Phoenix Incandescent (Endeavor Series Book 1)

by A E M

  “Follow the Faun.” Zorach said.

  They walked until stars shone in the sky. Evangeline kneeled in a sandy spot not far from a stream and made a fire that burned bright, yet compact. Warmth and light spread through the shielded area. Evangeline unfolded her tall, thin frame. Her blue eyes sparkled and her medium length light purple hair bounced around her face. She smiled at Charlotte with every inch of her face. “Let’s set up our tent, my friend.” She giggled. “Upwind from the men.”

  Charlotte’s eyes flew open and she laughed. Evangeline smiled and sashayed away. Charlotte followed, curious about this young elf. Charlotte remembered Evangeline and Wilhelm as she grew up, but while she had grown from a child to a young adult, they both still looked no older than when she first remembered them as a young child.

  Evangeline lay down on her bedroll when they were done assembling their tent. “My toes ache.” She whimpered. “And I smell horrendous.”

  “I can’t stand the stench.” Charlotte confessed and collapsed on her own bedroll. “I thought it was only me who was bothered by it.”

  “Hardly.” Evangeline giggled. “Alcott can put up with it because he’s trained to do so, but he doesn’t like it. Lodestar is repulsed.”

  Charlotte balanced her head in her hands. “Did they hurt?”

  “Did what hurt?” Evangeline rolled to her side.

  “Your tattoos?”

  “Oh.” Evangeline smiled. “They did hurt. Some more than others.” Delicate white lines played across her skin in several places.

  “I like them.” Charlotte laid back and closed her eyes. “I like your hair.”

  “Are you used to your hair?”

  “I don’t know where my hair came from.” Charlotte confessed. “It makes no sense at all.”

  “Perhaps the sense will come later.”

  Alcott rapped on their tent. “Suppertime, ladies.”

  They settled into a circle around the fire and chewed on their rations. Charlotte missed the warmth of the kitchen fire, the humor of Spindle’s stories, and the taste of Basil’s food. How quickly she had adjusted back to castle life over the summer. How quickly she was missing it. Had she really thought that she could have walked away from it, forever this time? But she had thought it, and she would have. She looked over at Beau. What would have happened to him if she had left? She shook her head at the fire and listened to its crackling.

  “This must have been a much faster trip for you the first time,” Faunus nodded to Zorach after he had finished his food.

  Alcott frowned. “Are we back to this conversation once more?”

  “Centaurs are very fast travelers, as are Fauns. You know this.”

  “So it’s the elf and the girl who are slowing us down, right? Bird boy over there could surely keep up with us.” Faunus crossed one leg over the other. He took the twig from his mouth and started to dig in his hoof. “Wouldn’t it make sense if we traveled at the speed of magic rather than the speed of dane? I’m only wondering if it would be more of a surprise if we got there quickly.”

  “We talked about this this morning.” Beau said. He crossed his arms. “Remind me why we brought him.”

  “Remind me why we brought her.” Faunus looked directly at Charlotte. “You do know that you are the liability of this group, right?” He shook his head. “All that fuss for what? A cosmetic difference because she touched Romeo here and skin that burns? Is she a weapon of some sort?” He sat back against a tree. “Here I thought the babe was going to turn into something cool if she survived.” He popped the twig back in his mouth. “Did you even try to figure out what you are capable of?”

  “Of course I did.” Charlotte said. She looked around at the others. Hadn’t she? She directed her attention back to Faunus. “What is your problem with me?”

  “I might ask what everybody’s problem with me is. Does nobody like the truth?”

  “Perhaps you should learn tact.” Evangeline suggested.

  “Don’t the elves have enough tact to cover the rest of us?” Faunus asked.

  “Enough talk.” Zorach said. “Faunus, your babble is worse than the danes.”

  Faunus looked at Alcott. “Are we close enough that we could go fast tomorrow and get there in time to get this done by sundown?”

  “We aren’t that close, and we aren’t changing our plan.” Alcott stood. “I won’t listen anymore to this.”

