Tala Phoenix and the Dragon's Lair

by Gabby Fawkes

“Why is it always me?” she wailed, still shooting arrows nonetheless.

  “Oh, it’s not that bad,” Axel said, turning to her. “Oof!” He fell to the ground as a gargoyle barreled into his legs.

  “Axel!” I cried, about to race out until I saw Timmy finish off the beast with what looked to be a shadeless lamp (from where?), and Axel righted himself, sword at the ready.

  Although he rubbed at his legs gingerly. Looking appeased, Artemis said, “You were saying?”

  “How are we going to get back?” Jenna wailed.

  And that’s when it hit me: we were surrounded. Ringed by gargoyles on every side. There was no way back. Unless I shifted and ferried everyone there.

  Why must you never trust me for the important things? PV said, clearly offended.

  -Because you seriously considered chucking my friends off your back while in flight last time.

  Hm. You remember that?

  -Yeah, and I swear, you do that and we’re through. For good. I don’t care if it kills me or sends me to a mental hospital. My friends are family.

  Message received. I was merely jesting earlier. Anywho, what is the boring task you require me for now?

  -Let my friends ride on your back and carry us to safety.

  Yes, yes. I suppose it would only be incredibly beneath me to do such a thing.

  -Good, I responded in my head, then let the heat take over.

  I closed my eyes, breathed in, breathed out, flapped my wings and… Ah, yes. That is better. Being a human was so infinitely inferior. Uncomfortable. Unwieldy. And so… death prone.

  I turned to the many mortals regarding me curiously.

  “Yes, yes, everyone, climb on. The dragon express is leaving.”

  When no one moved, some admittedly trying to fight the few remaining blocks of stone, I hissed, “Now.”

  I waited until every single last foolish nobody was on my back before lifting myself into the air.

  As I began to really fly, it was cute how the remaining pebbles actually attempted to catch up. With a yawn, I whipped my tail out, slicing them in pieces. Yes, some shards were sent shooting close to the puny mortals, who squeaked something angry. Humans were ever so fragile.

  Yes, yes, I carried them all the way over the sand, over the other dragon lands. Past the booby traps that, honestly, I would have preferred to have dumped them in, all the way into the window I’d entered through last time. Finally, home sweet home.

  And what did I get for all of my troubles? As they clambered off of me, so clumsily like little preschoolers?

  “Dum spiro spero!” they yelled.

  When I came to, everyone was packed in the smallish TV room. And by everyone, I meant all the kids in Speranţă as well as the Olympians. Agitated whispers snaked through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, although all eyes were enrapt on the screen.

  “Hey,” Kian said, smiling at me. “You’re back already!”

  “Shh,” Jenna, well, shushed.

  She had a point. The holographic image ahead, about ten rows of kids ahead, looked important, but almost impossible to hear with all the anxiously whispering kids.

  “Shut… UP!” Axel finally yelled from beside us.

  And just like that, everyone shut up.

  “Your boyfriend is actually kind of useful,” Kian commented, “even if he is a murderous sociopath.”

  “What is that anyway?” I asked, still staring at the image. It looked like a projector-screen image, though there was no projector in sight and it looked frozen.

  “HereintheNow, apparently,” Demi explained, as if this was supposed to explain anything.

  “Magical social media,” Kian said. “That holographic image thing we saw at Hera’s wasn’t a fluke. Apparently, holographic images are old news to magical people.”

  “So 1976,” Persephone said.

  I didn’t respond because of what I realized the image was as it moved and words appeared. I squinted in disbelief at the words, and then at the face that went with them.

  ‘New Secretary of Foreign Affairs at the DSA’ the words read. But the face… I knew that softly lined face. I knew that snow-white hair, those black string brows, hell, I knew the freaking crochet she was wearing.

  “She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?” Demi, Kian, Jeremy, and I chorused at once.

  This time, no one bothered to shush us. Probably because most of the other kids were freaking out from having recognized her too. Back at the School for the Different, our creepy Headmistress and her sneaky ten cats had terrified everyone.

