Book 6: Showdown (The Kid Emperor of Occultoria)

Chapter 3 - The Ice Phoenix

Max gulped. They were in a land mine and the mines could go off at any second.
Ariel whispered, "Turn around very slowly. Any sudden movement could set off the lightning bolts. These are magical lightning bolts. They are insatiably hungry and eat anything and everything."
Max and Jordan turned around slowly, like machines.
Max looked into the eyes of his bodyguard.
He noticed something very unusual happening to Jordan.
The young knight's eyes were slowly becoming yellow.
And then, Max realized that there was something very wrong with Jordan.
The knight's head grew bigger. In fact, his entire body doubled in size as he burst out of his armor. Black fur covered his burgeoning muscles. So much fur now covered his enlarging body that no flesh could be seen. His arms and legs turned into the sinewy limbs of a wolf.
But most terrifying of all was his head. His eyes grew as big as saucers, his nose flattened against his furry face, his ears grew out long and sharp teeth lined his open drooling mouth.
"What's happening?" cried Max.
"Don't you remember, sire?" cried Jordan. "When I get stressed, I turn into a...."
Before long, Jordan had transformed into a great big snarling werewolf.
Throwing his head back, Jordan howled.
Max trembled.
Now, there was a double threat.
Max not only had to deal with the land mine of lightning bolts, he also had to avoid being the meal of a feral and purely instinctual werewolf.
Lucky for Max and Ariel, the sudden movements of Jordan's transformations had attracted the attention of the lightning bolts.
As bolt after bolt struck the howling werewolf, Max and Ariel were able to edge their way out of the land mine.
Concerned, Max asked Ariel, "How do we save him?"
"You can't," replied the cat. "You have to let him run his course. As soon as he's no longer stressed, he'll transform back into a young man. The best thing we can do is to head toward the King's Palace."
"But aren't the lightning bolts hungry? Won't they eat him?"
"Let's pray to the Mother Goddess and the Father God that they won't."
Still hesitant, Max turned around, but not before seeing Jordan the werewolf race out of the garden, howling and thrashing his paws around.
"I hope he's fine," said Max.
"I'm sure he will be," said Ariel. "He'll keep running around until he's calm again."
There was a silence for a while as Max walked along and Ariel rode on his shoulder.
Then, Max halted in his steps. "I can't do this."
Exasperated, the cat frowned. "What do you mean? You've come this far already."
"I mean, this is hard," said Max.
"Of course, Max," said Ariel in a condescending tone. "What did you expect? You knew this wasn't going to be a picnic. I mean, do you really wanna go back to the Natural World and go to Learning Assistance?"
The Emperor shook his head. "I don't, but this isn't easy either. There are so many provinces left to reconquer. My bodyguard has disappeared. I've stupidly signed over my rights to the Matriarch. I have no idea where Jessica is. Magicka has left the Empire because I've annulled my engagement to Sanchia. And the King of Celio is not going to come easy."
"If it were easy, then anyone can be Emperor," said the cat. "But there is only one Emperor of Occultoria." She looked at him pointedly. "Don't you get it, Max? You are special. This is your destiny. No one else can do this but you."
Max nodded. "I know, but sometimes, I just need a moment to be a kid."
"You're 13, Max," said Ariel. "You're not a kid anymore. You're a teenager. You're a young man, a young adult already."
"I know," Max murmured. "I know."
He scanned the horizon. The golden rays of the sun caressed the white clouds, giving the entire scene a very airy and nonchalant yet gorgeous look.
How he longed to be carefree, to be free from the burdens of imperial office and just play in the clouds with Jessica.
Ariel displayed a rare moment of affection by placing a paw on Max's cheek. "Everything's going to be alright. Sometimes, we don't choose our stations in life. It is pre-destined. It is fate. If I had a choice, I wouldn't be trapped in a cat's body, but such is life. We just have to make the best of our situation."
Max grabbed Ariel's paw gently and held it.
The cat went on, "Do you remember when you were a little kid? You were about 6 or 7 when you scraped your knee on the playground and you came home crying. I don't even remember which foster parents' house we were living in at that time, but I was waiting for you by the staircase."
