Tala Phoenix and the Dragon's Lair

by Gabby Fawkes

  "Shut up," Axel growled, storming off. "Have you forgotten what they did to you the last time you snuck into Mathusalem? What you called that place, what you swore to do to it when you returned?"

  Dion waved a hand magnanimously. "Decades ago. I've changed. I'm sure they have too."

  "The only thing that's changed about you," Artemis said, fixing him with a cutting look as she tucked one of her braids behind her ear, "is that you finally met a woman that you recognize is smarter than you."

  Dion chose not to acknowledge that, saying only, "Say what you will, but Mathusalem is our best shot right now."

  I glanced Axel’s way. "Would it really be that bad, going there?"

  He just shook his head. I glanced to Apollo, whose face didn't look any more promising. "I’ve expressed my views on this.”

  I sighed. “Okay, I mean, maybe we could check it out? Send Kian, Demi and me as a test.”

  No one said anything.

  Persephone honked out a laugh. "Oops, did they forget to mention? That's the thing about Mathusalem – no one knows where it is. Only witches."

  She stabbed a hand onto her hip, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. She was supposed to be hundreds of thousands of years old and yet she was the one acting like a moody teenager.

  I glanced from Dion to Kian. "You're the one who’s so attached to this plan. So how are we supposed to get to Mathusalem if we don't know where it is?"

  She actually rolled her eyes. "Por favor, mi amiga. You really think I’d suggest an impossible plan?"

  Kian took something out of her pocket – a little golden frog. "The three sisters said I could contact them anytime and-"

  Now it was Axel chuckling scornfully. "You’re really expecting them to outright tell you the location, when there’ll be hundreds of other kids – many non-witch- tagging along? You're dreaming."

  "Well, my dream is the best option we have right now," Kian said, flipping the frog in her hand.

  "I say we try it," Jeremy said. "Beats going to Syria."

  "It's not actually Syria," Artemis explained patiently. "Just equally and/or more dangerous."

  "It's worse than Syria," Apollo said. "Normally, dragons are extremely vicious. No, that isn’t nearly a serious enough word for it. Since the massacre you kids saw” – he glanced our way – “no one has even been able to get in contact with them. It’s said that many clans are on the move, burning, pillaging and killing anything unlucky enough to get in their way."

  "But what about Tala?" Demi suggested hopefully. "She's one of them. Maybe once they find out-"

  "Wouldn’t make any difference," Axel said definitively. "Dragon shifters have been known to kill members of their own clan, their own spouses. That Tala is a dragon shifter too won't mean a damn thing to them."

  Sometimes – more than sometimes – I wish I hadn’t grown up in an isolated boarding school, removed from the entire magical community. There was so much I didn’t know about the world, didn’t know about myself, even. Although the more I discovered about my kind, the more worried I got.

  Apollo was stroking his top lip. "Although…"

  "Forget it," Axel said, "Even going to that witchy hellhole is preferable."

  Kian, in the middle of applying more red gloss on her lips, smiled wide. “Sounds like to the witchy hellhole it is.” She got out her golden frog and flipped it again. “Although first we’ll have to meet the witch sisters at the Flying Narwhale.”

  Over the next hour, despite us trying to be discreet about the meet-up, somehow all the 12th years and a good amount of the 11th years found out about our plan and insisted on joining us at the Flying Narwhale. I managed to dissuade most of them, but as for Jenna and Tania, Kian pointed out they would probably just spread panic if I left them. Then Timmy somehow snuck along too.

  While we had initially intended to keep a low profile when we arrived at the Flying Narwhale, that was hard with the way the Timmy and Jenna were staring at everything, and also based on the fact that we’d arrived via flying horse. Apparently, Apollo and Axel thought it was safer to come in by the front entrance, instead of the fountain-bathtub in the bathroom. And considering us kids were currently wanted by the DSA, safer was better.

  "That's really what it’s called?" Timmy said when he saw the sign, craning his white-blonde head up so much he almost fell over.

  "Yep," Jeremy said, sauntering in without a second look. Ever since he'd figured out how to shift without tearing up everything in a five-mile radius, he’d been in way better spirits. "What did you think it was called?"

