Phoenix

by Dawn Rae Miller

  "Are you sure you don't want to sit down?" he asks. "You look pale."

  I pace back and forth, allowing my racing heart to keep up with the tempo of my footsteps. "No, it's better when I'm moving. Otherwise, the magic boils over."

  "It's good you've found some coping mechanisms."

  "Oliver taught me that," I say.

  "He was a good man."

  "He was." I swing my body to the side and release a small bolt of magic at the trees. One bursts into flames, and I quickly form a rain cloud over it, extinguishing the fire. "But what does this have to do with what happened."

  "You have to operate on the theory that they're lost, Lark. Annalise, Ryker, and Kyra aren't available to us."

  "Lost," I spit. "You mean dead."

  Henry eyes me solemnly. "Yes."

  This time tears don't come. Instead, I'm filled with anger and rage. Callum has taken his grudge too far. First Mother, then my guards, now my city and friends. It has to stop.

  It has to.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  "Is she prepared? Is Beck?" The words waft out of the Council's tent. I pause and eavesdrop more until Henry pushes me through the door.

  Think like a leader, Lark, I say to myself as I slide up to the table. Don't focus on your losses, only on what you need to do.

  "Let's get down to business," I announce to the group gathered before me. "Sun-Wei, please start."

  The Minister looks down the table at me. "I'm leading a group of witches to reconnect the grid. Our goal is to have it up and running by nightfall."

  "Is that realistic?" I ask.

  "Possibly. It depends on several factors."

  "Such as?"

  "How far out he cut the feeds. As of right now, it seems to be Society wide." He taps his tablet. "We should be able to restore access to San Francisco tonight."

  "Good," I answer. "Beck, do you think there is a chance for a diplomatic solution?"

  My mate shakes his head. "I think all hope is lost. The Council and I have been over every scenario, and Callum doesn't want to talk."

  My heart sinks. "So, what I'm hearing is that the only way to retake the City is to battle for it."

  "If we want to remain in charge," Beck says. His eyes probe mine, reaching down into my soul. How easy it would be to walk away and let Callum rule. And haven't I said that I don't want this job anymore?

  But I know what I need to do - I have to battle my brother.

  "Explain these," I say pointing at the detailed maps spread across the table.

  Henry clears his throat. "Some are maps of witch residences in San Francisco, others reflect where fighting has occurred."

  The fighting map is covered in yellow dots, most along the perimeter of the Park. "And the humans?"

  "We don't know," Sun-Wei says.

  I resist burying my head in my hands, and instead drum my fingers on the table. "We need a war party."

  Beck rests his hand against my back. "We need an army, and as luck would have it, we have one, waiting right outside."

  Everyone is staring at me, waiting for me to say something. To lead them. But all I feel is overwhelmed. Can we really ask these people to put their lives at risk because my brother is having a childish tantrum?

  Beck clears his throat. "Start having the volunteers line up." He turns to Patrick Channing. "Dad, would you oversee the formation of the army?"

  Patrick readily agrees. "Of course. We're taking all able-bodied, I assume." From his undertone, I gather he really means not just Light witches.

  "Everyone who is willing and capable is welcome," Beck reiterates.

  My fingers curl around Beck's. Thank you.

  "The war is here. It's time we fought back," I say.

  #

  Two long lines of witches - both Light and Dark - stretch out before me. They face each other, paired up to practice offensive and defensive magic. Patrick and Landon are running them through drills. Me? I have my own practice, later with Beck, Patrick, and Henry.

  Random sparks of magic bounce off the trees behind us. Luckily, no one is hit.

  "How many are beginners?" I ask.

  Patrick snorts. "All of them. You forget, Lark, that most witches aren't trained to hurt others. We're peaceful."

  I tilt my head and look up at him with big eyes. "And you forget I haven't had the most traditional introduction to magic."

  Beck steps between us. "Not now." He turns to Landon. "Can you run that drill again. The Light witches seem to be struggling with it."

  "Of course," Landon says.

