Ashes

by Lauralana Dunne

  Of course, her Master replied. I will be there momentarily.

  “Well,” Rae said, looking around quickly, “I should probably get back to the kitchens. I’m sure there’s a lot of pre-prep to do for the morning...”

  Phoenix nodded, clenching her jaw to stifle a growing yawn.

  The girls smiled at each other and went their separate ways.

  It wasn’t until Phoenix had begun climbing the stairs to the dorms that she Heard Malcourt call her.

  Phoenix, can you come to my rooms please?

  She groaned quietly to herself and turned around. “Of course, Master,” she spoke aloud, knowing that he could Hear her.

  Camden, can you come to the tower please? Malcourt called.

  Yes, Master, Camden replied respectively.

  The stone tree was sluggish when she arrived,shifting its branches to allow her to access the upper floors. Phoenix patted the gnarled trunk in thanks before dashing up the makeshift stairs.

  Rorin and Master Malcourt were already waiting. Her Master was pacing the space in front of the hearth with agitation, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked up as she entered, and he gave her an acknowledging nod - as if they hadn’t just seen each other recently - but he turned back quickly to his own thoughts.

  “Phoenix,” Malcourt said. He had changed out of his finery that he had worn to the dining hall, and now he was back in his customary loose tunic and trous. He looked weary, and a half-finished glass of wine was resting next to him on the side table. “I’ve heard that you’ve been busy.”

  Phoenix blushed under his gaze. “Yes, Master,” she said.

  Camden came in then. He was brought upright when he saw that Rorin was there. His face darkened, but he took the seat that Master Malcourt gestured to without a word. He shot Phoenix a tentative look, but she ignored him and kept her attention focused on Malcourt.

  “Rorin was already telling me about your little adventure this evening,” Malcourt continued, looking at Phoenix. Phoenix could see Camden narrowing his eyes at her in her side-vision, but she ignored his reaction. “I’d like to hear your side of it,” he said.

  “Yes, Master,” Phoenix said. She paused for a moment, unsure of where to begin telling the tale. Then, taking a deep breath, she started at the very beginning when she met Rolf in the clearing all those moons ago.

  She talked about his suspicions of her; his general attitude towards her - which went far beyond the general mistrust of Callers; his rudeness; the way she caught him sneaking around the forbidden hallways, and the way that he had been on guard around her ever since. Lastly she told him of his accusations outside the Prince’s chambers; how he believed her to be the assassin, and how he would do everything he could to make sure that he found her guilty.

  Master Malcourt said nothing while she spoke. He did raise an eyebrow, however, when she talked about being outside Prince Hallan’s rooms, and she felt herself blush all the more because of it.

  “I know he’s just doing his job,” she added, after there had been a moment of silence, “to protect the King. Well, that’s what I thought, anyway. But since seeing the room...”

  Camden’s eyes darkened at the mention of the room but she said nothing.

  “He’s spending too much time concentrating on one girl,” Rorin said, ignoring the fact that Camden spoke at all. Master Malcourt looked at the gargoyle curiously, so he continued. “All of his concentration is focused on her. I watched him in the hall tonight. He was studying her as she tended the Head Table - as if suspecting to find her guilty of something.”

  “Or trying to find a way to make her guilty of something.”

  Everyone turned to Camden when he spoke. The boy’s eyes were stormy. “It’s no secret that Captain Rolf dislikes Phoenix,” he said. “He always has. He was watching her in drills this morning - glaring at her, practically. He seemed disappointed that she completed them so well.”

  Phoenix felt hotly uncomfortable in the large room. She hadn’t known she was being scrutinized that intensely.

  Master Malcourt frowned and tapped his fingers against the wooden portion of his arm rest. “This is a very serious accusation, Phoenix,” he said as last, fixing the girl with a stern look. “If something like this gets out then there’s no taking it back.”

  “Yes, Master Malcourt,” she said, bowing her head in embarrassment.

  “So,” he continued, “while I don’t condone the act of vigilante investigation, it seems as though this was the best course of action.” Phoenix’s head came up with relieved surprise.

