Blood of the Phoenix: Book 17 of The Witch Fairy Series Page 26

  “Yes, we would all like to hear this,” Adriel growls. She has moved next to me with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Anger flashes through her eyes, and she is a breath away from going all Angel of Death on the woman. I don’t believe Adriel’s current Fallen status would hinder her at all right now.

  Instead of being afraid, the woman claps excitedly. “I was hoping you would be the one who came. We find mortal death fascinating and have a ton of questions for you.”

  “After you explain what’s going on,” I interrupt. I take a step closer to Adriel, ready to grab her if she decides to attack the too-gleeful woman.

  The woman sighs. “I suppose we must get to the problem before we can have any fun.”

  “Problem?” I ask. I glance around. Everyone here is so happy. How could there be a problem?

  Nodding, the woman says, “Yes, problem. It’s quite simple really. Our Cosmic Fire has been stolen.”

  I blink. I blink again. I blink yet again. I turn and watch Eliana blink. I turn back to the woman and blink again. Finally, all I can say is, “What?”

  The woman nods as if she just said something perfectly reasonable. “Yes, our Cosmic Fire has been stolen.”

  “Do you know who took it?” Eliana asks, as dumbfounded as I am.

  “Why, our sister, of course. No one else can contain it.” The ‘what an idiotic thing to ask’ is implied in her tone.

  Now, I am afraid it will be Eliana I’ll need to hold back. I sidle a bit closer to my scowling friend. “Okay,” I begin, glancing around at the other versions of the woman, “why don’t you steal it back? There seem to be plenty of you.”

  “That would require us to leave this realm,” the woman replies. Again, the ‘what an idiotic thing to ask’ is implied in her tone. She seems to be a master at that.

  “If any of you leave this realm, it will be known there is more than one of you,” a voice directly behind me says. I glance over my shoulder at Jadyn and sigh. I think she’s right.

  “Let me guess,” Eliana snarks. “You want us to get it back for you.”

  The woman nods and smiles broadly as she looks between Eliana and me. “You two are our last hope.”

  I put my hands up in front of me to stop her from continuing. “If Eliana and I are your last hope, why did we have to bring the others with us?”

  The woman’s grin widens. “Why, it was the only way for you to enter our realm.”

  I wonder if they are all this annoying. “You keep saying things like you expect us to know the how’s and why’s. Since no one in any of the realms knew about this one, it’s not possible for us to know either of those things. Please,” I implore, “start at the beginning.”

  “Sister,” another woman says, “let me handle the explanations.”

  A slight pout forms on the first woman’s face. “I was having fun. We do not get to speak to anyone besides each other.”

  “It shows,” I mutter, earning me a nudge in the ribs from Adriel and Jadyn. I twist my neck so I can glare at both of them.

  The second woman pats the first woman’s arm. “There will be plenty of time for you to speak to them later. Run along now.” With a put upon sigh, the first woman walks away. The second turns to us and holds out her hand. “I was called Chol the last time I lived among the realms.”

  “Not Phoenix?” I ask and want to kick myself. Of course they don’t go by ‘Phoenix’. They would each want their own name.

  Chol smiles. “No,” she says simply. Not even a hint of mocking tone in her voice. I think I’m going to like Chol.

  “Will you please explain what is going on?” Eliana presses.

  “Of course. The Phoenix as a lone figure living and dying and being reborn is a myth. No one soul could withstand the process for eternity. Not to mention, there are multiple universes to consider. How could one of us be in them all at the same time?” She pauses as if her question is not rhetorical.

  To move things along, I say, “You couldn’t.”

  Chol smiles. “Of course not. So, we take turns in each universe. When our cycle is complete, we return here until the next time we are needed.”

  My curiosity getting the better of me, I ask, “How many lives have you lived?”

  “Twenty-four,” she says proudly.

  “If you are not really being reborn when you die, why the show? Why leave the ashes behind?” I ask, growing annoyed at the magnitude of the lie set upon the universes.

