Phoenix Gift

Chapter Twenty-Three

The black dragon descended on the valley, blasted a torrent of flames and incinerated everything caught in it. Centaurs scattered. The queen ran, clutching her precious infant. Above, the sky darkened to pitch as the dragon circled for another attack. A blast of heat caught the queen. She fell, shielding the infant with her own body as the wave seared her flesh. Her scream was lost among the roaring blast.

A young centaur colt blindly galloped into the forest. In the darkness and haste, he tripped over a charred, stinking form. He pulled himself up to see the remains of the queen. The young centaur gasped and hurriedly got to his feet, fearfully backing away from the smoldering body. The world around him suddenly fell away into dark and silence, and he felt his blood run cold.

Then he heard the soft coo of a baby. Hesitantly, he walked around her until his eyes beheld the infant filly. She squirmed in her dead mother’s embrace. The young colt turned to run, but the young Princess’s cry stopped him. He was a centaur, sworn to defend his rulers and home, was he not? Gathering courage, he returned to the Princess.

“Shh, Princess. It is all right. I will protect you.”

The infant filly’s cries stopped. She stared at him with trusting, brown eyes. Wrestling the filly from her mother’s embrace, he picked her up and heard a hoarse caw. Looking up, he saw a raven circling above.

The sorceress’s raven!

It called again, flying along a game trail in the forest. Clutching the young Princess, the colt fled into the night. The raven glided in front of him, encouraging him with its hoarse cry. Emerging from the trees, they found themselves in front of a storage cave. It perched on a boulder, looking back at them. The colt rushed into the sheltering dark as the raven took wing and disappeared into the rising smoke.

The black dragon descended. As its mouth opened, a piercing light assailed it. Blinded, the great monster reeled upward, bellowing in pain and anger.

“What is this?” The Dark Wizard whirled about, billowing his robes.

Standing alone in the center of a charred clearing stood a dark-skinned sorceress. Her eyes shined deep violet, matching the color of her gown. Around her neck, a silver talon clutched a glowing opal.

“My name is Merille!” the sorceress declared in a clear voice. “This is my home. Depart from it and do not darken it with your shadow again.”

“You dare to command me?” the wizard laughed. “By what authority?”

“By my father who created my talisman,” the sorceress answered. “By my talisman you shall not succeed!”

The sorceress held up her talisman. The opal glowed. It haloed its master in light. The raven appeared and circled the sorceress.

“The Talon’s Eye!” the Dark One screeched. “It is mine!”

“Your evil shall never taint this talisman!”

A crow dove from the dark sky and attacked the larger raven. Like shadows, the black birds battled in the sky as power flashed from the wizard’s talisman. A silver shield rose to protect the sorceress.

Then a surge of silver light snaked from the Talon’s Eye and struck the wizard. The force threw him back. The ground trembled. Clouds swirled. Stumbling to his feet, he desperately raised his talisman and silently called the black dragon. The sorceress watched, waiting for his attack. They had met before. She knew his tricks.

The raven threw down its opponent.

Unnoticed, the dragon dove and blasted flames. The raven called, but it was too late. The Talon’s Eye glowed with a strange searing cold. It surrounded her and the fire blast was suddenly very distant. The wizard’s cruel laughter filled the air as the flames dispersed and only the Talon’s Eye remained. It glimmered in the dim light.

“The Talon’s Eye is mine!”

He reached for his prize. Sensing his evil, the Talon’s Eye burst into light. The clouds stirred and dispersed. A gale rose and forced the wizard back. Shrieking at the talisman’s defiance, he blindly reached for it. The raven’s hoarse call echoed over the roaring wind as it dove into the center of the blinding light. The light dissipated to reveal the raven. Around its neck, hung the talisman. Cawing, the raven took wing and disappeared into the night.

“NO! My talisman!” the wizard’s scream echoed throughout the valley. “Destroy everything!”

