Invasion

CHAPTER ONE“Must be our lucky day, boys,” a voice said from behind Princess Lumina of the Land of the Phoenix. They were in the verdant border forest between Bucansi and the Land of the Phoenix. Lumina and her rebels had left General Hulderic Tullica, all the immortals and the Bucansian border keep only a few hours ago. Lumina jumped and turned at the same time as her guards, her hand flying to the hilt of her standard-issue Bucansian sword. A group of heavily armed people encircled them, grinning. Lumina drew her sword and her rebels followed suit. “Fancy meeting Bucansian soldiers so close to the border,” a heavily armed man said, leering at the women in Lumina’s unit. The words were spoken in the Language of the Phoenix. Raiders? Lumina thought, ready to defend herself. I can’t use my magic, otherwise they’ll see it’s different to mortal magic. Her magic, much like her hair, was red and gold, whereas normal human magic only held one colour. And if the raiders found out she was the Phoenix Princess—wearing Bucansian military attire and capable of immortal magic—things would get complicated. “There are quite a few pretty women here,” said another of the armed group, his eyes snaking up and down Lumina. “What price do you think they’ll get?” Price? Lumina thought. They want to sell us? “Surely the laws in the Land of the Phoenix haven’t changed that much,” she said, voice condemning. “Last I checked, slavery was illegal.” He smirked at her. “It is.” Lumina narrowed her eyes. Was that all the explanation she would get? “I reckon she,” one of them said, pointing to Lumina, “will fetch a very nice price. We can retire and leave fortunes for generations to come.” “Not that often you see a beauty of her calibre.” A murmur of agreements rose from the raiders around them. Lumina’s inner phoenix sang a war cry, demanding that she burn every one of them to cinders for daring to participate in slavery. “You’ll not touch any of us,” Makshi spat. “We’re trained soldiers,” added Waldien. “I suggest you leave now while you still have your lives.” The raiders burst into laughter. “How about you surrender to us and we’ll let you live. You’ll bear a higher price if you’re alive,” said the one who was doing most of the talking, possibly their leader. “Enough,” Lumina snapped, her voice steady instead of reverberating through the bones of every mortal present, despite her inner phoenix’s attempts to unleash its full power. “We’re not surrendering to you and you’re not surrendering to us. If you’re going to fight us, do it now or leave.” “Someone’s impatient,” a raider said, leering. “I like a woman who thinks she’s in control. All the more fun to watch her break.” Lumina gritted her teeth, suddenly glad of Sinnafain’s martial arts training, and she lunged at the raider. Her rebels followed her lead as they attacked the others encircling them. Fighting broke out behind her. The raider he neatly side-stepped her sword. She dug her feet into the ground, stopping her momentum and spun, aiming her sword at the raider’s stomach. He side-stepped her again, smirking. “You’ll be an easy catch if this is all you can do, Bucansian.” He stepped forward, swinging the butt of his sword at her head. She dodged and sliced her sword at his side, putting more strength and speed behind the move. The smirk slid from the raider’s face as he blocked her, then shoved her back. She took a step to steady herself and leapt at him again. He pirouetted and she felt her blade hit nothing but air—and the flat of his sword came down hard, aiming to knock her out. She raised her blade above her and blocked just in time, her muscles complaining at the strain. Then she realised that his stomach was exposed—he was too busy focusing his attention on his sword. She chanced it and kicked him in the guts, sending him into the fray of fighting raiders and rebels. Patal moved fast, stabbing the stunned raider and sending him down. Lumina froze. She hadn’t wanted anyone to die. Heat flared across her skin—a warning from her inner phoenix. She turned just in time to see a woven rope net come over her. It knocked her to the ground and the air rushed from her lungs. She gasped, her chest aching, and pushed outwards, trying to get the net away from her face. “Let’s go!” shouted a raider. He pulled and the ground moved beneath Lumina. Her limbs started to shake as she was dragged along the forest floor. Her eyes darted around, searching for a way out. It’s worse than being a caged bird, she thought. If only I could use my magic! She squeezed her hands into fists, trying to fight off the panic that was controlling her. But the fingers of her right hand clasped warm metal—of course! How could she forget her sword? She slashed its sharp edge against the net, causing it to shift and sway and making it difficult for her to keep her blade against it. She grabbed hold of a piece with her