Chapter Twenty
For the first time in several weeks, Bréagha woke up on her own.
No Aiden pestering her. No pain. She tested each one of her limbs before sitting up in bed and looking out her window.
Killian must’ve pulled the curtains closed but she could tell from the sunlight around their edges, it was fully light out.
“Good Morning Soul-Bonded!’’ Sperwa chirped at Bréagha as she flew into the room, Roz following close behind her with a tray of food.
“Is that bacon? And eggs?” she moaned as the smell of food hit her senses.
“And a new latte that Stephen wants you to try. He calls it cinnamon toast.” Bréagha gave “give me” hands and Roz giggled as she handed the drink over after she settled the tray on her lap. Bréagha took a deep drink and sighed when the sugar and caffeine hit her bloodstream.
“Oh, this may just be better than the pumpkin spice.” She took another drink and groaned. “At least a very close second.”
“I’ll let him know. Now, eat up. I’ve declared today a day off and we’re going to have a girls’ day!” Bréagha clapped her hands and started shoveling the food in her mouth. Roz laughed and shook her head. “Dude, don’t choke to death!”
“Yes, Soul-Bonded, don’t waste a life for bacon,” chided Sperwa who was enjoying her omelet from her place on the table next to Bréagha’s window seat. Bréagha did slow down but only enough to be able to breathe as she ate. Then she pushed the tray away, threw her quilt off her legs, and stood up.
“Just let me take a shower really quick and we can go!” She started towards her bathroom, but Roz stopped her.
“Just get dressed for a visit to the hot springs. I thought you could use a nice soak, as could me and Sperwa.” Bréagha whooped then ran to her closet. Roz grinned then waved her wand towards the tray, sending it back to Stephen and making Bréagha’s bed.
“Hey! That reminds me, where did my wand go? Was it destroyed in the fire?” Bréagha asked when she came out in her bathing suit and saw Roz waving hers around. Roz grinned and reached into the pocket of her dress.
“Nope! One of the Magic Keepers found it when they went back to the battlefield to heal the singed grass from where you and Sperwa landed.” Bréagha winced but then hopped over and grasped her wand to her chest. “No clue how it survived that fire. Must be the same reason you can use it when you would be a Sentinel if you weren’t a Guardian. ”
“I think you’ll find trying to figure her out will give you a migraine,” Sperwa said as she flew up to her usual perch on Bréagha’s shoulder. All three of them laughed as Roz grabbed Bréagha’s hand and teleported them to the hot springs.
It was exactly how Bréagha remembered it, with the lush foliage all around, the birds singing and the crashing waterfall.
She slipped gingerly into the pool using the natural boulders along the edges.
She sighed deeply as she sat, the water coming up to just under her chin.
She waved her wand behind her, then leaned her head back on a soft pillow and she grinned.
She waved her wand towards Roz as she slipped in next to her and chuckled when she heard her friend sigh. She then waved her wand once more and created a small float for her phoenix. Bréagha swore she heard Sperwa sigh too as she let the warm water flow over her feathers.
All three friends lay in total silence, just enjoying the peace of their surroundings and the warm water as it slowly worked out the kinks and tension of her death and the past several weeks of intense training.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had simply existed without fear clawing at the edges of her mind or exhaustion pulling at her muscles.
“Is there anything that you used to do on Earth that you miss?” Roz asked. Bréagha opened her eyes slightly and looked over at her friend.
“Hmmm… I don’t know. Phoenix Rising kept us pretty busy. We did volunteer at a local shelter on Sundays and walked the dogs. I do miss cuddling with a pile of puppies. Oh and thrift stores!” exclaimed Bréagha as she warmed to her topic.
“Thrift stores?” asked Roz.
“Yeah. People would donate their used clothes, toys, furniture, etc. to the stores and they would then turn around and sell them. They were usually run by some kind of charity who would use that money to fund their projects. I found a lot of great graphic tees there and we pretty much furnished our apartment and the bar with furniture we found from various stores.”
“Then let’s go!”
“You want to go to Earth?” questioned Bréagha as she sat up and looked over at her friend incredulously.
“Yes! I’ve only been a few times and never for more than a few seconds at a time. I had a blast visiting Phoenix Rising and would like to go see these Thrift Stores.”
“You can conjure your own clothes, why would you want to go to the Thrift Stores?”
“Well, is there some place else you would like to go?” Roz asked uncertainly, thinking she had offered something Bréagha would enjoy. She watched as her friend thought about it and then she turned to her and grinned.
“How about a flea market? Even better than a thrift store. There’s a huge one in Texas I’ve always wanted to go to.
Scarlett used to talk about it all the time.
They have food trucks, and people selling old stuff, but there are also people selling their own baking, artwork, and various crafts and things!
” Bréagha got excited and jumped out of the water.
“Come on slow pokes! Let’s go!” Roz giggled as Bréagha lifted her and Sperwa out of the water, waving her wand at all three of them to dry them off and dress her and Roz in simple sundresses.
She put Roz in a bright yellow one with daisies while dressing herself in an ombre sundress that started out red at the top and faded to yellow, like Sperwa’s feathers.
“Wait, what are we going to do with Sperwa?” Roz stopped before she fully transported them. Sperwa settled on Bréagha’s shoulder and chirped. Bréagha waved her wand and Sperwa looked like a regular Sparrow.
“I’ll be like a pirate. Sperwa is my emotional support bird.
” Bréagha grinned then grabbed her friend’s hand.
She pictured the flea market to help guide Roz and then between one blink and another, they were standing behind a booth at the back of the market, away from any prying eyes that may cause a fuss to see them popping out of nothing.
Bréagha closed her eyes and took a deep breath, so Roz copied her.
“Smell that?” Bréagha asked.
“Sweat, oil, and gas?” offered Roz making Bréagha laugh.
“I was thinking funnel cakes, cotton candy, and popcorn but sure.” Bréagha grabbed her friend’s hand and walked her around to the actual flea market walkway where she gazed around in wonder.
There were hundreds of booths all around them with everything from baseball cards, old Avon products, and old records to handmade candles, jewelry, and candied pecans. Roz grinned over at her friends.
“Oh! This is going to be awesome! Where do we go first?” she asked.
“Funnel Cakes.”
“Funnel Cakes!” yelled Bréagha and Sperwa at the same time making Roz giggle.
“How do you even know what funnel cake is, Sperwa?” asked Bréagha as she led them to where she smelled the funnel cakes.
“I don’t, but they sound delicious!” Sperwa admitted as she hopped up and down on Bréagha’s shoulder.
The girls laughed, Bréagha put her arm through Roz’s and led her through the chaos that was a good flea market.
They spent all day running from booth to booth, haggling over matching necklaces in one booth and arguing with a vendor about how much his “vintage” Dr. Who poster was really worth.
They ended up with something for each of the Sentinels on Killian and Jaxx’s teams as well as something for each of the Elders before the sun started to set in the west. They were all sitting at a picnic table near where they’d started, sharing a giant pretzel with nacho cheese.
“This was an amazing day Roz. Thank you,” said Bréagha as she nudged her friend with her elbow. “I didn’t realize how much I missed just hanging with a friend.”
“I know it has been hard on you in the Garden, and you’ve handled everything with amazing grace, but I figured a girl needed a break after she dies twice,” responded Roz.
“Technically she only died once, the first time she was just…re-formed,” said Sperwa before she yawned and curled up on Bréagha’s shoulder.
“Well either way, I know it sucked so I wanted you to have a fun day. Also, I figured if I brought you to Earth Killian couldn’t try to kill you,” grinned Roz.
“I should kill you both,” came a growl from behind them and they both yelped as they turned around.