The Phoenix

by J R Stone

  “He told me about his daughter,” she said calmly.

  “Why did you try to hurt me after having asked me to make you mine?” he asked.

  Sarah remained silent. She did not know what to say.

  He sat beside her. “I didn’t reject you, if that’s what you thought. I’m drawn to you, Sarah, but I’m not going to take advantage of your vulnerability.”

  Sarah regretted having hurt him. She had exposed herself too much by doing so. There was an awkward silence.

  “Are you feeling better?” he asked.

  “A little bit.”

  “Good! Get some rest. No one will disturb you here.”

  He left the room, leaving her alone.

  Tzeel’s room was enormous. There were two wooden chests, a table with two chairs, a divan, a bathtub, there was something that seemed to be a musical instrument, and a huge balcony. The walls were white, and the room was very bright and airy. She felt comfortable there. Exhausted, she closed her eyes. She slept for a few hours until someone knocked on the door.

  “May I?” asked Seth politely.

  “Why are you always waking me up?” she asked jokingly.

  He smiled back. “I see you’re feeling better.”

  “Not a hundred percent, but I’ll get there.”

  “I’m sure you will.” Seth sat on the chair beside Tzeel’s bed. “Enoch told me what you did for him.”

  Sarah was surprised that Enoch would share with Seth that he no longer needed to do whatever Tzeel wanted to get some leaves of the plant.

  “You’re surprised,” said Seth. “Enoch and I are close friends. He’s very grateful for what you’ve done for his daughter, and so am I.”

  “He was willing to sacrifice his daughter’s well-being to save my life. I couldn’t take that for granted.”

  He smiled; Sarah had her heart in the right place. Unlike Tzeel, Seth didn’t think she had killed the men in the canyon out of cruelty. He thought she was just afraid. She feared for her life and for the lives of the ones she loved. She could not be blamed for that.

  She stared at him. There was no judgment in his eyes. He was friendly and caring, and she liked that about him. “Would you mind showing me around?” she asked politely.

  “Not at all,” he said pleased.

  Sarah slowly got out of bed, checking to see if she was not dizzy anymore. She wasn’t. She was ready for a walk.

  They left the room. It was the first time Sarah walked in the corridor. The previous times, she had been in Tzeel’s arms.

  The corridor was long and wide. There were not as many doors as one would expect, probably because the rooms were all very big. Sarah observed every detail: the pictures on the footer, the distance between the candles in the walls – everything interested her.

  “Tell me a bit about you,” said Seth curiously. He wished to learn more about this witch. He did not feel an attack was likely, but they could use what they knew for a solid defense, just in case.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Where are you from?”

  “That’s what you want to know?” she asked, puzzled. Every time someone had the opportunity to ask her questions, they would ask about her powers, as if her abilities defined her.

  “Yes, I guess,” he said, a bit uncertain. There were a thousand things he would like to ask her. And knowing where she was from seemed like a good way to start.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know? How’s that possible?” he asked, intrigued.

  “I’ve had special abilities since the day I was born. It didn’t take my father long to realize that. When he did, he tried to sell me.”

  “He tried to sell you?” Seth stopped walking to look at her, but she simply continued walking.

  “That’s right. Sell me. I’m pretty sure you know the meaning of that word,” she gave him a faint smile. “So, my mother ran away with me and we never really settled. Every time we’d get to a place, things would change. Droughts would disappear, starvation would turn into abundance, plagues would be eradicated. I had no control over my abilities, so people could tell that there was something different about me. And, as there was always someone willing to sell us out to make a fortune, we were always moving. This time, we didn’t see it coming, as you can tell,” she said plainly.

  Seth was speechless. He had received so much love from his father that he could not conceive that Sarah’s father would be capable of such an atrocity.

  Sarah did not wish to speak about herself anymore. She had said enough. She changed the focus of the conversation. “Were you and Tzeel born here?” she asked as they walked into an atrium.

