The New Phoenix
Rocky Oberlin
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: Not even Santa can give me the Ronin Warriors.
"Where was I? Oh, yes, I was telling you about the ceremony wasn't I?"
"Yes, why was the Protector so scared for the Phoenix?"
"Because he didn't know he was the Protector at the time. You'll see."
Mia was closeted with Windy and Anubis after she came home from the university that day. Ryo was on edge the whole time they were away. Cye tried to get him to eat dinner when Mia didn't come down, but Ryo just pushed the food around on the plate. Kento tried to joke with him, but received only a dirty look and a harsh reply. Sage and Rowen wisely kept out of his way, but Cale almost was launched into orbit for not getting away from Ryo quick enough after a snide comment. Ryo calmed down a little after Mia appeared with Anubis and Windy.
"Are you sure that you want to do this?" asked Ryo. "It's like our armors, once you accept them there's no going back."
"Ryo," said Mia. "This is a part of me. I have to do this or Tulpa will win."
Ryo tried to gain help from Anubis and Windy, but they shook their heads. "Mia's right Ryo. She must take up her post if Tulpa is going to be stopped," said Anubis.
Windy looked at him and then blinked her eyes. From one moment to the next her eyes changed from the dark blue to silver. Her next look at him seemed to go through him and she smiled tightly. Her eyes changed back to the blue color and she said, "We'll talk later." Windy moved past him to sit in front of the fireplace to read a book.
"Looks like Ryo's not the only one who likes fire," joked Kento.
"Watch it Kento," growled Ryo.
Windy didn't look up, but her reply was cool. "Just because I sit in front of the fire, doesn't mean that I am like Ryo. He bears the fire element's armor. I have a deeper understanding of a different element then fire, but by blood I can use fire for different uses. Don't mix them up." She hadn't even looked up from her book and when Rowen went to see what she was reading, he couldn't understand it. The writing looked far older then even the Seasonals and they didn't show that much of their age.
Mia showed the five new guests to their rooms for the night, but sat down on the couch behind Windy.
"Why doesn't Ryo want me to take on my responsibility?"
"He's afraid."
"Of what?"
Windy turned to the young phoenix. "That, unfortunately, is something that he must tell you. I have no right to say why."
The two sat in silence for a bit before Mia went up to her room she was sharing with Lady Kayura. "Will you be alright down here?"
Windy looked over her shoulder and smiled. "I should be fine. It will be the rest of the house that will have problems if they wake me too soon."
Mia laughed and went to bed light hearted for once. May be there will be a chance after all.
The next day found Cye quietly making breakfast again. The Seasonals saw Windy stretched out on the couch sleeping and quietly went into the kitchen. Sage and Ryo followed their example, but when Kento smelled breakfast, he came down loudly and hurriedly.
"Fooooood! Gimme, gimme, gimme!"
"Kento!"
"Hardrock!"
"Meatloaf."
Seven young men got out of the speaker's way as she advanced on the unfortunate Kento of Hardrock. He had stiffened at the tone and underlying threat of the name given to him and the other men saw the controlled fury in her eyes. Windy's eyes were not the dark blue or the strange silver, they were black, not from dilated pupils, but from the color changing once again to match the mood of the person.
Mia, Kayura, and Rowen came down in time to see Kento back away from the furious guest in white babbling about how sorry he was for waking her.
"You don't know how sorry you will be if I ever get my hands on you," threatened Windy in a low voice.
Kento looked for some help as he moved a little more quickly. "Ryo? Sage? Cye?"
"Sorry, you brought this on yourself," said Cye.
"Don't look at me," said Ryo.
"I'm not trying to stop her," added Sage.
"He woke you up didn't he?" asked Mia from the side.
"What gave you that idea?" asked Windy without turning her head from the cowering Kento.
"Oh, I would say the abject fear in his eyes explains it all," commented Rowen.
Windy turned to look at the fifth Ronin with a raised eyebrow. Kento took that as a means of escape and headed for the back door. Windy's face went from anger to laughter after he cleared the woods in back. The rest of the household gaped at the hysterically laughing woman.