  “Now, you all must realize,” Malcourt said, holding up a finger, “that there could be any number of reasons as to why Captain Rolf was in the forbidden corridors - as well as the storage closet. However,” he inclined his head to Rorin to acknowledge the gargoyle’s earlier point, “I must admit that his interest in Phoenix seems very suspicious. It does seem highly suspect that someone in his profession - someone as good as him in his profession - would spend such time concentrating on one individual, no matter how convinced he was of their guilt.”

  Malcourt frowned again and tapped his chin in thought. “But it just doesn’t make sense. Rolf has always been loyal to the King. He would have nothing to gain by his death, and there’s no reason to think that Phoenix would want for that to happen, either. So why watch her?”

  Phoenix was relieved that Master Malcourt believed her, and that she had both Camden and Rorin to back her up.

  “Because he knows who the real assassin is,” Rorin said.

  A stunned silence settled over the room. Malcourt’s expression went blank and he pressed his lips together. Phoenix could tell that he was thinking about the statement carefully, but she could only guess that by his furrowed brow that he could not find dispute with the claim.

  “But then why is he always keeping track of me?” Phoenix asked with confusion.

  “He would need a scapegoat,” Master Malcourt said, slowly, “if this is in fact what is happening.”

  “Scapegoat?” she asked.

  “He’s waiting for you to screw up,” Rorin told her, his expression bleak. “He wants to find you doing something wrong; something that he can blame you for, as an excuse to blame you for everything. He needs you as a cover up.”

  “We can’t let that happen!” Camden burst out angrily.

  “We won’t,” Malcourt said swiftly. He looked between the three. “This is serious,” he told them, “and it’s an incredibly delicate situation. If we’re wrong, it can potentially allow the real assassin to escape. But, if we’re right...” He sighed at the gravity of the situation.

  “Phoenix’s safety must not be compromised,” Rorin said decidedly, giving everyone in the room pause. When Phoenix blinked at him, the gargoyle gave her a crooked smile. “You’re okay - for a human. It would be beneficial to the diplomatic relations between our races if you stayed alive.

  “Thanks,” Phoenix said dryly. She could see Camden make a dirty face.

  “’Diplomatic relations’ or not,” Master Malcourt said, “Phoenix’s safety must not be put at risk; yet if she were to suddenly disappear than we would tip our hand.”

  “Then I shouldn’t disappear,” she said simply. “I can take care of myself,” she added when Master Malcourt frowned at her proclamation. “I’ll be careful.”

  “And I will watch over her,” Rorin told Master Malcourt, looking at Phoenix with amusement. “I’ll even try my best to keep her out of trouble.”

  Malcourt thought about it for a few moments and, finally, sighed. “Very well, then. There’s really no help for it. There are others who are aware of the situation as we are, but in this case it may be hard to know where their loyalties lie.” The look he gave Phoenix was tinged with worry. “Still, I would feel better if it were not you.”

  His voice was very soft when he said it, and a quiet note of protectiveness was in it.

  “I will stay with her, Master,” Camden volunteered, puffing himself up a bit
to appear taller in his chair. His voice was deadly serious as he spoke. “I will keep her safe.”

  Rorin’s eyes shifted to Camden, his expression still amused, but he did not say anything to the boy. Opening his wings slightly, he walked to one of Malcourt’s windows and lifted his leg to rest on the window sill.

  “That settles it, then,” he said. “I will watch Phoenix, she will watch Captain Rolf, and the boy will stay near her in case I cannot get to her in time.” Rorin smirked slightly as Camden gave him a black look. “And you, Malcourt, are free to watch over everyone else. We are all capable of Speaking to you if necessary.”

  Master Malcourt eventually had to concede with the gargoyle’s impassive logic. When he agreed, Rorin bid them a good night and dropped out of sight through the window. The Master sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with discontentment and bid them a good night.

  The two Apprentices rose and quickly made their way from his room.

  “Phoenix,” he called after her before the door had closed.