The raven, carrying its precious burden, returned to a small cave where the two centaur foals slept. The Talon’s Eye glowed. It sealed the cave and protected those inside from the devastation wrought upon the valley. The raven stood guard throughout the night, mourning its mistress.

* * *

“An incredible account, truly,” Zahir nodded after Ebony finished her tale. “And it explains so much.”

“Indeed,” Barnabus agreed.

The wizards, witch and magicians were gathered in the banquet hall. They sat in a half-circle facing the raven, which was perched on the back of an empty chair.

“I knew that bonding was important for a talisman as powerful as the Talon’s Eye. That is why I gave it to Merille when she was young,” Absalom said with a shake of his head. “I never thought they would become one in body.”

It was widely understood that talismans attuned to their masters over time. How and why, was as mysterious as why familiars came to some conjurors and not others. Eventually, some talismans anticipated their masters’ needs and, in rare cases, cast spells on their own.

“When my daughter left me,” Absalom said, “she possessed only the talisman and had not yet met her familiar.”

“We only saw her once or twice afterward. She was changed, somehow. Hurt deeply,” Tavel nodded.

“Ebony, why did you stay after she disappeared into the Talon’s Eye?” Zahir asked.

“She had a quiet and gentle way, despite her power,” Ebony said, “I wanted to help her through whatever dangers and hardships were to be found in her future.”

“How did you find Centaur Valley?” Razi asked.

“We traveled across Nuwa together, sometimes alone, sometimes with others. On the Southern Continent, we joined a band of gypsies for a time. They traded with the centaurs. On one such occasion, we traveled to the valley with them. Merille saw its isolation and remained there.”

“And after she was absorbed into the Talon’s Eye, you stayed,” Zahir said.

“In the dark, I feared the worst,” Ebony said. “Then, I heard the Talon’s Eye call me.”

“It called you?” M’zuzi repeated.

“Yes. It protected her from the flames, but it could not protect her from the Dark One,” the raven nodded. “If the wizard possessed it, both would be tainted with his evil. It needed wings to escape. So, it called me.”

The wizards were silent. They faced territory they had never considered before. In front of them was a uniquely vocal familiar with an equally unique talisman and story. None of what stood before them followed what they had come to believe was true. The Phoenix’s purpose behind familiars and talismans seemed far deeper than anyone previously fathomed.

After a long pause, Ebony asked, “Is there any way to free my mistress?”

“There may be a way,” Absalom said at length. For a moment, he looked as if he might reveal the key, and then said, “I do not know what it may be, but it will not be without sacrifice.”

Ebony tilted her head to one side, not quite believing the wizard. Years in Merille’s company taught the raven to know when someone concealed information. Still, the raven said nothing. Like his daughter, the avian knew Absalom preferred his secrets, and she had learned to keep her own.

“Is there anyone who does?” Ebony asked.

“We must send messages to other wizards and conjurors,” Zahir said. “Perhaps, there is someone out there who knows the secret. Aldous and Eja can deliver them.”

“And my Calibur and Adan,” Absalom agreed, referring to his owl and bat.

“It will take many moons for the answers to return,” Rhi’ana cautioned.

“Seasons upon seasons,” M’zuzi agreed, standing. “But it must be done. For the good of the Council and for Nuwa’s survival.”

“Come abu, let’s go riding!” Alexis’s voice rang through the hall. They turned to watch the young Princess pulling at her father’s arm. The royal pair had only just returned from feeding the swans.

“Alexis, I think we better wait, you’ve already tired me and the swans with all of this running.”

“Abu, I want to go horsy riding!”

“We’ll go in a bit.”

“No abu, now! Please?”

“All right,” Xavier shook his head. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah! We’re going horsy riding! We’re going horsy riding!”

Safely hidden as he observed from a cornice near the high ceiling, the watcher missed nothing before him. He did not know what role the raven, the talisman or the sorceress would play, if there was a role to play at all. His concern was only for the Princess. He sensed the Princess’s destiny and knew she would need him before the end. The world was in her hands, and he would make sure she was worthy of her gift.