  I shake my head. "No. They need to see magic in action. They need to see what they're up against." I stroll down the middle of the two columns, and with a tiny flick of my hand over my shoulder send disabling magic darting back at Beck. When I spin around, he's immobilized, and as quickly as I froze him, I undo the spell. He doesn't waste time and comes at me with a heavy dose of determination. A bolt of magic zooms at me, and I side step it. The crowd around us spaces out.

  "This is what you're going to be facing," I yell to my army. "Lethal, deadly magic."

  I spin quickly now, pulling the anxiety of the crowd into my core and letting it sit there for a moment before releasing it at Beck. He deflects it with a shield, and the physical manifestation of my magic crumbles to the ground like glass shards.

  He bashes his hands together, and the land beneath me rolls, knocking me off my feet. I scramble to get up right and send a lightening bolt in his direction.

  Mr. Channing jumps between us, hands raised. In that instant, he traps my arms, and my hands are forced to my sides. I can't move, and if I can't move, I can't do magic.

  Damn it.

  "Enough of your playtime, you two," he says. "I think they understand."

  I eye the two sides. A few shift uncomfortably. Others look like they may be sick. All but a few seem terrified. "You're going to have to do better than this if we stand a chance," I whisper to Landon and Patrick.

  Beck laces his arm through mine. "Let's get out of here."

  I allow him to guide me away from the trainees and down the path to the lake. The temperature in the trees drops at least ten degrees, and I shiver. Beck pulls me closer. "Cold?" he asks.

  "Freezing."

  "How funny," Beck answers. "You used to hate the heat and love the snow."

  I smile up at him. "I still like the snow. The heat isn't so bad, though." I stop walking. "What are we going to do with them? None are warriors. We can't take back our city with a group that's afraid to fight."

  Beck runs his hand down my arm. "For now, Birdie, it's the best we have. You need to have faith in them."

  I close my eyes, and a massacre dances behind my lids. Heaps and heaps of dead witches. Destruction all around. Losses too great to count.

  Cool air fills my lungs. Having faith. In an army that's anything but.

  "Lark?" Beck says, waking me from my trance.

  "Yes?"

  "We need to get back. It's almost go time."

  My stomach plummets. In a few hours, I'll be leading a group of unskilled, non-battle-tested witches, who may or may not hate each other, into the fires of San Francisco.

  What possibly could go wrong?

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  All two hundred of us transport into San Francisco at the same time. If we wanted to be stealth, this isn't the way to do it. Once my feet touch the sand of the beach, I spin around, assessing the situation. There are witches to my left and right, but none before us.

  "Go," I shout. We spread out along the beach and head for the trees of the Park. If our intelligence is to be trusted, Callum's army is set up along the Northern side of the Park, along Fulton Street.

  Beck is beside me, running at my pace. Our first mission: locate Kyra, Annalise, or Ryker. Patrick and Landon are leading the army in the attack against Callum's people.

  When we're off the beach, Beck and I stop. "Transport to Kyra's?" I ask, even though I know it's the plan. We could well b
e transporting into a house full of the Splinter group, but it's the best place to start looking for our friends.

  Beck nods briskly, and we're away. We land in the foyer, crouched and ready for attack. I slink along the wall the way Ryker taught me. Beck scans the house with his wristlet. "Nothing," he says, flicking off the device. We run a risk of being pinged every time it's turned on.

  I stare out the front window at my house. It's dark. Of course it is. Callum wanted Mother's house, not mine.

  "Beck, do you think..."

  He tilts his head and studies me. "That they're in our house?"

  "Yes."

  He hardens his jaw. "Maybe, but going there wasn't part of the plan."

  "When do I stick to the plan?" I'm already scanning my house for wards and charms. Nothing. Huh.

  "Lark, I don't like this. It seems too reckless."

  I kick at the ground. "Then don't come, but don't try to stop me."

  "You're angry," Beck says.

  "Yes. And an angry Lark is a dangerous Lark. Especially one who knows what she's doing."

