The Phoenix Stone

Chapter Twenty Six

Nyx

I landed in the very same cage I had tellied from when I'd gone to the Enchantiss camp. Luckily for me the door was now unlocked and I could get out of the cage.

My first stop while in the rebel camp was the Hospital Ward to find Evander and tell him what I'd done.

"Nyx?" he said, an astonished look on his face as I burst into the tent, clutching the Phoenix Stone to my chest.

"No... time... to explain..." I panted, holding out my hand where a piece of flying rock had hit it causing a gaping gash in across it. "Got... the Phoenix... Stone. Now must... find Mari."

His face fell but he tried to hide it with an obviously fake grin. "Let me just bandage you up really quickly and I'll take you to her right away..." Before I could object he began wrapping bandages around my hand.

"What are you not telling me?" I asked, jerking my hand away with a wince.

"N-nothing," he said, faltering. He reached for my hand again, bandage in hand. "Let me help you, Nyx."

"Only if you tell me what I asked," I said stubbornly, glancing at the Stone to make sure that it was still where I'd left it. "My hand isn't as important as getting the Phoenix Stone to Mari so that we can win this battle and figure out what to with these Enchantiss."

"Fine!" he said, exasperated. "Mari has been knocked out on the battlefield. She's lying unconscious in this very tent. Now hear me out Nyx, before you go all rage monster on me." He gave me a stern look. "I told her that she shouldn't have gone out to fight but she didn't listen to me. It was completely her own fault. She's too old to fight now, she just hasn't admitted it to herself yet."

I opened my mouth to object; to tell him that he should've tried harder but he stopped me, gently putting his finger to my lips.

"I already know that you're just going to tell me that I should've tried harder." He looked at me with the most imploring look. "Please, Nyx, tell me that wasn't what you were going to say!"

I opened my mouth again but closed it again. I wasn't going to lie to him about what I had been going to say.

He sighed and wrapped the last bandage around my hand. "Alright, Nyx, you're free to go." A hint of his old humour snuck into his voice and his eyes twinkled as he said, "Now don't be ending up unconscious just like Mari. I wouldn't want to have to tell you that you're also too old to be fighting!"

I grinned back. "I won't Evander! And by the way," I shouted back to him as I left the tent, "I know that that's your way of saying don't get hurt because I care about you!"

His jaw dropped but I didn't hear his response, I was already gone. As I ran I grinned happily to myself, I had figured out that Evander liked me and once I knew that I had discovered that deep down I liked him too.

Hoping with all my heart that the Enchantiss hadn't made it to the entrance of the campsite, I ran down the hilly path to where the gap in the trees marked the entrance. To my huge relief, Colvin, Fia, Lorelai, and Valdis were still guarding the entrance valiantly.

"Good job guys!" I called as I ran past them.

All of them were engaged in one-on-one combat with Enchantiss warriors but Colvin managed to nod as I passed.

I fought my way through the battling Enchantiss and rebels, slicing down Enchantiss at every chance I got. With a single glance I could tell that the Enchantiss had almost broken into the rebels camp. There was chaos everywhere; bodies everywhere, rebels chasing Enchantiss, Enchantiss chasing rebels. Nothing was organized, but that was to be expected.