The King Of Birds

That's also why mero's breath is rare in the market. It's not worth spending a day each way just for the one plant."

  "I can see why. This mountain seems to never end."

  "They're all like this. Up and up and up. But the views back down to where you came from make it worth the time. And besides, you can't tell me you haven't enjoyed following behind me and watching me ride."

  Cassian opened his mouth to protest, but instead found himself saying, "In that case I hope the ride lasts several more days."

  Sera laughed and threw her apple core at him. She was back to her normal self it seemed.

  "I've pushed us hard today, in truth. I would like to find the flowers we need and make camp early. It will be cold tonight, and we need shelter and a fire. And sleep, we need to sleep long and hard tonight."

  Cassian wasn't sure if he should blush at that or not.

  He helped her back onto her horse. She didn't need his aid, but neither of them cared.

  A short time later they reached the top of the pass. They looked at a forested valley a short way below them. It was surrounded on three sides by tall rock walls, with the fourth side holding the pass they were using to enter. The forest looked quite dense, which was surprising for this altitude.

  "We'll find mero's breath at the base of the northern wall there. We should be able to harvest plenty in no time at all."

  They rode down the path into the valley, and then as they reached the forest they veered to the north, along the base of the wall.

  Not fifteen minutes into their search, they found a small clearing filled with the small purple flowers they had come to find. Cassian was thrilled.

  "This is more than we can use in 10 seasons! Better than I'd ever hoped! And I've never seen them so fresh."

  "No, you've always seen them at least 2 days old. Which they will be by the time we get them back to the city." Sera did have a point.

  "I thought of that," he said, "I brought some of my laboratory supplies so that I could prepare some of their essences here on site. I'll just need a flat hard surface for a couple of hours."

  "I bet," she laughed.

  "That as well. But first, the flowers."

  "They always say that," she stage-muttered to herself.

  While Cassian eagerly gathered his harvest from the field, carefully selecting each bud before he picked it, Sera led the horses to a small pond on the edge of the clearing and began to cook a warm supper for them both. There was still at least a few hours of daylight, but she wanted to be in a shelter before the sun went down.

  Once he had collected enough mero's breath for several seasons, including those he planned to process immediately, Cassian began looking for a place to begin his work. He found a small cave nearby, behind a large dead tree. It went about thirty feet into the rock wall and was tall enough for the horses. There were the remnants of a couple of small fires, making it obvious this was the area's favored campsite. Best of all, the cave had several large flat stone shelves along the walls. From the look if it, that was where people slept, but Cassian swept away the leaves they had used for padding and set up his materials to begin processing.

  Sera brought their dinner over to the cave, and they ate outside, sitting on the roots of the tall dead tree. Cassian was happy with his harvest, and pleased with his company.

  "Once we get settled into the cave, I'll show you how we prepare the mero's breath essence. It's a simple process, but similar to one we use for many flowers of this type." He lapsed into alchemist jargon as he explained the steps, but Sera listened with interest and asked questions when she wanted clarification. She understood much of the process, but the exact details were new to her.

  They finished their meal, and with warm full bellies, they went into the cave to begin processing the flowers. Sera proved an able assistant, and by the time the sun set an hour later, they had filled all the vials Cassian had brought with him. Cassian enjoyed working by her side, and guided her hands through the processes more than was strictly required.

  The cave smelled like sweet flowers, with a slight tang from stems they had crushed with the mortar and pestle. They looked at one another, tired from their long day's work but happy with each other's company.

  "Time for bed," she said. "We'll need to keep warm tonight, here in the mountains. Sleep under my blanket with me. Our heat should keep away the chill."

  He put up no argument.

 

 

 

 

  Afterward, as they lay naked and happy in each other's arms, they began to drift on the edge of sleep. Half-asleep, Cassian thought he heard a song, the most mournful song that had ever been sung. It tugged at his heart so strongly that he thought he must be dreaming it.

