I stared, too, taking in the engravings on its side like the kind you might find on a tomb. Then it clicked. It was a tomb. I could just make out the form of a body inside it.
I put my hand on the side of it, surprised to find the surface warm. My gaze focused on the engravings, which depicted some ancient, magickind battle. The people carried wands and staffs along with swords, shields, and bows. I’d seen such images before in my history textbook, but none of them came close to capturing the visceral detail here.
Although the figures were posed in different combative postures, they were all bent toward the middle like two armies converging on a battlefield. The three figures in the center were larger and more intricate than the others, two men and a woman. One of the men lay on the ground, clutching at the sword sticking out of his chest. The other stood with his back to the woman who was covering his eyes with her hands. The man looked like he was in the process of falling down. The woman’s expression was impossible to see clearly on the crystal surface, but I thought there was something both sad and victorious about her posture.
My gaze drifted up from the woman’s face to the sky, where a huge bird hovered over the people’s heads, wings outstretched. Like hearing the opening notes of a familiar song on the radio, recognition hummed inside me at the sight of it.
“Eli,” I said, pointing. “Do you see what I see?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s the black phoenix.”
“How can you tell?” said Bethany, approaching the tomb for a closer look.
“Because we’ve seen it.” A humorless smile curled one side of Eli’s lips. “A lot.”
I scrutinized Bethany’s face, trying to read her expression. “Do you know what it is? Or who it is?”
Bethany met my eyes. “Nobody’s told you?”
I flipped my hair back behind my shoulder. “Well, no, but we haven’t exactly asked.”
“Hmmm, I suppose if the senate wanted you to know, someone would’ve told you before now.”
“Oh, that’s great.” Eli waved his hands through the air. “Because leaving the people with the ability to stop these murders clueless about everything makes so much sense.”
“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” said Bethany. “The subject is restricted.”
I motioned to the vast chamber. “I’m pretty sure nobody can hear us inside a dream.”
“You’re mistaken.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Seriously? Somebody can spy on us here?”
“Only another Nightmare, but yes. They can even influence the dream if they’re powerful enough. But don’t worry, your mother isn’t.”
I frowned, uncertain if she was being honest or just spiteful. “If my mom can’t listen in then there’s no problem with you telling us the truth. I mean, there’s no risk of being overheard since you and I are the only other Nightmares around.”
“Besides,” added Eli. “We already know what the killer is after, so what’s the harm in learning the truth about the phoenix?”
A smug expression rose on Bethany’s face. “You couldn’t possibly know what the killer is after.”
“Wanna bet?” said Eli, equally smug. “It’s the power source for The Will spell. Excalibur.”
Bethany looked like she’d just swallowed something sour. “Who told you? Was it Moira?” She turned her glare on me.
“Um, yes,” I said, taking a gamble with the truth.
“So she told you about the sword and not the identity of the black phoenix? How typical.”
“I know, right? I mean, I’m sure she had her reasons, but I’m equally sure they’re in her best interest and not the senate’s.”
Bethany nodded, vigorously. I stifled a smile, pleased that my mother’s bad reputation was working in my favor for once.
Bethany took a step closer to the tomb and traced a finger over the phoenix’s outline. I shivered, remembering the eerie, hypnotic sound of the bird’s cry.
“Only one black phoenix has ever existed,” Bethany said. “The familiar of the greatest and most feared magickind ever to be. A wizard who has been called by many names throughout history. His last title was the Red Warlock. But in ordinary folklore, he’s known as Merlin.”
Eli chuckled. “Merlin? Are you kidding me?”
“What’s so funny?” asked Bethany.
“It’s just hard to take the idea seriously when you’ve grown up seeing Merlin as this crazy old wizard who’s always tripping over his beard in cartoons. Hard to picture that guy having a familiar as fierce as the black phoenix we’ve seen.”
I sympathized with Eli’s point, but it was no different than the Tinkerbell version of fairies. If Merlin had been so great and fearsome, then the Magi would’ve softened his image on purpose to make people forget how dangerous the real man had been.
Only the “had been” wasn’t right, if I understood the implications of what Bethany said. I asked, “But if the Red Warlock has a phoenix for a familiar does that mean he’s immortal?”
“Yes,” said Bethany. “Through his bond with the bird, he has died and been reborn many times. Some say his existence predates the ancient Egyptians.”
“Oh-kay.” I paused, trying to digest the information. “So in other words, the Red Warlock, Merlin, could still be alive today even though the Arthur legend is like a thousand years old.”