Reclaimed (The Phoenix Chronicles Book 1) (2 page)

Chapter 3

“You're telling me there's some random castle in the middle of Chicago and no one has said anything?” Asked Summer.

“I'm sure they would,” answered Ash. “But we're in Ireland.”

Summer blinked a few times and stared at their retreating forms. She let out a deep breath and raced after them.

“You're kidding, right? Does that mean I'm stuck here?”

“No,” replied Ash. “I'll take you back.”

“Through the whirly portal of death?” She shook her head. “I'll take my chances here for now.”

The four of them made their way to the large castle. The more they approached it the bigger the thing looked. Summer was starting to become intimidated.

She was with strange people, in a strange world, and with a bunch of strange powers. It was overwhelming to say the least.

They stopped right before the castle entrance which was blocked by a wall made of dirt and stone. It rose to the top of the door, making it at least fifty feet tall.

Two men stepped forward, their dark brown eyes taking everyone in.

“It's Ash. Let us in.”

They nodded and both held their hands up. As they lowered them the walls came down.

“Pretty serious stuff,” whispered Summer.

Petar huffed. “It wasn't always like this. The walls are here for defense now instead of keeping regular people out.”

“Defense against what?”

“The wielders that were chasing you.” He raised his brow. “Or did you hit your head too and forget?”

“Whatever,” she said, rolling her eyes.

As soon as they passed the door they were swarmed by a group of people. All of them were asking questions at the same time that it sounded like some kind of heavy metal concert where no one ever knew the lyrics.

“Enough!” shouted a large man.

His black and white hair was a shock to see but, nothing compared to his huge stomach. The buttons on his shirt were begging for mercy as they pressed tightly against the material. One wrong move and they would explode.

He threw back his ponytail, daring anyone to challenge him. When no one said a word he visibly relaxed and continued speaking.

“I'm sure we have a lot of questions for our guest. Why don't we let her get cleaned up, eat, settle in, and sleep? Don't you think we owe her that?”

Most grumbled in agreement.

“Good,” he nodded. He turned his attention to Tracy. “Take her to the fire wielders room and show her where everything is.”

She nodded her head once but, didn't look thrilled to be taking Summer with her.

“You can just tell me where it is,” said Summer. “I'm good with directions.”

Tracy rolled her eyes. “I'm a fire wielder and so are you. We share a room.”

“Oh,” was all Summer could say.

She glanced back one last time at all the curious faces. They were staring at her like she was some kind of freak show.

Tracy led them through a series of doors and down a long hall. They stopped in front of a black door with three red lines going across it. She laid her hand on it and waited. The marks began to glow and the door slowly creaked open.

“This is so weird.”

Tracy ignored her and continued into the room. Summer hesitated before finally following after her.

“Wow,” was all Summer could say.

There was a roaring fire place at the far end of the room that caught her attention immediately. It was large enough to fit at least a dozen people in it. On each side of the fireplace were tall glass containers with a vortex of fire running up the tube.

“Amazing,” said Summer.

She slowly walked through the room, rows of beds passing her on each side, as her eyes became transfixed on the stained glass above the fireplace.

It was a phoenix. Its large wings were spread across the entire pane of glass.

“Beautiful, huh?” asked Tracy.

“Yeah.”

“When the sun is at the right angle it looks like the bird is actually on fire.”

Summer peeled her eyes away from the bird and took in the rest of the room. There was a lot of red and Grey all through out. That included the bed, carpets, and couches.

“Where is everyone else?” Asked Summer.

Tracy looked sad for a moment. “We're the last two. Jasper, the guy with the grey and black hair, is also one but, he's on the Wielder’s council.”

Summer sat down on one of the beds. “What's the Wielder's council?”

“Almost like a president of each element. Their headquarters used to be somewhere else but, they came here because it’s the safest place for wielders right now.”

Summer swung her feet from the bed. She looked around again and found her eyes lingering on the phoenix.

“Is that like a mascot or something?”

Tracy chuckled. “No. It's been there for a long time. No one even knows the story behind it.”

“Weird,” whispered Summer. “Are we really the last two?”

Tracy shrugged, her black and red braids moving across her dark skin. “That have come to this training academy. There could be others out there hiding or parents that kept their children from coming here.”

“Why?”

Tracy waved her hand through the air in a dismissive manner. “Too many questions. The council will meet with you tomorrow and answer this stuff.”

“Sounds fun.” Summer rolled onto the bed. “Is there a bathroom in here and something to eat?”

“Now that I will gladly show you.”

Summer frowned. “Are you saying I smell?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “I really am. You're a mess.”

Summer looked at her skin. It was so dirty that the paleness was gone and replaced with a thin layer of black.

“Well at least I can fix dirty. There's nothing you can do about ugly.”

Tracy clenched her fists. “Are you calling me ugly?”

“It was a general statement.” Summer smirked. “But if the shoe fits.”

Tracy stormed over to the large fireplace and pointed her finger at a cabinet to its right. “There are clothes of all sizes in here. You'll find everything you need. The bathroom is through that door. I'll get us some food.”

“Thanks,” said Summer as Tracy stomped past her. She winced when the door slammed shut. It was never a good idea to piss off the person handling your food and she had done just that.

“Good job, Summer,” she mumbled to herself.

She dragged her feet over to the cabinet and yanked it open. To her surprise there really was everything she needed. Pants and shorts of all size and color, shirts, jackets, hats, gloves, socks, underwear, and even different shoes. No wonder this cabinet took up half of the wall.

