The Mark Of The Phoenix

Chapter 10 Rhymes And Riddles

The venison had been a godsend. I’d never been much for deer meat back in the valley, but out here, in the damp cold of the caves, it tasted like a feast fit for royalty. I could see the color returning to Dominic’s face, his obsidian eyes regaining that sharp, lethal spark. As we exited the cave, the transition was jarring. It was technically still daylight, but the canopy was so dense—the ancient trees weaving together like skeletal fingers—that the world remained trapped in a perpetual, murky twilight.

We found a stream nearby, the water crystal clear and singing over smooth stones. I knelt, cupping the refreshing liquid to my lips, while Dominic scouted ahead. He was back in a flash, his movements a blur of shadow.

"Sindel," he said, his brow furrowed in thought. "Can you remember the poem again? The part after the bird of prey?"

I stood, wiping droplets from my chin, and closed my eyes to picture my mother’s elegant handwriting in the journal. "Yes. It said: Beware the giant’s hungry roar, and the creeping eye upon the floor."

Dominic paced a small circle. "I’ve been trying to piece it together since we left the Bluffs. Whatever comes next has to do with seeing... or being seen."

"I have a feeling we won't have to wait long to find out," I murmured.

He reached out, taking my hand in his, his grip firm and protective. We hadn't walked more than a hundred yards when the earth beneath us groaned. It wasn't just a sound; it was a physical force.

"The mountain settling?" I whispered, hoping against hope.

"No," Dominic replied, his voice dropping an octave. "That’s not stone shifting."

Another tremor hit, so violent it nearly shook the boots off my feet. And then, we saw him. On the crest of the jagged ridge, silhouetted against the swirling purple nebula of the Nightmare Forest, stood a shadow that blocked out the stars. He was a colossus—forty feet of knotted muscle and skin that looked like cured leather. When he shifted his weight, the entire hillside crumbled. He didn't just stand on the mountain; he was the mountain.

Then came the sound. A low, wet rumble that started deep in his chest and tore through the valley like a physical blow. It was the "hungry roar." My Phoenix mark pulsed against my skin, a frantic, searing heat that screamed at me to run.

Dominic stepped in front of me, his sword drawn. It looked like a toothpick compared to the giant's shins, but his defiance didn't waver.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" the Giant bellowed, his voice echoing with a terrifying hunger. "I see you, little morsels!"

Dominic shouted up toward the ridge. "We are just passing through! Let us go, and we will find you better game! A deer, a bear—something more suited to your appetite!"

The Giant’s laughter was like an earthquake, sending a spray of boulders tumbling down the slope. We scrambled back, but as the Giant began his descent, a second shadow emerged from the treeline behind him.

It was a Cyclops—smaller than the Giant, but moving with an impossible, ghostly silence. Its single, blood-red eye fixated on the back of the Giant's head. Before the behemoth could even turn, the Cyclops swung a massive club—a whole uprooted tree studded with the bones of previous kills.

With a sickening crack, the Giant’s head was severed. It tumbled down the mountain like a falling moon, and we had to dive into the dirt as it roared past us, smashing trees into splinters.

For a heartbeat, I thought we were saved. "Thank you for the help!" Dominic called out to the Cyclops.

The monster turned its red eye toward us. Its speech was thick and guttural. "I kill Giant... so he doesn't eat my food."

"Run!" I hissed, grabbing Dominic’s arm.

We bolted toward a thicket of massive bushes to our left, but the Cyclops wasn't alone. Behind him, straining at a heavy emerald-studded leash, was a dragon. It was green, walking on two powerful legs, and instead of fire, it spat a glob of hissing acid that melted the very stones beside us.

"Get them! Bring them back!" the Cyclops roared, releasing the leash.

The dragon took to the air, its wings flapping like tattered sails. We were pinned against a sheer cliff of glass-slick stone. There was no cave, no cover, and no escape.

"Arabis! Arabis, help us!" I screamed, hoping the Griffin was near. But the only response was the whistling of the dragon’s dive.

Dominic raised his sword to strike, but the dragon was too fast—it plucked the blade from his hand like a twig. We were defenseless. Boulders hurled by the Cyclops’s club exploded around us. I braced for the end, clutching Dominic, when a new voice cut through the chaos.

"The eye! The eye is over the ridge!"

A Centaur charged into the clearing. He was magnificent—the body of a powerful stallion and the torso of a man with muscles like rippling bronze. He stood eight feet tall, his black tail streaming behind him like a banner of war. With a fluid motion, he pulled a golden arrow from his quiver and let it fly.

The arrow whistled through the air and pierced the Cyclops's red eye perfectly. The monster let out a final, gurgling groan and collapsed, shaking the earth one last time.

The Centaur didn't stop. He notched a second arrow and aimed at the sky. He didn't hit the dragon; instead, his arrow shattered the emerald collar around the beast's neck. The "Hollow Slave" was free. The dragon landed with a soft thud, its aggression vanishing instantly.

"It's okay, Aggie. You're free now," the Centaur said softly.

The rhyme clicked in my head. The spell is broken by the gold and brave.

"You're the Golden Brave," I breathed, looking at the Centaur in awe.

"My name is Kironos," he said, stepping closer. He took my hand and, to my surprise, pressed a courtly kiss to my knuckles.

I felt a sudden, sharp tug on my other arm. Dominic was right there, his face pale—not from hunger this time, but from pure, unadulterated jealousy. He pulled me closer to his side, his lip curling slightly.

"Thanks for the save, Kironos," Dominic said, his voice dripping with an icy attitude. "But we really must be going. The sun is getting too bright for my eyes."

I looked at Dominic, suppressed a smile. I had never seen him jealous before. Here stood a handsome, muscular protector of nature, and my "Vampire Romeo" was pouting like a boy. It was ridiculous, considering he was the only man I had ever loved.

"He's right," I added, patting Dominic’s hand to soothe him. "Dominic is a creature of the night. This light is dangerous for him. We are grateful, Kironos, but we have to find shade."

Dominic didn't wait for a goodbye. He kept his arm firmly around my waist, casting one last wary glance at Kironos’s rippling muscles as he guided me back into the safety of the deep shadows.