Tala Phoenix and the Dragon's Lair

by Gabby Fawkes

  “Neither do I,” I admitted. “But they’ve got Kian and Demi out there. Plus I gave them my word.”

  Axel snorted. “Your word. That means nothing to the Romms. They’ll break their own in a hare’s breath.”

  “Maybe,” I said, “but I’m not them.”

  Already, more kids were filtering into the entrance hall around us. Cog had scampered over too, barking happily and rubbing against my legs, his tail wagging.

  “Seriously,” I said, getting frustrated. I couldn’t enjoy this homecoming until Kian and Demi were here too. “We have to let down the drawbridge so I can ferry them in.”

  Now, if I could just remember how that was done…

  “We really need to think of a different entry system,” Dion pointed out.

  “Why not add it to your list of things to do?” Aphie sneered, strutting in. “It can go after: get drunk, get drunker, and sing sappy, lonely odes to Kian until you fall asleep, snoring.”

  I stared at her. Since when was Aphie here?

  Seeing my look, she let out a little laugh. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m not staying. Remember? I was in charge? The one who covered this place while you all were gallivanting about?”

  I’d completely forgotten about that. Then again, part of me had assumed that Aphie would just return to Olympus once the other Olympians got back. The whole point of her staying at Speranţă was to be in charge and keep order, since no other Olympians were there. Unless she had…

  I glanced Axel’s way… Other reasons to stick around.

  Stay on task, Tal – put down drawbridge and get back friends first, then worry about potential boyfriend-stealer second.

  “Please?” I asked Axel, hoping he’d remember how to work the stupid drawbridge. There were just too many rooms and trick doors and odd little closets in this place for me to remember the special traits of all of them.

  “Fine,” he said tersely, striding over to a small enclave I hadn’t noticed before, which housed a giant studded and scorched lever.

  Ah. Guess that’s it.

  As the drawbridge creaked down, I saw something odd. The lever had two directions. The way Axel was turning it, towards him, brought an extremely extended drawbridge, one that crashed over several football fields of space. Basically, over all the booby traps. Since when did this place have that? That sure would’ve made getting in here easier, now that there would’ve been anyone to lower it for us.

  The Romms charged over it so buoyantly, I was almost afraid they’d topple the bridge. Although striding out onto it and letting my PV have a moment of glory and hiss I will end you and fling you into the moat of lava got them a bit more calmed down.

  “So, this is the place!” Jules exclaimed as he waltzed into the entrance hall, clearly enjoying how his voice echoed.

  He rounded to the other Romms, who were looking around with odd expressions. “This is the fabled fortress of the Phoenix Clan!”

  “But… where are they?” Milsindra asked, her hands tensed, as if prepared for the vicious clan itself to pop out at any minute.

  “We don’t know,” I said.

  “Mom— Demi!” Persephone cried as she barreled into her.

  Dion had his arms wrapped around Kian and, gaze on her black lips, was saying, “You wore it. You actually wore it!”

  Kian pursed her lips. “Unfortunately, it was the only one I brought with me.”

  Already, the Romms had fanned out, exploring, Jules’ gleeful voice audible all the while.

  “Mark my words,” Apollo said, watching them go with distaste, “this is a bad idea.”

  “Mark my words,” said an old bald lady to her old one-hair-stranded lady friend, thrusting up a delighted fist, “there’s tasty vittles here!”

  With that, she sniffed the air and they raced off in the direction of the dining hall.

  I could feel the judgmental glares of the Olympians burning a hole into my back.

  “Just give them a chance, okay?” I said hopefully.

  “Give them a chance,” Axel muttered, not looking at me.

  “Hey!” he yelled suddenly. “Don’t go in there!”

  Whether the Romms actually hadn’t heard him, or had merely chosen not to, either way, I turned to see a group of them continue into one of the royal dragon head tombs. Which just so happened to be filled with gold.

  As Axel, Apollo and I hurried after them, we could hear Jules’ crowing. “What did I say? This is just one of many. They were preposterously rich, the richest in all the land!”

