any mind messages for a while, if you catch what I’m pitching.”
“You don’t send any and I won’t,” I say with a smile.
Eden shakes his head as he says, “Shit! This is weird.”
“Yep,” Kyle and I say in unison.
As Kyle slips into the dark bedroom, Eden and I walk down the long hallway to the very end where our new suite has been built. Neither of us has seen it yet.
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