The Phoenix and the Witch

by H. M. Gooden

  Cat's mouth twisted grimly. "That makes sense. King James emphasized the importance of family, but maybe it wasn't so much my family that he was talking about as hers. Maybe that's her motivation? We know for a fact that Dub's now gone, really gone this time after last year. You say you saw her other sons die in your dream, right?"

  Evelyn rubbed her neck uncertainly. "Yeah, the one for sure, and I saw another one lying on the field before the end but I didn't see him actually die. But I think so."

  "Maybe that was the impetus for the cannibal family? They were possessed by Dother, the son that you said wasn't dead yet? That would certainly explain all the people they murdered and ate," said Zahara.

  "It may be, but if he's still around, that means that we have more than just Carman to worry about," Mai added. "We'll also have to worry about her other son trying to kill us."

  Cat got up from the bench she'd been sitting on and began to pace. Waiting while evil was escalating all around her was frying her nerves. Just when they thought they knew what was coming, it was possible that they had even more ahead of them to face.

  "I hope not, but we have to be ready for anything. Evelyn, you said for sure that one of the beasts was dead, and you heard him referred to as Dain, but did you hear any mention of the other one?"

  Evelyn shook her head. "No, I'm just assuming it was him, based on size and ugliness. But it could have been another minion instead. There's no way to know without talking to someone who's got more information. Right now our conduits are running light on details. I don't think we're going to learn anything more here, at least not now."

  The girls nodded, sitting quietly and digesting the information. Cat couldn't help but think of the steps that were in front of them, leading to a giant mountain they had to overcome, like steps to some Buddhist monastery in the mountains. One false move and she felt like she'd plummet to her death without ever figuring out what it was she'd done wrong. It would be nice to just study and write exams for a change, she thought mournfully. Grade twelve sounded pleasant, compared to this.

  "So what do we do really know?" Zahara asked. "My mother would keep us forever if you want to stay here, but that's a waste of time if we have all these enemies to beat. Should we go back to the city and try to thin the evil herd a little more?"

  Cat sat back down and sighed, pulling absently on her earlobe.

  "Sure, why not? The thought of hordes of dark ones like Evelyn's been seeing roaming the streets scares me. Anything we can do to try to prevent a scene like The Night of the Living Dead is fine with me."

  "Okay then, back to the city it is," Zahara said. "I vote we leave now and see what kind of trouble we can find along the way. There are a few places I can think of off-hand that are likely to attract that kind of trouble."

  Evelyn stood up, crossing her arms decisively.

  "Well, we should get going then. Those guys aren't going to kill themselves and I'm looking forward to having a few less visual disturbances involving them."

  The girls stood up, taking a last look at the beauty of the garden before trailing Evelyn back inside. Cat couldn't help but be disappointed Robin hadn't appeared in person to guide them in their quest. She had to remind herself that they'd still come away with useful information and at least Zahara had spoken with him briefly in her dream. Robin was notorious for doing things on his own schedule, but everything still seemed to happen at the right time. She just had to be patient. Cat turned and walked through the door to the cottage, leaving the peaceful garden behind.

  THE DRIVE BACK TO THE B&B passed quietly, with each girl wrapped up in their own thoughts. Cat kept wondering about the significance of her dreams, having now seen the late King of Scotland twice. That seemed important, if she could only figure out why. He'd been the one to initially mount the expedition to capture the Sawney Bean clan and had saved the scribe from his soul being drained in the process. And he'd repeatedly told Cat that she needed to believe in herself and her family. Like, a lot. It was cryptic and repetitive, so it must be crucial somehow.

  King James had also hinted that the elements needed to unite this time, which Cat thought might be the key to beating Carman. She'd felt a sense of completion somewhere deep inside when they'd first met Zahara. For the first time, they had all four elemental representatives together as a team. Cat knew it was a powerful combination, if they could just figure out how to wield their powers in unison. If they did, like James had said, she thought that they'd stand a chance at beating the witch.

  Cat continued to have a pit in her stomach whenever she thought about Robin, feeling that he'd been strangely more distant since the girls had arrived in Scotland. He was also looking a lot older and more tired than he'd done before, come to think of it. Maybe his powers were failing? Her heart sank at the awful notion, but it also kind of made sense. Cat wondered if that somehow tied back into the king having earth powers. Maybe they'd been given by Robin, but now that Carman's powers were getting stronger, were Robin's somehow being weakened? And was that why she was being warned by the king instead?

  The van hit a bump and Cat looked up to the now familiar sight of the bed and breakfast ahead of them. Zahara must have hit a pot hole, Cat thought, until she noticed her friend's white knuckled grip on the steering wheel from the passengers side of the backseat. She looked at everyone else, realizing that they were all focused on something in front of the van, in the space where they usually parked. Instead of the normal curb-side parking that was usually available, Cat saw a crowd of bodies in front of the house. When they came closer, Cat saw the familiar shape of their landlady, Mrs. Binns, in the centre of the people standing there.

