Chapter Eleven
Every day for weeks, it was the same routine.
Aiden would wake Bréagha up, dodging her increasingly deadly attacks while doing so.
Then he would walk her down to the training area where Killian would put them all to work.
She had a better grasp on her fire and her wings now that Killian was satisfied with her ability to fight without them.
So far those were the only two added abilities she had, aside from the usual increase in speed, strength, and agility that every other Soulbinding caused.
She had met every animal that was soul-bonded to the other Sentinels but still hadn’t seen her own, aside from her new tattoo and the carvings that had followed her unknowingly.
“Why haven’t I actually met my phoenix, Marcus?
” Bréagha had asked to speak to the Record Keeper elder after a particularly grueling practice where she had formed her fire into a whip.
She then used it to make Bracken, Cathal, Aiden, and Liam all flee the circle.
It had gotten slightly out of control, and she wasn’t sure Bracken would forgive her since his favorite fatigues had gone up in smoke.
She cringed as she remembered him yelling as everyone else kept chanting “Stop! Drop! Roll!”
Using her fire was exhausting so those practices had become shorter, allowing her to rest more.
Killian hadn’t thought it was a good idea to push her to her limits yet; afraid it could cause her to become too drained.
Magic Keepers sometimes used too much magic, and they could pass out from exhaustion which can cause lasting damage.
Since they weren’t sure how her phoenix magic worked, he didn’t want to chance letting her go that far.
“I’m not sure honestly. We haven’t found much of anything about phoenixes as Sentinel familiars.
We’ve found a few mentions that they are the ones meant to stop the biggest threat to the Garden, but what that may be or why your Soulbinding went so awry, I don’t know.
This is wholly unprecedented.” They sat in the Record Keepers library in two overstuffed chairs that sat before a roaring fire.
Marcus sipped his tea from a large ceramic mug with a Cheshire cat smile on the front while Bréagha enjoyed her coffee from a mug with a cat that looked like he had stuck his claw in an electric socket. It said, “Just Breathe”.
“Maybe we should ask Donegal or Isadora?” Lily offered from her place at a nearby table.
She had multiple books open of various ages, a notebook with notes she had been taking lying next to her and a cold cup of tea at her elbow.
Her long hair had been pulled up and was held by two pencils, Bréagha could swear she saw a couple pens in there too.
“Oh, that is an excellent idea. Let me ask Rozengwyn to bring them over.” Bréagha knew he wouldn’t say a word, but Roz would pop up within a minute or two.
She wasn’t sure exactly how it worked, and it only worked for Cathal and the elders, everyone else had to at least say Roz’s name out loud but she was quickly growing accustomed to how the Garden worked.
It took a few minutes and then a pink portal opened next to the table Lily sat at. Donegal, Isadora, and Rozengwyn exited.
“You called?” drawled Donegal. He smiled at Marcus, strode forward and took the teacup from Marcus’s hand. He took a sip before making a face.
“Chamomile? Do you have anything with a bit more kick?” he complained, and Marcus sighed.
“Dude, get your own tea. Stop stealing mine every time you stop by. It’s always Chamomile, which we’ve established you hate.” Marcus stated tiredly. Donegal grinned and winked at Bréagha.
“What if you decide to try something different? Don’t want to miss that occasion. I’ll need to put out a bulletin if such a thing were to ever happen. How about throwing a Lemon Zinger in there occasionally or a Pumpkin Spice, isn’t that popular on Earth Bréagha?”
“It is, and one of my favorites. Nothing better than Pumpkin Spice Lattes with whipped cream and extra cinnamon,” she agreed. She saw a pink flash, followed quickly by another, then Rozengwyn was handing her a paper cup with the delicious pumpkiny smell wafting from it. She groaned and took a sip.
“Yep, that.” She held it out to Marcus. “Wanna try it?”
He just stared at her incredulously and then at Roz who grinned unrepentantly with her own pumpkin spice in hand.
He shook his head and couldn’t help but smile at the two.
Roz had flourished since Bréagha had come to the Garden, she was always a warm and joyful presence but always a bit shy and kept her talents quiet.
But since Bréagha and Aiden had joined them, she had grown to embrace her differences and started to shine that much brighter for them.
Donegal dragged another chair closer to the fire, next to Bréagha and they shared her Pumpkin Spice Latte, neither needing anymore sugar or caffeine.
