The Phoinix: Age of Demigods (8 page)

Alina looked down at her stomach as
she pressed her palm against the inch long slit in her abdomen.
Gazing up at her attacker, she breathed, “I guess we know who
betrayed us.”

The treasonous guard smirked and bent
down to whisper in the queen’s ear, “Your daughter’s fate is now
locked in history. She will not survive her destiny.”

As the guard raised his sword to slay
the wounded queen, a warrior Alina knew well stepped in front of
her and deflected the attack.

“Lysandros,” Alina coughed with a
slight smile.

Alina always admired Lysandros, and
watching him protect her increased her admiration. Lysandros
stretched to 5’10” with long black hair that he kept tied back with
a leather strap. His deep brown eyes always made Alina feel safe.
Even in a ferocious state of war, his eyes were kind for the queen,
bringing her peace.

In one foul swoop of Lysandros’
broadsword, the treasonous guard’s sword soared across the room and
Lysandros sliced through his abdomen. He then wheeled his sword
above his head to take another swing. However, the guard vanished
before Lysandros’ sword connected with his neck.

Lysandros turned to his injured queen
and sat down to support her head on his lap. Seconds later, Remus
slid on the ground to reach her, not caring as his knees cracked
against the stone floor.

Rage and guilt filled Lysandros’ as
his usual kind eyes widened in fear. He turned to Remus, ashamed of
his late arrival. “Remus, I came as soon as I saw Romulus enter the
gates. I’m so sorry.”

Remus did not acknowledge Lysandros’
statement. Instead, he caressed his wife’s hair and gently placed
his other hand over her wound. Remus looked at Lysandros and said,
“If you leave now and make it to the Forest of Slàinte, on the
Northern border of our kingdom, she will live.” Remus’ eyes
silently begged Lysandros to save his wife.

With the hand not covered in Alina’s
blood, Remus gripped the back of Lysandros’ neck and pulled him in
so their foreheads touched, hiding his distressed eyes. He
struggled with his words, opening and closing his mouth without a
sound. His grip tightened on Lysandros’ neck when he finally found
his farewell, “You are the best soldier in my army, Lys. You,
Brian, and Cailean have been by my side for centuries, since before
we left Palatine Hill. I owe my life and my family’s lives to you
three. You are like my brother, Lysandros, never forget
that.”

A lump formed in the back of
Lysandros’ throat and his breath caught in his chest. Unable to say
a word to his long-time friend, Lysandros nodded once as water
filled his eyes.

Remus smiled, pleased that Lysandros
returned his sentiments. He then forced himself to let go of Alina,
slowly sliding his hand from her skin as Lysandros stood. Lysandros
carried Alina towards the secret passage that lead away from the
palace.

Brian seeing the pain in his friend’s
eyes placed his hand on Remus’ shoulder. “All will be well. Fate
always has a plan that works out in the end.”

“And to what end will fate leave us?”
Remus hung his head as he spoke the philosophical question of a
dying man.

Brian sighed, “Remus, there is nothing
more either of us can do now.”

“It is not only to Alina I am
referring, and you know that. Do not speak to me as if I have a
child’s mind.”

“I am well aware of what you speak of
but my answer stands. There is nothing more we can do to prevent
this. We must see it through…” Brian’s words trailed off, losing
his conviction.

Remus studied Brian’s face and asked,
“Why look so somber, o’Conaill?” Comprehension finally set on
Remus’ face as he realized what troubled his friend. “Ahhh you have
seen the end of this battle. Care to share?”

Brian took a deep breath to calm his
nerves. He needed to be strong for his faltering friend. “Your past
events sparked a prophecy coming to collect. Your…our actions
secured our present predicament. This battle must be fought and one
of the two must die.”

“However, those who survive this
battle can change the forthcoming,” added Cailean.

