Page 52 of The Dark Rises
Her easy acceptance of his request to wait irritates me. “I’m going to the library to send the message.”
Fire Fae use the fire network to send coded messages. The Phoenix keep a fire lit at all times for this very purpose. It’s an old method of communication, but one of the most secure. Very few races can intercept them.
Comfortable furniture and shelves filled with old books gives the small library a cozy feeling. The fireplace stands in the center, surrounded by white marble, and it takes a mere thought to light it. Once the fire is roaring, I write a message to Aeris, asking her to meet tomorrow and include all the details.
Once the message arrives, a sentinel will have to find Aeris. I prowl around the library while I wait. There’s a curious number of artifacts in here. Weapons stored in glass cases. Oddities from the supernatural world. A MacAllister grimoire.
I make my way toward the military section. Once upon a time, I enjoyed reading books on the histories of wars, armies of old, and battle strategies and tactics. I run my finger down the spine of a familiar friend.Aerial Combat Strategies. One of my favorite books. It was written by a dragon, but many of the tactics served us well during the Fire Fae Rebellion. The elite squad I led was one of the best. Pride surfaces from somewhere deep inside me. For the longest time, I’ve made myself forget that part of me. Not anymore.
Whoosh! Her reply. I reach into the fire and grab the message.
She agrees to the meeting, and my terms, but refuses to stay long. The only reason she wants to meet is to say the formal ritesof passage for Brixton, a traditional Phoenix ritual to send the soul on its way to the afterlife.
Looks like Cormal was right. Her allegiance to Brixton supersedes her past affection for me. Abandoned by the very race and family I sacrificed everything for is a betrayal so deep I can’t breathe. All this time, I thought it was my father’s need for blood and war that made him reject me. Tiernan was right. Very few remember what I did for my people.
My palm itches, and I stride out of the library heading directly to the training room. I need to burn off the emotions and thoughts swirling around inside before tomorrow. Sentiment will only cloud my judgement. I swing the sword, and Arden’s training spell activates. For the next two hours, I battle imaginary foes and nameless faces as I try to forget those I left behind.
When my mind is clear and my muscles are on fire, I sheath my sword and head toward my room. Passing Meri’s door, I hear the quiet murmurs of conversation between her and Cormal. I stop and raise my hand but drop it when I hear her laughter. Now isn’t the time to talk, but she was right earlier. I’ve been too wrapped up in my own torment to see a way forward, but that ends with this meeting. It’s time to let go of the past and embrace my future. With her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
RIVAN
Dawn in the land of Winter is bright with the light bouncing off the ice and snow. Theron brings us in several miles from the meeting point to make sure they haven’t infiltrated his land in an attempt to surround us. High in the mountains, he surveys the area below. Once assured it’s empty, we head down.
Brutal winds slam into us as we begin the journey to meet the Phoenix. From the valley to Southland Meadows is only a few miles. Thankful for the parka’s thick protection, I burrow into its warmth. Except for Arden and Theron, who are wearing Fae armor, the rest of us are bundled from head to toe, trying to conserve our magic in case the meeting doesn’t go well. I eye the thin, almost impenetrable fabric covering their bodies. It must also regulate temperature, as neither of them seems to be the least bit cold. There is one big disadvantage to the armor… it doesn’t protect against faery fire. Let’s hope nobody regenerates today.
Both the light and dark Fae armies thought themselves superior with their lightning fast skills, high-level magic, and armor, but the Fire Fae proved them wrong during the rebellion. Defeating the Phoenix means finding a way to bring about eternal death. If not, they end up fighting the same soldiers over and over.
Coming out of the mountains, Madoc signals for us to stop, then pulls a jar of clear, thick liquid out of his pocket. “Dip the tips of your weapons into the toxin. Be careful not to get any of it on you.”
Taking a deep breath, I unsheathe my sword and step forward. “What is it?” I want to be sure it isn’t something that will permanently damage my kind. They may not want me in their ranks, but I still consider myself a Phoenix.
He wrinkles his nose. “Aamon’s saliva. It’s a mild toxin that will incapacitate our enemies for ten minutes tops, giving us only enough time to disarm them. So, if we end up in a fight, we need to finish before they’re able to move again.”
“Ewww,” Meri drawls, as she dips a pair of gold daggers into the mixture. She pulls out the tips and watches the thick glob separate and slowly slide down into the jar. “Gross.”
Theron’s eyebrow twitches as he eyes the mixture. “Does it wash off?”
“Yes, but I’d sterilize your weapons with an astringent like alcohol, too,” Madoc suggests.
Once everyone has added the mixture to their weapons, which includes a wide assortment of swords, daggers, throwing stars, and arrows, he dips a wicked-looking black curved blade into the mixture. As well as several other sharp, pointy things. But my eye keeps returning to the blade. It looks familiar, but I can’t place it right now.
As the valley meets the meadows, the ice disappears, leaving only a few inches of snow to cover the land. I stop the groupwhen I see my sister and her men. They’re almost at the meeting point. I scan the skies, looking for wings of flame, but spot only a few. Uneasy, I count the soldiers with her on the ground and add the ones flying above. Ten. More than we agreed.
Aware it’s not just me, I turn toward the group. “They have more than the seven we dictated in our terms. What do you want to do?”
Theron shrugs. “Three more makes little difference to me. Fallon? Arden?”
Fallon squints at the sky. “Something seems off to me, but I can’t figure it out.”
We all stare at the blue-grey sky above us, but it’s not until I turn my head to the side that I catch something with my peripheral vision. I turn back, but there’s nothing but sky.
Meri shades her eyes with her hands. “The sky is moving.”
“What do you mean?” I ask her, moving to view the sky from behind her so I can see what she’s seeing.
“I don’t want to point, but if you look at my six o’clock, you’ll see the slightest movement,” she murmurs, aware of the way sound carries across the land.
