The Red Phoenix
Cybele was still curious about the relationship between her father and Sam. She made her way to his quarters with a lantern in one hand, the other stroking the mane of her bodyguard lion, Krell. The name roughly translated to Armour of Stone. Or Unbreakable Stone. He was pretty tough, that’s for sure. He prowled by her side with a slight turn of his head wherever the hallways intercepted. She had not been allowed to take Krell with her on her search for the Phoenix. It had a lot to do with old traditions that she must seek that path alone.
Luckily, Sam turned up out of the blue. She felt their meeting was almost predestined, as it had led to her discovery that the Phoenix was already in some ways a part of her own soul. The chance that a Magician should find her right then and there, and then assist her to discover a way to summon the Phoenix had destiny written all over it!
She just couldn’t shake that innate curiosity about the history between her father and Sam. It seemed there had been some old disagreement between them, resulting in Sam being banished from the palace. She wondered if it could have had anything to do with her mother.
On the way to Sam’s quarters, she summoned the Phoenix almost by instinct. The bird appeared in a startling display of red, yellow, and orange flames. The Phoenix spread its wings, but this time did not take flight. It seemed she willed it to stay on her arm. Another alarming fact was that the flames did not burn her. They only gave off a slightly warm glow.
She was able to release the magic that had summoned the bird just before she arrived at Sam’s front door. The bird vanished in a flare of light, leaving a few sparkles of gold that twinkled before vanishing also. She knocked on Sam’s door three times.
When he stuck his head out the door, he looked her up and down with an air of disapproval. She opened her mouth to ask about Sam and her father, when Sam spoke over her in a huff, almost shouting as he asked, ‘What are you doing here? This is not where you should be!’
‘I came to ask a few questions,’ she replied. Feeling almost scandalised that he would speak to her in such a tone.
‘This is not the right time, nor the place!’ he said in a deep and commanding tone. Krell began to growl, which brought a much fiercer roar from Ri’tu’kur further within the chamber. ‘Go back to where you belong!’ With that, he slammed the door in her face.
How very odd, she thought to herself in disbelief.
She realised then that she had summoned the Phoenix again, as it danced upon her forearm in bright blazing light. ‘I suppose I’ll go to my room and think it over then!’ she shouted through the door. He did not answer. After his initial growl in her defence, Krell had flopped face down at the door and covered his nose with his front paws. She assumed Ri’tu’kur’s presence in Sam’s study had cowed the smaller lion. Krell was no coward, far from it, but Ri’tu’kur was a much older and larger lion.
She looked down at him to say, ‘Thanks for the help!’ He groaned and licked his paws like a defenceless cub.
***
Later that evening, as she was settling down to sleep, the lock to her door clicked open! She always bolted her door before sleep, and she had guards watch her door at night. Krell began a low growl and crept from beneath the bed when the door swung wide. A very tall figure filled the darkened space, black horns rising from a mask of opal white, marked with black runes. Dressed in a robe of blue silk, the figure wielded a staff with a burning red ruby at the tip. She took all of this in, in the instant that the intruder revealed himself, as Krell launched at the figure, both of them tumbling out through the front door! A fierce boom filled the air, and a crackling crimson lightning filled the doorway.
She sprang from the bedsheets, rushing to the doorway to see Krell forcing the assassin to the floor, gripping that black staff between his jaws. She leapt out the doorway and started to run, almost tripping over the blood-soaked form of one of her guards. She did not stop to check if he was still breathing, sprinting through the hallways as the sound of alarm began to fill the palace. Screams were heard in the distance, and the roar of guards most likely finding more victims of the assassin.
Whoever he was, he was surely a Magician. That made her think of only one man who could save her, and so she made her way towards Sam’s quarters as fast as her legs would carry her. More screams of women and shouts of guards filled the palace as she raced through shadows and light towards her destination. She saw guards running to-and-fro in the distance, but she was too scared to call out in case the assassin was on her trail.
When she neared Sam’s front door, she summoned the Phoenix again by instinct. She did not know what powers lay within that enchanted spirit-guide, but her fears had brought the bird into being without her even knowing exactly how she achieved it. Sam’s door was slightly ajar, and she raced inside and slammed the door shut. Turning the key in the lock, she looked about to see that the study was empty. She made her way into his sleeping chamber and found Ri’tu’kur slumbering beside Sam’s bed. But Sam was not here either.
Ri’tu’kur appeared placid, as if he had not heard the commotion. She wondered at this, but in her near fit of terror, she hid under the bed and waited until Ri’tu’kur stood, shook himself, and proceeded to the study as if in investigation of the situation. She huddled there, shivering, and attempting to breathe as quietly as possible. After a time, Ri’tu’kur returned, and did not seem in any way disturbed or alarmed. He flopped down beside her and began to yawn and roll his tongue. She wondered if the lion was hard of hearing! But besides this apparent lack of concern, she remained hidden and waited until Sam returned to rescue her. She knew he would be looking for her by now.
She attempted to mind-link with the lion, to ask where Sam had gone to. But when she made the telepathic connection, she sensed a strong magic spell protecting the mind of the lion, that recoiled against her as a kind of magic shock! She felt dizzy and began to become very sleepy.
***
Sam was making his way from the Royal Libraries when he heard shouts of commotion. The clash of steel rang out in the air, men fighting and dying. His first thoughts were for the safety of the princess, so he dropped the many scrolls he was carrying and raced towards her room. The door was left open, and there was blood on the floor outside her room. He did not yet know who was attacking the palace, but he then made his way towards his own quarters with great haste.
When he arrived, Ri’tu’kur was sleeping soundly beside his bed. He woke the lion with a mind-link and spoke to the lion using this form of telepathy. He asked, ‘Have you seen Cybele?’ The lion answered, ‘She is not here.’ Sam checked under the bed to be certain, but Cybele was not here.
He reached for a large sabre lying sheathed beside his bed and charged out into the hallways with Ri’tu’kur at his side. He had only needed to send the word, ‘Heel,’ and the lion obeyed immediately. As they raced throughout the palace in search of Cybele, he asked the lion to pick up her scent. The lion responded that he could not sense where she was at this point in time.
The sounds of battle drew him towards the Pharaoh’s chambers. He crept closer, pushing the door inwards, to see the intruder battling with Atef’s guards and lions. It was a demon to be sure. Robed in scarlet and sapphire, the figure wielded a staff that glowed bright ruby at the tip. The demon was casting firebolts that struck the guards, turning them to pillars of flame. Atef was seated on his throne, staring down the assassin that towered above him after taking out his lion guards. The lions were also struck by the firebolts and were severely burned.
Sam charged the demon from behind, as the figure spun to wield that scarlet lightning again, casting a bolt in his direction. He deflected the attack with a Shield-Sphere that protected both himself and also his lion defender. Ri’tu’kur launched at the demon, pushing him to the floor as Sam stood above him to skewer the creature with his blade. But the weapon passed right through his silk robes and did not draw blood. It seemed the creature could be cut, but the weapon could do no damage. He should have brought his staff instead, he then realised.
The creature raised his staff and blasted Sam with a deadly bolt that knocked him flying across the room. He lay on his side with blurred vision to see Ri’tu’kur also knocked aside by a powerful blast. The lion was knocked out cold. The demon stood, and strode towards King Oteptun Ra’nen, seizing him by the collar. With a tap of his black staff against the stone dais, a cloud of red smoke surrounded the pair. When the smoke cleared, both had vanished!