Convict Fenix

by Alan Brickett

  “The beetles mate in the volcanic area, where the heat pushes their blood to quicken. They then lay their eggs against the warm rock, in an area where the lava flow has cooled enough to survive but has not hardened too much yet. The new hatchlings consume the lava and its minerals for growth.

  Fenix nodded that he had heard her.

  “Over the last few years, we have found every clutch of eggs broken open and eaten. The creature’s very existence is being threatened by a predator within the lava fields. It takes years to grow new beetles, and if we don’t get a surviving clutch of eggs soon, we will be land-bound when these die out.”

  Now he understood. The Seductress and her bordello relied on their ability to move around the Prison to find customers. If they were to continually travel on foot, they would be slower and vulnerable to attack.

  The beetles gave them the maneuverability to change routes and be unpredictable.

  So she really did need the eggs rescued.

  “Why do you not hunt down the creature doing this, then?” he asked politely. No need to antagonize her when she was willing to trade.

  That naughty smile again came and went on her lips. “We have marked the latest batch of eggs to be laid. So we know where the next target will be, and you came at an opportune time, my dear Fenix.”

  The way she said his name elicited a fervid longing within him. He was sure the effect was purposeful.

  “If you cannot kill this creature that feeds on our beetles’ offspring, then we will try again. But if so, I may need to strike a different bargain with a different sort. Your need and mine entwine, it will benefit us both to have this done.” At the words, her eyes shone, and Fenix couldn’t help but think of other entwined needs.”

  “Do not distract me with your magic, woman. I need to focus if you want this done right.” He kept his voice calm, but his anger at being manipulated did drive back her allure somewhat.

  Her innocent expression was likely quite well practiced. “Why, Fenix, whatever do you think of me?”

  “That you will do whatever needed to survive. And I do not blame you for doing it, I am just informing you that it may distract me from being at my best performance. Later, you may desire me alive and able to perform once more, after all.”

  At that, her smile was both predatory and excited.

  “Ah? Such bold words from such a bold man. I am glad we let you live when you arrived. This could be quite an experience for us both.”

  Although he also hoped so, he didn’t want to give it away.

  This creature would lose interest if she were not the one doing the enticing. As Seductress, she was the hunter, but he could play that angle too.

  “Perhaps, but first your little problem must be dealt with.”

  “Of course. And look, right on time, we have arrived.” She gestured expansively out before them where the smoke from volcanoes both active and idle filled the sky. The rocky terrain covered in flowing lava glowed a dull red, while other, glazed, strips showed where previous flows had coursed.

  The hot air blew back at them, her simple scarf adornment whipping in the wind where she elaborately postured against the open sky.

  The very vision of femininity barely covered and spread wide was an image meant to sear itself into his brain, and his loins. Standing on the head of a giant beetle as it flew, and she with her disregard for any perch or handhold. The exuberance she displayed told him much about her, and how she lived for the thrill and conquest.

  He would allow her that perception of conquest, something he could enjoy by allowing, and enjoy further by being the one who gave her the impression of being the conqueror.

  But first, he did need to focus on the task at hand.

  **

  The lava fields spread out over the land mass with its mountains, crags, and volcanoes.

  The air was hot, searing into the throat with every breath, and carrying volatile chemicals that could erode and destroy rock, metal, and flesh.

  But Fenix was a hardy being.

  With his constitution, he could survive for a good deal of time in conditions where most other fleshy beings would quickly succumb and die.

  Still, he wouldn’t want to live here.

  Of course, it also helped that he had some of his magic to assist him. The fire from within allowed him many spells and confluences of magical application. One came to him the moment he alit on the ground; a short drop from the back of the giant beetle, which Quelina assured him would be waiting for his return for a few days.

  She didn’t seem overly bothered by the environment, but considering what he thought of her heritage, he wasn’t surprised. With directions to the location of the clutch of eggs, he was off.

  His skill with magic provided a slight barrier of fire to repel the heat of the outside, protecting him. Environments of flame and inferno would not be a significant obstacle for him. Neither would cold for that matter, although an absence of heat would use more of his energy than the adaptation he now used.

  Fire was not just for burning, it had other properties. The nature of fire provided protection and recovery, cleansing and warmth, which could also heal.

  Although he could not yet recall how he had learned all of this, he was grateful for the tool and its uses. Fenix began his hike into the lava fields and put his mind to the task at hand. Any creature that survived here was dangerous and well-adapted.

  That it thrived and fed here meant it felt it was home.

  Perhaps it was also a convict of a different kind, for various laws, sent here to the Prison for crimes only it and its kind would know. Either way, whether it could speak and he could understand it or not, it would have to die for his goals.

  **

  It took him a full night and part of the next day to get to where Quelina had directed.

  Ordinarily, she would have flown there far more quickly on the beetles, but she didn’t want to give anything away to the predator, and Fenix had agreed.

