A cool wind flowed around her as she awoke. There was hard stone beneath her and open space above.

Eventually she thought to open her eyes. There was a faint light, but it was far away and didn't illuminate anything. She shot out sound and saw that she was in a vast stone chamber with four sides. One side was divided by a wide opening, its edges decorated with intricate carvings. In fact, the entire room was covered with them. A two-headed, feathered serpent, with jeweled eyes and wings of gold. Twin brightly-painted jaguars. And a pair of black eyes, which, she instinctively knew, were more than symbols. She sensed a presence watching her.

All of this was familiar. She should remember this.

Why didn't she remember this?

She had been in a different, though similar, place before...before what? What happened before? Where was she? Who was she? What was her name? Did she have a name?

Yes, she thought. Phoenix.

She tried to spread her wings, to fly, but they were so heavy. That wasn't right. She should be stronger. Had been stronger. Before—

Trees soaring high into the air, fanning out into a dense canopy, swathed in thick vines and mosses.

A stone pyramid, like the one she was in, but smaller, and containing the Stone.

The Stone! Yes, she remembered now! She had been there, on the Stone, before—

It still wouldn't come.

There was something very, very wrong. She shouldn't be this weak. This ignorant.

There was something else, though, too.

She wasn't breathing, she realized. She coughed and gasped in a great breath, forced air in and out of her lungs. It didn't help. It wasn't doing anything.

Slowly, it occurred to her that she didn't need to breathe. Her heart wasn't beating either. And that meant...she was dead.

Yes, Phoenix was dead, and she was in the Underworld. Zotz's realm. Somehow, she had been expecting something else. But what?

She remembered a sharp pain in her chest as she stared up at a circular portal. A sense of purpose, of coming victory.

She glanced at the carving of the eyes again. They meant something.

Perhaps she could find something outside the pyramid that would tell her more. Still unable to fly, she clawed her way, inch by agonizing inch, across the stone floor. The chamber opened to a broad terrace, brightened by starlight.

Starlight?

How could there be starlight in the Underworld? Had they succeeded? Were the two worlds joined?

Because yes, that was what had happened, that was how she had died. She had offered herself as a sacrifice to liberate Cama Zotz.

Phoenix launched herself from the pyramid's summit and would have fallen but for a strong wind that caught underneath her wings. When her wingbeats became powerful enough to fly on her own, she rose over a magnificent city. A plaza constructed from carved and jeweled flagstones divided it in two, and long its length was a series of decorative fountains and pools. On each side of the plaza stood a row of pyramids, smaller than the one Phoenix had emerged from but still impressive. Jungle, thick and glorious and untouched by Humans, grew from the very stone of the pyramids and surrounded the city as well. She could hear birds trilling and monkeys screeching. As she spiraled higher, she saw that the city and rainforest were in the center of a glittering lake. Bordering the lake was a desert stretching to the horizon.

Bats were there too, bats like her, with long snouts and spiked noseleaves and three-foot wingspans. Vampyrum Spectrum.

She flew up. It was similar to where she had been before, but something was different. Certainly the sky was. The stars were in the wrong places, and they grew larger as she approached. The blackness between them looked tangible.

Then the sky ended. It wasn't the sky but the roof of the great cavern, the stars glowing chunks of crystal. This was the Underworld and the Underworld alone. The worlds were still separate.

Phoenix gnashed her teeth and spun, drifting back down to the city. A curved protrusion of stone, trailing vines, arced over the highest pyramid, host to millions of roosting Vampyrum bats. She swept closer.

"What happened?" she bellowed. A few bats turned to look at her. Most didn't even blink.

"A lot's happened in the past two hundred and fifty-three years," one called. Laughter followed his words.

Phoenix growled. "There was an eclipse," she said. "Why are we still down here?"

Some bats muttered and sniggered. "I don't think anything's going to change down here for a long time," said one. "If it ever will."

"Whatever you're talking about, it didn't work. Nothing's different, newcomer," another remarked.

The bats here hardly even knew what happened. The only thing that had occurred for them was the addition of a few more bats to Zotz's kingdom. No more Vampyrum had offered themselves up for sacrifice as she had. Why hadn't they? They should have, they should have seen their purpose. Had the eclipse ended sooner than she'd anticipated and they hadn't the chance? Or were they all just selfish and faithless?

