The Phoenix Stone: Chapter 10

Isabel could feel her tears swelling up. Her wolf siblings were dead. Well, two of them were. She would never forgive the Rejigs. Isabel spent hours in the tree, looking at the wand. There were seven slots in the wand, but the middle slot was empty. Isabel could identify the stones in the wand. Tigers eye, Adventurien, Agate, empty, Topaz, Garnets, and Jasper. “I wonder if the stone from my necklace would fit in that spot. It looks like the same shape.” Isabel yanked that stone off the necklace. She put it in the slot. When the stone was placed in, the wand and stone glowed a light amber color before the stone dulled and fit into the slot. When the sun started setting, Maverick and his sister peaked out of the trees. “Oh, hello, Isabel.” Maverick said meekly. “I suppose you saw what had happened. We must get a move on. Before the Rejigs come back.” Maverick seemed worried. Isabel realized how late it was and how dark it was getting. She whistled for Elsa, who came flying up. “Elsa, we have to go. Round up the others.” Elsa nodded and flew into the trees. Soon, all the animals were slowly making their way into the forest. There was no talking. Even the beavers were quiet for once. The only light was from the wand. Every time the group heard a noise, the wand’s light went out and they all held still. Going on like this made the trip all the longer, until, eventually, they stopped in a clearing. The birds dozed in the trees with the squirrels keeping watch. The wolves and the beavers snoozed in the bushes and large plants. Isabel sat in the clearing with Maverick and Matilda, Maverick’s sister. Though they tried, none of them truly slept. They were either too tense, like the wolves and mice, or they were still processing what had happened, like the birds, squirrels and beavers. Isabel was in between. She was trying to figure out what had happened, but still jumped at every sound. Isabel sat and thought until morning, when the whole party moved on again. This went on for weeks on end without any sign of stopping. But they all got so tired, they would collapse from exhaustion. Eventually, they just stopped and sat for days. None of them were very conscious and would’ve been picked up in seconds by the Rejigs, if not for the cats. Greg recovered quickly from his wounds and followed the group further into the woods. Cassi and Lucy later joined, and when the group just stopped out of exhaustion, the cats protected the group from danger. After weeks of recovering, Isabel regained her consciousness. She rested for a few more days, then set off. The rest of the group was already on their way, and Isabel had yet to catch up.



Brooklyn was enraged. Not only had her niece escaped with her little animal friends, but there was no sign of her at all. Silas got the worst of Brooklyns anger. “How could you just let her get away! She was seven feet away and you just gave up!” If Brooklyn had been in a cartoon, she would’ve had smoke coming out of her ears. “Isabel’s a Phoenix. You don’t just let a Phoenix get away! Not only that, but she’s got the stone.” Silas seemed to shrink under her gaze. “Don’t just sit there. Find her and bring her back. Dead or alive.”



Isabel had never experienced fear like this before. She was alone. Maverick and Matilda were far ahead. Elsa was probably eating something gross. The wolves and beavers most likely thought that Isabel was dead. The only thing that Isabel had was the wand. If someone found her now, she would have no protection. Or so she thought. As Isabel’s courage grew, the stone shone brighter. It got so bright that if Isabel put it in her pocket, it would look like the sun going behind the clouds. Sometimes, at night, Isabel would put the wand on a pile of dry sticks and the sticks would catch on fire. The trees seemed to go on forever. The longer Isabel was in the woods, the more agitated she became.



Silas followed that light through the trees. The light was so bright, Silas would wake up at midnight thinking it was midday. It had to be from the stone. But the stone shouldn’t be that bright without the wand. “As long as she doesn’t know the wand's power, I should be alright. Silas snarled. He was waiting for Isabel to be off her guard. Then he would attack. Often, Silas would become two lions and they would both surround her. But never would they charge.



Isabel often heard low growls around her. Dark shapes would circle her as she walked. “I should be afraid or fearful, but I’m surprisingly not. I feel quite confident that I will be okay.” Isabel felt calm for once in this chase. All this circling and chasing and running went on for only a few days, but to Isabel and Silas, it felt like weeks.



Brooklyn was getting more restless the longer it took Silas to come home. “If he doesn’t hurry and bring that girl to me, I’ll do it myself.” Brooklyn turned herself into a black mare and ran into the woods. “It’s time to get my family all together for a little ‘reunion’.



Isabel had started to find signs of the animals. The wolves had left some footprints, and the beavers chopped down a few trees here and there. The wand became hot to the touch. So hot that Isabel had to make herself a pair of mittens out of her coat to pick it up, and even then, the heat went through. The shadows behind the trees became more tremendous as Isabel got closer to the meadow. Isabel could make out the shapes of lions in the shrubs at night. But Isabel felt no more fear of the lions. It was as if the wand had taken over and told her she was all right.



Silas saw the girl step out of the woods into a meadow. This meadow was similar to the field that Brooklyn was crowned in, except this one had no stone slab. The grass was so tall that it went up to Isabel’s shoulders. Isabel was walking rather fast, Silas thought. Then he saw why. A wild black mare was racing toward her. And the horse had the mark of Brooklyn. Silas roared and leaped into the meadow and darted after Isabel. Isabel turned around, her eyes bright orange. The wand was in her hand, bright orange as well. Abruptly, the grass around Silas and Brooklyn caught fire. Stunned by the appearance of flames, Silas halted, but burst through the flames in a matter of seconds. The grass around Isabel showed movement, and occasionally, Echo’s head would peek up, but in no time at all, it would disappear in the grass. Isabel sprinted across the grass, leaving sparks wherever she went. She ran so fast, the wind ignited the wand. The flames didn’t even touch the wand and Isabel couldn’t feel the heat from the fire. Silas was undeterred still and charged forward. He sprung up, his mouth wide open. Isabel only gasped and held up her wand. The tip of the wand was pressed into Silas’s gums. His eyes went slack and he crumpled into ash. Isabel stood a minute, watching the wind scatter the ashes, then she felt herself transform. She had large wings and a beak and claws and was made of pure fire. Isabel took to the sky. The wolf pack looked up and howled. The beavers waved, their eyes reflecting fire. Elsa, Maverick, and Matilda flew underneath Isabel. Cassi, Lucy, and Greg looked up and smiled. “The Phoenix has returned."