The Phoenix and the Witch

by H. M. Gooden

  She hadn't had any time to be alone and stop to think. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gone running, and suddenly, she felt the need to get out and run away. She went to her room for her shoes and changed into running clothes. She rejoined the others and stopped, feeling sheepish when she saw their confused expressions.

  "What's up, Cat?" Vanessa asked, eyeing her sister's clothing. "You going somewhere?"

  Cat looked down, rubbing her toe on her lower calf, like a kid hiding a dirty shoe.

  "I'm feeling a little constricted. I thought I'd go for a quick run around town. Don't worry, I'll stick to only well-lit, busy areas. I promise."

  Evelyn looked at her skeptically. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea." She waved her hand around the room. "What about all the bad guys? You think they're just going to let you run around without bothering you?"

  Cat looked at Evelyn desperately, her eyes wide and imploring. "Well, that was my plan. I really need to get some air. I'm sure I'll be fine. If I run into anyone, I'm perfectly capable of handling a few by myself. And I'm a pretty fast runner, so I should be able to get away if there's a large group of them. I'll send you a mental smoke signal if anything happens, okay?" Cat's voice broke before she whispered forlornly, "I just need out."

  Evelyn stood up to give Cat a hug. "Okay, go then, but be careful. We can't have anything happen to you. You're kind of the heart of the group."

  Cat blushed and tried to protest, but Evelyn shook her head and wouldn't let her speak. "No, shoosh up! You're my best friend and it's because of you that we're all still here. I need you to be safe to help me keep my poop in a group, alright? You may not say much, but I can see your mind whirring, and I know what kind of stuff you've been dwelling on. Go. Run. And come back soon."

  Cat sniffed a little, welling up under Evelyn's understanding gaze, then nodded before waving at the others and ducking out, leaving them to watch her walk down the front steps before breaking into a jog the moment her feet touched the pavement.

  HER FEET SLAPPED ON the cool, slightly uneven ground. The air was crisp and full of the scent of the ocean and the sound of noisy gulls fighting over scraps nearby. She almost felt as though she could be back in San Francisco, but she also felt the echoes of her ancestors deep in her bones. She thought of her grandmother, long dead now. She wondered about her grandmother's mother, and her mother, and so on. Her people came from near this place and could have walked this ground in days long past.

  She felt her blood pumping with the run and felt the rush of the ocean in her veins. She remembered her father telling her of selkies in the family tree and wondered if they'd come out of the ocean that was right beside her. King James had told her that family was important and right now, she felt close to them in a way she hadn't in the past. The distance from her parents aside, she was in the land that her family and her magic had come from. She felt more powerful here than she had in the States and could tell that her phoenix was yearning to break out and fly free again.

  She looked around, noticing the deserted streets and a copse of trees nearby. Letting the feeling rise up in her chest, she gave herself permission when she passed through the trees to let herself fly free into the sky, like a comet leaving the Earth.

  To the gulls below, nothing was out of the ordinary. It was simply another large bird sharing their airspace. They squawked briefly before continuing, settling back down on the offal they'd been fighting over before the streak of gold and wings had flapped by. Cat felt the air under her wings, the low-lying clouds brush over her face, and her breath escaped easily, calm for the first time in days. Her pulse settled down as her mind quieted and she felt recharged and alive. She might have been in the air for minutes or hours before finally circling back to her starting point and flickering back into the fire-haired young runner she'd been at the start of her journey. Slowing to a walk as she approached the outside of the cottage, she felt a twinge of sadness at the reality that faced her, before a rise of unexpected anticipation replaced it.

  Tomorrow, the air seemed to whisper as she ascended the steps. Tomorrow is the day.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The night fell softly in a quiet mist as the young warriors in the cottage traded stories, reminiscing over past exploits. They lacked armour or the glorious assemblage of the Tuatha de Danaan that Evelyn had described to them, but they glowed with the same strong, pure auras of the type that held not only magic but goodness. Cat looked at her friends and smiled, then caught Evelyn watching her with a curious expression.