  “It’s time we all sleep anyway,” Lodestar interrupted. “Zorach, you have first watch tonight.”

  Charlotte stayed at the fire with Zorach while the others drifted off to the tents. She watched the dance of the yellows against the shimmer of the shield around the camp and the surrounding black of the night. Zorach stared up into the night sky.

  “Am I really a liability?” She finally asked.

  “Have I really trained you for the past several weeks for nothing?” Zorach said gruffly and waved her away.

  Charlotte stood. She would be getting no pep talk from Zorach tonight, and she wouldn’t risk raising his ire. She passed the men’s tent and the spot where Lodestar was resting. Lodestar, too, was watching the skies. Charlotte continued to her tent and found Beau waiting for her. He held his hand out, and she placed her hand in his. He lifted the back of her hand to his lips and brushed it with a kiss. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Goodnight, Caramia.”

  Charlotte grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips, hard. She pressed her hands down his neck, over his shoulders, and then down the ridges of his wings. She pulled back all at once and took a deep breath. “Goodnight, my Beau.” She dove into the tent and zipped it up.

  Evangeline sat in her bedroll, book in lap, and face red. “That must have been some kiss. I could feel it from in here.” She whispered and shut her book.

  Charlotte collapsed on her bedroll and watched as Beau walked away from the tent. She looked over at Evangeline. “It was some kiss. Maybe I should have stayed.”

  “Oh, give him something to think on.” Evangeline laughed. Her eyes softened. “I hope you have not taken the words of Faunus to heart.”

  “I think I am getting used to him.”

  “That is wise,” Evangeline remarked. “My people practice a great deal of patience and respect when speaking, but even I find dealing with Faunus tiring.”

  “We all do.” Charlotte struggled to get comfortable in her bedroll. “I think you do well. You probably do the best out of all of us.”

  Evangeline sighed. “My elders tell me I have much to learn.” She rolled to her side to face Charlotte. “I may have seemed patient, but I was picturing him with a tutu and a ring of flowers on his horns when he talked of us being so slow.”

  They both laughed, but then Evangeline grew serious. “I shouldn’t have told you that.”

  “Your secret is safe with me, but we probably should sleep now. I’m not sure if Zorach or Lodestar will tolerate much more giggling on our part.”

  “It’s probably not good fighting etiquette.”

  “Is there fighting etiquette?”

  “Go to sleep, you two!” Zorach yelled gruffly.

  Charlotte curled up in her bedroll. “Sometimes I burn things at night.” She whispered.

  “I know.” Evangeline whispered back. “I’ll douse you with water if you do.”

  “Thanks.” Charlotte rolled over at watched the shadows dance on the sides of the tent.

  “I used to sleep walk.” Evangeline whispered. “Sometimes I still do if I’m really stressed.”

  “I’ll find you if you do.” Charlotte rolled back over to look at the quiet, wild elf who was not only accepting her bizarre tendencies, but sharing her own, as well.

  “Thanks.”

  The night was uncomfortable and cold and full of unfamiliar noises. Charlotte focused her body on relaxing during the times she couldn’t sleep, and when the beginnings of morning finally tore at the darkness, she sighed with relief. Nothing had burned that night, but her skin was on fire with an itchiness that
she hadn’t felt before. She squirmed in her bedroll before she finally forced herself to get up and face the cold morning. She longed for something hot. Anything hot. A shower. A meal. Clothes straight from the dryer. Instead she got rations and water and a bathroom break before more marching. Her muscles ached from walking and from sleeping on the ground, but she pressed on and forced herself not to ask how long the journey was. She would ask tonight. She couldn’t face a truthful answer this morning.

  She fell in step with Alcott after a couple of hours of quiet thinking. “Tell me about your homeland.”

  Faunus came to stand on her other side. “Why ask him about a bunch of old, slimy rocks and caverns when you can learn all about the beautiful valley I call my home?”

  “I want to know about his home.” She responded curtly.

  Alcott bowed slightly in his pressed suit. “The dwarves have five main homes in the country. I’m sure you can guess the whereabouts of two of the bigger ones.”

