The Phoinix: Age of Demigods by S. L. Mancuso
Chapter 7
Five Souls of One
T
hump thump… thump thump…thump thump.
A soothing heartbeat muffled through a warm pillow kept time with Breanna’s heart. The pillow not only cradled her head, but also wrapped around her body as a protective barrier from the world. She had never felt as safe as she did in that moment.
A lullaby resonated through her ears to lull her back to sleep. She smiled, remembering the lullaby as the one her mother used to hum when she was a little girl. There was an aroma of white roses, her favorite flower. She smiled again as the memory of her mother was replaced by a young man bringing her a bouquet of white roses on her birthday. Her Eoghan…
Bre gasped and shot up from her comfortable bed as all of her memories flooded back to her. Short of breath as her heart pounded in her chest, she recalled the Gaelic war party outside her window, Eoghan kidnapping her, and the large room without a door. She gazed around her new surroundings as pure fear churned her stomach.
“Eoghan?” yelled Breanna. She tried to stand up, but whatever she had been laying on grunted and pushed her back down.
“What in Tartarus?” asked Breanna. Confusion quickly turned to panic when she realized what attempted to cuddle with her.
Bre tilted her head and saw a large white and grey wolf beneath her. The wolf’s body curved in a U shape around her body. Its head rested in the nook of her neck and shoulder. Its body cradled Breanna with its front paws hugging her right arm and its back paws extended over her chest.
After taking in the enormity of the wolf, something crept onto her torso covering her stomach down to her legs. Purring reverberated through her body. A giant black panther stared into her eyes as it licked its chops. As much as she was petrified of the animals around her, they strangely comforted her.
Breanna once again tried to sit up. The large cat rolled off of her and the wolf released her arms. “Nice kitty. Good puppy. Please don’t eat me.”
The large cat rolled around on the moss-covered ground, then rubbed against Breanna’s knees. It pawed at her hands for her to pet its head. The wolf trotted around to face Breanna then licked her from the bottom of her chin to the top of her brow.
“They like you,” said Eoghan. He gave his trademark grin as he walked towards her with a handful of berries.
Bre’s heart fluttered at the sight of him and she smiled in relief.
Finally calm, Breanna examined her surroundings. She inhaled sharply at the stunning scenery. They were enclosed by tall Birch trees bloomed with bright gold flowers against green leaves. Brown and royal blue pheasants with gold feathers peeking out from their top layer rested beneath the trees.
To the East, Hawthorne trees with white leaves blew gently in the wind. Perched in between the leaves were midnight-blue crows eating berries off the branches: the same berries Eoghan popped into his mouth. Elder Trees mixed with the Hawthorns blossomed with white flowers, attracting humming birds that hovered above the petals.
Behind the trees, rolling hills laced with yellow Furze and purple Heather added contrast from the calming earthy colors of the trees. Larks flew above the Heather and Furze chirping the lullaby her mother used to sing.
Eoghan held out his hand to help Bre up. Before she could grab it, the wolf shoved its head into Breanna’s back and tossed her to her feet. The wolf grunted, which to Breanna sounded like a chuckle. Bre did a double take at the wolf as she could have sworn she saw the beast smirk.
“Eoghan MacBeatha, it’s time to explain,” Breanna said as she turned back to Eoghan with a stern face. “First off, where are we?”
Eoghan smiled as he scratched behind the ears of the panther. “We are on the Eastern border of Gaul.”
“What?” shouted Breanna, “The Germanic tribes of Gaul are no friends of the Etrusci!”
“There you go again, acting daft before you have all the facts.” Eoghan paused and took a deep breath to control his temper. His body tensed remembering the last time Bre was awake and angry. His cheek tingled as he recalled her slap.
“Bre, this territory is not solely claimed by Germanic tribes. The majority of it is under Druid control. We’ll be safe if we can find a Celtic tribe and request the aid of the Druids to get to Cymru.”
“Why are we going to Cymru? And why did you remove me from my palace? Where is my father? Where are my soldiers?” Breanna rattled off questions, growing more irate.
Seeing how distressed Breanna became, the wolf walked over and licked her from chin to forehead again. It then bounded off towards the trees.
Eoghan chuckled at the shock and disgust on Breanna’s face. “Will you calm down so I can answer your questions? Come over here under the Oak.”
