Bounty Of Ash (The Phoenix Series Book 2)

by Sarah Rockwood

  "Not even half of it, my lady."

  "Shit,” I said heavily.

  "Yes, that about sums it up." He laughed dryly.

  "Spin?” I said.

  "Yes, my lady."

  "Let's go get this bastard."

  "I'd like that."

  He smiled.

  40

  We continued down the passage, making great time. Towards what, I didn't really know, but we were making great time doing it. Spin seemed to be bolstered by our vision experience. I think having someone witness and validate his pain helped him feel less victimised. I was glad for him and happy that I now had an idea of what I was walking into, but could have done without the taste of vomit that still lingered on my tongue and the rolling emptiness in my belly. Note to self, never Travel without a water bottle and a power bar.

  "We're almost there!" Spin whispered beside me.

  "Good."

  We slowed our pace. As we had walked, Spin had filled me in on the layout of the throne room. We would be arriving at a fissure in the rock near the ceiling of the hall. From our vantage point, we would be able to observe the entire throne room and plan our next move.

  "Around the next bend, my lady."

  We were moving towards a wall of sound comprised of snorting, coughing, raucous laughter, shouting and the unmistakable sound of flesh hitting flesh, hard. My steps slowed.

  "How many will be in there?" I asked Spin.

  Adrenaline was slowly starting to flood my veins. Spin was so close to me his head kept bouncing into my thigh as we walked.

  "Hard to say. A hundred, maybe two. More, if Ganaraj has called them."

  "Called them?"

  "As our leader, he can use his power to call us to him. It is how he draws us to battle, or for his amusements."

  "Wouldn't you have felt it, if he had?" I asked.

  "I don't think so, my lady. Your aura is quite strong, it may be shielding me."

  "I can do that?" There was so much I still didn't know about being a Traveller.

  "Yes, my lady. You are very powerful." He smiled up at me, I couldn't help but return his grin.

  "Aw shucks." I giggled. Spin abruptly stopped.

  "We are here."

  My body snapped to attention, my wings folded tight to my back and a small current of power, like a tiny bolt of lightning, shivered through my body. I became eerily calm. My breathing was deep and full, I could feel my ribs moving with every breath as my blood flowed smoothly through my veins.

  Spin had pointed to a deep crack in the rocky side of the path. A red glow poured through the crack and spilt into the passage. I walked towards it, Spin close at my heels.

  "Watch our backs."

  I felt Spin turn, putting his back to me as he scanned the corridor, making sure no one snuck up on us. I knelt in front of the fissure and looked down into the throne room.

  Minions were everywhere. There must have been three hundred of them; they seemed to roll over each other like a boiling mass of grey flesh. The sides of the room were fringed with piles of rubble. Minions climbed up and down, some of their own accord, others tossed, their bodies dashed against the jagged rock. Bottles full of dark liquid were passed from hand to hand. Fire pits were placed throughout the room, each one roasting some sort of flesh over the flames. In another area, a ring of minions had formed, and at its centre, two creatures fought with blades. Both dripped with bright green blood. Some sort of orgy seemed to be taking place on the ground directly below me, although it looked no less violent than the rest of the room.

  Like in Spin's vision, minions hung limply from chains on the wall, their bodies emaciated and bruised. I scanned the line of splayed bodies and there, closest to Ganaraj's throne, was Sid. My Sid. The once noble creature who had been my friend for years, who had brought me into this fantastic world and to my true self, was chained naked to the wall.

  He hung by his wrists, his legs hanging limply below him. His eyes were closed, and his head rested heavily on his right shoulder, his tongue a protruding grey mass. A dark stain spread down the wall below him. Further marks of trauma crisscrossed his body. It was terrible. Absolutely terrible. Refusing to let my tears surface, I scanned the room again, planning my entrance. These bastards were going to pay.

  But as my eyes Travelled over the room I realised that not all the minions were participating willingly. Some had the same frightened look on their face that Spin did. Some looked like they wished for nothing more than to blend into the walls and leave this terrible place. But some were definitely enjoying themselves, enjoying themselves very much. The play of bully and victim was everywhere.