  “Yes, Master,” she asked, sticking her head back into the room. He looked weary, and worried, but he gave her a soft smile.

  “Be careful, my child. I would be inconsolable if something were to happen to you. Would you do that for me? Be careful?”

  Warmed by his concern, Phoenix blushed. “Of course, Master. Anything for you.”

  He closed his eyes and nodded his head slowly. She went to close the door behind her, but not before his voice followed her into the hall. “Keep Kit with you as well.”

  Phoenix shut the door. She discovered Camden waiting at the top of the stairs, his scowl directed at the stone tree that continued to guard the staircase. He looked up at the sound of her approaching footsteps, then shot a look of annoyance at the trunk in front of him as the large branches twined around themselves to create a railing down into the now-unobstructed stairwell.

  He turned and they walked down the stairs together. Camden didn’t say anything, and Phoenix was too tired to start a conversation with him, so they continued on for a time in silence. Finally, after he had finished his brooding, Camden broke the quiet.

  “Why were you hanging out with a gargoyle?” he asked. His expression was blank, but his voice quivered as he spoke. She was unable to tell if he was angry or hurt.

  She shrugged one shoulder, too tired to rehash it. “Why not?” she asked instead.

  “Because he’s a Searcher. You know what that is, right? A spy. They can’t be trusted,” he told her seriously.

  “They?” she prompted, feeling that he wasn’t referencing the gargoyle’s occupation.

  “Gargoyles,” he said flatly, impatient at her need for clarification.

  “Well, we can’t be trusted, either,” she said crossly. “Humans, that is,” she added before he could pull the same stunt that she just did.

  “And you’re going to trust your life to one of them?” Camden asked as they walked down the stairs. “They’re murderers!”

  Phoenix bit back a sigh. “Says who?” All she had wanted to do after meal’s end was to climb into her bed, and several hours later she was still up and running about. She didn’t feel like having Camden on her case, too.

  “I do,” he spat, showing uncharacteristic ire. Phoenix said nothing and continued down the stairs next to him, waiting for him to calm down. She could tell that he was waiting for her response, so when she didn’t give one he spoke again. “Gargoyles murdered my parents.”

  Phoenix’s foot missed a step and she was forced to grab the stone railing to keep herself from falling. “What?”

  He didn’t meet her stare. “Back when the war first started. You were probably too young to remember, but the fighting was savage when the gargoyles were first banished from Angor. There were battles everywhere.

  “My father was trained in combat. He always led the men to slay the beasts when they came nearby or to roost on his lands.

  “One night there was an attack. Lizards had banded together to ambush the manor in the middle of the night - when they knew that everyone would be asleep. They had planned to take everyone by surprise. I remember my mother, coming into my room and waking me up in the middle of the night. She bundled me up tight and took me downstairs to hide me in the cellar. She told me not to leave until she came to get me.”

  “Camden...” Phoenix began.

  He turned his angry eyes to look at her. “She never came back,” he said, with a hard finality. “It wasn’t until my uncle,” he said the word with a sneer, “Lord Nelson, found me three days later that I even saw sunlight again. Those monsters killed everyone, and I was left behind - to live - with him.”

  Phoenix rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. She understood, now, why he was so opposed to Rorin; why he showed an open hostility to the gargoyle whenever he saw him.

  “Camden,” she began again, gently, “The Gargoyle War was exactly that - a war. There was a lot of fighting. People lost their lives on both sides.”

  Camden jerked himself away from her touch. “They’re not people!” he spat, nearly falling down the stairs himself in an effort to confront her.

  “Camden...”

  “You think what you want,” he said, turning to continue down the stairs. “But I know what I know. You tell your new friend to watch himself. If I have any reason to believe that he is any sort of threat...”

  “Oh, what are you going to do, Camden?” she snapped, tired of his posturing. “Blow him over?”

  Phoenix knew that his particular Talent was a sore spot for Camden. While she and the Master had more innately powerful Talents - her with fire and he with the power of energy - Camden’s was more understated than most. He could manipulate air currents flawlessly, but unfortunately, to his own desires, they were not powerful enough to affect much else.

