Phoenix Incandescent (Endeavor Series Book 1)

by A E M

  “Well, look at us.” Eminente finally said quietly. “Both covered in her blood. We best talk quickly. You know how I feel about cleanliness.”

  “I failed you.” Philip started the conversation he had been dreading. He raised his head and finally looked directly into Eminente’s eyes.

  A chuckle escaped the man’s lips and he clapped Philip a little too hard on the back. “I’m glad you still have spunk. You will need it after such a devastating failure. It will take time for me trust you with anything of great importance again.” He shook his head and sighed. “Ah, you know I am fond of you. Picked you up off the side of the road, I did. Saved you from certain death. Raised you as my own. I knew what to do with you then, but now, I find myself uncertain.”

  “I want to rebuild.” Philip interrupted boldly. “I will not let this failure doom me. I will prove to you my worth!”

  “I would expect nothing less of you.” Eminente said simply.

  Philip stood and paced the hall. “I knew you would give me another chance. I knew it!” Philip didn’t see Eminente’s face then, he was too excited to pay attention.

  “I knew this might happen, of course. It saddens me to think it has, but it will be a good thing for my plan after all. It is time to start stage two.”

  Philip leaned up against the wall and nodded. “They will be fighting back now.”

  “Well,” Eminente chuckled. “I’m sure they will try. They are a disorganized group at best. The advances they have made have been on accident really. I will be surprised if they are able to collect themselves enough in time. The magical world will change; Philip, and I will be on the front of that change. Do we still have a spy within the household?”

  Philip shrugged. “To the best of my knowledge we have one left.”

  “Well, we have them everywhere. It will be some time before they catch all of them, if they ever do completely.”

  “There is this girl.” Philip said slowly. He was never quite sure how much his master knew, but this information was a prize he couldn’t wait to show off. “She is a dane-weaver. At least, she was. She was the one who injured Raven and stole my collection.”

  Eminente stood up and paced the hall. “That from a dane-weaver! Who is she?”

  “The daughter of Isaac and Audrey Locklear.” Philip grinned. “By birth.”

  Eminente’s eyes widened with realization and Philip thought he heard him gasp. “A fairy mongrel? It shouldn’t be possible! Tell me everything you know about her.”

  It didn’t take long for Philip to fill him in. He had watched nearby as she escaped her watery death. Eminente’s smile grew wider and more malevolent. “This doesn’t make up for your failure, you understand. I needed a fairy and that was my only chance at capturing one without major sacrifice. Go clean yourself up. Your room has been readied and dinner will be served at the usual time.” He smiled and turned crisply to march down the hallway.

  Philip’s room was the same as he had left it. He had a formal sitting room of grey and blue with a few steps that led up into his bedroom of the same colors. His ceiling was a high arch of white bricks that continued down two of his walls. On one side of the room was a large window framed with dark blue curtains. On the other side were a metal rail and a staircase that led down to a bathroom. He stood at the window for a moment, watching the sway of the trees on the island and the waves of the ocean. Nature might always try to sing to him, but he could keep it blocked inside in the very pit of his soul.

  His parents, filthy nature loving fauns, were dead. He was glad in a dead sort of way. It was his life dream to be rid of them as they had rid themselves of him. But rather than feel a sense of completion as he thought he would, there was a gaping unfamiliar hole. “No matter.” He mumbled before heading to his bathroom to wash away the taste and smell of defeat. The hole only needed to be filled with a new goal in life.

  He was notified a few hours later by a hob he didn’t recognize that Raven was awake in her usual guest room down the hall and asking for him. The surgeon bowed to him as he entered and said, “She will be back to normal soon. She only needs a bit of rest to let the magic settle.”

  Philip nodded his thanks and stepped back so the man could leave. Raven was propped up in the bed, a tired smile twitched at her lips. “Here we are once again. Must I always be the little birdie you rescue?”

  “You were a very brave, important birdie.” He said as he kissed her hand, her arm, and her forehead.