  In the centre of all this was Ganaraj. His throne was just as I had seen it in Spin's mind. He sat on his dais atop a pile of bones, a look of pure delight painted on his ugly face. A small minion was at his side holding out a big piece of meat which Ganaraj periodically gnawed on. A second minion was at his other side with a bottle of the dark liquid.

  "Spin," I whispered. He was instantly by my side.

  "Yes, my lady."

  "What is that they’re drinking?”

  He peered into the room.

  "Minion poison."

  "What?"

  "The black drink. It makes us do terrible things. Makes minions forget themselves and do his bidding without question."

  "But Big G is drinking it too?"

  "Big G?"

  "Ganaraj."

  "Ah, that is quite funny." He didn't laugh but stared at Ganaraj with hate in his eyes. "It is his poison, my lady."

  "Spin, I probably know the answer to this, but,” I looked down at the multitude of minions. "Is that a lot of minions?"

  "That's a lot of minions," he answered.

  "Is that all of the minions?"

  "Well, almost, there would be a few left to guard the entrance to the city."

  "They're dead."

  "Oh." He paused. "Then that is probably everyone."

  "Right." I nodded my head to no one in particular. "Right."

  Spin let out a strange grunt. I turned towards him and time slowed down. A long gash had appeared across his throat, purple blood began to pour down his chest. Two burly minions were behind him, one held a short blade that dripped with Spin's blood, the other was lunging towards me. With absolute silence and savagery, my right hand shot forward and grasped the minion by his neck. Power flared through my hand and with superhuman strength, Traveller strength, I felt myself crushing his windpipe, turning it to pulp in my hand. Simultaneously my left hand tore free the blade tied to my right forearm and flung it at the second minion. It pierced his belly, and before he could scream, I was on him. Still holding the other minion by the throat, I drew the blade roughly up through the chest cavity of the second minion. Green blood sprayed my face and body as I pulled the blade higher and higher. I could feel the evil of the place seeping into me, and I used its power to pull the blade up through the creature's skull until pieces of the minion’s brain fell to the ground. I threw the now dead body of the other minion on top of the dissected carcass. Its neck was a fleshy mass, the head hung at an odd angle. The evil pulsed stronger in my veins and I raised the green soaked blade to my mouth. Slowly, ever so slow, I brought it closer. Inches from my mouth my hungry tongue reached for the blade. As the bright green blood was about to touch my tongue, a voice filled the passage. It was a weak voice, filled with pain and fear, it was the voice of a soul splayed open, and it called to the deepest part of me. It called to my heart, and my power responded, shedding the evil of the place and bringing me back to myself.

  "No, my lady, please, no."

  I dropped the blade and rushed to Spin's side. The cut in his neck was shallow but had obviously cut through something important. His chest was a wet purple mess, and his face was splattered with the bright fluid.

  "Oh, Spin, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." Tears were flowing down my cheeks as I tried desperately to hold the wound together.

  "Help me..." His voice was so weak, I co
uld feel his heart beat slowing down.

  "I'm sorry, Spin, I'm so sorry.”

  I put my forehead to his and cried. Tears dripped from my eyes and fell on his face. Where they touched his skin, the purple instantly vanished, and little dots and streaks of clean flesh began to appear. My tears continued down over his chin, and as they touched the wound, a tingling started in my hands. Startled, I sat back on my heels and looked down at Spin. Could I do it? Could I heal him? I know I healed Archer after I drove the baseball bat through his belly, but I had been bolstered by our connection, by the vision I had of healing him in the past. Could I heal Spin? Could I heal a creature I had never met before? That I had no connection with beyond the brief time we had spent together?

  There was only one way to find out.