  “Yes, we were born in this palace.”

  “Born royalty,” she said maliciously.

  “Does that bother you?”

  Sarah sat on a bench. She was tired; her shoulder still hurt. “Not at all,” she lied. She despised the easy life the nobles led. “What about your parents?”

  “Our mother died when we were little. We were raised by our father. He passed away three years ago.” Seth wished he felt some sadness in saying those words, but the death of his father had brought a better life for all in Totkan.

  “I’m sorry,” she said politely. “Tzeel has been ruling since then, right?”

  “Yes.”

  Sarah did not want to give Seth any time to think. She wanted to know as much as she could about them. “Are you two close?”

  “We were closer when our father was alive.” The friendship between his brother and him was the only thing he missed from the time his father ruled Totkan.

  Sarah noticed Seth’s pain. There was a tension she would tackle later. “Were you a soldier?”

  He looked at her. “I’m the General.” He took pride in the position he had risen to when Tzeel rose to the throne.

  Sarah frowned. Tzeel had not taken his General with him when he went after her. There could only be one reason for that: he did not want Seth to interfere. He did not want to share his plans with his brother. Nothing good could come of that.

  Tzeel walked into a large dark oval room. Three witches and five wizards waited for him. Liora was amongst them.

  “Where’s she?” asked Uno, a bald old wizard.

  “She’s recovering,” said Tzeel calmly.

  “From what?” asked Liora. She did not like the idea of Tzeel’s attention being captivated by another woman.

  “I shot her.” Tzeel looked at Uno. He knew he would get angry. “Twice.”

  “Why?” asked Katerina, a witch Tzeel thought too young to be there; he doubted she was fifteen.

  “She tried to escape.”

  Uno walked over to him. “Do you still want this?” he asked coldly.

  “Yes,” said Tzeel without hesitation.

  “So, make sure she doesn’t die,” said Uno severely.

  “She won’t,” he reassured. He had a different concern. “I think we have underestimated her.”

  “Why do you think that?” asked Uno intrigued.

  “She caused an earthquake in the canyon near Urk. Half the soldiers that were there with me died,” said Tzeel hurtfully.

  “You need to bring her to us. If we underestimated her, we will need more wizards and witches to cast the spell. The stronger she is, the more power we will need on our side to make the spell work.”

  “I’ll bring her when she gets better. It will probably take a few days,” said Tzeel respectfully. Uno had a huge influence on him, and he did not hide it.

  “Leave,” said Uno to the others in the room, his eyes fixed on Tzeel’s. When they left, he continued, “I’ve heard she’s in your room.”

  “She fainted. I took her to my room so that Enoch could take care of her,” explained Tzeel.

  “He could have done that in her room,” said Uno reprimanding Tzeel. “Don’t you dare get involved with her.”

  “I won’t,” said Tzeel coldly. “I’ll bring her soon.”

  Tzeel left the room. He
was upset that Uno thought that he had gotten that far only to screw things up.

  Liora was waiting for Tzeel in the corridor.

  “What did he want?” she asked him.

  “Nothing important,” he said flatly.

  “I doubt that.”

  Liora waited a few seconds to see if Tzeel would say anything else. As he did not, she continued: “Why don’t you spend the night in my room?” She ran her finger down his chest.

  “Not tonight,” he said bluntly.

  She was disappointed. “Why not?”

  “I need to keep an eye on Sarah.”

  “Can’t a soldier do that? Seth?” she asked angrily.

  Tzeel got closer to her. “I said not tonight, Liora!” he said sharply as he turned around and walked away.

  Liora was furious. The thought that Tzeel could leave her for another woman enraged her. She would have to find a manner of getting Sarah out of her way.

  Tzeel went to his bedroom. He wanted to make sure Sarah was fine, but she was not there.

  “Where’s she?” he asked to one of the soldiers guarding his room.

  “She left with the General.”