"He will think twice before crossing me again," she laughed. "Don't you need to eat before you have to go to school?" she asked the Ronins.
Five people looked at the clock, gasped, grabbed a handy item from the table, and ran for the door. The four Ronins climbed into one car as Mia headed for her jeep. "See you after classes," she called.
"Bye," waved the Ronins as they hustled Kento into the back.
"See ya later," Windy called back. She turned to the five Nether Realm warriors. "I plan on trying to catch a little more sleep. Do what you want, but don't wake me unless there's fire or flood. I'll know if the last trumpet sounds." The Seasonals and the Dragon nodded their heads and left to find activities that would keep them from waking the sleeping woman. Too bad they couldn't use that against Tulpa; he would be defeated in minutes.
Mia almost rushed from her last class of the day. She was nervous and excited over what was going to happen that night. It wasn't something that her Grandfather knew about, so he didn't have anything on his computer to help her out. During her lunch, Mia had tried to find something about the four Guardians of Magic, but her search turned up nothing.
"That's because no one knew about the ceremony, not even the magic users that asked for the Guardians help," came a new voice.
Mia looked around, but only saw a young man looking over a shelf that had books on different kinds of dragons.
"Do you think that any of these books would have something on the Dreamweaver or the Librarian?" he asked.
"Who? I'm sorry, but did you ask me something?"
"Yes. I was wondering if you knew if any of these books would have a picture of the Dreamweaver or the Librarian. Or any information for that matter."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think so. I haven't even heard of a book on the Dreamweaver or Mr. Sias," said Mia.
"I'm not asking about the good man who takes care of these paltry few books, I'm talking about the dragon who has tomes from when man first began to write. Books of spells from dimensions that can only be imagined or touched in the sleeping mind."
"A dragon?"
"Yes. He is called the Librarian."
"I'm sorry again, but I've never heard of it either."
"The Librarian is not an it. The Librarian is a he." The young man looked insulted. "Like the Dreamweaver is a she. Actually they are cousins."
"I've never heard of either of them so I didn't know."
"Then you should ask the bailiff to explain them to you. Who knows, you may need their help one day. Besides, if they aren't in the mythology stacks, then why would the Guardians of Magic be here either?" The young man turned and left the row of stacks. When Mia tried to follow him, he had disappeared.
"Weird."
Windy was out practicing in the backyard when Mia came home. Cye looked up from the dinner he was making as asked, "Hard day?"
"No, same old, same old," said Mia, distractedly. "It's just I ran across someone who asked me something and said that I should talk to 'the bailiff' for the answers."
"Well, Windy said that she was the bailiff of the Court of Magic. May be he was talking about her."
"If he was, then how did he know about something that wasn't in any book in the library or the Internet? I searched all over during my breaks and found nothing."
"May be you should ask Lady Windy," said Anubis.
"Ask me what?" questioned Windy. She had just come in to clean up and help set the table. Ryo, Anubis, and Rowen wandered in to hear the tale end of the conversation and were interested as well.
"Who are the Dreamweaver and the Librarian? Some guy said that if they weren't in any books on mythology, then the Guardians of Magic wouldn't be either."
Windy looked thoughtful. "Can you describe him to me?" she asked.
"He was pale with really red hair. I didn't see his eyes, but he was wearing jeans and a black tee shirt with a wizard pointing a wand at a computer."
Windy laughed at that. "That little snot borrowed Dad's shirt," she chuckled. She looked at Mia. "Well, you just met the Librarian."
"He's the Librarian? But-"
"I thought Mr. Sais was the librarian at the university," said Sage.
"Welcome to the discussion," said Rowen. "We weren't talking about Mr. Sais, we were talking about a guy that Mia talked with in the library."
"Finding someone to go out with?" asked Cale as he, Kayura, and Seckmet walked in.
Ryo gave them a dirty look and Mia said, "No. We just talked and he disappeared." Mia turned back to Windy. "Now about my question."
"That young man that you met was the Librarian. He guards all the books and tomes that every dimension and realm ever produce. Once a book is made a copy appears in his shelves. You should be honored; he doesn't come out very often or offer to teach very many."