Max nodded.
Ariel continued, "Of course, you didn't know I could talk then, but you talked to me anyway, telling me about how you fell by the slides. But I gave you this one look and you immediately stopped crying. It was my way of telling you to be brave and somehow, you knew it was."
Max nodded. He had forgotten about that anecdote until Ariel mentioned it.
He decided that she was right. He had to be brave and face his problems head on.
There was nothing he could do to dismiss the mounting problems that he had. All he could do was to solve them one by one, as soon as possible.
He banished all his doubts and anxieties. He was in Celio to persuade the King to rejoin the Empire and to find Jessica. He would do his best.
Calming his mind now, he scanned his environment.
He was surprised that they were standing in front of a palace made of clouds.
"Are we there?" he said.
"Yes," said the cat.
It was then that Max heard a wail, then a loud hacking cough.
"What was that?" he asked.
His question was answered soon enough.
From out of the nearby stables came a bird as tall and wide as an mammoth.
Max's heart thudded against his chest as his eyes widened.
The white bird had icicles hanging off its enormous wings.
Its beak was long and sharp. Its yellow eyes were wild. Its icy presence sent cold shivers down Max's spine.
Steadying his hand, the young monarch took out his box of matches.
He tried to summon his fire-conjuring powers, but the Ice Phoenix knocked the box out of his hands with a well-timed blast of icicles.
It strutted up toward the young monarch, its claws digging into the fluffy clouds.
Max stood there, rooted in place.
He wanted to move but he could not.
Ariel hissed at the phoenix, but she was ignored.
Max finally grabbed his cat and together, they dashed away.
But the Ice Phoenix was fast too.
With a mighty howl, it chased after the duo.
Max tried to evade the Ice Phoenix, but it was hot on his heels.
"How do we get rid of it?" he said to the cat.
"Maybe Jordan can help," replied Ariel.
The werewolf Jordan was racing toward Max and Ariel.
Jordan stopped when he saw the Ice Phoenix chasing Max and Ariel.
The giant bird stopped too.
There was a moment during which the two beasts just stared at each other.
And then, there was a clash of commotion and the two started fighting each other.
Jordan was being mauled and scratched at and blasted with icicles, yet the werewolf continued to fight on bravely.
Max was grateful that Jordan was being such an excellent bodyguard.
"Quickly, Max," cried Ariel. "Grab your matches."
Max raced back toward the entrance of the castle and searched the fluffy ground frantically.
He finally found it and grabbed at it, but it kept slipping out of his grasp.
He knew that he could conjure fire even without the matches, but the matches would have strengthened his powers.
A little more. A little more. Just a little more, he thought to himself.
He finally grabbed it and, with a cry of triumph, hurried back toward the dueling creatures.
He raised a palm and thought, I summon the fire within me.
To his delight, embers began to spark out of his palm.
He aimed carefully at the Ice Phoenix.
"Flamma!" he cried.
A blast of fire singed the giant bird, melting the icicles off its wings.
It howled in pain and then, just as it was about to fly away, it coughed and coughed and coughed, and in the process, ejected something from its throat.
With another howl, it took to the air.
The object landed in front of Max.
Curious, he bent down and picked it up.
It was the other half of the Enchanted Whistle, Max realized with delight.
He took out his half and glanced at Ariel.
"Put them together," she said.
Jordan, who had transformed back into his human self now that he was no longer stressed since the Ice Phoenix was gone, approached.
The young monarch glanced up at his bodyguard. "You saved me."
"That's part of my duty," said Jordan nonchalantly.
Max recalled how bravely the bodyguard had fought the Ice Phoenix and made a mental note to reward him later.
Jordan pointed at the two halves. "What does that do?"
With a grin, Max replied, "They let me summon all the weather spirits, including Jessica."
Slowly, he placed them together and white sparks began to fly.
When the Enchanted Whistle was whole again, Max put it to his lips and blew on it.
A very enchanting melody filled the air.
For a while, nothing happened.
And then, gradually, some cloud spirits began to show up.
Max's eyes widened in delight.
Ariel said, "They will show up slowly. In the meantime, we must storm the palace and confront the King."