The Phoenix's Prophecy

*Chapter Twenty-Nine*

*Chapter Twenty-Nine*

“He's late,” I muttered.

I'm sure it doesn't take three hours. Logically, I know that nothing will happen to him, but there was just a bad feeling in my gut.

“Let's check on him,” Aria suggested.

I nodded, and Aria stood up. I followed. The empty hallways were brightly lit, and the only sound was our shoes on the marble floor. There was suddenly a distant sound of a door closing: the main castle door. Hurrying my footsteps, I leaned over the rail of the stair where you can have a clear view of the main entrance and noticed Ray. A second later, the girl stepped out behind from Rayden. She looked terrified.

We both descended down the stairs. Aria stopped by my side a second later.

“What's going on?” Aria asked with a skeptical look. “I thought you dropped her home?”

“I did,” Ray answered. “Her house was completely destroyed though. I think it was the Black Phoenix.”

Aria's eyes widened for a fraction. I switched my gaze back to the girl. Her eyes were wide that clearly showed her trepidation.

“I thought that it was better for her to stay with us - ”

“And from whom have you gotten your permission?” the mellifluous voice flowed down from the top of the stairs.

“I couldn't leave a barely seventeen-year old out at night without anyone.”

“Tell me what happened,” Melody prompted.

Rayden quickly explained the situation to her. He met Lysha in front of the store. She was actually a friend of his. He chatted with her while waiting for me and Aria. It was then that Aria and I came out from the store. He offered to drop her since it was pretty dark.

This was when I narrowed my eyes at him. He should know that I wasn't as easy to deceive as the others. Ray was certainly not the type to offer to drop a girl home. No matter who the girl is. This isn't just my own unjustified opinion for I can say that I know him that much.

He continued the story. They were in front of her house. To Lysha's utter surprise, it had been purposely set on fire. They couldn't locate any clue as to who did it; however, there was a simple note pinned down with a small rock not far from her house. There was only a simple diagram of a pitch black phoenix.

“Here,” he held out the note to Melody.

Melody unfolded the note, and true to his word, it was definitely the symbol of the feared organization.

“She's clearly been targeted by Black Phoenix. Leaving her alone was definitely not a good choice.”

“So you decided to bring her here?” Melody asked with a blank face.

There was a moment of confusion pass through Ray's eyes.

“Yes,” he confirmed.

“Very well,” Melody's decision shocked all of us, “she shall have a room for now until she can find a place to stay.”

“Melody - ”

Melody gave me a look that clearly said she knew what I was about to say: can we really trust her?

“Thank you so much!” Lysha exclaimed, her eyes shone brightly with happiness. She then turned to Ray. “Thank you! Thank you!I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here!”

She engulfed him in a tight hug and planted a kiss right on his cheek.

“Rayden, I know it's late, but I will not allow a day without training. Both of you, outside, now,” Mel ordered.

“Training?” Lysha echoed confused.

“Yeah, we can watch a movie - ”

“Can I watch the training?” Lysha asked as she bounced around happily.

We all looked at Melody.

“It's quite dangerous, dear. If you - ”

“Please?” she begged. “Pretty please?”

She reminded me of a kid begging her parents for ice cream. If I didn't know better, I would seriously assume she were a kid.

“Okay.”

“I love you!” she shrieked, and Mel winced as she threw herself at her.

The three of us headed for the wide open area with Lysha practically bouncing. She was talking non-stop with Ray. Ray actually seemed tp be in a pretty good mood, and I soon zoned out of their conversation. We reached the place, and I scanned around us. This is the first time I've been here at night. She skipped off to sit by the edge of a tree. Ray and I faced each other.

A ball of water formed in his hand and soon hardened until it became solid. It was a white gleaming sword. I grimaced when I realized that I would barely be able to defend myself if Ray uses a weapon.

True to my guess, I didn't stand a minute before the tip of the sword was pressed right under my chin. The icy cold material made me shiver.

There was an excited whoop from the side. I both turned slightly to see Lysha sitting with her legs folded to the side under the giant oak, clapping her hands. Her eyes were filled with pride and adoration.

“As skilled with swords as ever, Ray,” she praised in a sugary voice hinted with idolization.

For some reason, I got annoyed. She talked as if she knew him perfectly. Ray is not someone who can be predicted. His mind was like a giant maze that can never be solved. You can only ever know so much before the walls shift and change, leaving you having no choice but to start wandering along the aimless maze again.

“Again,” I grumbled.

I yelped in surprise as bolts of water appeared out of nowhere. The columns of water suddenly linked together and formed a giant wall of impenetrable wall. I twisted and turned furiously, trying to find a way out of this bizarre dome. Though slightly blurred, I could still make out Ray on the other side. I reached out at the almost invisible liquid, and was shocked when pain shot up from my finger. I immediately retracted my hand. Ray stood up from where he was knelt, and I saw Lysha stand up from where she was.

“It's majestic. The way you commanded your element and formed such a perfect and flawless prison.”

I growled angrily. I was not in the mood to be trapped in a dome made of water! It's just water for god's sake!

“I don't think that's a good idea,” I heard Ray warn me.

The quicker it is, the better. I gathered all my aura and tried to surround it around myself to form a safe barrier. It probably won't hold on, but it was better than nothing. With confidence, I walked straight at the wall.

“Are you insane?”

That was the last thing I heard before I felt what seemed like electric shock but much more worse to run through my body.

Just as he said, are you freaking insane?

I screamed out, and for a second, the pain vanished...

...Until it was replaced by something even more painful.

It was gone in less than a second, leaving me gasping for breath. I opened my eyes to see Lysha kneeling beside Ray. Blood rolled down from the corner of his lips. As soon as he saw me, he stood up and marched up to me.

“You okay?”

“The blood,” I stared at him just as he wiped it off angrily. For a minute, I paled. Did I black out again?

“Damn it! Don't scare me like that!”

“What?” I uttered in astonishment.

“My gosh!” Lysha shoved herself between Ray and I. She was looking at me with nothing but trepidation. “What are you?” she gasped.

No...

Knowing what I was about to ask, he opened his mouth to say something, but Lysha beat him to it.

“You could have killed us!” she shrieked as angry tears streamed down her face. “If Ray didn't take that attack for me, I would have been dead! You just shot pitch black flame at us!”