The Phoenix Charm

Read The Phoenix Charm for Free Online Page B

Book: Read The Phoenix Charm for Free Online
Authors: Helen Scott Taylor
Tags: Fiction
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    “ ’Tis not your fault, lass. Fin is my responsibility.” He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, looked up at her through his dirty, dripping hair. She ached to touch him, comfort him, heal his pain. If only the restrictive wards on her skin didn’t prevent her from using her energies to heal, she could lay her hand on his heart center to ease his pain.
    With a questioning mew, Tamsy rubbed against Cordelia’s arm. “Oh, Tam.” Cordelia gathered the beloved creature into her arms and hid her face in the warm fur.
    “The gatekeepers have annexed the trench as part of the Underworld,” she whispered.
    Michael dragged a sigh up from the depths of his soul. “I’ll bloody murder Arian.” With Michael’s clenched jaw and fierce eyes, she hardly recognized him.
    “What are we going to do?” she whispered.
    He sprang to his feet. “I know someone who has the answer to everything.”
    Tipping back his head, he bellowed at the top of his voice: “Troy.” He peered around the field . When nobody appeared, his voice thundered into the darkness again.
    How could anyone hear Michael from out here? Yet after his third shout, a light blazed off to their left. Cordelia jumped to her feet, energized by a flare of hope that the gatekeepers had returned to release Fin. But this pale golden light had a warmer quality than the cold brightness of the Teg.
    A being appeared within the aura. Although he stood no taller than a normal male, everything else about him was extraordinary. Sparkles of rainbow color glinted off a jewel in the knot of golden hair at the back of his head. His jacket glowed cherry red , adorned with gleaming buttons. Creamy lace frothed at his wrists and throat. His eyes shone bluer than a summer sky, and the extraordinary radiance appeared to emanate from his skin.
    “Troy.” Michael brushed past her and ran into the man’s embrace. She winced at the thought of Michael’s dirty clothes against the man’s finery. Yet when they broke apart, not a trace of dirt marred the velvet or lace.
    “I gather you need my assistance, son?” the man said in a musical voice.
    Son!
    Cordelia gaped at him anew. Even as she stared in disbelief, she recognized the likeness. His eyes were the same blue as Michael’s, and when he smiled, the similarity was obvious. But what manner of being was Troy?
    Michael’s words tumbled out in his haste to explain what had happened to Fin. Cordelia joined them, hugging Tamsy. When Michael finished speaking, she added a few details he’d missed.
    Troy’s curious gaze settled on her. She wanted to drag her tear-swollen eyes away, but his look held a subtle command she couldn’t break. He spoke calmly, a pleasant half smile on his lips. “Do not fret over Finian. He will not be harmed.”
    The ache in her heart eased; the tearful tightness in her chest and throat relaxed. She now knew from whom Michaelhad inherited his silver tongue. She waited for the effect to fade, but the anger and distress fluttered out of reach.
    “ Who’s your friend?” Troy asked Michael.
    “This is the pisky wise woman, Cordelia.”
    Troy inclined his head to her.
    “Cordelia, this here is me father from across the Irish Sea.” Michael rushed through the niceties.
    “Michael, lad, go and check if the humans live.” Troy patted Michael’s back and the tense set of his shoulders dropped, while the haunted look in his eyes faded.
    Once Michael nodded and walked away, Troy extended a hand. After a moment of confusion, she realized he wanted them to shake hands like humans. She hesitated, wary. But surely, Michael’s father meant her no harm?
    When his fingers touched her skin, an enquiring tendril of thought slipped into her body. Subtle and smooth, he overwhelmed her psychic defenses. A woolly sense of wellbeing suffused her. Worries slid away. Vaguely, on the edge of consciousness, she heard Tamsy start to purr.
    By strength of will, she held on to a shred of awareness. As he withdrew his

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