The Phoenix King: The Thunderheart Chronicles Book 2 Read online

  Aidan couldn’t stop staring at Kyra, who lay unconscious on the floor.

  “The Elderborn coven is the oldest of the witches. They date back past history and into legend. Supposedly, soon after the Ancients made sorcerers, the most powerful wizards and mages turned dark, fast. They tried to wipe out any humanity without magic. The amoghs retreated to the forest, but the rest … they were defenseless. Until some of them learned how to use magic, and became the first witches. They saved the world. As thanks, the ancients gave them the gift of prophecy, more than the vague feelings sorcerers have. That coven became the Elderborn.

  “During the Great Wars they sided with Malcommer, and they were the ones employed to kill the kings of Sortiledge. They were supposed to be wiped out, but … well, here one is.”

  Timothy kept talking, but Aidan quit paying attention. The younger wizard would spout information for hours whenever he was scared. And clearly all of Aidan’s friends were. The power that had enveloped them was probably stronger than anything Timothy and Eleanor had ever felt, and Aaliyah had never known the grip of magic.

  Then why am I not afraid? Aidan asked himself. He’d felt the same thing that the rest had, but it was somehow familiar. And he also felt certain that the power would never, ever hurt him.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Aaliyah said, cutting off Timothy’s lecture mid-sentence. “The sooner we leave this town, the happier I’ll be. Did Derrin say where the egg might be?”

  “No,” Aidan answered, his eyes never leaving Kyra. “He won’t tell me until we agree to take Kyra with us.”

  “Absolutely not,” Timothy said. “The Elderborn witches have been enemies of sorcerers since their creation. It’s a miracle she hasn’t tried to kill us already. Oh wait, she did.”

  Kyra started to stir. Aaliyah unsheathed her knife, while Timothy and Eleanor pulled out their wands. Aidan still didn’t feel threatened enough to reach for his. Aidan watched as her gaze took the four of them in, armed and ready as they were, and she feebly reached for her pouch. The power must have weakened her.

  “Put those things away before you hurt somebody,” Derrin said from behind Aidan. He leaned heavily on the stair’s railing. “You are guests in our home and country. Act like it.”

  To Aidan’s surprise, all of his friends did as the old man commanded, even Aaliyah.

  “I understand I have some explaining to do, which I will while Kyra packs her bags. You will leave before nightfall.”

  “But—” Timothy started to say, but saw Derrin’s face and seemed to think better of it.

  The sick man said a few words in his language to Kyra, who then slowly stood to her feet and walked shakily up the stairs, shooting a glare at Aidan as she passed.

  “Come. Sit,” Derrin said, motioning to the floor. The living room occupied most of the downstairs space, save for the room where Aidan had been sleeping. The area was adorned only by two chairs and a small table, which had been pushed off to the side, a large bookshelf, and a cold fireplace.

  Derrin lowered himself into one of the chairs while the wizards and amogh sat before him, like children gathering for a bedtime story, though not without some grumbling.

  “Kyra does not fully understand who she is,” Derrin said, “Even when the Elderborn Witches were at their greatest, only one in ten were bestowed with the gift of prophecy. Kyra is not aware that she is the first in over a century to be able to tell the future.”

  “So that is her first?” Timothy asked.

  “No,” Derrin replied, “She believes she has an illness. She cannot remember what happens when she begins to prophesize. It has occurred seven times in her life. Every other time, the prophecy has saved this village. I have a book on the top shelf that describes everything I know about the Elderborn episodes. You will take it with you on your journey. Did you record everything she said?”

  “I did,” Eleanor replied. Aidan faintly remembered a spell that would write down anything that was heard. Eleanor must have been using it.

  “But I don’t understand.” Timothy said, “This village seems to need Kyra desperately. Why would you want us to take her? I doubt she likes the idea any more than we do.”

  Derrin chuckled. “No, it will not be easy to convince her to leave. But she cannot stay here. Kyra’s talents currently remain unknown to Malcommer. If he were to find out that she possesses prophecy and the knowledge of witchcraft, he would either make her a slave or a soldier. I want to show her that there is a world outside this village. A world she can escape to, when the time comes.”

