Phoenix Rising Read online

  Legends of Tirum

  Book Two

  Phoenix Rising

  By

  Esther Mitchell

  This work is copyright 2011 by Esther Mitchell

  Legends of Tirum

  Book One: Daughter of Ashes

  Book Two: Phoenix Rising

  COMING SOON

  Book Three: Spirit Mage

  Other Books By Esther Mitchell

  PROJECT PROMETHEUS

  Book One: In Her Name

  Book Two: Hope of Heaven

  Book Three: Shadow Walker

  Book Four: Blood Debt

  Book Five: Between Worlds

  COMING SOON

  Book Six: Crimson Rose

  GUARDIANS, INC: WITCH HOLLOW

  Book One: Sight Unseen

  Book Two: Up In Flames

  COMING SOON

  Book Three: Nick of Time

  HANOVER INVESTIGATIONS

  Book One: Burden of Proof

  COMING SOON

  Book Two: Silent Night

  UNDERGROUND

  Book One: Tamia

  Book Two: Mind Killer

  Book Three: Terminal Hunter

  Book Four: Hero's Hope

  Book Five: Vengeful Heart

  COMING SOON

  Book Six: Deadly Designs

  FyrRose Productions.

  637 S. Cynthia Avenue

  Tucson AZ 85710

  http://www.esthermitchell.com

  Copyright © 2011 by Esther Mitchell

  ISBN: 9781702460811

  Published in the United States of America

  Publication Date: November 1, 2019

  Editor: Gail R. Delaney

  Cover Artist: Jenifer Ranieri

  Cover Art Copyright by FyrRose Productions © 2018

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information retrieval and storage system without permission of the publisher.

  Ebooks are not transferrable, either in whole or in part. As the purchaser or otherwise lawful recipient of this ebook, you have the right to enjoy the novel on your own computer or other device. Further distribution, copying, sharing, gifting or uploading is illegal and violates United States Copyright laws.

  Pirating of ebooks is illegal. Criminal Copyright Infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, may be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination, or are used in a fictitious situation. Any resemblances to actual events, locations, organizations, incidents or persons – living or dead – are coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

  Dedication and Acknowledgement

  To my soulmate and love of my life, thank you for giving me the courage to follow my dreams, and for loving me even when I couldn't love myself. I miss you every day.

  To my editor, Gail Delaney, and my cover artist, Jenifer Ranieri, for all your enthusiasm and support, and for the amazing talent you've used on my behalf. I couldn't have done it without you.

  Prologue

  As long journeys went, this one was grueling. Former Gildgard Phoenix Telyn Gwndal breathed a sigh of relief as the turrets of Fort Taga, on the edge of the Borderlands, peeked at her over the rise of the hill. She was weary beyond belief, and she still had a long journey ahead of her. After her ordeal near Ulambara, she told herself she shouldn't be surprised at a little fatigue. She probably should have taken the time to rest, but she was too afraid she'd give in to her desire to stay with Nacaris if she lingered even one night.

  She reached one slender, greave-encased arm to pat the head of her liver-roan stallion, Bloodcloud. "It's been a strange time, hasn't it, old friend?"

  The horse's ears pricked up, and he whickered his agreement, tossing his head grandly in emphasis. Telyn chuckled, running her hand down his velvet coat before returning it to the reins with a sigh. Part of her wanted to believe that the past few weeks -- from her return to Raiador to the terrifying events in that Majin's tower in the mountains -- were part of some bizarre and terrible dream from which she'd awake at any moment. Yet, every time she just about had herself convinced of that, Sala would appear, and remind her of just how real it all was. Telyn shook her head wryly as she recalled her first meeting with Sala. She'd never dreamed, in even her wildest flights of fancy, that Mount Raiador could contain anything more precious than the highly prized Dorfaíle. How wrong she'd been. Deep inside the heart of that mountain, she'd discovered a race of tiny Elementals called Salamandars. One Salamandar in particular had become Telyn's constant companion -- Sala.

  Shoving a lock of tawny hair from her face with one hand, while keeping the other firmly on the reins, Telyn sighed. She couldn't believe how far she'd come over the past few cycles. From unclaimed bastard and wandering waif to Gildgard, and then one of the world's saviors -- if she ever found the Phoenix Book, that was. So far, her quest to find the sacred text of the Aerai Majin and the charge of her father's Clan had met with disaster, and there was no guarantee she wouldn't be in even more danger before the mission was complete. In fact, from the little Sala told her, the exact opposite was quite likely.

  Telyn drew a breath to quell the panicky feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had no trouble admitting she'd felt overwhelmed ever since Raiador. Ever since she ran away from home as a child, Telyn shunned Majik for the battlefield, terrified of the one weapon she was now expected to wield. Telyn and Majik had been at odds most of her life, though she'd been born of Majik-laden blood and raised by her mother -- a Gild Mistress of the Healiart. But, in Telyn's hands, Majik doled out only one disaster after another.

  That is because you feared it, a silvery voice reminded her, deep within her mind, as a beam of light floated down, congealed, and took shape. With a crackle of heated air, the tiny Salamandar settled onto Telyn's forearm. Telyn glanced down at her newly arrived companion with exasperation.

