The Search Is Over

Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Black Phoenix

"You must learn to shield your mind soon, but first thing's first," Dora told Regulus as she led him from the sitting room in which he'd apparently spent a few unconscious weeks. "You won't be able to focus on much until you've fed well. Hunger is a powerful distraction."

"And I shall focus far better once I've heard from Kreacher," Regulus added. Worry for his friend was a distraction equal to the hunger, but the hunger was something he could attend to at once. Regulus followed his maker without even glancing back once at the dead body of the homeless man on the floor beside the sofa. He knew he should wonder how they were going to get rid of that, but right now he just couldn't care. It was something Dora did daily, so there was an obvious method and he would learn it soon along with so much else. There was a great deal to learn about this new life he'd thrust onto himself, but he was up for the challenge. He had nothing else to do at present, after all. Pandora led him down a long hall and out a wide front door onto what appeared to be a quiet suburban street.

"I don't eat near home, because it can draw unwanted attention," she commented. "We will head toward the heart of the city where there are always far too many people who wish to die." She moved down the street at a speed he'd have had difficulty matching as a mortal wizard. Now, though, it was far too easy to move like fluid through the air, feet hardly touching the pavement with the momentum.

"Won't people notice how fast we are," he asked, perplexed. Obviously vampires, like wizards, lived by not attracting notice to themselves.

Dora shook her head without slowing, only turning her face briefly to regard him as she replied. "They can't really see us when we move this fast. Their eyes just slide away because we're too difficult to track."

"Oh. Interesting," he replied, knowing that it would all be far more interesting when his hunger was satisfied and Kreacher was with him again. Soon they were crossing onto a busier street, and he was once more assailed by the minds of everyone around him as he had been that first day. It was oddly fascinating, because as they were now in Rome, the thoughts weren't in English for the most part yet in at least thirty percent of the cases, he could still understand the gist of the thought due to mental imagery that accompanied the words. When they were downtown, Dora slowed and led him into a dark alley where she came to a complete stop. Out of nowhere a shadow passed directly overhead then dipped and landed on his shoulder with a soft musical trill. Regulus turned his head, wondering if Kreacher had sent an owl, but the sight that met his gaze stunned him. A black Phoenix perched on his shoulder, staring calmly back at him. When their eyes met the bird gave a single deliberate nod.

"Um...You have a pet," Dora asked, obviously as taken aback by the bird's appearance as was Regulus.

"No. And I've never seen a black phoenix before," he said, awe in his voice.

"That's a phoenix," Dora practically squawked. "Those are real?"

Regulus's lips twitched. "Obviously...but they're red and gold most of the time. I've only seen mention of black ones once in a book of rare magic. One of the spells called for the feather of a black death phoenix."

"So do they kill or something," Dora asked with a mild look of concern.

"Not that I know of," Regulus answered carefully. "It is only the way they work. They draw their magic more from the side of death. Phoenixes work with death and resurrection magic. The ordinary red and gold phoenixes can heal and such so perhaps the black ones can kill but from what little was mentioned in the book, they merely work with death magic more strongly than resurrection magic. This could involve dealing with astral realms and forms of shadow magic to do their healing, for example."