by M. Arcturus
“Women have breasts, of course they have breasts. That was a stupid thought.” He bickered to himself as he realized that he would have to measure her and put in darts to fit her form. He dove deeper into his thoughts. This is hopeless. We don’t have time for this. Maybe I can salvage parts of her robe. The poison might affect me for a little while, but it won’t last long, the top will need to be altered, washed and dried. The chain of thought wasn’t getting him anywhere.
There came a soft yet firm knock on the door, “Room service!”
The words pulled his thoughts away from the current dilemma, “Milady?”
“Who else, what’s going on in there?” Her words carried a slight tinge of irritation.
“Actually, I need your help,” he admitted in dismay.
“Imagine that! Stand back; I’m coming in.”
The Lady entered quietly and gracefully in comparison to her comments a few seconds before. She eyed Selené, who was once again thrown into shock bracing herself against one of the bedroom walls. Moving past as if nothing was unusual, the Lady approached Kajaka.
“You need me to do some magic, huh?” She asked with a gloating grin.
Kajaka looked down onto the floor, “Yeah.”
She advanced toward Selené, “Those are adorable shorts. You altered them?”
Kajaka puffed up his chest with pride, “Why, yes I did. I thought I could create a top for her, too, but it didn’t quite work out.”
“After seeing your handy work, there’s no wonder what has been keeping you two, but I think we need to cheat now.” She gave him a wink.
“I was going to call you in sooner, but Selené hasn’t been quite herself. She has calmed down a lot in the meantime, and I agree with you, Your Majesty. It’s time to cheat.”
She paused. He had never called her that, and she wasn’t sure how to take it. It was almost too proper for her taste. Guilt washed over her. Was she coming off as pompous or overbearing? Did he feel as if she was lecturing him about his behavior? She dismissed it, but filed it away in her memory to think about in the near future.
“Don’t worry about it, Kajaka!” She said compassionately, “We’ll fix this. Not that you did anything wrong, but I can make it simple. Just sit and relax.” She walked over to the shirt he had been working on. “Is this the shirt you were trying to alter?” Kajaka nodded silently.
Calmly, she approached Selené. Still in hand, she held up the shirt to the paranoid girl. Almost like an apprehensive undomesticated animal, she moved her hand into position to take the shirt and then quickly yanked the shirt out of the Lady’s hand.
As Selené put the shirt on the Lady grabbed Kajaka by the elbow and steered him a few feet back so that Selené would not hear them. “What happened to her? Why is she like this?”
“I think it’s from the poison.” He suggested.
“What poison?”
“The poison in the spider goo,” he replied. “It must have soaked into her skin and then entered her bloodstream. That’s the only thing I can come up with.”
Selené shrieked and stole their attention away from their current thoughts. They watched as the black and red shirt shriveled up and fitted itself to the girl’s form. Without Selené noticing, the magic spell drifted up off of the shirt and shortened her hair to chin level removing a lot of the damaged hair as well as altering the color a bit. Instead of pure sea-green, the roots became a pale greenish yellow, which faded to her natural color and then ended with a rich emerald-green at the tips.
“Much better,” said the Lady as she approached Selené. “Do you remember why we’re here?” Selené nodded her head in reply. “I think it is time we all sit down and talk.” The Lady winked at Kajaka out of reassurance as she put her arm around Selené, walking her out of the room and down the hall.
Kajaka had to give the Lady credit, the shirt fit perfectly and looked really cute on her. Having to fashion a few bangs now, her hair looked adorable as well. His second thought brought more worries in regard to Selené’s reaction to the poison and was hoping that it would leave her system soon. They could perform a magic circle, but it would still take some time for it to take effect. The poison had probably started to coat her red blood cells. Given enough time, the effects would be irreversible, and time was running out. Then the thought hit him. He wasn’t crazy about the idea, but it was the only one he had. One of the plants he had brought with them when they first arrived was the Benica plant, known for its ability to clean out the gastrointestinal tract. After a few hours sitting on the toilet, expelling the toxin from her stomach and through her intestines, he knew she was going to curse his existence, but saving her life was worth it.
