Book 5: Chapter 7 (1/2)

Emile’s beak contorted as he frowned and spat out a black substance. He stuck out his tongue, which was stained with traces of tar, and coughed a few times. “This is terrible.”

“I agree,” Susan said and made a face. The two phoenixes were sitting on top of a gnarled tree. It was pitch-black, but it wasn’t dead. Black leaves grew out of its branches, and there were even berries, which were also black, growing in bunches on a few vines entwined around the tree’s trunk. “Where do you think we are?”

“Wherever we are, it’s your fault we’re here,” Emile said and sighed. He ruffled his feathers and spat some flames underneath his wings to keep himself warm. He glanced around while shivering. Everything was black. In the whole landscape, the two phoenixes were the only splotches of color. Above them, an endless cloud of black mist hung in the air, making even the normally blue sky an inky gray. When the gray mist approached Emile and Susan, it was burned away by the phoenix flames.

“How is it my fault?” Susan asked. “Just because I was the one to explore that weird ruin doesn’t mean I’m the one who placed a teleportation rune there. We should blame whoever created that structure in the first place.”

“Well, where is he, huh? Do you see anyone else around?” Emile gestured wildly with his wings. “We’re in a complete dead place! We haven’t seen a single soul since we got here. At this rate, if we don’t starve to death, we’ll catch some sort of sickness from eating these crappy berries. My tummy hurts already.”

Susan blinked. “Hey, we’ve explored this place for such a long time, and we haven’t been able to find our way out. I don’t think this is a dungeon. What if this is the outside world?”

Emile rolled his eyes. “Sure,” he said. “The only place this dead would have to be the southern continent.” He froze, and a second later, he gulped. “What…, what if we were teleported into the southern continent?”

Susan shuddered. “Don’t say that.”

Rustle.

Emile shrieked and nearly jumped off the branch. “What was that!?”

“Calm down,” Susan said and patted her brother with her wing. She pointed at the ground. “It’s just a rat, see?”

Emile exhaled. “Calm down? What do you mean? You’re acting like I was scared or something.” He settled down and stared at the black rat. Instead of skittering, it limped along like a zombie. Its eyes were unfocused, but it steadily made it way towards the base of the tree Emile and Susan were sitting on. Emile’s stomach grumbled, and he whispered to Susan, “Do you think we can eat it?”

“Maybe if we cook it first,” Susan said. She took in a deep breath and exhaled out a jet of flames. It enveloped the rat, incinerating it completely. All that remained of the poor creature was a pile of goop. The base of the tree caught fire, but a moment later, the flames were extinguished as if a bucket of water had been poured on top of them.

“You ruined it,” Emile said and sighed. “Why do you always ruin everything?”

“I don’t ruin everything,” Susan said and snorted. “The rat was just extra … melty. Watch out!”

“Huh?” Emile didn’t have time to react before Susan tackled him. A vine lashed down, smacking the spot on the branch the phoenix had been sitting on. When it made contact, a sound akin to thunder rang out. “Holy crap! That tree almost killed me!”

“Flee!” Susan shouted and spread her wings.