  “And you’ll be minus a head if you don’t get out of here,” Axel snarled, getting to the entrance before me.

  In the middle of the gold-filled room, Jules paused.

  I tried and failed to unclench my fists. Unworthy scum, standing in the presence of such gold and thinking they had the right to even lay their eyes upon it…

  -Woah there, gold fiend, I said, taking a breath to try and rein myself in a little.

  “Axel’s right,” I said to the Romms in a strained tone, “You can stay in Speranţă and explore. We’ll even give you food and shelter for now. But do not touch the gold.”

  Jules’ face fell. “What was that you said before, about bribing me?”

  “That was before you forced my friends and me to help you get your precious wands,” I said. “Remember?”

  A long silence. Finally, reluctantly, Jules said, “Indeed.”

  That brought something else to mind. Jules and the others had been so desperate for the invicto wands, why weren’t they using them and showing off? Why had we seen no sign of them since I’d apparently snatched them from the mountain/ volcano/ Vologda?

  “What happened with the wands anyway?” I asked.

  “Never you mind,” he said stiffly, filing out with the others.

  That night, we had a feast that rivaled even our magnificent first one here. Persephone, cheered by Demi’s return, had outdone herself. She made fall-off-the-bone braised lamb with fresh horse radish, drizzled with some fancy garnishes I didn’t even know the name of. She made seared salmon on a bed of crispy vegetables. And, my favorite, she even made burned spaghetti and meatballs. Mmm.

  There was more than enough food to spare, although you wouldn’t know it with the way the Romms ate. They devoured the dishes in front of them like it was a contest, faster and more than anyone I’d ever seen. They hadn’t been like this back at camp, so I guess this was something they reserved for when they were guests.

  AKA when they weren’t paying…

  I could only gape at them as they gulped down plate after plate – lamb, then salmon, then spaghetti, then lamb again, hardly seeming to even swallow it, let alone actually taste it.

  All this they managed to do while being noisier than the rest of the Dining Hall combined.

  Mealtimes had never been quiet. We were eating alongside a bunch of kids, after all. But there didn’t seem to be a second when the Romms weren’t roaring with laughter, howling out songs, or shouting something to each other.

  Even Jeremy came over after a few minutes, clearly a bit concerned, despite our happy reunion earlier.

  “Are you sure…” he began.

  “No,” I replied sullenly.

  What Jeremy was trying to ask, basically everyone else’s looks already had. I wasn’t sure if the Romms being here was the right decision. And I was tired of not being sure. From one day to the next, it felt like I was riding spastically by my coattails, just hoping it worked out. We had barely made it here, as it was. Were we ever going to catch a break?

  Persephone, Demi, Kian, and I stepped out of dinner early, before dessert. As we headed somewhere Persephone insisted we ‘had to see’, she said, “You’re lucky we left when we did. I was this close to switching the cinnamon in those stupid gypsies’ apple pie to chili powder.”

  “Better not irk them before they help us,” Demi said reasonably.

  “Right,” I said. In all the excitement of arriving, I’d forgotten about how the Romama
gi potentially had the power to help us hide and shield Speranţă from the DSA.

  A small smile crawled over Demi’s face. “But once they do…Then by all means, chili powder and lots of it. You’ve seen how much they eat.”

  We giggled.

  “Maybe we should just unleash Jenna on them,” Kian suggested. “That’d be enough to...”

  She trailed off, probably since we’d reached the room Persephone had been leading us to. It was Demi’s garden, although I didn’t remember it looking anything like this – as greenly lush and full of life as a mini-forest.

  Demi could only say, “You… tended to them?”

  “Every day,” Persephone said, smiling to herself. “I mean, every day that I wasn’t out looking for you, badgering my few connections in Olympus and on Earth. Those days, I had Jeremy and that Marley girl look after it. But yeah, I tended to them every chance I got. It made me feel closer to you.”

  It sure showed. Demi wandered around, face rapt, murmuring half to herself, as she stroked the different flowers, “The forsythias… and anemones… never seen them this happy. Even the cherry blossoms are blooming!”