They all took their seats in a small sitting area. Icarus had been untied and allowed to sit with them. All of his anger from mistreatment had evaporated as he sat down next to his angel. He ogled her in her new outfit and stared longingly at her ruffled, shortened hair, which begged for him to touch it. He scooted over so close to her that she was almost shoved right out of her seat. She didn’t seem to notice as she started to shiver again indicating that the poison was winning. Shadow brought over a blanket that he had retrieved earlier and wrapped it around her to keep her warm.
Kajaka went into the kitchen area and picked out the vile of Benica elixir from the cupboard and returned with a glass of water in his hand.
“Selené, I need you to look up at me,” said Kajaka as he stood before her. Selené looked up. “Now, stick your tongue out.” She was a little nervous, but did what she was told.
He removed the lid, revealing the eyedropper attached to it. After sucking up some of the elixir by squeezing the rubber tip on the lid, he released a few drops on her tongue. Before she could swallow it, it absorbed into her tongue. The whole sensation shocked her, and it felt like the inside of her mouth had crumbled into grains of sand. It was as if the elixir had pulled all of the saliva off of her tongue. She sat there bewildered, but she did start to feel better.
“Here’s a glass of water. The medicine I just gave you might make you feel as if you have cotton in your mouth.” She took the glass, drank and then handed it back to Kajaka who placed it on the table in front of her.
Icarus didn’t seem to notice that now was not the time for his ramblings and started to talk. “Selené, say something to me in Greek.” She squinted her eyes at him trying to make out what he had asked her to do.
“If you haven’t noticed she’s not feeling well,” Shadow said. Icarus glared at Shadow in response.
“Just because she’s not feeling well does not mean she cannot answer me.”
“She can barely understand any of us, let alone you,” retorted Shadow.
“Fine, then I’ll just ask her later,” he added with a catty tone in his voice.
Shadow chose to ignore Icarus and continue with the conversation, “Is there something you want to show me, Selené?”
She held out her hand and handed over the tiny gold feather to Shadow. Reaching for it, Shadow let out a gasp in surprise. He used his finger to stroke it tenderly as it rested in the palm of his hand. It was what he feared and suspected. What he saw while scrying in the fishpond was true. Juron had bought dragon eggs. Kajaka walked over to Shadow and placed a comforting arm around his shoulders.
“That’s not what we brought. Selené, where did you put the eggshell?” The Lady of Avalon inquired.
“Actually, that is the eggshell, milady. I’m afraid this complicates things,” Kajaka said as he looked down in dismay.
“How so? What caused it to change?”
“While we were in the bedroom, Selené discovered that the feather was encased in some ash left over from the hot flash caused by a dragon’s birth,” replied Kajaka.
“Come again? You lost me.”
Shadow cleared his throat before talking. “Throughout humankind’s duration, there has
been a frequent image created of a dragon and a phoenix. The image depicts a moment when a dragon presents a ball of energy to a phoenix. This iconic symbol is most common in the Middle East and Asia, but nowhere does it explain what the ball of energy is. It’s the life force of the dragon’s child before it is encased in an egg. Dragons can’t create the eggshell themselves, so the life force is given to a phoenix.
“We’re not sure how a dragon chooses the phoenix or vice versa. There could be an arranged birthing, or they stumble upon each other. Since we’re not of age yet, we have not been a part of the process, but from what I gather, the phoenixes chosen are either pregnant, or too old and need to be reignited. Until we’re at that point in our lives, we will not need to have the information.” Shadow stopped his babbling once he noticed the Lady’s expression.
It was the first time that anyone had seen the Lady in ultimate shock. She tried to speak, but no words came out. With a shaky finger, she pointed at them one at a time mouthing silent words as she slid from her seat onto the floor. Tears started to roll down from her eyes, and she buried her face in her hands. Kajaka crouched down on the floor beside her. Even in her sickened state, Selené leaned forward in concern and was about to leave her seat to assist the Lady of Avalon, but Shadow stopped her.
