“Hey, I’m gonna catch you!”
I pumped my arms harder trying to force my legs to go faster. The muscles in my body ached and burned to keep up with my two older brothers, but I refused to stop. Members of the Phoenix Clan never gave up. The only choice I had was to push more fiercely through the tall grass that was well beyond the border of our mother’s gardens. The dry grass scraped at my skin and caught around my legs slowing me down. Sweat dripped from my face as the mark on the side of my neck smoldered and warmed my whole body. I let the power overtake me. Flames burned across my legs and arms, turning the clinging grass to ash in my wake. All around flickering sparks of orange, yellow and red flew up to blend with the pink sky.
I was only six years old and it was hard keeping up with my two older brothers, but I used everything in me to try. Barrow was eight and bigger, but not by much. He glanced over his shoulder with a large grin playing on his lips. Then he narrowed his eyes at me a moment before he turned around to run backwards to face me. “I’m gonna win, Tuck. You can’t catch me.”
He lifted his hand to his mouth as though about to blow me a kiss. Instead he blew a fireball at my feet, sending clumps of dirt flying up into my face. I leapt to the side as another one soared past my ear. “No fair!”
Barrow tilted his head back and laughed. I gritted my teeth, hating it when he teased me. When he turned back around I stuck my tongue out at him, wishing I could make fireballs the way he could. Just so I could hit him in the back of the head with one.
“Quit it, Barrow. That’s cheating.” Judd, my eldest brother, slowed his pace, giving me the chance to catch up. The two were so alike in looks and strength, both with hair as black as night with streaks of bright crimson running through it, and eyes the color of sunflowers. So different than mine. My hair was auburn, so dark it was nearly black all around. My eyes were closer to dark honey than yellow sunflowers. Judd was nine years old and the biggest out of us all, but I was catching up to him in size. Soon I’d be the tallest and strongest.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw the ball of fire a split second before it smacked me in the face. The heat seeped into my skin and tiny sparks flew into my eyes stinging them. Pain blossomed where it’d struck – not from the fire, since the Phoenix in me loved every flame – but from the force of the hit. I swatted the sparks from my face and rubbed the ashes from my eyes, trying not to fall as I came closer to Barrow. His breaths came in deep, panicked puffs and he struggled to put more distance between us. The mark on my neck burned hotter than ever before, and a faint glow danced across my cheek, catching my eye. Heat flooded my arms a moment before flames erupted outward. I tucked my shoulder and shoved into Barrow, letting the explosion knock him to the side. “Got you!”
Barrow tried to push me away using both his hands. “Get off.”
“No way.” As the thick boxwood hedges came into sight I shoved into him harder. The garden wall is just beyond them and past that was my finish line. A burst of heat flooded my body and Barrow flew off to the side, disappearing from sight. The boxwood branches cracked as he landed in them. His cry of anger echoed behind me as I finally ran past him. Flames paraded around my vision, comforting me, pushing me forward with flickers of encouragement.
Up ahead, Judd was laughing. “You can’t catch me!”
He picked up his speed, pumping his arms at a furious rate. So fast I barely saw them, they blurred together in a burst of pale skin and fire. A blaze trailed out behind him reminding me of the times my father shifted into his phoenix form. Judd would shift soon, way before the others of our clan who normally shifted right around twenty. Will that happen to me too?
Excitement spiked through my body. I tried to use my inner inferno, the way he did to make himself go faster. In a moment I was by his side and felt my cheeks lift into a smile. I ground my teeth, pushing harder and faster. If I was going to win it should be on my own, not because I was the baby brother and he let me win. We’d ran this race a thousand times and maybe this time I’d win.
Over the last hill, the castle came into sight and my mother sat on the back terrace with my father by her side. Each of them looked on watching our race.
We were neck-and-neck, the two large planters on the end of the porch came into view…My finish line. I leapt forward, kicking my leg out, trying to get the edge. Just then Judd burst past me, snagging the lead at the last moment. “No!”
Judd raised his fist over his head in victory. The last bit of his flames moved across the skin on his arms as he patted them out. His chest heaved while he sucked in deep breaths and extending his hand to me. “Good job, Tuck.”
If it had been Barrow who’d won I would’ve called him a cheater, but this was Judd and he’d won fair and square. I took his hand and shook it. “I almost got you.”
“But you didn’t.” He winked down at me.