  “The Rockies and the Appalachians?”

  “Yes. I grew up near you, in the smaller mountain ranges of your state, where I spent most of my youth and my summers. I took an apprenticeship in my younger youth in the Appalachians, as well as one in the Rockies when I was an older youth.”

  “You have an older and younger youth?” Charlotte asked curiously.

  “A lot of us do,” Alcott responded.

  “Faunus, how old are you?”

  “I am old enough to be married to my Fauna and be the father of many Fauns.” Faunus left her side and circled the group in a lighthearted dance.

  “You aren’t going to get a straightforward answer out of him.” Alcott said. “Fauns have lifespans close to danes. At most he will live 150 years, but he will never look it, and he will never act old or wise. That’s why even when he does say something worthy; it’s wrapped up in a tone of voice or attitude that is hard to want to be around. He doesn’t have an older or younger youth like the longer living magani. He’s all youth, all the time.”

  “I would much rather have a shorter life of fun.” Faunus said as he danced over to them.

  “Of course you would.”

  “What kind of magani do you think is behind all of this?” Charlotte asked. “Do you think it might be a longer lived one who has seen more sorrow? Do you think it might be a shorter lived one who lacks maturity?”

  Evangeline looked back at them. “We will not know until we know. We could sit around a campfire all day and speculate, but it would be a waste of time. The only thing we do know is that someone has chosen to follow a path of evil.”

  “I’m surprised to hear that from an elf.” Faunus said. “All your race does is sit around and speculate about what you have observed. I’m surprised the elves and the centaurs don’t have competitions where the goal is to put the most magani to sleep with your long-winded speeches.”

  “Enough.” Zorach said gruffly from the front. “That kind of talk will get us nowhere.”

  “Some Alliance we make, eh?” Faunus smirked. “The great Alliance fell apart as soon as things got rough, and here we are, the scraped together remains.”

  Zorach stopped and turned. “The Alliance did not fall apart. Those who left went back to their homelands to protect, train, and educate their people on what was going on. We are not the pitiful remains of something that was once great, but defeated. We are the beginnings of something that will grow as needed.”

  “Why aren’t the Maguard here with us or in place of us?” Faunus asked.

  “The Maguard is here as long as I am here.” Alcott answered.

  “Sure they are.” Faunus mumbled. “How the great and mighty have become lazy and ill prepared.”

  Nobody answered. Charlotte paced herself to the back of the group where Beau walked silently. She rolled her shoulders and her neck, trying to ease the pain the backpack was causing her. She didn’t understand it. She thought the enchantment was supposed to let her carry whatever could fit in the opening, but clearly she didn’t understand everything about it. Was there a weight limit? What did her father have packed in it?

  Charlotte looked over at Beau. His mouth was firm, but his eyes were soft and unfocused. She wondered if he was even aware of her presence by his side. She slipped her hand into his hand and squeezed gently.

  “Daisy, Daisy.” He teased her.

  “Beau Winguard!” She pulled her hand out of his, but he snatched it back.

  “All I did was hold your hand.”

  Beau chuckled. He looked at her through his long, thick eyelashes. “You don’t ever just hold my hand, Charlotte.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You may think that you are just kissing me. Just holding my hand. But the truth is more than that. You parade through my thoughts. You capture my heart.” He traced her lips. “You enflame my soul.”

  “Oh.” Charlotte stepped to the side and took several deep breaths as the heat surged through her skin. Dry grass sparked beneath her feet. Beau stomped the fire out and they walked again, apart this time.

  “You don’t have to look quite so smug, you know.” She said to him half an hour later.

  He hummed. Charlotte slipped her hand back in his and shook her head. Let the man-boy have his moment. She blushed again. He did deserve it.

  After they ate the noon meal and rested, they took up the rear position once more. Beau tucked Charlotte into his side and lowered his voice. “There is something that I have been meaning to tell you. Lodestar is much, much older than she lets on. She knows a lot more than most magani.”

  “I didn’t find much about unitaurs when I was reading about rare magani. How do you know about them? How many unitaurs are there anyway?”