  Zahara threw the van into park and turned off the engine, leaving it in the centre of the road. She opened her door and Cat and the others followed her outside. As they approached, Cat felt the same unpleasant prickling sensation she often had when confronted by evil. A quick scan confirmed that there were several people with the dark auras that signified a lack of soul, who were looking down at the poor woman with a greediness that made Cat's skin crawl. Their landlady wasn't dead, yet, but she was lying insensible on the sidewalk, her limbs splayed out in a way that didn't look normal or comfortable. She was also bleeding from her mouth and nose. Cat looked around to see if there was an obvious cause nearby, but the twenty or so people milling around Mrs. Binns obscured anything further from her eyes.

  Zahara took a step closer to the crowd that was still about ten feet away and yelled at them.

  "Oi! What seems to be the problem here? This is our house. What's going on?" She'd puffed herself up in an attempt to look menacing, but considering her tiny frame, Cat thought that she appeared more humorous than scary, like a small dog marking its territory. Some of the people in the crowd looked at her with confusion, seeming to be foggy or dazed. Cat was reminded of the way people acted when they'd spent too long in Declan's company, but far too many of the dark figures moved their interested and darkly avaricious gazes to the five girls. Cat recognized that she and her friends were being assessed as targets and sent a quick and loud thought to Evelyn.

  Evelyn, these guys are going to attack. Can you link us? So that we can communicate without them knowing?

  Evelyn's head snapped up, but instead of looking directly at Cat or acknowledging her in any way, she dipped her chin slightly and closed her eyes.

  Everyone, I'm going to stay here beside the van and act as a link. I won't be able to shield you like I did against Dub, but I'll try to help you work together instead. You need to act now to keep any innocent people safe and see if you can save that poor woman. I want you to kick some major dark-nass.

  Cat smirked at Evelyn's weak pun, then glanced to her right at Vanessa, who had a determined look on her face, then over to Mai on her left, who appeared calm and steady, no longer the timid girl that she'd been when they'd first met in San Francisco. The girls formed a line next to Zahara and together they faced the crowd which had started to slowly advance toward them,
while Evelyn remained beside the van behind them. The people who were dazed continued to stand like statues, watching but not moving, so Cat ruled them out as a concern, focusing her attention back on the ones advancing on them. There were about fifteen this time, a staggering number. They'd never come up against more than one or two at a time and she knew that their usual fighting style wouldn't be enough.

  Evelyn, can you tell the others that I want to try to use our powers together? I think we need to focus and find a way to do that to beat them.

  Evelyn's eyes flashed with grim determination.

  Already done. They know what you tell me as it happens, like you're on a speaker phone.

  Cool. Any idea on how we're supposed to do that? It's not like we have one large power ranger we can form together.

  Cat shrugged, hearing Vanessa's wry sarcasm coming through the connection loud and clear.

  I don't know, but it's important. I think it's the key to beating Carman, so we may as well start figuring out a way to do it. Now seems like a great time.

  Okay, well giddy up then. It looks like we have our work cut out for us!

  Evelyn did as she'd said, then backed up closer to the van and watched from outside the danger zone.

  Cat felt the powerful sensation of her phoenix rising in her chest, struggling to escape and figured why not? She let it fly free for the first time, outside in broad daylight and in front of a crowd. Mai transformed into her dragon form while Zahara zipped into the tiny and agile body of a fox, leaving Vanessa standing in the middle, looking vaguely out of place as the only human until her hair started to whip around her in the hurricane force winds she was brewing.

  The dark ones looked surprised, but their faces hardened further instead of becoming afraid and they advanced faster, now only a few feet away. For some reason, whenever these jerks were faced with a change in events they never seemed to take the escape route, Cat thought. Oh well, their loss. Cat met them in the middle while Vanessa continued to brew the wind around them, knocking a few over with gusts as Zahara zipped between legs, tripping and weakening the ground underneath others. Mai destroyed the one she faced, once again using her massive true form to pin them before removing the water that belonged to her element.

  Cat watched as her friends fought well, feeling the heat increase within before she dove onto the dark one nearest to her, touching them with her talons and causing them to burst into flames with the dryness of their soul and the power of her flames. Her opponent crumbled to ashes as Evelyn watched silently from behind. Evelyn's ability allowed the girls to hear each other's thoughts as they happened and know when one of them planned to move left or right. They fought seamlessly, as a unit comprised of four individuals. Cat was proud, but frustrated at the same time. It still didn't feel quite right. This wasn't what James had meant by them fighting together, she knew it. Somehow, there was more to it, more than just the four of them fighting individually as a group.

  Ignoring her frustration, Cat looked around to find that the battle was coming to an end. Mai was squaring off against one dark being and Vanessa had blown another into a pit that Zahara had just opened, but otherwise the field was clear. In only a few short minutes, they'd destroyed double digits of dark ones, which Cat didn't feel bad about at all. She returned to her human form, watching as Zahara and Mai finished what they were doing before resuming their human shapes as well. Vanessa looked magnificent, standing with her long black hair swirling around her. Slowly, the wind settled and Cat breathed a sigh of relief. Vanessa strutted back to Evelyn, throwing one last thought into the mix before Evelyn shut down the lines of communication.