Brian stopped, silently thinking how
much to divulge to Remus before the battle began. “Remus, there is
an older prophecy created centuries ago during a great era of war.
It is written in stone to ensure it passes. The Power once lost
will be discovered and our world we will be at peace again. So fear
not; despite the fate of today there will be mercy
tomorrow.”

Boom!

The sound of the Druid shields
exploding rang throughout the palace. The violent vibration threw
Remus and the soldiers to the ground. Brian and Cailean were the
only ones left standing. They immediately faced each other and
raised their hands so their palms nearly touched and began
chanting. Blue light emanated from the brothers’ palms as they
recited their spell. The light expanded to envelop the room,
warming everything it touched.

The light flickered as
their strength waned. They fell to their knees and in unison cried
out one name before they passed out…“
Breanna!
”

Chapter 7

Five Souls of
One

T

hump thump… thump thump…thump
thump.

A soothing heartbeat muffled through a
warm pillow kept time with Breanna’s heart. The pillow not only
cradled her head, but also wrapped around her body as a protective
barrier from the world. She had never felt as safe as she did in
that moment.

A lullaby resonated
through her ears to lull her back to sleep. She smiled, remembering
the lullaby as the one her mother used to hum when she was a little
girl. There was an aroma of white roses, her favorite flower. She
smiled again as the memory of her mother was replaced by a young
man bringing her a bouquet of white roses on her
birthday
.
Her
Eoghan…

Bre gasped and shot up from her
comfortable bed as all of her memories flooded back to her. Short
of breath as her heart pounded in her chest, she recalled the
Gaelic war party outside her window, Eoghan kidnapping her, and the
large room without a door. She gazed around her new surroundings as
pure fear churned her stomach.

“Eoghan?” yelled Breanna. She tried to
stand up, but whatever she had been laying on grunted and pushed
her back down.

“What in Tartarus?” asked Breanna.
Confusion quickly turned to panic when she realized what attempted
to cuddle with her.

Bre tilted her head and saw a large
white and grey wolf beneath her. The wolf’s body curved in a U
shape around her body. Its head rested in the nook of her neck and
shoulder. Its body cradled Breanna with its front paws hugging her
right arm and its back paws extended over her chest.

After taking in the enormity of the
wolf, something crept onto her torso covering her stomach down to
her legs. Purring reverberated through her body. A giant black
panther stared into her eyes as it licked its chops. As much as she
was petrified of the animals around her, they strangely comforted
her.

Breanna once again tried to sit up.
The large cat rolled off of her and the wolf released her arms.
“Nice kitty. Good puppy. Please don’t eat me.”

The large cat rolled around on the
moss-covered ground, then rubbed against Breanna’s knees. It pawed
at her hands for her to pet its head. The wolf trotted around to
face Breanna then licked her from the bottom of her chin to the top
of her brow.

“They like you,” said Eoghan. He gave
his trademark grin as he walked towards her with a handful of
berries.

Bre’s heart fluttered at the sight of
him and she smiled in relief.

Finally calm, Breanna examined her
surroundings. She inhaled sharply at the stunning scenery. They
were enclosed by tall Birch trees bloomed with bright gold flowers
against green leaves. Brown and royal blue pheasants with gold
feathers peeking out from their top layer rested beneath the
trees.

To the East, Hawthorne
trees with white leaves blew gently in the wind. Perched in between
the leaves were midnight-blue crows eating berries off the
branches: the same berries Eoghan popped into his mouth. Elder
Trees mixed with the
Hawthorns
blossomed with white flowers, attracting humming
birds that hovered above the petals.

Behind the trees, rolling hills laced
with yellow Furze and purple Heather added contrast from the
calming earthy colors of the trees. Larks flew above the Heather
and Furze chirping the lullaby her mother used to sing.

Eoghan held out his hand to help Bre
up. Before she could grab it, the wolf shoved its head into
Breanna’s back and tossed her to her feet. The wolf grunted, which
to Breanna sounded like a chuckle. Bre did a double take at the
wolf as she could have sworn she saw the beast smirk.