She whirled away from the claw-like outcrop and soared out over the jungle. She shook her head irritably. The Vampyrum here were useless; they cared nothing about freeing Zotz. And Phoenix herself, she had failed—she had accomplished nothing, nothing if the sun was still alive.

And if she had failed during her life, she would be sure that she would not in the Underworld.

She banked, turning back towards the city and angling towards the tallest pyramid. It could almost be mistaken for a mountain.

Inside the temple, she landed on the stone floor and took in the carved glyphs. She still felt as if Zotz's eyes were watching her. She bowed her head.

"Lord Zotz," she murmured, "please hear me. I have lost my chance while alive—what can I do now to further serve you?"

His appearance was different than it had been in the Upper World. Instead of currents of power and sound manifesting, she felt the gaze of the carved eyes on her strengthen, the power that permeated the entire Underworld intensify. A voice hissed through the air.

"I hear you..."

The words came from all directions at once, reverberating through the chamber. Phoenix was absolutely still. She had half-expected her question to go unanswered. This was her god, Cama Zotz, speaking to her. She was no priestess or even an acolyte, and yet he deigned to speak to her.

"I hear you and accept your service. You are a loyal follower, Phoenix, but know that not all are as faithful as you. Many seek to defy me and leave my kingdom."

Phoenix jerked her head up, surprised. The carved eyes shone darkly. Who would defy Zotz? Who could be so irreverent and so foolish? It was an act of sheer stupidity!

"Most are not Vampyrum but bats from other colonies, though they are still betrayers. This is the realm of the dead, my realm, and the dead exist under my rule. The deserters believe there is a world beyond mine, created by my traitorous sister as she died. You have heard of her?"

Phoenix nodded. "Yes, My Lord."

"The deserters call themselves Pilgrims. They will attempt to flee to a place called the Tree, which they believe to be a portal to Nocturna's realm. You, Phoenix, will be one of my hunters. Find these Pilgrims before they reach their Tree. There are thousands of them spread across the Underworld, but I trust that you will not shirk from this task. Hunt them down and summon me when you succeed."

"I shall serve you eternally, My Lord," she said. "I will not fail."

The eyes dulled and Phoenix remained in the pyramid for a short while, registering what had happened. Zotz had spoken to her, commanded her to hunt down traitors. How would she find them? Where would she start? She remembered the endless desert surrounding the lake. Was she to cross it? She supposed that she could, now that she was dead and had no need of water, but it still seemed tremendously unappealing.

No matter. She had been appointed this task by her god, and she had sworn not to fail.

As she sailed from the pyramid back over the plaza, she flew close over an ornamental pool of water and saw in bewilderment that her teeth gleamed black. She backpedaled and hovered as well as she could over the water. It wasn't a trick of the false starlight, her teeth were made of dark stone! She knew instantly that it was a gift from Zotz.

Phoenix circled higher above the island, gazing out across the desert. It was ridged and cracked and barren. A harsh wind blasted across it, sending sharp bits of rock skittering over the interminable plain.

She didn't look back at the jungle paradise as she flew over the lake and into the wasteland. That wasn't her fate.

Phoenix did not know how long she'd been flying when she came across an Oasis. It may have been days, but she had no way to be sure. There was no day or night here, and she didn't know the positions of the false stars yet. Nor did she tire, or grow thirsty or hungry. It was as if time did not exist. In a way, it didn't. Time only really counted when you were running out of it. Here, everyone was dead already.

The Oasis was another jungle, not as spectacular as the Vampyrum city on the island, but more like the one she had come from in the Upper World. Small bats darted around, Freetails. A few glimpsed Phoenix approaching and disappeared with shrill squeaks.

She put on another burst of speed. If they were dead, what did they have to fear? Were these some of the betrayers, or was it simply instinct from their time in the living world?

And then, far away, carried slightly by the wind—

"Hurry, we must leave now, before the Vampyrum or their god come to stop us. To the Tree, to the Tree!"

"Get out!" shouted another voice, clearer now as Phoenix drew closer. "There's nothing wrong here! Stop your lies!"

The first voice again: "You're dead, Freetail, and you all must come to the Tree. Join us and move on to Nocturna's—"

"OUT!" screeched the second. "Get out of here, all of you!"

