Phoenix Incandescent (Endeavor Series Book 1)

by A E M

  Bliss lay down on his other side. “You know, you could help her along. You two finally give it up and admit that you like each other, and you haven’t even been able to make out, am I right?”

  Beau crossed his arms in front of his chest and shrugged.

  “Find a way to touch her, hug her, stroke her hair. Did those fairies pack some gloves? A long-sleeved shirt? She’s a girl. You are going to have to treat her like a lady-your lady-and give her some affection. We don’t work like guys, you know.”

  “She’s right,” Wynn said as she slipped back into the room with Wilder.

  Beau groaned. “Father! They are ganging up on me! Can you all please step a little farther out of my love life, please?”

  “Consider their words.” Wilder advised. “But ladies, give him some room.”

  “Tattle-tale.” Bliss teased.

  “Bossy.” Beau countered.

  “Now,” Wilder continued. “We need to talk about our next steps. Above this tunnel is an abandoned shed on the neighboring farm. I slipped out and headed towards the barn and house.” He grimaced. “We found the couple dead. Whoever is doing this is crossing all kinds of lines. I can’t believe they would kill innocent danes. The house looked unoccupied, so we searched it and the barn. Neither looks occupied by the enemy. I don’t understand it.”

  “Do we stay down here?” Bliss asked.

  “I think we should actually get out and follow the creek. There’s another spot on the back of this property that will lead to an underground safe house of sorts. Josef and Basil know about it. They may even be there.”

  “We need to quickly get there.” Wynn said. “I don’t want to run into them, and I don’t want them finding out about the tunnels.”

  “Shouldn’t we fly away?” Bliss asked. “It’s not like we can’t contact the hobs another way. Why are we sticking around? What if the safe house has been discovered?”

  Wilder considered that for a moment. “Not with Charlotte. Let’s try for the safe house to see if we can find anybody who may know what’s going on. The hobs have a spell on it that will tell them somebody is there. If that doesn’t work, then we will figure something else out.”

  They tried to wake Charlotte, but nothing they did woke her. “She shouldn’t even be out of bed.” Wynn said.

  Beau wrapped her back up in the blanket to carry her and the five quickly left the tunnel and headed into the woods. They kept still when they heard strange noises, and they kept alert for changes in their surroundings. Finally Wilder pointed to a bend in the creek. There were many bushes on the sides, and a small cave behind the bend. They walked through the water and Wilder spoke a few words that turned the rock face into a cave opening.

  “Wow.” Bliss said as they slipped in. Wilder closed the opening and walked around the cave so the torches would come on. It was cool and dark, and the walls were covered with paintings.

  “We should move quickly.” Wilder reminded them. He opened another entrance in what looked like solid wall, and they continued their trip down a passageway until they reached a stone door. Wilder traced a carving in the door and it slid over slowly. They were greeted with light from within. Somebody was already there.

  The room was a long, narrow rectangle with an open doorway on each end of the wall they faced upon entering. Wilder pulled a sword off the wall. “You know we are here.” He said loudly. “Show yourself. I helped build this place; you will not deceive me.” When there was no answer, he placed his hand in a small alcove and glowing footprints began to appear. They weren’t hard to read. “Centaur, show yourself or speak!” Wilder shouted. Again his words were met with silence.

  “Injured?” Wynn asked quietly.

  “Or about to kill us.” Bliss added softly.

  “Let’s find out.” They followed the footprints through the entranceway on the left and into a room that mirrored the first. Zorach lay on the floor. Bliss rushed over to him and began looking for injuries.

  “Do we need Sebastian?” Beau asked as he placed Charlotte on the floor. “I could go.”

  “No, son.” He said firmly. “We wait for a moment.”

  “He’s still alive.” Bliss said.

  There was a small pop and Josef stood in front of them. “Thank goodness. Are you all here? Are there any injured?”

  “We found Zorach when we came in. He is unresponsive. What news can you give us?” Wilder said quickly.

  Josef went immediately to Zorach’s side. “I’ll take him to Sebastian and be back.”

