by Bo Savino
* * *
Team Phoenix arrived at the field set aside for the first competition. It was pretty much the same as all of the other training fields—a wide-open, grassy area larger than most stadiums in the Zombie Zone. It was surrounded on three sides with bleachers and other seating. Reggie wondered whether the stands had always been there, or if the training field had just rearranged itself for the competition—like the Sithin tended to do.
A break in the seating created a corridor for passage into the competition area. Specified seating was set aside for each of the Teams down in front. The fourth side of the field was lined with trees, and in the center of the field was a huge oak that reminded Reggie of the Sithin tree. But this tree was much smaller and had Wilt-covered leaves barely clinging to its twisted branches.
Jet had been right about the numbers of Faery. There appeared to be less than a thousand of them, mostly tall, slender, and ethereal-looking. Only a few strayed from the body type. The seating areas were separated by Houses, as they had been in the Sithin Arena Court. Jet hadn’t mentioned the extraordinary numbers of other Fey creatures that resided on the island. Most he recognized, but some were even more alien to him than the ones he had already seen walking the streets of the City.
Queen Medwyn sat opposite of the tree-lined edge of the competition field. Surrounding her were various nobles of both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, ones not necessarily identified by Houses, but rather by the positions they held in New Faery. Reggie saw the elders from the Hall of Futures, the storm elders, and others he couldn’t identify.
He sighed. There was so much to learn about this world. He knew he’d get the chance if he wanted it. The question was—would he be learning it from the lower ranks of the Courts, or the upper ones?
The whole competition started with general announcements. Reggie marveled over the magical acoustics that carried the Unseelie Queen’s words over the entire field without her having to raise her voice. She covered much of the same topics that she had at the time of the Team selection, minus the original threat.
Then it came down to what they had all been waiting for—what would be expected this day from each of the Teams. That was what had Team Phoenix in a state of anxiety—although Reggie suspected the other Teams weren’t feeling any better than they were about it.
Today’s competition was to demonstrate each Team’s ability to connect with the animals. Team Phoenix felt confident about their chances for success. They had watched Gervais and Glinda during their training—they were both highly skilled in that area. Then the criteria was spelled out. Each Team was to demonstrate their proficiency by calling to the field the creature that represented their Team.
“No way,” Reggie was dismayed at the announcement. “How can we do that? There’s no such thing—”
“Oh, there is,” Glinda piped up, worriedly biting her lip. “But I’ve never seen one in New Faery—I think they’re all on the motherland in Tir Nan Og.”
“They’re setting us up. They’re trying to make sure we’re eliminated.” Pyro, Jr. cast a sidelong glance at Reggie and Ryssa. “They want to make sure that we don’t have any shot at winning—at all.”
“Pyro’s right,” Jet growled. Reggie had never seen him so angry. “They are setting us up.”
“Well, at least Team Dragon won’t be able to pull through on this one either,” Reggie offered. “There aren’t any dragons in New Faery, are there?”
“There is one—but she wouldn’t come if the Ard Ri herself rose from the dead and called for her.” Jet realized what he said and mumbled an apology. “Sorry—didn’t mean anything by that.”
Reggie just grunted.
“Well,” Moira put in, “at least they’ll get to show their failure before we do ours. We’re last on the list for today.”
“Hey,” Jet smiled. “Maybe we can call in one of those annoying little sparrows and have Pyro set it on fire.”
“That’s not funny!” Glinda snapped.
“I was only kidding.”
“Stop. It’s just plain cruel.”
Team Hedgehog was the first to take the field. They stood in a line, side by side, their wands held pointed toward the wooded area. Reggie watched them only briefly because he couldn’t tell what they were doing. He hadn’t lived for hundreds of years, so had a long way to go before learning the patience the elders displayed. He turned to his sister.
“:Mind if I link in?:” he asked.
“:Sure,:” Ryssa frowned in concentration. “:Check it out, Regg. I never thought about doing it that way before.:”
Now that he was linked to his twin, Reggie could see what Team Hedgehog was doing with their magic. It projected from their wands—the brownish-golden lines clear and crisp. They came together in a woven pattern that connected and then expanded outward like a net.
Jet stuck his head between the two of them. “What’s going on? Care to share?”
Reggie explained to him and the rest of the Team, the images of magic he was able to see through Ryssa. As the vision changed, which wasn’t often, he would give them an updated description. A short time later, something new happened, something they all could see. A small creature was shambling out of the woods, its eyes blinking from the glare of the light and the fear of the open space before it.
“They’re nocturnal,” Gervais explained. “And they’re afraid of people. They’re not indigenous to this side of the world, but some made the trip over—hey—what just happened?”
The hedgehog jumped and then moved forward. It stopped and then jumped and moved forward again, as though it had no choice.
