Blood of the Phoenix: Book 17 of The Witch Fairy Series

by Bonnie Lamer

  “I’m pretty sure that’s her Cosmic Fire she’s feeling,” I mutter, then clamp a hand over my mouth. Eliana just smiles at my inability to keep my thoughts in my head instead of on display for all to enjoy.

  Finally, Ra responds to all the Phoenix has shared. He says simply, “Open your heart to me and I will soothe the humming that haunts you. I will cherish your soul and never let the emptiness you fear take hold of you.”

  He is kissing her now. Passionately. So passionately, I am starting to feel like this dream has shifted genre from drama to porn. “Um, do we need to stay for this?” I whisper to Eliana.

  She opens her mouth to respond, but I never get to hear what she says. My eyes are suddenly wide open and I can no longer hear the rushing current of the Nile or feel the soft rushes against my skin. Instead, I am being shaken by strong arms attached to my very concerned husband.

  “Okay, I’m awake,” I insist, pushing his hands away that are clutching at me a bit too tightly.

  Relief washes over Kallen’s face. “I have been trying to wake you for ten minutes,” he informs me.

  Ah, that explains the intense shaking. I run my tongue around my mouth to make sure he didn’t rattle any of my teeth loose. When I am reassured that my smile will not resemble that of a cartoon hillbilly, I explain, “Ra pulled Eliana and me into a dream again.”

  Kallen’s dark brows rise almost to his hairline. “Why?” He moves back so I can sit up.

  Running a hand through my snarled hair, I shrug. “I’m not quite sure what the point was. He had Eliana and me eavesdrop on a conversation he had with the Phoenix when they were together. Well, not really a conversation,” I correct. “More like a monologue on her part. She was talking about how she didn’t trust love.”

  A soft knock on the door gets our attention. After making sure we are both appropriately dressed, Kallen climbs off the bed and opens the door. He invites Eliana and Josh in and closes the door after them. Josh takes a seat in one of the chairs across the room from our bed, but Eliana prefers to pace. “I’m not sure what we were supposed to gain from that conversation,” she admits.

  I shake my head. “Me, neither.” I move to the edge of the bed and sit cross legged. “Maybe the Phoenix has given up on love altogether?”

  “That seems likely,” Eliana agrees. “But, would that make her want to destroy the universe? Seems a bit like overkill.”

  True, then again, how many times can one heart be broken before it can’t take anymore? Even if it sits in the body of an immortal destined to travel the realms forever. “Revenge?” I suggest. “Maybe her last lover was a giant ass and she’s mad enough at him to kill everyone and everything?” I think about Kallen betraying me. I just might get that angry. Fortunately, though, I wouldn’t have the power to destroy the entire universe. Even more fortunate is the fact that Kallen would never do something so awful to make me feel that way. As if he can tell where my mind has gone, Kallen winks at me and smiles.

  Josh interrupts our back and forth. “Would one of you mind telling Kallen and me exactly what happened in the dream?”

  Eliana stops pacing. “Sorry,” she says with a chagrined smile. She tells the guys what we heard. She has a great memory because it’s almost word for word. Maybe Ra is helping her out with that?

  When she is finished, Josh’s brow dips in thought. “From what you’ve said, your ideas do seem the most likely. Hopelessness or revenge are likely motivators in her current actions.”

  “Maybe Jenna was right,” Eliana says. “Maybe the most dangerous enemy of the Phoenix is herself.”

  I think back to the last words the Phoenix spoke and shake my head. “I don’t know. She was pretty determined to change her way of thinking.” With a frustrated sigh, I complain, “I wish we had more information about her lives. How many has she lived since that conversation with Ra? How many new loves has she had? Where has she been?”

  “Can’t you find that stuff out from the Angels?” Josh asks.

  I snort. “Not likely. Other than cryptic messages here and there, they’re not very forthcoming with useful information.”

  Eliana flops down in the chair next to Josh. “I don’t understand how you can live with an omniscient being and not want to kill him on a daily basis for not telling you what he knows.”

  “Who says we do not?” Kallen mutters.

