The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 3: The Pendant of Death

Chapter 20: A River Runs Into It

Chapter 20

     Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Echo was surprised at how humid the Riverlands were during the middle of October. Echo marveled at how oddly strange and strangely familiar the lowlands around the Mississippi River seemed to her. She was beginning to like it. At first she fought the urge to like it. The woods and the marshes around the mighty River were thicker than the Great Woods around Salem Academy, which made them hard to navigate through in her tiger form. Still, Echo made the time to frolic in the choked woods and marshes. She chased Clabberts whenever she got a chance, which was often since the southern states were full of them. Echo breathed in the sultry but swampy air. She wasn’t in love with the place, but she liked it nonetheless.

     Since she had sent Ravenus Rouge off on the secret errand to rid them of the Ashwinder fangs, the group had been spending their weeks travelling up and down the River on an old steamboat. The boat was dingy and dirty, but it had a strength and flavor to it that neither soap nor barnacle could take away. The Jolly Jarvey was older than most of those on board, but it chugged along the River better than some of the older, more modern commercial boats that went along. A nasty drought had caused the waters to recede a little but with a few weather charms the waters rose wherever the Jolly Jarvey went.

     They had the Bokur on board with them. Echo kept a close eye on the woods around them, as to make sure they were not being watched. Rider loved every second of the time on the Bayou; it was his home territory. Hardstone kept close to Echo and spent many hours playing stones with her. He also taught her some really good disappearing spells; spells on how she can blend in with her surroundings. He taught her a few transfiguring spells that allowed her to turn into commonplace objects like chairs, chimneys, stone gargoyles, and lampposts. Mared and Talon spent many evenings walking along the deck of the big old steamboat. They grew close to each other. Echo came on deck one night and Talon was holding her hand. Mared was smiling at Talon with dreamy eyes. Echo smiled at them and left them alone.

     Dev was quieter, almost recalcitrant after the fight with Dare. He healed up rather quickly, but his pride had been hurt. Yet, even though he was wounded within, he found the time on the River more refreshing and much needed. He used the River to practice using the Water Pendant he had. He was becoming very proficient in using it; he was learning to bend water and its forms to his will. He liked it. But what he loved most was the time he got to spend with Echo. As she practiced the spells and skills that Master Wolf had taught her before he returned to Salem, Dev practiced with her. The two of them started to duel with one another, trying out spells and hexes to hone their skills. Echo and Dev found themselves learning greatly from one another and learning how to concentrate their feelings and anger into their Pendants, his lesser Elemental Pendant and her greater Magical Pendant of Darkness. Unlike Mared and Talon, who bonded by their feelings, Echo and Dev found themselves bonded by their ferocity, their energy, and their mutual thirst for adventure and excitement. Their love grew deeper than they had imagined. But their kisses turned into chases, their embraces became duels. They let the Riverlands become their domain and their lovely dances looked more like the battling of two warriors, mutually focused and determined. They grew, stronger in their skills and closer to each other.

     Nathan Knight, their newest comrade, hated every second of it. He was constantly griping of the humidity and the dirty conditions in which they stayed. Echo constantly got in his face. “He complains like a woman,” she would mutter every time she put him in his place. He often disappeared during the day, to “look for something,” he would say. Echo was glad of the little breaks the group got from him.

     It had been months since she heard from the crew in England. Rain Fox and Star had informed her that Shade was in possession of the Pendant of Life, had found his mother but she died in his arms, and was now missing. Shade had vanished into a self-imposed exile and no one had heard from him since. Echo thought about using her Talk-Box to talk to Shade but she knew that, if she did, she’d be tempted to find him. She couldn’t leave her group. She also wanted to seek out Ravenus Rouge and figure out what happened to the Ashwinder fangs but she relented of her curiosity for it. She kept reminding herself that keeping the Bokur safe was her priority.