The Last Phoenix
Authors: Linda Chapman
The Last Phoenix
For our intrepid adventurersâ
Spike, Amy, Tobey, Amany, and Iola
The room was eight-sided with high, dark walls. It wasâ¦
Jason Worthington stood in the mouth of the goal, hisâ¦
Milly jumped up and down in delight and Michael shovedâ¦
Jess, Jason, and Milly watched the little red cross blinkâ¦
The golden bird blinked. “Goodness, what a noise!” she cried.
“You mean it?” cried Fenella. “You'll help me?” She whoopedâ¦
After fifteen minutes of walking, the Worthingtons reached the footpathâ¦
The world blurred into a golden haze. Milly felt herselfâ¦
Milly raced down the path. The big town clock, toweringâ¦
Skribble's tiny dark eyes gleamed above his mustache. His segmentedâ¦
The next morning, Michael was woken up by the duvetâ¦
Jason felt the gold haze lift, and he gasped asâ¦
Numb with fear, thirsty, and too shocked even to struggleâ¦
The Brothers of the Sun Bird chased after the children,â¦
Jess sighed and stared at her open history book. Nowâ¦
History was Jess's first class. “I am so dreading thisâ¦
“What are you wearing?” Michael said, as he and Jessâ¦
We're gonna die, thought Michael. Lunch for a giant catâ¦
Jason couldn't sleep that night. He'd gone to bed early,â¦
“I don't want to talk about it,” Jason announced, hurryingâ¦
“Fenella can't have just gone!” said Jess, looking around. “Sheâ¦
“Get away, pet,” Fenella croaked from the table. “Run, lovie,â¦
In the octagonal chamber, Milly was still staring in horrorâ¦
Michael stared helplessly as his sister pressed her tongue toâ¦
Michael lingered outside the school gates, waiting for Jess toâ¦
Â
T
he room was eight-sided with high, dark walls. It was a place of magic.
A man stood gazing not through the windows in the walls, but at them. As if he could see patterns and images forming there in the glass. He approached the pane, his look hardening.
“The time draws near,” the man whispered, but no breath misted up the glass. “The genie will find the bird of gold. A pact will be made. And four children with lives touched by magic shall take part in a game whose rules lie far beyond their understanding⦔
The man smiled and turned to the pale, shadowy figure behind him.
“Soon, my dear, the aching centuries will be behind us,” he promised. “Power and majesty shall be ours once more. Creation will cringe at our feet and the stars will seem no more to us than sputtering candles, to let burn or snuff out as we choose.”
The figure remained in the shadows as the man stroked her cheek.
“The time of prophecy is at hand,” he murmured. “The children are ready. Let their adventures begin anew. And let the fingers of fate tighten like a fist about them⦔
J
ason Worthington stood in the mouth of the goal, his throat dry, every muscle tensed. The ball flew toward him. His heart leaped. This was it. He was going to make the save! He leaped to the side, arms outstretchedâ¦
The ball shot underneath him and slammed into the back of the net. Jason, meanwhile, landed on the grass in a sprawling heap.
“Goal!” Milly's cry echoed around the park as she punched the air in triumph. She saw Jason's face and hastily let her arm drop. “That was a really good try, Jase. You almost saved it!” She hurried over, offering a hand to help him up. “Iâ¦I was just lucky.”
“And I was just rubbish!” Jason got up miserably. “Even my eight-year-old stepsister can get a goal past me. No one ever wants me on their team, not even when they're just playing at break.”
Milly frowned. “But if they're really your friends they should let you play. It shouldn't matter if you're good or not.”
“Yeah. And back in the real world⦔ Jason rolled his eyes. Milly just didn't know what it was like to be left out. Whenever he saw her on the playground she always seemed to be surrounded by a gaggle of other girls, all chattering and wanting her to join them. “I wish I was better at sports.”
A faraway look stole into Milly's eyes. “If Skribble was here he'd grant your wish⦔
An image of a grumpy-looking worm glaring out of an old book flashed into Jason's mind. “Milly,” he said awkwardly. “Michael and Jess said that we shouldn't talk about genies and wishes or Skribble anymore.”
Milly glanced across the park to where her thirteen-year-old brother, Michael, was slumped against an oak tree playing his Game Boy. Her stepsister, Jess, who was a year older than Michael, was standing near him, talking to her best friend, Colette. “Older brothers and sisters are a pain,” she said mutinously. “Why do we have to do what they want all the time?”