“Anyway, the reason we asked you two here is to ask about Bréagha’s phoenix,” explained Marcus, bringing the conversation back to the real reason he had called for the Soul Keepers.
“Yes! How wonderful that you soul-bonded to such a magnificent animal. We were both extremely worried when everything caught on fire. The animals of the Garden all went a little crazy, took us a bit to soothe everyone back to normal.” Isadora spoke from where she had sat next to Lily.
“We never got to ask what you had named her. Or him. It?” Donegal asked.
“Well, that’s the thing. I haven’t ever met my phoenix. Not like the others have.” Donegal frowned and Isadora gasped.
“What? How is that possible? What happened exactly during the Soulbinding,” inquired Donegal, all mirth gone. He sat forward in his seat and looked between Marcus and Bréagha. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“Well, I was thinking everything would settle and the phoenix would show itself to her eventually,” replied Marcus.
“I’ve been busy trying to survive the boot camp from hell and haven’t thought too much about it,” admitted Bréagha.
“Tell us exactly what happened back then. We just assumed everything was normal since no one told us otherwise.” Donegal shot a glare at Marcus, who held his hands up.
“This is completely unprecedented. How were we supposed to know?”
“Bréagha, maybe you should explain before these two start going around and around? It could be years before they stop,” urged Lily and Bréagha agreed.
She told Donegal and Isadora exactly what happened at the Soulbinding, the aftermath including her new tattoo, her flawless skin, and her new abilities.
Marcus and Lily chimed in with the trunk, her parents, and the doors from her bar for good measure.
After everyone spoke Donegal and Isadora sat silently staring at each other in astonishment.
“I’m guessing from the looks on your faces, you’ve never heard of this either?” Marcus asked after an extended time of silence. Donegal shook his head, opened his mouth to speak then promptly shut it again.
“I think we need to make note of this. First time in his entire life he has ever been speechless since he spoke his first words,” laughed Marcus, relieved that he wasn’t the only one who didn’t have the answers when it came to Bréagha.
“Shut up.” Donegal stuck his tongue out and then grinned when Bréagha busted out laughing. Seeing an elder sticking their tongue out at another one was just too much. These guys were several hundred years old, and they were acting like petulant three-year-olds.
“As far as I know, no soul-bonded has ever changed form in any way, outside of hands turning into claws maybe. Not even the dragons can fly or have sprouted wings,” inserted Isadora before the two men could start in again.
“And I’ve never heard of one that hadn’t met their familiar face to face. Maybe we should go to the mountain again and see if we can summon the phoenix,” suggested Donegal.
“But how? The same ceremony as the Soulbinding? Just do it all over again,” asked Isadora. Donegal shrugged, running his hands across the stubble on his chin.
“I don’t know, maybe?” he answered.
“In all of these books, have you found much on the phoenix as a familiar?” Isadora asked Lily who shook her head.
“We’ve found precious little on phoenix as a soul-bonded.
I don’t think it has ever happened in the history of the Garden.
There are a few references stating the phoenix is the Ultimate Guardian, the beginning of the end, the one to end the worst evil.
But no more details or instructions,” answered Lily, tiredly.
Her voice projecting the exhaustion from the long days and nights her and Marcus had been searching for the answers and finding precious few.
“Well, can’t hurt to try again,” stated Donegal helpfully, slapping his hands on the arms of his chair and pushing himself up. “I’ll go get what we need.”
“Wait! Is everyone forgetting what happened the last time we went up there and summoned her familiar?” Rozengwyn shrieked.
“She caught on fire! Like actual fire! We couldn’t get to her until her fire went out, do you remember the sound of her screams?
The helplessness? Killian and his team’s devastation until we knew she was going to be okay?
How we had to keep a freaking dragon back because we weren’t sure he would be able to survive the fire since it wasn’t regular or dragon fire?
No one remembers that? Just me?” Tears were streaming down the tiny woman’s cheeks; she had her arms wrapped around herself for comfort as the scene played out in front of her again.
Bréagha’s screams would haunt her for a very long time.
She knew it haunted Killian and Aiden especially as well.
Even the easy-going Cathal would blanche when the topic came up.
Bréagha stood up and wrapped her arms around Rozengwyn. She held her tight and reassured her.
“That won’t happen this time.”