“Tucker, Judd, Barrow, come along, we’ve got lunch ready.” My mother’s sweet voice carried over to us from the table that’d been laid with an abundance of food, including my favorite, peaches. Our long, rectangular table ran across the middle of the stone porch area with a crimson banner hanging off of each side. Flames were etched into it, along with our family’s circular insignia, a phoenix in the middle of it sitting prideful and ever-unmoving.
My father rose from his chair and looked out over the gardens. “Where’s Barrow?”
A light snicker escaped my lips as I shrugged. “He fell.”
“I didn’t fall, you pushed me and tried to burn me.” Barrow stomped up the stairs to stand across from my parents. All the while he plucked oval-shaped leaves from his hair and patting out the flames clinging to his shirt. When he scowled down at me I almost felt bad…Almost.
“First of all, Barrow, we can’t ever burn. We are the Royal House of the Phoenix and as such we take pride in our ability not to burn, son. Secondly, Tucker, did you set your brother on fire?” My father was a tower of a man, huge even, and when he looked at me with his obsidian eyes I wanted to cower behind my mother.
Yet I didn’t hide behind her. I looked up at him, meeting his heavy gaze. “He started it.”
“It’s true, I saw the whole thing.” Judd moved past me and stood facing my mother on the opposite side of the table. When he plucked up a roll and shoved a large piece in his mouth, my mother gave her head a single shake. Her long hair reminded me of light strawberries. It fell in curls that bounced every time she moved her head. She was so slight, so beautiful, with a face more like a woodland elf than a hard-born phoenix. Judd dropped the roll on to the plate in front of him. “Sorry, mother.”
She cleared her throat, and extended her hand toward me. “Come here, Tuck.”
No one, not even my father, the King, went against my mother’s wishes. I wound my way around the table and took her hand into mine. She bent down and pressed a light kiss to my cheek. Her warm cinnamon and hot chocolate smell surrounded me, calming the burn that had scorched my chest through the whole race. That fragrance was home to me, our entire castle smelled of it. So cozy, so welcoming. “Darling, you mustn’t let your temper get the better of you.”
“Yes, Mom.” I tucked in closer to her as she stood up straight. Her deep crimson dress draped out around her in a pool of soft fabric. Leather ties bound the dress together around her torso and down her arms. A tiara of deep rubies and gold sat perched on top of her head. I loved letting the fabric run through my finger as she pulled me closer, hugging me to her leg.
“And Barrow.” A grin broke across her face. “If you’re going to throw fireballs at your bother than you get what you give, right?”
Barrow lowered his chin to his chest. His hair fell into his face as he kicked at the ground. “Yes, Mom.”
“Very well. Judd—” She motioned to the table. “—since you were the first to eat, how about you lead the blessing?”
My father took his place at the head of the table, Barrow sat just to his right and further down Judd sat next to him. On the other side of the table my mother and I took our seats. I followed along as Judd bowed his head. “May the Phoenix burn bright and strong, should the flames of time extinguish us…”
I grabbed my glass of juice and raised it into the air. “…We will rise from the ashes.”
In the kingdom of Cindelore it was our clan’s blessing, our battle cry and our inspiration. As I took a deep drink of the sweet peach nectar, the fizzing bubbles tickled my nose and I couldn’t help but smile. I reached for a roll and quickly took a bite, savoring the crunchy crust and warm soft middle.I was about to close my eyes and sigh with happiness just as the sound of raised voices came from inside the castle . The ruckus stopped me from taking my next bite. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” My father rose from his chair and waited. All the while his phoenix-like gaze was locked on the double doors leading toward where we sat. He reached up and slicked back his midnight hair, then straightened his golden crown adorned with rubies. I looked over my shoulder toward the stained glass doors. Figures moved behind them yet no one came out.
“I say, come forth,” my father called. He held one hand behind his back. A faint light glimmered in his palm and a single flaming dagger appeared from thin air. He wrapped his fingers around the hilt and kept it hidden behind him.
“Riker, what is it?” my mother hissed under her breath as her eyes darted toward the door.
He held his other hand out to the side, signaling for us not to move. “Could be nothing.”