  Craggy fissures in the volcanic rock issued forth steaming gases as he traveled. The landscape was covered in the miasma all day and all night, so thick and turgid it made for secure hiding unless you were tall enough to get above the low lying haze or could drift above the landscape to see anything below.

  Fenix thought it would look impressive from up above, with the volcanic calderas glowing in a spotted landscape of black and gray rock. The crawling rivers of lava spread like trails across the ground, rolling down the sides of the mountains and spreading over the flatter plateau.

  Other than the gases and his need to maintain protection from the fiery elements, the terrain was relatively easy to traverse, and he made good time on foot. It resembled broken glass, all black with upthrusts of mirror-like obsidian. The crumbling stone laced the air with black dust that got into everything, his clothes, his boots, the stuff even darkened his hair.

  Good camouflage really, covering his scent and darkening his body.

  So it was that Fenix was quite confident when he got to the hollow dug out by the bugs for their eggs. It had been roughly carved into a bowl-like depression where the eggs were deposited. Each egg was wider than him and twice as tall, mottled a dull gray and black, and there were about eighteen of them, untouched as far as he could tell.

  According to Quelina, the eggs matured over the course of three weeks, absorbing the heat and eventually cracking open as the bug inside fought its way out.

  It was during the last week of the gestation cycle that the egg would be full of modified proteins and amino acids, offset against the still vulnerable beetle cradled within. That was when the eggs were usually eaten.

  The third week started the next day so Fenix would have to wait and see what came calling.

  If the eggs did hatch, he wasn’t sure that the predator wouldn’t still go after the hatchlings.

  **

  Five days later, Fenix still waited.

  The environment was uncomfortable, but he had not been idle. He had carved out
a leeward hollow in a large rock poking out of the ground. He had then placed loose stones around to hide behind, while still being able to see down into the clutch of eggs. So far nothing had come close, and the anticipation was building.

  It was late in the morning when the predator arrived.

  The first sign was the tremble carried through the earth, heavy footsteps that thudded into the cracked ground. Shivers on the edge of hearing carried through the mist with each strange footfall. It didn’t have feet, though. It had long serrated claws on the ends of segmented legs.

  Twenty-four legs in all, twelve on each side of a long segmented body, with a tail that arched over the back and carried a wicked pincer. The front of the body reared up, revealing a torso on which were four arms of the same segmented carapace, also ending in serrated pincers.

  The being’s head was insectile and buried without a neck on top of the strange torso arrangement. The deep coal black of its fly-like compound eyes contrasted with the flowing orange and amber running under its outer skin.

  The legs were a bright yellow, while most of the body was a dull brownish red that brightened with the inner glow flowing along its considerable length. Each one of its legs was taller than Fenix. The creature was enormous.

  It scuttled along, carrying the enormous weight of itself, and making the thumping sound as each clawed foot struck the ground, reverberating right up to the edge of the hollow, where it stopped and then looked within.

  The predator didn’t bother to check its surroundings, it just hauled its body over the rim, ready to feast on the clutch of eggs. Before it got very far, Fenix had to distract it and get it out of the hollow.

  Any battle they had should avoid damaging the very eggs he was trying to protect after all.

  He knocked, drew, and released an arrow at what he considered to be the softest portion of the being, its eyes. The beaten iron arrowhead pinged right off the outer membrane of the creature’s left eye without penetrating. That got its attention, but Fenix was surprised by the resilience of what should have been a smooth strike.

  More puzzled than angry, the predator turned its upper body to see what had sent the arrow its way.

  This isn’t going to be easy, he thought. With one smooth motion, he fired a second arrow that bounced off the other eye. Now he had its complete attention, having moved out of hiding, he still blended well with the rock, but with those eyes, it should have no trouble seeing him.

  With an impressive burst of speed, the creature lurched out of the hollow and stampeded forward on its many legs.

  The ground around him rattled and shook with the force of the blows, and smaller rocks tumbled about with the vibration through the rock field.

  Then the monster stepped past the last of his prepared traps. Fenix had not been idle while waiting for it. With an effort of will, he activated the enchantment he had prepared on the next arrow, then fired it at the feet of the thing.

  The ground lit up briefly with the lines of glyphs which had taken him much time to carve. The magic changed the form of the rock, and adding the heat of his flame, pushed the resulting molten flow up and around the monster’s legs.

  He had put enough power into it that several tons of the rock flowed over and immediately hardened back to its original structure. The monster was trapped, the first and second segments of its jointed legs encased in the solid material. It came to an abrupt halt, but not fast enough to cause it any harm, sadly. He had hoped to injure it with the sudden transformation.

  With its many legs, the creature was quite stable.

  Now he had to figure out how to kill it before the thing could break free.

  Already the monster lurched from side to side, he couldn’t see muscles beneath the exoskeleton, but the way it flexed back and forth was visible. Given time, it might well be strong enough to shatter the rock encasing it. Then it stabbed down with its claws, the mandibles closed like hammers to beat out its frustration on the offending obstacle.

  The sound echoed like thunder over the volcanic landscape.

