The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 1: The Pendant of Life

Chapter 18: Of Wolves and Turtles

Chapter 18

     Echo had padded to a small clearing when she stopped. Her ears went straight up. She growled as she looked around.

     Rain Fox, Sam, Star, and Shade came behind her. Shade pulled his wand warily out of his coat.

     “When she stops like that I always get the willies,” Rain Fox said, quietly. She, too, pulled out her wand.

     “Well, if there’s something there, it’s dead!” Star said in a loud whisper.

     Sam looked around, crouching and listening intently. Rain Fox drew her wand and took a hold of the pendant around her neck. Shade noticed that she was handling it again, and he wondered.

     “Homenum Revelio!” Shade said, casting a spell. The tip of his wand glowed.

     “What spell is that?” Sam asked him.

     “A very helpful one,” Shade said with concern in his eyes.

     “Well, what did it do?” Star asked.

     “Well,” Shade replied, “The spell just told me that we’re surrounded.”

     The girls all paused and looked at Shade. They held their wands up and formed a circle.

     All except Echo, who twitched her tail and padded around, sniffing the air. She then changed back into human form, and she took her wand and set it to the ground.

     “What are you doin’, Echo?” Sam asked her.

     “I’m posing no threat,” Echo replied.

     They all stopped. Shade nodded his head. He then knelt down and set his wand on the ground. Sam, Rain Fox, and Star looked at one another, then did the same.

     “I hope you know what you’re doing, Shade,” Star said, “Because if I die, you’re dying, too!”

     “I don’t think we have to worry about that,” Shade said.

     “Why not?” Star asked.

     “Because I don’t think they mean to kill us,” he replied.

     “Who?” Star asked again.

     Shade nodded towards the trees. From behind the trees and out of the shadows of the forest, men appeared, dressed in the leather jerkins of a Native American tribe, all with bows drawn and arrows set to their strings. They approached the group warily, arrows pointed at the group, mostly at Shade.

     Echo stood up, smiling. She made a few glottal grunts and the tribesmen set their arrows down and eased their strings. A young black-haired tribesman came up and clapped Echo on the shoulder. She obliged and did the same to him.

     “It’s okay, guys!” Echo shouted. “They know you’re with me!”

     “Who are they?” Star shouted, still wary.

     The young man walked up and extended his hand in greeting. “We apologize for the weapons, but we didn’t know you were friends with our Snow Tiger here. You are in the Dawn Lands of the Wapanaki. My name is Jean Savageau. It is nice to meet you. Please, come with us as our guests. We will protect you and, if you are willing, you may be our honored guests at our fires tonight.”

     “Can I pick up my wand now?” Star said, still wary.

     “I’ve heard Master Wolf speak so highly of your tribe for years, Jean,” Shade said, who shook his hand. “But I’ve never heard Master Wolf say that your tribe was one of warriors always on the guard, greeting the forest dwellers with arrows drawn.”