"So, who is the Dreamweaver then?" asked Rowen.
"A song?" joked Kento.
Windy shook her head. "No, she just liked the idea so she kept it. I think that someone from the seventies called her that once and she insisted that we all call her that. I don't mind; it's better then calling her 'Dragon' all the time."
"So what does she do?" asked Kayura.
"She protects the dreams of innocents and children. Sometimes she expands her sphere of influence to those who are in danger from evil forces," answered Anubis.
"How did you know that?" asked Seckmet.
"I met them after the war with Tulpa. Windy introduced them to me. They said something about cave hunting with me later." Windy laughed at the questioning look on Anubis' face.
"Ask later," she said. Windy rose from the table to shower and Ryo took care of the table. "Thanks for helping, Ryo," Windy said.
Ryo just shrugged his shoulders and smiled a little. He hoped that when time came, Mia would make the right decision. He planned on being there to make sure of that decision.
"So the Protector had planned on following her anyway, Grandma?"
"Yes. He loved the Phoenix and didn't want her to face what he had to those few years ago."
"Unfortunately, Guardian Phoenix was needed, so he had no say, right Mom?"
"Yes. Now hush, you wanted me to tell the story."
Dinner was tense and the evening was getting worse. Ryo kept looking at Mia, then at Anubis, then at Windy, then at the clock. When he saw the time he would start all over again. Anubis sat in a corner and meditated with the staff Kayura let him borrow and Mia looked over the homework turned in from that day. Windy was once again in front of the fireplace reading and he was sitting next to Mia trying to do his own homework. So far, no luck.
Rowen was up stairs finishing up his assignment while Sage meditated on his bed. A knock interrupted them both and Rowen answered the door. It was Cye and Kento looking grim and wanting to talk.
"Let's get down to business. I think that Ryo is worried about Mia fighting against Tulpa. He might try to do something that could interfere with what's going to happen," started Cye.
"I think so too, Cye, but how are we going to stop Ryo or Mia?" asked Rowen. "Ryo's our leader and Windy said that Mia has to step into her heritage."
"Well, we could always lock Ryo up in his room," offered Kento.
"Kento!" sputtered Cye.
"He may have something," said Sage. "If Ryo did try to stop Mia, then Tulpa will win. If what Windy says is true, then Mia must become the new Phoenix to solve the imbalance. Then we can deal with Tulpa."
"But lock up Ryo?" asked Cye. "If he found out that we did that, we could kiss his friendship good-bye."
"Not if we explained it to him tomorrow," said Rowen. "I'm sure that he will understand later."
Cye looked disapprovingly. "Then do it without me," he said. He left the room and went into his room. He hoped that he could get to Mia, Ryo, or Windy before the others could carry on their plan. "Good intentions pave the way to Hell," he muttered.
It was a half hour to midnight when Windy closed her book and nodded to Mia. The Seasonals had wandered up to their rooms for the night and Ryo had soon followed. Anubis slipped up stairs to return the Ancient's staff to the sleeping Kayura. When he returned, the three quietly left the house to enter the forest in back.
Ryo watched from his room and decided to follow. When he went to open his door, it was locked. He tried rattling it open, but it wouldn't open.
"Ryo," called a quiet voice. "We think that you should stay in your room tonight. We'll let you out in the morning."
"Sage," growled Ryo. "Let me out now."
"We can't buddy," said Kento. "Mia has to do this."
"If we are going to defeat Tulpa and keep it that way, Mia has to become the next Phoenix. We're sorry, Ryo," said Rowen.
Ryo narrowed his eyes. He had to get out. Something was calling him and he had to answer. Mia was moving further away and he wanted, no needed, to follow her. He had to make sure she was all right.
There was a scrape at his sliding door. On the deck Cye stood; he was working on the lock on the door and Ryo grew even angrier. So, even Cye was helping the others to keep him away from being with Mia.
"Ryo?" Cye called. He opened the door and slipped in. "I would say that it would be best if you climbed down the drainpipe. A jump might let the others know that you're out."
Ryo's anger faded. "Thanks Cye."
