Flight of the Phoenix

by Melanie Thompson

  Another explosion shot them over the center of the wide river. Seconds later, they hit the water sending up an enormous geyser.

  “This is the second time we’ve crashed into the water,” Fenix yelled. “I never want to fly again.”

  This aircraft, perhaps because it was designed by an undersea ship’s captain, floated. One of the engines roared to life above them and the airship started moving toward shore.

  With the floor of the ship once again flat, Fingle appeared. “I thought me time had come,” he said as he wobbled to a seat and fell into it.

  Fenix climbed slowly to her feet and made her way to the rail. She grabbed the speaking tube. “Arthur, can you hear me?”

  “Yes, dear Fenix, sorry about the crash.”

  “Nevermind that, head for the west bank. There is a system of canals we can use to take us to the pyramids.”

  “I think I see the entrance,” Tomlinson replied. “It looks kind of small. We may have to abandon the airship and use a boat.”

  Fenix ran to the front of the aircraft and stared out the windows. Weeds hung from the top of the craft over some of the huge panes of glass but Fenix clearly saw the entrance to one of the canals. She could remember only that the smaller passageways eventually led to a larger one that was used to haul materials to the plain where the pyramids were being constructed. Tomlinson tried to enter the narrow canal and ran the airship aground. The one working engine could not lift them, but was strong enough to propel them up the bank and into the reeds. Nile crocodiles basking in the sun were rudely disturbed as the craft plowed right over them.

  The aircraft hit one of the huge berms edging the canal and shuddered to a stop with the one engine still roaring above them. The engine died and Fingle flung open the door. Quinn, still holding Bryn tightly against his body, stood up and peered outside. “How close to the Great Pyramid are we?”

  “Seven or eight miles,” Fenix said. “The canals are not the most direct way to get to them. If we can find some camels, we can go across country and get there faster.”

  Tomlinson appeared in the open doorway. “Did someone say camels?”

  Fenix nodded. “They would get us there much faster than following the canals.”

  Tomlinson pointed. “I believe we are in luck.”

  Fenix climbed out of the aircraft and laughed. Ten curious camels stood staring at the aircraft. “Marvelous, now all we have to do is catch them.”

  Quinn erupted through the door of the aircraft. “Bryn stopped breathing!”

  Fenix whirled around and shot back into the airship. Bryn lay on the scarlet carpet, her grotesquely swollen and discolored arm stretched to the side. Thick drops of Bryn’s precious blood dripped slowly onto the carpet. Fenix threw herself onto the floor and knelt beside her sister. Golden tears rained from her eyes onto Bryn’s stark white face washing streaks of dirt and blood away. Fenix couldn’t stop sobbing and the tears continued to flow. They seemed to have absolutely no effect on her sister, but she couldn’t stop.

  Quinn knelt beside her and lifted Bryn into his arms. “Don’t leave me,” he moaned. “I can’t live without you.”

  Fenix rocked back on her heels. She’d suddenly detected a faint heartbeat. “She’s alive, Quinn, but barely and who knows for how long. We must set the capstone. It’s our only hope of saving her.”

  Priest began laughing hysterically from his seat. “You shall never see the pyramids. You will all die horribly on the way there. I shall see to it and then I will carve you up, Miss Fenix, who thinks she’s so high and mighty. I shall carve you up and futter your dead body.” He cackled crazily.

  Quinn left Bryn, leaped onto Priest and crammed his handkerchief into Priest’s mouth. “I believe Malenfant has finally taken him over.”

  Chapter 21

  While Fenix had been involved with Quinn and her efforts to save Bryn, Tomlinson, Fingle, who was a genius with all large animals, and poor Commodore Brighthouse, clearly out of his element, had rounded up six camels. They stood roped to a wooden fence, spitting, foaming and gurgling deep in their throats.

  “I found four camel saddles in that old barn,” Tomlinson said. “I say, camels are disgusting creatures. Just look at all that slobber.”

  “We have no time, dear Arthur,” Fenix said. “Bryn has only hours to live. We must hurry.”

  Fingle tossed one of the camel saddles on a sorry-looking beast missing huge clumps of hair. He figured out the fastening system, strapped it on tightly and handed the rope to Fenix. “Don’t know how we’s supposed to guide these infernal animals, but climb on. This one is on its last legs.”

