Chapter Eighteen
Lightning streaked across the sky and Bréagha wiped the wet hair off her cheek as she looked across the field in front of her. From her vantage point on top of the wall she could see for miles. Sentinels and their familiars fought shadows on every inch of field in front of her.
“I don’t think gingerbread bonfires are going to work this time.” She mused. Roz, who had stepped through the portal and stood next to her, shook her head.
“I think you may be right.” Bréagha looked down and saw Aiden standing on one of the platforms off the wall, he struggled to keep his feet steady with the strong gusts of wind and rain, as were the other bow and arrow Sentinels on the other platforms.
“Sperwa, any ideas?” Bréagha asked the phoenix on her shoulder.
“I think you ladies are forgetting. I’m a phoenix.
My fire is stronger and burns hotter than any other known type.
Rain can’t stop me. Roz, send those gingerbread men out.
Bréagha, let’s fly down and teach these shadows whatever they throw at us, we can overcome.
” Sperwa flew up and sent out a defiant screech.
Bréagha laughed and launched into the air behind her, as Roz waved her wand across the battlefield, creating hundreds of gingerbread straw men like she had done before.
Sperwa and Bréagha started flying down towards the fighting Sentinels.
Sperwa lit the one on the end to the right while Bréagha flung out her hand and hit the one on the end to the left.
Sure enough just like the first time, the fire leapt from one strawman to the next easily.
However, the storm darkened the sky and the world around them so completely that the light didn’t reach as far as it had the last time, and they were still a long way from dawn.
The fire helped a little though and the Sentinels were able to have some breathing room as they continued to fight.
Bréagha used her wings to hover above the battlefield, using her wand to shoot streaks of fire instead of arrows, picking shadows off one, or two at a time, if she was able to aim it just right to go through one and get another.
She still wasn’t used to how naturally the wand answered her, but it was proving very useful.
She flew above Bracken and his team, pushing back the surge of shadows that were threatening to overwhelm them with their numbers.
Kaedryn widened the circle behind them with his dragon fire and by knocking them back with his tail.
Feeling like they could handle it from there, she flew across the battlefield, helping where the numbers were starting to get overwhelming for the Sentinels.
They all waved thanks for the help, and she would fly to the next group.
She saw off in the distance Sperwa doing the same, hearing her screech as she divebombed the shadows and shot them with her fire.
The number of shadows on this battlefield was far larger than the last battle, and she knew that the numbers from that one had already been unusual.
The line from the prophecy they were just talking about surfaced.
When Spirit grows heavy beneath the gathering Shadows.
This was a sure sign that part of the prophecy was definitely coming to fruition.
She dove as an arrow flew up at her, managing to mostly miss it, but it got close enough to slice a line across her upper arm. She needed to pay closer attention to the fight going on around her and not be daydreaming about an ancient prophecy.
She saw a flicker of movement under the only tree in the area and tried to peer through the darkness to see what it was.
Another arrow shooting past her wings broke her focus and brought her back to the fighting in front of her.
She couldn’t stay in the air indefinitely, but she felt they were making some progress.
She spotted Sperwa diving through the shadows spewing her phoenix flame, out in a wide arch around her.
She grinned at the screeches that sounded very much like laughter coming from the flaming bird.
As she dove to intercept a new wave of shadows, she felt something rip through one of her wings.
She gasped at the pain and started to plummet to the ground.
Before she could right herself, she felt another arrow pierce her flesh and sink solidly into her chest. She screamed as she fell, her gaze going toward where the arrows had come from, a figure stood beneath the tree about three hundred yards away, dressed all in black but clearly not a shadow.
She caught a glimpse of a triumphant smile before she finished her descent and crashed into the muddy ground, in the middle of fighting Sentinels and shadows.
She heard a bird scream, saw a flash, and then knew no more.
Killian heard Sperwa scream and looked over as Bréagha fell from the sky.
The phoenix burst into a huge flame ball, growing to ten times its normal size as it flew to where Bréagha had disappeared.
The world around him slowed as he bellowed in rage and started fighting his way in the same direction.
He saw Aiden doing the same, the look of anguish on his teammate’s face surely mirrored on his own.
There was a large explosion, and a huge fire lit up the sky.
The shadows around him fell away instantly, the fireball was so bright it didn’t leave a single area for the shadows to run to.
In an instant, the battlefield was empty of shadows and dozens of Sentinels stared in the direction Bréagha had fallen.
Killian got to the area at the same time as Aiden, the rest of the team right behind.
There was a bonfire blazing where he saw Bréagha fall and Sperwa flew.
He couldn’t get close enough, because of the heat, to attempt to see either one through the flames.
Aiden fought against Cathal trying to get closer, finally falling to his knees, a look of utter despair on his face.
Killian could feel the same pain threatening to overwhelm him as he searched through the raging inferno in front of him.
The last time Bréagha went up in flames her screams were haunting, he still sometimes heard them in his dreams. This time all he heard was the crackling of the flames and the murmur of voices behind him.
He wasn’t sure which was worse, the screams or the silence.
“She’s a phoenix, she can’t die right?” asked Jaxx, unsure.
Killian turned to his brother who walked up beside him.
His dark hair was pulled back in a plait down his back, some strands had come undone and lay around his face, soaking wet and clinging.
Killian could feel his own hair drying quickly with the heat from the fire, his leathers getting increasingly uncomfortable as he stood staring into the flames.
“I…. I don’t know. I don’t think any of us do.