  Josef and Zorach vanished in a flash, and Josef was back in a couple of minutes. “Now for the news. There was a traitor in the Maguard. He opened the portal in the guest wing of the castle even before the others got through the shields. They were after those they had taken the first time; their master must not handle failures very well. After they took them away and found out that Audrey was gone, they left.” Josef shook his head. “Getting through the shields and attacking the castle was merely a distraction and a warning, and a costly one for us. Most everybody has left for their homelands to warn the others.”

  “They left? The Maguard went as well? So much for an Alliance.” Bliss grumbled.

  “You cannot blame them,” Wynn said. “They need to get the word out to their people and set up proper security. The Maguard will likely be looking into the treachery. There is much work to be done, and I’m sure we’ll convene as soon as possible.”

  “We will have to do the same.” Wilder looked over at Wynn. “At least one of us needs to return.”

  Josef leaned over Charlotte. “She needs to be back in bed.”

  “Yes, shall we move this party to your place?” Beau asked.

  “You get her in a bed in our wing. Sebastian will take a look at her soon.”

  Soon Beau sat by the unresponsive Charlotte as Sebastian tried to study her as best as he could while asking Beau all sorts of questions about what had happened during the transformation. Lodestar joined them, and the questions continued.

  Sebastian sat back in the chair by her bed. “I don’t have any reference to deal with this. Lodestar, what do you think? Are you able to get close to her?”

  The unitaur kneeled by the side of the bed and slowly reached out for Charlotte’s hand. “I can.” She hesitated, and then remained silent.

  “She was fine for a while.” Beau mentioned.

  “She obviously didn’t have much strength to give,” Sebastian responded.

  “There is one thing we may try.” Lodestar said very quietly as she looked at Sebastian. “I will need a way to get it in her system.”

  “I’ll set up an I.V.” Sebastian went to work while Lodestar pulled out a small vial from her bag. She wiped away the thick layer of dust and pulled the top out.

  “Add this.” Lodestar said. “Use every last drop, and then let her rest. We can only wait and hope after that.”

  “What is it?” Beau asked.

  “I cannot tell you.” Lodestar snapped. “But it is rare and it is the last of my supply.” She huffed and exited the room.

  “Call for me if you need anything or when she wakes.” Sebastian added.

  Beau gently moved Charlotte to one side of the bed and arranged the covers around her. He grabbed a blanket on a nearby chair for himself. He wished she would wake and speak. A thousand questions raced through his head, but he banished them from his thoughts and focused on willing her to heal while she was sleeping. He fell into a deep sleep of exhaustion.

  11

  The Girl Who Was Not A Pawn

  “My parents are sending me away for an apprenticeship.” Beau said.

  She frowned. “Because we fought?”

  He shrugged. “They say it’s time to learn to control myself.”

  “How long will you be gone? Will I see you at all?”

  “Four years.” He grumbled. “And only a little.”

  He pushed her in the mud. “But I’ll be back.”

  She laughed and cried as she watched him
fly away.

  “So mystery girl, what can you do?” Charlotte stared her reflection down, daring it to look away first. Her now brown eyes flecked with gold stared right back, accepting the challenge. She ran her fingers through her wet hair, fingering the groups of white strands throughout. She frowned. Where had the red hair come from? She had gone from not looking much like her parents to not looking much like her parents in a different way. Something still didn’t add up.

  She pulled her gloves on with a snap and turned to each side in the mirror. Behind her, Beau snored softly. He looked odd wrapped up in a blanket. Surely wings weren’t meant to be covered, for the blanket changed the majesty of the feathers into two lumps hidden under cloth. She turned her head back to stare again at the mirror. It felt odd to go from a hugcloset full of clothes to three outfits. How long would she have to wear these, anyway? She frowned and ran her hands down the silky, yet strong material. It clung to her like a second skin and shimmered a soft grey and blue, like the sky before rain.