  I glower up at him. “It’s not Raziel’s fault,” I defend, even if I often feel that very thing.

  Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, I curse under my breath. “If we’re going to go to the dinosaur realm, we need to hurry. The Mermaids and Sirens should be here any minute.” After dinner last night, we debated going there to get it over with. Ultimately, we decided we were too tired to go to yet another realm. Especially one that involved capturing a prehistoric creature. So, we put it off until this morning like we originally planned.

  Eliana and Josh rise from their chairs and Josh grins. “Guess I better drag Sam out of bed, then. He’ll be pissed if he misses his chance to see real dinosaurs. You know,” he adds with a wicked glint in his eyes, “his entire bedroom was dinosaur themed when we were little. I’m pretty sure he still has some toy dinosaurs in a box in his closet.”

  Eliana laughs. “I believe it.” The two of them go off in search of their friends.

  After they close the door behind them, Kallen asks, “Do you really think this is about a broken heart?”

  Again, I shake my head. “I really don’t. I mean, yeah, the speech Ra wanted us to hear makes it seem like that, but I just don’t think so. There’s something we’re missing. Call it a gut feeling.”

  “Perhaps Ra is only speculating,” Kallen suggests. “Offering possibilities.”

  I shrug. “Could be. But, unless he decides to explain himself, which I seriously doubt will happen,” ancient gods are just as cryptic as Angels according to Eliana, “then we’ll never really know for certain.” The price of getting the occasional help from immortal beings is having to guess how, exactly, they are trying to help you. I’m not always certain it’s worth it.

  26 Chapter

  Sam and Jenna are already in the driveway when we get down there. We want to avoid the beach and our multiple guests. Despite Josh’s claim that they would have to drag him out of bed, Sam is wide awake and he is wearing the broadest grin I have ever seen in my entire life. My stomach growls loudly as we approach them, but we are all opting to postpone breakfast until we get back for fear of making Sam’s head explode with impatience. I give the house, and the kitchen, a longing glance over my shoulder before creating a passageway to the dinosaur realm.

  “Why are we in a house?” Sam asks, not bothering to hide the disappointment in his voice as he steps through the passageway. “There were no houses when the dinosaurs roamed the earth.”

  “Technically, we’re in a cave if that makes you feel better,” I tell him. “This is where Raziel stays when he comes here.”

  “Oh,” Sam replies, his illusions of the dinosaur realm still tainted by the homey cave with its comfortable furniture. Glancing around, he asks, “Does he keep the pterodactyl in a cage or something?”

  I suspect if that was true, Sam’s head really would explode. In disappointment. “No,” I chuckle. “I just thought it would be safer to bring us here rather than take the chance of landing in the path of a T-Rex or a raptor.”

  His eyes gleaming again, Sam asks, “Are there really raptors here?”

  Since I have not taken an inventory of the dinosaurs running free in this realm, I can only shrug and say, “Probably.” I want to keep his hopes up.

  “What are we waiting for, then?” Sam demands, searching for the exit.

  Jenna swats his arm. “Stop being so impatient. We should come up with a plan before we go out there. I, for one, do not want to end up being an afternoon snack for a T-Rex. I’m scrawny and would probably get stuck in its teeth for weeks.”

  Eliana laughs at the idea. “I promise you will not become a
dinosaur tooth pick.”

  “She was describing herself more as an annoying popcorn kernel than a toothpick,” Sam points out.

  Eliana rolls her eyes. “Fine, I won’t let her become an annoying popcorn kernel, either.”

  “That’s very kind of you either way,” Jenna says dryly. “I still think we need a plan. Has anyone even brought what we need to catch the pterodactyl?”

  I can’t help a smile. “Um, I think we have that covered.” I glance up at Kallen and suddenly he’s holding a leather harness attached to a long rope. “You might want to put a muzzle on that,” I note. I don’t know for certain if pterodactyls bite, but I assume they do. Kallen nods and adds an additional piece of leather at the front of the harness.

  “Okay, you have that covered. Do you know how to find the thing?” Jenna asks.

  I turn back to the passageway that I haven’t closed yet. “You’re late,” I call to the two Fallen Angels who have just exited through the kitchen door of Isla’s house.

