by Celeste Raye
“Don’t say that, Calypso.”
“It’s true, Stephen. You know it.
“It’s not true, Calypso. You are a Phoenix now. I saw you coming in last night. You have changed. You are no longer the dragon that I knew before.”
Calypso agreed with Frank that she had changed, but she was still breathing fire. She was still her, just better, stronger, faster. Everything was brighter, and Calypso just knew that she was invincible, or pretty damn close to it. She’d never felt so powerful in all of her life and the only thing that was better than the power running through her was the idea that it could be used to save them.
“I am not the same as before. I know that the Schell will not attack me. They got close, close enough to smell me, and they didn’t touch me. It was like I already smelled like death. Or I didn’t smell like a dragon. I don’t know. Either way, it was really creepy, but if I hadn’t changed, I guess I wouldn’t be here.”
Frank seemed quieter than usual. “I talked to Christian when we went to visit, and he knew about the Schell. Bhut had warned him about them as well, and they have an escape plan. I hope that they were able to escape before….”
His voice trailed off and Calypso waited for him to finish. Frank looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He’d been up when she got up, making calls to warn everyone that had ever stayed there or given him their number. Many were asking for a plan, but they’d been waiting for her to get back and give them one. Now everything was at a stand-still.
“Well, I am sure that they are fine. Bhut sounded the alarm when I was there. I am sure that they got out safely. Have you tried getting ahold of them?”
“Not yet. I figured they were warned or dead, so there was no sense in calling them.”
It was a morbid thought, but similar to one they were used to thinking now. Everyone was going to die, every dragon that they knew would be wiped off the planet if they didn’t figure out a way to take the Schell down.
“So, who has plans for what we are supposed to do?”
It was Calypso asking because she was hopeful that there was something else that they could do, that she hadn’t been able to think about. There had to be a way. She couldn’t believe that she was supposed to sit around and let all of her friends die.
Frank brought up the idea that maybe there was a witch that could help them counter the curse. He didn’t seem all that sure of his plan, and neither was the rest of the party, but they had nothing else to go on. At least maybe a witch would be able to put things into perspective and give them some new ideas to go off of.
The trio was running out of options, so Frank decided that they needed another opinion.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“You were pretty quiet for that whole meeting.”
“I don’t know what to say about all of this. I am still trying to get over the fact that you died in front of me two days ago. I still haven’t wrapped my head around it.”
“You have to get past that, Stephen. I am here, and I’m just fine.”
He smiled at her because he knew that she wasn’t fine at all. He didn’t have to know her his whole life to know that her nails weren’t bit to the quick before and she certainly didn’t have the same dark circles under her eyes that she had now.
“You are not fine. You need to talk or something. Tell me what is going on in your head, Calypso, so that I can help you.”
“It’s not a matter of what is in my head. It’s all of this pent-up energy that I have now. I don’t know what to do with it and all I can say is that it is filling me up and I wish that I could expel it. You wouldn’t want to do a practice fight, would you?”
Stephen wasn’t sure how to respond. He wanted to say no because the last thing he wanted to do was fight her. But when he looked at her, he could tell that she needed it, or at least she thought that she did. She needed to get some energy out.
They got to the practice circle, and it was eerie without all of the talking and carrying on that was usually going on there. Before, it had been so full of life, but it wasn’t that way at all anymore. Now it was deserted, and they had it all to themselves.
“How long do you think it will take them to get here?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. How are they going to get here? I didn’t stick around too much to see what they were like. I didn’t get to see them in action.”
“It’s all right. We’re going to figure it out soon enough.”
Calypso agreed and then she moved towards him to attack. Stephen blocked it, but it was a close one. She was moving a bit faster, and he could hear the wind whistling with the punch.
“So, you said that you’re feeling different now?”
“Yeah, it’s weird, but I feel stronger. I don’t get why I came back and none of the others in my family did. I just don’t get it.”
Calypso took another swing at him, and this time it connected. He was sent backward, and this time, he skidded on his ass several feet until he came to a stop.
“I am sorry, Stephen. I didn’t know that that was going to happen.”
She tried to help him up, but he shook her off.
“I knew that you were stronger than me, but this is ridiculous, Calypso.”
She snickered. “Don’t worry, Stephen; I’ll protect you.”
It was said in jest, but Stephen paid more attention to the blows coming at him. He didn’t want to think about how he hadn’t been able to protect her. That failure was going to run through his mind for a very long time. Stephen didn’t know how, but he was going to have to figure out a way to redeem himself.
“You don’t need to, Calypso. I will be here for you, always.”
Stephen tried to think that it was an actual thing, but at the same time, he also could see that Calypso was a lot stronger than she had been a few days before. Something had happened, and she had certainly changed, but into what? And where did that leave him in the grand scheme of things?
