“The phoenix is sometimes pictured in ancient and medieval literature and medieval art as endowed with a nimbus, which emphasizes the bird's connection with the sun. In the oldest images of phoenixes on record these nimbuses often have seven rays, like Helios (the personified sun of Greek mythology). Pliny the Elder also describes the bird as having a crest of feathers on its head, and Ezekiel the Dramatist compared it to a rooster.”

- The Journey to the Afterlife

***Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Draconis***

***Elona***

I cuddle Seria in my arms while we wait for the party to begin. So far our little ploy is going well. Moonray completely fell for the ruse and organized a huge party, so that we can meet all the important people in his clan.

Shade brushes a hand over my hair and smiles. “How is she?”

My gaze wanders to Seria who is sucking on my chest. “A glutton, just like her father.” I look around the ballroom to study the arriving guests. There is a long glass front to the left. It gives a perfect view on the city.

Since I had to feed the baby, we retreated to a silent corner which is sectioned off with mirrored glass. It isn't complete privacy, but only the rudest of persons would disturb a mother who is feeding her child. And we are safe from someone listening in on us. Everyone who approaches the alcove is bound to be spotted long before he reaches listening range.

Of course they could spy on us with magical means, but Shade created a force bubble around us. It isn't strong enough to stop someone from passing through, but it blocks sound just fine. Shade is good with that kind of thing.

“Be ready to send her back when Doreen starts speaking against Moonray. Don't wait until the shit hits the fan,” Shade informs me with a concerned voice.

I sigh. It is hard to let go of Seria and put her in the hands of Tisha's harem girls. But Shade's mother was one hundred percent sure that they can be trusted. And they are standing ready to take care of the child as soon as she appears in her cradle.

“What did you think of the city?” I ask Shade to focus my thoughts on something else. Listening to his voice calms me down. I wish he would be a little more talkative.

“I am relatively sure that Moonray didn't start something like a hate-campaign against us. The normal citizens showed interest in us, but I didn't sense any hostility. I am still unsure about Moonray's goals and that's troubling me. I told you about my suspicions regarding the multiverse.

“Currently I am not sure why Moonray is collecting that much fighting power. We think that we can thwart his plans by toppling his power base, but what if that isn't the essential point about his actions?”

I tilt my head in thought. Then I start thinking aloud. “For what else would he need that much power? It seems like he isn't just interested in overthrowing all the other clans, but actually collecting as much power as possible into one, single clan. And then what? Is he going to form a nation?”

Shade makes a helpless gesture. “That's the question which is plaguing me. We grasped some rules of his game, but we still don't know the winning conditions. That bastard simply had too much time to plan ahead. And all this,” he gestures at the room, “is too easy. Where is the catch.”

I survey the room. “What if we simply have luck for once? Up until now we were just reacting to each of our opponent's moves. It is the first time that we actually managed to make a move of our own. But you are right, Seria shouldn't be here when it starts.”

I detach my daughter from my chest and correct my clothes. Of course the baby doesn't like it that I declare the feeding session as ended, but Doreen and Moonray must make their announcement any minute now. “Did you hear something about Doreen's efforts?”

My grandmother ordered Chloe to distract her father and took Shawn on a little stroll. They went on a walk to visit all the higher immortals who they know from the time when Carissimi wasn't split. There are a lot of new faces in Draconis, but according to Doreen there are at least twenty four people who are worth speaking to. And visiting them personally to deliver an invitation allows for a small private chat before the party starts.

Of course Doreen didn't intend to share our plan, but talking to the people at least lets us learn how they think about the current state of affairs.

Shade nods ever so slightly. “Shawn said that everything went down as they hoped. Doreen is of the opinion that we can go through with revealing the situation to everyone. But just in case that things go to hell, we should be ready to pull out. Even if the split among Moonray's people leads to a battle, we shouldn't try to fight inside the city. Doreen doesn't want to have so many innocents on her consciousness.”