"You can rot in the desert for all I care! Spare us your poison and deceit!" yelled another.

"Do we look dead to you, crazy?"

"Liars! Leave us! Go! GO!"

"You're making a mistake, we must..."

Phoenix quickened her wingstrokes but she'd lost the voices. The jungle here was dense as ever, and she wasn't used to tracking something this far away. She climbed higher in the air, leveling off when she breached the canopy.

The Oasis was larger than she'd first thought, and it took her longer than she felt it should to pick up the voices again. She veered towards the noise, deciding it was better to simply announce her presence rather than skulking around and scaring the Freetails who weren't traitors. If she avoided frightening them off, they may be able to tell her where the Pilgrims had gone, for she could no longer hear shouts, just irritated grumbling.

She dove back into the jungle and soon emerged in a small clearing, several Freetails roosting nearby and chattering among themselves. They all started at her appearance, half a dozen of them taking off immediately. The rest eyed her warily, unfurling their wings halfway so they could take flight at any moment.

"I am not here to harm you so long as you do not seek the Tree," Phoenix said.

"Of course we don't," spat a male Freetail, and Phoenix recognized his voice as the one who had driven the Pilgrims off earlier. She suspected he was the leader of this colony. "It would drag us into some awful void of suffering, and those Pilgrims are convinced it's the most wonderful place in the world." He shook his head with a sigh. "Fools."

"Which direction did they go in?"

The Freetail must have met a hunter before, because he didn't seem fazed at the question. "That way," he said, flaring a wing to point. "There's this boxy-looking constellation, and they were flying just off to its right."

Phoenix looked and located the squarish arrangement of crystal 'stars.' She immediately flew above the trees and set off in the direction the Freetail had pointed out. She could see the last of the deserters clearing the tree line and entering the barren lands once again. Not far now. She didn't even need to use the false stars. She stuck close to the treetops so that leaves grazed her wingtips every few downstrokes. The group of Pilgrims wasn't that large—they numbered a bit over a dozen, perhaps fifteen. None of them were Vampyrum, just smaller bats.

Flapping hard, she was close behind them in minutes. One's ears swiveled backwards and Phoenix slowed her loud wingbeats, but it was too late. The bat spun around and, seeing Phoenix, shrieked in alarm, calling out to the other bats. Panicked, they shot away.

Phoenix accelerated. Some of the little bats were fast, but a Vampyrum Spectrum warrior was certainly faster, especially one who often hunted smaller bats in life. She quickly caught up to the slowest one, a bat with silver-tipped fur, and snatched one of its wings in her jaws. She crushed its forearm and fingers and let it drop to the desert floor. While the dead bat couldn't die again, it wouldn't be able to fly, either, not with its wing broken.

Three more bats circled back to help the fallen one. She seized one immediately, cracking its wing-bones as well. As she did so the other two attacked her, raking their claws down her wings. Pain flared briefly before fading as the membrane mended itself. Help from Zotz, she knew. She whirled and knocked the little bats away, one stunned and falling. The remaining dozen Pilgrims turned back, apparently determined to get the injured ones to the Tree.

Phoenix bared her obsidian teeth in a grin at them. They didn't stand a chance.

She plunged down at one streaking for a wounded bat and sank her claws into its back, flinging it down onto the surface of the desert. It didn't move. She attacked one after the other, breaking their wings or spines, so that they couldn't flee again. Two, realizing their fight was hopeless, broke away from the group and bolted. Phoenix followed, but a Mastiff slammed into her from the side and its surprising weight sent her reeling for a few inches. She regained her balance, snarled, and lunged at it, biting deep into its shoulder. The bat lashed out with a claw, scoring a gash across her face, but already she felt it healing. She let go of the Mastiff, and it crumpled on the plain below.

She swiftly incapacitated the few Pilgrims that were left and circled above the fifteen bats. One hissed furiously up at her but she paid it no heed.

"Cama Zotz!" Phoenix cried. "My Lord, I have those you sent me for!"