  Charlotte sat down on the floor across from the bed next to her father’s backpack. She ran her hand across the worn fabric and danced her fingers across the stitching on the main flap. Finally, she pulled out the books her father had packed for her. Some books she recognized: The Big Book of Magani, The Weavers and the History They Wove, Danes and the Mundane, The Immigration of Magic, A Rare Look at Rare Magani, and A Fairy Tale: The Seclusion of Fairies after the Great Immigration. She also found the list of books Lodestar had asked for beneath the other books. It was nothing short of depressing: A History of Evil, The Shadow that Always Lurks, To Hunt or be Hunted, Battle Strategies of Long Ago, Dangerous Magani, Unraveling the Dark with the Light, and The Responsibility to Defend.

  Charlotte stacked the books beside the bed. Tonight she would start reading them. Right now she wanted to check on the castle and the grounds. She knelt beside Beau and laid her head on the end of the bed next to his and listened to his breathing. She inched her fingers toward him, but stopped before she reached his warm skin. What terrible timing was this? In the fairy tales, once the man professed his love, he and his lady rode off together on a horse and lived happily ever after. In her story, the man professed his love right before she blew up, scarred him, and remained unable to touch him without a barrier.

  But then her tale was different from the start. She was coming from a happy beginning. She glanced over at the books warily. Was she merely at the beginning of her story? What turmoil would the middle pages hold? Would the tale finish with a happy ending? She hurried out of the room and down to the kitchen to settle her worries away with a cup of tea.

  Wilhelm was busy with both repairs and improvements upon the castle. They spent the morning together—Charlotte keeping a safe distance away from him—walking the grounds and every floor of the castle. He was kind and calm and studious. He asked questions quietly, his gentle eyes locked with hers constantly. Did she want to add on to the castle? Did she want the repairs to show or be hidden? Would she restart her mother’s business? Would another weaver use her father’s classroom for teaching? Did she want to rebuild the garage? Did she want to add other buildings to the property? Some of the questions she anticipated with thumping heart. Others surprised her. Wilhelm waited patiently for her responses, and nodded encouragingly from time to time. Some of the decisions would wait for another meeting.

  Next she grabbed a bite to eat and visited with the hobs in the kitchen. A pot of potato soup simmered, filling the room with fragrant warmth. The room was full of hobs. Isaac’s absence was heavy on their hearts; Basil and Josef had known him since his birth. The rest of the hobs had grown up with his kind presence. Charlotte sat on the windowsill and listened to their stories. It was her responsibility to care for them now. While other weaver families had varying levels of involvement with their hobs, Isaac had always held an unusually high level of fondness for his hobs.

  The absence of her parents weighed heavily on Charlotte, as well. She had planned to be the one who left, not the other way around. Now that she was experiencing their unexpected loss, she regretted her previous plans. A little. She spent the next week resting, reading everything she could get her hands on that she felt might be valuable, and asking questions of anybody she felt might have answers she needed. She was exhausted most of the time at first, so she kept to her room a lot. Chime and Bliss came and went. Basil brought food to her room when she didn’t want to leave. Beau tried to gauge her temperature, but she shooed him away each time. She felt guilty, but she didn’t want to hurt somebody she loved. He knew how she felt. They both kept busy, and neither of them divulged to the other what they were doing. Finally, Charlotte had had enough of the room. She no longer had times where she felt overwhelmingly weak, and her eyes hurt from all the reading. She headed down to the kitchen very early in the morning to find Josef and Basil sitting at the table alone.

  “Are you rested, then?” Basil asked.

  Charlotte winced when he started towards her, but pulled back. “More than rested now,” she confirmed. “I’m not sure if I can be touched yet, or if I ever will be able to be.”

  Josef shook his head sadly. “We have been worried about you. Beau says you won’t even let him near.”

  Charlotte sat down at the table. She tucked her hands into her lap and offered a smile. “I really needed the space this week. Has the news said anything at all about our situation?”

  “No, it has not.” Josef said with disdain.

  “Has anyone heard anything from my parents?”

