Everything happened too quickly for her to follow. She was conscious of the cries from the audience around her, the movement as the people closest to her ducked or covered their heads from the pieces of shattered glass that tumbled from the ceiling, causing a surge of movement that resembled a wave of bodies that threw themselves backwards.
Phoenix was only dimly aware of the chaos around her. Instead, she could feel where the first flecks of the strange liquid combined with the rising fire globes and the resulting temperature of the meeting. Throughout the room, she could sense the surge of strength in the flames that surrounded them.
The bitter scent clicked in her brain. It was the smell she had first found in the strange locked closest in the depths of Angor.
Accelerant. Someone had filled the vials above them with the rapidly-burning oil, knowing that they would be performing a fire show during the celebrations. They were attempting to kill them all.
She opened her mouth to scream a warning but it was too late. The strength of the liquid hit the flames and the room exploded.
CHAPTER 23
Phoenix fought for control over the blaze. Wildly, she called to the flames in an attempt to subdue them, trying to bring their strength to heel.
A bead of sweat perched precariously on the tip of her nose before sliding to the floor. Heat swirled around her, snaking down her throat and into her lungs, causing them to spasm as they rejected the caustic vapours that overpowered the air around her.
Gagging, she became momentarily distracted by the memory of a burning barn. The same smell that clung to her nightmares was now bringing tears to her eyes.
Muffled screaming pulled her attention back to the present. Just in time, she raised a hand to block a fire-surge before it reached her face. The flames were her own, and a bright flash of her focus ring caused them to dissipate before she could blink.
She quickly dashed her fists across her eyes to assess the situation.
The fire was contained. Camden had erected a barrier to keep it from spreading, but a quick mental probe made her realize that in his haste to keep everything enclosed he had somehow blocked their ability to call to anyone else. They were unable to warn Master Malcourt and the others about the danger that pooled unseen in the cracks of the floor around the room.
One stray spark and the room would ignite like a tinder box.
Thick smoke swirled in the air between them, the heat becoming unbearable without anywhere for it to escape. It was only a matter of time before the entire dome would fill and they would choke to death.
Are you hurt? Camden’s voice was strained, and Phoenix couldn’t tell if it was because of the effort in asking or because of the question itself.
“I’m fine.” Phoenix minced towards him, skirting around the flames that lashed out at her as she passed. She came close enough to assess him visually. “You?”
I’ve been better. His voice was light despite the way he gritted his teeth. Feel free to help out, he offered, flinching back as the encroaching fire found a sprinkle of the accelerant and flared wildly next to where he’d been standing. Sooner would be better than later.
Phoenix rushed forward and managed to stomp out the trail that was spreading to his other side. “I can’t control it. The fire isn’t mine.”
Camden eyes widened, shifting to a dark grey as he assessed their options.
Phoenix was finding the act of speaking difficult. “Can you drop a section of the barrier to let some of it out?”
Camden exhaled slowly before answering. No. If I try to drop any of it the entire thing will come down.
They stared at each other grimly. If the barrier came down… If any of it escaped…
Phoenix’s mind raced. There had to be a solution.
Camden sank to his knees and Phoenix dove forward to help him to the floor. Exhaustion lined his face as he accepted her help. They kneeled on the floor together, their breathing ragged as they sucked in the air that was the least-tainted from smoke.
The sound of muffled yelling caught Phoenix’s attention. Beyond the barrier she could see nobles struggling to run. The mass confusion did little to empty the room and everything to spread the bitter liquid over everyone. Puddles of it splashed with agitation as people ran between doors in an attempt to open them.
The doors were barricaded shut. Everyone was trapped inside.
Phoenix felt panic take control of her body. She was unable to move. The horror of her sleep-terror crashed into her full force, except this time she was living it. The sights and smells assaulted her senses and it was all she could do not to crumple to the floor in defeat.
Phoenix, Camden’s voice was calm as he called to her. Helplessly she latched onto it, letting it pull her from the chaos. We need a plan.
Phoenix shook her head as if to clear it. Flames flared between them and he flinched back, a weak gust of wind attempting to extinguish the heat before it reached his skin.
I can’t hold out much longer. Camden’s voice sounded strained. We need a plan before the barrier comes crashing down.
Phoenix shook her head helplessly. Camden’s quick thinking had bought them time, but it was all for naught unless they figured out how to save them all. Without the barrier the fire would spread and kill them all. Unless… unless it didn’t…
Phoenix snapped her head up, dragging her gaze along the invisible boundary. Some puddles had been intersected, but maybe it wouldn’t matter. Maybe…
It was a long shot. But it was all they had.
Phoenix took a step towards Camden, a plan already forming. “Let it.”
Camden’s eyes widened in surprise. What?
Phoenix called to her fire. A small flame came to life in her hand, sputtering as it fought to burn, gasping at the remaining air around them.
Carefully, cautiously, Phoenix set it on the floor. Keeping her connection to it, she urged it towards the barrier, feeding it slowly so that it could fight for space against the established fire. She watched in triumph as it took root and pooled along the perimeter in a thin line.
