The Council

by Phoenix Willow

  The Council

  By

  Phoenix Willow

  DEDICATION

  For everyone out there who has ever dared to follow a dream, this one’s for you.

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to take this opportunity to thank my husband, Kirby, for his constant and unwavering support. You never doubted me and that, in and of itself, speaks volumes. I truly couldn’t have completed this book without you! I love you always.

  I would also like to thank my two boys, James and Micah, for their understanding and patience with me as I wrote this story. You both serve as my inspiration and my motivation every single day. You are my world, and I love you both more than words can say.

  I want to thank my friend, Liz, for her assistance in the editing process and for acting as a sounding board to my many different ideas.

  I want to thank my parents for their belief in me and my ability to reach any goal I set my mind to.

  And for everyone who encouraged me along the way in this endeavor, I thank you for the positive vibes you sent my way!

  The Council

  Chronicles of Jewel Draconis: Book 3

  Phoenix Willow

  Copyright ©2019, All rights reserved by Brittany Becerra Kirby

  *No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent from the copyright holder.*

  Table of COntents

  1. The Palm trees are sprouting

  2. A Keeper of tempus

  3. The Tome of Enchantment

  4. Good Intentions

  5. A Meeting of the Minds

  6. Locations, Locations

  7. Bubble-exoskeletons

  8. Welcome to Aquatica

  9. An Unknown and a Tentacor

  10. Into the Deep

  11. Sparkledruff and Renuviants

  12. Foster-Ing an Alliance

  13. One in Infinity

  14. Zebra stripes

  15. The Hospitable Suite

  16. Red and Orange, Orange and REd

  17. Alucinari Time

  18. The Council

  19. Sin City

  20. The Strangest Peak

  21. The Guardians of the Light

  22. Seeking Truth

  23. A Bunch of Hogwash

  24. Happily Ever Now

  25. Descent of Darkness

  Aura Color Chart

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  The Palm Trees are Sprouting

  The stars illuminated the amethyst sky, and the only sound that could be heard for miles within the Lost Meadow was the river’s current and an occasional huff, squawk, or grunt from one of the creatures residing there. Jewel sat on a cool slab of quartz as she overlooked the water. It was a little chilly this time of morning, but nothing that could even be remotely seen as uncomfortable. Jewel inhaled the sweet smells that the Meadow held as she closed her eyes and attempted to clear her mind. This had become her morning routine over the past several months, as she was either not able to sleep most nights or when she finally was able to slumber the nightmares would take hold.

  She couldn’t shake what had happened at Shade Sterling’s house in the District of Enchantment. And whether she was awake or asleep, she couldn’t stop reliving that day over and over in her mind. She found herself feeling panicky, having flashbacks- little things triggering her emotions at the most inopportune times. Everyone kept assuring Jewel that the feelings were normal, but Jewel was exhausted- both mentally and physically.

  Every time she closed her eyes, she not only saw, but in a way, experienced the fight with Shade all over again. Jewel would see Shade rearing back his arm to stab her, but Hammond Leaks stepping in. She would feel her heart stutter and her stomach drop as she watched Hammond’s life-blood leaving his body from the stab wound Shade had inflicted. She saw herself sit in horror, knowing that the dagger had a rare potion embedded into it which would poison someone if even nicked with the blade. And Jewel relived all that, only to then come to the realization that Hammond wasn’t Hammond at all, but was her long-lost dad, Steele Draconis. And then it would feel as though her heart was being yanked out of her chest all over again.

  Jewel shook her head. It was all too much to handle. Winter had done the best she could with keeping Steele in a frozen state so that the poison wouldn’t kill him. But it had already been several months, and the group was no closer to finding a solution to Steele’s predicament. Jewel was haunted by the memory of what happened, yes. But more than that- she was haunted by the myriad of unanswered questions and the fact that her dad was as close to death as one could get.

