Bird of Many Feathers (The World of Mythcron)

Chapter 32

Third person pov~

Steven had flown to a tree that was close to the castle without getting caught. Felix and Aurora were waiting back at the top of the mountain. The sun had just fallen, and more guards had moved toward a big patch of dry land.

"There are a lot of guards standing in that area," Felix mumbled beside Aurora. Aurora nodded in agreement.

"That must be where they will do the ritual," she whispered back to him, and Felix slowly nodded in understanding.

Steven was watching the area where more guards had gathered. Two big doors beside the dry land opened and revealed 4 figures coming out, one holding the phoenix egg. Steven looked in the direction of his friends and did a soft hoot. He looked back at the area and then made a wind build up slowly, turning to a strong wind. The guards and four vampires stumbled but strengthened their walk.

"Well, that did not work well," Steven muttered to himself as he glanced to the side and saw that Felix and Aurora were closing in.

Felix and Aurora took the opportunity of the wind distraction and quickly dived toward the land. Aurora hummed a sharp tune, and the earth shook beneath the feet of the people below them but stopped. Aurora gasped and stopped her earth magic.

"They have earth magic users and stopped my magic," Aurora stated, worried, making them stop in their descent. Felix looked over at her in shock as they flew over to a guard free balcony on the castle, magic being shot behind.

"There goes our plan," Felix huffed as they looked down to see all the eyes on them.

"Take care of them," one of the four vampire masters hissed, and they continued toward the middle of the dry land. Felix fanned out his tail feathers and shrieked down at the guards. He looked at Aurora, and they both nodded. Felix caught fire and flew above the guards, raining fire down on them. Aurora hummed a new sharp tune, and before the guards could counter it, she impaled lots of the guards with roots.

Felix's fire killed many of the guards, but some of them stayed standing, unharmed. They had fireproof armor.

"I will leave those fireproof ones to you," Felix yelled to Aurora, and she nodded her head.

Felix continued flying and headed toward the vampires but had to quickly swerve out of the way of an ice spike. He glared down at 10 guards that had water surrounding them. Before he could do anything, they were swept away by a tornado that had formed in the middle of them. He glanced at his friend and smiled,  Steven smiled back.

While Felix continued trying to make his way to the vampires while dodging and attacking, the vampires had started the ritual.

The four vampires stood at north, east, south, and west, on the four corners. The egg sat in the middle of them. Many different runes were written in the remains of the dead nymphs surrounding the egg. The masters began to chant, and the square lit up in a dark red color. The runes began to glow and pulsate with a black color. The egg in the middle cracked an inch as some black fog surrounded the ground around it.

Steven had flown over to Felix and helped him with all the guards. He glanced up toward the vampires and shot his gaze back to them in horror.

"FELIX," Steven screeched to Felix and made him whip his head to him. Steven quickly jerked his head in the direction of the ritual. Felix turned to it and hissed, flaring up more.

"Cover me," Felix instructed Steven, and he nodded. Felix darted off to the ritual as many things were shot up at him. Steven used his wind magic and deflected them back down, and hit some guards.

Felix dived down to the first vampire master he could reach and tackled him to the ground. The ritual dimmed but continued on, the other three not stopping. Felix dug his talons into the stomach of the master and burned him from the inside. He looked away from the pile of ash below him to see that there were many guards charging at him. He readied himself and sent a shriek their way.

Before the guards got within fighting range, the ground started to shake. A 40-foot rock wall shot up from the ground and surrounded the ritual, keeping the guards out.

"Thank you, Aurora," Felix mumbled to himself as he turned to the rest of the vampires. They glared at him and hissed. Felix did his own hiss back and charged them, only to be knocked back into the wall by a shadow ball from one of them.

"You're too late now," laughed out one of them as a lightning cloud formed above them. They chanted louder, and Felix knew that something bad was about to happen to his mother. Without a second thought, he rushed toward the egg and shoved it as hard as he could out of the ritual. The egg hit into the wall. Before Felix could get out of the ritual, a black bolt of lightning struck him directly on his back. He screeched in pain and was slammed into the ground.

"NO," the three remaining vampires shouted out, and the ritual quickly faded and stopped. The black fog thickened and quickly went unstable, creating a huge explosion from the fail. The explosion demolished the earth wall, sending rocks flying everywhere and killing lots of guards. The fighting stopped as all the guards on the ground were knocked down.

Aurora and Steven made it into the sky and were only blown back a distance.

Aurora and Steven flew over the area where the ritual was and tried to see through the thick cloud of dust.

"FELIX," Steven shrieked down in fear, frantically flying around the area looking for him. The dust settled down and revealed the shadow of Felix slowly spreading his wings out.

"Oh, thank God you are ok," Aurora sighed as they landed on the ground just outside of the dust. Felix flaped his wings, clearing the rest of the dust. Steven and Aurora took a shocked step backward at the sight of him.

Felix blue feathers were now tainted in places by black. He threw his head back and let loose and ear peirceing screech. Steven and Aurora covered their ears.

"Fe.. Felix, is that you," Steven stuttered out and slowly let his wings fall to his side. Felix tilted his head at them them and looked at them with black, empty eyes. He caught fire, his fire was a mix of black and red, he hissed at them and fanned out his tail.

Steven and Aurora slowly started to walk back and away from the corrupted Felix. Felix took a step toward them and then ran at them. Steven and Aurora then took off into the air, and Felix followed closely behind them.

"Where is the egg? Maybe if we show him that he might come to his senses," Steven yelled over to Aurora as they flew as fast as they could.  She quickly nodded at him, and they began to look for the egg. Steven spotted it against the wall of the castle, and they both dived down for it.

They landed hard on the ground, Felix only a few seconds behind them and raced to the egg. Aurora grabbed it and quickly turned to face Felix. He froze right before he was about to burn them to death.

"I think it is working," Steven whispered to Aurora as they watched Felix.  His black eyes seemed to go back to their original orange for a moment before the black enveloped them once more. He shrieked at them and breathed in a huge breath of air. They both held each other and closed their eyes.

A blinding fire engulfed the area and shoved the corrupted Felix back. Aurora and Steven looked up in confusion and saw a full flaming phoenix in front of them, Felix's mother. She flew into Felix, who had his tail feathers fanned out, and enveloped him in her wings and fire.

They burned for a minute, and then the fire died down and revealed the two passed out forms of Felix and his mother. Felix in human form and his mother in her half human form.