“Eoghan MacBeatha, it’s time to
explain,” Breanna said as she turned back to Eoghan with a stern
face. “First off, where are we?”

Eoghan smiled as he scratched behind
the ears of the panther. “We are on the Eastern border of
Gaul.”

“What?
” shouted Breanna, “The Germanic tribes of Gaul are no
friends of the Etrusci!”

“There you go again, acting daft
before you have all the facts.” Eoghan paused and took a deep
breath to control his temper. His body tensed remembering the last
time Bre was awake and angry. His cheek tingled as he recalled her
slap.

“Bre, this territory is not solely
claimed by Germanic tribes. The majority of it is under Druid
control. We’ll be safe if we can find a Celtic tribe and request
the aid of the Druids to get to Cymru.”

“Why are we going to Cymru? And why
did you remove me from my palace? Where is my father? Where are my
soldiers?” Breanna rattled off questions, growing more
irate.

Seeing how distressed Breanna became,
the wolf walked over and licked her from chin to forehead again. It
then bounded off towards the trees.

Eoghan chuckled at the shock and
disgust on Breanna’s face. “Will you calm down so I can answer your
questions? Come over here under the Oak.”

Eoghan pulled her towards
a large Oak tree. Breanna was not sure how she missed the enormous
tree before. It was as if it just appeared when Eoghan wanted it.
In addition, six Willow trees formed a giant circle around the Oak.
Breanna thought it was impossible for those trees to have been
there five minutes ago.

The leaves and low hanging branches of
the Willows concealed them. She was slightly disappointed that she
could no longer look at the breathtaking scenery. However, the
sight of the Willow trees and scent from the blooming flowers
calmed her temper.

Breanna shook her head to snap out of
the soothing trance. She wanted to be angry. “I don’t want to rest
under a tree. I was just resting on that colossal wolf.” Breanna
pointed to the white and grey wolf trailing her.

Breanna’s forehead wrinkled as she
calculated how long it would take to get from Etruria to Gaul.
“Wait a moment, how long have I been unconscious?”

Eoghan avoided all eye contact with
Breanna in an attempt to hide something from her. However, Eoghan
knew hiding the truth would be a grave mistake. “Three days
now.”

“Unfeasible. It takes nearly a month
to get from Aventine Hill to Gaul.” Breanna grew frustrated as
Eoghan avoided her eyes and evaded her questions. “Eoghan, you may
not be one of my subjects, but sure as Hades I will give you the
biggest beating of your life if you don’t tell me everything that
is happening.”

Eoghan laughed at her threat and
whistled in the wolf’s direction. “I wouldn’t be bringing the God
of the Dead into this mess if I were you. He has enough problems
with your family.”

Before Breanna could ask what he
meant, the wolf came bounding towards them after playing with a
rabbit.

“
Her name is Clover. Think
of her as your offensive soldier,” Eoghan explained.

Clover hunched down on her front paws
in a playful stance then pounced. She knocked Bre over and pinned
her to the ground.

As they stared at each other, Breanna
realized that Clovers’ hazel eyes perfectly matched her own;
however, she had white four-leaf clovers for pupils. She could feel
a strong bond. A bond that signified Clover was not only hers, but
she too belonged to Clover.

“
Alright, down girl.”
Clover jumped off Breanna and settled in the grass between Eoghan
and Bre. “Now who is the cat looking down at us as if we are
lunch?”

“Her name is Aurora; she is your
protector on a more defensive scale,” said Eoghan, and then snapped
his fingers. The black panther gracefully jumped down from her
branch to sit in front of Breanna and pawed at her hand.

When Breanna made eye contact, she
found the cat’s eyes to be royal purple with colorful lights
floating in the middle of her pupils.

Aurora broke eye contact by jumping
back up on her branch, looking outward as if she could see past the
circle of trees to ensure danger did not approach.