by Bonnie Lamer
“Not in the middle of the desert,” I inform my Familiar.
“Get your mind off food,” Felix growls next to him.
“You know,” I say to them both, “I’m only supposed to bring females with me.”
“Then put me in a dress and call me Franny, but you are not going without me,” Taz insists.
“Nor me,” Felix concurs.
“Besides, what do you call the two wankers standing next to you?” Taz points out, indicating Kallen and Josh. “Are you implying they are not male?”
“Good point,” I mumble. Josh and Kallen would absolutely refuse to be left behind, so Eliana and I haven’t even bothered to try.
“Xandra,” Dagda calls from the beach. “It’s time.”
Kallen glances down at me, his lips pressed into a firm line. When we discussed this at dinner last night, he was not in favor of me using so much magic before we even leave the realm. I tried to reassure him it wouldn’t be that big of a spell, but when I couldn’t stop squirming in my chair, he knew I was lying. Eventually, the merits of the plan outweighed his concern enough for him to quit arguing about it. They did not erase his worry, though.
Pulling magic through me, I close my eyes and quietly begin to recite the spell that pops into my head. “Worry and fear for those who are dear, an admirable trait when none know their fate. A riddle spun, the answer undone. A request made and must be obeyed. Except these four, we take no more. Those left behind in fear and grief, sleep is all I can offer as relief.”
Before the meaning of my spell can become clear in their minds, all of the males on the beach slump to the sand. Including Dagda. He thought it only fair that he be included. I think it’s because he’s planning to claim plausible deniability, but I didn’t delve too deeply into his reasons. He’s the one who will be left behind with all the angry males who had planned to accompany the females from their realm. Over the last couple of days, Taz and Felix had overheard more than one conversation about said males trying to take matters into their own hands when confronted with the obstinate Phoenix. This whole situation is a big enough mess. I have no intention of letting anyone make it worse.
“Time to go,” I inform the shocked females as I descend the terrace steps.
Well, not all of them are shocked. Ari shakes her head as I walk by her. “I warned Kai you would not allow him to accompany me.”
I give her a sheepish grin. “So, let’s get out of here before he wakes up and tries to kill me instead of the Phoenix.”
Ari cocks a brow. “I don’t even want to know how you knew that was his intention.” Her eyes glance down toward my ankles and the light of knowledge shines from her eyes. “I guess we all need Familiars,” she mutters. With a last glance at her husband sleeping soundly in the sand, Ari follows me on the two legs she has now instead of a fish tail. Kallen gives her a hand when she finds the sand a little difficult to manage at first. When she is stable, he drops her arm and comes to stand next to me as I prepare to make a passageway to the Cowan realm.
Isla catches my eye from where she is standing several yards away. We had not discussed it at any point before now, but everything about her radiates that she is ready for a fight. Her stance, her expression, the magic swirling around her. She’s coming with us.
A grin forms on my lips and I give her a slight nod of approval. I knew in my heart, if not in my mind, that she would not be able to stay away. I glance up at Kallen and whisper, “I hope I am still as brave as she is when I reach her age.”
Kallen leans down and gives me a quick kiss. “Neither age nor time could possibly diminish your courage with any significance. You simply have too much of it.”
Yes, and let’s hope that it doesn’t become the death of me. Or the rest of the universe.
29 Chapter
Ra, I could really use your help. I utter this silent plea in my mind. Since I don’t have an internal GPS system, and the Sahara Desert is vast, I need a little help making it back to the exact spot of the Phoenix’s temple. As if answering my silent prayer, Eliana moves closer and stretches her hand out. I put mine in it before closing my eyes and reaching out to open a passageway. A clear image appears in my mind of the temple, and I know I have picked the right spot. I open my eyes and Eliana nods. She can sense the temple.
Eliana is the first to go through. She walks several hundred feet away from the passageway and begins to excavate the temple as she did before. Kallen, Josh and I usher the beings the Phoenix requested through. I suspect Raziel may have used a small amount of magic on the pterodactyl, because it is now obeying Josh as it had the Fallen Angel. If he did, I hope it’s not enough for the Phoenix to sense. She was adamant about no help from other immortals. Since Raziel is omniscient, I am going to assume it is not. Though, I’m still surprised. It feels a little bit like cheating, something I didn’t think the Fallen Archangel would do.