“Let Kajaka handle this one,” he stated calmly. She looked down at the tip of the black wing that kept her in place, remembering the time Shadow showed her his wings and nodded in understanding.
Kajaka put his arm around the Lady of Avalon and said softly, “Dragon eggs are made out of phoenix feathers, Bennu feathers.”
She lifted her head a little ways and replied, “So Bennu and phoenixes—”
“We are the same,” Kajaka assured her.
“We thought you were all gone. Your breed just one day disappeared.” She said as her eyes started to water again.
Kajaka smiled, “We didn’t disappear. We became incognito.” He winked at her. “Technically, we have always been around. Bennu is an old Atlantean word for phoenix.”
Unclasping his wings, he took her hand and ran it down the feathers. A smile replaced her tears.
“Too many people wanted our feathers, so in order for us to interact with other races, we reincarnated ourselves into human bodies and wore our wings as cloaks,” Shadow added as he unleashed his wings as well. “The phoenixes here on Atlantis have a weak flame, or no flame at all, and are called Bennu. So, they have been protected by misconception, and have been hiding in plain sight. Bennu are the messengers of our race. Once they’re born into a host, or reignited, they can flame like a phoenix and are then able to take on other tasks such as being a Council member, or healer.”
She collected herself, and Kajaka helped her back up to her seat.
“You have no clue what this means to us, your existence here. You could help us win the war! Atlantis may be saved!”
“We’re afraid that might not be the case,” Shadow began. His warning confused her. “If the phoenix is pregnant when the dragon confronts her, chances are she has her own ball of light to add to the egg as well. Either way, it’s the phoenix feathers that create the egg. When a dragon hatches from an egg, the pressure of the egg being broken generates a reaction. A flash of fire is created, causing a phoenix to ignite and be born or reborn. The hot-flashed feathers recreate a phoenix, or the energy ball responds to the dragon’s birth, but either way, those eggs are our children, too. Our brethren might not help Atlantis now.” The Lady sat there with her mouth open in shock and thought.
Though the conversation was a serious one, Selené’s stomach didn’t seem to care as it gave its first rumble of dissatisfaction. Selené wrapped her arms around her abdomen trying to still and ease the pain. She leaned forward and tried to speak. All she could muster through the chills and pain was a stutter.
“Batthhh-rrrrrooom,” she stammered as she looked up at Shadow with wide eyes as she repeated, “batthhh-rrrrrooom.”
Shadow didn’t understand what was going on, so he stood there giving her a blank look. “Come on, Selené. It’s this way,” said Kajaka a little disgusted at Shadow.
It didn’t take long until Selené exploded at both ends. Kajaka ran out of the bathroom for dear life and ran into the kitchen. Opening each cupboard, he scrounged around trying to find a big bowl. Shadow watched him at a distance and lost patience with Kajaka.
“What on earth are you looking for?” His words were sharp and kind of hurt Kajaka as he turned around with a sickened look on his face.
“What do you think I’m doing? Can’t you put two and two together?” Shadow didn’t give a response and telling by the look on his face, Kajaka didn’t want one. Trying to create peace, Kajaka continued, “Selené’s sick, and her body is trying to expel the toxins. I’m looking for a bowl that she can use to puke in. She can’t use the toilet for both ends at the same time, though that would be amusing.” Only Kajaka and Shadow seemed to be amused by the comment as smiles stretched across their faces. Spotting a bowl, he raced off to Selené’s rescue.
Her mind was fading as she reflected back on the events that took place since they had reached the shore. Seth had been training her for what seemed like hours on the beach. Their swords danced in rhythmic arcs, clanging together in sequence, flickering in the wind while Anthony tried to find Jarrah in the crowd of elves, pirates, and sea creatures. Once Anthony had located him, Jarrah waited for Seth’s training session to end. Revealing the gift from behind his back, Jarrah gave Pandora a sturdy hip pouch to store the box, which was bound around her waist. She accepted the gift gratefully. Now the chain was no longer needed, freeing her from its noisy bond.
