Chapter 3 The Inner Sanctum #2
Taranis stepped forward, running his fingers along that area on the wall until he found a small depression.
With a nod, he pressed the switch with one hand, gripping the top of his staff with the other.
It emitted a glow as he siphoned its energy into the switch, channeling arcane power through the ancient wood.
A moment later, I heard a faint click. A section of the wall slid open, revealing a narrow passageway that smelled of dust and secrets.
Neat trick, but I wasn't sure it was worth the decades he'd spent bent over books like a scribe to learn it. I'd have just pushed every stone until something happened—much more efficient.
"Nice work finding the way through, Desmond," I said, clapping him on the shoulder. "All of that meditation in the woods must be working out."
Desmond's lips twitched. Was that almost a smile?
"There's more to self-discipline than you realize, wolf.
Maybe next time you'll listen... before the roots decide you're fertilizer with another trap.
" His eyes held mine for a beat too long, a warning wrapped in earth-tone calm.
"You're always welcome to join me for a Stillheart Vigil. "
He had to be joking. I barked out a laugh, but on the inside, I shuddered.
The thought of sitting motionless in meditation went against every impulsive, action-oriented fiber of my being.
My wolf nature craved movement, progress, action—not silent contemplation.
"I'll leave the earth-fasting to you, Honeypaw. I prefer my ground steady, not chatty."
My wolf senses screamed danger. The walls whispered secrets, and symbols pulsed in rhythm with my heartbeat. Beside me, Taranis had gone still, his eyes closed in concentration as he pressed his palm against the cool stone, his staff held parallel to the wall as though sensing what lay beyond.
"There's a hidden chamber just ahead," he announced, his staff tapping rhythmically against the ground. "I can feel a hollow space beyond this wall."
Desmond closed his eyes, quietly still. Moments later, he nodded in agreement. "Taranis is right," he confirmed, a look of concentration on his features. "The chamber feels... alive. It's the source of the energy we've been sensing."
Working together—and wasn't that a novel concept—Ryu and Taranis located a hidden switch disguised as a carved, flaming phoenix feather.
Pressing it alone didn't have any effect, but then Ryu waved Taranis back with a sweep of his arm, his eyes igniting with internal fire as he focused his draconic energy.
He blew a thin stream of fire out from between his lips, heating the stone feather until it glowed from within.
A low rumble filled the air, and a section of the wall gradually ground open, revealing a narrow passageway beyond.
"Well, well," Aeolus remarked, a grudging note of respect in his voice. "It seems we can play nice when we have to. Who knew? Next thing you know, we'll be braiding each other's hair and sharing secret hot chocolate recipes."
Ryu nodded, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Don't get used to it, fae," he said, but there was less bite in his tone than before, the set of his shoulders minutely relaxed. "I still plan on being the one to claim the phoenix."
Taranis placed a hand on each of their shoulders, his touch firm and unyielding, his staff held in the crook of his arm as he attempted to mediate.
"Save your posturing for later," he advised, his eyes filled with a mix of caution and determination.
"We may need all our strength to face whatever awaits us. "
I sighed heavily, wanting to call the mage out on his heavy-handed attitude.
The wolf in me bristled at his presumption, at the way he tried to organize us as though we were his pupils rather than equals.
But what would be the use? Everyone knew mages were high and mighty on their best days.
So instead, I shrugged off Taranis's attempt to include me in his little peace-making charade.
"Don't lump me in with your circle of unity, mage," I said, my voice calm but with an undercurrent of steel.
"I didn't come here to join hands and howl at the moon together. "
Taranis inclined his head my way. "I see you're a man of action. Why don't you lead the way forward, then?"
Was he taunting me? Nah. The mage was too stoic to have a sense of humor.
"Happy to." As I stepped into the narrow corridor, I couldn't help but feel a glimmer of.
.. something. Hope? Anticipation? The primal thrill of the hunt that stirred my wolf's blood?
Whatever it was, it drove me forward even as apprehension gnawed at my insides.
The air grew heavy with ancient magic. Each breath was a struggle against the overwhelming arcane atmosphere.
A faint, acrid scent clung to the back of my throat—not just age and decay, but something invasive, something that didn't belong.
My wolf's hackles raised in alarm, every fiber of my being screaming danger.
I glanced back at my companions and saw the same awareness in their eyes, barely concealed by their determination to see our mission through.
This wasn't just old magic. It was power capable of reshaping realms, and we were walking straight into its toothy maw.
We emerged into a vast chamber that glowed from within. Phoenix mosaics covered the floor, and at the center stood a white jade stone altar that made my wolf want to howl.
"Well, this screams place of power," I muttered. "But we didn't come all this way for the mood lighting. Where's our birdy? Here, birdy, birdy," I sing-songed, earning a few glares that I promptly ignored.
As we approached the altar, I fanned out slightly from the others, my movements calculated and fluid as I positioned myself to have the clearest line to the dais. My muscles tensed, ready to spring into action at the first sign of either danger or opportunity.
For our realms, and to break the curse, we had to press forward together into the unknown.
And if I was the one to snag the phoenix? I'd run all the way home with it, leaving the others to eat my dust. My pack needed this more than any of them, and a Beta's first loyalty was always to his people. No matter what fragile bonds might be forming here, that truth remained unchanged.