Eoghan pulled her towards a large Oak tree. Breanna was not sure how she missed the enormous tree before. It was as if it just appeared when Eoghan wanted it. In addition, six Willow trees formed a giant circle around the Oak. Breanna thought it was impossible for those trees to have been there five minutes ago.
The leaves and low hanging branches of the Willows concealed them. She was slightly disappointed that she could no longer look at the breathtaking scenery. However, the sight of the Willow trees and scent from the blooming flowers calmed her temper.
Breanna shook her head to snap out of the soothing trance. She wanted to be angry. “I don’t want to rest under a tree. I was just resting on that colossal wolf.” Breanna pointed to the white and grey wolf trailing her.
Breanna’s forehead wrinkled as she calculated how long it would take to get from Etruria to Gaul. “Wait a moment, how long have I been unconscious?”
Eoghan avoided all eye contact with Breanna in an attempt to hide something from her. However, Eoghan knew hiding the truth would be a grave mistake. “Three days now.”
“Unfeasible. It takes nearly a month to get from Aventine Hill to Gaul.” Breanna grew frustrated as Eoghan avoided her eyes and evaded her questions. “Eoghan, you may not be one of my subjects, but sure as Hades I will give you the biggest beating of your life if you don’t tell me everything that is happening.”
Eoghan laughed at her threat and whistled in the wolf’s direction. “I wouldn’t be bringing the God of the Dead into this mess if I were you. He has enough problems with your family.”
Before Breanna could ask what he meant, the wolf came bounding towards them after playing with a rabbit.
“Her name is Clover. Think of her as your offensive soldier,” Eoghan explained.
Clover hunched down on her front paws in a playful stance then pounced. She knocked Bre over and pinned her to the ground.
As they stared at each other, Breanna realized that Clovers’ hazel eyes perfectly matched her own; however, she had white four-leaf clovers for pupils. She could feel a strong bond. A bond that signified Clover was not only hers, but she too belonged to Clover.
“Alright, down girl.” Clover jumped off Breanna and settled in the grass between Eoghan and Bre. “Now who is the cat looking down at us as if we are lunch?”
“Her name is Aurora; she is your protector on a more defensive scale,” said Eoghan, and then snapped his fingers. The black panther gracefully jumped down from her branch to sit in front of Breanna and pawed at her hand.
When Breanna made eye contact, she found the cat’s eyes to be royal purple with colorful lights floating in the middle of her pupils.
Aurora broke eye contact by jumping back up on her branch, looking outward as if she could see past the circle of trees to ensure danger did not approach.
While Breanna absorbed all of the information, Eoghan gave a long ear-piercing whistle. A white stallion with a black mane and tail cantered out from the trees. When the horse stopped in front Bre, it bowed then rubbed against Bre’s arm.
Bre smiled as she stared into the eyes of the gorgeous steed. What she saw was a storm of grey clouds and flashes of lightning that brewed in his eyes. He was wild and dangerous at heart
“What is his name? His eyes are like a storm, should I call him Stormy?” Breanna chuckled at the name, but the horse stomped his foot in disagreement. “Ha-ha, ok, not Stormy.”
“His name is Whisper. He can move quietly surprising your enemies. He is both aggressive and defensive; whichever you need him to be.”
“Do you have any more animals to add to my collection?” chuckled Breanna.
Eoghan smiled, displaying his show-stopping smirk again. It made Breanna blush.
“One more. Leora!” Eoghan yelled.
A white and black tiger proudly walked out from behind the Oak tree.
However unnerved the tiger made Breanna at first, she felt a peaceful sensation sweep over her. Breanna did not have to gaze into her eyes to understand who she was. This striking feline was empathic, but she was more than that. She could not only feel the emotions of those around her, but also create them.
Eoghan immediately explained knowing Leora was difficult to understand. “Leora, means peace in Greek. She is a fighter due to being a tiger. However, her abilities to you are to keep you calm in stressful situations. She can affect your enemies as well. Her downside is that her powers are limited to a certain amount of people. If she is attacking, she cannot use her powers to calm you. If she is channeling a vast amount of your allies, she cannot affect your enemies. Since she can feel your emotions, she knows exactly what you need and where she needs to be. This will give you a great advantage in battle.”
When Bre tried to ask a question, Eoghan cut her off again. “You need to understand that you can communicate with these animals, both verbally and telepathically.”