  “Sorry,” Adriel says through a yawn. “I overslept.” The two of them pick up their pace and hurry through the passageway.

  “Jenna was just asking if we knew where to find your friend,” I say to Raziel.

  “Oh, she never strays far from here,” Raziel replies. I note he has some leaves and fruit in his pocket. Treats for the pterodactyl maybe?

  “Do you come here that often?” Eliana asks.

  “I used to,” Raziel nods, then his eyes find Adriel. “I find I no longer crave the solitude.” Adriel’s cheeks pinken slightly, but she smiles up at him.

  Sam clears his throat, interrupting the tender moment. “So, we should probably hurry, right?”

  Josh punches his friend in the arm. “Way to kill a moment,” he mumbles.

  “He is right. You do need to hurry,” Raziel nods.

  I want to ask if he means in general, or if things are about to blow up, literally, in the very near future. I don’t waste my breath because I know he won’t be able to tell me. Instead, I usher my friends toward the exit. Since the cave isn’t very big, it doesn’t take long to be standing in front of the shimmering curtain of magic that keeps the dinosaurs out of Raziel’s cave.

  Sam starts to walk forward, but I grab his arm and pull him to a stop. “I wouldn’t do that,” I warn. I glance at Raziel who moves forward. It only takes a few seconds for him to lift the magic. Letting go of Sam’s arm, I smile. “Now you can leave without being incinerated.” I try not to laugh when his face blanches. The worst he would have received was a feeling of being zapped with a stun gun, but it’s much more fun letting him believe otherwise.

  Taking a step back, Sam says to Josh, “You go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Josh shakes his head. “Such a coward,” he mocks and strides through the exit. When he doesn’t immediately burst into flames, Sam follows him out, the rest of us on his heels.

  The last time I was in this realm, it was winter time and I nearly froze to death. This time, it’s winter and I fear we may freeze to death. Fortunately, my gorgeous husband is a quick draw when it comes to magic. Each of us is suddenly wearing a warm parka and snow boots.

  “How do you know what size?” Jenna asks, lifting her foot to inspect her new boots.

  Kallen smiles. “The magic knows.” Content with his answer, Jenna nods and puts her foot back down in the foot-deep snow.

  “Aren’t dinosaurs coldblooded?” Sam asks. “I thought they would prefer a warmer climate.”

  “That’s still up for debate. Also, there were polar dinosaurs back home. Paleontologists have found dinosaur fossils in northern Alaska and remains of Antarctic dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous period,” Josh informs him. When we all stare at his impressive dinosaur knowledge, his cheeks turn a little pinker than the cold should be making them. “I may have been a dinosaur geek as a kid, too.”

  Wrapping an arm around his waist, Eliana teases, “I think you still are.”

  A loud, ear-piercing shriek fills the air. Shielding my eyes from the glare of the sun on the snow, I search the skies. “Is that your friend?” I ask Raziel.

  He chuckles. “That would be a pteranodon. Same family, but they are much bigger.”

  I roll my eyes and mutter, “Some of us haven’t been alive long enough to be able to tell the difference between dinosaurs by the sound they make.”

  “Jealous?” Adriel fires back.

  Before I can respond, the ground beneath us begins to shake rhythmically. “Um, is that an earthquake, or is something very large walking toward us?” Jenna asks nervously.

  “The latter,” Raziel says. “But it should not bother us.” He points toward the top of a group of trees. “It is an herbivore.” Sure enough, a dinosaur with a long neck is munching on the few leaves still left on the tree. There are several oohs and aahs from our group as we take in the sight.

  Allowing the ogling to go on for only a moment, Kallen clears his throat. “As interesting as this is, we do need to find one dinosaur in particular.”

  “Technically, a pterodactyl isn’t a dinosaur,” Sam points out.

  From the expression on his face, Kallen already knew this. “For our purposes, we believe it will be close enough.” I hope he’s right.

  “There is a clearing not far from here where she likes to nest,” Raziel says, pointing toward a break in the trees.

