Phoenix Rising

Cemetery

When I wake up, Emilea is looking down on me smiling wholeheartedly. Though there is a hint of concern in her eyes. Her eyes remain intent on me for a few seconds until she finally speaks.

"Don't worry, Kaela is fine. She already took a shower. She suffered very minimal damage. Sadly you didn't end up so lucky. When we get back to the school grounds, you are taking tumbling lessons." We both give an awkward laugh. "We didn't get any clues from Tulip, but the dragon's house had information that revealed to me that the cross would be in the Cemetery of Redemption. That is why he was here; he was trying to find the cross."

"I thought Casmir said he was half dragon, not complete dragon. What would he need with the cross?"

"Well, he was half dragon, once. This book states that he was becoming more and more of a dragon each passing day. He wanted the cross so he could turn himself human again. I don't know if the cross can do that but he obviously thought it might."

"How far away is the cemetery?" I ask.

"It is only a couple miles away. We are going to rest for today though. We might leave tonight if you think you are healed enough by then. You shattered your right leg. Healing it fully will take some time but I can make it able to walk again by tonight. Once we get the cross and return home, I will heal you the rest of the way."

"What day is it?" I ask.

"It is only our third day out on this mission. Tonight we should go back home. It is about noon. You need your rest so go back to sleep while I heal your leg."

I slowly drift back to sleep. A few hours later, I wake up and then we wait until dusk. I can hardly walk, but I know I had to get my revenge tonight. The pain of walking feels a lot like arthritis but worse.

The three of us walk out of the giant building. We're standing in the moonlit desert. We glance at each other and notice a small graveyard in the distance. We walk through the desert and every time I think it would only be a few more minutes till we get there, we end up not even being close. The cemetery looks so large that it looks like it would reach it in a few minutes. Once we finally do get to the graveyard, we examine our surroundings and it was derelict. There is a huge altar and I assume the cross must be there. It seems a little too easy. We all walked up to the altar to find a note. We look at each other and then I grab and open the note and it read:

"Hello, you must be looking for one of my artifacts. Sadly you're too late, I already have it. If you want it then you will have to take it from one of my disciples. He will be at the warehouse in San Diego. It is a big city but it should be easy to find it once you enter. Why am I saying this? Oh, it is simple. You are going to be killed by a horde of undead and you won't be able to find the warehouse either way. I must bid you a farewell now; I have business to attend to. My meeting with a treacherous phoenix is about to begin.

-Derah, 5th Avenue"

We glance to each other once more and look behind us. Just then, hundreds of undead start rising from the ground and start walking slowly towards us. We are quickly surrounded and overwhelmed. I close my eyes and feel water surge through my finger tips. My eyes quickly blink open momentarily and I notice a puddle forming around me.

"Your eyes are turning blue!" Kaela exclaims.

I close my eyes again and I feel huge waves of water surround me. I feel a pair of arms grip like iron around me and everything blacks out for a mere second. When I open my eyes again the whole cemetery is practically gone. All of the head stones, mausoleums, fencing. It's all gone. The only thing I see isEmilea shivering and scared on the floor beside me.

"Where is Kaela?" I ask remorsefully.

"I don't know. I think she got blown away with the horde by your tsunami wave." She shivers and cries and I fall to the floor. I roll into a ball and go to sleep on the mounds of dirt and grass where I know dead people are buried under. I hardly care because of my drowsiness and I immediately fall asleep.