Anthony had taken his leave again to find a member of the Secret Guard as Seth and Pandora listened to Jarrah’s tale. At first, she found Jarrah’s tribal markings, created from body paint, distracting. She had never seen anything like it. The red, yellow and white paint striped his body covering up most of his black tribal tattoos. White powder splotched every inch of his being, including his hair. Remembering back to her first encounter with him aboard the Kinnowwa, he had residue of the white powder on his chest, but the new patterns on his body were wilder than anything she could have ever imagined. What spooked her most was the white paint he had dotted around his eyes, which also bordered the stripes on his face. She couldn’t quite figure out why it made her feel uneasy, but it kept sending an eerie chill down her spine.
As she sat trying her best to listen to the history of the Kinnowwa, her mind kept drifting to her aching body due to Seth’s intense training and to the horrid crunching sound coming from Campanula. She was about twenty feet away, sitting on the sand with her back toward them, gnawing on something. Every once in a while, it sounded like she was eating through bone. Campanula rocked herself back and forth as she ate contently.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. “Would you mind giving this to Campanula?” Pandora looked over her shoulder. The hand was attached to an arm but nothing more. Her father held it by the forearm fully aware that it would freak her out. She jumped up so quickly that she almost toppled over into the fire that they were sitting around. Seth grabbed her arm and helped her regain her balance.
“Is that an Ackrid’s arm?”
“Yes, and that’s a hungry vampyre who needs to feed on the arm,” retorted her father.
“She’s a vampyre, not a ghoul. Why would she eat body parts? Isn’t it blood that she wants?”
“She’s a demon vampyre. Not all demon vampyres eat body parts, but her breed does. She prefers blood, but we don’t know what else to do with the bodies, so she opted to help us out.”
“What about the radiation the arm has been exposed to?”
“She doesn’t seem to mind. Why should you?”
“No, no, no! That’s not right!”
“No, burying it in our fields to contaminate our crops is not right. There are Ackrid bodies ever
ywhere. What else are we supposed to do with them? Jettison them back out into space to their homeworld with a note that says, ‘We’re sorry for killing them, but you can have their bodies back?’ Just give it to her slowly, no sudden movements.”
“Why?”
“Do you really want to find out?”
Seth was intrigued by the interaction between father and daughter. However, the look on Pandora’s face as she took the arm from her father alarmed him. True fear was something she rarely showed, but when it made an appearance, it never looked exceptional on her beautiful face. Once Pandora turned to go, Seth stood up to relieve her of her new feeding duties. Oberon thrust out his arm keeping Seth in his place. Though Seth promised a silent oath of vengeance on Oberon, he couldn’t help but to stop and watch Pandora as she approached her target.
Campanula’s hair was ragged and unkempt. The sound of her gnawing laced with uncontrollable drool made Pandora’s heart race. The rocking of her body added to the creepy atmosphere. As she neared Campanula’s shoulder, she held out the arm just within the vampyre’s peripheral vision. Campanula grabbed the arm so quickly Pandora didn’t have time to turn loose of her hold. The force of Campanula’s swift tug made Pandora land on her back, right in the middle of the bone pile created by the vampyre’s appetite.
In the distance, Oberon busted up laughing, but too engrossed in her newfound situation; Pandora didn’t hear him. Instead, she looked up into Campanula’s blood-hungry, wolf-like eyes. The beady-eyed stare frightened her as she quickly fumbled through of the pile of bones. Once reaching safety, she turned to watch Campanula hiss and growl as if displeased that fresh food had wandered off her plate. Pandora was shocked that the vampyre didn’t stand up and chase after her. Instead, she started to feed on the half-rotted arm lying before her.
