Chapter 8: Phoenix 1

Phoenix shook his head before looking at the light again. “What is—?”

“It’s Marina!” Glancing at Trinity, Phoenix gasped, her eyes glowing like the blue sky. “She’s attacking someone nearby. There should be a voice inside.” She walked up to the orb, Phoenix following as a soft voice came out.

“Stop…leave them alone…”

“That’s Ember’s voice!” Phoenix said.

Without another word, Trinity ran down the road. After a few houses, she paused and looked around. Sliding to a stop, Phoenix turned and led the sprint. Within five minutes, they were back at his house. It was eerily silent as Phoenix opened the door.

He jumped back.

Jaene and Patrick lay unconscious on the floor. Ember was trapped by the bookshelf, a monster made of pink liquid before her. On the other side of the room was Marina with her foot on Alexander’s back. He looked up from the floor. “Trinity!” he called.

Marina spun towards the pair and glared. “I should’ve known,” she snarled, stepping off Alexander. “My monster, take care of them!”

Phoenix trembled, Trinity standing before him. “Aria, watch over our fates!” she shouted, hand in the air. “Curtain, rise!”

The room became blue, a dark cloud forming above them. Electricity sparked around Trinity as she transformed into her armor. Skin warm, Phoenix watched as flames spun around him before his clothes changed to the ones he had before. In a flash, the liquid monster slid towards them. They jumped out the way. Running around the beast, Trinity dodged its arm as it tried to grab her. Electricity formed in her hands, and she threw each attack.

Both missed.

One wet arm grabbed her by the waist, lifting her into the air. It spun her around a few times before throwing her into a wall. “Ow,” she muttered. Phoenix stood against the opposite wall, his body shaking.

Was he truly this cursed?

The monster grabbed Trinity again, and she winced. Taking both hands, she slammed them into the liquid. She blasted lightning through it, causing it to spark. Shaking, the monster let her go. “This is a little tough,” Trinity muttered as she looked at her fellow Protectors. “Why aren’t you fighting, Phoenix?”

He stepped back. “I…” he muttered.

He was too ashamed to admit how scared he was. But before he could say anything else, Trinity was punched in the stomach. Gagging, she flew into the bookshelf, knocking it over. “Trinity!” Alexander yelled. Trembles growing, Phoenix clutched his arms. He truly was a curse on everyone near him. And as the monster dashed towards him, he braced for the impact. The pain he knew he deserved.

Smack!

Phoenix’s fear morphed to shock. Standing between him and the monster was Ember, the pink liquid squeezing her body. “How is she moving?” Alexander said, mouth hanging open as he stood. “Non-magical humans shouldn’t be able to move in a Curtain.”

“Ember! What are you doing?” Phoenix yelled.

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“…I knew,” she said softly. “I saw the monster was coming…that’s why I had you leave.”

“What?”

Ember turned partly. “Magic runs in our family. Father is a Guardian, remember?” Phoenix flinched. His sister gazed at him with glowing red eyes, a weak smile on her pale face. “I wanted to use mine…to make up for being a horrible sister. For not looking out for you after the accident…Phoenix, I am so sorry.”

Ember closed her eyes, and the monster let her go. She fell to the floor, Phoenix staring at her. Mind swirling and body warm, his hanging hands formed fists. “You,” he muttered, turning towards Marina and the monster. “My siblings…only harass me. They make it clear each day I’m here how much of a curse I am on this family. And yet…despite that…” a bright light began to shine from his hand, heat spreading through his arm, “…I won’t let you hurt them!”

Fire shot out of Phoenix’s hand and surrounded him. Heat filled the room as the flames spun before morphing into a bow. Shaking off the shock, Phoenix pulled the string like he had during his shooting lessons with Father, a glowing fire arrow forming. Pointing at the monster, he shot the arrow, it going straight into it.

The pink liquid boiled into steam, leaving a damp circle on the floor.

Marina cringed, backed against the wall. “You two…I will defeat for sure!” she said before vanishing in her spiral of crystals.

The Curtain faded away along with Phoenix’s attack. He looked around his home, broken glass and books on the floor. Trinity stood from the fallen bookshelf rubbing her back while giving him a small grin. “Let’s move the victims somewhere comfortable,” Alexander said. “Then, we should talk.”

Nodding, Phoenix moved his siblings to their beds with the others’ help. Once making sure they were only sleeping, he followed Alexander and Trinity outside and to the back of his home. They stood near Pippin’s stable, Phoenix silently feeding him a sugar cube. “Are you alright, Phoenix?” Trinity said.

He flinched, unsure how to answer. Was he alright? His brain was spinning, making it hard to find the words. Taking a deep breath and gazing at his horse, he said, “That was incredible. To feel all that magic was amazing.” He continued to pet Pippin. “I knew of my family’s magic but believed I would never have it. I didn’t even want Protectors to exist. If they did, one could’ve…” he looked down, “…he should’ve saved them.”

“Phoenix?”

“But now look at me.” He held his hands out before him, staring at his palms. “I not only inherited his powers…I’m the new Protector of Fire.” Spinning around, an excited smile spread on Phoenix’s face. “We actually became Protectors, Trinity!” She gasped, bottom lip quivering a bit. After a moment, she returned his smile with a nod. Realizing what he was doing, Phoenix stepped back, face warm. “Um, will my siblings be alright?”

“They should be fine,” Alexander said. “Outside of the one sister, the other two shouldn’t remember what happened.”

Letting out a breath of relief, Phoenix turned back to Trinity. “I wouldn’t had been able to save them without your orbs of light. So…thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” she said, hands on her hips. “It’s what being a Protector is all a—”

“I’ll help you find the missing Protectors.”

Trinity blinked, arms dangling, before smiling wide. “You will?”

“To…” Phoenix looked away with red cheeks, “…learn more about The Heavenly Star and The Areiria. And that’s all!”

“Right, right.” Coming closer, Trinity took both of his hands, making him jump. “Welcome to the team!” Gazing at her bright smile, Phoenix almost returned it.

Once he was stronger, he would.

Clearing his throat, Alexander stepped between them, breaking Trinity’s hold on Phoenix. “Well, now that everything’s settled, here is the location of the next Protector,” he said.

He took out and unrolled his large map, a red star over Southern Bridge. A white one glowed further south over a large town. “The southern region?” Trinity said.

“That’s the main town, Cameria, isn’t it?” Phoenix said.

Nodding, Alexander rolled the map back up. “Since it’ll be a longer trip than the one from Atland Village to here, we will leave tomorrow morning. You should use this time to rest and gather supplies.”

Traveling to Cameria was not something Phoenix expected to ever do. He knew his uncle would worry, and he would have to collect something to prove he was still working. And while he had many questions for Ember, he couldn’t wait to get away from Jaene and Patrick. Hearing a little squeal, he glanced at Trinity, her eyes sparkling.

The shining girl with the loving family.

“Maybe,” Phoenix said, “we should head back to Atland Village first so Trinity can—”

“Let’s go to the southern region!” Trinity shouted, sprinting back into the house. Sighing, Phoenix followed.

It was going to be an interesting experience.