At once she felt his presence, and then the ground quaked and heaved. Shards of stone on the plain's surface trembled. Several of the Pilgrims flinched back as the earth split and a colossal head reared back from the fissure. Phoenix shook dust from her eyes and beheld Zotz. His head resembled that of a Vampyrum, but a long, serrated crest jutted from his skull between the ears, and his face was gaunt and furless. He had a flat, flared noseleaf like a Vampyrum, but his skin was white and cracked, even scaly, vaguely reptilian. His eyes were sunken deep in their sockets. Rows upon rows of jagged teeth were within his jaws. Zotz may have been the bat god, but he was certainly not a bat himself.

Phoenix landed off to the side of the betrayers and bowed before her god once the ground stilled.

"You have served me well," he said to her. She knew she was far from finished with her mission, but these fifteen were a start.

Zotz's massive head swung over to regard the cowering Pilgrims. One, a Sac-wing, muttered a string of words, quietly but fervently, his eyes closed. Phoenix flapped over and struck him with the back of a wing. "Silence!"

The Sac-wing didn't flinch, simply moved back to his former position and continued speaking. His voice only grew louder, so that everyone present could hear his words:

"...Nocturna, Winged Spirit of the night, watch over us and deliver us from the suffering that surely awaits us. Guide us to where we are meant to be, far from this hell, a world of your own beyond this wretched land..."

Phoenix was speechless with outrage and shock. To pray to that treacherous goddess in the presence of Cama Zotz! It was blasphemy! Blatant, unforgivable blasphemy.

Wind shrieked through Zotz's jagged crest as his head plunged down to stop mere inches from the Sac-wing.

"Your god is dead," he thundered, and snapped up the Sac-wing in his immense jaws. Several bats screamed and tried to scramble away, but their injuries didn't heal as Phoenix's did and they couldn't move far. Sand crept over their claws and wings, hardening into stone as it touched their flesh. It crawled over their patagium, fingers, backs—until in seconds they were all trapped in stone shells and Phoenix was the only one left.

Zotz turned to her. "Continue with your task. There are few hunters in the Underworld, and I value your service. Go now."

Phoenix bowed her head once more and took wing.

The first living creature that Phoenix saw in the Underworld was a rabbit. Many years had passed, decades. She could see the light dancing on the creature's fur as she drew closer. For a moment, she wondered why it didn't flee, but then saw the unnatural angle at which its leg was bent. It must have broken the limb when it fell from the Upper World.

Phoenix landed awkwardly on the ground near the animal and scrabbled towards it. She was to hunt down this rabbit and sacrifice it for Cama Zotz, but she had no idea that life would be like this—radiant, singing, and so close! She could almost smell it coursing through the rabbit's body: The cool stone of the pyramid; the humid air of the jungle; a warm thermal; blood from a fresh kill; rich earth and vibrant leaves.

The jungle.

Life.

She had never before wanted something as much as she wanted this right now. But still, she did not take it. This life was for Zotz.

Phoenix felt the trembling rabbit's heart race frantically—how she craved that heartbeat!—as she laid her claws upon it.

Not mine, she repeated in her mind. Not mine, not mine, not mine not mine notminenotminenotmine—

It should be mine.

The thought was sudden and startling. She didn't know where it had come from. Decades of being a hunter of Zotz and such a selfish notion still crept its way into her head.

I gave my life for Zotz and I will give him this one as well, she told herself firmly.

"Lord Zotz," she said aloud, and sensed the familiar presence of her god, "I give you this life!" She tore the rabbit's chest open with her black teeth, ripped out its heart as Itztli had done to her in the Upper World.

The light and sound lifted from the dead body and swirled in the air. Phoenix bit back a gasp of longing. It sang and glowed and pulsated before she heard an enormous inhalation from the earth itself, and Cama Zotz took the life for himself. There was no change, no chasm opening in the desert. The life simply seeped into the ground and was gone.

That was it. It did nothing. It was just not hers.

That didn't matter, she assured herself. She had died; it was natural. And above all, she was a servant of Zotz.

Over the years—decades, centuries—Phoenix kept hundreds of Pilgrims from the Tree and sacrificed one more creature, a mole whose burrow had crossed with a passage to the Underworld, for Zotz. In time she became one of the most feared and respected bats in the Underworld.

The land of the dead was a treacherous place. Some wanted to leave. Most were convinced they still lived. Few gained any sort of power.

Few, but some.

We all know she becomes chief builder, so I didn't write that in. Also, this will tie in to another story I have planned.