The Sage and the Phoenix - E-Book

Tyler barely escaped the clutches of the evil king, but now he's lost in Bramoria. With tensions on the rise and old friendships falling apart, can he find the Sage in time and save himself and his friends?

Calling on the power of the mage stone, Tyler manages to teleport him and his companions into the open air over the ocean. After a splash landing and finding themselves stranded on a small chain of islands, tensions rise and fights break out. However, the group quickly finds out that the islands hold their own dangers.

Caught unawares by sirens and a giant frog trapped in a dimensional bag, Tyler has his mage stone stolen and is poisoned. His time is running out. Putting on a burst of speed they make for the mainland, trying to find a way to save him before the toxin takes its toll. Not only that, but when Danny collapses from a terrible seizure, Tyler knows he has to call the Sage to help them. But using the magic to do it could cost him his life.

Chapter One:
The shock of the icy water forced the breath from Tyler’s lungs as soon as he sunk below the surface. Crashing through the water from such a height felt like hitting stone. His body plunged deeper and deeper, the water crushing in around him, the sudden pressure in his ears nearly unbearable. His eyes flew open and in the flurry of bubbles he could just make out a light far above him. It seemed like an impossible distance, but he hadn’t come this far to give up now. Kicking as hard as he could, he fought his way back toward the surface, his lungs screaming for air. His soaked clothes and sword weighed him down, pulling him toward the bottom, lost somewhere in the darkness below. Tearing at the water with every last bit of strength he had, he slowly ascended. Every passing second was agony as he fought back the urge to breathe, the light never seeming to get any closer. Just when he thought he could hold it no longer, his head finally broke the surface. Gasping, he immediately began to choke and sputter, sucking in nearly as much water as air.
Around him, the turbulent water crashed, waves rolling over him and pushing him back under. He fought his way back to the surface, scanning the horizon for somewhere to go. It wasn’t clear if he was in a big lake, the ocean, or something in between. However, several hundred feet away, he noticed trees, white sand, and tall dark cliffs thrusting into the sky. The sight gave him the faintest glimmer of hope that they wouldn’t drown in the middle of whatever body of water he was in. Next to him, he heard the gasps and yells of others as they surfaced, all of them struggling against the waves and wind. Turning about, he could see the forms of Ninsar, Koto, and Danny struggling to stay afloat.
“Follow me!” he cried, trying to point toward the island. “There’s land over there!”
Taking a second headcount to make sure everyone was there, Tyler began to drag himself through the water, paddling as hard as he could toward the landmass in the distance. The waves continued to crash over him, forcing him underwater several times. Struggling to keep his head above the surface, Tyler forced his way forward, focusing all his remaining energy on getting to the island. He was tossed back and forth the closer he got, the waves crashing over the sandbars and coral that loomed up from the darkness below him. More than once, he felt his legs scrape against the corals painfully, but he didn’t have time to see how badly they’d been damaged. It wasn’t until he felt his feet finally touch the sandy bottom that he dared to think he might survive. Dragging himself through the shallows, he eventually crawled up onto land, managing to pull himself just far enough to not be swept back in by the surf. Rolling over onto his back, he stared up at the darkening sky, the last hints of sunset giving way to stars. Somehow they’d managed to escape Clay’s fury and by some miracle he wasn’t dead.
Coughing caught his attention and he turned to the side. There, digging his clawed fingers into the sand, was Koto. He collapsed with his head turned in Tyler’s direction, his eyes shut as he panted. He’d looked bad before when they pulled him out of the dungeon, but he looked even worse now. His arm was still damaged from the Fossars and the rest of him was one giant bruise from whatever torture Clay had inflicted upon him. Koto only managed to open his eyes for a moment before he let his face fall back onto the sand. Behind him was Ninsar, who somehow had enough energy to get to her feet. She was walking in Tyler’s direction, but didn’t stop as she passed by, her eyes flicking to him for only a second. Following her eyeline in the opposite direction, he saw Danny on his hands and knees, coughing up the salty seawater. He looked like he’d hit a fair number of the reefs, his pants in tatters and watered down blood staining the edges of the fabric. Ninsar kneeled down at his side, her hand patting his back to help him expel the water from his lungs. Her soft voice was drowned out by the sound of the waves.
“Get away!” Danny cried, pushing Ninsar off of him. She tumbled backward into the sand as Danny’s eyes fixed on Tyler. “What have you done?!” he yelled, his face turning red with fury.
Tyler didn’t know what to say. What did Danny mean? He’d saved all of them from being killed by Clay and his army of soldiers. If he hadn’t gotten them out of there, they’d already be dead in a pool of their own blood.
Danny clawed his way through the sand until he reached Tyler, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and yanking him up painfully. “Why the fuck did you take me away?”
“He… He was gonna kill us!” Tyler shouted back, trying to pull Danny’s hand from his shirt. He could feel the heat rising under his collar. “I had to get us out of there. I’m the only reason we’re still alive!”
“You’ve doomed me to die,” Danny choked, the tears of fury forming in his eyes. “He was going to save me, Tyler! I could have lived!” He kept trying to shake Tyler by the collar, but his movements were weak. “I don’t have much time left and… and thanks to you… I’ll never get any more!” His words were torn apart by sobs. “I’m going to… die now and… it’s all your… fault.”
Ninsar put her hands on Danny’s shoulders, trying to pull him away from Tyler. He fought for a moment, then gave in, collapsing backward into her lap. Curling into a ball, he buried his face against her leg, his body shaking from the sobs. She shot Tyler a venomous glare, then went back to consoling Danny.
Tyler didn’t know what to say. He’d saved his friend from the one person who’d made it abundantly clear he wanted them dead, who murdered people at the drop of a hat. But somehow, even with all his brave talk and determination to accept his own mortality, Danny had given into Clay’s tricks at the last minute. Tyler wanted to reach out and shake some sense into him, to tell him how stupid he was being, but even that felt childish. How could he blame him? For the past four years, Danny had lived every single day with his illness, never knowing if or when it would kill him. Then, when he’d finally accepted his death, cruelty had given him hope once more only for Tyler to rip it away from him again. Part of him wondered if that had been part of Clay’s plan, just in case they got away. Even if it was unintentional, it worked. If Tyler couldn’t make him see the truth, he was going to lose Danny like he almost had back in the walled garden.
Tyler felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see Koto standing behind him, sand still plastered onto one side of his face as he cradled his injured arm. His wet clothes showed how little he’d been fed in the castle dungeons and his eyes were full of the deepest exhaustion.
“Come on,” he whispered, pulling on his shoulder. “Leave him be.”