  But what was she doing there?

  I swallowed thickly. Come to think of it, I’d just taken for granted that she’d been injured or just scarred from my school-burning rampage. But none of us had really followed up on what had happened to the teachers.

  And now…

  Anger flamed through me. So she really was in bed with the DSA. She must’ve known what they were up to all along. Hell, the whole school had probably been a smokescreen for training us kids to be part of some mutant army. Maybe it had been her idea in the first place.

  All of the pieces were slamming together in my head as my arms shook: the Sleep Tests – to see how our powers developed, the lab for the ones whose powers started getting out of control, the attacks for testing out our powers, the Latin… I gasped. The Latin for giving orders.

  As my birthmarks burned, it was Jeremy, sitting behind me, who took my shoulder, thankfully the uninjured one, and squeezed it.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” he whispered. “I know how you feel. Right now, I want to just rip and bite and tear into something.” His teeth clenched together. He exhaled. “But right now, we just need to listen.”

  I stared at him, then nodded. “Thanks.”

  Huh. Jeremy had always been the quiet, timid one. But he really got it.

  Anyway, I shut up and watched.

  “Olympus has been attacked,” she said in her melodious voice. “We know who is responsible. Tala Phoenix, Demi John and Kian Garcia, the dangerous wanted criminals, orchestrated all of it. All this time, they have been building an army - of Olympian prisoners, gargoyles, btsan. They carried out a swift assault on Olympus, which was utterly unprepared – and mostly undefended thanks to the Olympian prisoners as well as Zeus’ continued absence. As a result, Olympus has been left ravaged and damaged, with many casualties. Luckily, the DSA was able to step in and drive back the monstrous girls – and their armies – before it was too late.”

  Half-hysterical laughter slipped out of my lips.

  “The magical community, they won’t actually believe that,” I protested. “That us, just three girls, we were the ones who did all that? Forced Olympians to help us and amassed an army of gargoyles and btsan?”

  “Oh, they’ll believe it, all right,” Artemis said darkly. “Beats the alternative – not knowing.”

  I slumped back.

  They… I…

  We’d gone all the way there to help, risked our lives, and the DSA had completely turned it against us. Just as Hera had said they would.

  Now the holographic image was of footage of us – although they’d manipulated it so that it looked like I was fighting with the btsan and gargoyles – not against them! My mistaken lighting of the gargoyles on fire was shown right before some footage of flaming gargoyles going after helpless villagers.

  The bastards.

  On the screen, the press was clamoring with questions, and the DSA, of course, had all the answers. ‘Hera is too heartbroken to make any comment…’ ‘The monsters are on the run but will be captured shortly…’ ‘The remaining btsan and gargoyles are in custody…’

  Afterwards, we sat there in shock. Heat kept flaming through my arms, my legs. My head hurt. Everything did.

  We’d lost, and they’d won. We’d fought, and they’d turned it against us completely. It had all been for nothing.

  I rose. Several heads whipped my way.

  “We’ll…” I said. “Screw them and their lies. We’ll figu
re this out.”

  And then I walked away, relieved that my words had come out sounding 1000 percent more sure than I was feeling. Even if they were pretty lame and vague.

  I started heading for the outside, but settled in my room. There, I beat my pillows, cried, ranted to myself, and then hid under my covers. I felt like an angsty preteen, but shit, what were we supposed to do now?

  A knock at my door had me groaning, “Go away.”

  “You’re not getting rid of us that easily,” Kian said firmly.

  She went over to sit on my bed. “Damn, it’s not that bad.”

  “Yeah,” Jer argued. “No one died.”

  “But what was the point?” I griped. “We went and it did – what exactly? Just put off the DSA and Ulrulu taking over? And now, there’s not just the DSA to deal with, freaking Pandora’s Box opened.”

  “Odd that there’s been no news of that,” Demi said. “Maybe the creatures haven’t escaped Olympus yet. Or the DSA is trying to keep it on the down-low.”

