Rebirth

Fire Particles rippled as they collected around Riley. Minute by minute the fire particles continued to rush into the room. I furrowed my brow. Why were the fire particles growing instead of subsiding? I was getting concerned. Weren't the fire particles supposed to subside? His magic has already been unsealed. What was going on?

As the situation got worst, fire particles started to link together into more complex fire runes. This was not good. Why were the fire particles linking into runes? This did not make sense. These were raw fire particles, why was this happening? I could not stand by any longer, I tried to reach within the wards to get Riley out. Unfortunately, the fire runes suddenly all activated at once. Red crimson flames filled the inside of the warding.

I started to panic, this was not supposed to happen. Riley was still inside the warding. The flames blocked Riley from my view. I could no longer see him.

“Carter!” I yelled.

Carter came rushing into the room. “Holy dragon God!” he cursed, his eyes bulged as he came to a stop right outside the warding.

“What the heck is happening?” I screamed, panicking. Riley was trapped inside the warding. "If I don't get him out quickly, he could potentially be burnt alive." I yelled.

"Calm down Logan," said Carter landing on my shoulder.

"How do you expect me to calm down. Riley is still in there. Why is this happening? This was only supposed to be a simple unsealing" I yelled, my mind was all messed up. I could not think straight.

“It’s rebirth!” Carter said, he looked like he could not believe this was happening either.

“Rebirth?" I repeated the word. Suddenly I remembered Carter saying that a phoenix must go through a process called rebirth. I looked to the flames. They were getting hotter and hotter. This was rebirth? But wasn't this a bit to intense. "Wait, Riley isn't conscious right now. Why would rebirth happen when he's not even conscious? Isn't this dangerous?” I asked worried.

“True, rebirth usually takes place when a phoenix is conscious. Usually the phoenix can even choose a time for it to be performed. In ancient times they even have a rebirth ritual. Unfortunately, we do not live in that time. Riley is also not a full phoenix, plus his magic was sealed for a long time. He was also on the verge of rebirth. This all added up to make this occur at an unexpected time." Carter sighed.

"Riley should be fine. Once rebirth takes place, a phoenix is protected from all sources of harm. Phoenix fire will not harm him. Well, not in a sense that he would die. Phoenix fire will reshape him. Every inch of him will be destroyed and reformed. That is the nature of a rebirth. Phoenixes are creatures that can be reborn from their ashes after all." Carter said.

Carter looked intensely at the flames within the warding. His dragon brows furrowed. "This warding is not going to be able to withstand rebirth. We can’t stay here." he stated flying into the air. "Phoenix fire is no joke. We better get out of here.” He said trying to pull me out of the room.

“What about Riley?!” I yelled.

“He’s going through rebirth. He will be fine. He will only be charred to ashes and then be reformed again. Nothing new really. His race goes through this at least once in their life time. We should be worried about ourselves more. Phoenix fire is known to be the deadliest fire in the world. It can burn anything, even souls. So not only are you in danger, but I am as well. We better scram” he yelled, releasing me and zooming out of the room.

I glanced back at Riley one last time and sighed. This has gotten way to complicated and out of control. We only wanted to do a simple unsealing. Not burn down the hotel. The warding started to crack. Intense heat started to radiate out of the cracks. It was hot, really hot. It hasn't even escaped yet and I could feel myself sweating profusely. Once my sweat came out, it evaporated at once.

I ran out of the room and pressed on the magic stone in the hall. This was the emergency bell for the hotel. It was used for emergencies just like this. Obviously, no one could have ever imagined this kind of situation but nevertheless it was for emergencies. Once I pushed the button, a sharp siren echoed through the entire building.

When I got out of the building I found I was not the first to be out. The old mage lady was standing there staring at the hotel in annoyance. Mistress Hodge was also outside. She looked really upset. It was to be expected, she still had shampoo in her hair. She looked like she was in the shower when this all occurred. A pink gown was draped over her body. Bunny shoes were at the end of her feet.

I sneakily stood to the back of the crowd. Soon everyone was out of the building. There weren't that many people. The hotel was not exactly a popular place to stay after all.

“What happened?” yelled a middle-aged lady, she was still in her P.J's and slippers. She had curling clamps in her hair. I recognized her, she was among the few ladies that sat in the lounge with the old mage lady.

“Don’t know. But the Emergency was pressed.” Said a middle-aged man.

“Holy cow, look!” shouted a young gentleman. I looked over at the young man, it was the guy that was at the counter yesterday.

Boom, a pillar of red hot flames shot through the hotels roof. Everyone's, jaws dropped. The flames soon spread and covered the roof.

