Page 21 of Rage of the Fallen

Behind me, I heard a half-laugh, half-snarl that could never have come from a human throat, but I didn’t look back. I couldn’t afford to. All I could do was swim and hope whatever protection I had would be enough to see me through this nightmare.

I finally reached the thundering waterfall, its roar drowning out everything else, including my ragged breathing. The curtain of water was an opaque wall, hiding whatever secrets or horrors lay beyond. I couldn’t see through the relentless torrent, but Iknew I had no choice. With one last gulp of air that tasted like fear and desperation, I dove beneath the pounding cascade.

The force of the falling water hit me like a physical blow, threatening to push me back, to deny me passage. For a heart-stopping moment, I was disoriented, tumbling in the churning water, unsure which way was up. My lungs burned, crying out for air as I fought the current.

Then, suddenly, I was through. I broke the surface on the other side, gasping and sputtering. Relief flooded through me, but only for a moment.

Something cold and slimy brushed against my ankle. Before I could react, it wrapped around my foot, yanking me downward. Panic surged through me, electric and paralyzing. I kicked out wildly, my foot connecting with something solid yet yielding. The grip loosened, and I shot back to the surface, heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst from my chest.

I treaded water frantically, glancing around in the gloom. The sound of the waterfall was muffled now, replaced by the loud splashing of my movements and the blood rushing in my ears. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I looked into the murky depths below.

A dark shape, sleek and sinister, circled beneath me. It moved with a predatory grace that sent shivers down my spine. In the dim light, I couldn’t make out its exact form. Was it serpentine? Shark-like? Or something far worse, something that had no place in the natural world?

Shit-shit-shit-shit.

Desperate for escape, for any kind of salvation, I spun around. My hands found a rough surface, a rock face slick with moss and algae. Remembering the mirror’s words about blood breaking the spell, I pressed my bleeding palm against the stone, praying for something, anything to happen.

Nothing. The rock remained cold and unyielding under my touch, indifferent to my plight.

A ripple in the water caught my attention. The shape was moving again, circling closer. I felt a brush against my thigh, so light it could have been seaweed, but I knew better. I kicked out violently, my legs churning the water into froth. My movements were panicked, uncoordinated, driven by pure animal fear.

The rational part of my mind knew I was only drawing more attention to myself, presenting a more tempting target. Yet rationality had no place here. Not with that thing in the water with me.

It brushed past me again, closer this time. I could almost feel its intent, its hunger. Was this a guardian set to protect the phoenix? Or something older, something that had always lurked in these waters, waiting for unwary prey?

My breath came in short, sharp gasps. The cold was seeping into my bones, my limbs growing heavier with each passing second. I couldn’t keep this up much longer. Soon, exhaustion would claim me, then…

No. I gritted my teeth. I couldn’t let that happen. Aurora needed me. My team was counting on me. I had to find a way out, keep fighting. But as the dark shape circled ever closer, panic tightened its grip on my heart.

Death was coming, and if I didn’t move fast, I wouldn’t escape its clutches.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I glanced at the wet rocks surrounding me, each one a potential key to this watery prison. Which stone held the magic I needed? They all looked the same. Slick, dark, indifferent to my plight. My bleeding hand trembled as I reached out, desperation making my movements clumsy.

The creature wiggled by me again, so close I felt the displacement of water against my skin. My heart leaped into my throat, choking me with fear. With a stifled cry, I slammed my palm against another rock, watching as my blood smeared down the stone in crimson rivulets. For a heartbeat, hope flared in my chest, then died as quickly as it had come. Nothing happened.

Suddenly, the creature struck. It wasn’t a gentle brush this time but a hard, deliberate bump that sent me reeling in the water. I gasped, inhaling a mouthful of icy liquid. As I sputtered and coughed, trying to keep my head above water, a flash of color caught my eye.

I looked down, blinking away tears of pain and fear, and my world tilted on its axis. The creature, which I had imagined as some nightmarish leviathan, was red. A vibrant, familiar red that stirred something in my memory. Red like flame. Red like a phoenix.

Understanding crashed over me like a wave. Without thinking, driven by instinct and hope, I drew a deep breath and dove under the water. The cold hit me anew, but I pushed past it, my eyes straining in the murky depths. There—a flash of red. I kicked hard, propelling myself toward it.

Time seemed to slow as I reached out, my bleeding palm extended toward the creature. For a moment, I thought I had missed, that this last mad gambit had failed. Then, my hand connected with something smooth and leathery.

The effect was instantaneous and extraordinary. A burst of light exploded from the point of contact, so bright it was visible even through my closed eyelids. The water around us vibrated with energy, tingling against my skin like static electricity.

I opened my eyes, squinting against the glow, and watched in awe as the creature transformed. It twirled in the water, faster and faster, becoming a whirlwind of light and color. The leathery skin rippled and changed, scales giving way to something softer, more delicate.

Feathers. They unfurled like blooming flowers, each a masterpiece of red and gold. The serpentine body reshaped itself, becoming more compact, more birdlike. A beak emerged where once had been a nightmarish maw.

The eyes captivated me the most. As the creature’s face reformed, the predatory hatred vanished from them. The red glow faded, replaced by a deep, vibrant green that seemed to swirl with inner light. And in those eyes, I saw something that made my heart swell. Gratitude. Pure, unbridled gratitude.

I smiled. I was looking at Aurora. A jolt of joy shot through my numbed limbs. She hadn’t been imprisoned behind a rock as I’d thought. No, Maci’s cruel magic had gone further, transforming the majestic creature into something designed to terrify and mislead me.

The phoenix now stood, freed by the spell-breaking power of my blood. As I watched, the last vestiges of the shark-like form melted away, revealing Aurora in all her glory. She was magnificent, more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.

Her feathers shimmered, reds and golds dancing in the dim light of the underwater cavern. Her eyes gazed at me with an intelligence and gratitude that took my breath away. At that moment, I understood why these creatures were so revered, so sought after. Aurora wasn’t simply a magical being. She was magic itself, personified in a goddess form.

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