  And for what? A stupid dagger that was as evil as an inanimate object could possibly be, and one that Jewel was now stuck wearing on her belt until the group figured out a safe way to dispose of it. So, this is what Jewel did now. She would try to sleep. She would either be unable to or she would have a nightmare. But either way, she always ended up by the Lost Meadow’s rivers edge- trying to find peace, when she felt anything but. And to top it all off, another power that had been hidden had somehow been unlocked, probably thanks to her emotional instability. So now in addition to her new Empath and Astral projection powers- that she had yet to explore, she could now freeze time. She could only freeze it for about thirty seconds, but she could do it nonetheless.

  It had been quite a shock the first time it had happened. Jewel had been listening to the group go back and forth on ideas about trying to defeat the Horde and how to find Shade and stop him before he figured out where they were. Jewel had thrown out the same ideas she had a thousand times before but had gotten the same response with the Protector’s shutting the ideas all the way down. She wasn’t surprised, but to be honest- she had grown weary and impatient with everyone. Their voices grated on her nerves like nails on a chalkboard, and she had actually screamed at everyone to just stop, and that’s when it happened. They literally stopped. And not just the group, but the wind rustling through the gemstone trees, the river’s stream, the birds flying……..everything. Jewel thought she had lost her mind for a moment, but after about ten twenty seconds or so, the freezing wore off.

  Her ability to freeze time had happened a couple times since, but she had absolutely no control over it, and she hadn’t divulged this little tidbit to anyone in the group yet. It was hard enough to just get through the day, without adding another facet to things, and Jewel had no doubt that some in the group would want her to research and practice this new ability. But Jewel’s top priority was no longer to stop the Horde, led by Gertrude Bile and her horrible sister Manti. It was not to locate Shade so that they could put him in prison where he couldn’t hurt anyone ever again. Jewel’s top priority wasn’t even getting rid of the stupid dagger she was stuck with now. It was to find a cure for her Dad. That was it. Jewel cared about little else.

  She had been taken from her parents at a very early age, by Gertrude Bile, an evil Sorceress set on killing and absorbing Jewel’s powers when she turned eighteen. Now, thanks to Shade, who at the time Jewel thought to be one of the good guys, she had escaped that fate. But now she was on the run from both Shade and Gertrude, not to mention Gertrude’s psychotic sister Manti Sectin, who had pretended to be Jewel’s mentor, but turned out to be one of Jewel’s greatest enemies. So now, here Jewel was, in the Lost Meadow- hiding from the outside world, while her Dad continued to be a living popsicle.

  Jewel absent-mindedly ran her fingers over the gemstone necklace her Dad had given her, under the guise of Hammond Leaks to help her deal with the side effects of the polarrier she had gone through nearly a year ago. She had to find a cure for her Dad. She needed answers, and he was the only one who could give them to her. Maybe he even knew where her Mom was. Maybe they
could all make up for lost time. As unlikely as that probably was, Jewel couldn’t stop herself from dreaming it. A girl could hope, couldn’t she? Jewel thought to herself as she looked at her reflection in the water. Everything had been turned upside down in a very short period of time, and she barely even recognized herself anymore. She was no longer the girl that had been brought to Weatheropolis, full of excitement, smiles, and a bit of baby fat still on her cheeks. Now there was a leaner, slimmer Jewel that held a seriousness in her eyes and an expression that held the weight of the worlds on her shoulders.

  “Hey Hybrid.” Jade Trellis acknowledged as she joined Jewel by the river’s edge. Her copper hair was pulled back from her face, showing off her jade green eyes and sharp features, and her aura was her normal black, yellow, and white mix.

  “Hey Troll.” Jewel replied simply, using the nickname for the Sorceress that had originally been intended as an insult but had weirdly turned into a term of endearment.

  This interaction had become routine for the two girls as Jade never seemed to be able to sleep through the night either. That was completely understandable though. Her parents and twin sister had been killed in a fight with Shade’s loyal followers, some of which were referred to as Dispatchers. Dispatchers were vile and as psychotic as individuals could be. They thrived on capturing, torturing, and killing their victims and unfortunately, Jade’s family had met their demise at their hands.