  "When Jenna told me, I thought she was screwing with me," Timmy admitted, hurrying to keep up.

  "If I wanted to screw with you, I would've just told you to look in the mirror," Jenna said, immediately cackling with Tania.

  You know, my PV said conversationally, if you were to, say, sneeze fire and accidentally kill Jenna, would anyone really mind?

  -Forget it.

  Fine. But just so you know, the Dragon Badlands are the way to go.

  -What, now you’re using rhyme to try and manipulate me?

  Not manipulation if it’s right. Perhaps you shouldn’t fight. What is clearly right.

  -Yeah, said every evil tyrant ever.

  Remind me how many times I've saved your ass? Please, I’ve forgotten.

  "Whoa there!" boomed a voice. "Yeh be wantin’ to drink and eat me out o’ house and home?"

  Cruestacio strode ahead so that he was blocking our path. His head was as bald as ever, and his beard the same tangled salt and pepper insanity as usual. Even though I’d seen them before, the barnacles that covered his skin still gave me pause. This time, he wore a pale blue loon-covered apron and a look which hovered somewhere between excitement and surprise.

  Meanwhile, at our entry, Gully had leapt onto a seven-legged table and his tabby form exploded into a series of squawks.

  "We're here to meet some friends," Axel called. "We’ll be out of your hair before long."

  In an undertone, he added, "And out of your memory."

  Cruestacio’s hand rifled through his beard and produced a bent fork.

  His eyes shifting about, he leaned in, pointed his fork at Axel, and said, "No’ me you have to be worryin’ abou’. Tis’ abou’ whether all o’ them have no’ seen yeh neither."

  I followed his sideways eye twitch to see that a few other tables were occupied with people who were definitely staring. Not that I could blame them. We didn’t exactly look like normal magical folk. Or normal non-magical folk, for that matter.

  "C’mon," I told Axel, making for the stairs. "Let's go to your table."

  "This place is weird!" Timmy enthused as we made our way up the stairs, poking a pitchfork-shaped gash in the wall.

  "And it smells nasty," Jenna said.

  "You're right," Persephone said. "You should totally leave."

  Jenna opened her mouth but then closed it, saying nothing.

  I exchanged a raised brow look with Demi. Had Jenna just been out-bitched?

  Our group clambered around the large, round table the Olympians had indicated was theirs the last time we’d been here, as well as the ones nearby.

  "What do the witch sisters look like?" Jeremy asked, looking around already, as if they were in some nook we hadn’t noticed.

  "Like sisters," Kian said.

  "What?” she said as he scowled at her, taking out her golden frog and twirling it in her palm. “It's true."

  We’d only been sitting there for about a minute when Cruestacio appeared with a giant daisy-patterned dish of… something?

  "Just made fresh," he said with a missing tooth-ed smile. “Be tasty goin’ with me new acquirement. Like it?” He swept a barnacle-y hand out to a TV that was floating in midair. I hadn’t noticed it, since the sound was turned way down. At Cruestacio’s clap, it grew louder. It was the news – some story about a malfunctioning flying umbrella that had kidnapped a small child.

  “Margoth lost a bet with me,�
� Cruestacio said with clear self-satisfaction.

  Leaning in, he growled to Axel, "No trouble."

  To the rest of us, gesturing to the blocked-lettered FIGHTERS WILL BE TOSSED sign, in a louder voice he said, "No fightin’."

  After he’d placed the giant dish of what looked like gray sleet in front of us and left, Persephone asked, "Who shit in his tea?"

  "Axel and the witch sisters last time," Demi explained sadly. "They kind of fought, and sent cutlery flying."

  "Cool!" Persephone said.

  Kian and I exchanged a smile. I couldn't tell whether I liked Persephone or not. She almost seemed like a nice Jenna, if such a thing were possible.

  “And who’s Margoth?” I asked Axel.

  “Cruestacio’s lady friend,” Axel said. “Who’s also a witch.”

  “Witches make the world go ‘round,” Kian said happily, craning around eagerly. “Like my friends the sisters, who should be here any minute.”

