Color started coming to the smoky figure and more distinguishable features emerged; soon, a smoky apparition of Phoenix stood in front of them--eyes closed, face relaxed, not in pain.
Relief flooded Ara.
Dark magic hadn’t afflicted Phoenix, after all. It appeared Phoenix’s namesake, an actual phoenix of legend, resided within him; it destroyed his damaged body to rise anew from the ashes. Amazing...
“Well, well now,” Maddox murmured, breaking the silence. “Phoenix is literally a phoenix. Who knew?” He laughed then whooped. An echo of excited cheers went up from the other knights.
Apparition-Phoenix’s eyes opened, glowing fiery orange like they contained a blazing fire.
They flickered unfocused for a moment then landed on Ara.
At that moment, brilliant, almost-blinding, light flashed in his eyes. His body fully materialized, solid, and in the--naked--flesh. The ashes disappeared, apparently being re-used in the materialization process. His freshly regenerated skin appeared healthy and unblemished; his tattoo looked as fresh as the day he’d gotten it 300 years ago.
His eyes changed to their usual vibrant blue, and he grinned at her.
Ara sprinted across the room and hurled herself into his arms. He caught her, hugging her tight.
She breathed him in, inhaling his coconut scent and reveling in his warmth.
A phoenix. Now the ever-present warmth made sense.
“I thought I’d lost you,” she whispered against his neck.
He kissed her temple and murmured, “Never, my love. I’ll always come back to you.”
“Did you know? About the phoenix?”
He shook his head and stroked her hair soothingly. “No. The phoenix is unexpected. But it doesn’t matter,” he said.
He nuzzled his face into her neck.
“Because I do know that, whatever it takes, I’ll always come back to you. This time, the phoenix just streamlined the process,” he said.
She smiled at him and pulled his ring off her thumb, sliding it onto its rightful place on his finger. Her heartbeat felt strong, normal, again now that he was fully healed.
He noticed her wounds and carefully examined her blistered hands. “What happened? Why didn’t you heal this?” he asked softly.
She just shook her head and pulsed her magic through her body to quickly heal the wounds.
He frowned and murmured quietly, so only she could hear, “We’re going to talk about this later.”
She brushed off his concern. He could reprimand her all he wanted later for not taking care of herself; he was alive.
She kissed his cheek and, though he could certainly create his own clothes, she waved her magic around him to conjure up an outfit. He laughed when a gray shirt and slacks appeared on his body.
“Thanks, love.”
He slid an arm around Ara’s shoulders and glanced at the Malaki bodies littering the floor, their skin flickering from the fire underneath.
He said, “Looks like we were fairly successful.”
He cleared his throat and spoke louder, addressing the knights chattering in the hallway, “Let’s round them up and transport them to the holding cells.”
Maddox approached and pulled Phoenix and Ara both in for a joint hug. “Try not to scare us like that again,” he said.
Phoenix nodded and clapped him on the shoulder with his free hand, his other still wrapped around Ara. “I can’t make any guarantees, but I’ll do my best.”
Phoenix glanced around the room as Maddox stepped back. “Do we have all the council?”
“I think a few leaders got away in the chaos, my king,” Maddox said. “One of the guards threw a surprise fireball; the force knocked most of us out when it exploded. I didn’t come-to until all the action was over so I’m not sure what happened in the meantime. The good news is, we have most of the leaders and can interrogate them later.”
Bash stood nearby, hands in his jeans pockets, silently observing the activity. He moved closer to them and said, “Majesty impressively stomped some Malaki ass, that’s what happened.” He nodded respectfully at Ara.
Majesty...more respectful than Queenie, but still an authoritative challenge. Ara smiled. She loved it.
Two knights walked past, talking loudly, and one commented to his companion, “This full force wind whipped through the halls and five Malaki just dropped to the floor right in front of me-- simultaneously! I swear I could see the blue swirls in the wind as it whipped past. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Bash quirked an eyebrow and inclined his head toward Ara. “Like I said--impressive.”
He turned his golden gaze to Phoenix and continued, “When we got here, a guard had you pinned to the floor, pumping you full of dark magic. She knocked that guard off his feet with a giant blue blast, then sent a tornado of sleeping dust to chase down the remaining Malaki--all while she stayed to heal you. I’ve never even heard of anyone wielding that much power at once, let alone witnessed it. Phenomenal.”
“Rage and love are both powerful motivators, and I had plenty of both,” she said.
“A tornado? Really?” Phoenix asked with a crooked grin. “I’m sorry I missed it.”
He squeezed her affectionately, and she leaned into his side.
“Bash exaggerates. Small tempest, at most,” she said.
Bash scoffed. “Small tempest, my ass. That was a full-fledged tornado. Maybe it dropped to ‘tempest’ by the time it reached a lower hallway, but a fuckin’ tornado left this room. That was all you, Majesty. Own it.”
Ara smiled at him and nodded once in assent.
Phoenix kissed her temple and murmured, “Thank you for everything, love.”
He turned to Bash. “Thank you for all your help. You were crucial today. We owe you; whatever you need, you name it. We couldn’t have done this without you.”