Breanna looked at Eoghan as if he was insane, “What exactly are you saying?”
“You belong to them and I know you feel that. They are a part of you. Your soul is connected to theirs. Your powers are their powers.”
Eoghan continued, “Now back to how quickly we got here. Whisper carried us here. Your animals run faster than any other animal known to man. We needed to get to a safe place for you to recuperate. We arrived here in the Forest of Tásúil yesterday. It translates as the Forest of Hope. It is a sanctuary for Celts. No harm can come to any Celt while in the forest. It provides a natural shield against enemies of the Gàidheals, Druid clans like my own.”
“You’re not making any sense. I am not a Druid, I’m Etruscan. Royal Etruscan,” Bre stubbornly folded her arms across her chest.
Annoyed and exasperated, Eoghan said, “You are not royalty of anything anymore.”
Breanna rolled her eyes and gave an irritated sigh. “You’re telling me that I have powers, powers only known to exist to the gods and that I lost my kingdom. You are daft if you expect to believe any of this.”
“Breanna think back to when we tried to leave the palace, when we tried to find the passage out of that horrible room. What do you remember?”
Breanna tried to think back but her memory was a little fuzzy. “I remember the walls and that large dusty round table. Why?”
“What else?” Eoghan pressed on.
“That’s it. That’s all I have for you,” Breanna said, irritated. She turned and began to walk away, not wanting to talk anymore, but Eoghan yanked her back to his side.
“Leora,” Eoghan called to the tiger while pushing Bre to the floor.
Leora rubbed against Bre’s shoulder. Bre relaxed against her soft fur and listened to the rhythm of her purr.
Images and emotions reemerged from the night Bre left the palace. She saw Eoghan carrying her through the passage and remembered feeling betrayed by her best friend and worrying for her family while she searched the cold wall for an exit back to them. Finally, Bre felt her weakness before she passed out. Fear overcame her, but Leora controlled the amount. She only needed to feel enough to remember what Eoghan wanted her to see.
“Blue and white smoke clouding my vision, so much fear…” said Bre in a weak and distant voice.
“Look through the smoke. Tell me what you see,” Eoghan said as he reached down and grabbed her hand. He gently rubbed it with his thumb.
Breanna shivered at his touch. “It’s too thick, I can’t.”
“What do you see in the smoke?” Eoghan repeated aggressively.
Eoghan’s frustration increased Bre’s anger and allowed her to see through the smoke. Once her vision cleared, she could see the throne room as if looking down from the ceiling. In the room, Bre’s father, King Remus, and his soldiers lay on the ground. Brian and Cailean stood apart with their palms facing each other. Breanna understood they were casting a protection spell, a strong and old spell. Blue light emanated from the two men to surround the room. Then, Brian and Cailean collapsed after shouting her name. She knew at that exact moment she too was passing out in the hidden room.
Bre flung open her eyes, ripped her hand out of Eoghan’s, and jerked away from Leora. “Enough!”
“You needed to remember. Brian and Cailean tapped into your powers. You do not realize how strong you are or how to use your powers. Your mother is a…”
“I said enough, Eoghan!”
Eoghan furiously stood up and yelled at Bre, “I am not one of your subjects, Breanna! You do not command me!”
Eoghan turned away and ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to regain composure. “Listen to me, Breanna,” his voice almost pleading, “right now you need to accept that I know more about you than you do. I am trying to help, but you’re acting like a brat, a brat that I am tempted to strangle.” He gritted his teeth on the last word and made a strangling motion with his hands. Eoghan’s Celtic accent came through thickly when he was angry, rolling his R’s in a profuse burr.
Breanna stood up outraged at Eoghan. Before she could yell back, a red light charged towards her. The light crashed into her chest slamming her into the Oak tree. She leaned against the tree holding her head. A dizzy, overwhelming sense of mourning filled her chest.
“Noooo!” Bre screamed as she fell to her knees. Her heart pounded in her ears, breaths shallow in her chest, and a searing pain surged in her head. White smoke reappeared with swirls of emerald and silver.
Leora rushed forward and tried to lessen Bre’s pain but Eoghan held the tiger back. A warm cushion caught Breanna as she fell backwards. Clover came to her rescue.
Before she completely passed out, she heard Eoghan whisper, “Happy birthday, Your Highness.”