The doors burst wide open, the hard metal scraping against the stone castle exterior like nails on a chalkboard. The glass vibrated as one of the scouts from the Royal Aviation Unit charged toward us holding a folded envelope. His crimson uniform stood out against the gray stone of the castle. He was nearly as tall as my father, with broad shoulders, and his bright red hair cut close to his head. “I’m sorry for the intrusion, Sire, but this is the of the greatest importance, and not to be handed over to a butler. It’s from the human Earth plane.”
Long ago, when the original supernatural species of Evermore came to be they each built their own kingdom. The most powerful witches banded together to mystically hide them from the human world. Cindelore was deep in the volcanic Hawaiian Islands. To the human eye it would appear to be a wild jungle but to the citizens of Evermore the great Phoenix Kingdom lay beneath the smoke and ash of the active volcano. Though we reminded tucked away we always paid close attention to what happened in the parts of Earth the humans inhabited. If something when wrong there it could damage us all.
The scout’s satchel jumbled about with each step, sending envelopes flying all over the porch. He didn’t stop to pick them up, but just headed straight toward my father. He held it high in the air as he took quick, determined strides.
Jefferson, our butler, waddled after him with his stomach leading the way. Beads of sweat ran down his round face and tuffs of his patchy gray hair stood on end. “I said you could deliver it to him. Just give me a moment.”
“Come forward.” My father waved the scout on and extinguished his flaming dagger. It disappeared as though it was never there. The moment the messenger placed the letter in his hand he tore it open, and let his eyes drifted over the paper. With each passing second the slight wrinkles around his eyes deepened as he scowled. Once he finished it, he pointed his finger at the messenger. “Has anyone else seen this?”
“No, sire.” He shook his head. “Our lead scout just outside of New York City sent that this morning.”
“Where the Evermore Academy is?” My curiosity piqued as they spoke about things I didn’t understand. In the Kingdom of Cindelore my family ruled over all the phoenix shifters. I’d heard mention of the rest of the Earth because of my father’s close watch over it, and all who lived there, but this was the first I’d ever seen my father look concerned about it.
“Never you mind,” he snapped at me. I’d never heard him so alert. The paper in his hand burst into flames. “No one will read this, ever.”
“What’s happened, Riker?” The napkin slipped from my mother’s lap as she rose to her feet and walked to his side.
My father turned toward our butler and pointed at the door. “Send for Balthazar Blackwing now. Tell him his King commands it. Tell him it’s of the utmost importance that he arrive here within the day.”
Red-faced and baffled, Jefferson hesitated only a second before he bowed and shuffled away. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Then my father turned toward the messenger. “You tell the rest of the scouts to keep a close watch. If anything else occurs they are to let me know immediately, do you hear me? If there is even a hint of trouble I want to know about it.”
“Yes. I should tell you it seems she’d disappeared into hiding after that one sighting.”
My father nodded gravely. “Only one sighting is enough. The wheel has been set in motion. The Ascending has begun.” He glanced around looking as though he wanted to topple over into the seat behind him. Yet he remained standing and dismissed the messenger with the wave of his hand.
The man pressed his fist to his chest. “May the flame endure.”
“And rise from the ashes.” My father pressed his hand to his own chest. All the while the dread sitting in the pit of my stomach increased and suddenly I wasn’t hungry anymore. I dropped the roll back on to my plate.
My mother reached out and took his hand, holding it in both of hers. “Riker, tell me. What’s happened?”
For a second he shot me a dark look, then glanced to the ground. His throat bobbed before he met my mother’s eye. “The Siphon Witch…”
“Oh flames no.” She turned to look at me and it was the look she gave me whenever she said goodbye before leaving on a long trip. Except this time I felt like I was the one going. “What about her?”
“She’s…” My father’s voice cracked. “She’s been spotted. That means all five Witch Queens have been born. It is time.”
Who was this Siphon Witch, and why were my parents so scared? We were the Phoenix of Evermore. We feared nothing.
“She is the fifth and final one. I knew this would happen when Niche was born. As the mentor she signals the Ascending. And then he was born with that mark.” My mother turned and pointed to the mark on my neck.
“We couldn’t have known it would happen this soon. It could’ve been fifty or five hundred years from now.” He shook his head and reached for my mother.
I slapped my hand over it. Are they talking about me?
She covered her face with her hands as she leaned into him. “I don’t want him to go.”
My father wrapped his arms around her pulling her close. “We can’t hold off on his training any longer. Even though he is a royal he has to begin getting ready for what’s to come. Other Guardians his age have started. He bares the mark of our race, and now he’s being called to the next level. Perhaps even one day he’ll become one of the Knights of Evermore. You saw him today. What child throws flames at six years old?”