“No problem. At least I got to break one nose today.” The corner of Bash’s mouth quirked.
Phoenix laughed. “Well, we’ll be doing some interrogating later. If you’re up for it, maybe you can break a few more.”
Bash nodded and a ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Count me in.”
Chapter 17
Overall, they captured 140 Malaki. After interrogating their captives (an endeavor to which Bash turned out to be an excellent addition), it appeared someone tipped off the council just minutes before they’d arrived. As a result, important Malaki leaders escaped. Which meant one of two things: either 1) the Malaki had a powerful seer at their disposal, or 2) the mountain fairies had a traitor in their midst. Ara hoped for the former, but strongly suspected the latter.
They’d kept the operation top secret until time to move out for this exact reason.
Only Phoenix, Ara, Maddox, Bash, and the witches knew any details beforehand, and they could all be trusted implicitly. Even if Bash’s newness may have initially allowed doubt, he’d physically stayed with Ara and Phoenix all morning leading up to the attack, then completed the transports in under a minute; there was no physical way he could have warned anyone prior to the attack. Plus, after his actions during the attack, Ara trusted him; he wasn’t the traitor.
All they could figure was that someone eavesdropped outside the dining hall as Phoenix gave his pre-attack speech then immediately used a travel sphere to warn the council of the impending attack. But who? The traitor could have been anyone on the staff, one of the newer knights, or even one of the foxes, though Ara hated to think that way about the youths, especially after Lynx had been so protective of her. Who would possibly have a motivation to help the Malaki succeed?
Until they found the traitor, they would have to stay vigilant about keeping any sensitive information under lock and key.
Unfortunately, the Malaki were mostly tight-lipped, and interrogations didn't reveal any useful information about alternative hideouts; they did reveal, though, that three key leaders were currently missing.
Things were at a standstill until the team could obtain more
relevant information.
In the meantime, since there was no need to hide their knowledge from the Malaki, Phoenix and Ara rescinded the proclamation and issued a new one welcoming non-fairies back to Quarrin. Damage control was still required, but at least it was a start.
Ara sent the foxes home with instructions to find their family, bring them home, and to come to her if there were any issues. She wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt about their loyalty but figured getting them out of the castle was probably safest either way.
Nerina returned home to Lake Amonrila to replenish her water connection, and Maddox accompanied her, though he was checking back daily in case of new developments.
Likewise, after concluding the interrogations, Bash returned home for a few days with a handful of travel spheres and the promise that he’d return soon.
Sienna continued to reside in one of the villa guest rooms, with the royal couple’s assurance that they would do everything they could to find her husband.
Phoenix recovered well from the trauma he’d sustained. He said his body felt brand new and housed more energy than ever before.
He described the transformation experience to Ara and revealed that he could now feel the phoenix’s energy inside his body. It wasn’t an active presence--Phoenix was still in total control--but he could tell it was there. Ara was unsure what might come from this but was grateful the bird brought Phoenix back to her.
In the following days, Phoenix was a whirlwind around the villa. He spent most of his time strategizing and training, trying to burn through his excess energy. Though they’d always made time for each other, Phoenix made a point to spend even more time with Ara than before, randomly surprising her throughout the day with impromptu dances, serenades, and teases, then they’d make love long into the night. They’d always been playful and affectionate, but their relationship had reached a new height.
He also had a long talk with her about how much she meant to him and, though he would always do what he could to come back to her, he needed her to always put herself first if anything ever happened to him; he never wanted to see her neglecting herself again, because her welfare was more important to him than his own. She pointed out that the same was true from her perspective. They actively discussed it until they reached an understanding, but, ultimately, they would, of course, hope for the best for each of them.
Three days after the attack, Ara and Phoenix sparred intensely with wooden practice broadswords in the training room. They’d been practicing for a couple of hours and were having a great time, competing and working up a sweat.
Phoenix swung down hard at Ara, which she blocked; when he pulled back to strike again, she unexpectedly dropped her sword and tackled him. The surprise caused him to drop his sword and fall to the training floor under her, laughing.
“That’s playing dirty, love,” he chided, teasing.
“Don’t care.” She nuzzled her face into his neck.
He kissed the top of her head and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply as he wrapped his arms around her. “Me either, especially when it gets you back in my arms. By all means, play as dirty as you want.”
“Don’t worry, I intend to,” she laughed.
Suddenly, Phoenix’s breathing hitched.
Ara quickly looked up at him.
He held his breath for a moment as the wheels visibly turned in his head, then he said, “I remember someone from the council room. He played dirty; that’s how he got away. I need to get to the workshop. Maybe I can locate him now that I remember his face.”
Ara and Phoenix scrambled to their feet and dashed upstairs to the witches’ workshop.
The seasoned mountain fairy witches weren’t the least bit phased and simply continued working when the two crashed through the door into their workshop. Small explosions, crashes, and general commotion were common occurrences in the witches’ daily lives so startling them was rare.
The workshop itself was entirely fireproof--they’d learned from experience.
Inside its walls, magic amplified, increasing the natural powers of those who stepped within.
