The rudimentary corridors - if they could be called that - spiraled around in her in a mis-matched honeycomb. Each familial monument stood in the centre, an imposing presence of forced benevolence that soared above the stone markers that littered the grounds around it. Some were dotted with fresh offerings of flowers and fruit from the recent pilgrimages of the living.
Phoenix paid them little attention as she continued to the apex of the room. The statues became more ornate the further she went. The earth was tamped down from the countless foot falls that it had endured today. But now? Now it only had to contend with her and Kit.
Phoenix held her breath and stepped into the Royal Crypt.
The freshly-disturbed earth was the first thing that caught her attention. Two new caskets dominated the space. They rested above the ground on curtained tables, spaced slightly apart, where they would remain for the next week so that mourners could pay their respects before they were interred in stone.
The fire of her torch guttered into darkness. The unlit base, forgotten, fell to the floor with a thud.
Phoenix stepped haltingly towards the double caskets. She pressed a palm against each wooden surface, slowly running her hands along the glossy edge. Feeling for… What? What was she even expecting from this encounter? They were gone. There was no hint of their presence remaining. No clue as to what she should do next.
Her vision dimmed at the edges. Her fingers tingled and her hands dropped, weighted, to her sides. Closure slammed into her. It was all she could do to stay standing, all she could do to breathe.
A whispered rasping filled the air behind her and Phoenix startled at the sound. Her vision cleared instantly. She turned in time to see Kit, her body rigid, pushing against the heavy lid of a small stone sarcophagus.
“Kit! Stop!”
Phoenix leapt forward, grabbing at the edge of the heavy stone lid before it slid off and onto the ground. Grunting, she pulled at the slab cover, wincing at the scraping and grating until she had repositioned the weight of the stone to keep it from tipping.
She exhaled loudly, letting her head drop as she rested her weight briefly against the carved stone cover. When she was convinced the danger had passed, Phoenix rolled her shoulders with relief and cast a glance down at the stone coffin.
“You’re lucky,” she told the small stone box with a smile. The rest of her words died before they escaped her lips, her attention caught by the relief carving of the small child that she had just saved from smashing into oblivion.
Princess Penelope’s sleeping face adorned the slab under Phoenix’s hands. With her attention fixated on the carving, she felt a familiar pull in the centre of her stomach. Without knowing why, Phoenix finished the job that Kit started and pulled the slab off of the internment box and rested it against the packed earth on a slant.
She stared at the sarcophagus. Uncertainty prickled along her spine as she stared at her handiwork. What was she doing?
Kit took advantage of her hesitation and jumped up onto the stone edge. Instantly, to Phoenix’s horror, the dog wriggled her way through the crack and into the stone opening.
“Kit!” Phoenix hissed, grasping at the empty space that her tail had just occupied. “Get out of there!”
There was no movement.
Cursing, Phoenix tipped the cover onto the ground, shoving aside the disgust at the thought of having to reach into the death-soaked darkness after the dog. A soft thumping of Kit’s tail caused Phoenix to pause. Instead of grabbing for Kit’s collar, she called a fire globe into existence over their heads.
Except for Kit, the tomb was empty. No evidence of a burial box remained around the dog, who was curled in on herself and looking up at Phoenix with a sheepish expression on her face.
Phoenix straightened. “Illuminate.” Two more globes burst to life in the darkness and whizzed past her to dance over the cover of the carving. She snapped her fingers at Kit to get out - who obliged her for once - and ran her fingers all over the edges of the sarcophagus. There was not a scrape or a mark inside or out to show that it had ever been used.
“If not graverobbers, then what? Why is it empty?”
Frowning, Phoenix grabbed the cover and yanked it back over the tomb, grunting with the effort of trying to avoid scraping the stone together… and failing miserably.
Kit gave a huff, her attention switching to something else, and trotted towards the opening of the crypt. Phoenix trailed behind her, pausing momentarily to press her hand against Malcourt’s burial box, feeling the polished wood cool the imprint that he had left on her palm.
“Follow it,” she murmured, echoing his last instructions back to him. Or to what remained of him, at least. “I can’t find ‘it’ to follow. I don’t know where ‘it’ begins!”
She blinked rapidly, struggling to swallow the lump that had swelled in her throat. Unbidden, her fire globes plunged into darkness around her.