A few months ago the four Worthingtons had discovered an ancient book called
The Genie Handbook
âa book full of
real
magic, complete with a fussy, grouchy, totally brilliant talking bookworm called Skribble. Together with Michael and Jess, Jason and Milly had used genie enchantments to grant actual wishesâ¦
It had been the most incredible time of all their lives, but they'd had to give up the magic in the end, and say good-bye to Skribbleâwho'd been restored once more to a fully fledged genie, free to roam the world.
Jason looked at Milly. “I think Jess and Michael were rightâthe more we all talk about the magical stuff, the harder it is to get used to normal life again.”
“But I don't
want
to get used to it!” Milly protested. “They're just trying to be all boring and grown up.” She looked at Jason searchingly, hoping that her nine-year-old stepbrother would agree. “You do still think about Skribble, don't you?”
“Sometimes.” Jason sighed. “Look, there's no point talking about thisâSkribble has gone and I can't get better at soccer by wishing. It's okay for you, Milly. You're good at loads of thingsâacting, singing, dancing⦔
“I'm not
that
good,” Milly said, trailing after him. “Nowhere near good enough to get the lead part in the big show.”
Jason looked at her in surprise. “What do you mean?” Ever since Milly had found out that her new after-school drama group was going to be doing a production of
Annie
she'd been going on and on about how she was sure she was going to be chosen to play the main part.
Milly sighed.
“We've been practicing for the auditions this week.” She twisted her hands together and Jason noticed that for once her confidence seemed to have deserted her. “Andâ¦wellâ¦some people in the group are really, really good at singing. Loads better than me.” She chewed her lip. “I don't think I'm going to get to be Annie. But, oh, Jase, I really, really want to be!”
Jason frowned. Milly normally bounced around, thinking she could do anything and everything she wanted even without magic. “I'm sure it'll be okay.”
“I'm sure it won't,” said Milly.
Jason changed the subject. “Come on. I suppose I should do some more practicing before we have to go home.”
Practice was on his older sister's mind tooâessay practice.
I haven't done any
, Jess thought gloomily, leaning back against the oak.
It's just too hard. And I bet Colette has done loadsâ¦
“Jess, you look miles away,” Colette said with a smile. “
Can
you come into town with me?”
Jess looked tempted but shook her head. “I'd love to but I really should go home and study.” She pushed a hand through her straight blond hair. “Oh, Colette. I can't believe our exams are only just over a week away.”
“You'll be okay,” Colette reassured her.
“I won't. I am
so
going to fail history. I can never
remember anything. And if I
do
fail then I won't be in the same class next year as you and Natasha and Jodie.” Jess shook her head in frustration. “I really had better get back home and study.” She waved impatiently at Milly and Jason, who were playing soccer again, beckoning them over. “No worse than babysitting, I guess.”
“Well, okay,” Colette said sympathetically. “Good luck with it. See you at school on Monday.” She set off but then stopped. “Oh, Michael,” she said, as if noticing him for the first time. “You're friends with that new boy, aren't you? I thought I saw you hanging around with him.”
Michael frowned. “Who, Rick?
He
hangs around with
me
!”
“Whatever. If you see him, tell him I said hi.” Colette grinned quickly at Jess. “Later!” she said, and headed into town.
Michael buried his head in his hands. “Good ole Rick the Slick,” he muttered bitterly, before glancing up through his fingers at Jess. “Even the girls in your grade fancy him! It's not natural. It's not fair.”
“Well, he is quite cute,” Jess reasoned. “And he's really tall. You'd never know he was just your age.”
“Yeah, yeah. Oh, and he just happens to have loads of cash, amazing rugby skills, and a dad who's a TV star.” Michael shook his head, making his dark fringe flop into
his eyes. “How can people be taken in by that stuff?”
“I wonder,” Jess said dryly. She frowned. “Anyway, if you don't like him, how come you're always hanging out together at school?”
“Not my choice,” Michael shot back. “As soon as he started, I knew he'd be trouble, but all my so-called mates think he's great. It's really bugging me. Wherever I look he's always there.”
“Count yourself lucky if that's your only problem.” Jess sighed. “Okay, so it's annoying that this cool kid has come along and all your mates think he's amazing, but at least you haven't got mega-important exams coming up. I won't even
be
with my friends if I failâ”
“Uh-huh. I know,” muttered Michael. “Life sucks.”
