Ascension

4

When Phoenix awoke, it felt as if the whole world were spinning and his head had been split open. He groaned as he rolled over, cradling his head. "Scathach, bring me those herbs." He heard Lazarus bark.

Something pressed against his forhead, "Deotz, egamad ruoy odnu, gnorw si tahw thgir, mih laeh." He could hear the words like a scolding almost. "Congratulations, Phoenix, you didn't surrender your soul to copulate with an ancient, fearsome goddess." Lazarus sighed.

Phoenix smirked, now Pandora can't think it's just her he's not interested in, he just rejected their goddess. "Guess I can't cross that off my bucket list..." He said as he stretched, slowly getting to his feet. As he stumbled Scathach and Lazarus caught him.

"Does this mean I'm excluded from future rituals?" He asked Lazarus, it felt like his head was going to burst, but the rush from them all working together was still there.

"No need, saying no once is enough for her. Tonight did not go planned at all. Seems you coming here has been nothing but trouble so far." Jessie said.

"So what? He's a witch, do you remember how much trouble I caused when I first came to the academy, before I took my place at the top and renamed the school?" Lazarus asked.

"You were resurrecting entire cemeteries without even meaning too. Gave the entire town quite the fright, we had to do a massive mind erasing spell." Jessie answered.

"Exactly, compared to me, I'd say Phoenix here is simply causing mild disturbances that will soon be smoothed over and life will go back to how it was. Minus Matilda, poor dear, in her rage, Deotz took her soul." Lazarus said, Phoenix's eyes landed on a white sheet, the form it covered was unmistakably like the curves of a woman.

"You, Lazarus, are defending him? You were the one who didn't even want him here in the first place! Send him somewhere else!" Jessie said.

"Why, because your daughter couldn't do something as simple as not change her incantation? Would you rather he be sent to another school with a lesser teacher and kill others because that teacher doesn't have the power to teach him what he needs? I defend him because I know what will happen should we not have him in our care, he is our responsibility, but that doesn't mean I will make things easy for him, that his mistakes after today won't have consequences." Lazarus said, her voice rising. "Doubt me, question me again and you will not see the next Supreme." She growled at Jessie. "Now leave." She commanded as she lit up a cigarette, tossing one to Phoenix. "And you, figure s**t out or your stay here will be even more unpleasant than it already will be, I believe you have already met my top two students, Pandora and Scathach. If you've pissed them off, when I leave this room, you best make amends, or your life will become hell, after all, girls? They're the cruelest." Lazarus said before walking out, her curly blonde hair bouncing slightly with each step.

"You're gonna wish you took Deotz's offer sooner or later, Phoenix Gray. Welcome to the Lazarus Academy, we've already met multiple times. Let me formally introduce myself, I'm Pandora, and I'm gonna be the b***h you'll wish you'd just kissed." She said.

"Beware of combat training, you should really learn not to upset the one who can beat you down easily," Scathach said.

"I'm not afraid of two women who act like spoiled teenage bitches that get what they want. You'll learn two things pretty quickly from me. One, I don't give a s**t about you and two, it's gonna take more than someone who bullies people for something they are born with and one who can't get everything by acting like a slut to scare me. Wanna know what has been able to scare me? Seeing my mother waste away in a hospital, the strongest person I had ever known turn into someone who cried herself to sleep at night because she couldn't even sit up on her own because cancer kicked her ass instead of the other way around. Real life is terrifying, these games you play are not. So go ahead, do what you want, I won't care." He said before walking out and towards the dorms.

"Phoenix, I know you're hurt from them not accepting you. A familiar always knows." Cherokee said, Phoenix jumped, he had been expecting her to be in or around his room, not wandering the school grounds. "So, which one was it?" She purred as she jumped into his arms.

"Pandora," he said as he rolled his eyes while walking towards the stables, now that he had Cherokee he had no reason to go to the dorms yet.

"You couldn't be nice and kiss her back at least?" She asked.

"No, as for the other one? I pointed out why she shouldn't bother herself with bullying Philis, the nearly deaf one." He told Cherokee.

"And you passed up selling your soul? Yeah, word travels fast, and you've been out of it for a few hours. So, where are you taking me?" Cherokee asked him.

"To meet a new friend of mine." He said.

"You have friends?! Since when?" She asked.

"Oh, ha-ha, very funny," Phoenix said as he rolled his eyes, as they approached the stables he could see a glowing blue orb; Kelpie's eye.

"Phoenix? What took so long?" He snorted as he pawed the ground.

"I passed up an opportunity to sleep with a goddess and become her slave for eternity and in doing so apparently got knocked the f**k out." He told Kelpie. "Also, Kelpie, meet Cherokee, Cherokee, meet Kelpie," Phoenix said as he held Cherokee up so she could look the horse in the eyes.

