The Phoenix: A New Dawn

The sweet scent of roses and Melissa wafted in through the open window mixing with the wood smoke that was starting to fill the bed chamber.

Carolyn lay sleeping as the sun started to rise over the misty moors that surrounded the castle, keeping it safe from invaders and her dreams sweet.

In the chambers far below the main structure, Christian sat in a dimly lit room swilling from his goblet the fresh warmth that had just been brought to him by his servant. His steely blue eyes followed the candle flame as the heavy wooden door creaked open.

A young girl with dark brown hair and eyes to match was roughly pushed through its opening sending her to land on her knees at his feet.

She wore the tattered rags of a homeless child, not more than seventeen years in age. Her hair had been partially cut short in a rage and there wasn't an inch of her body that wasn't covered in mud or other wastes.

Casandra walked in behind the girl dressed in her tan-coloured hunting breaches, matching soft riding boots and a white tunic that was held tightly in place by a wide brown belt with three heavy buckles. She had pulled her hair into a high braid that had slipped over her shoulder.

She smiled at him as she closed the door making her way over to her lover, her golden eyes glowing with pride.

"I found this one begging for coin in the street."

The small girl with the tattered rags coward and trembled on the cold stone floor praying for her survival at the hands of her captors.

Christian held Casandra's hand kissing it lovingly as he washed a look of contentment over the girl as he considered what to do with her next.

"Why this one?" He reached out a hand grabbing a fist full of lovely brown hair pulling her closer to his face so she was eye to eye.

The girls' knees scraped against the stone causing them to bleed and her to wince in pain from both the rough handling and fear.

Christian looked her over carefully as he took in her figure admiring it and taking note that it held similar features to that of his beloved wife and his Mistress.

He lowered his free hand to allow his fingertips to gently graze across the soft flesh of her neck feeling the warmth that lay just beneath the surface, strong and full of adrenaline.

His eyes caught hers, the fear of a wild animal that stared back at him amused his senses. This one would be a fighter, but easily manipulated to do his bidding.

Casandra slid a slender hand down the front of his opened tunic as she leaned in closer to his ear, her words purring like soft warm milk as her own eyes fell over the scared little mouse he held.

"Her mother was a seer, a very powerful one from what I was told." She ran her fingers through his hair as she placed a soft kiss to his temple, his eyes never moving from his caught pray.

"The townspeople were losing cattle and decided to blame her. She was burned at the stake a few days ago."

Christian smirked as his fingers continued to trace the girl's face, "Let me guess, the mother wasn't the seer it was her child."

Casandra moved to pull the girl up by her arm, dangling her like a piece of meat before her Master.

"Her Mother was a very powerful seer, her child was gifted with something better."

He sat back in his chair one leg stretched out as he rested one hand on his hip the other stroked his week-old stubble as he waited for his dragon lady to finish her riddle.

Casandra smiled at him as she forced the girl to sit in his lap, allowing him to draw her in closer to his chest as his hands fell in inappropriate ways.

"What is your name child?" Christian's fingers tangled between strands of brown locks, his eyes dancing a shining blue as they started to glow.

"Morgan." The terrified girl squeaked her name as she trembled even harder now knowing her end would be soon.

"She has the power to keep the Phoenix in check for now and in the future."

Christian's smile widened with the news, "This is excellent news. Tell me Morgan, have you ever considered a life of forever?"

Her two captors giggled as fangs slowly started to emerge from Christian's mouth causing Morgan to scream as the demon that he truly was began to emerge draining her very life's essence.

********

Christian awoke to a waning moon sending its light cascading across his highly polished marble floor.

He looked over at his dragon lady taking note of how quickly their spawn was growing in her womb. It had only been a few weeks since she had told him he would be a father and now his dreams were starting to fall into place.

Christian pushed off the silk bed sheets letting his feet gently glide across the cool marble floor as he reached for his robe and made his way out of the bedchamber and down the many flights of stairs.

The office building had been empty for hours, only certain hall lights were left on as he made his way down to the lab in the lower levels to read once again the computer printout that would confirm Casandra's pregnancy.

As the door to the lab slid open the smell of chemicals coming from test tubes hit with full force. It was sterile with an undertone of death.

The room was dimly lit by a few table lamps that were left on, more than likely by the new interns he had hired.

He picked up the paperwork that confirmed the child that she carried one more time to take in the gravity of it. To have a child was not possible by his kind but Christian was slowly starting to discover over the centuries that these daughters of Lilith were unlike any other creature on Earth.

His fingers tapped on the desk as he read the results one last time.

"What happens to one will happen to the other." The memory of Lilith telling his father this echoed loudly in his head. "Balance is needed for the two of them to exist in this world. If one hurts both hurt, if one cries both cry. They are connected, one with the universe."

Oh, how right their mother was. When the two daughters were together chaos ensued.

His fist closed over the print crumpling it as rage with the thought of Copper being the father to Carolyn's child bubbled to the surface.

They should both be mine! The thought started to consume him as memories of Morgan and the night he turned her started to flood his mind once more.