left hand and started sawing it with her right. Yellow sparks flew from her sword and Lumina frowned. “No chance of cuttin’ it, darlin’,” said a raider, grinning down at her. “It’s spelled against swords, daggers and the like.” Lumina widened her eyes and looked at the rope. How could she get out of this if her sword wouldn’t work and she couldn’t use magic? “Lulu!” shouted Waldien, saying the nickname Lumina used to conceal her identity when talking to the rebels. He broke off from the fight. He charged towards the group around Lumina and hacked into one of them. Some of the other rebels broke away from the raiders and followed Waldien, racing towards those pulling Lumina away. Her stomach tightened. What was all of that training with Sinnafain for if she couldn’t fight off raiders? Admittedly, she’d only had three months of martial arts training; these raiders probably had years behind them. But even so! She had scared off a Lord of the Darkness! She had chased off a vampire! Looking around, she searched again for a way to escape the net. Varicoloured magic flew everywhere, hitting trees and starting fires. The dancing flames called to her. If my sword won’t get me out of this, then magic will! She abandoned her resolution not to use magic and pulled the flames towards her with her mind. They leapt forth, igniting the ropes entangling her. Her inner phoenix sang in delight and Lumina had to suppress a smile as the flames ate swiftly through her constraints. “Stop the fire from destroying our prize slave!” screamed a raider. Lumina glared at him. Raider magic descended on the net, trying to suppress the flames. But Lumina encouraged them to burn brighter, higher! They complied and towered above her, making raider and rebel alike back away from the heat. When all of the rope had burned away, Lumina rose from the fire and ash. She found the nearest raider and punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious. A sword sliced at her shoulder and she rolled on the ground, then swiped her attacker’s legs from under him. He fell and she kicked his head. His eyes rolled upwards; he was out cold. Lumina jumped to her feet, panting. Someone charged her and she grabbed his arm, throwing him over her hip. He landed heavily on the ground and she leapt after him, kicking him in the stomach as he tried to rise and knocking him out with a punch. Then she stood and looked around for her next opponent. But there were none. Her rebels had taken care of them and the raiders were on the ground, either dead or unconscious. Shaking, Lumina looked at the destruction around them. The forest was blackened and crumpled, as if a stampede had passed through before a fire. Periolos, the forest nymph, wouldn’t be impressed about her allowing harm to come to this place. One of the raiders had regained consciousness. “That’s not possible,” he mumbled as he surveyed the scene. “You should be on fire. Your clothes at least should be damaged! What are you?” Lumina sighed and looked down at her pristine Bucansian military uniform. Not even singed. She was so used to ensuring that her clothes didn’t burn off when summoning fire that she forgot mortals wouldn’t be able to do what she just did. “Knock him out,” she said to Cecas. “Gladly,” said the rebel, fury in her eyes. She hit the raider sharply on the head. “Anyone have rope?” Lumina asked, thinking to tie up their attackers. “Ah, no … I think you burned the only rope available,” said Waldien, prodding the ashes with his shoe. Lumina rubbed her forehead. “Let’s use magic to transport them. They know I’m … not exactly mortal, so we’d better get them back to the keep—that way the general can keep this under wraps.” They nodded and put sleeping and levitation spells on the raiders, then they backtracked to the keep. When the border keep loomed before them, Lumina’s stomach flipped. Not the most successful mission I’ve ever been on. But neither she nor the general had counted on raiders attacking them as they crossed the border. As she approached, she saw the portcullis with Milorth standing beneath it, looking out at them. Even though Milorth was a dragon, he could change himself into a man with black hair which was shot with green. He had olive skin, almond-shaped, sea-green eyes, a moustache and a goatee. Right now, he was smirking. “If I’d known you’d miss me so much that you’d be back in a few hours, I would have come with you, Phoenix.” Lumina gritted her teeth. “We came across some trouble.” She gestured to the unconscious and floating raiders behind her. “We need to see the prison guard.” Milorth put his hand over his heart. “I’m hurt, Phoenix. You’ve come all this way and it’s not to speak to me, but to a wretched human.” “Dragon,” Lumina almost growled. He chuckled and called out, “Prison guard! Oh, prison guard!” He was using Lumina’s code name for General Tullica, whose true identity was concealed