The Night, Phoenix Nightshade [story reading txt] 📗

Fire is the one thing that can destroy and create almost simultaneously. It can create warmth or destroy you; it can help you sustain yourself or wipe out entire cities. You might ask how I know this. I know since I was born in this fire.
I am Phoenix, the daughter of the god of fire and the goddess of war. Where I come from, dual gods and goddesses are rare. I know that both my parents want me to take their places, but it is all up to Calera, the mother goddess.
The mortals that worship them love both of my parents, Seiren and Jet. I can only hope to be as loved as they are.

I stood before Calera, the mother goddess, in all her glory and beauty. I felt a little inferior with my red hair and golden eyes to her gold hair and blue eyes. She had a look of kindness in them, but I knew better. This was a hearing to see what my new position would be, since both my parents would be stepping down once that was decided.

“So, little Phoenix, have you put any thought into your future?” she asked me. Her voice was soft, but there was an implication in there; one that stated if I did not pick, she would pick for me. I was not sure how I felt about that particular option.

“I would like to take the place of Goddess of Fire and War, if that is all right with Your Grace,” I said with a slight bow. She smiled. Calera shook her head slightly. “I asked what you wanted; I did not ask what your parents wanted for you, my little redhead,” she said. “This is the job that you must take on until there is a child to take your place. Is that a choice you are willing to live with for the rest of your life?”

“Mother Calera, it is a choice I am willing to live with. If I do not take the place, then who will fill the position I do not take? I do not believe there is anyone to fill it, in all honesty.” She looked at my face, and I could feel the scrutiny in her eyes. The color shifted from blue to orange, and I knew she was seeing into my soul to see whether I was lying or not. I was not going to hide anything from her. I had made my choice, but had she already made hers? I was beginning to worry that she would not take my opinion seriously.
Finally, she sighed. "I suppose I have no choice but to begin your training for the position of Dual Goddess. That is a rare privilege, and I expect you to make us all proud, Child." I bowed low to her, the Mother of us all. "Of course, Mother Calera. I will make you proud no matter what it takes. That I swear upon my name, Phoenix Jetsdaughter."
"Good. Now, you are to go to Typhon. He will begin your training, considering he is the Fire Demi-god. After you meet him, you will find Keren and Teren, the former God and Goddess of War. They are also your aunt and uncle, so treat them with respect. Now, off you go." She waved her hand, and I knew that I had been dismissed.


I met Typhon on the peak of Fire Mountain, which was the birthplace of both my father and myself. Typhon, though you would never believe it by looking at the two of us, was actually my half brother. He didn't have enough God blood in his veins to become the new God of Fire, but he did have enough to be an immortal.
He had his mother's olive skin and black hair. His eyes, however, were the same orange that my father had. Typhon's face also had the strong jaw and full lips that my father was known for. I only had the lips and hair color from Father. Everything else I was known for came from my mom.
"Ah, Little Sister, you finally made it," was the greeting I got from Typhon. I smiled; he was one of the few that I felt comfortable around. After all, he and I both had the ability to control fire with our minds. We both understood how easy it was to harm someone in anger without really meaning to.
"Hey, Typhon," I said. "What is Mother Calera asking you to teach me?"
"She wants you to be able to live and survive among mortals. You're going to be around them often, and you have to know how to interact with them. You can't just expect them to fall to their knees in worship just because you're a Goddess. They rebel against that sort of thing."
"Why would they do that? It is because of us that their lives are so easy. They should respect us!"
"They do to an extent. Mortals have about as much pride as any of us, and they don't like to show submission to anyone. That's why you can't just go down there with all your glory blazing like the sun. First off, you might accidentally set someone's house on fire. They'll hate you forever if you do that. Second, they will

rebel against you if you try and pull the "I'm a Goddess, so I'm better than you" card."
"That's not the reaction your mother had obviously," I managed to point out. "She had to respect father at least a little, right?"
"Father was gentle with my mom. He knew all this, Phoenix. I'm going to take you on a trip to the mortal world tomorrow, and I expect you to remember that you have to at least appear human. They'll trust you faster if you look like one of them." He straightened up a little, and I could tell that I was frustrating him. I could not, for the life of me, understand why I should treat the humans as if they were Gods like me. They should be treated as subjects, since we were the reason they were even alive. If it weren't for my father, they would freeze to death every winter. If it weren't for my mother, they would have been wiped out by their enemies.
"I see we have a lot of work for you yet," Typhon sighed. "Meet me here tomorrow at first light. For now, Keren and Teren are waiting for you in the Hall of Shields. You'd better go meet them now before they fly up here and drag you back by your flaming hair, sis." I laughed and hugged my big brother. "I will be here, I promise," I called over my shoulder as I made my way to the Hall of Shields. I did not tell my brother this, but the twins unnerved me. Their purple eyes and black hair was a trademark of my mother's family, but the eyes were all I could have.
My eyes were the rarest of the Gods, considering that all the other Gods had changing colors only as a result of what their power was. Mine could change at will from gold to violet. Occasionally I could change them to green, the most common eye color.


Keren and Teren were waiting on me, as Typhon had said. I sighed inaudibly; if they had heard me, I probably would have been knocked in the mouth for "disrespect." I did not feel like healing a busted lip later that day.
"It is about time you got here, Child," Keren snapped angrily. Her purple eyes were sparking, a common trait of all War Gods. I knew it was just a matter of time before they turned white and she released a powerful knock-back attack on my small frame. I hurriedly bowed before my aunt and uncle. "Forgive me," I said. "I was running as fast as I could."
"You are a future Goddess of War," Teren pointed out. "Therefore, you need not walk or run when you do have access to flight." I had to fight back a smile; Teren was the kinder of the two. He was still known for cruelty, but he was a lot nicer than his sister.
"Yes, Uncle," I said. I did not want to point out that this high on Mount Drakorin, there were no thermals to help give me speed.
"Enough of this little reunion," Keren snapped. She had folded her arms, a sure sign of irritation for her. "You are here for your first lesson. Luckily for you, it is a simple one. I doubt you could do anything more challenging, considering Jet has taught you nothing in the seventeen years you have been alive." I held my tongue. My mother was the reason I could hit a target with a fireball, knife, sword, or anything that I could hold with a blindfold on.
"You will be hitting targets. However, you must only use the energy given to all War Gods. Fire or weapons are not allowed. Understood?" That was Teren. I nodded at him and stepped forward. I found it a little harder to channel the fierce energy into myself with the two of them watching, but I made the effort to keep it strong.
The first dozen targets were hit without a problem, but when the thirteenth target made its way in front of me, I faltered. My energy was being drained much faster since I couldn't use my father's fire to balance the sheer power out.
I sank to my knees after the twentieth target, red hair dripping with sweat into my face. "I-I cannot go on," I managed to say. "M-my power i-is failing." I fell to the ground, only to have Keren pull me back up by may hair.
"And this is why you need training, kid," she growled. "You are weak. If it were me, Teren, or Jet, we could have went on for hours. What is your excuse?"
I couldn't answer; the pain of her pulling on my