  "Whatever they claim," Apollo said, "let’s not jump to agree to anything. It is still not clear if it would be wise to trust them."

  "Need I remind you how they turned up at the school and saved our asses?" Kian said, prodding at the gray, paste-like substance with the end of her spoon. "Do I want to know what this is?"

  Dion chuckled. "Why, it's Cruestacio’s famed dish. The Crusty Crust."

  I paused, waiting for the explanation that never came.

  "The Crusty Crust," Kian said, lifting a spoonful of what admittedly did look crusty.

  Jenna snorted, moving her chair away from the table. "Looks more like dusty dust. Looks like just your thing, Kian."

  "Oh, she can rhyme, how cute," Persephone said. "And what exactly are you again? Like magically-wise."

  I resisted the urge to say, ‘a mistake’. After all, it had to suck when practically everyone except for Jenna was beginning to find their powers left, right and center. Even way younger kids. A few days ago, Tania had started having back pain (which apparently often preceded fairy wings) too.

  “They’re here," Kian said in a shut-up-now tone.

  So they were. Only, they weren't really what I had expected. Only two of the red-haired sisters, the curly-haired one I was pretty sure was Winnie and the straight-haired one I was pretty sure was Linnie. The short-haired one hadn't come.

  "Kian," they trilled warmly, throwing their arms around her, as if she were in the running to become their third sister. "How wonderful."

  Instead of sitting down, though, they hovered in front of her.

  "About before," I chimed in. "I never really got to thank you for your help. You saved us, helped save the kids. Thank you so much."

  "You're welcome," they said, flicking their gaze my way before returning it to Kian.

  Winnie said, "When you asked us to meet, we didn't expect quite so many…"

  "Magnificent people?" Dion said, flinging his arm around luxuriously. "But of course! Kian has an audacious plan your cooperation will be indispensable for."

  Is he supposed to be helping or hindering our cause? PV wondered.

  Kian elbowed him almost imperceptibly before returning her attention to the sisters.

  "Yes, we're in a bit of a jam," Kian said carefully.

  Linnie clapped her hands together. "So, you've decided to finally come with us? To Mathusalem?"

  "In a way, yes," Kian said.

  Winnie wasn't having it. "You don't mean to say.…"

  "Why not?" Axel barked. "Don't want intruders in your dear secret land?"

  "Not the likes of you," Winnie said smoothly. "No."

  She turned her gaze to Kian. "Darling sister, to be perfectly frank, if you invited us here to find out the location of Mathusalem for you and your… friends, then I must stop you there."

  "Why?" Kian asked.

  "Because we don't have the authority to tell you," Linnie said. "Or, them, rather."

  The two sisters exchanged a look, and, in unison, proclaimed, "Any non-witch must be first approved by the Council before entering Mathusalem. On an individual by individual basis, visitor permits will be given out at the Council's discretion."

  "Meaning," Apollo said, "unless there's an immediate need or benefit to the Council, they won't let you in."

  "You don't understand," I told the sisters. "There are hundreds of us kids from the school. Hera is casting us out. The DSA is on our trail. We don’t have anywhere else to go."

  "Some of the kids are def witches," Kian continued. "We have one friend, Sammy, who is a Tempestarii."

  "A Tempestarii?" Linnie asked, her green eyes bugging out.

  Persephone snorted. "There they go. Any sniff of a powerful witch gets their panties in a knot."

  Linnie only delivered Persephone the most cursory of glances. "Persephone, I presume. I didn't know you’d left the Underworld. Trouble at home?"

  "Careful," Demi said, thorned vines curling in her palms.

  Talk about an angry mama bear. I was just impressed at the evolution of her fighting magic. It seemed a long time ago that her best weapon was tossing a pumpkin.

  "Point is," Winnie said, with a toss of her curly head, "we simply cannot help you. And Kian, now that we know what your aim in coming to Mathusalem would be, we cannot reveal its location to you. I'm sorry."

  "What?" Kian barked, rising out of her seat. "Now I’m banned from Mathusalem forever?"

  "Not forever, no," Winnie said, biting her lip. "Only until the Council decrees it. And I have to warn you-"

  "Informing the Council of our whereabouts means they can turn us over to the DSA if they see fit," Axel finished bitterly.