  We did it! We defeated the largest number of un-souled dark agents that we've ever encountered. And we still look good, ladies.

  Cat rushed over to the side of Mrs. Binns, relieved to discover that although she was unconscious, she was still breathing. The crowd of dazed humans had begun to stir, as the death of the ones that had been sapping their soul-energy released them. Cat was grateful that they'd already turned back into normal teens. It would've been difficult to explain what the hell was going on otherwise. They'd just been lucky the street was otherwise quiet and there hadn't been anyone else around that day.

  Zahara came up beside Cat and took the landlady's pulse before turning back to survey the crowd.

  "Did anyone see what happened here?" she asked, scanning for anyone who might have answers.

  An older man stepped forward, taking his hat off and holding it in front of himself as he answered nervously.

  "Yes, we were talking on the pavement. Out of nowhere, it seemed that a trolley knocked her down into the street. Then I don't quite remember what happened next, it got a bit fuzzy, I'm afraid."

  Cat nodded, looking at her friends and feeling helpless. With a crowd this size, there was no way she could heal Mrs. Binns without drawing too much attention.

  "I think we should call an ambulance, she's looks like she's badly injured."

  A younger man in the crowd offered to call and suddenly everyone became helpful and protective of the injured woman. The girls waited until the ambulance arrived before entering their lodgings and sitting down in the small parlour area of the house to debrief.

  "That was something, hey guys?" Mai said. "It was amazing fighting in our true shapes. I know I'm much more powerful that way. But do you think it's safe? Evelyn, can you shield us next time, so that if there are people around they won't be able to see it?"

  Evelyn looked a little pale and Cat could tell the battle had taken a lot out of her in terms of her mental energy. Evelyn tapped her lip thoughtfully, taking a moment to answer.

  "I'm not sure. That was pretty difficult, just trying to keep an open channel between you guys. I don't know if I can shield you from detection as well. I think it would be too much for me."

  "Well, either way, you were fantastic," said Vanessa. "It was really useful, knowing what these guys were up to as they did their thing. It made a big difference to where I sent my blasts. Cat hardly even got in my way!"

  Vanessa touched Evelyn's arm and smiled at her, before winking at Cat.

  Cat rolled her eyes at her sister's attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

  "Yes, it was great, but I don't think that’s what King James meant, not exactly. I still think we need to work more as a unit, but I'm not sure how. It just feels like something's off, you know?"

  Evelyn looked at Cat curiously. "What do you mean by 'unit'? That's about as united as four people can get, sharing thoughts like that. What else are you thinking?"

  Cat got up and walked over to the window, standing silently for a moment while she tried to compose her thoughts.

  "I don't know. But despite how happy as I am that we came out of this fight intact, it doesn't feel right yet. Like, it worked, but it's not the right way. And the fact I couldn't heal Mrs. Binns is really bothering me. I hope she's okay."

  Cat brought her hand up to her forehead and rubbed it while the other girls watched blankly. She knew they had no idea what she was trying to explain, so she sighed.

  "I'll have to think about it more. For now, let's just try to get some rest. We're no good for anything now, at least I'm not. We can sleep tonight then go out tomorrow to see if we can find out how Mrs. Binns is doing. Sound like a plan?"

  The girls slowly got up with grumbles and nods of agreement. As Cat watched them walk away, it reinforced her suspicion that they'd all burned through their energy stores. With no further discussion, even though it was still early, they said goodnight and went to their beds to rest and recover. They knew that the war was just starting and they'd need all their strength for the battles ahead.

  Cat gratefully crawled into her bed, replaying the way they’d worked together. It still felt as if they were missing one tiny piece of the puzzle. If they could just figure out what it was, things would click for them, she knew it. She fell asleep still turning the problem over in her head. The last thing she remembered was the faint sight of
a bird, flying somewhere overhead.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The next day, the girls ate ravenously. In fact, they ate so much that they depleted their food stores and needed to buy groceries. Mrs. Binns hadn't yet returned from the hospital, so she wouldn't be able to feed them as usual. Since they weren't her immediate family, Evelyn had pointed out that they couldn't call and check on her, as her mom never gave out information over the phone to people otherwise. This meant that they had no idea how she was doing and no one had come to tell them anything. Luckily, no one else was currently staying at the house with them. Although the bed and breakfast had room for up to ten guests, March was low season for tourists, so business was slow and the place was currently empty apart from the girls.

  Cat looked around the deserted kitchen as she sipped her coffee. She hadn’t spent much time in it before as she hadn't wanted to bother the landlady, but now Cat was struck by how cozy the kitchen was. It was warm and sunny, with geraniums and doilies on every free surface. Cat had already assessed her friends' auras that morning and for the most part, she'd been happy with how they appeared. Mai and Zahara displayed the healthy glowing colours Cat associated with their magics, while Vanessa was a slightly muted version of her usual colour. Evelyn had lost some of the beautiful opal sheen that was her unique marker, but Cat found it reassuring that she appeared healthy otherwise.