  "Cassian!" Sera was shaking him. He turned to her. She was sitting up, staring out of the cave at the dead tree just outside. The tree glowed, as if the top were on fire.

  And that song continued, he hadn't dreamed it, and it was even more heart-rending than he'd thought. He realized it was a birdsong, but one unlike anything he'd heard before. It was full of regret and sadness, of longing and of loss.

  He knew what he would see when he looked up at the top of the tree. He knew now that it was an urosh tree, and that song came from a phoenix. But he was not prepared for the beauty of the bird. It dazzled him.

  The bird was large, not much smaller than Sera. It was covered in feathers of the most vivid oranges and reds and yellows. When the phoenix spread its wings, which seemed to stretch 20 feet or more, light cascaded from them, a shocking collection of colors so sharp and so bright that Cassian was not sure the bird was not actually on fire.

  Sera stood next to him, the two of them naked in the mouth of the cave, staring up at the tree, at the magnificent bird. Their eyes were entranced by the sight, their hearts torn by the sound.

  Cassian saw a lone black feather in its tail, in stark contrast to the bright colors around it. It looked like the void itself next to them.

  Just as the bird's song reached its most despairing note, the black feather fell loose. It slowly fluttered to the ground just out of Cassian's reach.

  When it touched the rocky surface, the bird's song suddenly stopped.

  They stood in the silence for a moment, the forest as still as any forest has ever been. Then Cassian looked back up at the phoenix.

  "Sera! Get your feather! NOW!"

  He lunged for the black feather that had fallen to the earth and scooped it up. A moment after he did, he felt the heat from the first flames.

  Sera had not hesitated. She too knew what was happening. She had her feather and was jumping to the horses inside the cave.

  The flames engulfed the cave entrance, but with Cassian standing there holding the feather, they did not enter the cave itself. He still felt the heat, and it was getting hotter. He moved back to stand next to Sera and her feather, and with her own magic concentrating the power of the feathers, they held the inferno at bay.

  He could not look up at the bird, the white light of the flames there was too intense. He could see that the tree, though, was not burning. It would not burn, it was an urosh. But he could see the other trees of the forest burning. He heard them pop in the flames that engulfed them. Steam rose from where the pond had been, and the field of mero's breath was nothing but ash. Still the flames grew brighter and higher and the heat more intense.

  The entire valley was on fire now, but still the black feathers protected them. They stood naked together, embracing each other with the feathers held in front of them. They watched the trees near them crumble into glowing embers, and they heard a terrible wind swirling around the conflagration.

  Suddenly the brightest flames were gone, though the forest fire raged on. The phoenix was gone, consumed in its own heat. No, not consumed. Transformed. At the base of the urosh tree was a large jewel-like egg. It shone in the reflection of the flames around it, its surface shiny and hard.


  The worst was over, but they still could not leave the cave. The fires would burn until they consumed everything in the valley, it would be hours even at the rate they were going. They were protected from the flames, but the horses would not be, and none of them would be safe from the toppling trees. They stared at the egg, Cassian thinking it looked like the hard obsidian glass he had once seen, brought to the laboratory from a distant volcano.

  He thought back on the legends he had read. "It will hatch at dawn," he said. "Then the bird will be renewed for the next century, until it comes here again to cleanse itself with fire once more."

  "Unless these fires burn out quickly, we'll still be here for that."

  "We should be safe, the legends never say anything about the phoenix attacking anyone. "

  They returned to the broad stone where they had made their bed and attempted to sleep. Sleep did not come easily, but eventually the comfort of each other's arms and the fatigue of the events of the day came over them and they drifted off, resting deeper than either would have thought possible.

  They awoke the next morning just as the sun began to creep into the cave. As soon as they were aware they were awake, their eyes went to the egg. Cracks had appeared in its surface, hairline cracks at first, but rapidly thickening as the sun rose higher.

  Cassian went and stood at the cave entrance. The fires had nearly burned themselves out, the valley floor now full of ash and crackling embers. The egg itself was surrounded by the remnants of the tree