Ever since I was a baby I heard tales of the Guardians. There was only one in each generation of each species. They were born solely to protect their kind. But the best of the Guardians rose to become Knights of Evermore, protecting the Witch Queens. Is that me?
She shook her head, sending those strawberry curls flying. “It doesn’t have to be him, Riker. Pick someone else, anyone, just not him. He can’t face this, can’t face that kind of danger, that kind of life.” A light sob broke past her lips. “Call on Artemis, all the shifters of Evermore are under her rule. She could do something, maybe she could ask the Fallen to help us. They could stop him from being the Guardian of our race.”
In the world of Evermore the Fallen ruled over all of supernatural kind. As our numbers grew they needed more beings to help oversee the us all, and so the Greeks came to be. My father told me once they liked to call themselves Gods. But in Evermore we all knew they were just the most power of the supernaturals who ruled us all, and answering only to the Fallen.
“My dear, he was born with this. Even the Fallen can’t change that.” My father pressed his fingers to his temples and rubbed them in small circles. “It’s not for any of us to choose. He’s been marked since birth.”
I ran my fingers over the mark on my neck…The mark of the Phoenix. “Are you talking about me?” I insisted once more, but they didn’t look at me.
“It’s hardly visible.” My mother glanced around at the three of us hanging on their every word. She reached out and grabbed my father’s hand pulling him away and leaving us to wonder what they were talking about.
As they drifted around the corner, Barrow tossed a roll at me to catch my attention. It clattered against my plate then fell to the side, making my silverware ring even louder. He pointed to the corner where my parents had gone. “Go after them. Tell us what they’re saying.”
“No, Tuck, don’t. Mom and Dad wouldn’t like it.” Judd shook his head.
My chair scraped across the hard stone as I rose and took a step forward. I felt in my stomach they were talking about me and I had to know what it was about. Barrow whispered, “Shhhhh, tiptoe!”
“Barrow, stop. You know it’s not right. Don’t do it, Tuck,” Judd warned.
This time I had to listen to Barrow. They were talking about me, I just knew it. I crept toward the corner they’d disappeared behind and peeked around watching my mother. She paced back and forth in front of my father as she gestured sharply with her hands. “Don’t send him, send someone else. Anyone else. High King Alataris has sat on his throne for a millennium. Sending our son to face him isn’t going to change a thing.”
King Alataris? The Witch King? What does he have to do with me? They were talking so quickly about so many things I didn’t understand, but I felt I needed to listen to what they were saying.
“You know I can’t do that. And it just might make a difference. Have you ever thought of what could happen if Alataris got all five Queens under his rule? And now that the fifth has been found, you know she will be the most powerful. She will need a Knight when she Ascends to her full powers. Who better than our son?” A deep sigh rumbled in my father’s chest. “He’s been marked, Zandra. There’s nothing else I can do. We have to have faith in him, in what he will become.”
The Witch Queens of the five casts? It was all too much for me.
“Don’t tell me there’s nothing you can do.” Her breath hitched in her throat. “You are King of our kind. Pick your best warriors, pick anyone. Hell, I don’t care who you pick, just not my Tucker.”
“You know what has to happen here. King Alataris must be kept in check. If he’s not it will mean war for all the species of Evermore. His only desire is to take over us all. It will be a war that no one will be able to win. He must be stopped before it gets that far. Like it has in the past.” His voice grew strained as it rose higher with each word. “I’ve sent for Blackwing. There is no other who can train a phoenix the way he can. I’m preparing him, that’s all we can do. Tucker will be the finest warrior the Phoenix have ever seen.”
“And now you want to send him to the trials?” She threw her hands up. “Isn’t being a Guardian bad enough but you want him to rise to the next level and be a Knight? To guard them.”
“Zandra, that’s how it works. Guardians protect their species. But only the best Guardians get to rise to become a Knight. Imagine it, our son becoming one of six Knights to protect the Queens. He can do it I know he can.”
“For the love of flames, Riker! I don’t care how good he is or will become. Guardians and Knights die…They die.”
I stumbled back, my mother’s words echoing in my mind. I covered my mouth to stop from crying out…They die…I’m a Guardian. Does that mean I’m going to die?