  He begins trudging through the snow and the rest of us follow behind. There is little conversation as we walk. Mostly due to the fact that the wind has picked up and is howling through our ears. We wouldn’t be able to hear each other if we did speak. After about five minutes and half a frost-bitten foot, we arrive at our destination. Sure enough, there is a small clearing. An empty one.

  “Um, you don’t happen to have a special whistle or something to call the thing, do you?” I ask Raziel.

  A tree directly across the clearing from us snaps in two with a loud crack. Even over the howling wind, the sound echoes its way to us. Followed by the sight of what snapped the tree in half. I admit, I am not a dinosaur expert. But, really, does it matter which set of giant teeth is eating you alive? I doubt knowing whether it is a T-Rex or one of its cousins would make a difference in pain levels and certainty of death.

  “That is so cool!” Sam exclaims, almost giddy in his excitement.

  “We’ll see if you still feel that way when you become its lunch,” Josh mutters.

  “From the way it’s eying us, I’m pretty sure it’s not an herbivore,” Jenna adds.

  “Definitely not,” I agree. The thing has teeth meant for ripping meat apart, not picking leaves from trees. If I didn’t have magic, I’d be in fear for my life about now. Hell, even with magic, coming face to face with a creature that’s twice the size of a Dragon is pretty darn scary.

  The shaking of the ground beneath our feet a few minutes ago was nothing compared to the shaking we feel now. We also have to shield our faces from the onslaught of snow blowing toward us. It seems a charging dinosaur is better than a snowplow when it comes to clearing a path in the snow.

  “Are we just going to stand here and let it eat us?” Sam gulps. “Or do you guys have a plan.”

  “We have a plan,” I assure him. Then I glance up at Kallen. “Right?”

  Kallen reaches over and grabs my hand. “A wall of magic is all we need.” I’d feel better if there was more confidence in his voice, but he’s probably right. We can stop almost anything with a wall of magic.

  “That will not be necessary,” Raziel assures us. Before any of us can pull him back, he runs out into the clearing directly in the path of the dinosaur. We all watch in horror, waiting for the gruesome trampling and eating to occur. Not that we would be able to see it in any detail with all the snow flying around. Thank goodness.

  On instinct, Kallen and I pull magic and prepare to thrust it toward the dinosaur before any of the gruesome images in my mind become real. But, Adriel calls out to us. “No, let him be. He knows what he is doing.”
/>   I glance back at her, scraping my bottom jaw on my shoulder. “Are you serious?” Adriel nods and she looks pretty darn confident. So, Kallen and I don’t throw our magic at the dinosaur. Neither do we let it go. Best to be prepared since Adriel’s judgement may be blinded by unconditional love.

  But, she is not wrong. The rest of us watch in amazement, and Adriel simply watches, as the giant creature stops in its tracks. I’m not a physics expert, but it seems something that large would need a bit more braking room than the several yards in which it came to a full stop. Obviously, there is magic involved. I try to use my internal magic detector to pick up on it and am surprised to not feel a thing. I glance up at Kallen who looks just as confused as I am. So, I direct my question to the only one not surprised by what just happened. “How the hell did he do that?”

  Adriel shrugs. “The dinosaurs love him.”

  I narrow my eyes at her. “Really? That’s the answer you’re going with?”

  With a smug grin, she replies, “Yup.” My eyes narrow even farther as she is probably making fun of my frequent use of Cowan slang now.

  “I think she’s right. Look,” Eliana exclaims, drawing my attention back to the scene before us.

  I shake my head. This cannot be happening. The giant dinosaur cannot be nuzzling its nose against Raziel’s hand like it’s just a giant puppy.

  “There’s another one,” Josh points out. “A little one by the bushes. It’s going to join them.” Sure enough, a small raptor like thing approaches Raziel, who holds a hand out for it to sniff.

  “If he loses a finger, I am not reattaching it,” I grumble.

  “You would, too,” Adriel says dryly. She’s right. I would reattach any limb or digit someone I care about may have lost. Even if they were doing something incredibly stupid when they lost it. Like petting carnivorous dinosaurs. I’m a good friend like that.