  Fenix watched as Tomlinson and Brighthouse finished saddling the remaining beasts. Only four had saddles. Quinn urged one into a kneeling position, climbed into the saddle and waited while it rocked back upright, first the back half, then the front. Tomlinson handed him Bryn and without waiting for the rest of them, Quinn lined up the setting sun and headed west toward the Pyramid of Cheops.

  Fingle dragged an unconscious Priest out of the airship and flung his inert body onto the back on one of the camels.

  “How did you manage to control him?” Fenix asked.

  “You don’t want to know, Miss. Let’s just say I had to use me fives.”

  Fenix chuckled. “You punched him?”

  Fingle nodded. “Had to.”

  Brighthouse and Tomlinson mounted one camel and rode together while Fingle clambered onto a black beast with alert ears that wiggled back and forth. He picked up the lead of the camel carrying Priest and started after Quinn as Fenix leaped lightly aboard the last camel. It immediately took off at a dead run after Quinn’s beast and Fenix had to hold on for dear life. But she’d ridden camels in her youth. The lead rope slapped loose in front of the beast. When Fenix finally regained her composure and her seat, she snatched the rope and pulled the camel down into a slower lope. It rocked her back and forth, so she slowed it to a strange trot where both legs on one side worked together. Pushing the beast at this speed, she quickly caught up and passed Quinn who was beating his camel’s rump with the camel stick.

  “Follow me,” she yelled over her shoulder. Sighting in on the setting sun, which was directly west, she turned slightly north and continued on. She knew this route. It was all coming back to her. What a marvelous gift Lazarus had given her when he returned her memories. She distinctly remembered riding a camel as a child and she knew she’d once swam in the canals behind her, and to the south lay the city of Memphis which she also remembered. They would ride past the Sphinx, through the ancient cemetery and the Great Pyramid was on the right. She’d been taken there as a girl and remembered it well.

  The full moon was rising over the Pyramid of Cheops as they rode up. Quinn threw himself off his camel, carrying Bryn in his arms. Her hair hung down to the ground, her head was back and her eyes closed. Her white skin was the color of paste. She appeared to be dead.

  Fenix made her camel drop to a crouch and climbed off. She dreaded asking Quinn if her sister was alive, but she had to know. She laid a hand on Bryn’s throat. “Is she dead?”

  Tears flowed from Quinn’s steel-gray eyes, softened with love and deep concern. “I truly do not know. She doesn’t move at all.”

  Fenix leaned close and heard the whisper of Bryn’s shallow breaths. “She lives, but just barely.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “We set the stone.” She closed her eyes and visualized Lazarus. He appeared to her and she sighed with relief. Without Bryn, she felt alone and the pressure of resurrecting her sister lay on her shoulders and hers alone. She needed Lazarus’s support. She needed his help.

  “What do I do?”

  “You must climb the pyramid with Bryn, set the stone and invoke the spirit of Khnum-Khufu buried deep inside in a hidden tomb. He will come to you, I will help bring him. Then he will use the power of the capstone to breathe life into Bryn and take away the poison of the dagger.”

  “But Khufu isn’t inside the
pyramid. They never found his body.”

  “It’s deep underground in a second subterranean chamber no one has ever located. My darling, do you doubt me?”

  “Not ever,” she said and smiled.

  “Then climb the pyramid. I will be with you.”

  Fenix turned to Quinn. “I have spoken to Lazarus. He told me we must climb the pyramid, set the stone and invoke the spirit of Khufu.”

  “I thought this was the pyramid of Cheops.”

  “Cheops is merely the Hellenized version of Khufu. They are one and the same. Come, let us climb. It will be very difficult, especially since you must carry Bryn.”

  “I’ll help,” Fingle said. “Be better up there than down here with him.” He pointed to Priest who was awake and screaming.

  The camel Priest was tied to knelt next to the pyramid. Fenix stood close and listened to Priest rave as he struggled to escape his bonds. “Untie me! I am a cardinal. I have great power. Untie me or I will curse you and bring down the wrath of God on us all.”

  “Apparently Priest has been overcome by his passenger.” She said to Fingle.