Cye smiled faintly. "I didn't agree with the others. Windy said that you were connected to Mia somehow when I spoke with her. Go on, they're almost gone."
Ryo gripped Cye's shoulder as he passed him and exited his room. At the corner of the deck, Ryo swung off the deck and climbed down the drainpipe like Cye suggested. White blaze lifted his head from the back porch and watched his companion run for the forest after the spirit, Dragon, and baby Phoenix. He rose to his feet and ran after him; when he was next to Ryo, White Blaze nudged him to get on. Ryo strattled the white tiger and they raced after the trio.
Ryo watched the three enter a glade and stopped the tiger at the edge. They hid in a line of bushes and watched the ceremony to bring the next Phoenix into her Guardianship. Windy had changed to a long skirted dress in complete white. Her white cord for Christmas hung down the front of her laced up front. Mia wore a similar dress, only it was in gold and scarlet. Anubis wore silver and green robes and was joined by a man in silver and white robes, the Unicorn Guardian, and another older man in scarlet, brown, and silver, the Griffon Guardian.
"Greetings, Dragon, Phoenix, bailiff. Are we set?" asked the Griffon Guardian.
Windy bowed to the elder Guardian. "All is ready from my end. It all depends on if Mia is ready."
Mia bowed her head and chewed on her lower lip. She looked up and said quietly, "I guess I'm ready. I don't feel like I'm really up to this though."
The Unicorn Guardian smiled and patted her shoulder. "No one ever feels like they're up to it." He grinned over to Windy. "When Mom gave me the Unicorn Guardianship, I didn't even think that I could fill her or the previous king's shoes. No one's complained too much since I took over though."
The Griffon Guardian looked at the new Guardians and said, "They have been doing a passable job so far. You will do well, child of my friend."
"Have the Griffon ever had a complaint against Uncle Bill?"
"Yes. He complains that Bill should take his job more seriously."
"That's because he's so stiff. He needs to lighten up."
"Bill, I know. But you do have to start being more serious about this job."
"Yes, Mom."
Sigh.
Rocky Oberlin
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: Not even Santa can give me the Ronin Warriors.
"Where was I? Oh, yes, I was telling you about the ceremony wasn't I?"
"Yes, why was the Protector so scared for the Phoenix?"
"Because he didn't know he was the Protector at the time. You'll see."
Mia was closeted with Windy and Anubis after she came home from the university that day. Ryo was on edge the whole time they were away. Cye tried to get him to eat dinner when Mia didn't come down, but Ryo just pushed the food around on the plate. Kento tried to joke with him, but received only a dirty look and a harsh reply. Sage and Rowen wisely kept out of his way, but Cale almost was launched into orbit for not getting away from Ryo quick enough after a snide comment. Ryo calmed down a little after Mia appeared with Anubis and Windy.
"Are you sure that you want to do this?" asked Ryo. "It's like our armors, once you accept them there's no going back."
"Ryo," said Mia. "This is a part of me. I have to do this or Tulpa will win."
Ryo tried to gain help from Anubis and Windy, but they shook their heads. "Mia's right Ryo. She must take up her post if Tulpa is going to be stopped," said Anubis.
Windy looked at him and then blinked her eyes. From one moment to the next her eyes changed from the dark blue to silver. Her next look at him seemed to go through him and she smiled tightly. Her eyes changed back to the blue color and she said, "We'll talk later." Windy moved past him to sit in front of the fireplace to read a book.
"Looks like Ryo's not the only one who likes fire," joked Kento.
"Watch it Kento," growled Ryo.
Windy didn't look up, but her reply was cool. "Just because I sit in front of the fire, doesn't mean that I am like Ryo. He bears the fire element's armor. I have a deeper understanding of a different element then fire, but by blood I can use fire for different uses. Don't mix them up." She hadn't even looked up from her book and when Rowen went to see what she was reading, he couldn't understand it. The writing looked far older then even the Seasonals and they didn't show that much of their age.
Mia showed the five new guests to their rooms for the night, but sat down on the couch behind Windy.
"Why doesn't Ryo want me to take on my responsibility?"