  I closed my eyes and focused on my power centre, it immediately flared to life. My wings flexed at my back, and I spun the power within me, letting it grow into a powerful ball of healing energy. Then, with careful precision, I sent the power down through my arms and into my hands. Spin's throat was so small I was afraid I would tear it apart if I didn't temper the deluge of power, so I made it trickle through my fingers and into his flesh. In my mind's eye, I pictured the veins reconnecting, the muscles and tendons rejoining, the flesh mending. I could feel it all happening under my hands. When the final layer of his skin was whole again, I pulled my power back down my arms and collected it in my belly where it would wait for the next challenge.

  I opened my eyes and looked at Spin. His face and throat were clean of blood, and I could see the perfectly healed skin of his throat, but he wasn't moving.

  "Come on, Spin," I whispered. "Come on."

  With a great heaving breath, Spin came to life. I helped him to his side, and he coughed up the blood and phlegm that had pooled in his throat. When he had finished hacking, he lay back against the stone and looked at me.

  "Thank you, my lady." His voice was still weak, but his eyes held an internal strength.

  "My pleasure."

  "Now," He coughed and readjusted his position. "You must finish Big G."

  "Agreed."

  We shared a grim smile. I made sure Spin was as comfortable as possible and then dragged the dead minions up the passageway. As I dragged the two bodies, their blood streaming slowly behind them, I was disgusted with myself. This was the most violent thing I had ever done. It was beyond violent, it bordered on the sadistic. I was a healer, not a butcher, but the evil had taken over me. Regular me would have just knocked them out, evil me, well, evil me was not good. I tucked the bodies as best I could into a small alcove and returned to Spin. As I walked I put my thoughts in order.

  If evil was going to overtake me when things started getting violent, then I had to be ready for it. I had to use it to my advantage. I had to turn it against Ganaraj and put an end to this horrible place. I checked on Spin one last time, putting the blade I had given him near his hand. Then I picked up my other blade and wiped it clean on my pants before re-sheathing it, I was already covered in minion blood, what was a bit more. I checked the positioning of my sword. It was beginning to feel warm. The sword was ready for a fight, and so was I.

  I squared my shoulders and slipped into the throne room.

  41

  I perched on the ledge high above the fray. No one noticed me; they were all too focused on their disgusting acts. I drew my sword. It flowed like silk from the sheath at my spine. I held it loosely at my side where it began to pulse with its own white light. I took a deep breath and leapt from the ledge, my wings unfurling as I soared across the room.

  Within seconds a cry went up from the mass of minions below me. I locked eyes with Ganaraj, and a smile played across his lips as I touched down before him. With a slight gesture of his hands, minions rushed in on me from all sides. I was expecting this and, using my wings as leverage, I spun in a low circle with my sword, slicing through the first rush of minions across the belly. The next wave hesitated, and I used the moment to throw my energy out like a wave towards them. Fuelled by the darkness of the room, my energy moved with great force, knocking the minions back. They fell like dominoes, toppling over one another as they dropped to the floor of the chamber. My wave of power hit the stone walls of the chamber, and the entire space shook with the force. All was silent as Ganaraj spoke.

  "No one move."

  The few minions that had been trying to sneak out of the room stopped where they were.

  "It appears we have a visitor."

  I said nothing. I looked at my sword, it dripped with multicoloured blood. I swiped it through the air, blood flew freely from the blade, and soon it was gleaming again. A drop of bright pink had landed on Ganaraj's cheek.

  "Is that any way to treat your host?" His voice gave away nothing as he gestured to the minion beside him.

  With shaking hands and a bright white cloth, it wiped the smear of blood from Ganaraj's face. I waited until the minion had retreated back to its post before I spoke.

  "I am here for your head."

  A few of the younger minions gasped, others grunted their disbelief, Ganaraj simply looked at me for a long moment, his face cold and hard, and then a gruesome smile crept across his face, and a deep, rolling laugh poured from his mouth. As he laughed the minions around me began to join him. Tentatively at first and then more strongly. Soon the entire hall was filled with the maniacal laughter of hundreds of minions. Ganaraj sat at the centre of it all, his head thrown back, his blackened crooked teeth visible in the torchlight.

  My sword was glowing more brightly at my side, and I could feel its power mingling with my own as a great loop of energy began to flow between us. I glanced down at my hand and saw that it was glowing like the sword, I glanced again and saw the light was moving up to my wrist. How long until I was entirely bathed in light, I thought to myself.