  Beck backs away from me. "Fine, I'll come too. Just promise to keep yourself aware of everything that's going on."

  "I'm going in, but let's do this the old-fashioned way. Sneak in through one of the doors. Whoever is there expects a transporting witch."

  I swing the side door of Kyra's house open and slink down the side yard until I'm at the front of her house. Then, with a quick look up and down the desolate street, I dart across the pavement to my own side yard. With my back pressed against the house, I make my way to the door. Beck copies my movements, but when we reach the door, he darts around me.

  "Let me go first," he says, gently opening the unlocked door. He casts a shielding spell around us, and enters with his hands at the ready. I copy his movements. We quickly make our way down the short hallway, past the servants' quarters. A small mewing sound stops me, and I yank on Beck's jacket, halting him.

  Did you hear that? I ask.

  I did. What do you think it is?

  The baby.

  We backtrack until we stand before Miss Tully's door. Magic radiates from the room. I knock softly and then reset my position to defensive - just in case the person on the other side is an enemy. The door cracks open, and Miss Tully peers out.

  "Lark!"

  The door swings wide open, and she ushers Beck and me in. There, in the cramped room, is Annalise and the baby, along with Ryker, Kyra, and Maz.

  "You're hiding?" I accuse. "The City has fallen, and you're here?"

  Ryker jumps to his feet. "We're not hiding anymore than you were. In fact, we've been planning our attack options."

  Annalise hands Olivia to Miss Tully. "Tell us what's happening. How did you get here?"

  I quickly fill them in, and we agree to leave Miss Tully and Olivia behind while the rest of us regroup with our troops.

  "Ready?" I ask my small group of warriors.

  I am greeted with head nods and grunts.

  "Good, let's do this."

  #

  Ryker is ruthless. No sooner do we transport into the tree line of the Park than he takes out two witches. How he can determine enemy versus friend so quickly is beyond me.

  "Go!" he orders, clearing the way for Beck and me to make our way deeper into the chaos. Callum has to be at the heart, in the most protected position. It's his standard operating procedure: stand back and let everyone else work for him.

  But not today. Today, Beck and I are going to take him out once and for all.

  Annalise runs next to me, Kyra at my back. All around us, residual battle magic ignites. Sparks fly everywhere.

  "There!" Beck points to something off in the distance, and I instantly recognize my brother. His blond hair whips around his face as he gazes across the battlefield, away from our direction.

  Ryker motions Beck and me forward. "Do you know what to do?"

  "Yes," we say in unison. The truth is we're each others backup. If one of us fails, the other has to fight on. The thought sobers me. I could lose Beck. Lose him forever.

  The energy of the battle builds inside me, mingling with adrenaline and causing a heady cocktail of magic to develop in my core.

  Suddenly, a wall of fire ignites before us, almost catching Ryker in its blaze. "He sees us," I scream. So much for being stealth.

  Beck cocks his head. "Put it out, Lark. You know how."

  I take a deep breath and re-center myself. He's right. I know what to do. I don't need Mother or anyone else to guide me. I bash my hands together and a deluge pours down on us, extinguishing the fire. Callum tosses his head back and laughs.

  "You know where you are, Lark? You're in my City. Mine," Callum shouts over the roar of the battle.

  Without thinking, I run toward him. No one attacks me - they must have instructions from Callum to leave me for him. Which is fine. That's how it has to be: me versus him.

  Behind me Beck, Ryker, and Annalise engage in the battle.

  Go, Birdie, go, Beck urges. We've got this.

  I dodge errant magic and climb the hill that my brother stands atop. From up here, the view of the battle is appalling. Dead witches, both Light and Dark, lay scattered about like a toddler's discarded blocks.

  It's worse than the massacre I imagined back at Summer Hill.

  It's real.

  Callum waits for me. It's just us. Brother and sister. One Light and one Dark. Just like Caitlin and Charles. And just like them, one of us will die because of the other.

  Callum eyes me, and I can tell he's mentally assessing my abilities.