"Ugh, great, a mythical creature is what you chose for a new familiar? I feel cheated already." She said dramatically, jumping down from his arms.

"Drama queen." Kelpie snorted as he folded his ears back, swishing his tail angrily.

Phoenix shook his head as he opened Kelpie's stall, taking him by the lead and tying him up outside before coming back into the stables to grab his brushes. "You two need to learn to get along. Cherokee, you know as well as I do that me and Kelpie choosing each other is for the best." He told the cat as she strolled out to meet them.

"You know, you were right, real life is a b***h," Scathach said.

"You found me, congrats." He told her.

"Yes, to tell you I'm sorry. To make it up to you, I thought I'd tell you that on Friday nights Lazarus allows us to go out, party, have fun. Let me buy you a drink, take your mind off everything. With what Pandora has in store for you? You'll be glad to get out of here." She told him.

"Free drinks b***h, I'd take the offer," Kelpie said.

"Nobody asked you, not to mention, when did you ever drink?" Phoenix asked him.

"Long story, has to do with a water sprite and a siren," Kelpie told him.

"You'll have to tell me about it sometime, sounds interesting," Phoenix told him as he continued to brush Kelpie.

"So, you in?" Scathach asked him.

"Why the hell not? Let me finish with him, then I'm all yours to go take to get shitfaced." Phoenix told her.

"Great! Also, don't even bother changing, Lazarus prefers us to stay in our uniforms so that if anything happens we cannot be blamed as easily. Pretty much a lot of witches decide to be stupid bitches and do illegal s**t. Pretty much, the world has rights to deny witches who are in school any services, part of the contract every witch is a part of states students must be easily identified at all times. At least we'll be fashionable." She said. Scathach was wearing the same black vest they all did, but she had a spear and a skull embroidered in silver on hers.

"Anyone know why Pandora has a box with stars around it as her symbol?" Phoenix asked her.

"Nope, and she won't tell anyone, not even Lazarus, she had it made by request," Scathach said as Phoenix led Kelpie back into the stables and into his stall.

"I guess I'll stay here with Kelpie, tell him all your embarrassing stories," Cherokee said as she lazily stretched. Phoenix sighed and shook his head but wasn't about to tell her not to, she wouldn't have listened to him anyway.

By the time Phoenix and Scathach got to the club, the place was packed. "Drinks are on you, just like you said they would be," Phoenix said as people stopped to cast wary glances at them when they saw the silver symbols on their silky vests.

"You don't miss a beat, do you?" She asked him.

"Nope, also, I agree, we are fashionable," Phoenix told her.

They approached the bar, showing their ID's. "What brings a witch into my humble bar?" The bartender asked.

"We need to take a load off, relax. Things haven't been particularly easy today," Scathach told him.

"I know my eyesight isn't the best, but that is a man wearing a black vest right? Thought things were color coded up there." The bartender remarked.

"It is, called I'm a male witch." Phoenix said after him and Scathach ordered their drinks.

"Really? Way I heard it only someone born with a v****a could be a witch." He said.

Phoenix snorted, "yeah, that little tidbit obviously didn't reach me in the womb." He said.

As Phoenix and Scathach sat in comfortable silence someone sat down heavily. Phoenix looked over to see he had dark brown hair and one eye as blue as the ocean, the other a bright amber. Those two extremely different eyes flicked to Phoenix then away, before flicking back and sticking to him. "I am either seriously f****d up right now, or you are wearing something men shouldn't." He said.

"And you are?" Phoenix asked.

"Dace, Dace Hanover," he said, holding his hand out.

"Phoenix Gray," he said with a sigh, shaking Dace's hand.

"Wait a minute...I've heard of you! Or...at least I've heard your last name before. Tell you what, I buy us drinks, you tell me where I recognize the name from?" He asked.

Phoenix looked to the side to see if Scathach was still there, as he looked for her, he spotted her red hair in the crowd as she danced. "What the hell do I got to lose? My soul? I already came close to losing it once tonight." Phoenix said as he sat down next to Dace.

Dace called the bartender back over and ordered their drinks. "So, where have I heard your name from?" He asked.

"Probably from my mother, Marian Gray. She was a big deal up until cancer kicked her ass once and for all this past fall." Phoenix said.

"That sucks," Dace said.

"That's life for ya," Phoenix responded. "What about you? How do you know about witches?" Phoenix asked him, most people didn't know a ton about them, or even recognize many important names in the magic community, none other than Lazarus Golde's name really.