  Malenfant had gained control of Priest’s body. Fenix lifted the man’s head by his disheveled hair and stared into his eyes. The pupils were a cloudy gray with specks of red. The whites were yellow. She shivered. “Fingle, make sure his bindings are tight.”

  Fingle jerked on the ropes several times, avoided being bitten by the insane Cardinal who snapped at him and foamed at the mouth as he screamed curses, and checked all the knots. “Looks good to me,” he told Fenix.

  Tomlinson moved close to Priest’s camel. “No need to worry, old girl,” he said to her. “The Commodore and I will remain on the ground and see he stays on his camel.”

  “Thank you so much.” Fenix kissed Tomlinson on his cheek and placed one above the Commodore’s whiskers, then she put her foot on the bottom row of rocks at the base of the pyramid and waved to Quinn. “Come, let us climb. It will be difficult. The blocks are rough and many chipped with sharp edges.”

  Fenix led the way. She scrambled up the side of the pyramid as fast as she could, but as she had warned them, it was a long, hard climb and even harder in the dark. The light of the moon helped illuminate their pathway to the top, but there wasn’t enough light to avoid getting scratched and scraped. Before long, they were all bleeding from a dozen cuts. Halfway up the side, she heard a terrible scream and stopped.

  “Priest has escaped,” Quinn said.

  “He is no longer Draak Priest. Cardinal Malenfant rules that body.” Fenix spotted Priest and clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a shriek. “He’s killed Commodore Brighthouse.”

  “My God, he’s eating his flesh.” Quinn’s voice dripped with horror.

  “Arthur don’t!” Fenix screamed as Tomlinson leaped on Priest’s back while the deranged man, now under the complete control of Cardinal Malenfant, tore off hunks of Brighthouse’s still quivering corpse and stuffed them into his mouth. Tomlinson was flung aside. He smashed into the camel. The animal moaned and rocked to its feet as Tomlinson rolled under the camel and lay still.

  Priest must have heard the camel’s agitated groans. He suddenly looked up, appeared to notice them climbing up the side of the pyramid, and started running toward the base with blood, black in the moonlight, dripping from his lips.

  “Holy Mother of God!” Fingle whispered. “He’s coming after us.”

  “He’s killed the Commodore. He’s either gone completely insane or Malenfant has taken control,” Fenix said. “Run for the top.”

  “There be no running up this bitch.” Fingle cursed and swore as he scraped his arm on a sharp edge.

  Fenix wanted to fly. She wished more than anything she could morph into the golden phoenix and fly to the top, but she couldn’t leave Quinn and her sister to make the climb alone. “You keep climbing,” she told Quinn. I’m going to try to stop him.”

  Quinn, panting with the effort of carrying Bryn, laid Bryn down for a moment and grabbed her arm. “Oh no, you don’t. If anything happens to you, Bryn dies. Fingle, stop Priest.”

  “Me? And how am I to be a doing that?”

  Quinn picked Bryn back up. “I don’t know. Think of something. Throw stones at him if you have to. There are plenty to choose from.”

  Fenix continued her scramble up the side of the Great Pyramid. The pyramid appeared to be a smooth structure but was really stepped, each stone had a ten to twelve-inch edge. Climbing it was dangerous and difficult not to mention exhausting. She was almost to the top when she heard more screaming.

  Fingle struggled with Priest only twenty feet below them. As she watched in horror, Priest gained control. The possessed man had Fingle down, had both hands around Fingle’s throat and was choking him. Fingle pushed Priest’s chin up with one hand. One of Priest’s hands slipped off Fingle’s throat and Fingle seized the opportunity. He picked Priest up and tossed him down the side of the pyramid where he bounced twice and tumbled down several steps. Fingle, covered with blood, turned and scrambled after Fenix and Quinn.

  “He’s a strong little bugger,” Fingle said between gasping breaths.

  Fenix was only going to watch Priest for one more second. She was just turning away when his head split open and the hideous Cardinal emerged into the moonlight. In his hand he clutched the Lazarus dagger. The blade was like new. It glinted in the moonlight.

  “He’s free of Draak Priest and he has the dagger,” she said in a flat voice. “Hurry, or we are doomed.”