I could not look. This was my fault. Holy lord. I swear I did not mean this to happen. I really only wanted to do a simple Unsealing. Who knew that Riley's rebirth would activate at a time like this.

Another pillar of flames shot upwards through the hole the first pillar had produced. This pillar did not stop though, it shot straight up to the heavens and exploded. A mushroom cloud of fire lit the sky. Flames continued to shoot from the hotel. Soon the flames became one giant pillar of continuous hot fire.

“Oh, my lord. Is that thing going to burn down the entire city!” screamed another middle-aged lady. She was fanning herself profusely. The temperature around us was consistently rising.

“Everyone, please stand back from the building. The heat is not normal.” Said the old mage lady.

She held out a fan and suddenly fire particles started swirling around her. She swung her fan and flames suddenly appeared from runes produced by the fire particles. Her control of the runes was so fast. It all happened within a blink of an eye. She rose up into the air. She swung her fan. The flames danced in the air. Soon a ring of fire formed from her flames.

“Don’t worry. I’m from the magic council." The old mage lady said.

I starred at her shocked, so she was from the magic council. The magic council was a group of the most powerful mages from around the world. They were the central army of the world. They looked after all the mages in the 4 kingdoms. The East Kingdom's Armoured was the first army of the magic council. The West Kingdoms Black knights was the second army of the magic council. The South Kingdoms Black hoods was the third army of the magic council. The fourth army was from the Central Kingdom. They simply refered to themselves as the magic council. The four groups ruled the entire world. Of course, each kingdom had a king, who was above the magic council.

This woman was from the magic council, she did not claim to be an Armoured. So, she must be from the Central Kingdom. Why was she here in the East Kingdom? Did the Armoured know of her presence?

"I will have this under control in no time.” She said showing her croaked smile.

She rose higher into the air. She moved her fan in a rhythmic pattern. The ring of fire around her soon split into five rings. The five rings shot through the air and started circling the pillar of fire. It grew and wrapped around the pillar.

“That is not going to do anything. She’s better off not doing anything.” Said Carter sitting on my shoulders.

“Why? That looks like some powerful fire magic.” I said, admiring her control of fire runes. She was skilled. I could not do that with neither of my elements. She practically did not spend anytime in forming and linking her runes. I wish I was this proficient.

Carter laughed. “Her magic is mediocre. It's passable. It may pass for magic in this time, but that is not magic from this time. That there is phoenix fire from rebirth. Phoenix fire during rebirth is near impossible to fight against. Her puny fire magic will not do anything. Watch and you’ll see.” Carter laughed.

I looked up at the old mage lady. The rings slowly started to make contact with the pillar of Phoenix fire and just as it looked like the rings would be able to snuff out the pillar. The flames from the rings started to flicker. Then, a small stream of phoenix fire detached from the pillar and transformed into a small bird. It was a miniature size phoenix. It glided around the rings. Then it opened its beak. Suddenly all the rings broke and transformed back into their original state, as fire particles. The small phoenix inhaled, and all the fire particles were swallowed into its stomach. The small phoenix belched out a small stream of smoke. It looked really satisfied with the fire particles.

The miniature size fire phoenix, then glared at the old mage lady. It opened its beak and a huge jet of flames shot out, streaming toward the old mage lady.

The mage lady swallowed hard, then she pointed her fan at the incoming flames. Flames swirled around her fan, preparing for the impact. Unfortunately, it was no use. As soon as the phoenix fire touched her flames, her flames all merged with the phoenix fire and started attacking her instead. She screamed and just as the flames came close to swallowing her. She cracked a gem in her hands. Hot red magic rushed from the gem and surrounded her. Then a massive magic circle formed. The magic circle blocked the phoenix fire for a second. That second was enough, she sent out a burst of magic and the magic expelled her and sent her flying across the town, escaping death by a hairs width.

The miniature phoenix huffed in satisfaction and returned to the pillar of fire.

Everyone could not believe their eyes. I blinked. Phoenix fire was this strong. That was unexpected. “Wait, what if the Phoenix fire burns down the town? I would be responsible for destroying another town. I can’t let this happen.” I said worried. I could not allow another Sappon to happen again.

“Don’t worry. Once all the flames collect in the sky, no flames will be left on the ground. The town will be fine." Carter said assuring me. "Look!” he pointed toward the pillar.

I turned my attention back to the Phoenix pillar. The last jets of flames shot up toward the heavens. As soon as the last stream left, the flames on top of the roof also rose up off the roof and zipped toward the sky.

Up far above the clouds, a huge ball of fire was starting to take shape. All the flames that spread out from before had recollected and formed into a giant ball of raging fire, blazing brightly in the sky.