  “Not like the first time.” She laughed softly and tousled his hair.

  “No, but you’ve changed since then and you’ve grown on me.” He brushed a tendril aside.

  “Philip.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “We need to talk alone. I don’t want to be here. We really should leave soon.”

  “Are you crazy?” He whispered back. “I think I’ve managed to repair things with him. He’s not thrilled, of course, but I can’t just leave after I’ve wronged him.”

  “That’s precisely why you should leave, you idiot. Do you really think he’s going to let this go?”

  “He’s practically my father!” He hissed at her and sat farther back on the bed. “And he healed you, hasn’t he? He may be mad for a while and I may not be allowed magic until I’ve proven myself again. Why do you always think wrongly of him?”

  “Why is it,” she hissed, “that you can never see him for what he truly is?”

  There was a knock on the door then and Eminente entered quickly. “Raven, my dear. So good to see you conscious!” He slapped Philip on the back as he walked by. “I had Philip informed first, of course, but I was a close second!” He twirled a chair to sit by her side and gently kissed her hand. “I’m told you will be absolutely fine after a brief rest.”

  “Yes,” Raven said sweetly. Around Eminente she was always honey. “I have you to thank for that, dear Minty. You have taken us in despite our failings.”

  “Well, why wouldn’t I take in my adopted son and the woman he loves who is practically my daughter?”

  Raven blushed and smiled, her hand held over her heart. It was in these moments that Philip had a hard time deciding who was the better actor in the room.

  Eminente held hands with both of them. “Now, I’ve called a meeting for tonight you two. I want you to be prepared for this. Everybody will be there.”

  Philip nodded. “The other Arxes?”

  “Especially the other Arxes. We have a small window of time here for me to address everybody.”

  “What’s going on?” Raven asked.

  “You know as well as Philip does that there will be consequences for the two of you, regardless of my fondness. How else could I manage the other Arxes?”

  Raven pouted. “What kind of consequences? Surely you can let us know beforehand.”

  Philip stood. “It’s my failure, not hers.”

  Eminente sighed and shook his head like he was dealing with unruly children and stood up. “Be in the great hall at 6pm. Do not be late.” The room was devastatingly quiet.

  Eminente strode leisurely toward his general’s office on the main hall. His shoes clicking against the bare floors were the only sound in the long hallways. He knocked loudly as he entered the war room. An old dwarf stood on top of a large desk mumbling over the collection of papers in his hands. A hob nervously followed the General around and picked up the papers tossed to the side. Eminente loudly cleared his throat.

  “Sir.” The dwarf snapped to attention. “I’m glad you are here. I’ve finally made contact with all our associates. We are ready for stage two.”

  “I am very pleased to hear that.” Eminente said with a pleasurable smile. “General, I have some additional orders I need carried out quickly. Let’s call them a precursor to stage two.”

  “What are my master’s orders?” The dwarf’s lips twitched.

  Eminente snapped his fingers three times and the hob immediately put down the papers and vanished. The Lieutenants who were quietly planning in the back of the roo
m filed out into the hallway and shut the door. “Kill the fauns. You have a week to be ready.” He smiled wickedly. “I want it done in one night.”

  “Master,” The General bowed after he quickly tried to cover a moment of shock. “What of Philip?”

  “I haven’t decided yet, but I will deal with him personally.” Eminente smiled. “After all, he’s family. I should be the one if it comes to that.”

  The General nodded. “Yes, of course.” He jumped from the desk and opened the heavy door to address a Lieutenant. “Get me the messenger. Now.”

  1

  The Girl and the Storm Within

  Once upon a time there was a princess.

  She lived in a tower alone.

  She woke to her own screaming.

  She woke to fires she set with her own skin.

  She woke to memories of blood and killing and death.

  Deep down she knew she wasn’t a princess anymore.

  Deep down she didn’t know what she would become.