"He's afraid."
"Of what?"
Windy turned to the young phoenix. "That, unfortunately, is something that he must tell you. I have no right to say why."
The two sat in silence for a bit before Mia went up to her room she was sharing with Lady Kayura. "Will you be alright down here?"
Windy looked over her shoulder and smiled. "I should be fine. It will be the rest of the house that will have problems if they wake me too soon."
Mia laughed and went to bed light hearted for once. May be there will be a chance after all.
The next day found Cye quietly making breakfast again. The Seasonals saw Windy stretched out on the couch sleeping and quietly went into the kitchen. Sage and Ryo followed their example, but when Kento smelled breakfast, he came down loudly and hurriedly.
"Fooooood! Gimme, gimme, gimme!"
"Kento!"
"Hardrock!"
"Meatloaf."
Seven young men got out of the speaker's way as she advanced on the unfortunate Kento of Hardrock. He had stiffened at the tone and underlying threat of the name given to him and the other men saw the controlled fury in her eyes. Windy's eyes were not the dark blue or the strange silver, they were black, not from dilated pupils, but from the color changing once again to match the mood of the person.
Mia, Kayura, and Rowen came down in time to see Kento back away from the furious guest in white babbling about how sorry he was for waking her.
"You don't know how sorry you will be if I ever get my hands on you," threatened Windy in a low voice.
Kento looked for some help as he moved a little more quickly. "Ryo? Sage? Cye?"
"Sorry, you brought this on yourself," said Cye.
"Don't look at me," said Ryo.
"I'm not trying to stop her," added Sage.
"He woke you up didn't he?" asked Mia from the side.
"What gave you that idea?" asked Windy without turning her head from the cowering Kento.
"Oh, I would say the abject fear in his eyes explains it all," commented Rowen.
Windy turned to look at the fifth Ronin with a raised eyebrow. Kento took that as a means of escape and headed for the back door. Windy's face went from anger to laughter after he cleared the woods in back. The rest of the household gaped at the hysterically laughing woman.
"He will think twice before crossing me again," she laughed. "Don't you need to eat before you have to go to school?" she asked the Ronins.
Five people looked at the clock, gasped, grabbed a handy item from the table, and ran for the door. The four Ronins climbed into one car as Mia headed for her jeep. "See you after classes," she called.
"Bye," waved the Ronins as they hustled Kento into the back.
"See ya later," Windy called back. She turned to the five Nether Realm warriors. "I plan on trying to catch a little more sleep. Do what you want, but don't wake me unless there's fire or flood. I'll know if the last trumpet sounds." The Seasonals and the Dragon nodded their heads and left to find activities that would keep them from waking the sleeping woman. Too bad they couldn't use that against Tulpa; he would be defeated in minutes.
Mia almost rushed from her last class of the day. She was nervous and excited over what was going to happen that night. It wasn't something that her Grandfather knew about, so he didn't have anything on his computer to help her out. During her lunch, Mia had tried to find something about the four Guardians of Magic, but her search turned up nothing.
"That's because no one knew about the ceremony, not even the magic users that asked for the Guardians help," came a new voice.
Mia looked around, but only saw a young man looking over a shelf that had books on different kinds of dragons.
"Do you think that any of these books would have something on the Dreamweaver or the Librarian?" he asked.
"Who? I'm sorry, but did you ask me something?"
"Yes. I was wondering if you knew if any of these books would have a picture of the Dreamweaver or the Librarian. Or any information for that matter."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think so. I haven't even heard of a book on the Dreamweaver or Mr. Sias," said Mia.
"I'm not asking about the good man who takes care of these paltry few books, I'm talking about the dragon who has tomes from when man first began to write. Books of spells from dimensions that can only be imagined or touched in the sleeping mind."
"A dragon?"
"Yes. He is called the Librarian."
"I'm sorry again, but I've never heard of it either."
"The Librarian is not an it. The Librarian is a he." The young man looked insulted. "Like the Dreamweaver is a she. Actually they are cousins."
"I've never heard of either of them so I didn't know."