Our time together is interrupted when Moonray steps on a chair and hits the glass in his hand with a small fork. The sound lets the room quiet down and I place a goodbye kiss on Seria's forehead. She fell asleep while we were talking. Since the situation won't turn any better I activate the teleportation runes which are worked into Seria's cloth. My daughter disappears and I am left with a bundle of fabric in my hands. Shade blocks the line of sight while I rearrange the cloth and cast a simple illusion spell.

It won't last long, but it doesn't have to. And everyone who looks at me with his mage sight will see no difference since Seria was wrapped in protective magic from the beginning. When I am done, we join the people who are gathering around Moonray.

There are fifteen of us and about forty-seven higher immortals from Draconis. Somehow this plan sounded much better while we weren't standing right among them.

“Thank you for coming. We have invited you to celebrate the addition of yet another family member of mine. My granddaughter became a mother. Much sooner than I anticipated, I have to admit, but that's life. Young love is often fast when it comes to reproductive duties!” He winks at me and I have to fight my own expression.

If I am not careful my smiling mask will turn to visage of rage.

“I am so glad to introduce you to Seria. Of course she won't be a member of Draconis, but as you all know our two clans are deeply tied together. An addition to Carissimi and Semper Fidelis is like and addition to our own clan. And we all heard the stories about Seria's parents. If she inherits just a tenth of their capabilities, then she is bound for greatness. So let's celebrate the good relationship between our clans.”

Doreen steps in front of Moonray, a stash of papers in her hands. “If I hear you speaking like this, I almost believe that your words are true. If you hadn't secret ties to the slavers of Inanimatum and Parle. If you hadn't engineered the downfall of Semper Fidelis and many other clans.”

Her eyes flare with white fire as she enters full blown fury-mode. With a grand gesture she throws the documents upwards to scatter them among the listening crowd. “If you hadn't almost destroyed my clan. If you hadn't blackmailed one of my clan members with killing her family. If the wards which where placed by your spy hadn't given the slavers free access to Yggdrasil! Thousands died because of your machinations! Just as much went into slavery, some for years! Even those who you pretend to love!”

“And for what!?” Doreen stabs an accusing finger at Moonray. “For what!? And who else is in on this little plot of yours!?”

Moonray doesn't answer. Instead he steps down from his chair and picks up one of the documents with the collected evidence and the timeline of events. Much of it is speculation, but we have one solid proof.

Miraven steps out of the crowd to draw their attention. “I vow for the truthfulness of everything. Moonray blackmailed me into actions which cost thousands of lives to my clan. It is only now that I can speak free, after my family was removed from Draconis' influence. I visited them this morning and gave them a teleportation charm to leave for the crystal city. They believe that it is just a nice, little vacation. They didn't even know that they were used against me.”

It is getting loud as the people among the crowd start talking to each other. Many faces show surprise and shock. But some are calm, their eyes flicking back and forth between Moonray and doors or windows. They are clearly thinking about the shortest escape route.

Moonray raises a hand to his temple and massages it with his middle and index finger. Then he starts chuckling. But it isn't the laughter of a mad man like I expected. Instead it shows open surprise and isn't the least bit concerned. “So that's how it is going to be. Fine. I admit. You are right on every account. But believe me when I say that this doesn't inconvenience my plans.”

Did he just confess? Just like that!?

All the attention is on him, but I try to keep a calm head. The people are staring at Moonray like deer caught in the headlights. Just one person is slowly making his way over to Shade and me. Lirian.

Moonray drops the sheet of paper and turns to Doreen. “But I will use this chance to say something which was on my tongue for years.” He takes a deep breath as if to gather his thoughts.

“I fucked you because it served my goals. Did you really believe that I would enjoy lying with a scarred thing like you? I admit that you can do a fine blowjob, but I was glad when we did it in the dark. I am just glad that our daughter inherited my looks instead of yours. You are a smart woman, but that wasn't what I was searching for, so I had to split the clan and leave you and your idealists behind. Otherwise you would have caught onto my game sooner or later.”

An animalistic roar escapes Doreen and she throws herself at Moonray, tackling him into a nearby wall. The wall cracks and both of them go to the ground in a heap. Waves of pure mana surge forth from their entangled bodies as they struggle with each other.