  Chol is not fazed by my annoyance. “The ritual is the only way for us to pass the Cosmic Fire back and forth. As for the ash, I believe you already know what that is.”

  “It is darkness from your souls,” Eliana says.

  Chol smiles at her. “Yes. We cannot tarnish our world by bringing it back here.” I glance around again. No wonder everyone here is so happy. There’s no darkness on any of their souls. Then I think more about what Chol just said. They don’t want to taint their own realm, but they have no problem leaving the darkness behind to taint other realms. Maybe I’m not going to like Chol, after all.

  Impatient to get to the point, Adriel asks, “Why would one of you have stolen the Cosmic Fire and for what purpose?”

  Proving she can use the ‘what an idiotic question’ tone, Chol replies, “Why, to destroy the universes, of course.”

  Universes. I didn’t even consider before the possibility that all of the universes would be destroyed. “That would wipe out all of existence,” I point out. “Including this place, right?”

  Chol nods. “Yes. So, you can see our problem.”

  I’m not certain if she means it’s a problem that everyone would be goners, or that the problem revolves around her race being goners. I decide it best not to ask. I don’t think I would like the answer. “Why would one of you want to do that? And is the Cosmic Fire really stolen if you gave it to her when she took on her new life?” I ask instead.

  A slight frown touches Chol’s face. “Perhaps stolen is the wrong word. Refuses to give it back is more appropriate. We believe Huma may have lived too many lives. We hesitated to let her go out there again, but she insisted she was fine.”

  “Do you have a limit as to how many lives you are supposed to live?” Eliana asks.

  Chol shakes her head. “We did not, but we may need to reconsider. Huma was the first of us. She has lived the most lives, so we are just discovering there may be a limit as to what our souls can handle.”

  That makes sense, I guess. “Okay, I’m starting to understand. But, why did you make us gather all of these women?” I gesture toward all the females from each race we brought with us.

  “As Garuda said, it was the only way for you to enter our realm.” Chol smiles at our assembly. “It is a miracle you pulled it off.”

  “Pulled what off?” I ask.

  “This realm was created without access points. The only way to pass in and out of it is during our Phoenix ritual. But, some of us knew that we needed to have, what would the Cowans call it? Oh yes, a back-up plan. Most among us did not really believe we needed one and fought the idea. So, we eventually came to a compromise. We cast a spell across each universe that if a female from each known realm and race came together peacefully of their own free will, without assistance from any higher beings, and requested access, they would be admitted. This would open a passage to travel back and forth through until we create a new spell to close it off. Of course, we all thought that was an impossibility as no two realms could go long without conflict of some sort.” Chol’s smile widens as she stares at me. “Until you were prophesized. We knew you would be the one to come and save us all.”

  I’m back to being confused again. “I was prophesized a long time ago. When, exactly, did this Huma steal the Cosmic Fire?”

  Chol appears to be doing some mental calculations. Finally, she says, “Approximately one thousand Cowan years ago.”

  My mouth drops open. “And you are just now asking for help?”

  “Neither of you were born a thousa
nd years ago.” She does have a point.

  “I believe she is saying it was not an issue until the current Phoenix neared the end of her life,” Adriel explains. She looks to Chol for confirmation and Chol nods.

  “No pressure,” Eliana mutters. Louder, she says, “We felt a taste of what Cosmic Fire can do, and we were helpless against it.”

  “Not to mention, Huma seems to have a Shadow protecting her,” I add.

  Chol laughs. Which makes me want to slap her. I refrain, but I do have to inconspicuously stop Adriel’s hand from flying forward. Man, is she ever strong. The strain of keeping her hand in place must be showing on my face even though I’m trying to hide it. “What’s so funny?” I grind out between clenched teeth. Wow, Adriel really wants to punch this woman.

  “That you believe the Shadow is protecting Huma.” Chol laughs harder for a moment before saying, “The Shadow would not lift a finger to help us, nor can it harm us.”