” He finally answered, his tone devoid of any emotion.
He saw a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye and looked over to see Rozengwyn and Kat step out of a portal.
Both gasped, Kat’s hand going to her throat as she watched the flames where Bréagha once was.
She lifted her eyes to meet Killian’s, her gaze answering his unspoken question.
She didn’t know what to do either. Roz popped out of sight for a few minutes and came back with two Magic Keepers who worked with elements.
They waved their wands at the rain heavy clouds above and directed a torrential downpour of water onto the raging inferno in front of them.
Nothing happened.
One of them swirled their wand creating water out of the molecules around them.
A pure water cyclone built slowly; the water so clear Killian could see through it.
He could see the distortion in the air caused by the heat of the fire and smell the scorched earth underneath.
The Magic Keeper moved the cyclone slowly into the fire, feeding more and more magic and water into it as the fire broke it down.
“Well, Sperwa was right, nothing beats Phoenix fire,” muttered Bracken from his place beside Jaxx, to the right of Killian who turned to his friend and nodded.
“Let’s hope Sperwa was also right in saying phoenix are hard to kill as well,” said Killian as he watched the Magic Keepers’ futile fight.
The battle was over, and all the Sentinels gathered to watch the fire with bated breath.
Just as they all started doubting it would ever die down the flames gradually decreased until they could see Sperwa and Bréagha curled up in the embers.
Rozengwyn flung her magic at Bréagha, clothing did not survive Phoenix fire, and she wanted to save her dignity the best she could.
Only Bracken and Jaxx’s team was close enough to see her, and they had all looked away quickly.
Both were covered with soot and ash, but from what Roz could see, neither had visible wounds.
As soon as the fire was completely extinguished, Killian and Aiden both rushed to Bréagha’s side.
Neither daring to breathe until they knew she was.
Without a word, Killian picked Bréagha up, his heart skipping a beat at how limp she was.
Aiden scooped Sperwa into his arms, then glanced at Killian, a stricken look on his face at how still the bird was.
Roz created a portal and the two Sentinel teams stepped into a room where healers were waiting.
Killian laid Bréagha down gently and Aiden laid Sperwa on the bed right next to her.
“Wait in the hallway Sentinels, give us room to clean them up and check on them. I will come out and give you an update soon.” Kat hustled the group out into the hallway, which was long and wrapped around the building.
There was a long line of windows that stood across from the patients’ rooms, along that hallway.
The windows overlooked the river that ran next to the Healers compound.
Underneath the windows was a line of benches and they quickly filled up with battle weary and worried Sentinels.
They heard roars outside the windows. They glanced out to see that Kaedryn and Vyranthos were setting down by the river with the other familiars on their back.
The various cats, a bear and a wolf jumped down and ran up to the windows.
Once there, they all turned and sat, guarding their Sentinels and the Guardian within.
An hour later Kat and Roz stepped out of the room. Kat smiled reassuringly at the group. They all stood up and waited for her to give them an update.
“They’re both physically fine. Once we got all the ash and soot cleaned off, we couldn’t see any wounds on either of them.
I think the Phoenix fire jumpstarted a deep healing process which exhausted them both and they need some rest. Why don’t you go back to your homes, wash up, and get some rest as well.
If they wake up before you get back, I’ll send Roz to get you.
” She smiled at them before turning down the hallway to see to her other patients that were trickling in from the battle.
Roz led them all outside to where their familiars waited so she would only need to set one portal for them all.
“Soul-bonded, we’ll stay and watch over the Guardian and her phoenix.
They’re vulnerable while they rest, we won’t let anyone near,” rumbled Kaedryn.
The black dragon lay down on the opposite side of the river, and the red one lay down along the line of windows.
Mason’s bear, Soren and Aiden’s, Makani used the door that Roz had made to enter the building.
Soren laid down outside the door to the room where Sperwa and Bréagha slept while Makani leapt up on the bench and curled up.
Cathal’s lion, Torvath and Liam’s leopard Tharion curled up on either side of Vyranthos while Bracken’s panther, Kaelis and Travis’s wolf, Lyric jumped the river and took their spots next to Kaedryn.
“Looks like it’s just us Roz,” mused Jaxx as he looked around at the various familiars.
They all looked ready to stand guard as long as it took.
Roz smiled at the familiars then created a portal that took the guys right between their two townhomes.
They all rushed to get washed and changed, all of them knowing they wouldn’t be getting any rest until their Guardian and her phoenix woke up.
Roz sat down in the grass and waited. She knew these men well enough to know they would be yelling for her again in about 10 minutes.
Might as well save her strength and soak up the warm sunshine while she waited.
Just as she suspected, all eight Sentinels came rushing out of the house, their hair still damp from hurried showers.
Liam and Cathal were still pulling their shirts over their heads as they joined the others.
It hadn't been more than seven minutes. She weaved her rune to create her portal before they asked, and they all filed through quickly. The various familiars raised their heads as the portal opened but quickly lay back down when they saw who it was. Killian and Aiden went inside so Soren and Makani left their posts and went outside. The other Sentinels settled near their familiars, letting the sun’s warmth on their faces lull them to sleep
Killian watched the other men stretching out around the river outside and shook his head.
“They’re a loyal lot if nothing else.” Aiden grunted from where he sat on the bench, his head leaned back against the window.
Killian poked his head in to Bréagha’s room, making sure she still slept before sitting on the floor against the wall beside the door so he could hear either one if they woke up.
He laid his own head back against the wall and settled in for the wait.