  “I gave them a bit of extra magic before I left,” Demi confessed, pausing to run a finger lovingly along the stem of an orange and yellow flower as another bloom burst up. “But I never expected to come back to…this.”

  She turned to Persephone with tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you,” Persephone said. “I thought I was going to be stuck in that shitty Underworld with stupid Hades forever.”

  Kian nudged me. “Mother and daughter moment alert,” she murmured. “Let’s go.”

  “Don’t,” Demi said, “Can we all just sit here for a while, please? My three favorite people in the world.”

  So, we did. I sat down and pretended that everything was okay, that I could just relax and smile and chat about nothing, here with my friends.

  Too soon, an unwanted figure appeared in the doorway.

  “Well, what do we have here?” Jules said, his gaze roaming from one side of the plant-brimming room to the other. “Flowers, how lovely.”

  “Go away,” Demi said coolly.

  His face feigned an expression of hurt. “Am I not allowed to enjoy flowers too?”

  Demi got to her feet. “If you do anything to them…”

  Jules backed away with narrowed eyes. “Jeez, I was just admiring the view.”

  And with that, he stalked away.

  I patted Demi. “Hey, it’s going to be all right.”

  She exhaled, then bit her lip. “Maybe I overreacted.”

  “Nah,” Kian said, patting her other shoulder. “After what that douchemuffin put us through, even an ivy thorn through his heart wouldn’t be overreacting.”

  “What did he put you guys through?” Persephone asked, an ominously interested look coming over her face.

  “Forget it,” I said. “Demi can tell you later. Important thing is, no one’s putting any thorns in anyone’s hearts.”

  Persephone’s face was disappointed, but we left it at that.

  The next few days were blessedly uneventful. No gargoyles or btsan or DSA agents attacked us. We didn’t go on any secret missions. We weren’t captured, recaptured, or even almost captured. Instead, we settled back into ‘normal’ life at Speranţă.

  Athena had stopped by to join the search for us, apparently, and had left some training drills for the kids to do. The younger kids had developed into quite the little ninjas while we’d been gone.

  As we watched some of them spar (biting, kicking, head-butting, and pinching were apparently okay, while face-punching was not), Kian wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. “Kakernacker would be so proud.”

  “Hannibal ad portas,” I said.

  “Miss Mildred would be so proud,” Demi said, smirking even as she shook her head. “Although I don’t agree. Hannibal isn’t at the gates. No one is. We’re safe here.”

  “You’re probably right,” I said. “And let’s not even joke about that Latin-loving bitch, either. What do you think happened to her?”

  Demi shrugged. “Last time I saw her, I chucked a pumpkin at her.”

  “I wish I’d turned her into a pumpkin,” Kian said, a bit sadly.

  We fell silent. I was sorry for the downer statement I’d just made. As if we needed any more reminders that, as much fun as we were having here in Speranţă, it couldn’t last. There were too many threats looming on the horizon.

  The DSA was still looking for us. Pandora’s Box was supposed to open any day now. Some evil guy named Ulrulu pretty much no one believed in was supposedly masterminding all this madness.

  We still hadn’t gotten the Romms to agree to help us either. Every time I tried cornering Jules or Milsindra and patiently explaining why casting a shielding spell on Speranţă would be to everyone’s benefit, they would make up some elaborate excuse (“The stew!” Jules cried one time. “My oregano and Oreo stew!”) and flit away.

  My teeth ground together with frustration. What did they want for performing the spell, anyway? Gold?

  I’d even played with the idea of offering the shittiest, smallest, booger-sized gold, but Artemis had warned me against it.

  “Dragon gold is heavy with enchantments,” she’d explained, grimacing. “And since dragons basically despise any other species, you can bet some of those enchantments will involve some pretty nasty stuff for anyone non-dragon.”

  So that was out of the picture. Although, no matter how many times I tried explaining that to Jules or Milsindra, their “Oh really?” and “Hmmm” reactions clearly indicated that they didn’t believe me.