  “No,” said Zorach from the door. He entered, followed by Lodestar. “Nor do we expect it. They are likely cut off from all communication for a short while.”

  Charlotte looked around the room. Her heartbeat thumped wildly and she sucked in a shaky breath of air. “What are we going to do about this menace?”

  Josef looked angrily out the window. “What do you mean? Do you think that you are going to be able to just walk into a battle with those who have attacked us twice now? The Maguard is working on the situation. Right now we need to rebuild our future.”

  Charlotte wanted to reach out to Josef. She longed to kiss his head, but instead she waited until he turned to face her. “How exactly are we supposed to have a future with those crazy nuts out there?” He turned away from her and stared back out of the window again.

  Zorach nodded at her. “If you are eager to learn, then we will train you to fight starting tomorrow morning at first light. If you wish to make this a battle in your life, then the best thing we can do is prepare you for it.”

  Zorach turned to Josef. “Sharpen your sword, man. You shall be one of her teachers.”

  “Josef?” Charlotte asked. She laughed before she realized she was doing it.

  A hint of a grin crossed Zorach’s lips. “Don’t let his height fool you. I’ve seen him take down a giant.”

  Charlotte sat back in her chair and raised her eyebrows at Josef, who was studying her now with a blank look. “Someday I want to hear these stories about my father and his crew of adventurers.” She said and reached her hand out to him, leaving her fingertips a few inches away from his hand.

  Basil grunted and stirred his tea. “Your father swore us to secrecy.”

  “How far does that secrecy extend?” Charlotte asked quietly. She dropped her eyes to the table and traced the scratches in the wood with her fingernail.

  “It stands for now.” Josef answered gently. He inched his fingers toward her until they almost touched before pulling his hand away. “Now, you’ll want to see Wilder. He and Wynn have returned, but they cannot stay long. The Maguard has passed strict guidelines for traveling. They will be searching the country and visiting all magani homelands for inspection. Bliss and Beau will most likely be sent home, too.”

  Charlotte stood immediately. “That’s insane!”

  “It’s wise.” Basil countered. He waved his spoon at her. “Enough of this talk for now. Go see Beau.”

  Charlotte ran
to Beau’s temporary room in the hobs’ wing. Wynn and Wilder sat on the bed, talking quietly with Bliss. Charlotte grabbed the doorframe to stop her run and clung to it to keep herself from embracing them.

  “I just heard.” Charlotte blinked back her tears. “This is your home, too. Do you really have to leave?”

  Wynn smiled over at her. “Charlotte, this will always be our home away from home, but we do have certain responsibilities we must take care of.”

  “I don’t understand what’s going on.” She said.

  Wilder stood and crossed the room. He leaned against the wall beside her. “If we all go home, then it will make it easier for the Maguard to watch and protect us all. It also makes it easier for them to trace the remaining magic across the lands and hopefully quickly capture whoever is behind all of this.”

  “Where is Beau?” She asked quietly. “Is he already packed?”

  Bliss rolled her eyes. “He insists that he will stay with you.”

  Wilder winked at Charlotte. “Beau and Charlotte have their own life to live. Right now they are where they need to be.”

  “I wish I could hug you all goodbye.” Charlotte formed her hands into fists at her sides.

  “We do, too.” Wynn replied. “You must feel as if we are abandoning you.”

  Charlotte shrugged. “We all have our own paths, right?”

  Wilder nodded. “We don’t want to leave you, but we have a responsibility to protect our people. The bronze eagles used to be great warriors a long time ago. It is time we train for those days again. Keep faith in us all. It may be that we all need to go home and educate and train our people in order to overcome this menace.”

  He went over to the nightstand then, and brought her a set of moonstone discs. “We checked in with Barnabas before we came here. He wanted you to have these.”

  Charlotte smiled to herself and slipped the discs in her bag. Barnabas, who wasn’t big on technology, was sharing magical technology with her. He was also keeping her informed of everything going on in the magani world; she would have to find a way to thank him. She patted the bag in appreciation and looked back up at Wilder. “Are you leaving right now?”