Chapter Twenty-Four
The trio spent time rejuvenating and the two lovers made use of the bed and the quiet time alone, but the next day, they knew that their reprieve was over, and they were going to have to figure things out now. Something bad was coming, and they still hadn’t figured out a way to stop it. For all they knew, the Schell could be on their way at that very moment.
Calypso and Stephen followed Frank. He knew of a coven of witches that were loyal to the dragonkin. He’d worked with them numerous times in the past when relations between the species weren’t so good. Considering the witches brought all of this down on their heads, hundreds and maybe even a thousand years in the past, Frank was hopeful that the bonds they had would be strong enough.
It was about twenty minutes flying time before they got there, and Calypso was making it a point to check out the area before she landed. She was looking for a sign of the Schell. She hadn’t seen any yet, but she knew that they were crawling around the world, seeking and destroying every dragon that they could.
“Are you sure about this, Frank?”
Frank didn’t look too sure but he put on a confident smile, more for her than for him. “I don’t know what will happen, Calypso, but I am hoping that maybe we can get some answers. I think we’re all due some, don’t you?”
“Yes, considering that this has been kept from me all this time. If I would have known, I could have studied them instead of learning to fight. I don’t know how much fighting and breathing fire is going to help us now.”
Frank waved her off. “I am sure your skills will come in handy soon enough, Calypso. I just have a feeling.”
“Let’s hold all the feelings in, Frank. I think you have some information to help us. That’s why we are here, huh, because you have a hunch?”
“I do, but I want to see what an expert says on it.”
“How do we know that we can trust them? They are the ones that want to wipe us out.”
“Not them: many generations before them. There is no telling why, most likely someone go
t pissed off, and a witch cursed them. They will see that killing off all of us would be a mistake.”
Calypso agreed. “I hope you’re right, Frank. I don’t know what else to say. This world is not really mine. I knew that I belonged to it, but I wasn’t around that many supernatural beings, certainly not many witches. My mother wasn’t too fond of them, as you can imagine.”
Frank nodded his head slowly. “I can certainly see why not. The witches played with your parents for over a century and tried to keep them apart. The witches have done a lot to your family, but don’t think that they are all like that.”
“I do hope you’re right, Frank.”
Frank didn’t say anything else. He was starting to second-guess himself, but he squared his shoulders and went to the door. There was no turning back now. They had no other options.
A young and vibrant-looking woman opened the door, and Frank felt the edges of his mouth curving up in a smile.
“Frank, it is so good to see you. We were worried about you, and I am so glad that you came to us.”
“I was worried that it might not be a good idea.”
“Nonsense. Come in. Bring your friends.”
Madeline stopped talking and walked up to Calypso. “The Phoenix has arisen.”
Calypso looked uncomfortable, and Frank was eager to get inside. Knowing that there was an undead army coming after all of them, he didn’t want to be out in the open if he didn’t have to be. It didn’t feel like a trap, but that didn’t mean that something bad couldn’t happen out of the blue.
They moved into the house. It looked so tiny and dingy on the outside, but looks were deceiving, and there was no telling what was in store for them. Frank liked to think that her embrace and hello were heartfelt, but couldn’t be sure.
“Why is this house so much bigger on the inside?”
Calypso was asking Stephen, but Frank answered. “Just a little bit of magic, right, Maddy?”
“Yes, just a touch, though I think we’re going to need more if we are going to hide you two.”
“There are three of us, Maddy, and I don’t think hiding us is going to work.”
“She does not need protection. She will be fine, long after we are all gone. And hiding you won’t work, not if you want to get the Schell back in their graves. They have arisen for one thing: to wipe out the dragons. They won’t stop until they have done it. Just like the prophecy orders them to.”
“What are they?”
Maddie stared at Calypso. She was still looking at her strangely.
“They are undead, buried and waiting to arise for someone’s bidding.”
“So, if they are doing someone else’s bidding, how do we stop it?”
“You would have to find out who was the one that started the curse.”
“But it has been hundreds of years. They are dead, aren’t they?”
Maddie agreed, but she was holding something back.
“Please, Maddie, if you know how to help us, please do. They are going to kill all of us.”
“You know, it won’t be all. Calypso will survive.”
Calypso waved her off. “I don’t want to survive if everyone that I’ve ever known and loved is going to be dead. I know that they are only supposed to want dragonkin, but I saw about thirty monks that wouldn’t quite agree with that assessment.”
“They killed humans?”
“Yes, they said that they were traitors.”
“They talked? You mean that you have seen them and actually conversed with one of the Schell?”
Maddie seemed awestruck, as well as a little scared. He wanted to know more, but Frank felt it was right to watch it play out naturally.
“Yes, I asked them what they wanted. One said dragons and the other added in traitors. Whatever they are here for, it’s not just dragonkin. I have no idea what they want, but the plan that is set out is going off without a hitch. We need to stop them, Maddie. Do you know how?”
“We don’t know each other.”