  “You have to look at the really old books. I found a book in my uncle’s library.” He paused. “My other uncle. Anyway, I don’t know how many there are, but they always come in two. Twins.” Beau whispered. “One of the light, one of the dark.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “I didn’t get to read that far into the book,” he admitted.

  “Typical.” They walked quietly for a bit. “Beau? I want to visit your sister and your homeland. I want to visit your library and read that book. Will you fly me there?”

  “I’ll fly you anywhere.”

  17

  Rebirth

  Ebby cradled the baby in her arms.

  “You make no sense, you know that?” She kissed the baby fondly.

  “I’m going to give you a gift.” She whispered.

  “You can’t tell your parents. They won’t approve.” She laughed.

  “You are too young to care, and I’m so old. Will either of us remember?”

  Charlotte rubbed her shoulders and stretched her arms. Supper was over, and conversation was sparse. She stared at the light of the campfire as it danced against the sunset and settled her nose into the sleeve of her shirt. Never had she gone this long without a bath. Never had she been the in company of so many others who had gone so long without a bath. She was shocked by what she smelled like after two days of walking, but at the very least she felt a little comfort in the fact that she was surrounded by body odor and she was not the only one with an offended nose in the group. Beau sat down by her and smirked. Charlotte narrowed her eyes. He knew her well enough to have a good guess what was going on. And she knew very well that he wasn’t in the slightest bothered by all the smells. His family routinely arrived at the castle covered in sweat and sand and dirt and leaves and mud.

  “Don’t say a word.” She warned him.

  “You reek.” He whispered anyway. “My people oil their skin. You should try it.”

  Charlotte stared him down. The slight curve at the end of his lips gave him away, but she wasn’t done with him yet. She straightened her own lips and widened her eyes. Beau stared back at her with his gold-flecked brown eyes. The curve of his lips vanished. His wings flattened against his back and his forehead crinkled slightly.

&n
bsp; “Lottie?”

  Charlotte continued her glare, but she had to pinch her hand in her lap to keep from laughing. He was concerned now, and her own lips were about to betray her scheme. Beau leaned forward and placed his hand on her hands.

  “I wasn’t serious. Everybody smells.”

  She lost it then. Her lips curved up and the heat from a blush spread across her face and she laughed loudly.

  “You are a terrible fake.” Beau scolded. “Never go into the spying business.”

  “There’s no spying business!” Charlotte laughed. But the serious faces that stared back at her around the campfire told her a different story. She filed that away for later and focused back on Beau. “Everybody smells?” She rolled her eyes.

  “You’re terrible.” He lifted her chin and kissed her lightly on the lips.

  “And you’re a tease.” She pushed his side.

  “Charlotte?” Evangeline knelt down in the dirt in front of them. “I thought we might use the restroom.” She blushed slightly. “Could you bring your backpack with you?”

  “Oh. Sure.” She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or disappointed by the interruption, but Evangeline’s face was intent. Charlotte reached around and grabbed her backpack, then winked at Beau before she turned to leave.

  Evangeline stopped in a secluded spot between several bushes and trees. She looked around and then motioned for Charlotte to kneel beside her. “Your backpack should not be heavy.”

  “I didn’t think it was supposed to be, but I wasn’t sure.” She admitted. “I haven’t actually gone through it, so I don’t know what my father has packed in it.”

  “Has it been heavy before, then?”

  “Not that I know of. I wore it when I got books for Lodestar, and it was fine then.” Charlotte blinked away the memories of that night. “But I didn’t wear it long.”

  “Length of time has nothing to do with it.” Evangeline sat back on her heels. The wind blew her hair back from her face. “It wasn’t anything he packed.” She mused. “What have you added recently?”

  “Just our gear.” Charlotte shrugged. “Some granola from Basil.” Evangeline stared at her quietly. “Oh.” She had thrown the necklace Ebby had given her into the new backpack at the last minute. Should she tell her? Evangeline raised her eyebrows, but Charlotte frowned. Ebby had made her promise to keep it a secret. “I can’t tell you.”