“It’s the magic net.” Ryssa watched closely. “Every time the poor thing stops, the net touches it from behind—like the shock of a cattle prod or something.”
“That’s not right,” Gervais scowled. “They’re not communing with the animal—they’re forcing it. That borders on dark magic.” He looked at Ryssa. “It’s not, is it?”
“It’s not what?”
“Dark magic.” He frowned. “Look at Celeste—she’s nearly in tears. She is definitely not happy about what they’re doing.”
“I don’t know what dark magic necessarily looks like, but it must not be. All of the Faery Court is watching—some of them would be able to tell, and nobody’s doing anything about it.”
“I still don’t think it’s right.” Gervais crossed his arms and glared at Team Hedgehog.
Team Firefly came next. The group stood in seemingly random points around the field, waving their wands in slow, circular arcs through the air.
“Hey,” Pyro leaned forward toward Reggie, “they don’t look like they’re working as a Team—it’s like they’re each doing their own thing—are they?”
“Sort of,” Reggie said. His sister was closely watching the lines of magic that emanated from their wands, so he, too, could see what the others could not. “But no—the magic is intersecting way above the ground, so I guess it counts. And look—here they come!”
Several hundred insects swarmed from out of the forest. They flew into the woven lines of magic and followed them around the field. Every once in a while, Reggie caught a glint of light coming from the insect path.
“Bet that would’ve looked really cool at night,” Loo said, noting the lights. “They got gypped—it would’ve made a great light show.”
Reggie had to agree.
Once Team Firefly had cleared the field, Team Lizard stepped into place. Their magic lines spread across the ground, and a carpet of golden brown weaves undulated into the forest. It wasn’t long before the weaves returned, carrying little lizards that playfully hopped from one magic line to the next.
Team Serpent’s approach was similar to that of Team Lizard, which made sense to Reggie since both creatures came from the reptile family. But the snakes that soon appeared from the forest weren’t riding the lines like the lizards had. They were weaving in and out of them, following their winding curves to create little threads of
color into the brown.
“Hey,” Reggie frowned. “What’s that kid doing?”
One of the boys from Team Serpent had stepped forward to let a snake climb up his hand and wind itself around his wrist.
“That’s Zep,” Loo said. “He’s from the House of Seacalm. He’s known to mess around with water snakes.”
A rabbit chose that moment to dart onto the field of squirming snakes. It froze and gave a squeal of fear that disrupted the flows of magic. The snakes scattered. Zep jerked and flung the snake from his arm, grabbing his wrist with his other hand before he swayed and dropped to his knees.
“He’s been bit!” Loo jumped up.
Reggie and Jet grabbed Loo to restrain him from running onto the field. Snakes slithered in every direction. Several members from the Beastmaster House hustled onto the field, using their magic to guide the serpents back into the forest.
Luza ran across the open area to Zep, along with several others from both sides of the healing houses. After a few moments, the boy was placed on a stretcher and taken from the field.
“He’ll be okay, Loo.” Jet patted the shoulder of the worried boy. “Luza’s on it—she won’t let anything happen to him.”
Loo stared at the retreating backs of the healers, biting his lip. He nodded, and Reggie and Jet let go their hold.
“Hey,” Reggie said, an idea formulating in his head. “I think I know how we can pull this off—maybe not in the way they expect—but at least in the spirit of it.”
Team Phoenix listened to his explanation, each adding input.
“It just might work.” Jet nodded thoughtfully. “It’s better than giving up.”
“Do you think we can do it, Ryss?”
She considered it for a moment. “We’ve practiced all the steps in various pieces before. We can give it a shot, that is, if no one’s afraid of what might happen.” She looked at Glinda. “Think you can deal with it?”
“I’ll try,” Glinda replied, but her eyes held a trace of nervousness.
“Shh,” Hammie whispered. “Something’s going on.”
Team Dragon moved to take the field. Pyro, Sr. and Blaze argued a few steps away from the Team Dragon seating area. After a moment, Blaze and the rest of his Team stomped off to sulk on the sidelines. Pyro, Sr. moved to stand below Queen Medwyn. Again Reggie was impressed by the magical acoustics of the field as Pyro, Sr.’s voice reached everyone’s ears.
“Team Dragon respectfully declines testing in this category,” he said in a voice tight with anger. “The potential danger that could result from a success in this endeavor is far too great to risk the lives of the Fey present.”
“Oh, he’s good,” Jet said.
“My father, the diplomat.” Pyro, Jr. shook his head.
“What do you mean?” Reggie asked.
“There’s no real chance Team Dragon could have called the dragon.” Jet shrugged. “Although, I’ll bet Blaze is angry he won’t get a go at it. Pyro, Sr. is just using the danger as an excuse to bow out. By acting like he’s oh-so concerned about the risk to everyone, he doesn’t lose face.”
