Page 20 of Phoenix Chosen 3

The rock formation looks similar to the one that’d been the stock photo wallpaper of the front desk computer I used to use at work—two pillars connected by a natural bridge at the top. I squint at it, shielding my eyes from the sun with my palm.

“So, when are you going to give up your secrets, huh?” I say to the egg.

I hold my hand out in front of me and search for something inside of me, some kind of hidden connection. Nothing happens. It’s like when I was a kid and I tried to grab a cup of water usingthe Force after watching Star Wars for the first time. As bad as I want it to happen, I don’t feel a damn thing.

“But you’ve done it before!”a voice in my head demands.“Why can’t you do it now?”

I close my eyes and try to concentrate again. Find my phoenix.

Come on, little one. Can you hear me?

The egg sits warm against my chest, unresponsive to my thoughts.

Then a faint smell in the air catches my attention. At first, I think it’s just my imagination. Is that… cotton candy?

I turn my nose to the air and follow it, clambering up the rocks to the base of the rock tower. It’sdefinitelysomething really sweet, like nectar or pollen in the air, and it smells amazing. Behind me, the sound of Airos and Kalistratos grows more distant. I’m drawn by this scent—I really want to know what it’s coming from. Maybe some kind of fruit tree?

My foot hits a fallen branch, sending it clattering across the ground. I look down.

That’s not a branch. Bleached white, it looks exactly like bone from an animal’s leg.

Or a person’s.

I freeze and look around. Laying on the rock a short distance off to my right is a long piece of wood with a slender curve. It’s a bow, and it looks like it’s been discarded here. I walk to it and then see a small piece of metal next to it. It’s one of those broochpins people here use to attach their robes at the shoulder. And then, I see it—a jaw bone, definitely human. One of the teeth is capped with silver. The side of the bone is fractured as if it were dropped from very high.

“Uhh… that’s unsettling,” I mutter to myself.

I quickly turn and begin a brisk power walk back down the rock. The sugary smell is even stronger, and so is a distinct feeling in my gut that I shouldnotbe here.

Kalistratos and Airos are down below, jogging towards me. I wave my hands in the air.

“Kalistratos, there’s something up?—”

“TYLER!” he shouts. “GET DOWN!”

I feel a gust of wind at my back just as a huge shadow falls over me—and it’s got wings.

I don’t turn to look. I immediately break into a sprint with my arms wrapped tightly around the egg, and a second later, huge talons grip under my arms, slashing through my tunic. The ground pulls away from my feet as the smell of sweet nectar burns my nostrils like some awful chemical air freshener.

I’m fucked.

9

KALISTRATOS

Airos nudges a pile of gray bits lying in the grass with the side of his foot. “Sheep dung. See? A shepherd was here with his flock. Probably grazed the land clean before moving on.”

“Then explain this,” I say, jabbing a finger at the old quiver of arrows almost hidden beneath some broken timber.

I crouch and carefully remove one of the arrows. The feather fletching is falling apart, but the shaft is thick and strong, and it’s tipped with serrated iron.

Airos crouches next to me. “That’s no deer arrow.”

He’s right. This type of arrowhead is too aggressive for hunting normal game. It looks more like a war arrow—or…

Airos and I look at each other. It feels like he and I are sharing a thought for once.

“Gods, I think you’re right about this being a hunter’s blind,” he says.

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