The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 5: The Last Pendant

Chapter 13: The Immortal Eye

Chapter 13

As soon as Bayman Suntooth had mentioned Teller's name, Echo wanted to haul the man away from the scene. She wanted to grab his hand, Apparate away to some distant location, and find out all she can about Teller and Rain Fox. It was the closest she had been to finding Fox in the days since Meropis. It felt longer than it had been, but the desperation for finding Rain Fox made every minute and every day feel like weeks. She had before her the first person to mention Teller's name, but she knew that, as soon as Suntooth had spoken Teller's name, Fallborn was going to seize the man and question him to no end.
"Ms. Turan," Fallborn called out, "Please bring that man to me for questioning."
"Turan?" Suntooth asked. "You related to Keleigh Turan?"
Echo gasped. "You know my mom?" she asked. Her heart leapt within. He knew Teller AND my mom, Echo thought.
"She was in charge of the Aurors in Salem," Suntooth answered. "She's a cool lady."
Echo leaned in close and grabbed Suntooth's arm. "You saw Teller?" she whispered. "Was he alone?"
"Why are we whispering?" Suntooth asked. He cradled the little baby phoenix in his hands. Cornelius the phoenix cooed and squawked.
"Because Fallborn's going to grill you about Teller," Echo answered. "I need to know: Was he alone?"
"No," Suntooth whispered back, "He had a pirate, a girl, and a sword chick with him; someone named Cloudstorm."
Echo tried to hide her excitement. "Did they say where they were going?"
"Last I saw before I got knocked off of Corny, that sword chick was on top of the old volcano," Suntooth replied. "I thought they were still here. I hope they're okay."
"Me, too," Echo agreed quietly. She helped Suntooth through the wreckage of his home and brought him to Fallborn.
"Thank you, Ms. Turan," Fallborn spoke, "That will be all."
"Let's have him brought to the New Orleans offices," Castor Gray said, "We could conduct an interview as to what happened to his home in the offices there."
"No!" one of the Apache tribesmen protested, "He summoned us! We have jurisdiction over this territory! We will take him to the Brave Lands. We were here first!"
"This is OUR investigation," Gray insisted, "Bayman Suntooth works for the Ministry, not for the Six Nations.
"He's OUR liaison!" the Apache tribesman retorted, "We should speak with him ourselves!"
"Great," Jinx commented, shaking her head, "Territorial butt-sniffing. It's like watching two trolls fight over meat."
"Hey!" Suntooth shouted, "Can I go to a hospital first? I'm, like, in pain here!"
Echo tapped Jinx on the shoulder and leaned to her. "Keep them occupied," she whispered to Jinx, "I'm going to the top of that hill."
"For what?" Jinx asked.
"I don't know," Echo replied, "I'll find out when I get up there. I just don't want Knight or Fallborn knowing where I'm going."
Jinx rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. I can keep them busy, I guess."
"You're the best, Jinxie," Echo said.
"I know," Jinx replied. Jinx walked over to the arguing men and raised her arms like a crazy person. "Okay! Okay! Why are we fighting over a dude? Come on, people! We're on the same side, aren't we? Can't we find a middle ground or something? Why are we arguing all the time? I think it was the great wizard Merlin who said-"
Jinx kept going on and on, loudly talking, which kept everyone distracted. Echo ran over towards the foot of the extinct volcano and hid behind a large rock. She Apparated to the top of the mount and investigated the layout. The view from the top gave her a great view of the valley around the ruined home of Bayman Suntooth. She took a deep breath and changed her form from human to tiger. She had been itching to be a tiger again for some time. She sniffed the air; something caught her olfactory senses starkly. She hopped over towards the other side of the peak of the mount and stopped before a trio of objects on the ground: A cross, a wand, and a sword. She saw frantic footsteps among the dirt that were less than a day old. She sniffed the sword and recognized the scent. It belonged to the assassin named Violet Cobra. She pawed at the wand near it. It was a strange-looking wand: White and crooked, with a snake's head on the hilt. "That must be Cobra's wand, too," Echo thought to herself. She looked at the cross with fear built in her heart. She knew what a conjured wooden cross meant: An Auror had died.