Gray stone countertops, cabinets, and shelves lined the walls, all of which were stacked with assorted bottles, jars, crystals, candles, and other magical components. Live vines and plants intertwined at random along the walls and shelving.
A large circular stone table, beautifully engraved with sigils, sat in the middle of the room, littered with books and assorted ingredients; smaller stone tables circled the large one, each containing different projects-in-progress. Living moss carpeted the floor, and toadstool chairs sprouted from it around the tables; anyone with magical abilities could just touch the toadstools and guide them to where they needed them for seating like a typical chair.
To utilize every available space, no windows lined on the walls; during the day giant skylights lit the room, and at night the witches utilized floating, glowing orbs.
Three witches, all mountain fairies, sat at the smaller tables immersed in different projects.
Two ignored the royal couple entirely, absorbed in their projects, but one addressed them.
The closest and most senior witch, Dolan, a 1,200-year-old fairy with short black-but-graying hair and a goatee, asked, “What can we help you with, your highnesses?” without looking away from the orange bubbling substance in the beaker in front of him. He added a few drops of something, making it glow.
“I need a scrying mirror and a pendulum,” Phoenix said.
Dolan replied, “Ask and you shall receive.”
A cabinet door near the ceiling opened by itself and a large triangular mirror floated out and glided down into Phoenix’s hands. A simple silver frame protected the glass.
Phoenix carried the mirror over to the large table and placed it flat on the surface.
A vine crept up the table and tapped Phoenix on the leg. He held out his hand, and the vine dropped a moonstone pendulum suspended from a silver chain into his palm. “Thank you,” Phoenix said before the vine retreated to its normal resting place on a nearby shelf.
He tucked the pendulum into the pocket of his workout pants then leaned over to peer into the mirror.
Ara pulled up a toadstool to watch.
Phoenix pressed his fingertip against the top corner’s glass then touched the other two corners in a clockwise pattern before touching the top again. He repeated this process two more times as he said, “Keeper of secrets, keeper of sight, grant me vision, clear and bright; show me the bearer of this unnamed face; show me where to begin this trace.” He then touched the center of the mirror, which rippled beneath his fingertips.
The glass was dark and murky for a few moments before a Malaki’s face clearly appeared on the surface. The Malaki in question had fiery red hair and a large, distinctive scar down his cheek. The image panned out until the Malaki’s full body showed. He gestured wildly and his mouth moved angrily, as though he yelled at someone they couldn’t see. They couldn’t hear him through the mirror, having only asked for the gift of sight, but could obviously see he was upset. A pale, feminine hand with purple nails gestured into the frame for a second but quickly disappeared. The Malaki threw up his hands in disgust, as though the other individual stormed off, and stomped across the room to a window to look outward.
The mirror shifted to show the scenery as the Malaki would view it through the window. The window seemed to be situated in a cliff face high above a valley. Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see. In the distance, one mountain peak stood out above the rest. Evening approached, and they could see the sun setting behind the mountain.
“Mount Endellion,” Phoenix breathed. “He’s east of Mount Endellion. Again, right under our noses in our own kingdom.” Phoenix swore.
Sighing, he touched the corners of the mirror again, this time in a counterclockwise direction, while saying, “Thank you keepers of secrets, keepers of sight, for granting me clear vision, for giving me insight.” The mirror returned to i
ts normal state.
Once Phoenix stepped back, the mirror floated up and gracefully returned to its cabinet, the door thudding shut behind it.
A large leather-bound book flew off a shelf and hurled across the room, landing on the table in front of Phoenix. The enchanted book, dubbed simply “The Atlas,” contained hand-drawn maps of the kingdom. It automatically updated itself whenever changes occurred to boundaries or town limits within the kingdom and, therefore, was always current. The pages fluttered themselves open to a map of the area surrounding Mount Endellion.
Phoenix murmured his thanks and pulled the pendulum from his pocket. He approached the table again and suspended the pendulum by its chain over the open page. “Direct me to the Malaki I seek,” he said. The pendulum began to swing back and forth, indicating which direction Phoenix should move it; as he carefully guided the hovering pendulum across the page, its swinging slowed then began circling a location on the map.
The pendulum indicated the Malaki’s presence on a small mountain about a day’s walk from the villa, dubbed “Troll’s Peak” due to an abandoned troll residence in its depths. The troll family who originally lived there relocated centuries before; the residence stood empty through the following years because few creatures found a rock and dirt dwelling inside a mountain comfortable.
“I don’t want to show up there without any intel, but this is our best lead,” Phoenix said.
The vine crawled up the table again and tapped Phoenix on the hand. He gave the pendulum back with a respectful nod, and the vine retreated.
The Atlas closed and hurtled back onto its shelf with startling momentum.
“Thanks, Dolan. We’ll be back if we need anything else,” Phoenix said.
Dolan nodded an acknowledgment but continued working.
Phoenix took Ara’s hand and pulled her off the toadstool, then led the way to her office and closed the door behind them.
“He’s already done so much for us so I hate to ask him to help us again, but we may need Bash to make an appearance at Troll’s Peak,” Phoenix said. “I don’t want to show up blind there, especially since the Malaki are so familiar with black magic.”
Malaki Mayhem Page 10