  They rushed up the last three feet. Fenix fell once and hit her chin hard. Quinn, holding Bryn under his arm like a sack of meal, lifted her by her elbow and shoved her in front of him. They arrived at the top, panting and blowing. Fenix bled from more cuts, but ignored her discomfort. The smell of Quinn’s blood was intoxicating. She fought the urge to feed, closed her eyes and whispered. “We are here, Lazarus. Help me summon Khufu.”

  A stream of smoke began to slowly issue from a crack in the top of the pyramid. The smoke took a form. It was Lazarus. He wrapped his arms around Fenix and whispered in her ear. “Do not be afraid, my dove. You are safe. I am here.”

  She fell against him. Relief flooded her breast with warmth and comfort. She patted his arms and sighed. “You really are here. Tell me what to do. Does this ritual require blood?”

  When he looked into her eyes, she knew what she instinctively felt was true. “I am the one, half of this world, already half in your world. It is my blood that is required.”

  “Hush, my darling, place the stone and chant these words with me.”

  She gave him one last searching look, seeking something from him that would tell her what she felt in her heart was true. But his face was closed. She could not read anything there. She took the capstone from Quinn who clung to the side of the pyramid with Bryn pressed close to his heart. She bent low and searched for the place where the stone would fit. Lazarus knelt beside her and cleaned chunks of stone and the dust of centuries out of a hole right at the top. When the hole was plainly visible, Fenix rolled the stone over looking for the bottom. When she had it, she turned it and pushed the stone into the hole in the pyramid. There was something blocking it. She was forced to remove the stone and stare into the hole. Lazarus reached one long finger into it and flicked out a small round pebble. With the pebble gone, she was able to ram the stone into place. It clicked and slowly turned until one of the Eyes of Horus picked up a ray of the moonlight and glowed.

  “It is done,” she whispered.

  She stood up and took Lazarus’s hand as he began chanting.

  The words were in ancient Egyptian. Fenix recognized them as she repeated everything Lazarus said. Once the spell had been chanted, they repeated it over and over as the moon rose directly above them and lighted their upturned faces.

  Chapter 22

  Once the words were spoken, Quinn waited with the rest of them. He held Bryn pressed against him. Blood still leaked from the suppurating wound in her arm. The enti
re arm smelled of death. Flesh had begun to slough away from it leaving raw meat visible until it too rotted. She barely breathed. It seemed to Quinn that the dark angel of death hovered above her, waiting to steal Bryn from him forever.

  He’d never imagined he would see her die. She was immortal. He’d always expected to grow old while she remained young. His soul cried for her. He could not feel her spirit anymore. She felt dead already. His faith in Lazarus and a miracle was all he had to hold onto. And as moments passed with no miracle, his faith slowly waned, seeping out of him like the blood seeped out of Bryn’s arm.

  “Fenix,” he whispered. “It’s not working and Bryn is dying.”

  “I know she’s dying,” Fenix hissed. “This will work. It has to.”

  “The Cardinal,” Fingle suddenly screamed.

  Cardinal Malenfant had climbed the side of the pyramid like a monkey. His bald head was mere inches from Fingle’s foot. Fingle danced away, kicking out at the hideous Cardinal with one of his sturdy shoes. “Get away from me, you ghoul,” he shrieked.

  Malenfant leaped to the top and stabbed Fingle’s leg with the dagger. With the knife lodged in Fingle’s calf, he used it like he would a climbing axe to lever himself up the last blocks. Fingle’s screams of agony echoed through the night sky. Malenfant yanked the blade out of Fingle’s leg, leaped to one of the top blocks, crouched for a moment and lunged at Bryn with the dagger of Lazarus raised high.

  Frozen with horror for one moment too long, Quinn tried to throw himself between the thrusting dagger and Bryn. He was too late. Fenix had already taken action. She fell between Bryn and the dagger. Malenfant thrust hard and the blade plunged straight into her heart.

  Bryn immediately sat up, opened her eyes and shrieked. Lazarus grabbed the dagger from Malenfant’s claw-like hand and shoved it into the evil Cardinal’s red right eye. Priest snatched the dagger out of Malenfant’s eye and stabbed the horrible Cardinal in the heart over and over until flames burst from Malenfant’s bald skull and in an instant, his entire body was consumed by fire. Priest shrieked and fell backwards tumbling down the side of the pyramid, bouncing, flipping and screaming all the way to the bottom where he lay still.