“Wow.” Reggie was disgusted, but couldn’t help but be impressed by the maneuver. “I wonder if he thought about that before, or if he only got the idea when the snake bit Zep?”
“Huh. Hadn’t thought about that,” Jet mused. “My bet would be on after Zep got bit. Blaze looked like he thought he was going to get a shot at it. Pyro really thinks on his feet, doesn’t he?”
“That’s why he’s as high up in the Courts as he is,” Pyro, Jr. said. “He does that kind of stuff all the time.”
Aurelius came to stand by them. His face held a sad, tired look. “Children, I fear we must also decline. There is not a single phoenix in New Faery. You have no chance to succeed.”
“We know, Uncle.” Reggie nodded. “And we get what’s what. We have a plan, though, if you’ll let us give it a try.”
Aurelius opened his mouth to speak, but Reggie could see that he didn’t want to deny the hope the Team had in their eyes. He gave a nod of reluctant approval.
“We appreciate your trust in us, Uncle,” Ryssa said.
“Good luck to you.” Aurelius smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Team Phoenix took their places on the field to the low murmurs of those watching. There was no chance the Team could call forward a phoenix. Confusion led to speculation.
Glinda nervously faced the forest, with Moira and Jet on either side. Ryssa stepped into place a few feet behind her, just far enough back that she couldn’t physically touch Glinda if her own arms were extended in front of her. She swung her arms a couple of times to check the distance.
The rest of the Team formed a semi-circle behind Ryssa, each making sure there was ample space between them.
Reggie stepped into the twin-bond. “:Ready, Ryss?:” Ryssa paused, but nodded, steeling herself. “:Okay then, here goes.:”
“Get ready,” Ryssa called softly to those in front of her. They nodded, signaling the go-ahead.
Behind Ryssa, the others brought out their wands and touched the crystals together as they pointed them at her back.
“All for one,” Reggie muttered. He smiled grimly at the swords set into relief on his wand. “And one for all.”
The Team called to the power in their wands and let the magic pour into Ryssa. She stiffened with the impact and Reggie worked with her through the bond to bring it to a rhythmic flow.
“:Okay, Ryss, give it to Glinda.:”
Ryssa followed his directions and brought her hands up to concentrate the magic toward the Feathernest girl.
“:Wow, that’s really cool.:” Loo’s voice came unexpectedly through the link, startling the rest of the members of the Team.
Glinda raised her hands and called out with the magic, letting it flow from her hands. It didn’t take long before the whisper of wings in the air could be heard.
“:Split it off, Ryss. Give some to Moira and Jet.:” Reggie watched her divide the flows, then helped her guide them toward the Phooka twins.
The sound of wings grew louder. Over the tops of the trees, the first of the birds came, the sparrows that had been so manifest around New Faery. The rest of the swarming flock was behind the lead birds, all making their way across the field.
“:Show ’em your stuff, Glinda.:” Reggie smiled as he sent the message through the link. So far, his plan was working.
Glinda showed them her stuff all right—and with Moira and Jet’s help, what stuff it was! The birds responded to the magic of Team Phoenix, directed through the Feathernest girl. In an amazing display of aerobatics, the birds came together in perfect, flowing form, creating a single image as they soared together across the sky—the image of a Phoenix. One side was a bit skewed, but when they saw that the birds would hold the form, Moira and Jet added the finishing touch. A shifting field of flame-colored light sparkled in waves across the birds, following a perfect, synchronistic pattern.
Reggie thought his heart would burst with pride. The gasps of amazement from the stands bolstered the confidence of the Team. The light flared outward from the false phoenix, tinting the sky in flaming colors.
Then the mood of the crowd shifted. He could feel it, and knew the rest of the Team could, too. Cries of dismay came from the edges of the field where the rest of Faery sat. Fear wound its way through the air. Reggie yanked his focus from the link and looked around. Then he saw it. Standing at the edge of the forest was the Black Knight.
The Black Knight started across the field, heading directly toward them. The sparrows reacted before any of the Team could. They circled and then descended—dive-bombing the Team like feathered kamikaze pilots.
“:Break!:” Reggie yelled into the link, and the magic lines recoiled with a snap. The members of Team Phoenix were knocked off their feet, the magic causing a painful backlash as it made contact.
The birds, now free from the control of Team Phoenix, turned as one and flew at the Black Kni
ght. At the last possible instant, the Knight wheeled his horse around and galloped back into the woods, the screeching birds on his tail.
Team Phoenix breathed a collective sigh of relief, even though the magical backlash still ached within their bones. They struggled to their feet, helping each other as they stumbled off the field, numb to the accusatory whispers of the Faery around them.