"Then you should ask the bailiff to explain them to you. Who knows, you may need their help one day. Besides, if they aren't in the mythology stacks, then why would the Guardians of Magic be here either?" The young man turned and left the row of stacks. When Mia tried to follow him, he had disappeared.
"Weird."
Windy was out practicing in the backyard when Mia came home. Cye looked up from the dinner he was making as asked, "Hard day?"
"No, same old, same old," said Mia, distractedly. "It's just I ran across someone who asked me something and said that I should talk to 'the bailiff' for the answers."
"Well, Windy said that she was the bailiff of the Court of Magic. May be he was talking about her."
"If he was, then how did he know about something that wasn't in any book in the library or the Internet? I searched all over during my breaks and found nothing."
"May be you should ask Lady Windy," said Anubis.
"Ask me what?" questioned Windy. She had just come in to clean up and help set the table. Ryo, Anubis, and Rowen wandered in to hear the tale end of the conversation and were interested as well.
"Who are the Dreamweaver and the Librarian? Some guy said that if they weren't in any books on mythology, then the Guardians of Magic wouldn't be either."
Windy looked thoughtful. "Can you describe him to me?" she asked.
"He was pale with really red hair. I didn't see his eyes, but he was wearing jeans and a black tee shirt with a wizard pointing a wand at a computer."
Windy laughed at that. "That little snot borrowed Dad's shirt," she chuckled. She looked at Mia. "Well, you just met the Librarian."
"He's the Librarian? But-"
"I thought Mr. Sais was the librarian at the university," said Sage.
"Welcome to the discussion," said Rowen. "We weren't talking about Mr. Sais, we were talking about a guy that Mia talked with in the library."
"Finding someone to go out with?" asked Cale as he, Kayura, and Seckmet walked in.
Ryo gave them a dirty look and Mia said, "No. We just talked and he disappeared." Mia turned back to Windy. "Now about my question."
"That young man that you met was the Librarian. He guards all the books and tomes that every dimension and realm ever produce. Once a book is made a copy appears in his shelves. You should be honored; he doesn't come out very often or offer to teach very many."
"So, who is the Dreamweaver then?" asked Rowen.
"A song?" joked Kento.
Windy shook her head. "No, she just liked the idea so she kept it. I think that someone from the seventies called her that once and she insisted that we all call her that. I don't mind; it's better then calling her 'Dragon' all the time."
"So what does she do?" asked Kayura.
"She protects the dreams of innocents and children. Sometimes she expands her sphere of influence to those who are in danger from evil forces," answered Anubis.
"How did you know that?" asked Seckmet.
"I met them after the war with Tulpa. Windy introduced them to me. They said something about cave hunting with me later." Windy laughed at the questioning look on Anubis' face.
"Ask later," she said. Windy rose from the table to shower and Ryo took care of the table. "Thanks for helping, Ryo," Windy said.
Ryo just shrugged his shoulders and smiled a little. He hoped that when time came, Mia would make the right decision. He planned on being there to make sure of that decision.
"So the Protector had planned on following her anyway, Grandma?"
"Yes. He loved the Phoenix and didn't want her to face what he had to those few years ago."
"Unfortunately, Guardian Phoenix was needed, so he had no say, right Mom?"
"Yes. Now hush, you wanted me to tell the story."
Dinner was tense and the evening was getting worse. Ryo kept looking at Mia, then at Anubis, then at Windy, then at the clock. When he saw the time he would start all over again. Anubis sat in a corner and meditated with the staff Kayura let him borrow and Mia looked over the homework turned in from that day. Windy was once again in front of the fireplace reading and he was sitting next to Mia trying to do his own homework. So far, no luck.
Rowen was up stairs finishing up his assignment while Sage meditated on his bed. A knock interrupted them both and Rowen answered the door. It was Cye and Kento looking grim and wanting to talk.
"Let's get down to business. I think that Ryo is worried about Mia fighting against Tulpa. He might try to do something that could interfere with what's going to happen," started Cye.
"I think so too, Cye, but how are we going to stop Ryo or Mia?" asked Rowen. "Ryo's our leader and Windy said that Mia has to step into her heritage."
