Chapter 17
Phoenix
The next morning I wake up with Lucius wrapped around me. We had fallen asleep in that clearing after making love that night. I smile at his sleeping face. It had been absolutely wonderful.
Lightly I kiss his nose. "Wake up sleeping beauty."
His eyes flutter open. When he sees me he breaks out in a huge grin. "Morning to you too beautiful."
I blush at the compliment. I was so happy that he had understood about James; he had felt really bad and went to his cabin right after Lucius had left.
"We should go get breakfast." I say without moving.
"We should." He repeats.
Then he leans over and kisses me passionately on the lips. "I love you. Thank you for last night."
I smile. "The pleasure's all mine."
We get up and dress, taking long glances at the other. Finally we're dressed and we walk through the woods holding hands. We are not prepared at all for what we find.
The rain is coming down harder than ever. The wind is blowing up a storm, and it's almost impossible to see.
We glance at each other and then run to the main cabin.
When we enter, we're both soaking wet to the bone and are shivering like phones on vibrate. Chiron sees us and wheels over.
"What are you two doing here? Every camper has been told to stay in their cabin because of the harsh weather."
He frowns and looks at us suspiciously. I blush deeply but Lucius comes to my rescue. "We were practicing with our swords. We didn't hear the announcement."
Chiron narrows his eyes at us. he doesn't seem to believe us, but he goes along with it. "I'd tell you two to go back to your cabin, but I don't want you out in that gale again."
He beckons with his hand. "Come, I'll get you some fresh clothes and get a hot meal into the two of you."
That sounded amazing. We go with him.
An hour later the three of us are sitting in the main room of the cabin after taking a nice hot shower and receiving new clothes.
Lucius and I are sipping on hot chocolate after eating and Chiron sits beside us, reading a magazine.
I look at him from over my drink. "Chiron, is there a god of the rain?"
He puts down his book. "I don't believe so. Why do you ask?"
I clutch my cup in my hands. I'm sitting on a couch next to Lucius, and it feels good to have him close to me. "Well, do you think it's possible that a god could be responsible for this weather?"
Chiron leans closer. "How much do you know about the weather right now?"
"Other than what is going on at the camp right now…nothing."
He snorts and leans back. "Nevertheless, I think you're right. And I think it has something to do with the two of you."
"Us?" Lucius and I both say.
Chiron sighs. "Elements destruction over unneeded confusion. Sound familiar?"
"The prophecy." I whisper.
He nods. "All over the world, the elements have been going crazy. Not just here. The snow is melting in the Arctic and Antarctica. About half of the active volcanoes in the world are erupting. In Hawaii and other tropical vacation spots, they're having hail and snow storms."
"To storm or fire, the world must fall." Lucius whispers beside me.
My stomach ache comes back full force. I nearly hurled right on my shoes, but I managed to keep it in.
Chiron nods. "And that's not all. All over the world, not a single person has seen the sun or the moon in almost eight days."
I rise to my feet. Without a word, I run to the bathroom and throw up in the toilet. My stomach empties itself of all the food I'd just eaten as well as whatever liquids still remained in my stomach.
Lucius comes up behind me and rubs my back gently. It was really comforting. I stand up and wipe my mouth with a cloth.
"Sorry." I whisper.
"It's okay." He says back. "I almost threw up too."
"But you didn't." I grumble as we head back to Chiron.
He looks at me in worry. "Are you okay Phoenix?"
I nod my head. "I think so."
He gives me a thoughtful look. "Maybe you should finish your hot chocolate."
Lucius passes it to me. I cuddle into a pillow on the couch and sip at my drink. No one speaks until I finish it.
I place it on a table. Then I look at Chiron and smile slightly. "It was great hot chocolate."
"You feel okay?" Chiron asks.
"Yeah actually I-" I stop in the middle of my sentence as I convulse, lean over and throw up on the carpet.
Lucius gently grabs my hair and holds it behind me as I throw up. He rubs my back again and after a few minutes, I stop feeling like I'm about to throw up.
I lean back into the couch, both Chiron and Lucius looking at me in worry. I laugh to try and ease their fears. "That's what I get for staying in the rain too long."
Neither of them seems to buy it. They make me lie down on the couch, and Lucius puts a blanket over me.
I spend the rest of the day sleeping on the couch, waking up every now and then to throw up in a bucket that Chiron had placed out. Lucius stayed by my side all day.
Night came around and the rain still hadn't let up. In fact, it only got worse. I hear dull thunks on the roof. Chiron informed us that it was now hailing.
I groan. My stomach hurt really badly. Worse than it's ever hurt before in my life. I seriously wonder what was wrong with me. It couldn't have been something I ate because then both Chiron and Lucius would be sick too. And it couldn't be that I was in the rain too long. Then I would have a fever not stomach pain.
But what had I done that no one else had?
