by Ryan Attard
The problem was avoiding what inevitably came next.
The phoenix reared up and speared its beak where I stood. On pure instinct, I dodged sideways. Angry sparks showered me, sending pain signals all over my body. Thankfully, my protective spell deflected the worst, but it still smarted like hell. I found myself staring at my reflection in a large, red eye that was now level with mine. And that’s when I did one of the stupidest things in my entire life.
As I said before, my methods involve more punching and less thinking. When in doubt, hit it—repeatedly and hard.
I call it the Fonzie technique.
So, when I saw that big, bright red eye in front of me, I focused power on my fist, reared backwards and swung with all my might—right into that eye.
Chapter 16
There are two main reasons why you should never, ever, punch a phoenix in the eye.
Number one: it’s made out of fire.
When my hand touched its eye, fire—hotter and more intense than any I’ve ever felt—showered my entire body. Not even my Dad’s demonstrative purple fire had done this much damage, although I suspected that his intention was demonstration rather than punishment. My protective spell kept the permanent damage at bay, but my skin still blistered and cracked. My jacket caught fire and I shrugged out of it. I registered red and raw burns all over my body. With a scream of pain, I jumped backwards, away from the fire-bird.
The second reason was that when the bird recovered from the shock, it was be in pain and very, very angry. The phoenix went from a blaze of yellow and orange to a fiery red. I took that as a sign of anger.
I was right.
It flapped its wings, trying to gain some altitude. Blasts of hot air fanned across my body and instinctively I shielded my face against the heat. I saw the bird rise, one foot at a time, its fire spreading and growing bigger and bigger. From underneath the long tripartite tail, I saw Gil’s face twisted in concentration. The ground beneath her had already cracked and was a little darker than the other regions. Water was slowly rising up. A small sprout touched the blood-covered crystal and Gil began shivering. Sweat soaked through her clothes and her white-blonde hair was now a plastered mess of damp yellow. She closed her eyes, swallowed hard, and with a grim expression, she began channeling the water.
But she needed more time.
Wizards may seem invincible when slinging around some cool-looking magic, but the truth is, magic was rarely suited for fast and dangerous situations like this one. Spells took a long time to build up, and during a fight, the last thing anyone wanted was to stand still, muttering and waving crystals about. It was a weak spot, one commonly exploited in the old days of warmongering, witch trials and ritualistic sacrifices.
But it was a whole different story when you had someone to watch your back and distract the big bad monster long enough for you to blast it.
Both the bird and my sister were at that critical point. If something went wrong at this stage, the backlash of magic would be severely damaging. The flames of the phoenix got even redder and wider. It was like the bird was evolving right in front of me. I had to act quickly to disturb this transformation—or whatever it was—before it hit my sister.
I bolted instantly, running around the phoenix in a semicircle. Tongues of fire came at me, but I was so focused that I dodged and weaved without even meaning to. All those weeks of living in a forest had shaped my reflexes into something beyond human. The magic around me, despite being heavily damaged, was helping too. I crouched down, and in a sweeping motion scooped up a palm-sized rock. I poured magic into it directly and felt a slight tingle that meant the spell was working.
Magic, the strong kind, the real kind, could not be done in the battlefield. What I was doing could barely be called magic. It was more of a McGuyver solution. High-class, high-damage spells like Gil’s took way too much time and energy, and I sucked at them big-time. I tended to go with the simpler stuff—no crystals, no ingredients; just channel energy directly from within me into whatever I needed.
I threw the magically charged rock at the bird’s head. As I said before, magic needs a catalyst, something to ignite it, like the blood on the crystal. I didn’t need a catalyst, not when the target was covered in it.
When the rock met fire, the magic reacted and there was an explosion. All I heard was the bird shriek and the roar of fire. The timing couldn’t have been better. The rock threw shrapnel all over us, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was disrupting the phoenix from accumulating power and then roasting us alive.
Then we heard the shriek again, that all-too-familiar shriek.
A pair of fiery wings spread and the bird screamed louder, until there was only a buzzing in my ears. I’m not sure what happened next. All I know is that I ran in front of my sister just in time to see a big flash and feel my skin being burnt off. There was fire everywhere, coming at us from all directions. Defiantly, I found myself in front of my sister, bracing myself for the blast. I couldn’t quell the whole blast, but I could reduce the fire in our direction.
When the flames hit me, I focused all of my magic. It wasn’t easy, and pain coursed through me as my bones seemingly cracked in the heat. But I couldn’t let go, not when my sister needed me most. Running on sheer willpower, I channeled all that heat into pure energy and surrounded myself with it. I used the fire to fuel my protective spell and it seemed to be working.
But every spell had an energy limit, and when I reached mine I realized just how stupid my mistake was. I was absorbing the heat myself, with no protection and no magic, and then channeling it into a spell. Sure, it was only pure energy, but that didn’t stop residual heat from harming me. Soon, I reached the limit of how much I could absorb and redirect. In other words, I got tired.
And as soon as my concentration wavered, the fire latched onto me and went nowhere. My skin blotched and burned and the smell of burning meat filled the air. I heard someone scream and realized it was me. I hit something hard and rolled, but the fire wouldn’t let go of me. It was as if I were soaked in gasoline and my body just kept feeding the flames.