"Well, we could always lock Ryo up in his room," offered Kento.
"Kento!" sputtered Cye.
"He may have something," said Sage. "If Ryo did try to stop Mia, then Tulpa will win. If what Windy says is true, then Mia must become the new Phoenix to solve the imbalance. Then we can deal with Tulpa."
"But lock up Ryo?" asked Cye. "If he found out that we did that, we could kiss his friendship good-bye."
"Not if we explained it to him tomorrow," said Rowen. "I'm sure that he will understand later."
Cye looked disapprovingly. "Then do it without me," he said. He left the room and went into his room. He hoped that he could get to Mia, Ryo, or Windy before the others could carry on their plan. "Good intentions pave the way to Hell," he muttered.
It was a half hour to midnight when Windy closed her book and nodded to Mia. The Seasonals had wandered up to their rooms for the night and Ryo had soon followed. Anubis slipped up stairs to return the Ancient's staff to the sleeping Kayura. When he returned, the three quietly left the house to enter the forest in back.
Ryo watched from his room and decided to follow. When he went to open his door, it was locked. He tried rattling it open, but it wouldn't open.
"Ryo," called a quiet voice. "We think that you should stay in your room tonight. We'll let you out in the morning."
"Sage," growled Ryo. "Let me out now."
"We can't buddy," said Kento. "Mia has to do this."
"If we are going to defeat Tulpa and keep it that way, Mia has to become the next Phoenix. We're sorry, Ryo," said Rowen.
Ryo narrowed his eyes. He had to get out. Something was calling him and he had to answer. Mia was moving further away and he wanted, no needed, to follow her. He had to make sure she was all right.
There was a scrape at his sliding door. On the deck Cye stood; he was working on the lock on the door and Ryo grew even angrier. So, even Cye was helping the others to keep him away from being with Mia.
"Ryo?" Cye called. He opened the door and slipped in. "I would say that it would be best if you climbed down the drainpipe. A jump might let the others know that you're out."
Ryo's anger faded. "Thanks Cye."
Cye smiled faintly. "I didn't agree with the others. Windy said that you were connected to Mia somehow when I spoke with her. Go on, they're almost gone."
Ryo gripped Cye's shoulder as he passed him and exited his room. At the corner of the deck, Ryo swung off the deck and climbed down the drainpipe like Cye suggested. White blaze lifted his head from the back porch and watched his companion run for the forest after the spirit, Dragon, and baby Phoenix. He rose to his feet and ran after him; when he was next to Ryo, White Blaze nudged him to get on. Ryo strattled the white tiger and they raced after the trio.
Ryo watched the three enter a glade and stopped the tiger at the edge. They hid in a line of bushes and watched the ceremony to bring the next Phoenix into her Guardianship. Windy had changed to a long skirted dress in complete white. Her white cord for Christmas hung down the front of her laced up front. Mia wore a similar dress, only it was in gold and scarlet. Anubis wore silver and green robes and was joined by a man in silver and white robes, the Unicorn Guardian, and another older man in scarlet, brown, and silver, the Griffon Guardian.
"Greetings, Dragon, Phoenix, bailiff. Are we set?" asked the Griffon Guardian.
Windy bowed to the elder Guardian. "All is ready from my end. It all depends on if Mia is ready."
Mia bowed her head and chewed on her lower lip. She looked up and said quietly, "I guess I'm ready. I don't feel like I'm really up to this though."
The Unicorn Guardian smiled and patted her shoulder. "No one ever feels like they're up to it." He grinned over to Windy. "When Mom gave me the Unicorn Guardianship, I didn't even think that I could fill her or the previous king's shoes. No one's complained too much since I took over though."
The Griffon Guardian looked at the new Guardians and said, "They have been doing a passable job so far. You will do well, child of my friend."
"Have the Griffon ever had a complaint against Uncle Bill?"
"Yes. He complains that Bill should take his job more seriously."
"That's because he's so stiff. He needs to lighten up."
"Bill, I know. But you do have to start being more serious about this job."
"Yes, Mom."
Sigh.