Echo turned into her human form as she approached the wooden cross. "Oh, God," Echo thought, "Please don't be Fox. Please don't be Teller." She pleaded that the cross was not the transfigured bodies of her friends. She aimed her wand and swished it to and fro quickly, incanting, "Finite Incantatum."
The wooden cross changed form and revealed a body; a dark-skinned older man. She was glad that it wasn't Teller or Rain Fox, but she was sad to see their ally, Alligus Crock, had died. She gave a sigh of both relief and grief as she looked upon his serene, peaceful face.
"Poor guy," she said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the toothpick-sized sword. She made it large again, brought it back to normal size, and then set it upon Crock's chest. She folded his hands over the hilt and set him to rest that way. "I found your sword, sir," she said, "If you see my brother and Shade in the Realm Beyond, tell them I'm doing my best to find Fox and get everyone back together." She aimed her wand at Crock and turned him again into a wooden cross. She picked up the cross and was going to place it in her pocket but she thought twice about it. She intended to give him a proper burial back in Salem but instead she put a Permanent Form Charm to the cross and buried it there on top of the extinct volcano. She levitated rocks and earth upon the cross, so that no one would ever disturb it. It didn't take long for her to complete the task; she thought it proper for him to be there among such a pretty view of the area.
"Oh," she said aloud, "When you do see them, tell them I love them."
"I love you, too, Sis," a voice spoke from behind her.
Echo jumped. She turned around, her wand drawn and aimed. She dropped her wand when she saw who stood behind her. He was taller than she was, with curly blonde hair, hazel eyes like hers, and a devilish smile. He had a purple glow about him. He was smiling at her.
"Sorry," he spoke, "I didn't want to scare you but the opportunity to see you jump was too good to pass up."
Echo nearly lost her breath. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief and quavered as she tried to speak. "D-D-Dare? Is that really y-you?"
Dareo Hyrcanian, her twin brother, spoke in response. "You know someone else with your exact hazel eyes?" The pair of them was born as twins: Lyssa and Lucian Lestrange. They were raised together as children until their father, Rabastan Lestrange, rejoined the Dark Lord Voldemort during the Second Wizarding War. In desperation Echo's mother, Denebola Lestrange, stole Lyssa away and hid in the United States. She tried to take both their children but Rabastan kept hold of the boy Lucian. When she had reached the U.S., Denebola Lestrange changed her name to Keleigh Turan and Lyssa's to Echo Turan. The boy, Lucian, later changed his name to Dareo Hyrcanian, denouncing the name of his father and forging a new life of his own under the auspices of the Malfoy family, relatives of theirs. He grew a hatred for his mother for years until he ended up putting her into a coma, unaware that the girl Echo, who he met during his time as an exchange student at Salem from Hogwarts, was his twin sister. Dare had been killed helping Echo during the final moments of the Battle on Meropis. Yet he stood before her, on top of the extinct Volcano, the Cono del Muerte, on the outskirts of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
"How are you here?" Echo asked. "How is this possible?"
Dare shook his head. "Don't tell me I'm the smart one out of the two of us!" he laughed in response. "Can't you figure it out?"
"She would," another voice, a familiar one, spoke, "If she took the time to slow down, concentrate, and ask the right questions of the Darkness." It was Starling Govanjek. He stood behind her, startled her, and walked over to stand next to Dare.
"Starling!" Echo said, "How is this possible?"
"You have that answer already, Tiger," Starling replied, "Just think for a second."
Dare nodded. "What he said," he laughed.
Echo thought for a second. Her mind flashed back to the final moments on Meropis. She remembered Argent killing her brother. She remembered Rouge killing his brother Cerulean after Cerulean tried to kill Dare. Echo had saved his life. She remembered.
"Merlin's Beard!" she shouted. "I put the Pendant of Darkness on you!"
"About time, dummy," Dare laughed, "Took you long enough."