  There was a chill in Charlotte’s bones that she was afraid would never leave her. No matter how hot she burned on the outside, deep within her remained a chill. It bit her on occasion, those memories of killing, of hopelessness, of important people leaving her. It was the chill that covered a life once beautiful and uncomplicated. There once were good times and good people and good memories. All these things were there, dying under the chill. The first few days that the cold came creeping in, she would wince as if she were being physically harmed. But those moments came fewer and farther between now. Was it because she was used to the hurt now or could it be vanishing? Was it too hopeful to believe that someday the chill would be gone?

  The heat in her body still burned. It had built from the small ember that had remained after she burned it away last time until once again it roared and raged and she could no longer control it. There was a burned field behind the castle now full of half melted pots and quarterstaffs burned to a crisp. She had tried running again, but physical activity didn’t help this time. She refused to let another person get scarred from her touch, so every single day she collapsed in a different bed, exhausted merely from having to keep a watch to make sure nobody ever got too close. When her sheets went up in flames one night she started sleeping on the floor. She knew everybody had finally learned to keep a good distance from her when they no longer reached out to her by habit. She learned quickly to smile and carry herself in a way that she could manage politeness when really all she wanted to do was scream and pull her skin off.

  The Alliance would meet soon. She hoped she could burn off the energy by then, but Barnabas had assured her that he had made plans so she could retain her seclusion for the safety of others and still be allowed to participate in the meeting. She, Barnabas, Alcott, and Phoebe would be leaving in three days. She was leaving the hobs in charge as Wilhelm continued some repairs and added a hospital to the grounds, and one of her cousins was on his way to help in some way.

  Despite the fight between cold and heat that swirled into storms inside, she did find happiness in a few things. Training with Phoebe was one. She found it easy to befriend the leather-loving faun with a ponytail and piercings. Phoebe, like every faun she had met, was blunt. The bluntness might put others off, but Charlotte had grown to enjoy knowing exactly what was on her mind. Phoebe didn’t hold secrets, and she wasn’t afraid of Charlotte. Every day they battled in the fields, filling the air with the smacks of wood against wood or wood against flesh. Today Charlotte’s mind was feeding a small flicker of hope that she would see Leander and Laila at the Alliance meeting and hear some small news of her parents. Her thoughts wandered as she fought until a smack of Phoebe’s quarterstaff against her already bruised thigh brought her back to reality and she attacked back with fervor.

  “About time.” Phoebe chided her as she blocked. “I thought I was battling a corpse this morning.”

  Charlotte didn’t even bother rolling her eyes. “You are as bad as your father was, you know that?”

  “That’s a pathetic comeback.” Phoebe said as she slammed into Charlotte’s quarterstaff.

  Charlotte gripped the wood tighter and dug her heels into the ground. “And how would you define joking about corpses so soon after being in a field full of them? After seeing your parents bodies cold on the ground?” She asked as she pushed back at Phoebe to separate them.

  “How little you know of fauns.” They stopped fighting physically then. “We simply don’t care the way you softie races do.” Phoebe nodded towards the castle. “Speaking of softie races, here comes one of your hobs.”

  Charlotte’s attention shifted to the rear of the castle where Chime was exiting the kitchen’s Dutch doors with a tray. She tossed her quarterstaff down on the charred ground and frowned. She wasn’t sure if she could tolerate another round of Chime vs. Phoebe. She loved them both. Chime was her childhood friend sewn of dolls and dresses and dreams. Phoebe was her new friend forged of battle and losses and victory. She needed the night and day of them both. Charlotte stretched her arms and legs. She reached for the gloves she had left on the ground and slapped them against her legs to knock off the dirt and ashes. “We should call it quits for the day. My cousin will be here soon and I need a bath.”

  “That’s another thing you should stop doing so frequently.” Phoebe said as she spun her quarterstaff before tossing it in the air and catching it upon its return. “Every now and then I find a good lake or river—”

  “And drown yourself?” Chime cut in sweetly as she neared them. “Good idea. But in the meantime, have a lemonade.”

  “Thanks, Chime.” Charlotte said after she slipped her gloves back on and took a glass.