As if on signal, the room dissolves into chaos as some of Moonray's goons attack our people, but we positioned ourselves close to the ones who Doreen and Shawn identified as least likely to be part of the plot.

It is pure madness. Members from Draconis are screaming and fighting each other while we try to gather our people into a united front.

Shade intercepts a man in grey robes. The man is coming at us while wielding a katana. I decide to confront Lirian. He bridges the last few steps in a sprint, his eyes fixed on Shade. It seems like he intends to attack Shade from behind, but I don't let him. With two steps I position myself between him and my husband who is disassembling the guy in grey robes.

When Lirian is only two metres away, I launch the baby bundle right at his face. I expected him to swat the illusionary baby aside, but there must be something good in that rotten brain of his. Or was it simply the instinct to protect children?

I will never know.

As Lirian drops his guard to catch the bundle, I flick my wrists and shake the blue, crystal daggers free of my sleeves. The blades are just one centimetre in width and almost thirty centimetres long. Perfect to hide under clothing.

With the bundle obstructing his view, my daggers escape his notice completely. His arms close around the cloth as my attack passes through between his arms.

Both blades sink through his Adam's apple and open his throat, passing completely through to exit at his neck. I twist and move both weapons away from each other like a scissor, removing his head in one perfect motion.

Blood sprays and his head falls to the ground, rolling three times before coming to a halt. It seems like Lirian didn't realize that he is already dead. His mouth opens and shuts as he tries to say something, probably accusing me of throwing my daughter at him. Yeah, as if I would do such a thing. But I don't get to admire his death any further.

“Down!”

Shade rams into me and both of us go to the ground. A blue force field snaps into existence to enclose us. My eyes fall on Doreen who is clawing away at Moonray. But my grandfather is a human flame, his ability healing his injuries as fast as Doreen rips him apart.

Then I feel the surge of mana which alarmed Shade. All around us people instinctively take cover. Moonray's body expands within a moment and we are engulfed in orange flames. They flow around Shade's shield like water around a rock. I feel the heat.

And then, after several horrible moments, I realize that Doreen was sitting right on top the source of this fire. “Grandma!”

Before I can even think about breaking the shield, the flames are gone. The ballroom around us is burned to crisp. I push Shade off of me and hurry to where my grandmother is lying on the ground. I roll the charred corpse over and pour my own life energy into her.

A second later Shade places his hand on her chest and casts a powerful healing spell. “Don't worry. Even if she doesn't make it, I have a hold on her soul.”

I sigh in relief.

That's when Doreen's corpse suddenly coughs up smoke and speaks! “Don't make bad jokes, stupid child. I won't give my soul to anyone as long as I have to exert revenge on someone. This body is mine and the scars remind me of what I have to do! Moonray is mine! He just doesn't know it yet.”

“I am afraid that your many scars will be replaced by a single one if you don't let us heal you. And visit an anger management course. You tried to disembowel a living flame with your bare hands,” Shade reprimands her for speaking up.

Yeah, like Shade is any different. In fact, I wonder if Grandma is a shard of Shade's soul? They are so alike!

“Don't speak, Grandma. Those are tertiary burns. You need to focus your mana on healing.” I look up, just to find that several people suffered a similar fate. To my horror I can't identify the corpses. Some people shielded themselves like Shade did. Others must have gotten away, otherwise there would be much more charred bodies.

Aswang protected himself and Manti with a barrier, Mom and Dad also managed it somehow. Antonius backed up into a corner with Quianna and Miraven behind him, his shield protectively in front of them. Ishaan protected Tisha and the rest of our group by forming a ball of ice around them.

And in the distance, beyond the shattered windows of the ballroom I can see a huge phoenix disappearing in the distance. Moonray, he changed into a phoenix while he was inside the building and incinerated everything. How lucky that this stupid skyscraper is made from stone.

I survey the room and count how many of Draconis' higher immortals are still here. “His goons, they are gone. And he took Lirian's corpse.”

“He escaped and took them with him,” Shade confirms my observation. “And he is heading south, towards the mana storms.”

.