I starred in amazement. That thing was brighter than the sun. Was Riley inside there? Then I looked back at the hotels roof. I could not believe it. it was still in tact. Not a single shingle was damaged. Okay the hole from before was still there but everything else was undamaged. My jaw dropped.

“I thought you said Phoenix fire can destroy everything. Why is the hotel in tact?” I asked Carter confused.

“That’s right, Phoenix fire can destroy everything. But it does not destroy things uselessly. Rebirth is only meant to turn the old Phoenix into a new one. It usually will not damage its surrounding. Of course, if something is blocking it from reaching the sky, it will burn through it. That there is a perfect example," he pointed at the hole on the roof of the hotel. "It will also destroy anything that interferes with its rebirth. So never interfere with a phoenixes rebirth. Not even we dragons dare come near a rebirth in process. That’s just insane. You have to be out of your mind to interfere with a rebirth,” Carter said grinning.

“Is Riley all the way up there?” I asked looking up far into the sky.

“Yes. Rebirth can take a while. But it can also be very quick. It all depends on the Phoenix really. Of course, if the phoenix has access to a phoenix relic designed in helping with rebirth, it can make the process much faster.” He said sighing.

“How much is long and how much is quick?” I asked.

“Long can take up to one hundred years and fast can be as little as one month” Carter replied.

My eyes widened. Did he just say one hundred years? Was he kidding me? “One… one hundred years. Are you joking?” I asked my jaw dropping once again. I did not have a hundred year to wait. I don't think I could even wait a month in this town. What if the organization caught up with me?

Carter looked like he was in a bind to. Then his eyes glittered. He looked straight ahead and grinned. “Don’t worry, it shouldn't take that long now. Look” Carter said pointing to a shiny object flying from the hotel up toward the phoenix fire.

“What is that?” I asked, trying to focus on the object. It flew up pass the clouds and entered the phoenix fire within a heart beat. There was no way I could make out what it was.

Carter smiled, “That my friend is a phoenix relic. Didn’t I tell you this hotel had something that attracted the kid." He grinned. "That, is it. This rebirth shouldn’t take more than an hour at the most.” He said flapping his wings in excitement.

“Phoenix relic?" I said, thinking about what that could mean. "Then it’s a spirit ware?” I asked. Spirit wares were the relics from the gods. Why was there such an amazing item here?

“Yes, that is exactly what that thing is. We should get out of here before anymore finds out that the fire came from your room,” Carter suggested.

“What about Riley?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about him. He will come find us. Plus, once a phoenix begins rebirth. They will not be reformed in the same place as that fire ball up there. That my friend is a substitute. It will stay up there for a while even after a phoenix has completely reformed. Once Riley has advanced farther in rebirth he will separate from that fire ball and reform near the person he feels safest with. That my friend is most definitely you. So, wherever you go, he will reappear there. I think you should consider going back to the witch's shop. Anywhere else would just attract unneeded attention” Carter suggested, making a loop around my head.

This was interesting news. I looked up at the huge fire ball. That was a decoy. It was a very big decoy. I backed out of the crowd and gently merged into the people on the streets. I used Mix to blend my aura around with all the people around me. This was a skill I was slowly learning to advance. With it I could effectively almost disappear in a pool of life energy. It was almost like I could become invisible.

After traveling for about 15 minutes we arrived at uncle Fredricks shop. I had used Glide to slip around the city. It proved to work very well. People also had lots of life energy in them. I could slip around and over them easily. With the mixture of Mix and Glide I was able to invisibly travel across town very effectively and quickly.

I knocked on the door and Selma answered the door. She seemed surprised I came back so fast. “What are you doing back so soon? I wasn't expecting you to be back until later tonight” she said.

“Something happened. I can't explain right now. I need to go inside the shop," I said urgently. Carter said Riley would reform in about one hour but it could happen sooner. I couldn't take the risk.

She sighed and allowed me into the shop. Then she blinked as she saw the huge blinding ball of flames in the sky. “What the heck is that!?” she hollered.

I grabbed her mouth and kicked the door closed. We did not need to attract anymore attention.

“That is not our concern at the moment.” I said releasing her.

She glared at me. “What is the meaning of this?” she shouted placing her hands on her hips.

“It's a long story. I’ll tell you later. I need a place that is fire friendly.” I said urgently.

“Why?” she asked raising her right eye brow.

“I just need it okay. Do you have a place like that?” I asked unable to contain my agitation.

Selma nodded her head. "The basement has a lot of seals on it. One of them is fire." She said.

