The Phoenix Stone

Chapter Twenty Four

She looked at me with an astonished expression on her face. "What?! I thought you were on their side!"

Fighting to keep the anger at bay I shook my head slowly, pinching my arm behind my back where she couldn't see it. "I think that maybe... in these circumstances... the underdogs should win for once." I looked away so she wouldn't see how much I was shaking from rage.

"Very well," she said, stroking her chin thoughtfully."I'm willing to bet that my soldiers have just started out onto the battlefield. You can join them in the front line."

I immediately stood up and walked to the doorway. I was about to leave when she called back to me, "Be careful, Nyx. If any of the rebel soldiers see you on the other side they're all going to go for you in revenge. You are a valuable part of this operation right now and I'd like it to stay that way."

I nodded silently, trying to appear serious but as soon as I was out of earshot of her I burst into hysterical, uncontrollable peals of laughter that rendered me almost useless for a full minute.

She fell for my act! I thought, wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes with the back of my grimy hand. She actually believed me! How could she not see that I'm going to sabotage her in every single way I possibly can?

When I finally pulled myself together I had to hurry to catch up to the Enchantiss army. They'd left the camp a little while ago and I hadn't been ready yet.

I hurried down to the empty field trying to catch up with all the Enchantiss warriors and I arrived just in time. The rebels had arrived in the field mere minutes before us and were approaching us as quickly as they could manage. Both armies engaged immediately. There was almost no preparation once we were on the battlefield, just go, go, go.

The battlefield was loud and pushy.

As the first troop was rushing into battle I snuck in with troop two, ready to mess up any orders that were given but to my surprise, no orders about strategy were given. We were thrown into battle with a bunch of lunatics who were properly trained for battle. I'd expected the Enchantiss to be fully trained for battle but I was sadly mistaken and so, if I had been on the Enchantiss' side I would've been their most valuable soldier.

The advantage over the rebels was so large that the Enchantiss could've beaten them in one big explosion of magic but the Enchantiss were also so disorganized that the magical attacks barely did a thing against the rebels. My job as an honorary Enchantiss soldier was to wreak havoc wherever I could and the place I found were certainly very helpful to the rebels.

The first rebels I came into actual fighting contact with was none other than my nemesis, Colvin, and his friends. He'd obviously been appointed as a captain with his own troop and they were now defending the entrance to the rebel's camp.

"Come to help finish us off, traitor?" he sneered, making a long jab at my stomach with his huge broadsword.

I didn't say anything, focusing all my anger and fear into blocking his constant swings and jabs. My breath was coming in short bursts, panting from the sudden exertion. I hadn't trained with a sword in a few weeks because I'd been sick and then I hadn't been able to while I was at Deepdark.

"Oy, Fia! You too, Valdis!" he called, swinging his sword at my head. "Come help me out for a second, will ya? The traitor's back and she's not on our side."

Almost immediately Fia, Valdis, and Lorelai appeared by his sides, flanking him. Their faces were set in perfect replicas of Colvin's sneer.

"I'm not a traitor," I called softly, taking what I hoped was a menacing step towards them. "I'm here to help you... but only if you let me."