  I can't get over how lucky I am to have all you guys, facing this together. What a crazy ride this has been the last few years.

  Cat spoke silently, not wanting to draw everyone's attention.

  What's the trigger, Cat? You've been more misty today than I've ever seen you, ever since Jake showed up. You are crazy sentimental right now and that's not like you. Evelyn tilted her head as she silently responded and Cat smiled back.

  I know. Tomorrow is the day, Evelyn. When I was out on my run, I just suddenly knew it. We're all here, in the right place, together. Tonight will be our last night before we confront Carman. Tomorrow we'll fight, like the Tuatha De Danaan confronting her last time. We'll go to the caves tomorrow first, to stamp out any residual evil there before getting to the actual root of the darkness. Win or lose, it will be over for us.

  Evelyn looked at her with surprise.

  How do you know that? Did someone tell you?

  Cat gave her a half smile.

  I just know. The wind told me on my run. And I'm tired of waiting for the fight to come to us. We're as ready as we'll ever be. Tomorrow is the day.

  Evelyn sighed, a deep, mournful exhale.

  Considering I'm the one that is supposed to 'see' things, you always seem to have the insight into the big events.

  Cat shrugged.

  Maybe it's my phoenix side. And tomorrow is the vernal equinox, so the timing seems fitting.

  Evelyn glanced at the calendar on the wall, surprised to see that they'd somehow reached the end of March.

  So it is. Okay, then. Do you want to tell everyone? Or wait?

  Let them sleep comfortably tonight. Tomorrow's soon enough to prepare. When everyone wakes up, we'll tell them. And maybe we'll dream in color of a strategy tonight. Who knows?

  Evelyn nodded.

  Tomorrow then. Goodnight Cat. Hopefully, I'll see Robin one last time tonight, in case it's my last chance to spend time with him.

  She smiled wistfully at Cat before standing, surprising the others who hadn't been aware of the telepathic conversation taking place beside them.

  "Good night, everyone," said Evelyn. "I'm ready to turn in. A little bird told me to get a good night's sleep, so I'm going to bed now. See you all in the morning."

  Cat stood as well, adding her good night before following Evelyn out, smirking a little at the 'little bird' comment. The others followed soon after. While they didn't know what the girls had been discussing, they all felt the faint hum of anticipation in the air and knew that tomorrow would be different somehow.

  CAT HAD AWOKEN TO THE dawn creeping silently into the rooms that morning. It parted the curtains gently with soft fingers of light, tapping on the eyelids in each room and stirring the occupants who rose quietly, entering the main living area in fits and starts. Evelyn had been up first again and had coffee already brewed, deliciously ready for the bleary eyed heroes as they stumbled in. With quiet good mornings and sips of coffee, conversation slowly rose to normal levels. Mai and Jake walked in holding hands and Cat smiled at the tenderness she could see in their every glance and touch. True love was beautiful and she was glad she knew what it looked like if she was going to die that day. The love she saw reminded her of Evelyn and her confusion over Robin, and she looked at her friend, wondering if anything had changed during the night.

  "Evelyn, how did you sleep?" Cat asked, really wanting to know if she'd had any dreams.

  Evelyn didn't disappoint her,
giving her a half smile and delaying her response by taking a sip of coffee.

  "I slept well, thank you. And yes, Robin stopped by. He is so much more, Cat, I can't even explain it. I'll tell you about what he said in regards to today though, if you're interested?"

  Sitting down and looking at her attentively, Cat waited until Evelyn continued.

  "Robin appeared to me as a man again last night and gave me a bit of a history lesson before talking about Carman. He was there, you see, at the battle I saw with the Tuatha de Danaan. He wasn't directly involved at that time, 'more powerful than to bother with the squabbles of the lesser beings', is how he put it, but he watched and remembers what happened that day."