“It doesn’t matter. Frank said that you are someone that we can trust, and I want to know how I can fix this. I need to fix this because it is all my fault.”
Maddie smiled and tried to assure her that it wasn’t. “This was set in motion long before you were born, child. You can’t put all of this on your shoulders. The weight of it will crush you.”
“So then please, what can we do?”
Stephen helped to calm Calypso down. He wasn’t used to seeing her so out of character, but he knew that it wasn’t that hard to imagine. She had been through a lot in the last few days, and Calypso just wanted to right some wrongs, even if they weren’t hers to fix.
“Let’s get some tea and bounce some ideas off the rest of the coven. No one here wants to see the dragonkin end. We have been allies for over a century, Frank. Some old curse from before we were all alive doesn’t trump that. You’ll see. It will all be okay. We’re going to work it out.”
Frank smiled at Maddie. He didn’t know if it was true what she said, most likely she was lying, but he was thankful for it at the moment. It felt like a mercy.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Calypso didn’t know what to think of the advice they were getting from the witches. Several of them had theories, but the problem was that there was no rule book that they could look to.
“If we were to dig up the old witch’s bones, we could bring her back to end it…”
“Why would she end it if we ask her to?”
“Does anyone know which witch it was?”
“No, but I bet it was the Benite family. They are the only ones strong enough…”
“Benite! Surely you can’t think…”
The room of babbling witches came to a silent halt. Maddie was back; she had gone to talk to the ancestors. Calypso didn’t ask many questions, and she certainly didn’t know what that meant. All she knew for certain was that there was no consensus. The only thing that the women seemed to agree on was that the original witch that started the curse was going to have to be involved in taking it away. They just had to find out who it was.
Calypso asked about the Benite family and where she could find them.
“They are dark. You do not want to go to them. They will not help you.”
Calypso sighed. She knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but she thought her problems would be with the undead and she would have to fight them. She didn’t realize that her greatest struggle was going to be a bunch of bickering women.
“I am sure that I will be okay. We have dealt with many things. I am not afraid of a few witches.”
Stephen stepped in and spoke up. “What if that was the witch that killed you before, Calypso? We need to be careful.”
Calypso didn’t remember the witch or being strangled. It was obviously a big deal, though, if she took Stephen’s reaction to heart. He had seemed genuinely bothered by what had happened to her. She wished for an instant that she did remember, just so that she would understand the look he got in his eyes when he talked about it. It had certainly affected him, if nothing else.
“We can’t just sit around and wait for the Schell to come to us. It’s bad enough that we stayed the night. We need to find these witches and figure out something. Dig her up, bring her back, I don’t care what we have to do. But we have to do something. We have to stop the army that is coming our way if it’s the last thing that we do. We don’t know that they won’t see all humans as traitors. We have no idea what they are programmed to do, but I can promise you now, I saw them kill some of the best people I’ve ever met. Who’s to say that they are not going to do the same thing wherever they go? They could be leaving a trail of destruction, and if it’s like what I’ve already seen, you don’t want that here. No one will make it.”
Calypso’s comments had everyone shutting up. There was no fear in the witch’s eyes when they had thought that it was only the dragonkin that was in danger. As long as they weren’t of that category, they didn’t have to worry about it.
But that assumption was wrong, very wrong. Maybe everyone’s life was on the line, and the only thing they could do to stop the destruction of all was to figure out how to get rid of the Schell.
Stephen and Frank agreed that they needed to work on getting a plan together for what they were going to do when the Schell got there. The witches were not much help in that department. According to them, the Schell could be stopped momentarily with decapitation, but they would just rise again, until the job was done. If they pulled their bodies apart, they would only find a way to reemerge and start again. They would not rest until all of the dragonkin was dead.
Every time that Calypso heard it, she shivered inside. Partly because she thought about all of the people that she knew that would be lost, her whole kind, but also that she would be left in whatever ashes remained. That may be more of a curse than anything else. Calypso had seen the destruction that was left of the temple where Bhut lived. She could not imagine what it would be like if all of the world were like that.
Frank and Stephen were going to find a small army to keep them back from the mainland. They were going to position themselves on the coastline, sure that that was how they were going to come in. Calypso didn’t want to fight with them about it. She wanted them to all stay together, but with so much to do, it was a divide and conquer need. They had no idea when the Schell were going to hit and they needed to be there to protect the countryside and cities that they would destroy because they were looking for dragonkin.
Stephen pulled Calypso in for one more kiss before they parted.
“We keep saying that we aren’t going to leave each other, yet here we are, doing it again.”
Calypso smiled and agreed. “I don’t want to go, but this has to happen. No matter what we like to think, there is a lot that isn’t being said here. Something is going on, and we have to find out what it is. We have to find the witch, and you have to keep us safe. I will see you this evening. Maddie says that it isn’t very far.”
“Do you trust her?”