  Jewel stole a look at the Sorceress now sitting next to her and thought to herself how crazy life really was. A mere year prior, Jade and Jewel had been anything but friends, and now here they were- both haunted by their pasts and stuck in the present, struggle-bussing it just to get through each day.

  “Well…. what are we going to do until everyone else wakes up? Did you want to train, work out, or did you have something else in mind?” Jewel inquired, breaking the silence.

  A sly smile formed on Jade’s lips and her aura switched from its normal tri-colored shade to a light orangey-silver. “Actually, I was thinking that perhaps we could go on a hunt of sorts.”

  “What kind of a hunt?” Jewel asked, her emerald eyes narrowed in curiosity.

  Jade reached into her sequin satchel, a gift from Skye- a good friend of Jewel’s mom, and another Protector, and pulled out a very yellowed and tattered book entitled Potions and Spells, Not for the Fainthearted. “I sort of….stumbled upon this when I was searching through Ella’s portable library.”

  Jewel snorted. “Stumbled upon it, huh?” She said dubiously. “Really, Troll?”

  “Okay, okay- so I went through the stack of books that we aren’t necessarily supposed to go through, and I found it. But it was totally worth it. This little book is jam packed with all sorts of spells and potions that I didn’t even know existed.” Jade stated as she held out the book for Jewel to take. “There’s even something in there about counter curses and cures for rare potions.” She added with a waggle of her eyebrows.

  Jewel’s eyes widened, and she quickly grabbed the book. “You’re amazeballs, my Troll-like friend. Maybe there will be something in here that I can use to help my Dad.”

  “That’s sort of what I was thinking. I placed a pen in there to mark a page with a potion that I think would be worth trying.” Jade pointed out.

  Jewel opened the book and flipped through a few pages, the smell of must and age permeating her senses as she did so. She found the page that Jade had referred to. It was a two-page list of ingredients and directions for a potion that was supposed to rid the body of any poison. It was more complicated than any potion Jewel had ever seen, but if they could at least find the ingredients, she was sure that her two close friends- Sage and Galadriel- would be able to figure out how to concoct it.

  “How long have you had this?” Jewel asked.

  “Just since yesterday. But you wouldn’t believe the number of books that Ella has that are just like this one.” Jade said with a shake of her head. “I wanted to take a few, but she definitely would have noticed, and you know how she is about her books.”

  “I definitely do.” Jewel chuckled. Books to Ella were like sparkly things were to Skye- very important and something you did not want to mess with.

  “And don’t get upset with me, but I did do one other thing…” Jade started as she pulled out another book out of her bag. It had a black leather cover and was decidedly newer than Ella’s book. “Sage and Hamm-, err, Steele- had been working together on compiling a list of plants and gems that can be found here in the Lost Meadow. What they were able to put together was pretty impressive.” She stated. “I didn’t look through all of it yet, but from what I saw- there are drawings and descriptions- everything you would need to identify specific items.”

  Jewel took the book from Jade, and when she opened the front cover, she saw why Jade had asked her not to get upset. The book belonged to her Dad, which meant that Jade had taken it from his personal belongings, which normally would have angered Jewel. But, she was desperate enough to try anything that might help save him, so in that moment, she wasn’t angry at all.

  “Where did you find this?” Jewel asked as she flipped through the book.

  “Well, you know Sage goes and sits with your Dad every day, and I’ve noticed him always adding things to this book before leaving. I was curious because I know what a whiz Sage is with all things potion-like, so I peeked and wala!” Jade stated excitedly, before asking hesitantly. “You aren’t mad that I took these two books, right?”

  “Are you kidding! This is great! Now, at least we have something to try and put together to help my Dad. It’s been the better part of a year, and he’s still an ice cube, so I’m willing to try almost anything.” Jewel said, her eyes shining with newfound hope.