Most of the beings come through without incident. It is not until the Sasquatch tries to cut in front of the Centaur that we have a problem. Suddenly, a spear is drawn and it is met by a sword. I move closer to them and hiss, “Do you really think the Phoenix is not watching? The whole point of this was to get along in her presence.” To add more of an impact to my little reminder, I make both of their weapons disappear. Pointing at the Sasquatch, I growl, “Get back in line.” She hesitates for a moment, but after glancing between me and Kallen, she decides it is not worth the fight. Or the embarrassing loss.
The Dragon comes through last and she is carrying the cage with one of the Pixie’s. The tiny green monster sticks its tongue out at me as the Dragon plods by, then shouts over its shoulder, “What is the Phoenix going to think of me being in a cage?”
“That we’re not stupid,” I inform the female Pixie.
The Pixie laughs and nods. “Probably.” After glancing around, she says, “You’re not planning to leave me in this god forsaken place, are you?”
Considering all the ancient Egyptian gods abandoned this area many millennia ago, I guess she’s right. It is god forsaken. “Depends,” I shrug indifferently.
The Pixie narrows her eyes, then says to the Dragon, “Bring me closer to her.” The Dragon ignores her. Whether that is because she wants me to be at full power, or whether she didn’t actually hear the tiny creature, I’m not certain. Either way, she keeps plodding away while I close the passageway.
“I could bite her for you,” Felix offers.
“Tempting,” I mutter, but I shake my head. That would not seem very peaceful if the Phoenix really is watching us.
Everyone else is focused on Eliana now. Especially the Dragon, who is staring at her in awe. From what I can tell, she has almost reached the temple. I take a moment to gaze at our eclectic group. A tiny bit of fear passes through me as my eyes go from being to being. I really hope I haven’t brought them all here to be sacrifices to Cosmic Fire.
My adrenaline begins to kick in when the roof of the temple becomes visible. I feel Kallen stiffen beside me, preparing himself mentally and physically for whatever comes next. I reach over and curl my fingers around his. He gives me a tight smile, then goes back to watching Eliana’s progress.
When the temple is fully visible, I address the crowd. “Eliana and I are going to go in. You will stay here with Kallen and Josh.” I give the Sasquatch and the Centaur the evil eye. “Calmly and quietly.” Both give me curt nods in acknowledgement of the underlying threat in my voice. Satisfied, I give Kallen a quick kiss, then move to Eliana’s side. “Ready?” I ask my friend.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she responds.
Since I can’t ask for more, I reach out and take her hand. In a blink, we are standing in front of the temple in the middle of the hole Eliana dug. Before either of us can lose our nerve, we approach the door. This time, it opens on its own. I suspect that means it will close again on its own once we’re inside. With a final glance over my shoulder at Kallen, I step into the gloom of the temple. I was right, the door slams shut behind us. Ne
ither Eliana nor I are startled by it this time.
Eliana creates a small orb of light so we can see the walls. We grab two of the torches, which she lights, and make our way to the end of the hall where it splits off into two different directions. “Left or right?” I ask Eliana. Last time, it was to the left, but who knows, the Phoenix may have gotten bored on that side and moved to the right.
Eliana’s forehead scrunches in concentration. After a few minutes of wondering if she actually heard me, I open my mouth to ask my question again. Before words come out, Eliana turns to me and says, “I can’t sense her at all.”
“What?!”
“There seems to be no one here except us.”
This can’t be good. Not good at all. “Was it all a ruse? Did she send us on a wild goose chase to give herself a chance to escape?” I wonder aloud.
Tensing beside me, Eliana says quietly, “I take that back, we are not alone.”
I feel it now, too. A presence. A dark presence. One so dark, I feel like it’s oozing tar all over my senses. I can feel the weight of it on my skin. My skin that suddenly feels like it’s on fire. So much so, I glance down at myself to make certain I’m not actually being covered in hot tar. To my surprise, I’m not. I glance at Eliana who is doing her own body check. “What is going on?” I whisper.
