The Phoenix People

Chapter Forty-Two

Rising from my seat on the hard carriage bench, I carried Jack over to the tiny, barred window in the top of the wagon's left wall. I couldn't see the sun and didn't know what direction I was facing, so I had no clue as to what the time of day was.

The streets were just beginning to come to life, however, which led me to believe that it was relatively early in the morning. I watched the Highborns go about their daily lives, greeting each other cheerily and chatting outside of stores they were waiting to open. They looked comfortable and happy.

Safe.

Why can't Lowborns have that? I wondered angrily, snapping me out of my self-pity. That was all I wanted - for the two groups to be equal. And I was being exiled for feeling so.

I will come back, I thought fiercely. "I will come back."

Jack started to fuss with hunger and my attention was drawn from the outside world to the small boy in my arms. How long had it been since we had eaten?

I sighed. There was nothing I could do about either of our fits of hunger.

I curled into a tight ball on the bench and attempted to get some sleep.

*

"What the hell?" were the angered words that dragged me back into consciousness.

On instinct, I flew to my feet, forgetting Jack was curled against me. Luckily, his arms were fastened tightly around my neck and I grabbed him a second later.

"The child's still here?" the driver demanded furiously as I gathered the blanket and pullover around the fussing baby in my arms as if to protect him from the man's harsh words. I tried to swallow, but my mouth was too dry. I hadn't had a drink in quite a long time.

The driver snorted when he saw that I wasn't going to respond. "Whatever. You'll both be dead in a few days as it is." He reached forward to grab my arm.

I shied away. I had had quite enough unwanted assailants lately.

The man sighed irritably. "Listen, Princess, we can do this the easy way or" - he rested his hand gently on the sword holstered to his belt - "the hard way."

I left the cart, his rough fingertips on my elbow guiding me.

My feet sank into sand, my shoes instantly filling with the gritty substance, and I squinted against the sun, which was close to the horizon. In my disoriented state, as the driver left my side, it took me a few seconds to realize exactly where Jack and I had been exiled to.

The Outlands.

Before I could recover from my newfound, numbing shock, the cart began pulling away, its horses breaking into a gallop.

"Wait!" I screamed, panicked, starting to chase the wagon. I knew it was hopeless, knew that we were doomed - but I continued to pursue the dust trail that the soulless driver was leaving behind.

Finally, I tripped and fell, quickly rolling to my side to protect Jack. There I lay, on the burning sand, knowing it was a waste of water to cry but crying all the same. Jack's screams mingled with my sobs.

Once I had mentally recovered enough, I stood. With no other options and shredded hope, I began to slowly walk in the direction the cart had taken.

I walked until Jack stopped crying, having tired himself out. I walked until the sun dipped below the horizon. I walked until my stomach felt twisted with hunger and my tongue was uncomfortably dry in my mouth. I walked until my legs shook and my arms burned.

Finally, I halted. My knees buckled as my legs gave out.

I clumsily tied Jack to my chest with the pullover with shaking arms, covered us both with the blanket, and fell into a slumber glazed with hunger and thirst.

*

I awoke to screams.

Thrown off, I lay stock still on the ground as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

The sun was in my peripheral vision. I had slept through the night, exposed in the desert. Idiot.

Suddenly, my reality came crashing back. Hurriedly, I checked to confirm that Jack was still with me. Sure enough, he was still fast asleep on my chest. I waited until I saw his back rise and fall before breathing a sigh of relief.

So who was screaming?

I stood as the jarring sound came again. I had heard incorrectly. It wasn't a scream so much as a -

A huge bird landed in front of me, sending sand grazing painfully over my skin.

A bird call. I had been hearing a heart-stopping bird call.

And it belonged to a colossal bird.

The creature was roughly ten feet tall. It was as wide as three of me, and that was not counting its wingspan. When it stretched out said wings, they cast a shadow over Jack and me. My heart rose in my throat.

The bird screeched again and advanced slowly. My heart dropped to its regular position and began pounding wildly.

I did the only thing that I could think to do with bothersome birds. I took a step forward and waved my arms wildly in the air. "Shoo!" I shouted.

Had I not been delirious from exposure to heat, hunger, and thirst, there was no way I would have had the courage to do something so reckless. But I was, and so I did.

"Go away!" I screamed at the roc, the murderous bird of legend. All of the horror stories I had ever heard about the beast surfaced and played across my mind. I couldn't remember - had anyone ever been stupid enough to try something like this ? And if so, how had their stories ended?

Miraculously, the roc took a step back. It cocked its head and eyed me quizzically, completely befuddled. It made a small noise in the back of its throat that I was sure roughly translated to, "What does this puny, idiotic human think she is doing?" I continued approaching it, shaking my arms wildly.

After what felt like years, I got my first break of luck in days. The roc lifted off and flew slowly towards the horizon.

I sighed, relieved, but too numb from the events of the past few days for the terror of the situation to really hit home. Then, I untied Jack from my chest and held him at arm's length, surveying him with concern. He seemed to be relatively unharmed, although his face was tinged pink with the beginnings of a sunburn.

I retied him to my chest, using the wrappings to cover his exposed flesh. Then, I turned in a slow circle, spirits sinking even further.

Which direction led back to the capital?

I was completely, utterly lost.