  "It's unlikely," the straight-haired witch said. "The sisters are no fonder of the DSA than you are. But we cannot provide you any guarantees."

  "So that's it then," Kian said, sitting back down, the golden frog now clenched in her palm. "You're not going to help us."

  "Perhaps in a few weeks, after a thorough inquiry through the Council-"

  "We don’t have weeks," I snapped. "You don't get it, do you? Once Hera casts us out of Olympus, we’ll be hunted down. The DSA will stop at nothing to capture us. You don't know what we saw in that lab. What they’ve done to our classmates. What they’ll most likely do to us. You're really going to sit by and let that happen?"

  "We have to follow protocol," Linnie said stiffly.

  "It's out of our hands,” Minnie agreed.

  "Yeah, it’s out of your hands all right," Kian sneered.

  Silence.

  Looks like the Dragon Badlands aren't looking so bad anymore? PV simpered as they glided away.

  Just then, I noticed something else. The room was still dead silent, even though we weren't the only people in it.

  Looking around, I quickly saw the reason. Three horribly familiar faces were on the TV screen, along with the message: Have you seen these three girls? Wanted for questioning by the DSA about the recent monster bear attack. Substantial reward offered for any information on their whereabouts.

  It occurred to me that everyone in the room who wasn’t part of our group was staring at us. Doubtless because the three faces on the screen were Kian, Demi and me.

  4

  "Okay, time to go," I said in my most cheery, ‘it's okay, we don't totally have to rush out of here even though we totally do’ whisper.

  We hustled down the stairs. Past Cruestacio, who was glaring either because he'd seen the broadcast too, or because he knew that no one had touched his Crusty Crust. Also past all the other patrons who were eyeing us and murmuring amongst themselves. All the way into the bathroom and back to Olympus, courtesy of the tub.

  Once we were back in the timple fields, no one seemed to notice that we were drenched. Not with everyone loitering around, whispering anxiously, and occupied with their own private worries.

  Or maybe they just figured there was no point in asking about it. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that we were in some seriously deep shit. Now the DSA were actively looking for Kian,
Demi and me – were freaking broadcasting our faces so the whole magical community could join in on the hunt. Once Hera kicked us to the curb, how long would it be before they found us?

  A shudder went through me. I couldn't let them find us. There had to be another option than Mathusalem.

  Everyone kept glancing my way, as if I had any better idea of what to do than they did.

  Badlands, Badlands, Badlands, PV was chanting.

  Hm. I had little doubt that the prospect of most of my friends, acquaintances, and maybe even me getting roasted via my brethren was probably something my PV delighted in.

  I thought we had reached an understanding, it said dryly.

  -Yeah, an understanding– that you’re homicidal.

  Suit yourself, it said.

  That was just the thing. My PV had a point. I wasn’t exactly flush with options right now.

  I turned to Apollo. He was the most level-headed – and didn’t have a vested interest in keeping me safe the way I knew Axel did.

  "If we did go to the Badlands-" I began.

  "No sentence that starts with those words is ever a good one," he replied immediately.

  "But if we did," I pressed, "I mean, if my friends and I checked it out, and it somehow worked out, would you help us transport the rest of the kids there?"

  Apollo rubbed his chin, blinking slowly as he considered his answer.

  He shook his head reluctantly. "I don't see any other way around it. I can help you on your preliminary mission too. Although I would advise against it.”

  “Even with the stronghold Hera said the Phoenix clan has?” I said, knowing full well I was clutching at straws after everything they’d told me.

  "Hera might think the Phoenix clan is ‘lost’, but those are just rumors,” Axel said emphatically, “If the Phoenix clan is still there, which we have every reason to believe they are, there's no way we're getting in." He grabbed my hand, squeezing it. "No, Tala. We're not that desperate yet."

  "Except we kind of are," Kian said, joining too. "I mean, don't get me wrong. Part of me just wants to sneak into Mathusalem to screw with the witches. But that’s probably a one-way ticket to the bottom of some cauldron at best, or being turned over to the DSA at worst. At least this way we have a chance."