  "Oh, Phoenix,” Ganaraj spoke above the laughter. "Thank you. I needed a good laugh." In the blink of an eye he was composed again; his hands gripped the arms of his throne, the knuckles white with tension. "But you are trespassing in my home and this I cannot tolerate."

  The laughter of the minions immediately stopped. In its absence the silence was deafening, a humming sound filling my ears as it pressed against me. The sword at my side twitched, and a soft light filled my peripheral vision, my entire arm now glowed.

  "Your tyranny is over, Ganaraj."

  I felt power swell inside me. The glowing white light was now spreading across my chest. I saw Ganaraj's eyes flick over my body and a glimmer of unease filled his eyes.

  "Phoenix, I could kill you right now. I could have my many followers tear you to pieces right here. It would not take much, a mere flick of my wrist and you are destroyed."

  I raised a sceptical eyebrow, and the light spread down my other arm. Beneath my clothes, I felt it spread through my torso.

  "Arrogance is an unattractive quality, Phoenix." Another raised eyebrow from me. "Do not mock me, bird!" His voice poured from him with rage. The power of it hit me hard, and I had to shift my feet and lean into it to stay upright. It roared like a wind and Ganaraj shouted above the din. "I will not be disrespected in my home!"

  "No!" I shouted back, my own power creating a shield before me, pushing against the wind of his rage. "You will die! And all those that stand between me and your death will die with you!"

  "Ha!" Ganaraj was now standing on his throne. Sweat beaded along his forehead and his hands were out in front of him as he attempted to fight me with his power. "You cannot defeat us all! You are alone here! A lone bird!" He screamed into the room. "You will die alone!"

  A high pitched scream filled the air. Ganaraj and I, both equally shocked by the sound, turned just in time to see Archer enter the hall.

  Enter would imply something genteel and elegant, Archer came into the room like a hurricane. His body was covered in a colourful mess of minion blood, it coated almost every inch of his chrome flesh. His hair was a mass of matted clumps, soaked as it was in the blood o
f minions. It hung in front of his face so I couldn't see his eyes as he swung his swords, one in each gore covered hand, almost faster than my eyes could track. He ploughed into the room, cutting down minions like a farmer harvesting a field. The minions panicked. They ran from his blades, trampling each other in the process. They fell back screaming, and a wave of frightened minions ran towards me as they tried desperately to get away from my lover's rage.

  In my peripheral vision, I saw Ganaraj leave his throne and run towards Archer. He had completely forgotten me as I stood so still in the turmoil of the room. Time slowed to a trickle before me as I watched him move. I felt my power rise to a fever pitch inside me as every inch of my skin flared with white light. Slowly, ever so slowly, I raised my sword. My body moved as if through molasses. My wings pressed against the air, powering my torquing frame and outstretched sword. I saw my blade reach Ganaraj's neck. It flared blue as it cut through his flesh. I saw the smoke rise in pale grey coils as it cauterised the wound. I watched calmly as the leader of the minions’ head fell to the floor and rolled gently towards the throne.

  42

  Suddenly time returned to normal speed, and the sound of minion screams filled my ears. Paying no attention to the chaos, I followed the path the skull had rolled. One of Ganaraj's servants held the head in its tiny hands. It looked up at me, tears streaked its face.

  "Thank you." It coughed, slurped. "Thank you."

  "Give me the head," I whispered.

  It held the head out to me. I sheathed my sword, taking a moment's pleasure as the steel slid like silk into its home. I then reached out and grasped the head by the ears. I gazed into the dead eyes. They were open wide, frozen in an expression of rage. The mouth was stretched in a scream, and a foul smell emanated from the gaping maw.

  The minion beside me was speaking.

  "Are you well, lady?"

  "Hmmm?"

  I felt dazed. Power flowed up and down my spine in slow pulses. I couldn't believe it was done; it had been so easy that massive amounts of unspent adrenaline wandered through my veins.