(A/N: Eh. Bad Me. My schoolbus didn't stop for Todd and me, so we didn't go to school. Yeah, and my parents went to Dallas with the baby today. So I get away with it. Liaranne, thanks for reviewing! But.what don't you understand? I'll try to clear it up here in a minute, but if you still got a question, ask it by all means. HINT: The soul energy thing is important to the last few chapters. Luthien, thanks for reviewing again. Sahere? He never was a Guardian. You can check out a bit more info on him on my website I created. I haven't finished it yet. It's www . geocities. yahoo. Com / shelly_juanita_2006 . Sorry about the format. )

(F.Y.I.)

The Sixteen Guardians:

Air- Faile, Fire- Meia, Water- Amaya, Earth- Sharina, Ice- Varun, Poison- Garion, Spirit- Bear, Light- Sera, Darkness- Daku, Time- Alina, Destiny- Adam, Life- Morai, Death- Kerry, Space- Maura, Luck- Loki, Thunder- Ryan a.k.a. Kaze

Chapter 20: Into the Guardian's Lair

(Todd) "I want to come, too!"

(Elfangor) {We will pose no hinderance. Please allow us to accompany you, Sharina.}

(Me) "Ooh, okay. Come on, Todd. You can ride on me." I began to morph phoenix. Elfangor and the others quickly morphed their respective bird morphs. When I was fully morphed, Todd climbed on my back.

(Me) {Hold on tight.}

I flapped my wings and soon we were soaring over the trees.

(Me) {We need to head northwest. We'll be there in about ten minutes.}

(Tobias) {But ten minutes puts us over the ocean.}

(Me) {To the untrained eye, it looks like ocean. There is an entrance there.}

We were silent until we arrived above the hidden door.

(Jake) {What now?}

(Me) {We descend.}

(Marco) {Umm, there's nothing here, Sharina.}

In answer to Marco's words, I opened my beak and sang the wild, haunting song of the phoenix. A small island crept upward out of the ocean.

(Me) {There's where we descend.}

(Marco) {..showoff...}

(Me) {Yep.}

We landed and demorphed. Rachel looked at me expectantly.

(Rachel) "So, where to now?"

(Iona) "To the center of the island."

(Me) "Correct. How did you know?"

(Iona) "I don't know."

(Elfangor) {Perhaps when you acquired Sharina, you received an amount of information.}

(Shiri) "Is that possible?"

(Me) "Yes, but it highly unusual."

(Elfangor) {It's most likely due to the fact that Iona is your daughter that she got the information, unless Shiri, Noshann, or Atujani also received this information.}

(Me) "Did anyone else get the info?"

(Shiri) "Not me."

(Noshann) {I did not receive anything other than your DNA.}

(Atujani) {Likewise.}

(Me) "I guess that settles that. Lead the way, Iona."

She nodded and proceeded to lead us directly to the entrance. At the entrance, she hesitated, and looked back at me. I nodded encouragingly. Iona turned back to face the stone entrance. She placed a trembling hand on the stone and it glowed for a moment. Then a crack appeared, and she took her hand away as it opened up to reveal a passage.

(Me) "Good job, Iona. Everyone, follow me please."

So, into the passage we went. It gradually became less primitive and more sophisticated as we neared the chambers where the Circle kept order. I stopped in front of two large oak doors that I knew opened into the main meeting room.

(Me) "Okay, here it is. Everyone ready?"

No one replyed, but I knew they where ready. I opened the door.