"That's using your noggin!" Starling agreed. "You see, when you put the Pendant of Darkness on your brother to save his life, you made him a Pendant Bearer, if only for a short time. It found him to be worthy of possessing it; not a simple task, mind you. What it did, remarkably, was kept a piece of his Life Essence here in the Pendant of Darkness. Just like me, and like Professor Silk, and all the previous Bearers of the Pendant, it keeps him here."
"There you go, Sis," Dare said with a grin, "What the smart kid said."
Echo jumped over and tried to hug her brother but she slipped right through him.
"Sorry, sis," Dare said, "Can't hug me anymore. Not here, at least."
"I hugged Starling before, though," Echo said, turning to the boy. "Why can't I hug my brother?"
"Because we're in your realm right now," Starling answered, "If you were in ours, it would be different."
Echo huffed. "Well, that sucks," she muttered.
Dare sighed. "Just a little. We're not here for hugs, Sis. We're here to help you out."
"With finding Rain Fox?" Echo asked.
They both nodded.
"That," Dare said, "And more."
"Look over there," Starling said. He pointed over towards the rocks near the ledge of the peak. She walked over to them and found another sword. It was a different blade than the one that had belonged to Violet Cobra.
"This is Fox's!" Echo said. "I know this blade!"
"She fought against that crazy witch up here," Dare said. "Let's just say that Cobra won't be hunting anybody anytime soon."
Echo looked at the blade. "So I use this to find Fox," she said, "How?"
"You are asking the wrong question," Starling replied.
"Bah!" Echo barked. "You and your dumb riddles!"
"It's not a riddle if you think hard enough, Tiger," Starling said.
"Ha ha!" Dare laughed. "You can't even figure it out? How did you even get this far?"
"Don't start, you!" Echo shouted. She pointed Fox's blade at Dare. She looked at the blade for a second, then paused. "Holy Slytherin!" she whispered. "It reacts to her Pendant, doesn't it?"
Both Starling and Dare smiled.
"I mean, it always lit up when she held them," Echo said, "So if I get close enough to her Pendant, it might light up!"
"Whether she's wearing it or not, correct," Starling spoke.
"She's always wearing it," Echo said, "Right?"
Dare and Starling looked at one another. They turned to face Echo.
"She is not wearing it now," Starling remarked. "She still has it, but she is not wearing it."
"Why not?" Echo asked.
"That's not the right question," Starling answered.
"If you say that phrase one more time I'm gonna put scratch marks on that little memorial of yours!" Echo threatened. "I really won't, honestly, but you're killing me with that phrase, kid."
"Think about it, Sis," Dare spoke. "Take a second and think. Look into the Darkness and figure out how to light it up."
"Now you're talking in riddles?" Echo complained. "I don't have time for this! Bah!" She sat down on the ground and put her hands on her head. "Okay," she began to ponder aloud, "You said Fox isn't wearing her Pendant right now. That's not normal, for starters. I mean, she's had that Pendant longer than everyone else has had theirs. I've never seen her without it. If she's not wearing it, that means, duh, she took it off. Why would she take it off?"
"Are you asking us or-" Dare began to ask.
"Hush, you!" Echo shouted. "I'm thinking! Okay, so she took it off. The Pendants work so that no one can force it off of us. Only a Pendant Bearer can take it off, or someone worthy of it comes by and snatches it, like Star did with Easter. She can't die with it on. She wouldn't give it away if she could help it. So something made her take it off. She's still keeping it, but she isn't wearing it. No one took it from her and no one can take it from her." She looked around the place again and looked at the blade, the sword and the wand of Violet Cobra, and the place she had buried the cross of Crock. "This is the second place that they've been attacked."
"There you go," Starling whispered, "Keep following that thought."
"They got attacked in Tierra Varitas," Echo said. She rose from her seated position. "They were being tracked. That's it! That's the question! How are they being tracked? Does it have something to do with her Pendant?"
"That's two questions, technically," Starling replied.
"Oh, for Godric's sake, nerd," Dare grumbled at Starling. He turned to Echo and answered her. "Yes, they're being tracked. Yes, it has something to do with the Pendant. Man, has he put you through this the whole time you had that Pendant around your neck?"
"Almost," Echo answered.
"Hello!" Starling said, "I'm right here!"