  Phoebe and Chime glared at each other, but Phoebe nodded thanks and grabbed the other lemonade. When Charlotte had invited the remaining fauns to stay at the castle, she had had no idea what she was getting herself and everybody else into. Josef nearly had a breakdown twice a day now, and Basil had turned in his notice to her that morning in between her pieces of toast. She wasn’t sure what that signified since the hobs were tied to the castle and her family, but she would have to talk to him this evening. She supposed she could ask the fauns to leave, but she hated to go back on her word. It was Spindle, Chime’s husband, who had reminded her in the middle of one of Phoebe and Chime’s arguments the day before that it was likely the fauns would leave soon anyway. It was not their nature to stay in one place for long.

  Chime was beaming in her slacks and button-up blouse. Her short brown hair fell to just above her first tattoo. She and Spindle had both had “Forever” tattooed across their shoulders. Marriage looked good on her. Charlotte wondered if it would look good on her someday. A familiar warmth crossed her cheeks, so she turned her face toward the forest. The thought of him made her breath catch, and she didn’t want her friends to see the blush on her cheeks and launch into a debate again. Every night it was the same argument. Chime would encourage Charlotte to marry Beau sooner rather than later. Phoebe would encourage Charlotte to abandon the idea. Charlotte was sick of the back and forth between the two. Beau was the one she really needed to talk to, but he was back home with his people until the meeting.

  Chime turned to Charlotte. “Charlotte, your cousin sent word that he will arrive by the portal in an hour. However, Alcott and Barnabas are having fits with it. His arrival may be delayed.”

  “Chime, remind me to ask Alcott if we can possibly move that thing once it is repaired. I don’t like it being hidden away in a closet. It needs to be somewhere open and protected.”

  “I’ll see to it myself.” Chime said pleasantly. She had been working with Josef a lot lately. Charlotte suspected that with her father gone, Josef was preparing Chime to take his role someday soon.

  Phoebe returned her glass to the tray. “Why did your father put it in a closet anyway?”

  “He liked things old fashioned.” Charlotte explained. “It was a passion for him. We had it because it was necessary, but he wanted it
out of sight.”

  “How quaint.” Phoebe smirked. “I suppose you just went along with it, didn’t you?”

  “I have a device or two from college hidden in my room.” Charlotte said with a shrug. “He was my Papa. I loved him. I guess I never really had any reason to want life to be different than it was.”

  “Yet here you are anyway.” Phoebe said.

  “You’re lucky I’ve already put my quarterstaff down.” Charlotte snapped at her.

  Chime stepped in between them. “He was a good man. I hope you hear something from them soon, Charlotte. I wish I could go with you to the Alliance meeting.”

  “Oh, do you?” Phoebe laughed. “But you are staying here to clean the castle and have little hobs who will grow up to clean this same castle. Honestly, you hobs are completely boring. Haven’t you any aspirations?”

  “Oh, you mean what your lot does?” Chime narrowed her eyes. “Run around and have fun your entire lives, with nothing to show for it? You have no aspirations other than a lifetime of hopping through the flowers with the bunnies.”

  Phoebe swung her quarterstaff at Chime, who quickly flipped the tray to block the strike. The glasses fell to the ground and shattered. Chime grinned. “Nice try, faun.”

  Phoebe tossed the quarterstaff to the ground. She paced back and forth twice, then sighed and nodded. “Well done, hob.”

  “I’ll see you two later.” Charlotte adjusted her gloves. “Try not to kill each other, please. I have enough on my plate without losing two friends.” She looked at each one for a long moment.

  “Get out of here.” Phoebe said as she stepped forward to not so gently tug one of the white sections of her hair.

  “Your eyes are nearly all the way changed. We will have a wedding by the end of summer.” Chime grinned. “Or will it be by the end of spring?”

  Charlotte thought of Chime’s wedding. It had been small by normal hob standards, but it had been helpful to celebrate something good in the after all they had been through.