Camden watched her in disbelief, his breathing rapid. His expression was unreadable as Phoenix knelt on the floor, shuffling closer to him again.
“Let it fall,” she croaked around the billowing smoke. She was feeling light-headed. The necessary concentration coupled with the lack of ventilation was taking its toll. “Remove the air.”
Camden looked like he was going to object. His eyes flicked to the barrier, then watched as Phoenix’s fire met itself next to them. Understanding dawned on his face.
If her barrier held, and if he could extinguish the rogue flames, nothing would spread. Everyone would be safe.
Everyone except for them.
He wouldn’t be able to hold a shield in place if he was manipulating the air.
Camden took a shaky step forward and knelt next to her. Stay still, he warned her.
Phoenix gave a nod and clenched her trembling muscles. She could feel Camden shrinking the barrier around them, feel the heat and smoke press closer against them. She concentrated on her breathing. On keeping it steady. On Master Malcourt, and the King, and Kit, and Rae and her friends. On keeping her Power under control, and strong enough to keep them alive.
Brace yourself, Camden warned her.
They locked eyes and took a deep breath in unison.
Now.
CHAPTER 24
The sound of the barrier shattering filled Phoenix’s ears. There was a whoosh as the contained air rushed into the room, the heat and smoke barreling its way into the crowd.
Screaming filled the air around her as panic took hold. The pounding against the doors renewed as the guests attempted to break them down.
Previously-muffled sounds struck Phoenix’s senses with full force. Cries and curses rang in her ears. Rorin and Malcourt’s questions ricocheted inside her head, each one echoing against the other now that she could finally Hear them.
It was overwhelming, but she refused to be
distracted. She refused to let her control slip.
She dedicated her focus to the little ring of fire that she had held in place around them.
The sounds of destruction were swept away by the enraged huff of the inferno as Camden attempted to extinguish it.
Phoenix shut everything out. Steeling her spine, she held fast to her Power. The strength of her flames increased as they absorbed the heat from the rogue blaze, winning the fight against the expanding foreign fire as she and Camden battled it. She waited, counting her heartbeats, until it spread to a finger length from the waiting accelerant, until the heat had mingled so thoroughly that Phoenix couldn’t tell where one ended and the next one began. Until the fire was close enough to reach out in an attempt to caress the explosive pool that waited for the heat as silently as death.
With a thought, and a word of release, Phoenix snuffed it all out.
The room was rocked by the resulting explosion as Camden attempted to control the backlash from the disappearing flames. At the last possible second, she felt Camden’s air shield cling to her like a second skin. Then there was silence.
Her knees crumpled. She slouched where she had fallen, dazed, and made no attempt to pull herself off the hard stone floor. Her eyes closed and she let the sounds of the room wash over her.
Malcourt’s voice swelled in her head. The demands of Rorin and the gargoyles, quieter yet more plentiful, filled in the spaces around it and made her temples throb. Phoenix remained motionless and silent, concentrating only on dragging the fresh air into her burning lungs. She started when Camden placed a hand on her shoulder. Phoenix gave it a gentle squeeze before staggering to her feet – just in time to stumble as a whining Kit barreled into her.
Phoenix… Master Malcourt’s concern nearly overwhelmed her, and tears sprung to her eyes.
“I’m fine,” she gasped, her breath pushing the words from her mind towards the waiting Malcourt and Rorin. She locked eyes with Camden and he gave a quick nod. “We’re both fine.”
The doors to the ballroom were finally pried open and the guests stampeded into the corridors. New guards fought their way against the tide of bodies to gain access to the room, causing a blockage in front of some of the double doors. Cursing and swearing filled the air again, and Phoenix and Camden exchanged a tired smile in response.
Master Malcourt had barricaded the room for security purposes and now the reinforcements were struggling to secure it.
The dais remained in lockdown. Malcourt stood poised at the front, King Benedict firmly behind him as he blocked the throne with his body. His blue eyes were dark as he scanned for threats.
The room was pandemonium. Guards attempted to push their way into the room against the guests who were trying to escape. Shouted orders fell on deaf ears and only served to add confusion to the room.
Where do you want us? Rorin’s voice was tense, and Phoenix could feel the added strain from the gargoyles as they remained hidden amongst the chaos. She could tell he was loathe to reveal himself and his flight, but he would gladly do it if they would be of help.
Remain where you are for now, Master Malcourt’s response was just as tense. Your vantage point is invaluable. We just need your eyes… for now.
The gargoyle gave a mental snort, but didn’t disagree. Let me know if that changes.
Phoenix straightened. The chaos in the room wasn’t subsiding. Guards were pushing guests back into the room in an attempt to contain everything. Tempers flared closest to the door as heated words were exchanged. Camden’s uncle was red-faced as he bellowed up at a guard who towered above him. The guard slammed the butt of his spear against the stone floor and bent down, hissing a response that Phoenix couldn’t hear, but she could see Lord Nelson’s face drain of color.
Camden tensed and took a step forward before he paused. His eyes turned stormy as he second-guessed his impulse to intervene. Giving his head a shake, he turned his attention to the room instead. “What are they doing?”
