is the first lesson,” she whispered to him. “Close your eyes.”
He did so and held out his hand. She made the tiniest cut she could. His muscles were rigid as stone as she collected drops of blood into the bowl. Then with a whisper, she bound hers and Ember’s wounds. Fenix’s healed on its own a moment after she’d sliced him.
Mooriah closed her eyes and invoked the spell, banishing Fenix from entering the Mother again. To her surprise, Ember added to it, including words to banish all his kind. Her eyes opened in shock. Would that mean her father could not enter as well? He was an Earthsinger, too. But Ember spoke the words of closing and the blood in the bowl shimmered and hardened, forming a caldera which floated up and then back toward the tunnel entrance. It would embed itself in the rock there and become a permanent part of the mountain.
“It is done,” she said.
Ember nodded and turned to Fenix. “Safe travels to you.” He bowed.
Fenix raised a brow, a smile playing at his lips. He seemed amused by Ember’s stiff formality.
Ember nodded at Yllis before turning to Mooriah. “I will see you later?”
“Yes, I will find you when I return.”
His gaze held hers for a long moment as if he was trying to communicate something, though she wasn’t sure what. Then he turned and walked back to the tunnel. She watched him until he disappeared into the darkness, then found Fenix looking at her, his golden eyes swirling. His skin also had taken on more than just a healthy glow. It seemed to be shining with some kind of inner light.
It was such a strange effect that she stared for several moments. “Did you know that you are…” She motioned to his body. “…radiating?”
He looked down and smiled ruefully. His skin dimmed somewhat but was still oddly luminous. “I still have not grown used to holding this form.”
She blinked rapidly. “What form do you usually hold?”
He grinned before his body practically exploded into light. She stumbled backward and her father caught her as Fenix transformed. He was like a star come to life. He bobbed and weaved and then took on a human form again. This time, the tunic and trousers he wore were spotless. She noticed now they were of a material she’d never seen before. Had he manifested them with his power?
“You are not an Earthsinger,” she said, awe in her voice.
“I use Earthsong, but I am not a Singer in the way that those born here are.”
Yllis still had his arm around her. He peered at Fenix, tilting his head. “You are an observer? Sent from the remnant of the Founders’ people?”
Fenix nodded.
“The Founders?” Mooriah asked.
“Do you recall the stories I told you of the origin of the Earthsingers?” Yllis asked.
She had listened to every word her father had ever spoken on his rare visits, committing them to memory. “A magical Lord and Lady from a distant land arrived here. They had great power and transformed the desert into farmland. They had nine children who found husbands and wives among the first of the Folk who left the Mother.”
“My great-grandmother was one of those nine.”
His family tree—hers as well—was of great interest to her. The children of the unions between the nine children of the Founders and the Cavefolk were born either Singers or Silent—one sibling could have magic while another would not. And these differences were the root cause of the war that had raged before her birth.
She could understand the jealousy of those who could not wield Earthsong. Any of them could learn to use blood magic if they chose, but after the Folk left the Mother to become Outsiders, they lost the old ways for the most part. And so they fought the sorcerers—sometimes their own brothers and sisters. Meanwhile, inside the mountain, clans fought for far pettier reasons.
“What were you sent here to observe?” Mooriah asked. “You never said.”
Fenix spread his arms. “This land. Your ancestors settled here from my world and found safety and hospitality. There are those where I’m from who keep track of such things in case a need for another exodus comes to pass. Our world was destroyed, and our people scattered. If any of us find ourselves displaced once again, victims of another calamity, it is helpful to know where we might find refuge.”
“Another calamity? What happened?”
His all over glow dimmed even further. “That is a long, sad story. One for another time.”