  Vanessa leaned in, placing her elbows on the table. "I would kill for some real backstory on Robin. Seriously, if he thought those gods were lesser beings, what the heck does that make him?"

  Vanessa, Mai and Jake were now sitting and listening to Evelyn speak as well, having been drawn over by the serious faces.

  Evelyn simply ignored Vanessa's comment and continued speaking, as though she were a teacher discussing events in a historical war.

  "Robin remembers when the Tuatha de Danaan first came to the land and walked the shores that he called his. They were glorious and golden and he agrees with the books that we've read about them. Robin said that the humans were deeply in awe of these beings that were so like and yet unlike them. They were worshipped as gods, but for the most part, they were pretty ambivalent toward humans in return. They were neither good or evil, but they didn't really see humans as anything important."

  Cat thought about Evelyn's words and had an image of the cruelly beautiful people in the many high schools she'd attended over the years, how they ignored the lesser kids for the most part unless you bothered them, but could then lash out unpredictably.

  Evelyn had stopped talking to take another sip of coffee.

  "So what changed? Why did these super-humans get involved if they didn't care?" Zahara asked.

  "They didn't care about the people, exactly. But when Carman and her sons began to terrify the people, they were also destroying crops and livestock. By this time, something had shifted in their thinking. The Tuatha de Danaan had made this their home and they didn't like someone coming into their territory and causing such destruction and unrest in their own backyard, so to speak."

  "So they felt that their property was at risk then?" Mai asked.

  "Yeah, sounds pretty crummy, doesn't it?" replied Evelyn. "But keep in mind, this is all from Robin's perspective. I think he's the one who's really territorial, so he may be acting a little judgy."

  Evelyn wiggled her eyebrows, causing Cat to smile. Robin definitely had his own agenda and opinions.

  "Anyway, because they felt like they had to, they finally stood with the humans in battle against Carman and co., ousting the darkness. Or so they thought. They'd had the fight, killing Dother, Dain and Dub, although we know what really happened to him. Robin did see the bodies of the others two though and can attest that they were truly finished and won't be coming back."

  Evelyn took a breath before continuing, giving Vanessa a chance to interject.

  "Well, that's a relief. I hate the giant evil kinder egg surprises that we seem to keep getting. Nice to know that someone is truly gone."

  Cat shook her head at her sister's tone, but couldn't argue with her words. It had been a pretty awful time dealing with Dub. Cat didn't want to meet his brothers if she didn't have to, not to mention that they still had to deal with the mom who'd started the whole problem.

  "Well, Robin said he watched as Lug faced off against Carman. He saw how she'd become trapped into the form of a tree, almost dead but with a spark of dark life still deep within. Now, here's the part that kind of surprised me."

  Evelyn paused to lean forward, increasing the anticipation before she continued.

  "He was sad."

  "Say what?" said Jake, in disbelief. "Okay, I know I'm kind of new to the story here, but why would he be sad? Didn't he call you guys all together to fight this woman?"

  Evelyn nodded emphatically.

  "Oh yeah, he did. This was the part I didn't understand at the start either, but I guess it's because of the kind of powers Carman had. They were really similar to Robin's, so he didn't feel that things would be entirely safe until she was gone for good. So when he said he was sad, it wasn't because she'd been trapped. It was because she wasn't dead."

  "Oh, check," Jake said, as he sat back. "Yeah, that makes more sense."

  With his question answered, he listened as Evelyn finished the rest of the story.

  "So basically, with Carman as a tree, Robin had many years where he was a good husband to the land, growing the greenery and protecting the animals, keeping the land safe with the rise of the humans, and allowing them to live and use the land sustainably. But with the rise of Christianity, his powers began to weaken. Soon, few people believed in the power of nature and the old gods. Then industrialization and wars came, weakening his powers further. He's hung on through all the changes, but in a weaker form."

  "Is this maybe why Carman's returned now? He has less power over the land?" said Cat.