  "Don't worry, Callum. Anything you can do, I can do better." It may not be true since no one knows what my brother is truly capable of, but it sounds good.

  Callum shifts position so that the sun is to his back - which means I'm staring into the blinding light. Not optimal.

  Get him talking, Lark, I say to myself. Catch him off guard.

  "Why did you hide for so long?" I ask. "Why not show Mother what you could do? She would have used you more in the State, no doubt."

  My brother taps his foot angrily. "I knew what she could do and what she was. No, it was better for me to hide my abilities than to let her rob me of them."

  "How did you know?"

  Callum's eyes grow wide, mocking me. "How did I know?" He uses a baby voice. "Do I look stupid, Lark?" He doesn't wait for my answer. "It was Annalise. After her day with Mother all she did was cry about how Malin stole something from her. I already knew what I was, and I suspected the same about Annalise and Oliver. They were the only two suitable to be my friends."

  "But they were both Dark."

  "So? They were witches, and that's all that mattered. They weren't human scum like the rest of my house." The disdain my brother has for humans makes my skin crawl.

  "What do you plan on doing with them?" I ask. "The humans?"

  "What do you plan on doing with them?" he mimics, teasing me. "Who cares? It's their turn to live in the shadows and have their lives constantly at risk."

  "It doesn't have to be like that." I keep my hands ready, and my ears alert in case someone is sneaking up behind me. "You could rule peacefully."

  Callum tosses his head back and roars with laughter. "You are so stupid sometimes, Lark." He pauses, and scans me from head-to-toe. "Who am I kidding? You're always stupid."

  He faux lunges at me, and I jump.

  Callum laughs again.

  Anger sits bubbly in my stomach, and I fight the urge to lash out. Lesson one from Ryker: always keep your calm.

  Strike now, Lark. Strike and be done with this.

  But I can't. Something is holding me back, preventing me from challenging Callum. Unlike in the past, I'm fully aware of what I'm about to do.

  I ball my fist into my thighs. Magic drips from my clenched hands. Callum eyes me suspiciously and just when I expect him to throw magic at me, he leaps into the air and hovers about two feet off the ground before shooting straight up over my head.
From his higher position, I'm at a disadvantage.

  Callum laughs manically. "Didn't expect that did you?"

  Unlike my past fights, I feel no anger. Instead, my magic rumbles around my body waiting for my command. I'm in charge. And anything he can do, I can do better, just like I told him.

  I have no idea how to fly, or if I'll be able to control myself once I get airborne, but I leap into the air, and it catches me, holding me aloft. Callum gasps.

  "What is it Brother, dear? Didn't expect this did you?" I taunt, tossing his words back at him.

  Beneath us the battle rages, but my target is before me. My eyes are laser-locked on him, and the doubt from earlier disappears. I have to do this - kill Callum - if I want to protect not just the Dark witches, but the Light witches and humans too. I have to end the Splinter group - and my brother once and for all.

  I fly at Callum, hands spread wide, full of offensive magic. My first strike misses him, but he's rattled nonetheless.

  "You," he sputters, clearly flustered. He drops to the ground and cowers beneath me. "How?"

  "Lark, behind you!" Beck yells.

  I spin around and come face-to-face a handful of Callum's supporters. Magic comes at me fast, and I quickly throw up a shield. The magic bounces off in a display of green and blue sparks.

  I'm in an impossible position. Callum is to my rear and his followers before me. And I'm stuck in a bubble.

  Behind the Splinter group, Beck is fighting his way up the hill toward me. Suddenly, from nowhere, a bolt of magic hits his back. Beck convulses before dropping to the ground.

  "No!" I scream, letting my shield disintegrate. The Splinter group forms a wall between Beck and me, and I'm not going to let them stop me. Remembering the spell Kyra taught me in the eucalyptus grove, I strike. Their bodies buck and writhe, and their eyes roll back into their heads. Finally, they all stop moving, and forgetting Callum, I run to Beck, jumping over the dead bodies.