  Aaliyah, who had been silent till now, spoke up. “Malcommer is gathering soldiers? How big is his army?”

  Derrin sighed. “At least twelve thousand strong.”

  Aidan gulped. That was far more than his master had feared. Sortiledge was truly unprepared to go to war against an enemy so vast.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Timothy said. “We still can’t take her. I’m very sorry that she is in danger, but her kind and ours have been at war for far longer than Malcommer’s reign.”

  The old man’s eyes narrowed. “Then you can wander around the countryside until a pack of hellhounds rips you to pieces. Either way, we have given you safe harbor and time to heal when Malcommer would have had us kill you on sight. Talk amongst yourselves; you have twenty minutes to decide.” So saying, he stood and began his arduous journey up the stairs.

  They waited until he was out of earshot to begin talking.

  “I say we leave before anyone else notices we’re here,” Timothy said. “The phoenix egg is emitting a lot of power. With a few days I may be able to locate it.”

  “I agree,” Aaliyah said. “I don’t know what that prophecy was, but I don’t trust that girl. If Malcommer’s going to take her, she shouldn’t have been a witch.”

  Eleanor looked horrified. “What is wrong with both of you!? She’s just a girl! If I had been a witch and not a wizard, would you leave me?”

  “Of course not, but that’s different.” Timothy said.

  “How, how is it different?” Eleanor replied.

  “It’s … well, Aidan, you understand, right?” Timothy shot his friend an apologetic look.

  Aidan suddenly realized that all the eyes on the room were trained on him. Uh oh. He recalled what Derrin had said, about him being the leader. He closed his eyes. When he spoke, he did so slowly.

  “I think Eleanor is right,” he said. Aaliyah stood and walked to the back room, slamming the door on her way. Well this is going great already. But Eleanor nodded at him to continue, so he did. “She’s just a girl. The things Malcommer would do to her … we cant’ let that happen. Besides, if we can track the egg then our enemies can too. We need a guide who knows the land.”

  There was silence for a moment while Timothy considered his words. Aidan could see that he wanted to be on Eleanor’s side, but was very, very afraid.

  “We can’t communicate with her. She doesn’t speak our language,” he said.

  Eleanor spoke up again. “I think I can fix that. Remember that spell that writes down what you hear? I modified it to only record what I think is important. I bet if modify it and cast it on a powerful wizard—” she nodded to Aidan “—it could translate. Both ways.”

  Timothy sighed dejectedly. “Guys, I don’t know … I feel like something really bad is going to happen if we do this.”

  Aidan suddenly perked up. Sorcerers had a sort of foreshadowing ability that would give them feelings and ideas of what was to come. It wasn’t nearly as specific as Kyra’s prophecy had been, but the last time Timothy had mentioned his power, the fort where mages and wizards trained had been attacked. Several sorcerers had lost their lives. For some reason, Aidan couldn’t engage this ability any more than he could decide his aptitude.

  “I’m not feeling that danger,” Eleanor said. “But I am feeling something really bad happening to her if we leave her.”

  They sat in silence for a few moments before Aaliyah rejoined them. Aidan was sh
ocked to see that the knuckles of her right hand were bloody. He had often hurt his hands while releasing his rage on a bedpost or wall, but Aaliyah was always calm and controlled. She must have been more frightened of Kyra than any of them.

  “What’s the plan?” Aaliyah asked.

  “We’re taking her with us,” Timothy said, staring at the floor.

  “Fine,” Aaliyah said, “but if she tries to kill us, I’m going to slit her throat.”

  Aidan didn’t doubt it.

  ***

  “No, I’m not going,” Kyra said, tears forming in her eyes. Derrin, who was sitting on her bed while she leaned against the wall, had been pushing her to leave since the strangers arrived. She loved her adopted father, but he wasn’t making any sense. “Why would you want me to go? The village needs me. You need me.” The truth was that Kyra wanted to leave, even if it was with those sorcerers. She longed to explore, be in the company of people her age, and find out who she really was. And that boy with the dragon scars, Aidan. Who was he? There was something so familiar about him, like someone she had seen in a dream. Of course, that wasn’t possible; he didn’t even speak Aranumen.