"I come from a long line of witches, my father's side does as well. My magic is stronger due to that, but, theres never been a male witch, any male who has magic has magic too weak to make them witches." Dace said.

Phoenix grunted, "again, guess I didn't get that memo in the womb. f*****g born with magic, strong magic. Hence the black vest and why I am halfway across the country from my family home, sitting in some bar that I came to with someone I hardly know." Phoenix said.

"You mean you're technically a witch?" Dace asked, his eyes widening slightly in surprise and what Phoenix could guess was disbelief.

Un-f*****g-fortunately." He told Dace. "So, what is your ability?" Phoenix asked him.

"Promise you won't laugh?" He asked.

"Sure," Phoenix said as Dace pulled out a deck of cards.

Dace set the deck on the bar counter before spreading the cards out in one smooth motion, holding both hands above the cards and focusing. Phoenix felt the shift of energy in Dace before the cards slowly rose and spun around him. Pale blue flecks were in his eyes, slowly dying out as Dace forced the cards to return in a neat stack.

"Lame, right?" He asked as he tucked the cards away. "What good is controlling cards other than for a neat party trick or cheap magic show?" He asked as he shook his head.

"Better than foreseeing doom and gloom, not as cool as shapeshifting." Phoenix said. "Also, what do people mean by things are color coded?" Phoenix asked Dace.

"Any male with magic at the Lazarus Academy wears a dark grey vest, witches wear black. At another school on the other side of the state the witches wear a dark, rich red vest with gold embroidery, the guys wear this horrendous salmon color." He said.

"Why don't you wear a grey one then?" Phoenix asked.

"Never was interested in being someone b***h. Only way a guy gets in is if a witch 'claims' them. Sure, a lot of them are hot, just not my type. Girls are always disappointed when they learn that." Dace said with a chuckle.

"Same here when they learn I don't care for anyone, already pissed off the 'in-girl' when she tried to kiss me earlier," Phoenix said as he used quotation marks around 'in-girl'.

"That's an interesting thing." Dace said. "You seem like you'll be an interesting person, I got nothing to do. I'm sure you'll someone to talk to other than your familiars." Dace said.

"You can also read minds, not as useless as you think Dace," Phoenix commented. "But yes, please, I will gladly claim you if that means I'm not surrounded by women who want to kill me." He told Dace.

Dace laughed loudly. "So now they'll want to kill me too? Sounds like fun, come on, let's ditch the witch you brought with you. I'll show you how to party, and its not in this dump." Dace said as he jumped to his feet.

Phoenix groaned but followed him anyway, he wasn't sure why he was going to 'claim' Dace, but he just had a feeling, it was the right thing to do.

***

Phoenix groaned as he opened his eyes. He couldn't remember much of what happened last night, just that him and Dace had partied hard and crashed harder.

Dace lay on the floor of Phoenix's room. "Hey, Dace, wake the f**k up," Phoenix said as he rubbed his eyes. He wasn't sure why so much of him hurt.

"Its morning already?" He asked as he slowly got up.

"It was morning when we went to sleep, it's afternoon now." Phoenix said as he looked at his alarm clock.

"s**t, wait, am I wearing a grey vest?" He asked.

"Yup, I think we said something last night, got really drunk then came back here and talked to Lazarus if I am remembering right." Phoenix said.

"I just hope its you I'm now bound to and not some spoiled, rich, 'daddy's' girl," Dace grumbled as he used air quotes around 'daddy's'.

Phoenix rolled his eyes, "haven't seen many of them here, but I can imagine there are quite a few. Hopefully if its not me then it's Philis, yeah she can't hear the best, but she seems to be really sweet." Phoenix said.

Dace now wore a white buttoned shirt, a dark grey vest that had an ace of hearts embroidered in silver with what looked to be a knife and a deck of cards sitting next to it. "What's with the knife?" Phoenix asked him as he changed his shirt and grabbed a new vest.

"I'm good with throwing knives, never miss." He said. "Why'd you go with a phoenix?" He asked.

"Lazarus chose it for me, said she thought it was 'fitting'," Phoenix told him.

"So, what do we do now?" Dace asked.

"No clue, why?" Phoenix asked him.

Dace didn't answer. "Dace?" Phoenix asked.

Phoenix found him standing in the doorway. Phoenix's eyes landed on the dead bird sitting just outside the door. "Your cat doesn't do this, does she?" Dace asked.

"Nope, Cherokee doesn't like killing because she doesn't want to get dirty, drama queen." He said.

"I think I know what's going on..." Dace said as he grabbed one of the empty boxes from Phoenix's room and put the bird inside it. "Some b***h is gonna hear what I have to say." He said as he left, Phoenix trailing after him.