  Tzeel was seething with outrage at Seth’s boldness. “Where did they go?”

  “They went down the corridor.”

  Tzeel left, determined to find them.

  The sun was shining on Sarah’s face. Her eyes were closed. She could hear the birds singing. The palace had a tranquil and welcoming atmosphere.

  “Is there a garden around?” she asked peacefully.

  “Yes. I’ll take you,” said Seth smoothly.

  Sarah smiled. Seth was a pleasant company. He was calm, secure, and friendly. He reminded her of Amrath.

  They left the atrium and walked to a courtyard. Seth opened a huge wooden door that led to a beautiful garden full of flowers, trees, and green grass. Sarah could not hide her amazement. She put her feet on the grass; the sensation was heavenly.

  “I could stay here forever,” she said smiling.

  Seth smiled back. “I can tell.”

  Sarah lay on the grass and admired the blue sky. The sunlight made her hair seem redder and her skin even whiter; her eyes seemed to have their own light, vivid green. Seth believed he had never seen so much perfection.

  “Hello,” said Tzeel flatly. He tried his best not to show any emotions in front of Sarah, but the fact that Seth was admiring her bothered him. “Can I talk to you, brother?”

  Sarah glanced at Tzeel. He seemed upset. Seth, on the other hand, remained calm.

  “Excuse me,” said Seth politely. Sarah simply nodded.

  The brothers went to the courtyard, where she could not overhear their conversation.

  “What are you doing?” asked Tzeel frowning.

  “Excuse me?”

  “What do you think you are doing?” repeated Seth, a little louder this time.

  “Taking Sarah for a walk, showing her the garden,” said Seth bluntly. He would not give in to his brother’s whims.

  “Stay away from her,” said Tzeel threateningly.

  “What are you afraid of? That she might fall for me? That we become friends and I help her escape? That you hurt her and I turn against you?” Seth waited, but Tzeel did not say anything. “I see. You fear all of those. I’m not your enemy, brother.”

  “Stay away!” said Tzeel between his teeth.

  “You don’t get to decide that. I’ll talk to her whenever I want, whenever she wants me to, and there’s nothing you can do about that,” retorted Seth.

  “Don’t test me, brother.”

  Seth did not answer. He stared at his brother.

  Tzeel looked away. He would never do anything to hurt Seth, but he could not let him get in the way. “Please, Seth, just stay away,” he insisted.

  “Maybe some other time.” Seth turned his back to Tzeel and walked back to the garden. He did not want to leave Sarah alone for a long time.

  Tzeel was furious. He was not used to Seth challenging his authority. He wanted to go to the garden and take Sarah back to his bedroom, but he could not expose himself like that. There was no room for weakness. He would have to find an escape for all that anger.

  “Is everything okay?” Sarah asked Seth. She noticed the anguish in his eyes.

  “Yes,” he lied. He would not share with her his problems with Tzeel. “Are you hungry?”

  “I’m starving.”

  “I’ll ask a servant to bring us lunch,” said Seth.

  Sarah watched Seth leave. She could tell that things between Tzeel and Seth were bad. She wondered if she was the cause of their disagreement. If so, that was a good sign. She needed allies, and even though she was sure that Seth loved his brother, Enoch had made it clear Seth did not agree with everything his brother did.

  It took Seth a few minutes to come back. Enoch followed him and her heart filled with joy to see him.

  “Enoch, how good to see you!” she said sweetly. “How’s your daughter?” She wondered what age his daughter was. He was certainly much older than Seth or even Tzeel.

  “She’s fine. Thank you for asking,” Enoch smiled.

  “Did you plant the root I gave you?”

  “Yes, and it already grew,” he said gladly.

  “That’s great! I’m happy to know that.”

  Sarah was even happier to be sure that she had captivated two allies in little time. The only doubt she had was whether they would be capable of betraying Tzeel and help her escape.

