The Phoenix Stone

Chapter Seven

The next morning I woke up with a pounding head and even worse, I didn't know where I was! I could see that I was lying under a blanket on the mossy ground of a forest and I could hear a fear crackling right next to my ear.

"Welcome to the waking world, Nyx," Kael said as I sat up.

I rubbed my eyes, hardly believing what they were seeing. Sure enough, I was sitting on the floor of a forest. Kael was stirring something in a pot over the fire and Izel and Evander were training in a different part of the clearing. "You kidnapped me?!"

Kael stopped stirring. "Well, technically no, but then again, technically yes. We drugged you and brought you with us when you wouldn't cooperate. If you had cooperated then it would've made our job a lot easier but our orders were to return with you no matter what. And that's what we're going to do."

"So it wouldn't have mattered what my answer was, you would've brought me with you either way?" I asked grumpily.

"Yes, but one way was easier and the other way was harder. You made our job a little bit harder." He went back to stirring whatever was in the pot.

"I hate you," I grumbled, looking at the ground.

"Oh, I'm sure you do, but one day you'll thank me. You'll see." He stopped stirring again and started pouring what looked and smelt like mushroom soup into four bowls. "Evander! Izel! The food is ready! Here." He handed me a bowl of soup and sat down next to me on a log. "We're going to rest for a day. Maybe work on some of your skills and figure out what you're good at and what you're not."

"What time is it?" I asked between mouthfuls.

He glanced at the sky. "About six thirty."

"In the morning??"

"No. Evening. The drug knocked you out for a long time. "

I stood up, yelling, "You knocked me out for an entire day?!"

Izel and Evander heard my outburst from across the clearing. Evander's lips curled up like he was amused but Izel rolled her eyes and she looked seriously annoyed.

Kael ignored me and instead called them before they resumed their fight sequence. "Why don't you come and eat, children? The soup will be cold soon!"

Evander rushed over right away but Izel stayed right where she was. "I'm not going to eat with that little brat," she called from where she was standing on the other side of the clearing. "Not until she gets her attitude into check."

I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything. Suddenly a horrifying thought struck me and I practically had a heart attack on the spot. "Did you bring my spellbook?!" I asked frantically, interrupting Evander and Kael's conversation.

"Check your bag," Kael said, not even looking at me.

I ran over to where the packs were and rooted through the pile looking for my satchel. When I found it my fingers were shaking so much that I could barely undo the buckle. To my relief the spellbook was in my satchel exactly where I remembered leaving it the day before along with some food, my new clothes that Pierretta had given me, and a water bottle.

When I sat back down near the campfire Evander asked, "Did you find it?"

I nodded. "Yeah. If I hadn't I swear you would've been in so much trouble. That spellbook is the only piece of my grandmother that I have right now and I need it to practice using my magic."

Evander smiled. "Well, I'm glad that you found it."

For the rest of the meal I sat in silence and because I wasn't actively involved in any conversations I started to zone out. A plan was forming in my head and by the end of supper I had a pretty good idea of how it was going to work out.