  "You'd fear it, too, if all you did was cause death and destruction. I'm still not sure I'm cut out for this."

  Sala's tiny body shimmered as her sigh heaved tiny flecks of light into the air. We've been over this before, Telyn. You are the last of the Phoenix Clan, entrusted with the Aerai Majin's Phoenix Book. You are The World Forge's Chosen.

  "But I've never been successful with Majik. I could just as easily end up destroying the world as saving it."

  Sala giggled, a tiny peal of silvery chimes, as she rose into the air, spinning gleefully.

  You try so hard to deny yourself your legacy, young Phoenix. That is the reason you fail so often. One without the power or ability to perform wonders could never do as you did at Ulambara.

  Telyn shuddered at Sala's reminder, wishing she could go back and change that event. She knew she'd never forget it, let alone understand why it had been so necessary. She'd thought she'd never see the light of day again, after Brunnari tricked her with that fake manuscript. In the end, she had to die to kill him, dragging his soul into the flaming waves of her own death while they were still bound together. How she survived, in the end, was a mystery to Telyn. A mystery, she realized suddenly, Sala could solve. Casting her Elemental companion a curious glance, Telyn ventured her question.

  "Exactly how am I still alive, Sala? How did I survive Ulambara?"

  Sala flared up cheerily. I wondered how long it would be before you asked. You were reborn, young Phoenix.

  Telyn blinked, even more confused. "What?"

  You did not survive, Phoenix. Make no mistake -- everything you were died in that tower room. H
ad you been any other mortal, you would not be alive to ask these questions.

  Telyn swallowed hard. It wasn't possible! It just wasn't... "Then how..."

  Do you remember the words you said just before you died? The words I told you to repeat?

  Telyn nodded mutely, as the words replayed in her mind. Not a night's dreaming passed unhaunted by those ghostly words or shadows of the fiery realm where they had sent her.

  Those words came from the very Book you seek, Sala explained quietly. They are from the final rite of the Phoenix Book. Telyn, you are not entirely mortal.

  Telyn's mouth dropped open and she stared, aghast, at Sala. Her pulse kicked up in dread, and she had to swallow back surging panic.

  "Do you mean I'm--" she choked to a stop, unable to say the word, afraid consideration of the possibility made it a reality.

  No, Sala's voice was quiet but firm. You can die, Telyn. Many ways lead to irreversible death. Poison, for one. Beheading, as well, can end your life permanently. Drowning, suffocation, and strangulation are deaths from which there is no return for you.

  "Then what--"

  You will never bleed to death. Not even from a wound deep enough to be mortal. Your mind cannot be controlled without your consent. Flames will never hurt you, and Majik cannot kill you, though it may still cause you harm. Age, too, will never weaken or defeat you.

  Telyn gaped until Bloodcloud's wandering attention drew her own back to her surroundings. Deftly, she returned him to his course, and then turned her attention back to Sala.

  "How?" she demanded in a hoarse voice.

  Your rebirth at Ulambara was not as a mortal woman. Instead, you were returned to this world as Fire's Chosen. That which now flows in your veins cannot be bled away, for it will seal itself against any wound. Should the strike itself be mortal, as long as you can call to mind the words of the Rite of Rebirth, you will be reborn. That is the true legacy of the Phoenix, as is your immunity to Majikal attack.

  Drawing her courage, Telyn asked a question she was uncertain she wanted to hear the answer to. "If no wound can kill the Phoenix, why did my father die of wounding?"

  Sala shook her head sadly. No man born of mortal blood can master the Rite of Rebirth. Never in the age since the Aerai Majin's sleep began has a Phoenix been capable of returning from death. Only you. Sala flared up instantly. As you are the only one who will never die of age, though even the World Forge cannot arrest the aging process completely. Only the creation which is woman can work that final rite correctly. Even the Aerai Majin knew that power to be beyond him.

  The cold fingers of Kishfa crawled along Telyn's skin at Sala's words. These were things she didn't want to consider, powers which terrified her in ways she would not have been able to explain, had anyone asked. With a small shudder, she yanked her mind from that subject and turned it to lighter venues, forcing a smile to her face as she patted Bloodcloud's head fondly and inquired, "Where should we make camp tonight, friends? How about near Lachmore?"

  As the stallion nickered his approval, Telyn resigned herself to the long cycles of searching and study ahead. She had no doubt she would pay for her retreat in sweat and tears. For now, she intended to make camp, and forget about the gaping chasm widening in her heart, or the debts she would one day have to repay.

  Chapter One

  Night was falling fast by the time Telyn finally reined in Bloodcloud in the open fields near Lachmore, a small farming town near the Bathron border. Dismounting, she thanked the stallion with a friendly scratch between the ears, then unsaddled him and turned him loose with a playful swat to his hindquarters. She chuckled when he trotted into the open field and promptly dropped to roll around in the dirt and grass. At least someone would enjoy themselves this evening.

