Page 19 of A Phoenix Reborn at Christmas
An ice sorcerer walked towards him. She dressed in dark-blue robes embroidered with silver runes. A cowl hid her face. Her hand was outstretched. It glowed the same pale blue as that which lit the sigil that trapped him.
The cold buried deeper inside him. He trembled. He wouldn’t escape again. This would be his final death.
“No!” His voice shook with rage.
He would not give up so easily! He was not a feeble phoenix anymore. That had been beaten out of him. He’d been taught to fight. He’d been taught to survive.
Her whispers came quick and fast and soft. He could not make out a word.
“Let me go, I am Lord Percival Everflame! You will release me!” he shouted.
But she didn’t even pause. She just steadily walked towards him, continuing her soft, fast whispers.
The sigil entrapping him glowed brighter. The lines began to twist and weave. A freezing wind whipped around him, stripping him of all heat. He hunched forward as his whole body shook.
Once again, he tried to shift, pulling on all his will and strength. But it wasn’t enough. He wasn’t strong enough.
Within the shadow of the sorceress’s cowl, two eyes glowed light blue.
Ice crept along his veins towards his heart. Percival screamed. He fell to his knees. He kept trying to reach hisphoenix form. He kept searching for some heat inside him. But he was blocked.
He couldn’t save himself. He was still just a pathetic, useless phoenix. All those years ago, his uncle had been right.
Percival would die. His ashes would be frozen. He would not be reborn this time. He’d die in the exact same way his parents and siblings had.
He convulsed, curling in on himself inside the glowing binding sigil. Pain tore through him. He whimpered. He stared into the eyes of his killer. And she just kept whispering, hands and eyes glowing.
A black shadow swooped from the sky straight towards her.
The sorceress screamed as the raven lunged with her sharp beak at her. The sorceress’s hands flew up, trying to knock the raven away. The cowl fell back, revealing black hair and a pale complexion.
The raven darted and wove, aiming for her eyes.
And as the sorceress’s hold on her magic waned, the sigil’s glow dimmed, and the cold clutching at Percival relented.
On shaking legs, he stood, able to move again. He tried to take a step forward. But the circle, still glowing faintly, held him in place.
He closed his eyes, reaching for his firebird. He focused on the spark at his core. Flames enveloped him, chasing the cold away and burning his clothes. Feathers sprouted from skin. Bones rearranged. Arms stretched and grew into wings. His neck elongated.
He opened his eyes. Blood ran down the sorceress’s cheek from one of her eyes. The raven must have gotten it. Scratches marked her pale skin.
The ice sorceress flung out her hand, and a bolt of ice clipped the raven, knocking her. The raven cried out. She flew up,movement unsteady but still alive. The sorceress aimed another bolt at the raven, but she ducked behind the rooftops.
With no time to lose, Percival drew on his fire.
The sorceress turned back towards him and began to whisper, her tone harsh and fast now.
Percival stretched his wings. He opened his beak. He flapped. Golden-red flames exploded from his beak, directed straight at the ice sorceress.
At the same time, the sorceress cried out. A wave of blue light flew from her hands, aiming at Percival. Pain, frost, and ice shredded Percival’s body. He yelled as he fell backwards.
The world swirled. He stared up at the cloudy sky. He could hear the screams of the ice sorceress.
Everything went black.
Chapter
Nine