“I have no idea,” she whispers back.
I am getting a strange feeling of déjà vu and I don’t like it. It seems like I’ve felt a presence like this before. Not necessarily one that has made me feel like I’m on fire, but the darkness. Slowly, the feeling of déjà vu morphs into an actual memory. “Shadows,” I murmur.
“What?” Eliana asks.
“The presence, or whatever it is, it feels like the darkness from the Shadow realm.”
Nonplussed, Eliana says, “I’m afraid you will need to be more specific. What is the Shadow realm again, and what kind of darkness is there?”
I grimace. For once, I wish I was the most ignorant person in the room. It would save a lot of time if Eliana already knew this stuff. I suppose Kallen feels like that a lot with me. “Hell, basically,” I tell her. “The condensed version is that all the bad stuff the Angels of Death scrape off souls gets put in that realm. Eventually, the scraped bits join other scraped bits and become, well, sentient Shadow creatures.”
“Can Shadows leave the Shadow realm?” Eliana asks, obviously hoping the answer is no. I can’t blame her. Who wants to hear that pure evil has a get out of jail free card?
As we speak, the dark presence is moving ever closer to us and overwhelming our senses. Now, it feels like the hot tar has been set on fire. “No,” I whisper back. “Not usually,” I amend, thinking back to my little brother being possessed by Shadows before I rescued him from the Shadow realm.
Eliana scowls at me for my wishy-washy response. “Any way to know for certain?”
I don’t have a good answer for her. “The Angels usually keep them locked up pretty tight. I can’t see them letting any escape.” I grimace. Without my help, anyway. Then, I remember that there is an Angel of Death right outside who might be able to answer the question for us. If only the door wasn’t locked up tight. “We need Adriel. She’s the only one who would know for certain.” At Eliana’s surprised expression, I add, “Kind of her job, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.” Eliana glances back down the hall toward the door. “I don’t think that’s a possibility.”
Unfortunately, neither do I. So, the only option left is to try to deal with this ourselves. Considering the fact that it is getting closer, I am going to assume that this Shadow, or whatever it is, has had enough time to become at least somewhat sentient. “Keep the torch close,” I whisper to Eliana. “They don’t like light.” Then, I remember that she could encircle both of us with fire on a whim if necessary and smile sheepishly at her. “Guess you have the light thing covered, huh?”
“I do,” she agrees, forcing a smile on her face. “I just hope it’s enough.”
Me, too. I guess it’s time for us to engage, then. “Hello?” I call out. “Phoenix? Are you in here?” Yes, I sound like an idiot. It would have sounded worse if I had said, ‘Hey, Boogeyman Shadow Thing, what’s going on?’
No response. I raise a brow at Eliana, hoping she’ll give it a shot. I am surprised to find her eyes glowing red. Even more surprising? She’s sporting a goddess as a robe. At least, I assume that the shimmering image over her is Isis. Now is probably not a good time to ask. I even bite down on my tongue before it gets any stupid ideas.
“Show yourself, you foul fiend, so I can rid this plane of your existence!” Isis demands. Well, that would piss off anyone, even if they were not a foul fiend. Wow, someone less diplomatic than me. I am amazed.
“Maybe we shouldn’t go right to threats,” I suggest between gritted teeth.
I can sense Eliana’s internal struggle. She is trying to pull the goddess back, to regain control. I wish I could help her, but I suspect my magic would only make things worse for her. It takes a moment before the shimmering image of Isis is gone, but Eliana’s eyes are still glowing red. She nods at me to let me know she is back in control, but I am definitely asking her about the eye thing later. If there is a later.
Turning my attention back to the thing that may decide that, I say loudly, “We have brought the Phoenix those she asked to see.”
“LIES!” a voice hisses through our minds, much like the Phoenix spoke to us before. Only this thing has its volume turned all the way up and the word is now echoing back and forth in my brain. I feel like a church bell. If I open my mouth, I’m positive I would sound like one as the echoes escaped through my lips. I put my hands over my ears as if that will help. It doesn’t. I don’t feel quite as stupid when I see Eliana doing the same thing. She doesn’t get any relief, either.
