MARIBELLE
Lightning flashes and rain pounds the river as Roxana flies Tala and me toward the Bounds. Prudencia is telekinetically piloting the speedboat away from the phoenix’s storm as Emil and Wyatt blend into the night on Nox. Everything is smooth sailing, as Papa used to say, until a phoenix pops out from the river’s surface and shoots into the sky with water spraying from its large wings.
“Please don’t attack us,” Tala says, hoping this won’t have to get violent between the phoenixes.
The sky swimmer flies toward us at furious speed. Its wings begin burning in cerulean flames and the phoenix flaps the fire toward us with the force of a gale. Tala sharply steers us away from the attack, and I hold on to Roxana’s strong yellow feathers for balance. The sky swimmer dives toward the speedboat, about to collide until Nox swoops up out of nowhere with a breath of bronze flames that scares the sky swimmer back underwater.
I try searching for shadows in the river, but it’s too dark out. The sky swimmer emerges behind us and speeds toward us. “Tala, attack it now or—”
The collision of phoenixes is so powerful we’re both thrown off Roxana’s back. My dark yellow flames carry me back up, but Tala smacks straight into the river. Wyatt dives off Nox to search for her. The sky swimmer is scratching away at Roxana with its talons, and the light howler is screaming like never before.
I hurl fire-arrows up at the sky swimmer, striking it in the back. The phoenix spins and pursues me. I fly away in terror, looking over my shoulder to see the sky swimmer catching up. My power isn’t strong enough to take the phoenix down, so I brake in the air just long enough for the sky swimmer to fly over me, and I make my way back to Roxana as quickly as possible.
I drop onto Roxana’s back as she wails, not knowing how to soothe her, but knowing I need her.
Halo Knights have vowed not to harm other phoenixes, even if it means putting their own lives at risk.
I’m not a Halo Knight.
I scream the command that Tala used when we first met: “STRIKE!”
Roxana opens her mouth and massive bolts of lightning strike the sky swimmer out of the air, again and again, and before it crashes into the river, it explodes in a massive blue fireball. Ashes cloud the air and feathers float on the water.
My muscles are throbbing from Roxana’s lightning as I steer her toward the island, landing moments before everyone else. Tala jumps off Nox, her teeth chattering, as she observes the slashes across Roxana’s belly.
“I had to kill that phoenix,” I say.
“Thank you for saving mine,” Tala says as she guides Roxana toward the shore, getting her to lie down so the gentle waves can cool her wound.
“How long until that phoenix resurrects?” Brighton asks.
“Sky swimmers need an hour, maybe two,” Wyatt says.
“Depends on how old it is,” Emil adds.
“Then we better keep it moving,” Brighton says, moving across the beach.
Tala kisses Roxana between the eyes. “I’m coming back for you.”
I admire her strength as she runs toward the Bounds, her crossbow at the ready.
Maybe we’ll both fire arrows into Luna at the same time.