The Phoinix: Age of Demigods (39 page)

“She is a baby. How big of a threat
can she be?” Breanna asked what they were all thinking.

“She has half The Power,
Breanna
,
and
unlike you, she knows how to use those powers to the extreme. She
is the greatest threat to the entire world now. This is all thanks
to Eoghan not resisting a simple fertility spell. Next
time
,
take a swim
in
a
cold lake.”
Arawn stared daggers at Eoghan.

The idea
that
he fathered baby
Elpis nauseated Eoghan. “Oh, gods,” Eoghan ran to the door and
vomited around the corner.

“So our task has gotten
much harder,” Leo added
,
frustrated, looking at his brothers. “In order to
fulfill our ‘destiny’, we need to destroy Elpis, who is now
Breanna’s equal in power
.
How delightful.”

“She is a baby. Not even
gods can wield their powers as
infants
,” Cole
said
,
not
understanding why everyone was so afraid of Elpis.

“She will not be a baby for long,”
Brian answered.

Eoghan returned, wiping his mouth,
still nauseous. He glanced at Bre but immediately averted eye
contact. He cannot face her without facing his own
failures.

A
Gasp from the bed silenced everyone,
drawing
their attention to Alina.
She opened her eyes wide in panic and
scanned the room
for Bre.
They
softened when they
landed on Breanna’s face, seeing she was all right. Alina
reached
out
a
hand for her daughter and spoke in a hushed voice, “I failed you.
Forgive me, Sweetheart.”

Bre reached for her hand,
but Alina arched her back and
painfully
gasped
for air.

As Alina exhaled, her hand
fell from her chest and hung limp over side of the bed. Everyone
held their breaths, waiting for her to inhale
again
,
but her
chest never rose.

“No, Mama!” Bre cried and ran to
Alina.

Cailean jumped out of
Bre’s way
and wiped
tears from his eyes.

Bre cradled her mother’s
head and swayed with her body on the bed. Alina was cold and gave
Bre shivers
,
but
she refused to let her go. Remus patted his daughter’s back and
kissed the top of her head, but
then
he
smiled at his grieving
daughter.

“
I never got to say
goodbye to either of you
.”
Breanna’s tears fell onto Alina’s strawberry
blonde hair. She gripped her father’s hand as
she sobbed
.

Remus’ hands were strong
and steady. His grasp forced Bre’s hand to stop shaking
uncontrollably
.

To everyone’s surprise, Breanna
stopped weeping and her eyes turned black as she lifted her head,
facing Arawn.

“Bring her back,” Bre
growled. “You are the god of the underworld,
her father!
You can bring her
back!”

Arawn slowly shook his head. “I cannot
do that, Breanna. She is gone. What is dead must stay dead. This
was her destiny. Once The Power is removed, that life is
forsaken.”

“Bring her back before I
destroy the underworld to do it myself!
”
Bre screamed. Power swelled in her chest and increased the turmoil
of her rage.

“Calm yourself, Sweetheart,” Alina’s
sweet voice called out from behind Arawn.

Everyone standing behind
Arawn scurried next to the bed where Bre held her mother’s dead
body. Arawn
stepped aside
to allow Bre to see Alina’s smiling face.
She
wore a
gold
dress with her hair pinned into a bun
,
surrounded by a golden
crown.

Arawn waved his hand and Alina’s body
disappeared from Breanna’s arms. Bre fell forward from the lack of
weight in her lap.

Bre climbed off the bed
and rushed to her mother
.
“I can’t lose you. There is still so much you
have not taught me. Tell me how to fix this.”

Alina squeezed her
daughter, cradling her head against her breasts
.
“You have everything you’ll ever
need. You have your powers, your brothers, Lysandros, and the Clan
o’Conaill.” Alina smiled at each as she named them. “When you need
me the most, I will be there. Your father and I will always aid you
in your most dire
times
, but you must go now, Breanna. The world needs its heroes
back.”

“How can I save the world
when I cannot
even
save my own parents?” Breanna sobbed.

“Because you must,” Alina
replied as if the answer were simple. “Listen to me carefully; all
that I can offer you now is knowledge about the prophecy. Elpis has
been reborn and she will have two goals in her new life: revenge
and power. She will want to destroy the pantheons that created
her
,
and it is
your job to save them. In saving the gods, you save the world.
Elpis must not get your half of The Power. The world must be
protected at all costs, even if that means sacrificing everything
you love.” Alina’s face was stern
,
but her eyes were sad
.
She knew
the unfair choices that awaited
her daughter.

However, Alina quickly
changed her demeanor with a
satisfied
smile as she looked over
her loving friends and family.

Remus came up behind
Breanna and squished her in a bear hug
.
“I love you, Princess. You must
call upon your uncle and Rome for help. Do not be afraid to use its
force. After all, you are the granddaughter of Mars, especially
since our kingdom is now part of Rome.” Remus flashed Bre a giant,
playful smile. "Oh
,
and look, you have my half of the
pendant
. Keep it safe and it will
keep you safe,” he said
,
pleased as he gently raised the gold pendant with
his finger to watch the torch light shimmer in the
metal.