"Look," Dare said, "Something happened and now Easter is dead, but not dead at the same time."
"Huh?" Echo asked.
"Just listen, Sis," Dare continued, "Easter still has a Horcrux so he can't die completely. His soul, though, is trapped in the Hall of Mirrors."
"The Hall of Mirrors?" Echo asked, "That place she goes to when she's inside of her Pendant?"
"The same," Starling said.
"Oh, man," Echo said, "That means he's there every time she goes into it. That's creepy."
"I bet," Dare said, "He was creepy enough just to be around."
"But then how-" Echo began, "He's tracking her, somehow, huh? He's the one tracking her, giving up her place! If he's able to walk around the Hall of Mirrors he's smart enough to find out where she is! That's even creepier!"
The two ethereal wizards nodded.
"Poor Fox," Echo sighed.
"You're still missing something important, Tiger," Starling told her, "A way to find her."
"How do I find her, then?" Echo asked.
"You're not- umm..." Starling began to say, but Echo gave him a threatening look.
"Don't even say it, kid," Echo warned. "Here's my question, and this is one I've been wondering for a while now: How do you know what's going on with Rain Fox?"
Starling smiled again. "That's the right question. You see, Tiger, the Pendants are all connected. They all belong to the same magic. We belong to it, you belong to it. We are all connected by that magic. We are able to connect to it because we are part of it."
"That means I can connect to it?" Echo asked.
"Is that a question?" Dare asked.
"I can!" Echo shouted. "But how? How do I connect with her Pendant?"
"You will have to figure that out for yourself, Sis," Dare answered. "But I'll tell you how to start: Start with Love."
"Love?" Echo asked.
"Do you love your friends?" Dare asked.
"Yes," Echo answered.
Dare stepped up to her and gave her a serious look. Echo stepped back, surprised. "Do you love them? Would you die for them? Would you run to the ends of the Earth and throw your freedom away in order to see them safe and sound? Would you take that thing off and put it on someone just so that they would survive while you died in their arms?"
Echo's eyes became teary. "You know I would," she said quietly.
Dare leaned in closer, right into her face, and whispered back to her: "Then find her."
Echo nodded.
"If you get it right," Starling said, "You'll find her. Then you can bring her back and have all four Pendants back together!"
Echo nodded again, only this time she smiled.
She grabbed Rain Fox's blade and the sword and wand of Violet Cobra. She transfigured the sword and the wand into a fork and a knife and put them in her pocket.
"Hold on," she said aloud, "Did you say all FOUR Pendants?"
She turned to say something else to Starling and Dare but they had vanished. She sighed. She had other questions to ask them but she reserved them for later. She felt her courage build up. She felt her heart strengthened. She knew what to do next.
She made her way back down the hill without Apparating. She took her time, looking at all the rocks, the chaotic terrain of the desert, and she fell in love with it. It was something different and new. It took a while to come down from the mount, El Cono del Muerte, and she walked up to the ruins of the home.
"Ms. Turan," Fallborn called out to her, "We have missed your company here."
"I bet," Echo mumbled.
"Where were you?" Fallborn asked her.
"The top of that hill up there," Echo answered him.
"Why would you make the trek up there?" Fallborn asked. "What was your purpose for traversing such a height?"
Echo grinned. "Getting a clearer view of things, sir," she replied, "I got a clear view of everything from up there."
"Oh really?" Fallborn asked, "And what did you see?"
Echo walked up to Jinx and smiled. She took a hold of Jinx's hand and gave her a wink.
"What are you doing?" Jinx asked with an odd look.
"Trust me," Echo whispered.
"So what did you see?" Niveah Knight asked.
Fallborn looked at Echo curiously.
Echo returned a Cheshire smile back at Fallborn.
Fallborn realized what was about to happen. He shouted, "Grab her! Now!" quickly but it was too late. Jinx felt Echo's hand tighten around hers. The immediate area around Echo and Jinx flashed with bright purple light. Fallborn raised his wand and attempted to stop them but he was too late. Jinx and Echo had disappeared from all sight. Echo swore she could hear Bayman Suntooth laughing as they vanished from sight.