  If it didn’t break out from inside it would break through from the outside, and he was sure it was strong enough. Only a matter of time, then.

  Its outer carapace was strong, strong enough that piercing it with his current weapons would be difficult. Unless he could find a join, he thought. With the idea came an involuntary step toward the monster, Fenix’s eagerness to see the task done overcoming his caution.

  It reacted immediately, and suddenly he became the target of the creature’s ire. It gave a shrill cry, like a warble, then lurched toward him, claws snapping. He hadn’t expected what came next. A deluge of fire spewed from the creature’s chest where a maw opened to its insides.

  He hadn’t seen it, it was so well hidden within the folds of chitin and segments that allowed the monster flexible movement.

  He managed to raise a shield in time, the outpouring of magic an instinctive defense that came to him at the moment before the stream of what he now saw was molten lava would have consumed him whole.

  No wonder the being could survive in this strenuous landscape, it was as hot inside as any volcano. The bugs it ate were probably only a part of its diet. It stayed in the lava fields for sustenance and as a natural habitat.

  All of which was fascinating, but didn’t help him right at that moment.

  The shell of magic he had constructed from his own fire could absorb the heat and pressure of the jet, but only for so long. It seemed the monster could also tell he was still alive, and instead of trickling off the blast of fire, it redoubled it, determined to end this threat that had trapped it so. Fenix quickly felt the heat build within the shield.

  From inside, it was like watching a river of lava pour all around him, the orange glow easily lit his gray features, and the ground around the outside began to rise up as molten rock.

  The heat on the outside must be melting the earth itself, only the small ledge of rock he had within the shield was safe, but it and he were now sinking in stone turned to liquid by the monster’s attack.

  If it didn’t stop, or he didn’t escape, then he would also be trapped under a small pond of rock that would harden over him.

  But what could he do? The power he had was impressive, but it fell short of the creature’s natural defense. He could do a lot, he had enough Vitae, but the sheer intensity of his magic was not enough. And the most frustrating thing was that he knew he was better, but something, something, was holding him back!

  As if to remind him, the armlet of gold with Her sign on it grew warm, then warmer still.

  His arm nearly burned from the heat coming off the metal, and not because of the lava’s penetration through his shield.

  He looked down to see the symbol was lit up from within. From a dull yellow gold, the entire band rose up to a ruddy red, waves of power coming off it. It was a strange feeling, a sensation that the armband was somehow plugging him up.

  The magic he was using now flowed past the magical device, it came out of him despite the obstruction the armlet created.

  He could feel an entire dam of energy burst, letting loose an intensity of power beyond anything he had so far done. What he was using now was everything that could slip through the tiniest of cracks allowed by the artifact.

  And now that he had need, now in this most dire peril of imminent death, it was activating and stopping him from doing more.

  He would not stand for it any longer!

  A burst of pain speared up from the back of his head and neck as if lines of fire burned there in a pattern of lines. The armlet’s glow increased to bright white incandescence, the matrix within it holding back his considerable talent and power.

  It held and held against a tidal wave of force from within him. Just before he thought he might burst, blowing himself up and leaving only the armlet remaining as a smoldering wreck, the device gave in.

  **

  The color that comes off a flame changes depending on the frequency of the ligh
t caused by the heat or the material being consumed.

  Copper put into a flame burns green, phosphorous purple, and most flames having the yellows, oranges, and reds of burning carbon. Paper burns a light color because the material doesn’t provide enough fuel for a hotter flame. Wood, charcoal, and various hard timbers will burn a dull red and give off a flame of varied hues, leading to the yellow on the outside.

  Sometimes though, you can catch a glimpse of a sputter of blue within the fire, where a pocket of sap or even old organic growth will burst with gases that burn quicker but much hotter. That flame is a lovely dark blue, the intensity of it much higher, if only briefly, and changing the light emitted to a frequency closing on the ultraviolet.

  The hottest of flames, the most intensely burning, are the ones that go to purple, then blue, and then white.

  Magic creates flame from pure energy, the concentrated power of the energy mimicked in those with the talent for fire in the color of their flame. Most pyromancers throw balls of orange fire, some can only create swaths of yellow flame, while most proficient ones still have dull red burning spells.

  The mastery of flame means one can concentrate it, grow the energy and collapse the area of effect to heighten the concentration.

  Those who can do that would produce a small blue flame, perhaps even a ball of it in the palm, capable of melting through a solid steel wall or reducing an organic being, such as a person, to ash in the right application.

  Masters of the craft produce such small but potent spells, enormous magical energy required to achieve even that, but with many uses.

  When the creature finally closed its maw to stop ejecting its stored lava flow, Fenix was revealed to be within a globe of sapphire-blue fire. The edges of flame as it swirled around him wisped into pure whiteness. If a pyromancer were there, Fenix would have been worshipped as their god, such a display being beyond the realm of mortals.

  And the devilish smile on his face was fit only for a deity, or a devil.