She rummaged through the clothes until she found long jeans, a long black shirt, and a pair of running shoes. Everything was generic and plane but, at least it was something. She had been wearing her same clothes for two weeks now so this was a welcome change.

She grabbed all the other necessities and walked over to the bathroom. Inside was another pleasant surprise. There was every toiletry she needed.

Summer dropped everything when her eyes landed on a bottle of conditioner. She grabbed it from the shelf, tore open the lid, and inhaled deeply. The sweet smell of honey and roses filled her nose.

To others she might look crazy but, Summer couldn't remember the last time she was allowed the luxury of conditioner. She had thick, auburn hair with an odd red color on the tips. Without conditioner she was basically trying to pull a hair brush through tangled yarn. It was painful and embarrassing. This would be the first time in years she didn't have to go through that.

She gathered her stuff back up and hurried into the hot shower. Minutes or hours could have passed while she was in there. Being able to shower in peace had made her lose all concept of time.

Once out she got dressed and happily ran a brush through her hair. The smoothness of it almost made her cry. She put it in a long braid and then brushed her teeth that had been neglected for way longer than she'd like to admit. Luckily she had good genetics and simply brushing with water had kept her mouth in decent shape.

Summer practically waltzed back into the room. She ignored Tracy and threw her dirty clothes right in the trash. The only thing she kept was a necklace with single silver feather on it. Supposedly it had belonged to her dad but, she liked it either way. It was a reminder that someone, somewhere, had once loved her enough to give her a gift.

“You’re pretty once you're cleaned up,” said Tracy.

Summer glanced over at her as she put the necklace on. “I'm sorry for saying you were ugly. It was stupid and immature. I get that way when I'm nervous.”

Tracy studied her for a moment. She got up and put a tray of food down on the bed that Summer had quietly claimed as her own.

“Then I'm glad I didn't poison this.” She laughed when Summer's eyes got big. “I'm just messing with you. Eat up.”

Summer didn't need to be told twice. Her and Tracy ate their food in silence while the fire popped in the background. It was comforting and definitely something she could see herself getting used to.

“How old are you?” asked Summer.

“Twenty.”

“Do your parents know you're here?”

Tracy put down her fork and pushed her tray aside. “They did but, they were killed right after I came here at eighteen.”

“Oh I am so sorry,” said Summer. She truly was. “I know what it's like to lose your family.”

“I heard.” Tracy pulled her braids into a ponytail and looked at Summer again. This time all irritation was gone from her golden eyes. “Must be hard living on the streets.”

Summer shrugged. “Just lonely. What kind of wielder is Petar?”

“A light wielder. He can heal, shock people, make shields, and tie them up.”

Summer brought her knees to her chest. “Sounds powerful.”

Tracy smiled. “They are but, the difference between him and the other elements is that he can't kill people. His power only binds or shocks. That's their limitations.”

“Oh,” said Summer. She began playing with the end of her braid. The exhaustion from the day was starting to kick in but, Tracy was willingly giving her information and she didn't want it to stop. “Do we have limitations?”

“You mean us?” She asked, pointing back and forth between herself and Summer. “No except that the water wielders have an easier time fighting us because they keep putting out our fire.”

“That's good,” said Summer.

Tracy furrowed her brow. “Are you really seventeen?”

“Yes. I turn eighteen next month. Is this weird? I can pretend it's not my birthday.”

“Your actual birthday isn't weird,” replied Tracy. “It's just that wielders don't start showing that they have powers until they're eighteen. On our birthdays we get our element embedded around our wrists.”

Tracy held out both of her hands. Going in a complete circle around each wrist was a bracelet-like tattoo. They were both bright red.

“Someone tattoos that onto you?” asked Summer.

“No. They just appear. It stings for a second and that's it. We have red, earth has green, wind has grey, water is blue, light is a yellowish-white, and dark is a dark purple.”

Summer's eyes grew big. “Does that mean I'll get some marks on my birthday.”

“Probably,” nodded Tracy. “I'm surprised you don't have them already.”

Summer looked down at her wrists and flipped them over. She always knew she was different but, this was a bit much.

“The council wants to know why I can use my power so early?” asked Summer.

Tracy shrugged. “I think so.”

“Well they'll be disappointed because I don't know.” She sighed loudly. “There is nothing special about me. They'll realize that soon enough. Everyone else does.”

There was a loud knock at the door that startled both of them.

Tracy smiled. “Guess you'll find out sooner than later.”

She walked over to the door and opened it. In stepped Ash. He had cleaned up and was no longer in the tattered clothes from earlier. This time he was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. It made him look youthful and not so intimidating.

He followed Tracy over to the bed and nodded in greeting. Summer was surprised to see his cheeks dusted with just the hint of blush.

“You look different without all that dirt,” he managed to say.

Summer wiggled her eyebrows. “Your words are like poetry. You must be great with the ladies.”

He scowled. “The council is ready.”

“What if I'm not?”

Tracy grabbed Ash’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “She might be here for the next few years so play nice.”

“Yup,” said Ash, running a hand down his face. “Let's go.”

He spun on his heel and marched out of the room. Summer let out a mocked gasp and raced after him. She smiled as Tracy's unexpected laughter filled the room.

Summer's good mood suddenly changed when she remembered a question she needed to ask Ash.