  “Well, it can harm us,” I snark. “We took a nosedive in the sand because of it.”

  Chol waves her hand as if to say ‘that’s just crazy talk’. “No, that was Huma.”

  Eliana shakes her head. “I couldn’t sense Huma’s presence.”

  “Oh, you could,” Chol says. “You simply confused her dark aura for the Shadow.”

  “So, you’re saying the Shadow is harmless?” I ask in disbelief.

  “Perfectly harmless. It is simply a collection of memories we all chose to leave behind.” She directs her next statement to Adriel. “That is why there has never been a need to send it to the Shadow realm. We don’t want it to mix with those other Shadows who might use its knowledge for personal gain.”

  Makes sense. Sort of. I am still dumbfounded. “So, you just let it roam free?”

  “Of course not, silly.” Okay, now I know that a Phoenix can be as condescending as any other supernatural being. The pressure between Adriel and I is reversing. She is now keeping me from punching Chol. Oblivious to our struggle, Chol continues, “It was locked up tight in that temple Ra built for Huma.” She narrows her eyes at Eliana. “Until someone set it free.” A bit of color touches Eliana’s cheeks, but she bites back any angry retort in favor of hearing the rest of the story.

  “Why is Huma’s aura so dark?” I ask, trying to move the conversation toward the finish line. I suspect if we don’t finish soon, Chol will end up pummeled to the ground by one of us. My money is still on Adriel, but Eliana and I would have her back.

  “We are not quite sure,” Chol admits. “It could be the effect of living too many lives, or she could have intentionally made bad choices during her cycle in order to darken her aura.”

  “Why would she do that?” Eliana asks.

  Isla, who has been remarkably quiet this entire trip, steps forward. “She intended to do this before she left this realm.”

  Chol sighs. “We believe so.”

  Again, I glance around at the beings who inhabit this realm. “Everyone here is so happy. It’s hard to believe one of you would plan something like that.” Turning back to Chol, I ask, “Could it be that not all of the darkness was burned from Huma’s soul?”

  Adriel’s eyes light up with knowledge. “It is not possible to remove all of the darkness and memories from any soul. Over time, the leftover bits become more and more entwined with the soul, making them impossible to ever remove.” She is an Angel of Death, she would know.

  “Meaning,” Isla says, “living too many lives could damage even the soul of a Phoenix.”

  “That is our theory, yes,” Chol nods. “No universe is a perfect place,” she adds as if this statement explains why no one thought of this possibility before.

  The ground beneath us shakes as the Dragon in our party shuffles forward. “If we are of no use here other than door openers, can we return home? I would like to spend the remaining time of our existence with my family.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I mutter.

  The Dragon snorts and a tiny puff of smoke leaves her not-so-delicate nose. “You are egotistical enough to believe you can conquer Cosmic Fire?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know if I can conquer it, but between Eliana and I, we might be able to figure out a way to steal it back.” I wish I could have instilled more confidence in my words. I have to feel it to do it, though.

  “I am afraid we must ask you to remain until our Cosmic Fire is returned,” Chol informs the Dragon.

  This time when the Dragon snorts, fire shoots from her nostrils. That probably wasn’t good for her nose hairs. Do Dragons have nose hairs? I try to sneak a peek, but the light is not in my favor to get a good view. “Are we prisoners?” the Dragon demands.

  “Yes,” Chol says, pleasant smile still in place.

  Again, I stare open mouthed at her. “You are holding us hostage?”

  She laughs at me yet again. “Not you two, silly. Just the others. At least until you have returned our Cosmic Fire.”

  “You can’t do that!” the Sasquatch exclaims and Jadyn, Ari and the Siren chime in after her.

  “There must be another way out of here,” the Centaur insists. “You said the spell was broken.”

  Chol raises her arms and waves them in different directions. “Yes, it is. The passage may only be opened and closed by a Phoenix, though. None of whom will open it for you. You are free to roam anywhere you like. You may attempt to seek another exit if you do not believe me.”