  “Kyra,” Derrin said, “my little Kyra. Your entire life has been building up to this moment. Why are you so afraid of leaving us? Don’t tell me it is the soldiers; they won’t be back for a long time.”

  “It’s just … how will I know if you need me? The hellhounds have been aggressive this year, and the roc has been spotted three times. If anything happens to you … I’ve already lost one parent, I can’t lose another.”

  Derrin sighed. “Kyra, what happened to your mother was not your fault. Garret was the one who killed her, and one day he will pay for that. But the past has passed, and your future is waiting. Go. Take it with open arms. And, if it makes you feel better, take one of your mother’s communication crystals.”

  Kyra nodded, hope slowly rising in her chest. There was still one thing that worried her, but she couldn’t tell Derrin about it. That prophecy—even though she’d spoken it in another language, she remembered and understood every word. Derrin didn’t know that she was still conscious during the episodes, and she wanted to keep it that way. As long as he was in the dark about her gift, he wouldn’t know that her mother’s death was truly Kyra’s fault.

  “If I go, you check in with me once a week. And the second there is trouble, you call me.”

  Derrin smiled. “Very well. Now pack your things. It’s almost time.”

  ***

  Aidan felt his wanderlust rise as he and his companions stood in the center of the village. Derrin had come out to see them off, though he was clearly exhausted.

  “Unfortunately, your path lies north, but you are going to have to deviate first. If your griffin is alive, she’ll have gone that way,” he said, pointing towards the southern horizon. “There is a mountain, veiled from sight until you are about a mile away. It’s known as the eagle’s nest, and is the home of the roc.”

  “The roc?” Timothy said. “It’s a legend. There is no such thing.”

  “A rock?” Aidan asked, feeling stupid. “Like, on the ground rock? What’s wrong with a rock?”

  Timothy sighed. Aidan knew his friend was still unhappy about Kyra joining their party.

  “A roc is a giant bird of prey, rumored to be large enough to feast on dragons. But it’s impossible, a creature that large would require massive amounts of food to sustain itself, and it was never seen during the Great Wars.”

  “That’s because it was hibernating.” Derrin said. “The roc is a creature of magic, and has rested for over two hundred years. Now, however, it needs to feed. It has been hunting by night, and during the day it calls all creatures of magic to its mountain, where it devours them.”

  Timothy shook his head. “Assuming you’re right, wouldn’t the roc just eat the phoenix egg, or consume its power?”

  Derrin shook his head. “The roc is an old creature, and distantly related to phoenix. It will not harm its brethren.”

  Timothy laughed. “Are you actually claiming that the mythical giant eagle is intelligent?”

  The old man raised an eyebrow. “Of course. Who else would keep up a cloaking spell?”

  Timothy opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally, he turned and began to walk towards the woods. Aidan was surprised. For as long as he had known his friend, Timothy had known everything about everything.

  Kyra, who was armed with a strangely decorated Rakka steel dagger, her bag of ingredients, and a pack with a sleeping roll, kissed her adopted father on the cheek and then followed Timothy. Eleanor curtsied, and then she and Aaliyah also turned towards the trees. Aidan was about to follow when Derrin caught his shoulder.

  “Boy, take care of her. She is strong, but her destiny is hard.”

  Aidan frowned. “I will, but our journey is north. We will have to come back to this village in a few days, won’t we?”

  Derrin smiled sadly. “Of course you will lad, of course.”

  Aidan nodded and turned. Something was very wrong with this town. Before he reached the tree line he looked back. “Sir, where are you from?”

  The old man looked down at the ground. “I was born here, in Aranumis. This very village. But my parents were from another realm entirely. A place called Terra.”

  Aidan felt something stir inside him with that word, a strange sort of longing. Terra.

  “Good luck, Aidan Rune. I hope you find what you are looking for.”

  It wasn’t until Aidan had caught up with his friends that he wondered how Derrin knew his last name.