Phoenix turned and followed Kit back to the outside world. She made sure the door was shut firmly behind her.
Across the courtyard, Phoenix could see the windows to the girls’ dorm. Many of them were dark, the rooms empty since the nobles had been pulled back to their Manors. The ones that remained had moved deeper within Angor’s walls where it was much less isolated.
Phoenix was beginning to welcome it.
“That’s where it all started...” Phoenix said softly to Kit, eyeing the dorms.
An idea formed after she digested the words. Everything had been put into motion when she met Malcourt, but before that… If there were no clues at Angor for her, nothing here that Malcourt wanted her to find, then she would have to look somewhere else.
“I have to go back to where it all started,” Phoenix announced. “I have to go back to where I started.”
Phoenix strode towards the tower, making a mental list of the things she would need. It had been nearly half a year since she had arrived at Angor. Perhaps it was time for her to travel again. She had to follow her roots to figure out who she was, and what it was that Malcourt had been trying to tell her.
“We’re going on an adventure, Kit,” she told the dog, who trotted easily at her side. Kit pressed her body against Phoenix’s leg as she pushed through the tower’s protection barriers. She pushed the door open, letting it swing on its hinges so that it shut behind them.
“We’re going to Avondale.”
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Unexpected Stories includes two free short stories which expand to world of Call of the Sea, and include Lia’s first encounter with those above!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Out of the entirety of the book, this was by far the most difficult thing for me to write. I have received so much support from so many people over the last few years that I could never fully express how truly grateful I am.
To my husband, Chad: You are my continual source of unconditional love and support. I’m beyond lucky to have you. Thank you for always checking-in, holding down the fort, and for shouldering all of the extra “Dad Duty” during this journey. I can think of no better partner for my life, and no better father to our son. Without you this wouldn’t be possible. I love you.
To my parents, Paul and Alison: You instilled in me a love of reading at such an early age that I can barely remember a time before it existed. Thank you for the weekend trips to the bookstores even when the bookshelves at home were overflowing, for the amazing book suggestions (and for never coming looking for the ones you’ve lent me…), and for always, always, encouraging my creative outlets. Between Mom’s endless supply of children’s books, and Dad’s edits on the rough draft, it’s no wonder the story turned out the way it did. I think we did a pretty good job.
To Write Club NL: You accepted me as one of your own even though I basically showed up unannounced. (Joke�
�s on you, you’re stuck with me now.) You added a social aspect to an otherwise solitary activity, which was reaffirming and invaluable. Thanks for all the great chats, the commiserating, and for being a late-night, interactive thesaurus. Long live Cans.
To Matthew LeDrew of Engen Books: Thank you for everything. Thank you for taking a chance on a first-time author with no formal training. Thanks for all of the hand-holding during my case of “First Book Jitters,” for including me into the Engen family without reservation, and for making me feel like I belong. You made the scary parts not-so-scary. I appreciate you and all that you do.
And lastly, to Amanda Labonté, my author bestie: As soon as I expressed interest in finishing this book, you basically gave me a grin and said “C’mon, we goes.” And here we are. You are a blessing - and now that it’s officially in print, you’re able to cite it whenever necessary. It’s my gift to you. You’re welcome.
If you enjoyed this novel, sign up to my newsletter to receive updates and news. Sign up now and get an exclusive FREE eBook, Unexpected Stories.
Sign-Up for the Fantasy Files Newsletter by clicking this link!
Unexpected Stories includes two free short stories which expand to world of Call of the Sea, and include Lia’s first encounter with those above!
Bio: Lauralana Dunne
Lauralana Dunne grew up running around the library stacks of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, and has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She can often be found at different writing events around the city, typing on her phone with one hand while simultaneously fueling her caffeine addiction with the other.
She is a die-hard lover of YA Fantasy, and has been known to describe herself as a “Slayer of Imaginary Monsters."
Ashes is her first novel.
More Young Adult & Fantasy from Engen
Amanda Labonté
Call of the Sea
Drawn to the Tides
Return to the Depths
Supernatural Causes
Ali House
The Six Elemental
The Fifth Queen
The Lightbulb Forest
Jon Dobbin
The Broken Spire
Michelle Churchill
The Last Tree
Ashes Page 39