  “How are you feeling?” Enoch asked. Even though the plant had strong healing powers, the wound had been infected and was probably still sore. He believed Sarah would need one more dose to be completely healed.

  “Much better. The wounds still hurt, but the fever hasn’t returned.”

  “Good, let me take a look at it.” He inspected the wound under the bandages. “It looks better, but I think you should go back to your room and get some rest. Staying here in the sun is not going to help much.”

  “Can I have lunch first?”

  “It’s a bit late for lunch, but yes.”

  She looked playfully at Seth and said, “He’s tough!”

  “You have no idea,” said Seth smiling.

  A servant brought some dishes. Even though Sarah trusted them more now, she decided to let them eat first before she had a taste of the food.

  Sarah watched as Seth and Enoch laughed and talked about random topics. They seemed relaxed. All that intimacy made her miss Amrath.

  Sarah lay on the grass again and closed her eyes. She missed her mother too. She needed to know if she was well.

  “Seth,” she murmured, interrupting their conversation.

  “Yes?” he asked politely.

  She looked at him. “Can I ask you a favor?”

  “Sure,” he said promptly.

  “Can you have someone you trust check on my mother?”

  Seth did not think such a small favor would create problems with his brother. “Sure.”

  Lunch lasted more than planned. They stayed in the garden for hours until sunset.

  “It’s getting late. I should get some rest,” she said.

  “I must go too,” said Enoch. “Let me take one last look at your wounds.” He examined her once more. “I believe we’ll need the plant once more. Just to be safe. I’ll go and prepare it.”

  “Thank you.”

  Seth offered Sarah his hand and helped her to her feet. It was the first time they touched each other. As she did not want to give him the wrong idea about what was going on between them, she quickly let go of his hand.

  “I’ll go with her,” said Enoch. He knew Tzeel would probably be upset that Seth had spent the whole day with Sarah. Tzeel liked to have a close relationship with his witches.

  Seth thought about opposing, but he did not wish to be confronted by his brother again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Enoch walked with Sarah to Tzeel’s room. “Is Tzeel in there?” he asked to one of the soldiers.


  “No.”

  “I’m taking her in. I need the plant to help her heal,” he said firmly.

  “Sure, sir,” replied the soldier.

  Sarah was exhausted. The sunset was beautiful, and she sat on the divan by the balcony so that she could admire it.

  Enoch took four leaves. “I’ll be right back.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she said sadly.

  Not knowing what Tzeel wanted with her was driving her crazy. She had spent a significant part of her day thinking about that. She had to find a way to get him to tell her the truth.

  After some minutes, Enoch got back, but he was not alone. Tzeel was with him.

  “Hey,” he said with a lopsided smile. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better,” she said.

  “Excellent,” said Tzeel. He would have good news for Uno.

  Enoch gave her the potion and left. He would check on her again on the following day.

  “Do you want to go to your room?” asked Tzeel staring at her.

  “Yes,” she said promptly.

  Tzeel could not hide his disappointment. He knew Uno would disagree, but he wanted to have her for himself until the moment they cast the spell. “I think that’s a bad idea.”

  “Why?”

  “You could have died if I were not in your bedroom this morning. You could have stayed there burning with fever for hours until someone found you. Your wounds are not healed yet. I don’t think it’s wise to leave you alone. I’ll sleep in the divan.”

  Sarah doubted that she would have a fever, but the fact that Tzeel did not know that could be something of which to take advantage. She believed that the more time they spent together, the higher were her chances of finding out what he wanted from her.

  “I’ll stay,” she said calmly as she went to bed, lay down, and she closed her eyes. She could tell that he was staring at her.

  He wanted to lie beside her, hug her, feel her scent and the smoothness of her skin. But he did not get close. He walked to the divan and lay down.

  Sarah felt her body burn. Not with fever, but with desire. There was something in him that attracted her even against her better judgment. Maybe it was wounded pride, since she could not forget that he had rejected her; nor could she forget the things he had told her the night before.