“What kinds of threats?” Phoenix asked with a frown.
“Before this? There were always disasters that could end civilizations, be they natural or due to the blind stumbling of mortals as they pushed their boundaries. However,” Aminta took a bracing breath.
“This entity…the abomination that you just helped defeat, it is but one of many.” Aminta sighed, and continued in an exhausted voice.
“They were released by a few dangerously radical believers of the same philosophy that Aikaterina, Xyrie, and I adhere to—that we should be more involved—but to go this far….”
Aminta pursed her lips angrily. “They wished to rally us all against a common threat,” she said, “and so they irresponsibly created such a threat to the universe. We will be fighting for survival for a long time, Phoenix, and we need your help.”
Phoenix looked at the vast space around them again. “But—what about Arosa and Arilla? And the symbiots?” Her hand dropped to Stardust and she caressed her symbiot’s head. “Aren’t they like you? Wouldn’t they be more powerful than I am? I’m just a kid,” she protested.
Aminta shook her head. “Yes, there are others like Arosa and Arilla, but we are still restricted by our laws. The symbiots are different. They were created to assist and give balance to those who need it,” she explained.
“Why me? Why was I chosen?” Phoenix asked.
“That is a question only Aikaterina can answer,” Aminta gently responded.
“What will happen to me now?” she wondered.
“For now, I will return you to your family,” Aminta said.
Phoenix absently nodded. Her eyes were locked on a distant world. She rubbed her hand over her heart. Aminta laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Come, child. Your parents are worried about you.”
Phoenix nodded. Her eyes widened with joy when a Gateway appeared before her and she saw her parents. Her lips parted on a cry and she surged forward.
“Mom! Dad!” she cried.
“Phoenix!” they exclaimed, their voices thick with relief and joy.
“Oh, Phoenix,” her mom choked out, opening her arms. “You’re home.”
Phoenix rushed into their arms, happy to be home. She turned back to look at the Gateway. It was closed—and Aminta was gone.
“Where did you go? Why didn’t you tell us? Are you alright?” her father hoarsely demanded, caressing her hair.
Phoenix looked into the worried eyes of her parents and gave them a rueful smile. “I should have told you. I’m sorry. I guess I’m grounded, huh?” she said.
“Only forever,” her mom teased, gently kissing her forehead and clasping her hand.
“What happened? Where did you go?” her dad asked.
Phoenix drank in the sight of her parents, unaware that her eyes shimmered with the fire of her dragon. “My dragon has changed. She is amazing, Dad. I can’t wait to show her to you. It all started when I heard a cry for help…” she began, excited finally to be able to share what had happened.
The Isle of the Monsters
Asahi drifted through the dream world. A part of him knew that he was dreaming, while another part wondered how everything appeared so real. His body, weighed down with exhaustion from the last few weeks of adventure and sated from lovemaking, remained wrapped in his lover’s arms. His mind was a different matter.
He felt refreshed and alert. Vivid colors and strange images floated past him, and he turned around, taking in the amazing vision of stars, planets, and galaxies all around. The dream seemed real, yet when he reached out to touch a planet, his fingers passed through it.
“Hello, Asahi.”
“Aminta,” he replied, startled.
Aminta emerged out of the darkness, looking more like gold stardust than her last form. She solidified as she walked closer.
“Is this a dream?” he asked with a frown.
“Yes—and no. Our conversation is real. The surrounding universe is real,” she said.
“You aren’t going to send me back to Earth, are you? I refuse to go. My place is beside Nali,” he growled.
Aminta laughed and looked at him with an amused expression. “You have a lot of your grandfather in you,” she mused.
Asahi frowned. “You knew my grandfather?”
Aminta bowed her head in acknowledgment. Asahi blinked in surprise when she waved her hand and a planet appeared. He recognized the blue and white marble as Earth. He glanced from the planet to Aminta.
“Yes, as well as Nali’s parents. Many centuries ago, I rescued an infant from a dying world. I knew she was special. Her father found me when I was tired and worn down from a millennium of fighting with another of my kind. My opponent did not share the same faith in the worlds we seeded as I did. Nali’s father gave me hope. In return, I gave him the gift of my blood should he ever need it,” she explained.
“Why didn’t you save her world? Her parents?” Asahi asked.
Sadness etched itself on Aminta’s face. “Alas, even as old as I am, I must live by the rules I helped create. Nali’s world was created early, near a red star. I arrived too late to save her world. I tried to send warnings to her people, but they refused to listen,” she answered.
Asahi watched in fascination as Aminta touched the swirling cloud formation of a massive hurricane, running her fingers through the thick clouds. The edge of the storm sheared off, as if a strong current had cut through it like a knife.
“What about my grandfather?” he asked.
“I saw him first as a young boy. He looked different from most people around him, and he suffered for it,” she shared.
As the clouds floated away, Asahi saw Aiko as a young boy, standing on the beach and staring out at the ocean. Asahi’s heart ached for the bruised and battered boy who refused to shrink from the older boys around him. The boys yelled that he was a monster, that he didn’t belong there, and threw stones at him. Eventually tiring of their game, they left the little boy alone.
“He never told me this story,” Asahi murmured.
Aiko picked up a colorful shell and held it to his chest. “I