Phoenix slid her gaze in the direction he faced. Guards refused to let anyone leave. Their hulking frames crowded the entranceways, forcing everyone to stay in the room.
She frowned. Something wasn’t right.
An unseen wave went through the room. Phoenix felt Master Malcourt’s Power prod against her as it began pushing the accelerant out of the way and into the corner of the room.
There was a brief break in the wave. A tiny dip to her right caused Phoenix to turn, but she couldn’t see what caused it.
Kit swiveled her ears and whined, looking in the same direction.
Something definitely wasn’t right.
Another dip tugged at her senses. Phoenix blinked at the sensation. A cloaked man stood across the room in a spot that she would have sworn was empty just an instant before. The hood of his heavy cloak was pulled up - a strange sight in a room of finery - obscuring his features from prying eyes.
There is a man in a cloak to the left of the dais. He is staring at the King. Camden’s quiet update rang throughout Phoenix’s head as he took a step forward.
He just stepped out of a circle. Rorin responded with midnight softness.
Master Malcourt’s voice snapped through her skull. A protection circle?
Phoenix barely registered his question before she surged forward, Camden at her side. He attempted to shoulder people out of the way so that they could get through. Phoenix didn’t need to Speak to know that they shared the same thought. A protection circle would only be used if someone was trying to hide themselves. And they would only be hiding if they wanted to do something terrible. Panic rose in Phoenix’s throat.
The cloaked man seemed unaware that he was visible. He stood unmoving, assessing. Too preoccupied to realize that the edge of his boot had nudged past the confines of the circle drawn with soot and ash.
The people around them weren’t moving out of the way quickly enough.
“Go, Kit!” she commanded. The dog was tight at her side, snaking through the crowd next to her as she went. “Go to King Benedict! Go to the King!”
Kit’s answering snarl was pure savagery.
The people around them jerked away so quickly that they fell into one another in their haste.
Camden was the first to reach Master Malcourt. Captain Rolf stood on the dais next to him, a flank of guards surrounding him. They stood in line, acting as a barrier in between the crowd and His Majesty.
The hooded man crouched. A moment later he launched himself into the air, and stretched his arm back as far as it could go. He snapped it forward in a terrible show of strength, arm muscles bulging, and Phoenix saw the shine of a blade leave his hand.
“Watch out!” Phoenix cried desperately, knowing she was too far away to be of any help.
An owl screamed in outrage, and Phoenix could see Pip tuck her wings and plummet towards the head of the assassin.
A storm of things happened all at once.
Captain Rolf lurched forward in the same instant that a giant dome of yellow energy curled around the dais in a protective shield. The dagger, with a flash of red light - the same red light that had obliterated Malcourt’s protection circle in the clearing all those moons ago - smashed through the shield. It broke it so forcefully that shards of energy shot off in all directions, causing guests to scream and drop to the floor in order to avoid being struck by the deflected Power.
With a sharp snap of his hand, Phoenix saw Camden step forward at the same moment that Captain Rolf reached the King. Camden’s Power flickered tiredly before causing the attacking object to change course. The dagger curved upwards so forcefully that it became embedded in a rafter beam.
Captain Rolf, contrary to Phoenix’s assumption that he was behind everything, stood in front of King Benedict, acting as a human shield to keep him from harm. He and Master Malcourt exchanged a look, and the ever-standing tension between them melted away as they took up defensive positions around the King.
With Camden to the side, and Kit in place next to Kin
g Benedict, Phoenix raced towards her new family to protect the King and to stop Angoria from being plunged into war.
CHAPTER 25
Phoenix slid in front of the guard barrier and turned her back to them in order to survey the crowd.
The walls around the room crumbled in several places where Master Malcourt’s energy blast had struck them full force. Several people were sitting on the ground, hands pressed to wounds received from falling rocks, and two of them were lying unconscious with those next to them trying to rouse them.
The assassin was screaming. He clutched his face in an attempt to cover it from Pip’s razor-sharp talons. Blood flowed from between his fingers from where the owl had gouged his face. Kit was latched firmly on to the end of his leg and snarling as she tried to pull him down to the ground.
“Guards!” Captain Rolf boomed, not moving from his post where he was protecting the King. “Take that man into custody!”
Several uniform-clad men moved towards him. The first man to reach him grabbed him by the cloak and hauled him roughly back in the direction towards the Captain. Phoenix watched in shock as the second guard, when he reached the two, grabbed the first guard’s wrist and, with one fluid motion, brought his gauntlet down and broke the guard’s arm. As he fell to the ground, clutching his arm, the attacking guard pivoted so that he was between the assassin and the approaching men.
The guards slid to a halt. Surprise registered on their faces as the painful sound of the protecting guard’s sword was unsheathed.
“Now!” he called, his voice carrying easily over the soft moans and weeping of the wounded. He raised his sword high. “Every one! To me!”
There was an answering roar and the sound of sword hilts pounding against shields. The guards folded in on themselves as men wearing identical uniforms crashed into each other. Friend was unable to distinguish foe until they found themselves the victims of an attack.
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