The Phoenix People

Chapter Thirty-One

When we arrived in camp, it was nighttime. My stomach was roaring in protest and had been growing steadily angrier since the sun had dropped beneath the horizon.

I wasn't even sure if we had arrived at camp, given the fact that when disguised, it blended into the forest, until the councilwoman gave a whistle similar to the one originally used, but with a slight variation. Then, a shadowy figure fetched our horses and a tree stump opened. Light poured out of the previously hidden underground chamber.

The council led us down into the ground via the tree stump and its ladder that led into the earth. As I had been expecting it to be rickety, I breathed a sigh of relief when it held my weight without a creak or shift in position.

When my feet landed on the packed dirt floor of the underground room, I drank the sight in with no lack of apprehension. While the stone rooms underneath the Lowborn church had been neatly carved with magic, this chamber was obviously handcrafted.

The walls sported roots from the trees growing feet above us. The dirt was packed as tightly as possible. Wooden beams supported the low, slightly rounded ceiling, giving the whole place an air of uncertain danger.

"What's the matter, Princess?" Melody asked teasingly, standing beside me. "Scared of a little dirt?"

"I don't tend to be too fond of rooms that could collapse on my head," I retorted. Melody just chuckled.

From the shadows around the edges of the room, the councilmembers dragged plain crates and barrels into the center of the room. They arranged them in a careful pattern - two short crates pushed together in a semblance of a table with the barrels crowded around them.

I watched in awe as the cloaked figures proceeded to pull out chunks of the barrels, revealing lower, level platforms inside and consequently turning them into chairs. Then they slid out the top boards of both crates, turned them upside-down, and replaced them to show two maps - one of the city and one of the forest and a sliver of the desert behind it.

"Oh, that's amazing!" I exclaimed once they were finished. "You truly think of everything, don't you?"

"Sit," the female councilmember commanded, ignoring me.

Once we were all seated, Anna was on my right and Theo was on my left. To Theo's left sat Melody and the remaining seats were taken by the council. Directly across from me sat the councilwoman.

"Melody," she said, even more formally than usual. "Rise and report."

Melody did so. She had to move awkwardly about the crates to trace our path as she spoke, skirting around the people in her way, but she never lost her confident nature.

Nothing about the councilmembers' demeanors or expressions changed as she recounted the Eyeless One's attack.

Finally, Melody finished and took her seat. We sat in silence for a minute or two as the councilmembers silently pondered her tale.

At last, their spokesperson cleared her throat. "Princess Alexia, we wish to hear the story of what happened to you from your perspective."

I knew she was referring to the attack, the part where I had been entirely alone. Unsure whether to rise or remain as was, I straightened in my seat and folded my slightly shaking hands in my lap, attempting to sort out the details of the event in my mind.

"We dismounted our horses," I began.

"Why?"

Melody had already covered this, but I explained again. "Anna sensed that the Eyeless One's last victim had been...killed...in the area, and Theo had the good sense to prepare for a possible battle." I cast a look at the man and he smiled gratefully at me.

"Continue," the councilwoman ordered sternly.

"The Eyeless One grabbed Griffin and me. There was no warning. We were taken far away from everyone else."

"How far, would you estimate?"

"I have no idea. Everything was happening so quickly...I was tossed a few feet away from Griffin as it prepared to...to eat him. I grabbed my dagger and tackled it. This distracted it and Griffin got away. I fought it for...for a while and finally stabbed it. It's dead."

"How did you injure your leg?"

Of course they had picked up on that. Of course I had forgotten to mention it.

Why am I so nervous?

"It - I - a tree branch fell on it," I managed lamely.

"Where is the dagger you used to kill the Eyeless One?"

I unsheathed my blade and handed it to her, feeling oddly uneasy handing over the weapon.

The councilwoman examined the knife closely, making an obvious effort to avoid touching the metal. Finally, she handed it back. "Get that cleaned as soon as possible," she commanded in a low voice. Then, "Melody, what do you know of Eyeless Ones?"

My ex-handmaiden answered promptly. "They are ancient beings, very rare. Nobody is certain where they come from, but Lowborn lore states that they rise from the mass burials whose victims were a result of disease. They are very fast, very ruthless, and very deadly. Their claws also contain a poison that reacts badly when mixed with Lowborn blood."

Theo whitened and half rose. "Griffin," he choked out.

"Sit."

It obviously took Theo much mental effort to reseat himself. He remained perched on the edge of his chair, however, his fingers rapping nervously on his thigh.

"Griffin will be fine. He is receiving the proper treatment. Had Glimmer not found you, however, he would have died long before you made it back to camp."

"I don't understand," I murmured, and flinched as everyone's attention was turned to me. "Griffin was improving."

"It may have seemed that way, but the poison began to truly strike just as Glimmer brought him back."

"What happened?" Theo demanded. The worry on his face sickened me.

"He's having intense hallucinations and the skin around the wound is quickly dying."

"That's it." Theo stood and started towards the ladder.

"Theo," the councilwoman called. "Anna's father froze the infection until we can cure him. Griffin is fine."

Theo stopped but did not return to the table.

Anna clapped her hands together, a bubble of excitement reentering her countenance. "Oh, may I introduce the princess to my father, ma'am? Please?"

When the councilwoman spoke, I could hear the smile in her voice. "Yes. Melody, take them to the infirmary."

"Yes, ma'am."