  His eyes darkened, and Phoenix wondered if she had pushed him too far. He reached the base of the staircase and strode across the base of the tower, his boots echoing on the stone with each footfall.

  “Just tell your lizard friend to watch himself,” he told her over his shoulder, barely pausing before he pushed open the door and exited the tower.

  Phoenix watched him as he walked away. She felt defeated. Camden was one of the few people in Angor that she had considered to be her friend and now he might never speak to her again.

  With a sigh, and a yawn, Phoenix left the tower in the opposite direction as Camden. She headed to the dorms and, finally, to her bed.

  CHAPTER 19

  A soft movement buried into Phoenix’s consciousness and jerked her awake. Silence smothered the room as she lay motionless in her bed, ears straining for anything out of place in the bedchamber. The even breathing of her sleeping friends was the only sound in the quiet room. Her eyes were useless in the darkness, and she briefly debated trying to light a candle with her Power before deciding against it. No need to recreate the excitement of setting the common room on fire.

  There was a nudge against the blankets. Phoenix tensed, her foot resting against the bed to launch herself out from under the covers, when a cold, wet nose pressed itself against her arm.

  Phoenix relaxed with a smile and made herself more comfortable, burying herself into her blankets with a sigh. Her mind became quiet, and her consciousness slipped back into a sweet and dreamless sleep.

  Morning arrived with more celebration than was customary - or appreciated. Multiple trumpets led the charge in a penetrating fanfare that sounded as though it were coming from inside the room, announcing the arrival of the sun as it rose into the sky. Messenger drums pounded the breaking dawn to announce to all that the King’s birthing day, the day of celebrations, had arrived.

  The girls stirred and groaned around her. “Must they be so loud?” Sophie complained, burying her head under her pillow with a groan.

  “How else will everyone get ready in time?” Elise chirped, launching her pillow at the shorter girl’s bed. “Hey,” Elise pointed at Phoenix’s bed, “how’d she get
in here?”

  Phoenix shifted, her hand brushing against coarse, warm fur, and realized that Kit was still in her bed.

  “Through the door, obviously,” Sophie quipped, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before she threw Elise’s pillow back at her.

  “It was closed at last call. What did she do, open the door and trot on in?” Sarcasm sounded strange coming from Elise’s lips, and Sophie told her so.

  Phoenix ignored their squabbling and frowned down at the dog. Kit, seeing that she was awake, thumped her tail against the sheets. Phoenix didn’t know how the dog was always showing up.

  “Maybe the door wasn’t fully shut?” Phoenix suggested.

  The others had already forgotten the conversation and had moved on to the evening’s festivities.

  “I don’t know how to wear my hair,” Elise lamented, twitching her bed furs straight before she laid out her attire.

  Phoenix sat up and stretched languidly. She watched as the other two went around the room, setting out their formal garments and getting ready. She was amused to see the effort that they were putting into their appearance. Their dresses alone must have cost a sum that was larger than their statuses could usually afford.

  “You sure you don’t want to join us, Phoenix?” Elise asked, pausing the braiding of her hair and looking over at the girl.

  Phoenix nodded and hauled herself out of bed. “I’m sure, thanks.”

  “What are you wearing, Phoenix?” Sophie asked, shrugging out of her sleep wear and beginning to brush her hair.

  She shrugged. “My formal Apprentice uniform.” The girls raised their eyebrows, and Phoenix shrugged as she pulled her boots out from under her bed. “My boots are new.”

  Elise giggled - not unkindly - and removed the silk scarf that covered her hair. “Well, when you get yourself ready, I’ll be happy to do your hair for you if you want.”

  “Me too,” Sophie chimed in with uncharacteristic kindness.

  Feeling warmed by the offer, Phoenix nodded her head with excitement as she hauled on her boots. “How about I get us all food and then we can get ready together?” She hopped up and smoothed the wrinkles from her clothing, grateful that no one noticed that she hadn’t changed into her sleep clothes the night before.