Jess nodded in agreement.
Just then Milly and Jason reached them. “Hi, guys,” said Jason. “Is everything okay?”
Michael snorted.
“Everything's fine,” said Jess despondently. “But I need to study some more, so we'd better go home now.”
“Home. Huh!” Michael got to his feet. “A boring old house in boring old Moreways Meet, at least a gazillion miles from anywhere remotely cool. Why can't anything exciting
ever
happen around here? It's just boring, boring, boring!”
As he spoke, a large piece of yellowing paper blew across
the grass and wrapped around Jess's legs. “Ew!” she said, reaching down to pull it away. As she did so, Jason saw that it had a drawing and words on it.
“Hang on!” He stopped Jess before she could crumple it up. “It looks like a map or something. Maybe someone's lost it.”
Jess straightened out the paper. Michael had already lost interest and flicked open his Game Boy again, but Milly nudged up to Jason and took a look. Jason immediately saw that he'd been right. It
was
a map, and a very old one by the look of it. The paper was thick, yellowed with age, with rips and tears around the edges. There were lots of roads or paths marked out in dark lines, six of which crossed in the middle of the map. There were a few funny zigzags and lots of wonky rectangles, some of which were surrounded by drawings of bushes or trees. A tall, thin tangle of squares sat in the top right corner of the map, like the artist had drawn several shapes on top of each other. There was some old-fashioned writing at the top, scrawled in a scratchy ink pen, but Jason couldn't make out the words. His attention was taken more by a thick red cross, marked beside one of the trees.
Jess looked about. She saw a couple of mums with strollers and some retirees playing chess, but no one looked as though they'd lost something. Then she glanced back at the map. “It looks a bit like Moreways Meet,” she said.
“Six roads that meet in the middle, just like in the town center near Mum and Mark's shop.”
“The whole reason we had to move to this dump,” Michael muttered. “Just so they could âlive their dream' of opening a moldy old bookshop!”
Milly suddenly squealed like a guinea pig with a megaphone. Jess jumped and Michael almost dropped his Game Boy. “
Look!
It'sâ¦It's a⦔ Milly could hardly get her words out, she was so excited. She stabbed her finger at the scrawled words on the top of the map. “It's a
treasure map
!”
They all stared at her. Michael got up and joined the others in staring at the map.
Jess frowned at the words at the top of the parchment. “âA Map For Those Who Seek Hidden Treasures,'” she read out slowly.
“I couldn't read that a moment ago!” Jason whispered. “It was just a scrawl. Honest!”
“Oh, wow!” Milly exclaimed. “A
magic
treasure map!”
“Milly, stop!” said Jess swiftly. “Jason can't have looked properly, that's all.”
“Exactly.” Michael sneered. “I mean, a magic treasure map? How likely is that?”
Milly put her hands on her hips. “How likely is it that
we found a talking bookworm in a handbook telling us how to be genies?”
“Milly!” Jess sighed. “You know we agreed not to talk about that.”
“You mean,
you
agreed we wouldn't talk about it,” Milly retorted, her eyes shining. “It
is
a magic map. I bet it is! I bet that now magic's happened to us once, it's going to keep on happening!”
Jason's eyes were glued to the map. “I think maybe you're right,” he said breathlessly.
Michael groaned. “Yeah, yeah, eight-year-old expert Milly is rightâoh, and there goes a pig flying out of my butt!”
“No, look!” Holding the map out to Michael, Milly, and Jess in one trembling hand, Jason pointed at the bottom of the map where seven words were written: K
NOW
Y
OURSELF
, T
RUST
Y
OURSELF
, B
ELIEVE IN
Y
OURSELF
.
Seven words that
hadn't
been there when they had first opened up the map!
Jess paled. “You're right, Jase,” she whispered. “Those words really have just appeared. It
must
be magic!”
“Give it here.” Michael took the map gingerly from Jason and looked at it from all angles. “If this is a trick⦔
“It's not!” Milly hugged Jason and Jess. “It's real magic!
You saw it yourself, Michael. You
can't
say you don't believe now!”
There was a long pause while everyone looked at Michael. Slowly a grin spread across his face. “Who's not believing? Have you met my flying butt-pig?” He clapped his Game Boy shut with one hand and waved the map in the air with the other. “Oink! Oink! Look out treasureâhere we come!”