He picked Bre
up
off her feet and spun
her around in the air.

“He took over Etruria?”
Cailean asked
,
shocked
.
“Breanna is the heir to the kingdom
.
How can Romulus claim that land
for himself?”

“Because he now knows
Breanna is The Queen. She is not only the heir to Etruria, but also
the heir to the throne of the world.
Mark
my words:
He will bow to you,
Breanna
,
or
father will see to him.” Remus winked and smiled again.

Remus lifted Bre’s chin
and kissed her forehead before walking to the doorway,
where he waited
patiently for Alina.

“You must go now,” Alina
advised. “Time passes differently here. When you return, you will
all age to your proper earth year. I also fear
that
Brian and Arawn are
right
.
With the
help of The Morrigan and Eversor’s powers, Elpis will also have
aged tremendously and will be able to fight.”

Alina kissed Bre then
hugged the o’Conaill brothers, Lysandros, and Eoghan. Tears
welled
in her eyes as
she said her goodbyes. When Alina came to her three sons, they each
silently cried as they hugged their mother for the last
time.

“You cannot leave her. If
you three are not there for the final battle, she will not
succeed,” she whispered so only the brothers could
hear
;
however
,
due to their connection
,
Breanna heard what her mother murmured to
them.

Alina kissed her sons one
last time then walked over to the door where Remus held out
his
hand.
She
turned to face the
group, who were now all in tears, and blew them a kiss.

Remus snapped his fingers and they
both disappeared.

“Don’t worry about your
mother. I have made comfortable arrangements for her and your
father.” Arawn smiled. “However, Alina is right
.
I must get you back to your world.
You have spent far too much time here and the lives of the gods are
in your hands.” Arawn turned to Breanna
.
“As for you, my precious
granddaughter, allow me to give you a gift.” Arawn cupped his hand
and ball of grey smoke emerged.

Arawn tossed the ball and hit Bre in
the chest. She stumbled backwards as a black light burned in her
chest.

“What was that?”
Bre
examined
her
body
,
expecting a
burn mark.

“You have your mother’s powers over
the dead now. Be careful with them, they can be intoxicating and
will consume you if you allow it.” Arawn rubbed his hands together
and licked his lower lip. He bent down to whisper in Bre’s ear,
“Remember the earthquake on Delos.”

Arawn’s whisper confused Breanna. She
learned of the earthquake on Delos and its mass destruction when
she was younger. She remembered her father and Lysandros spent a
year there helping to rebuild houses and bury the dead.

“Why would you remind me of such a
tragedy?” Bre asked confused.

Arawn cleared his
throat
,
ignoring
Bre’s question. “Now stand together
.
I don’t want to miss any of you.”
Arawn herded everyone around Bre
.
“Goodbye, Breanna
.
I will be watching.”

Arawn swung his arms out wide and
black smoke poured in around the group.

Through the smoke, Arawn
called out, “
Tilleadh
!”

Chapter 30

Preparations

T
he group found themselves back in their world, standing in
the middle of a green field
with
woods
on
one side and a deep valley pass on the
other.
Ahead
of
them, a wild boar roasting over a fire welcomed them to a cozy,
protected area for camp. Tents
were
already set up around the fire with bedding
neatly made. Their horses
were
tied to a tree with a trough of oat and grass to
eat. Lupa, Clover, Leora, and Aurora immediately devoured a pile of
dead rabbits left off to the side.

“Where are we?” Cole asked, surveying
the area.

“Cymru,” Brian sighed nostalgically.
He smiled as he headed to the fire. “It’s nice to be
home.”

“Ooo, boar!” Leo gleefully yelled and
ran over to rip off a piece of meat.

Cole started to make a
comment to Leo
,
but before he could a cloud of red smoke swirled around the
group. They gagged and coughed on the thick smoke, trying to wave
it away, until it dissipated like a morning fog. A piece of pork
fell from Leo’s mouth as he stood staring at his brothers in
shock.

“Everyone alright?” Lysandros called
out, examining his body and still coughing from the dense
smoke.

“Holy Tartarus, we’ve aged!” Cailean
yelled out as he scanned the group.

The men had long hair with
unkempt beards
, as if they had
lived in the wilderness for years.

“Alina did say that would happen,”
Brian added while checking himself, making sure nothing changed too
much.

“Anyone feel different?” Cole
asked.

“Umm, well…yes,” Eoghan replied,
awkwardly presenting himself to the group.

His pants rose a few
inches above his ankles and his belt
seemed to have
shrunk around his
waist. His normal scruff
had
turned into a full beard like the rest of the
men. His blue tunic ripped from his
large
, bulging chest muscles. He
stood three inches taller than before and his hair
fell
six inches
longer.

“I’m a little different as well,”
Breanna added.

Bre’s pants were slightly
shorter than before but nowhere near as bad as Eoghan’s. She
now
filled out her
shirt, making it apparent that her bust-line grew. Everyone
averted
their eyes as
she tried to loosen her tunic to make it less obvious. Her hair was
longer and her lips fuller. She transformed from a pretty teenager
to a beautiful woman
armed
with killer curves and luscious looks.