  Collecting kindling and branches from the edge of the forest, Telyn set about building a suitable firepit. She cleared away the grass in a small area, then ringed the bald patch of land in stones before setting up a pyramid of branches, open on two sides, with a pile of small twigs and dried leaves situated in the middle. Now, all she needed was a source of ignition. She grinned as Sala appeared with a whooshing noise, a hovering light in the settling darkness.

  "Just in time." Telyn winked at her diminutive companion. Sala's companionship was one of the perks of the Majikal existence she'd agreed to at Raiador. She barely remembered what life was like before Sala appeared, even though it'd been less than a cycle since their first introduction.

  Do not look to me to light the fire, this evening.

  Telyn blinked, certain she misunderstood what Sala said. Was it even possible to hear someone wrong when they spoke directly into your head? "Why not?"

  Because it is time for you to learn to summon the flames of the World Forge yourself.

  Telyn froze. This sounded ominous. It wasn't that she thought she'd never have to learn how to wield fire. She wasn't an idiot, and her eventual status as a Majin had been laid out for her back at Raiador. But she assumed her training wouldn't begin until she found the Phoenix Book. She thought she still had time.

  "How?"

  Sala dropped to Telyn's shoulder like a small, flaming bird. Look into your soul. You already know what to do. You just choose to ignore it.

  Telyn sighed. While the cryptic talk could be vague and irritating, there was no missing the Salamandar's censure. "I don't have a clue what you're talking about."

  Yes, you do. Think back, Telyn. Remember.

  Telyn frowned, and sought through her memories in an attempt to ferret out the knowledge Sala claimed she already had. And then, like a flash of lightning, she understood. As a very young child, she often played at her mother's hearthside. At the time, she'd seen no reason to be afraid of Majik, and she often amused herself by drawing the core of fire from the inside of fresh logs placed within the hearth. She blinked. Why hadn't she thought of those times in all the cycles since? Why were her happier memories locked away so deeply?

  Because you allowed others to dictate the course of your life, rather than following your heart, and the path to which you were born.

  The sadness in Sala's voice wrenched Telyn's heart, and she ached for the child she once was -- the girl so easily convinced to give up her heritage. For the first time since that fateful day, Telyn was ashamed of her flight from her mother's Cloister all those cycles ago. Blinking at the still-cold campfire pit, she realized she had no time for recriminations right now. She had a fire to light.

  With an indrawn breath, she pushed aside her feelings, and let her natural energy float out across the air, touching a spark to the core of Fire within the logs of her fire pit. One by one, she watched the logs smolder, smoke, and then flicker to flame. Within moments, she had a cheerily crackling fire dancing before her, and settled back with a satisfied smile. Maybe this whole Majik thing would be easier than she thought.

  The twin moons had just crossed paths in the night sky when Telyn yawned and carefully banked the fire before rolling herself into her cloak. Tomorrow, she'd be in Bathron territory, and she'd need all her wits about her. She'd barely slipped into the arms of sleep when her eyes snapped open as the unmistakable cadence of hooves pounding across the fields thrummed beneath her head. Her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed as the sound grew nearer by the minute. With light fingers, she brushed the hilt of her anaqueri, reassuring herself of its presence beside her as it hummed with life. Coming slowly to a crouch, she scanned the surrounding fields of high Borderland grass.

  As she scanned the fields with night-friendly eyes, Telyn spotted her mysterious guest as he or she pounded down on her at breakneck speeds. Telyn snatched the anaqueri from its sheath and rose immediately into a defensive stance. If there was to be trouble, it would not catch her unawares.

  But the anaqueri, usually so eager for battle, was strangely calm in her hand, and confusion shot through Telyn like an arrow. This rider couldn't mean her harm, whatever he or she wanted, because the bonded anaqueri would fight to the death for her life, aware
that its own life depended on hers.

  "Maybe not foe," Telyn muttered beneath her breath as she returned the weapon to its sheath and strapped on her swordbelt, "but it remains to be seen if they're friend, either."

  Her hand remained hovering near the anaqueri, ready to receive the living metal blade should it sense danger. As sharp as it was unbreakable, the anaqueri was her first and best line of defense. Without it, she was as good as dead, and without her, its lifeforce would wither away as well.

  Drawing calm from the anaqueri's stillness, Telyn kept a wary eye on the single horse pounding across the field, until the rider pulled the mount up short, nearly throwing himself from the saddle in an effort to get to her.

  Telyn stared in confusion at the rider -- barely more than a boy -- and wondered if he might be insane. Judging by the lather he'd worked his horse to, and the fact that they were both panting like they'd just outrun a pack of savage Raktou, she'd be willing to lay even money on that. Why had he risked the trip over such hostile terrain at night?

  She opened her mouth to ask that very question when the boy heaved to a stop before her and, around ragged pants, wheezed, "Are... ye... the one... they... call... the Phoenix?"

  Telyn tensed. Not many knew that title, and no one would use it loosely. She had no idea who they were, but she'd find out in short order.

  "Aye." She eyed him cautiously. "Though I've no idea who'd say that. Why are you out on these dangerous roads at night, lad? Who are you?"