  “And there’s just so much… lies and bullshit, and things we still don’t know,” I continued, “Have the DSA been working with the btsan and gargoyles this whole time? And where does Ulrulu come into all this? Is he really behind the scenes of everything?”

  “Yeah, it’s a shit-show,” Kian conceded, sitting on the edge of my bed. “But at least we’re here and safe.”

  “For now,” I said darkly.

  Demi nodded, but there was something in her slack, full cheeks that wasn’t as certain.

  “Demi?” I asked.

  “It’s just the other kids,” she said. “They’re nervous.”

  “I don’t blame them,” I said. “I’m nervous too.”

  “It might help if you, I don’t know, said something?” Demi suggested tentatively.

  “She means make a speech,” Kian clarified smilingly.

  “Kian!” Demi said.

  “What? It’s true!”

  “Guys,” I said, deadpan, “what am I doing right now?”

  “Waiting for ideas on what to do?” Demi said hopefully.

  “Getting all the bad feels out so you can move on?” Kian said.

  “No,” I said, shoving my tearstained pillow at them, “I’m crying my face off. Okay? So I’m definitely not the person who should be saying anything to anyone right now.”

  When they didn’t say anything, I continued, “Anyway, I’m not really an uplifting speech kind of person. Plus the way I’m feeling right now, it would probably make everything worse, okay?”

  “But still-” Demi began.

  “Sorry, Demi.”

  “It couldn’t hurt-” Kian cut in.

  “I really need to be getting to bed.”

  “They look up to you, you know!” Demi protested.

  “Goodnight, guys,” I said firmly, getting up and leading them to the door.

  “Will you at least think about it?” Demi pleaded.

  “Do you remember my Latin presentation in Miss Mildred’s?” I asked her patiently.

  Kian snorted, while even Jer had trouble keeping a straight face.

  “That was different,” Demi insisted.

  “That was me trying to make a speech,” I said, “Trying – and failing so miserably, I lost my voice and had to run from the room while everyone laughed.”

  “Mistakes happen.”

  “Yes, and me making a speech would be one.”

  “You said you’d think about it!” she said right before I closed the door.

  “Goodnight!”

  Frowning, I turned my back to my door and surveyed the room. Best thing to do now would be to go to bed. Demi definitely wasn’t thinking clearly, but she’d lay off after a few days. That was how long it’d take everyone else to calm down too, probably. Hopefully.

  I lay there, tossing and turning and tossing some more. Why was Demi so convinced that it had to be me who made the big uplifting speech? Why couldn’t she do it, or Kian if she was so gung-ho? Why couldn’t someone amp me up for a change?

  I don’t know how long I lay there, but it was long enough for me to realize that I wasn’t falling asleep anytime soon.

  As I got up, my PV yawned too. Ah, she remembered to feed us, how remarkably benevolent of her.

  Based on how my stomach was currently doing a solo oratorio, it had been a while since I’d eaten. Padding out of my room, I was glad to not run into anyone. Although in the dining hall I didn’t get so lucky.

  “Oh, hey!” Sammy said, jumping at the table she was at as I came in. “Just… vegging.”

  She clasped the donuts in each hand guiltily.

  “Those look delicious,” I said.

  Her smile was relieved as she pointed at another table. “Persephone left a bunch over there.”

  I got three and came over to sit beside her.

  “Can’t sleep either?” Sammy said.

  “Nope.”

  “We had a big day.”

  “Yeah.” I took a bite of the chocolate donut, nodding. “Guess my mind’s still in overdrive.”

  Sammy nodded. "Seeing the headmistress brought me back… feels almost like the School for the Different, but worse. There, at least we had an idea of what to expect. Or thought we did. But here, now…" She shook her head. "I think you need to say something."

  I sighed. Had everyone gotten a collective pester-Tala brainwave or something? Why did people think a secret Abraham Lincoln speech prodigy was hiding inside of me?

  "Probably not a good idea,” I said. “I’d have no clue what to say.”

  "But what about what you said the other day? That got people almost hopeful, but then Jenna came in after you left and-"

  "I can't just make some big speech every time people are afraid."