  ***

  Derrin waited until they were well out of sight before he pulled the communication crystal, which was connected to Kyra’s, out of his robes. “I’m sorry little one,” he whispered, “but your future is too important to waste on an old man like me.”

  He dropped his crystal to the ground and then raised his cane.

  “Goodbye Kyra.”

  He brought the walking stick down with what little strength he could muster. The crystal shattered, as did his last hope of ever hearing his daughter’s voice again.

  ***

  Aidan found himself at the rear of the group as they travelled. Timothy and Aaliyah were at the front discussing where to go when they were proven right.

  “It doesn’t matter what the old man said, we still need to go south. The griffin probably headed back toward Sortiledge.”

  “Yeah, but we’ll never catch up with it on foot. Maybe if we stumble across a town they’ll have some horses or griffins we can steal.”

  Eleanor and Kyra came next. The sorceress was trying to build a very complicated translation spell. “I need a baseline, some simple words to go between the two languages. Of course you can’t understand anything I’m saying. Here, what is this?”

  The blonde girl shoved a leaf in the witch’s face.

  “Florac?”

  “Interesting, our languages seem to be similar, I wonder when they split?”

  Aidan lost attention drifted after that. He had a lot to think about. So far their mission had been a disaster. They had lost the egg, which had been the only hope Sortiledge really had, and weren’t any closer to the one person who might be able to hatch it. And what would Aidan do when he met his father, if his father was even alive? Maybe he was just a drunk who happened to find a pretty stone.

  And then there was Derrin. The old man was hiding something, of that much Aidan was certain. Kyra’s adopted father reminded the wizard of the elf who had saved his and Aaliyah’s life, Aeron. Aidan had found Aeron’s camp by using an old map in a sorcerer’s book given to him at Fort Phoenix. After saving their lives, Aeron had mentioned that he knew Aidan’s father, but didn’t tell Aidan how. The wizard had tried to find Aeron for weeks after the Battle of the Isle, but to no avail. It seemed as if no one had ever heard of him. Bartemus had even visited the elven camp, but all of its people claimed they had never seen or heard of him.

  Aidan was pulled
out of his thoughts when they stumbled upon a river. It was moving far too quickly to cross safely, and even if it weren’t, the water was much too cold. Timothy was already looking at a map Derrin had given them when Aidan reached the shore.

  “There is a large bridge that—oh.”

  Kyra had already started walking along the river’s edge. She looked back and said something that Aidan was pretty sure meant, “Are you coming?”

  Slowly they followed her, all too aware that they were being led by a former enemy through enemy territory. She didn’t seem to understand the haste of the situation. She kicked every small pebble out of her way, and at one point the witch hopped on top of a fallen log and tiptoed across it for no reason at all.

  In the end though, they made it to the bridge. It was old, very old. It seemed as though a path had once existed on either side, but now it was now so overgrown that it would be easier to walk through a forest.

  The bridge was made of stone, and arched high above the water. Something about it unnerved Aidan.

  “Well, that was easy,” Eleanor said, stepping onto the rock.

  The air was suddenly split by a roar, and Kyra pulled Eleanor off the bridge by her arm.

  A claw appeared on the side of the stonework, followed by another.

  “Bridge troll!” Timothy yelled, pulling out his wand. Aaliyah unslung her bow, and Kyra reached into her bag. Aidan felt the Phoenix Ring come to life, as if somewhere inside the spirit of Marcus Thunderheart was screaming for battle.

  The creature pulled itself over the railing and onto the stone. Aidan knew little about most magical creatures, but he had learned some about trolls while studying the goblin, Grogg, that had possessed Timothy. Trolls, goblins, and orcs lived in massive communities akin to an ant’s nest. Goblins were the workers, farmers, healers, and caretakers. Orcs played the role of soldier, while the massive trolls made up the royal family. Of course, there were far too many trolls to all rule a kingdom, so often the smallest and weakest would be banished from the nests. They would take up residence in caves, forests, and even under bridges until they grew strong enough to find a mate and start their own nests.