From my position on the ground, between blackouts and writhing, I saw my sister’s lips move and tears streaming down her eyes. When I rolled some more, most of which was involuntary, I saw what was left of the phoenix: a large pile of ash. From within, just like it had done when it emerged from the bag, an ember grew larger and larger until a flame kindled at the very center. Like timber, the ashes caught on fire and soon, the bird was back in its nascent glory. The phoenix’s fire shuddered, as if it were groggy from dying and being reborn again. It perched quietly, pecking at its own flames.
I heard a scream again, and tried to force myself to look at its source. From where I was, all I saw was fire and what little remained of my body. From some distance, I heard Gil cry “It’s ready”, and for the life of me I couldn’t care less.
I was on fire. My body had been burned beyond repair by now and I was dying, I knew it.
Why else would there be dark tendrils creeping inside my body? Why else would darkness cover me up, welcoming me into the abyss?
I closed my eyes and just let it all go.
***
It was dark and peaceful.
You have no idea just how heavy you really are until you’re just floating on something or hovering in mid-air like a cloud. You have no idea how tiring your senses are and just how liberating it is to not see, hear or feel anything. In this void, I had no thoughts and no feelings, no restrictions or compulsions. There was just the void.
And I was just there, existing.
I felt truly at peace here and knew with certainty that anything I would experience after this would pale in comparison. I mean, how do you trump complete and utter emptiness? I didn’t feel dead. I felt as if, with sheer effort, it would be possible to go back to that world of pain and reality. After being burnt alive, I thought that I’d much rather stay here, taking it easy, just existing in a timeless void.
&
nbsp; But dreams and reality usually find a way to smash into each other and intertwine. In my case, it was with a big, red light.
It was intense—far more intense than anything the phoenix could produce. Far more powerful than either Dad or Mephisto. It was power—pure, virgin power—and it shone all around me, as if someone had dropped me right in the middle of a supernova. There still was no pain or any physical reaction; on the contrary, it was as if… well, as if I were being hugged by my mother.
Not that I ever knew what that was like, having lost her the second I was born. Hell, my sister had to be carved out of her because Mom couldn’t squeeze her out.
It felt as if Dad had decided to grow a heart and actually took us out for a day of fun. As if long-lost relatives patted me on the back, ruffling my hair and just laughing joyfully. Like Christmas Day on a sitcom and everyone was enjoying the heartfelt happy ending. It was like the one thing I wanted most as a kid.
I was looking at myself in the mirror, only I was younger. I clung to my younger self and just stayed there, until an older version of myself wrapped an arm around my shoulder and playfully mussed my hair.
It felt as if all that coalesced into one specter shrouded in deep crimson light. Something—maybe the power around me—wrapped around my shoulders and pressed against me. A hug. It was the confidence of a lover, the care of a parent, and the trust of a friend.
It was whispering something, something inaudible. I leaned closer, trying to understand and communicate back. I heard faint whispers, like words caught in the wind. I leaned closer, until I was literally inside the light. More than that, I was the light. I heard the whispers solidify into a language. I recognized a sentence, although I still couldn’t hear it. With all my strength, I willed myself to listen and managed to catch the last word of the sentence.
“… roots.”
***
The next thing I remember was a rush of sensation—hot, wet and painful. I felt something pressing against my face and the whole of my body. But interestingly, it was only on my front. My back was… wet?
I heard cracks and hisses. I felt pain.
There was something about the human body that didn’t allow you to forget the sensation of pain. I suppose that was some sort of warning to avoid harmful situations.
The human body sucks.
I remember something pulling against every single muscle in my body. There was a light, comforting warmth against my bones, and I heard cracks that had no place being heard outside of a torture chamber. I realized that my body was bent and squashed unnaturally, and from one eye, I saw a blackened hand. It was charcoal-black, with the bones cracking through. The rest of my flesh was eaten away by the fire. I saw white return to the bone and with more tingling and prickling, flesh began forming.
As it healed, my body unclenched and I stretched out further against the scorched ground. I twisted my head, involuntary, as muscles on one side repaired themselves faster than the other. From my position, I saw a figure with white hair and dark, dirty clothes, some of them scorched and torn. She held both hands up high and was screaming, power visibly flowing through her.
A trickle of water rose, like a charmed serpent from a basket, and met the crystal in her hands. A thin jet of water shot up at incredible speeds and met the top of the dome. Water spread like an umbrella, soaking everyone and everything with needles of highly pressurized water. Beyond her, I saw a lump of fire and ash, writhing in agony. Like me, it was healing and regenerating but the water kept dousing the fire and clumping the ashes.
Strength coursed through me and suddenly I had mobility again. I pressed one hand against the ground and soon the other joined it. My abdominal muscles strained as I tucked my knees beneath me. I rose from the ground, every millisecond taking as long as a year. I registered every muscle working and every nerve ending giving the appropriate signal.
And it felt great.
