“Asahi, are you coming?” Ashure asked.
“Yes,” he replied, lost in thought.
Chapter 26
Nali kissed Xyrie’s forehead. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“Is she going to kiss all of us, Xyrie?” a young foal sleepily asked.
“Hush now,” Xyrie gently admonished.
Nali leaned down and pressed an affectionate kiss on the foul’s forehead before she straightened and walked back the way she had come. She brushed the willow branches aside, paused, and looked back over her shoulder. Xyrie returned her gaze with a steady and confident one of her own.
Nali bowed her head in respect and stepped out from under the concealing curtain of willow limbs. When she stood outside, she drew in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and slowly released it. The visit had morphed from the need to warn Xyrie of the impending danger to a heart-felt need to share her fears and doubts with her sage counselor.
As usual when Nali visited, Xyrie listened more than she talked and asked questions instead of giving answers. Nali looked up at the sky. Stars glittered through the canopy. A sudden desire to reach out and touched them filled her.
She unfolded her wings, spread them wide, and with a swift flap, she lifted off the ground. Soaring upward, past the forest’s canopy, she flew higher and higher until the air grew thin and ice crystals formed on the smooth granite surface of her skin.
She looked down at the Isle of the Monsters. This was her Kingdom, her people, her home. From this altitude, most of the Isle was visible, so she took the opportunity to examine her vast kingdom. The massive lake glittered like diamonds in the moonlight. The wind blew white trails of clouds across the snow-crested mountains. Faint lights from various villages twinkled in the darkness like fireflies. She imagined she could hear the songs and laughter of her people carried on the wind. In the camp, she knew Asahi was waiting for her.
She reveled in the beauty of the night and her resolve was renewed. She pulled her wings in tight, pinning her arms against her side to increase the speed of her descent. Her fear about the threat facing their world diminished in the thrill of her freefall to the Isle below. It was time to end the alien’s attack on the Seven Kingdoms once and for all.
An explosion suddenly lit the sky and illuminated the ground below. Almost as quickly, additional explosions reverberated through the air. In the glow of the bursts, Nali spotted the outline of four massive shapes climbing the face of the mountain. Her heart pounded with fear and rage. The attack had begun.
The Gateway
The vast power of the Gateway surrounded Phoenix. She marveled at the energy coursing through her. Unlike the portals she could create, this one was a long corridor whose walls, floor, and ceiling showed the universe.
She shifted back into her two-legged form. Stardust circled her, swatting at a comet as it passed by. She giggled when the symbiot tried to chase the tail of the comet as if it were a string hanging from a ball of yarn.
“Stardust, we mustn’t touch anything,” she gently admonished the curious symbiot.
Stardust stopped and stared longingly at the departing comet before returning to her side. Phoenix laughed and caressed her symbiot’s head. Stardust had taken the form of a juvenile Werecat, except she’d forgotten to change her ears. Instead of the usual short ears, Stardust still had long droopy ears like Harvey.
Phoenix curled her fingers to keep herself from reaching out and touching the planets, colorful nebulas, and star clusters. They looked small, but she knew it was an illusion. All around her were unique star systems of varying shapes, sizes, and colors.
She didn’t understand everything that was happening, but she knew she was witnessing the heartbeat of the universe. There were many planets that would never support life, yet there were just as many or more that would one day be just like Valdier and Earth with abundant life.
Mixed within the vastness, she noticed colorful threads connecting some of the worlds. She turned when she observed a flash of golden light, like a brief beacon in the inky blackness, then another and another. Tears burned her eyes as a subconscious awareness rose inside her—Aikaterina’s people.
“There are so few of them,” she murmured.
Help her, a series of voices called out, resonating in her mind.
“Who? Who am I supposed to help?” she asked, turning in a circle.
Help our sister, the voices replied.
She slowly turned. The corridor in front of her stretched out to a planet that looked eerily like Earth. It was a mirror image, connected to her mother’s world by one of the colorful threads. On the mirrored planet, she noticed a faint golden glow fading in and out.
Fading—dying, she thought with dismay.
The alien who controls her must fail, the voices urgently called.
“But, why me? How will I know what to do?” she argued.
It is time.
“Time? Time for what?” she demanded, searching for the glitter of gold among the worlds.
There was no answer. Phoenix turned around and stared at the flickering golden light again. Even in the few seconds of conversation with the beings out there, the minute speck of light had become dimmer.
She closed her eyes and focused. “Aikaterina, what am I supposed to do?” she whispered.
Be yourself, Aikaterina’s soft voice replied from far away.
Phoenix opened her eyes as the image that Aikaterina had revealed seared through her. Her body glowed with dancing flames, and her eyes blazed with a golden radiance. She was Phoenix. She was the Dragon Warrior Princess, chosen by the ancient guardians to help protect the star systems. It was time to be herself.
Isle of the Monsters
Nali landed near the edge of the cliff just as Drago transformed and plunged off the edge with a dozen gargoyle soldiers. Ross and Ashure stood on either side of