I rushed toward the basement without a word. Selma moved faster than me and blocked my way. I could not believe she could move so fast. She raised her eye brows and crossed her arms. “Answer me first” she said sternly

“I really have no time.” I said, trying to get around her.

“There is plenty of the time. What’s the rush?” She asked interested.

“I….” I started to say. Then I felt it. I felt something approaching. Riley was coming. I pushed her aside and raced down into the basement.

“Hey!” Selma hollered from behind.

Just as I kicked open the door to the basement room. A huge crackling sound started in the center of the room.

“What’s all the ruckus?” asked uncle Fredricks voice. He was rushing down the stairs after Selma. Aunt Penelope followed right behind. He caught sight of me as he came down. “Logan?” he said.

“Logan what are you doing?” questioned uncle Fredrick.

Selma stopped behind me and gasped.

“What are you kids up to?” asked aunt Penelope. She stopped as she heard the sound from within the room.

A small shiny object glimmered in the center of the room. Soon red fire erupted around it. Within seconds the whole room was engulfed in crimson flames.

"Is that the spirit ware?" I asked.

"Yes, isn't it beautiful” Carter commented, sitting snugly on my shoulder.

“Holy cow!” yelled Selma.

“What the heck!” hollered uncle Fredrick.

“My Lord!” shouted aunt Penelope.

“What is this!” ordered uncle Fredrick turning to face me.

“It’s hard to explain,” I said.

“Try me” uncle Fredrick said crossing his arms.

“Logan what the heck is this? This fire, its hot but it doesn’t seem to be burning anything within the room. Is this your magic?” Selma asked.

I shook my head. “It’s Riley's magic” I said and started to explain.

“Phoenix rebirth!” shouted uncle Fredrick. His eyes were wide open. He was really shocked.

“That is not something you see everyday” commented aunt Penelope, she was her regular calm self once again.

I eyed her. She looked okay now. She seemed to share in master's skill at being calm in most situations. I guess they are siblings for a reason.

“Wow” said Selma she was mesmerized by the flames.

The flames were dancing around the room now. Streams of fire of every color started to swirl around the center. Slowly clouds of magic also started joining the swirls of colored flames. It was an eye-catching scene.

“So, let me get this right. You have a dragon spirit under a partnership contract with you and you also have a phoenix that follows you around.” Said uncle Fredrick.

I nodded my head. That was exactly what was going on.

He scratched his chin. “This feels familiar some how." He said. "I feel like I read about something similar in the witch's almanac." He paused to think. He furrowed his brows in concentration. He shook his head. "I can't remember it."

Suddenly a deep melodic voice echoed in the room. “When the dragon and phoenix walk together once again. So, will start the years to the end. When the turtle snake of old and stone serpent returns from the dead. So, comes the end. Seven elements combined in one shall face the end. The Divine Nine spells shall return. The five pearls of the lost race, the ten Swords of brotherhood, the chains of fate, the oath of the giant, and the pearl of death leads to the sacred spells. All who stands in the end, must first pass the test the hells. Child of Seven may the light be with you.”

Everyone looked over in the direction of the voice. I was surprised to find the owner of the voice to be Selma. She did not look like herself. Her eyes were white, and her voice sounded so different.

“Fredrick, she's finally prophesying” cried aunt Penelope.

“What…” I said in confusion. What was going on?

“I'm so proud of her. Her powers are finally awakening" Uncle Fredrick said proudly.

“Wait, what the heck was that before?” I asked.

“That my child was a prophecy. Selma is a special child. She is both a witch and an oracle. She is one of the few successful mix bloods." Aunt Penelope said in excitement.

"Wait, I thought witches can't use other magic?" I asked.

"Whoever said such a stupid thing. It's true we can't use the five elements. Kohl was an exception. He gave up his witch's magic for that girl. Then he attained life magic after that girl's death through his connection with at that book. Whatever, I don't want to talk about this now. Long explanation short. We witches can attain oracle magic as much as oracles can attain our magic, as long as the said person has the bloodline in them." aunt Penelope explained.

I blinked, this was the first time I heard of master giving up his witchcraft. I was wondering how he attained life magic before. This still did not clear up the question. But aunt Penelope did not seem to want to explain it at all.

Suddenly, Selma fainted. Uncle Fredrick caught her in time.

Aunt Penelope sighed "She can't control her powers. This is how all oracles are. Fredrick take her upstairs. I'll be up in a minute." She ordered. Uncle Fredrick took Selma and left for upstairs.

Aunt Penelope turned and looked into the center of the room. "I don't think I should be here when that child reforms. Logan come see me tomorrow morning. Dragon, I know you are here as well. You should also come see me." She finished then turned to leave for upstairs leaving us behind.