  I believe her. No one will find an exit from here until the Phoenix women are ready to let us go. The grumbling behind me is growing louder. Soon, there will be more than words being thrown about. “What do you want us to do?” I ask Chol. “The sooner we get out of here, the better.”

  “We want you to put Huma out of her misery,” Chol replies.

  My jaw is currently getting grass stains. When I can wrench it back into place, I ask, “You want us to kill your sister?”

  Chol’s expression says she is thinking I am an idiot again. She might as well wear a banner across her forehead exclaiming for all to know. “No one can kill a Phoenix,” she reminds me. “I said, ‘put her out of her misery.’ Make her happy again, at least happy enough to agree to go through the ritual. Once she is back here, we will attempt to decondition her to the best of our ability.”

  “What happens if you cannot?” Isla asks.

  “She will not be allowed to live through another cycle.”

  Suddenly, a thought hits me. “When you start a cycle, do you carry all of your good memories of previous cycles with you?” I ask Chol.

  Chol shakes her head. “That is also part of the ritual. Even some of those memories are erased. It would be too much of a burden to carry so much with us for eternity. It also makes it easier to leave those we may have grown to love behind.”

  Now I understand what Ra was really trying to show us in the dream. The same thing the Fairy who met her said, only the Fairy didn’t know how big of a discovery it was at the time. From the glee radiating off all these Phoenix women, they must each begin their cycles with light hearts and souls, free from any pain they may have felt before. Huma definitely did not have a light heart or soul when she started her cycle. So much darkness was still attached to her soul that she was probably having flashbacks from previous cycles, and mostly only remembering the bad parts since many of the good ones that would counteract them were washed away. I glance at Eliana and can tell the same idea is going through her mind at the moment. Great, how the hell are we going to help Huma overcome many lifetimes of pain and suffering before she goes supernova? I’ve read a few books on psychology, and not one had a section on that.

  35 Chapter

  Even if we don’t have a clue as to how to do this, we still need to get going on it. Huma is literally a ticking time bomb. “Send us back,” I insist.

  Chol, who was answering some question Isla asked her, smiles at me. “You have accepted the challenge?”

  I scowl at her. She said the word challenge as if this was a game of
truth or dare or something. “Um, you’re holding my friends hostage and the universe is going to end soon if we don’t do something to stop it. What choice do we have?”

  Chol’s smile doesn’t even falter. “We always have choices. We simply do not always choose wisely.” She gives me one succinct nod as if that little nugget of wisdom should set me straight. Adriel is struggling hard now to keep my fist next to my side. “In this, you have chosen wisely,” Chol finishes.

  Since punching her is a bad idea, it’s my turn to give her the ‘what an idiotic thing to say’ look. I hope I pulled it off as well as she and Baruda can. “Right, thanks for noticing,” I snark. “Just send us back.”

  “Of course,” Chol says for the millionth time. Obviously, it’s one of her favorite expressions. I am so sick of hearing them pass through her lips that I may never use those words again. Well, I’ll probably use the words separately, just not lumped together as a phrase. It would be hard to never use the word ‘of’ again. Course I could probably do without.

  While I am contemplating my future vocabulary, Chol is heeding my request. Before I know what is happening, my body is sucked backwards. Eliana is next to me, her arms flailing as widely as mine. If we’re not careful, we’re going to smack each other in the face. The others we brought with us chase after us, either to save us or to try to come with us, I’m not certain which. Well, actually, I could probably divide them up into groups of who would be doing what. Isla, Jadyn, Adriel and even Ari and the Faun are probably trying to save us. The rest are probably just trying to save themselves. With a loud pop, the Phoenix realm disappears from our view. Our backs hit hot sand, and one sun is glaring down at us with enough strength to burn out our retinas. We are definitely back in the Cowan realm.

  Josh and Kallen rush to our sides. “What happened?” they ask in unison.

  It’s so cute, I can’t help but ask, “Were you practicing that?” I force myself to a sitting position and shake off some of the hot sand.