  Apollo and the other Olympians refused to help pay them off on principle too (claiming that it was no guarantee the Romms would help us anyway), so it looked like it was down to good old convincing – which wasn’t happening so far.

  Yep, the Romms were a pain in the ass. A fun pain – one night, Kian, Demi and I had actually joined in on their crazy dancing – but a pain, nonetheless. Not only had they insisted on parking themselves on the top table – having to use one of their flight-capable donkeys to get up – but every day they seemed to consume more food, not less. Persephone swore we’d starve in weeks at this rate, no matter how hard she and Demi worked in the gardens.

  And then there were their bonfires, which they loved constructing anywhere and everywhere. Once, I’d rushed into the communal bathroom and practically peed myself when I felt a certain warm smoky feeling on my butt – yep, they’d constructed a fire in the toilet pit! God knows why.

  Even Owen approached me one night. “You probably already know this,” he said carefully, “but Timmy has joined them.”

  That wasn’t exactly a big shocker. After all, every night I’d passed one of their bonfires, Timmy had been there too, roasting skewers of spicy bison sausages with bananas and laughing his head off.

  “I don’t trust them,” Owen said. “They’re planning something. I know they are.”

  I nodded. Yep – there was another tick for The Romms are Untrustworthy Assholes column.

  But damn it, we needed their help.

  “I’ll keep an eye out,” I said. “Although, what about…” I shot him a pointed look.

  Everyone knew Owen’s powers had activated by now – his random lengthy disappearances and gruff refusals to talk about it confirmed it. But what was he?

  “Don’t worry about it,” Owen said. “I know what I am, and that’s enough.”

  That was another unsolved mystery – what exactly Owen was and why he was so reticent about telling us.

  Yep, while things might be calmer, they weren’t exactly peachy either.

  On the news, other than the weekly reminder to be on the lookout for the “horrendous monsters” that Kian, Demi and I were still dubbed as, there was nothing new that had happened. That we were hearing about, at least.

  Axel wasn’t liking it either. Every day, he grew more impatient.

  “I’
m telling you,” he snarled, “just let me wrap my hands around Jules’ neck and-”

  “He’ll turn you into a flamingo,” I said, deadpan.

  When Axel started to respond, I stopped him. “Seriously. Jules might not be able to kill, or permanently hurt you, but you said it yourself: he has some extremely dangerous, dark magic at his disposal. I don’t think force is going to work on him.”

  “Trying won’t hurt,” Axel said through gritted teeth.

  Only it probably would. The Romms I knew were proud, and definitely wouldn’t like being threatened. Not one bit.

  I kissed him on the cheek. “One more day, for me?”

  “One more day and they may have stolen all the gold.”

  “I thought it had enchantments,” I said, frowning.

  I wasn’t about to admit that Axel had started speaking my language. At the mere thought of the Romms’ grubby hands on my ancestors’ precious gold and… let’s just say that Axel wrapping his hands around Jules’ neck would be a mercy.

  I exhaled a breath. Okay, killer gold-monger, cool it.

  “Those enchantments won’t stop them from stealing it,” Axel said darkly. “I mean it, Tala, giving them any more time is a bad idea.”

  “Maybe,” I admitted, clenching and unclenching the fabric of my jeans. “But still. One more day?”

  I wasn’t sure what exactly I was going to be able to come up with in one more day, but hopefully it would be good. It needed to be. Though it felt like, these days, I was always having to pull rabbits from hats. When really, that should have been Kian’s job.

  “Fine,” Axel relented. “On one condition.”

  He already had his arm around me, so I was pretty what the condition was– and that I liked it. “Oh yeah?”

  He pressed his lips to mine. As our mouths moved together and I lost myself in his embrace, my mind became muddled.

  Yeahhh, this was what it was like to be right with someone, so right that…

  Am I really going to have to be the one to say it? PV conjectured as Axel’s hands slipped into the back pockets of my jeans.

  -Nope, I’m good, I responded in my head, breaking away.

  “You okay?” Axel said, his pupils giant, breathing deeply.