  "Maybe you don't have to," Sammy said hopefully. "Maybe you just have to do it this once. I mean, you said that we’ll figure this out. But what everyone is asking is how?”

  "But here's the thing," I said. "I'm not even entirely sure how…" I trailed off.

  Even if Sammy was older, I shouldn’t be telling her this, stressing her like this. She clearly had enough to worry about with being a Tempestarii, whose powers were hard to control and sometimes even made her faint.

  Sammy brushed a red tangle out of her eyes, which were hopeful.

  "No, you know what?” I declared. “If we train and stand up to them and fight them, it will be enough. We have a battalion of freaking immortal Olympians to help us figure this out. Us students are getting more powers and stronger every day. Even without that, the DSA would have to get through the Badlands to find us – and they don't even know where we are in the Badlands!"

  Sammy was smiling. "So you’ll do it?"

  I shrugged, nerves already crawling over me like ants. "I'll try."

  25

  I didn’t fall back asleep, but not for lack of trying. By the time lunch rolled around, news had snaked around that I was going to make some big speech that night. Meanwhile, Jenna helped my burgeoning terror by acting out my Latin speech fail of shame (gaping eyes, and turning heel and running).

  For my part, I tried thinking of every excuse in the book for why I wouldn't, couldn’t, say anything. Like, I had a violent tummy ache. Or was too tired to think straight. I even ate too much spinach ravioli at dinner in hopes that I might have to throw up or something. But no such luck.

  Instead, at the end of the feast prepared by Persephone, Artemis, Demi, and Kian, I had little choice but to walk up to the second-highest platform to give the speech I hadn’t at all planned. Every time I’d sat down to try to plan it out, trembling had overtaken me – the same trembling that was going through me now.

  It seemed a whole lifetime passed as I walked past the silent staring tables. The sound of my own footsteps echoed loud over the murmur of voices.

  The younger kids had eyes like hopeful searchlights and the older ones had eyes like expectant scalpels. Hulga gave me a small nod as I made my way up. Demi mouthed you can do this
. Kian gave me a thumbs-up.

  My heart beat like I was running a race. The air somehow seemed stuffy. Don't screw up, a voice said in my head.

  That would be unfortunate, PV supplied helpfully.

  Why had I agreed to do this anyway? What was I thinking?

  My earlier confidence had evaporated, replaced with the realization that I couldn't lie to these people. Couldn't lie to myself anymore. These kids thought I knew what I was doing, that I was in charge, but that was complete BS. I was just some scared kid like the rest of them. I’d led everyone on a rescue-save Olympus mission that had saved virtually no one.

  As I reached the top step of the platform and looked around, all I saw was a sea of tired, scared kids.

  I cleared my throat, opened my mouth. Nothing came out.

  Shit, shitake, shitola….

  Stop.

  I took a breath. Inhaled, exhaled.

  Dum spiro spero.

  This wasn’t about me. Wasn’t even about finding the right words to convince the others to have hope, no.

  This was about summoning the faith I already had. Making the other kids see it, feel it. Making them understand that we had already achieved the impossible, and all we had to do was do it again.

  I opened my mouth and words came out.

  "You saw the same broadcast I did. You know that Olympus has fallen, that they’re pinning it on us again. And yeah, I'm scared.”

  As my own disappointing words echoed around me, my heart plummeted. Olympus has fallen, and I’m scared, seriously?

  I was supposed to be the paragon of courage, the person they looked up to, and I was just reiterating the bad news, while admitting I was as batshit terrified as the rest of them?

  The faces around me ranged from confused to dismayed, basically reflecting exactly how my own feelings were alternating. Why hadn’t I forced myself to write the damn speech in advance?

  I took another breath and plowed on. "I’d be stupid not to be. The btsan and gargoyles are massing, and we even saw Pandora’s Box open too. And that’s just recently. All of us, we’ve been through a lot, and we’re going to go through a whole lot more before all this is over. But we're going to go through it together. And here's the thing: I'm scared, but I'm no coward. I'm scared, but I know what I have to do. What we have to do."