  “Well, then, Hybrid- let’s go see what we can find here in the Meadow.” Jade said as she stood up.

  Jewel smiled as she sprang up from the slab of quartz. Finally, there was something to go on. And even if it didn’t end up working, at least Jewel would know she was trying something and not just sitting around twiddling her thumbs.

  Jewel and Jade spent the rest of the morning exploring and attempting to research at the same time, and for the next two weeks the two girls met each morning by the river- early enough that none of the other group members knew what they were up to. They searched high and low for the ingredients needed for the poison-curing potion. They had definitely found two of the plants needed, but the main problem the girls faced was that neither one of them were very astute when it came to correctly identifying and deciphering which plant was which. Many of the plants that were needed looked like three or four other plants that weren’t the right ones at all. And this wasn’t like a baking recipe….they couldn’t just throw away the first batch and retry. It was an all or nothing type of situation since the potion was so complicated to make, so they had to get it right the first time around.

  “Okay.” Jewel said aloud as she and Jade compared two pink-orange plants that looked almost identical. “I think we need the one with the-” She started but was cut short when someone grabbed her from behind. Jewel didn’t waste any time, and without even seeing who had grabbed her, she used her telekinesis power to fling whoever it was off and away from her. She and Jade spun around quickly, both taking defensive stances, until they saw who it had been.

  “Oh….OH! I’m so sorry Sage. I didn’t know it was you.” Jewel said as she hurried over to where her friend had landed.

  “Well I sure hope not.” Sage chuckled. “I would hate to think that you did that on purpose.” He said as he stood and brushed the bits of sea-colored moss off his outfit. Jewel smirked when she saw what he was wearing. It was no secret that Sage was very matchy-matchy when it came to what he wore, and today was no different. He had on a pair of red and black athletic shorts, a black shirt with red writing that said, ‘Hybrids are Cool’, black tennis shoes, red socks, and a red and black headband.

  “So, ladies….how’s the search going?” Sage asked with a raised
brow.

  Jewel shrugged. “Not sure I know what you’re referring to, Sage.”

  Sage gave Jewel a look that clearly screamed, ‘I know you’re up to something, you can’t fool me’.

  “It couldn’t hurt just to tell Sage, Hybrid.” Jade whispered quietly. “He might be able to help us, because at the rate we’re going, your dad is going to be frozen for quite a while.”

  Jewel quirked her brow at Jade, who merely shrugged in a very ‘you know I’m right’ sort of way. Jewel thought about it for a moment, and turned back towards Sage, narrowing her emerald eyes in suspicion. “How exactly did you know we were even out here, or where to find us?”

  Sage’s blue eyes twinkled in amusement. “Well, you two aren’t exactly stealthy and I saw Jade take the journal. I just wasn’t sure why, and I’m still not entirely sure why, but what I am sure of is that you are not going to want to touch that plant on the right because it will make you break out in a rash that is quite unpleasant.” He said, pointing to where the girls had just been standing. “Believe me, I know from experience.”

  Jade and Jewel immediately wiped their hands on their clothes as though they had somehow been contaminated.

  “You should also be more careful about sneaking around the Meadow with no knowledge of what lies within, Girlie. Not to mention that you didn’t tell anyone beforehand.” A familiar voice from behind Jewel scolded.

  Jewel turned around and saw Ambrosia standing there. The Vampiress’ full lips were pursed, and her lavender eyes shifted between the two girls- much like a mother would to her two children that had been caught doing something naughty.

  Jewel inwardly groaned. She had hoped that she and Jade would be able to find a few more ingredients before anyone caught wind of what was happening, but the secret was out now. She only hoped that Sage and Ambrosia would help them, and not try to convince them that they were wasting their time. She also hoped that they wouldn’t say anything about Jade taking Ella’s book, because Jewel had no intention of giving it back anytime soon. It had too much valuable information that they weren’t going to find anywhere else.