The Phoenix Stone

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Noah

As I stood the grand doors loomed over me, almost as if in distaste. Their large gleaming white surface seemed to glare at me with hostility. The council’s doors shimmered with elaborate golden carvings and extravagant ivory handles. I shivered at the thought of why I was here. Summoning’s weren’t at all common. I had received mine the night before, it had been written on golden parchment and simply stated that ‘the council requires your presence at tomorrow’s council meeting.’  As I thought of this I shuddered my wings extended their feathers ruffling in the non-existent breeze. A nervous habit that I had adopted since I’d died. As I did the guards narrowed their eyes, scowling at my back. I studied them; the one to my left was Asian with dark brown hair tinted by the light of the good. His skin was sun kissed while his eyes were as black as coal and through his stark white uniform I observed the thick bulging muscle of his biceps. His face was an unreadable mask with his brows all but dipped into a look of disproval however his friend was far more open and was not scared to show his glower of criticism as he looked at me. He was draped in the same clothes as his friend but his hair was bleached blonde and spiked at the front. I hadn’t expected the warmest welcome, after all summoning’s often mean trouble, but all this glaring was starting to get tiring. Trying to take my thoughts from this I let my mind wander for a few minutes longer until the great doors swung open with silent grace revealing the most remarkable room I had ever laid eyes on…           

The sight before me was magnificent, walls stretched out as far as the eye could see. White marble panels reached from floor to ceiling and the carpet was so soft it could easily be mistaken for a cloud. From the centre of the room hung a chandelier dripping with diamonds and flooding the room with light. Expensive paintings of all shapes, colours and sizes hung from the walls and ornately cut benches of ivory lined the corners of the room. The place was far from homely but I could feel my jaw dropping from the splendour of it all. A loud booming voice called me back from the dream like state I had been in. I turned to face the origin of the sound. Before me stood the council, the three great ones of the afterlife. Space, a rather stout male with long dirty blonde hair and thickening stubble, sat to the left on a cushioned leather chair his small brown eyes never leaving mine. Next to him sat Destiny, a young lady gifted with shoulder length auburn hair, bright blue eyes and the looks of a fairy tale princess. She smiled at me, gesturing that it was okay for me to approach. As I did so, my eyes settled on the third and final member of the high council, Time, her long ash brown hair plaited in a way that made it seem to go on for all eternity. Her slender frame reminded me of that of an hour glass and when she smiled the world seemed to slow just for her. Space rumbled on, spluttering out introductions. As if I needed them! I’d been told stories of these people since the day I died. Destiny’s eyes fell on mine as she spoke “Noah,” she said with a voice as smooth as chocolate “have you ever heard the stories of the phoenix stone?” I shook my head for although I had heard its name before I did not know of its stories and so Destiny continued “At the start of our universe” she recited “the great one created life. He saw that in order to keep peace he must produce a way to both create and take life and to keep it at balance. So he poured his essence into a stone that would have the ability to be both death and life. He then used the remnants of his power to make himself mortal with no memory of what he had done but with only the primal need to protect the stone at all costs.”

“And it is believed that he is still out there,” Space finished “protecting the one thing that is keeping the world and the afterlife in balance!”

“And what has that to do with me?” I asked

“Silence!” hissed the guard at my shoulder

“We have reason to believe that we are not the only ones to believe that the creator is still out there.” Time continued as though I had never even spoken.

“The devils!” I gasped in disbelief.  Time nodded confirming my worries. The enemies are our opposites, those who during life did wrongs of indescribable evil causing, in the afterlife, an evil beyond compare. The devils are those who during life committed unnecessary crimes, rapists, murderers and thieves stand among their ranks. The devils believe that their rightful place is in heaven and that the great ones of the afterlife stole that right from them, the devils will do anything and everything in their power to destroy the council and every one of its members. They are racked by desire and greed and the need to be rid of the great ones once and for all. “We need you to find and retrieve the phoenix stone,” Time said calmly. I stared at her in denial “me?”  I asked. “Yes, you Noah. We have chosen you to be our representative on earth. It will be your responsibility to find and guard the phoenix stone and its owner. The phoenix stone contains such monumental power that we have managed to locate the area in which it should be found. However any one of the villagers could own it so you’ll need to do some research!” I gazed upon Time in complete awe. I had dreamed of this moment throughout my afterlife, freedom, my chance to once again set foot on earth and experience its wonders.   “And in which village is the stone I located” I ask curious. “Fennborough,” space grumbled; I gasped at the mention of my hometown. This was getting better by the second! “We need you to leave within the next few weeks; we don’t know when the devils will strike so the sooner the better but feel free to use the grand library of life for your research.” The library of life was the grandest library which documented the life of every mortal and it was extremely exclusive. I better go get my head into some villager’s lives! 

Hi readers!!! So as you can see this is my first ever upload on wattpad and therefore it’s all trial and error at the moment! However I hoped you enjoyed the first instalment and I’m hoping upload once a week and if i'm really busy then once a fortnight. If you’ve enjoyed the story so far then please show your support and maybe I will be able to finish without falling behind. Once again a huge thank you for reading and I will see you next week!