  Evelyn frowned. "I don't know. There's still some people in more remote areas that believe in the old earth religion and worship him and nature, but more and more Robin feels himself fading as people lose their connection to the land. This is why he's been appearing as an adult." Evelyn stopped, blushing. "Well, part of the reason, at least. But we won't go into all that right now."

  Mai and Jake smiled knowingly at each other and Vanessa rolled her eyes.

  "Oh, god. Does this mean I'm going to have to watch another couple be all twitter-pated?"

  While her words were sarcastic, her tone was amused, and Cat and Zahara smiled while Evelyn ducked her head to hide the red in her cheeks.

  "No, Vanessa, I don't think so," she replied. "I may be a little enamoured of him right now, but Robin only appears when it suits him and I don't think he'll be around to snuggle like Jake." She looked at him apologetically. "Sorry Jake, I just don't have any other examples to use."

  Jake, still reclining, lifted one shoulder nonchalantly.

  "No worries. It doesn't bother me. As long as no one minds when we snuggle, because I'm going to do it anyways." His eyes twinkled, as a smile curved his lips.

  "Anyway," said Evelyn, as she tried to redirect the conversation away from her relationship status. "The point of my dream is that, while the Tuatha de Danaan were able to stop Carman and her sons, they couldn't finish the job. That's why we've been tagged to do it now. He agreed with you, Cat."

  Evelyn looked at her, lips pressed firmly together.

  "Your feeling was right. He says we need to face Carman today. He'll do what he can to help if he's needed, but he said that with the six of us we can do this without him. He wasn't able to tell me how exactly we'd accomplish our mission, only that the light will drive back the night and that our power is more than the sum of its parts. Somehow." Evelyn sat back. Her voice was slightly hoarse from recounting the dream and she appeared frustrated that she didn't have more details to share.

  Cat patted her arm. "If Robin says it, I believe him. It's enough right now that we have each other." Cat blew a piece of hair off her forehead. "I'd love to have a real plan, but I think we just suit up and hope for the best. Make sure to use the bathroom first, just in case."

  The others laughed at her feeble attempt at humour, but slowly began to get ready just the same. They lingered over their coffees, unspoken in the thought it could be their last, but packed up soon enough when they were done and got ready to face the day.

  SINGLE FILE, THEY WENT down the steps into the street, passing trees thick with age and dew from the mist that weighed the naked branches down. The sun had risen weak and milky in the fog, but the light was strong enough to indicate that it was daytime. The ocean breeze was soft but chilly and they raised their collars against it. The caves weren
't far from the town, but the path that led to them wasn't well travelled. It was signposted however and they were able to follow the path as it meandered through scrubby bushes and across rocky ground.

  Cat flashed back to her vision of the night with King James and the scribe, feeling the hairs on her neck prickle with apprehension. This was the path that led directly to Carman. Cat wasn't ready to meet her yet. Stopping abruptly, she turned to the others.

  "Guys, I'm not sure that we should go up this way. Not yet, at least. This path goes right to the tree. I think we need to scout the area around it first, to see if anyone is lying in wait to blindside us. We know that Carman's up there, but I think we should try to take out any of the dark ones who may be lurking before we get anywhere close to her. I really don't want them coming up behind us while we're occupied with her."

  Evelyn and Vanessa nodded, making Cat feel less like she was being chicken and more like she'd had a good idea.

  "What if we came through the caves Zahara was telling us about?" asked Evelyn. "Zahara, do you know them at all?"

  "Sure. I remember the other exits I saw in my dream, too. But if we're going to go spelunking, I'd much prefer putting on proper attire. Can we change into our true selves now?"

  Cat and the others looked around to see if there were any witnesses, but the place was still deserted. Nodding, they agreed with Zahara.

  "Nobody's around right now and chances are, anyone we'll meet from now on is way scarier than we are," said Cat. "Let's do it. Changing will help with our power levels, too."