Like a zombie, I swayed on two legs, still not used to holding myself up with newly formed muscle and a half-crooked spine. Pressure built around my chest and I realized it was my breathing. It felt so good to be alive. I was taking note of each and every detail, appreciating the highly complex machine we call a body.
My brain was the last thing to go online.
This can’t be real, I thought. I was burnt to death. I should be floating in an afterlife. Why am I here again?
Then, I looked at my hands, which were now covered in blotchy and blistering skin.
How am I healing? Is someone doing this?
I knew the answer deep down—it was me. This was my power, acting of its own volition, as if some sentience inside me took the reins and preserved my life.
I heard a cry and saw Gil buckle. Blood covered her from where the water bit into her. She swayed and fell face first onto the ground, groaning and moaning. The spell must have taken every last ounce of strength she had. I was supposed to shield her from the water; I was supposed to deliver the final blow. Instead, I went ahead and died, leaving my sister to cast the spell on her own, unprotected.
And now, she was out of the game, and the phoenix was stirring again. The flames slowly fanned and crawled over the rest of the ashes, giving life back to the bird. And all I remember thinking was: No way in hell am I letting you crawl back up.
I found myself hobbling toward the phoenix, slowly dragging one foot after the other. The water spell had nearly dissipated, now that its source was cut off. As I passed by Gil, I saw her trying to get back up, despite her obvious exhaustion. Her eyes widened as she saw me. I noticed the crystal on the ground beside her. It was cracked and completely useless.
“Erik? Is that you?” Gil’s voice was weak. I looked at her and managed a nod as I kept on heading toward the bird.
I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew that something had to be done, and it was in this direction. I looked at the wind dome and at the center that served as our makeshift sprinkler system. I looked at the water, still clumped in a large globule, and at the near invisible waves spreading out at the sides of the dome, at the wake of the wind. And in the back of my head, all I could think of was Gil’s speech about using her blood as a catalyst.
“The body is sixty percent water,” she had said.
I collected my power, amassing it into my feet. I still hadn’t regenerated skin properly yet. As I crouched down, I saw the muscles stretching and blood flowing out of me. No matter. I would have all the time in the world for regeneration and answers to my questions after I destroyed this stupid bird once and for all.
I released all my power and jumped. I remember the familiar sensation of weightlessness as I soared up nearly three stories in height. I crashed against the water globule and latched onto it. I planted my feet on the dome, so that I stood upside down. The wind cut through my feet and I screamed in pain. I channeled my agony into the spell and pressed the water globule against me.
“Sixty percent water.”
I channeled the wind and water into one single being—me. I felt the sharpness of the wind and the malleability of water. I combined them together and poured everything I had into the globule. With a yell, I launched the water at the bird, which sat directly under me.
The water shot down like a giant balloon and exploded. Even the bird’s shriek was lost as water exploded in every direction, much like the phoenix’s fire did before. What’s more, it exploded inside the bird, completely dousing any fire within.
I saw a large clump of wet ash sparking. The damn thing was reigniting itself again.
With a frustrated yell, I focused the last of my power into my fist and jumped. I was hanging upside down so I shot downwards. As I rapidly descended, I let out a scream, pulled my fist back and punched.
My fist met the sparking ashes and energy exploded. Ashes scattered around, the spark long lost. A large crater appeared on the ground, with cracks snaking all the way past the dome and into the forest. I was thrown against the dome and bounced back painfully on the ground. I felt pain everyw
here but my mind was dulled and so all that registered was a loud thumping sensation. I tried flexing my right hand and found nothing. When I twisted myself to look, all I saw was a pool of blood and gore. My right arm was gone, leaving only a bloody stump at the elbow.
I remember Gil slumping next to me, her face a mixture of nausea and relief. She came closer and closer, until she touched my face with her burnt hands. The moment we touched, I saw a kaleidoscope of color, and a white world invaded my mind. It felt as if I were back in my own abyss, floating in the darkness, except this universe was a world of white, silver and ivory.
Reality soon snapped back and something heavy fell on my chest. Gil lay there, unconscious, her figure slumped over me. I felt dizzy and light-headed. I turned sideways and tucked my remaining hand under my head just in time to avoid cracking my skull open.
From my peripheral vision, I saw the dome dissipate into nothing and a pair of polished, black dress shoes stepping in.
The ashes were slowly clumping again, forming an avian figure. A small spark kindled at the very center. I heard Mephisto’s sigh and the swish of his hand. The wind gathered and the ashes spread into a million dust particles. The clump exploded into nothingness, and I was fairly certain that the phoenix was gone. With a flick of his wrist, our demon butler destroyed a monster that had taken all our strength to bring down and had cost me my life.
I saw his shoes turn back to face me.
“Tut, tut. You children have such a long way to go,” I heard him say. Gil’s weight was lifted off me and I saw her feet dangling over the demon’s shoulder. I then felt a pressure around the back of my neck, and found myself being hoisted in mid-air as well. Mephisto slumped me over his other shoulder, and for a bizarre second, his yellow eye was inches away from my bloody mess of a face.
“But you may yet achieve a power greater than anyone else on this plane,” I heard him say. “Yes, that I believe to be true.”