Excerpt: Hunting The Pheonix

Marisil unlocked the large, ornate wooden door and walked into the house. She stepped up the stairs, disrobing as she went. Marisil didn't need to worry about anyone seeing, as everyone else who lived there should have been at work or school, and so she was completely naked by the time she reached the send floor. She turned to the right, her long black hair flowing freely behind her. Marisil opened her bedroom door and stepped in, stopped only to grab a towel from the drawer. She opened a second door, which lead to a large bathroom that was, curiously enough, devoid of a toilet. This was literally just a bathroom; it contained a hand basin, a mirror and a large, deep bath tub that Marisil could stretch out fully in, even when her boyfriend, Alandre, joined her. She turned on the water and picked up a hairbrush, proceeding to brush out her hair while the tub filled with hot water. Marisil opened a cupboard underneath the hand basin and pulled a chocolate scented bath bomb out of a small brown paper bag. She dropped it in the water and watched it dissolve as steam rose form the tub. Marisil smiled, turned off the water, and sank into the bath. It had been a long time since she'd had time to truly pamper herself, and she fully intended to take advantage of the opportunity. Marisil sighed contentedly and closed her eyes. Just for a moment, she thought, but soon enough, the young woman fell asleep.

Marisil opened her eyes to find herself in a forest, surrounded by trees. She looked around, and then looked down to make sure she was clothed. Thank goodness, she was. She sighed in relief and began walking. It was night time, and occasionally she could hear an owl call in the distance. It was kind of peaceful, but Marisil knew in the back of her mind that soon enough, something was bound to happen. And happen it did.

There was a loud shriek to her right, and a flash of light as something in the distance burst into flame. She ran towards the source of the commotion, wondering what had just happened. Marisil had already figured out this was a dream, and she probably, therefore, could not get seriously hurt. Soon she came upon a burning village, dark figures that didn't quite look human running around, striking down the more human looking figures struggling to flee from their burning homes. Marisil jumped when something hit her back. "What the heck?" she asked startled. Marisil turned quickly, just in time to see a small child climb to her feet and try to run away. The child was a girl, no more than four or five years old, with burgundy collared hair...though the red tint could in fact have been an optical illusion caused by the fire that now surrounded them. Marisil took the little girl by the arm. "Hey, I don't know who you are or how I know this, but I am here to rescue you. Please come with me. I'm going to get you out of here."

The little girl looked at Marisil fearfully, and then nodded. Marisil took the child in her arms and started running, as fast as she possibly could, back the way she had come. She ran until finally, her legs gave out. Exhausted, she put the little girl down. "What's your name?" She asked.

"My name's Anselle. What's yours?"

"My name is Marisil. Can you tell me what happened?"

"The vampires attacked my village. I don't know what they want but I think my mama had it, because the Vampire Priest wanted to talk to her. But Mama didn't give it to the Vampire Priest so they killed her and started attacking the village. Thank you for rescuing me." the little girl said all this so mater of factly that Marisil had trouble believing the child was telling the truth, but she had definitely seen the vampires and they were definitely burning down the village, so she had no choice but to believe her.

"Where did the vampires come from?" Marisil asked. "And why am I being shown this dream?"

"This isn’t a dream." Anselle replied. This is real. And when you leave I'm not going to remember how I got out of the village. But it's a warning for you, that you have to be careful and you have to hurry up and find out the truth about your past, Marisil. You're going to have to find the Phoenix."

"The phoenix? What does a mythical fire bird have to do with things?" Marisil looked at the little girl, convinced that one or both of them were crazy.

"The Phoenix is not a bird. You'll see." Anselle smiled. "Now you have to go back home. Have fun Marisil. And good luck with your quest. Make sure you do it. It's important to you. And I'll be watching you. I owe you my life after all. And you owe me yours in a way. Good bye."

"Wait!" Marisil shouted, reaching toward the girl as the forest grew fainter. "I want to know more! How do I owe you my life, I've never met you!"

"Yes you have, you just don't know it yet!" Anselle giggled before the forest disappeared completely.

Marisil jumped, startled out of her sleep. She looked around at the empty room, then sighed and leaned back. That was weird. She went to run her hand through her hair, but stopped short, noticing a pendant she had never seen before looped around her wrist and over her right hand. She unwrapped the object from her arm and examined it. It was actually three pendants in one: A heart, a star, and a crescent moon on three different lengths of black silk ribbon, a silver clasp in back holding the three peices of ribbon together at each end and allowing the necklace to be clipped around the wearer's neck. The crescent moon pendant was made of a bright, delicate silver, the star was silver and inlaid with tiny diamonds, and the heart was a brilliant, flawless red ruby mounted in a silver casing. Marisil stared at it for a long time, before realizing that she had somehow gotten it from the little girl in her dream.