“Could you tone it down a bit? We’re trying to have a conversation here, which is a lot easier if our ears aren’t bleeding,” I grumble.
“Just like a mortal to confuse telling lies with conversing,” the voice hisses. This time, it is several decibels lower, but you could still hang me in a belfry and call people to church on Sunday.
“Seriously, stop doing that!” I exclaim. “Can’t you speak in a normal voice? Or did you lose that ability when you lost your body?”
“I still have a body,” the voice hisses. This time, it’s voice is considerably lower. I think I insulted it by saying it had no control. Good to know I can get under its skin. Wait, it still has a body? “You’re not a Shadow?” I ask in confusion.
“Not for much longer,” the voice growls.
“Okay, so you are a Shadow. Now I’m even more confused. How can you have a body if you’re a Shadow?” I am beginning to suspect how, but I don’t want to give it ideas if I’m wrong.
Apparently deciding it does not need to answer that question, the Shadow hisses, “Why have you really returned?”
I glance at Eliana in confusion before saying, “I told you. We brought everyone the Phoenix requested we bring.”
“Impossible!” the Shadow shouts at full volume again.
“Ow!” I shout back as loudly as I can. “Fine, if you want to speak at this volume, we’ll both do it.” Childish, but I’m trying to prove a point. Except, Shadows don’t really have ears that can bleed. Damn. When the stone walls vibrate a little at the loudness of my voice, Eliana gives me a pointed look. The Shadow is being loud in our heads. The echoes in there are much less likely to affect the integrity of the temple. I grimace in acknowledgement and return my voice to normal. “Look, I thought it was impossible, too, at first. But, I’ve done a lot of work with those from other realms, and I’ve gotten many of them to trust me. Not to mention, no one wants the universe to end. So, they all agreed to come along. Peacefully and voluntarily,” I add, just so it’s clear I didn’t force anyone to come.
The roar that the Shadow lets out is deafening. Literally. My ears are ringing, and I actually feel my ear drums shatter. I think I’m going
to vomit from the pain. To make matters worse, I lose my balance when I am suddenly propelled backwards. Just as I couldn’t fight the force of the Phoenix before, I can’t fight off the hold the Shadow has on me. So, the only thing left to do is put my hands on my head and prepare for my fingers to shatter when I am rammed into the door. I’m hoping they will provide enough cushion to save my skull from shattering, as well. I am so worried about that, I hardly even notice the burning sensation and scrapes on my back as I’m shoved along the sandy floor. My skin was smooth enough, it really didn’t need a sandpaper treatment. Poor Eliana is sliding right along next to me. I really wish I could have spared her from all of this.
“Door!” Eliana shouts and reaches for my hand.
Understanding, I grab her hand in mine and I pull hard on the magic trapped in the earth. The murky, polluted Cowan realm magic. I hope it’s enough. Pulling on Eliana’s power as well as my own, I ram it all toward the door. The explosion of sand and stone would probably have been terrible if I wasn’t already deaf.
“It worked,” I mutter in both shock and relief. That is the last thing I am able to say before I am buried upside down in the sand all the way to my waist and my mouth and nose fill with sand. At least we’re no longer being sanded like an old table that needs refurbishing. Often, it’s the little things in life that make it bearable.
30 Chapter
I’m not really claustrophobic, but I think panicking when your mouth and nose are filled with sand and you are buried upside down all the way up to your waist is normal. I can only imagine what we look like with only our legs dangling out of the sand. So, I do what I do best. I throw magic at the problem. Unfortunately, my magic and Eliana’s magic are not working well together in the excavation process. I can even feel Kallen’s magic in the mix as he tries to help. As one of our magic digs a hole, someone else’s fills it up as it digs a different hole. Including the holes now being physically dug by my ever faithful Familiars. I can hear Taz cursing as his efforts become ever more futile. If we keep this up, Eliana and I are going to suffocate sooner rather than later. I decide I need to push my panic aside and let Eliana do the heavy lifting here. She will be much more efficient. And timely.