Phoenix

Chapter 5

The next morning she woke in her bed groaning, the world filled with god damn annoying bright colors, and loud sounds. Jael shook her,

"Kris get up." She pulled the pillow over her head and grumbled,

"No, let me sleep Jael. And if you get the water again I will murder you." Jael replied exasperated,

"Its Monday. I promise not to bother you Saturday or Sunday if you wake up now." Kris's brain was not moving at normal pace, it was running at a sluggish pace, till more thoughts processed. Sunday. Party. Cyrus. She shot up glancing around. It was Monday, Cyrus and others were coming for her, and Nixes were in town, she had to prepare an escape plan for her and Jael, if they all knew she was here, then they would be able to track her through the foster care system, and she and Jael would be screwed. Cutter. She had to visit Cutter and sort it out with him.

Jael smiled and exclaimed, raising her hands into the air, "The heavens must be shining down on us today, Kristine is awake!" Kris stuck her tongue out and gave her sister a dirty look before shooting out of bed.

"After school tell Amy I'm visiting Uncle." Uncle was their code name for Cutter, according to the foster care system, he was their biological uncle but was financially unable to take care of them, but he was really just a close friend of Kris's that helped her out, he was a arms dealer on the Black Market, mortal and magical alike.

"Why?" Jael asked immediately serious, she was no fool, she could read her sister like the back of her hand, something was up, something Kris wasn't telling her. Kris's face lost its normally sarcastically arrogant grin and became serious in a way few had ever seen her look. Most thought she was incapable of being serious, but there was much they didn't know about her. Kris lifted the spell blocking the tattooed words on the inner part of her arm that changed, they were still the same. They were called manteío, oracle writings, it was a gift that could be bestowed by the Phéni, the priests of Gaïa, on a select few, they could give messages from Gaïa herself to help the Phoenix they are bestowed upon.

Jael gazed upon her arm, then looked at her, her face filled with worry, "What does it say?" Kris forgot, it was written in the Olde Language of the Realms, a human could not read it.

"You can run but you cannot hide," she replied in an ominous tone. Jael gulped and nodded, then looked at her determined,

"What danger is coming?" Kris's mouth settled in a grim line,

"Cyrus came last night. They haven't forgotten my Awakening, they're coming for me. After, he was attacked by Nixes," Jael's eyes' widened as she continued, "I have to meet with Cutter. We need to come up with a back up to get you to safety should worst come to shove." She nodded,

"Will Cyrus tell where you are?" She looked away, biting the inside of her lip in a rare moment of vulnerability,

"I don't know. He should have found his mate by now, but if he hasn't, then he will still be bound to the King, and therefore he will have no choice but to tell him my location. If so, foster care isn't safe anymore, and you're not safe anymore, too many know of your affiliation to me and will seek to use you against me." Jael gave a half smile,

"Hey, we'll figure it out." Kris gave her a sad smile,

"Okay." Jael nodded and hugged her.

************************

Kris was getting her book from her lockers, when Phyre came up behind her with Anouk and two strange boys. She whirled around and raised her eyebrow at Phyre, who gave her a look. "Hey."

"Hey. Kris this is Jak Laskaris and Justin Egons, they just transferred here from New York, they're cousins." Kris smiled at them,

"Pleasure." Jak was a tall lean with wavy dark hair, sea green eyes, and bronzed skin, and a permanent smirk on his face, he was quiet handsome. Unfortunately the smile on his face said he knew he was hot and he knew how to use that. While Jak had a Greek Adonis look to him, Justin had a bit of a Hispanic look to him, as if he were half Caucasian, half Hispanic. Justin had curly caramel hair that was slightly swayed to the side, with tanned skin, piercing azure eyes', and the type of shy guy look that would have girls swooning. Jak stepped,

"Nice to meet you Kris, Phy was just showing us around the school, seems a cool place." Kris raised her eyebrow at Phyre,

"Phy?" She blushed slightly, well there went her attraction to Aaron. Kris nodded, and stared at Jak, she was not as easily swayed as her best friend. Jak smiled back, she might end up liking this guy yet, as a friend, he was very much like Dean and Zayn mixed. Suddenly something glinted metallic in his bag. She didn't look at it, but from the corner of her eye she could see it was a knife, and it smelled of frankincense. Though she kept her face smiling as though she had not seen the knife she knew what they were, Nixes, and they were hunting a Phoenix. She was so much trouble, but by the looks of it they were still trying to figure out who it was, so that was good, but sooner or later. That also meant they were the ones from last night, meaning they knew that Cyrus was gone and that another Phoenix was here, and that it was a girl, who had partied last night, and then went outside during the party to the wharf, shit, she just hoped everyone was to drunk to remember, or she was screwed.

*************************

Jak ended up being in AP Bio, Lit, and US History with her, while Justin was AP Calculus AB, AP Bio, and AP French with her. The only period she had to herself was Symphonic Band where she played piano for them, and occasionally for the Orchestra and Choir.

In AP Bio, she was working on the lab for looking at DNA in blood cells through a crystalline imaging microscopy. Meanwhile, Jak and Justin decided to be fashionably late, as they sauntered into the class 10 minutes after class started. Mr. Crains stopped us all and said,

"Class, this is Jak Laskaris and Justin Egons, they are new to the school, they transferred from New York. I expect you all to make them welcome, and to help them learn how our school works." Everyone looked curiously at them, this was an AP class, and though the girls all looked at them with slight interest, none of the popular girls were in this class, hence there were no giggles or fawning.

"So where should we sit?" Justin asked with a slight Hispanic timbre to his voice. Mr. Crains looked around, and Kris knew that he was going to place one of them next to her, they had an odd number of students in the class, so she never had a partner.

"Justin you can sit next to Kris, and Jak you can sit next to Finn and Emily." Justin walked over and set the his bag down,

"Hey Kris, glad to see a familiar face." She nodded, not looking up from the microscope, then said,

"I'd roll up your sleeves, we have to take sample 4 next, and you don't want to get blood on your shirt." He nodded while rolling up his sleeves,

"Okay, so what have you done so far." She pushed her paper to him, and he started copying. Throughout the whole lab he worked diligently, and surprisingly knew what she was talking about when she explained the lab to him, he surprised her. She had expected that the Nixes had placed them in the classes of all the most likely suspects, but he actually knew Bio. At the end of class, while they were packing up Mr. Crains said,

"Alright Class, the lab report is due on Thursday. Also, the list for the Science Fair Partners is on the door. Make sure you have the outline of your project done by next Monday." Then the bell rang and they were out. On the way out she looked at the door, her partner was Justin, and Phyre's was Jak, damn it.

As she walked out, Justin caught up to her,"Kris! Wait up!" She turned and slowed a bit,

"Yeah?"

"So how do you want to do this?" She stopped and stared at him,

"Do what?"

"The Science Fair Project?" She sighed, this just put a kink in her whole week.

"My house Saturday at 1. 1230 Rose Way." He nodded then disappeared into the crowd. That eliminated her, he didn't suspect her as the Phoenix. Suddenly she glimpsed Phyre talking with Jak AND Justin. Oh shit, they thought it was Phyre.