from the rebels. It was for his own safety, in case King Arro, Lumina’s father, discovered what his greatest enemy looked like. “Where are you? A certain immortal can’t manage without your help!” Lumina dropped her jaw. “I most certainly can manage without him!” “And that’s why you’re back here so soon? Or did you return because you missed him?” “I did not miss hi—” “Princess?” Lumina snapped her mouth shut and asked her blood to suppress her suddenly hot cheeks. It complied, singing in her ears. Milorth sent her a look that clearly indicated he hadn’t missed her high colour. Lumina glared at him and turned to see General Tullica striding over, his stormy blue eyes flicking between her and Milorth, his brown hair rippling in the wind. “Did something happen?” he asked. Butterflies were released in Lumina’s stomach. “You know how you thought we were raiders when we first met? Well, we’ve just bumped into the real thing.” The general’s eyebrows rose as he inspected the unconscious group of men behind her. “I see. Well … thank you for dealing with them.” She clenched her fists. “They were slavers. I would have dealt with them even if there’d been hundreds of them.” Sinnafain, the fae warrior, appeared behind the general. Her blond hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and her ice-blue eyes and feminine features belied her true strength. “Nothing wrong with roping a few slaves for a century.” “I thought I sai—” Milorth interrupted. “We know your rules, Phoenix. No slaves, no harming pathetic mortals, no fun.” “I didn’t say ‘no fun’.” “It’s implied in the rules,” Sinnafain said. “Can we deal with the raiders before you start a fight?” asked the general, frowning at Milorth and Sinnafain. “Yeah, I don’t really want to debate this either,” Cecas sighed. The rebels handed the raiders over to the general. “One of them might know that I’m not completely human,” Lumina told him. “Ah … That’s why you didn’t just leave them in one of the traps for raiders, despite knowing where they are,” he said. “Wait a minute. How did they know you’re not completely human?” Sinnafain asked. “I might have set myself on fire when I got caught in a net.” “Yeah, that would do the trick,” Milorth said. Lumina glared at him. “But … what about all that training you received?” asked Sinnafain. Lumina rubbed her neck. “I’m better at magic and being a phoenix—controlling fire—than I am with martial arts …” Sinnafain narrowed her eyes. “You need to stay here until you can defend yourself non-magically.” “I don’t have time! My father has made an alliance with Avadier, and raiders assisting the slave trade are at the border. Something very bad happened to my court while I was away and I need to return to control the damage and break the alliance with Avadier.” The general broke in. “Sinnafain, it takes years to develop skills in martial arts. This is the first real fight the princess has faced. She can clearly look after herself without being a brilliant martial artist.” Lumina nodded, glad he was on her side. “There are more important things right now than perfecting my martial arts.” Sinnafain narrowed her eyes. “Fae, the phoenix and lowly creature have a point,” said Milorth. “Three months of training, down the drain.” ‘Training’ perhaps wasn’t really the correct word. They’d dropped her from a ten-storey window, sent her into towering flames and told her to break up a deadly fight between a dragon and fae warrior, merely shrugging at the possibility that she might die. “It didn’t go down the drain! I dodged, I used a sword, I—” “Got captured,” Sinnafain finished. Lumina pursed her lips. “But I escaped and used my fists to end the fight.” “It sounds as if she’s better without a weapon than with one,” the general said. Sinnafain crossed her arms. “Fine.” She turned on Lumina. “But don’t think this is over, Phoenix. I will teach you how to fight properly if it kills me!” Lumina nodded. “Thank you, Sinnafain.” The fae stalked off with a huff. “Ah … Could you tell Estar and Periolos that the forest might need regenerating?” Lumina asked the general. He would pass on the message, she knew, whereas Milorth probably couldn’t care less about a mortal forest. “I will, Princess.” “Thank you.” He nodded and averted his eyes. Lumina remembered their awkward parting that morning. How he’d grown distant after the vampire, Lothaire, had impersonated her and tried to seduce the general last night. Silence stretched between Lumina and the general. She shifted on her feet. “Um … I’d better go … again. This time hopefully we’ll get there without a hitch.” “Very well, Princess,” he said, standing rigidly in place. Lumina said her goodbyes again. Then they turned around and strode back into the forest. As she walked away, Milorth called after her. “Come find me when the insignificant rabble bore you!” Lumina gritted her teeth and decided silence was her best option.