Read Online The Phoinix: Age of Demigods by S. L. Mancuso - Free Book Online

as
their strength waned. They fell to their knees and in unison cried
out one name before they passed out…“ Breanna! ”

Chapter 7
    Five Souls of
One
    T
    hump thump… thump thump…thump
thump.
    A soothing heartbeat muffled through a
warm pillow kept time with Breanna’s heart. The pillow not only
cradled her head, but also wrapped around her body as a protective
barrier from the world. She had never felt as safe as she did in
that moment.
    A lullaby resonated
through her ears to lull her back to sleep. She smiled, remembering
the lullaby as the one her mother used to hum when she was a little
girl. There was an aroma of white roses, her favorite flower. She
smiled again as the memory of her mother was replaced by a young
man bringing her a bouquet of white roses on her
birthday . Her
Eoghan…
    Bre gasped and shot up from her
comfortable bed as all of her memories flooded back to her. Short
of breath as her heart pounded in her chest, she recalled the
Gaelic war party outside her window, Eoghan kidnapping her, and the
large room without a door. She gazed around her new surroundings as
pure fear churned her stomach.
    “Eoghan?” yelled Breanna. She tried to
stand up, but whatever she had been laying on grunted and pushed
her back down.
    “What in Tartarus?” asked Breanna.
Confusion quickly turned to panic when she realized what attempted
to cuddle with her.
    Bre tilted her head and saw a large
white and grey wolf beneath her. The wolf’s body curved in a U
shape around her body. Its head rested in the nook of her neck and
shoulder. Its body cradled Breanna with its front paws hugging her
right arm and its back paws extended over her chest.
    After taking in the enormity of the
wolf, something crept onto her torso covering her stomach down to
her legs. Purring reverberated through her body. A giant black
panther stared into her eyes as it licked its chops. As much as she
was petrified of the animals around her, they strangely comforted
her.
    Breanna once again tried to sit up.
The large cat rolled off of her and the wolf released her arms.
“Nice kitty. Good puppy. Please don’t eat me.”
    The large cat rolled around on the
moss-covered ground, then rubbed against Breanna’s knees. It pawed
at her hands for her to pet its head. The wolf trotted around to
face Breanna then licked her from the bottom of her chin to the top
of her brow.
    “They like you,” said Eoghan. He gave
his trademark grin as he walked towards her with a handful of
berries.
    Bre’s heart fluttered at the sight of
him and she smiled in relief.
    Finally calm, Breanna examined her
surroundings. She inhaled sharply at the stunning scenery. They
were enclosed by tall Birch trees bloomed with bright gold flowers
against green leaves. Brown and royal blue pheasants with gold
feathers peeking out from their top layer rested beneath the
trees.
    To the East, Hawthorne
trees with white leaves blew gently in the wind. Perched in between
the leaves were midnight-blue crows eating berries off the
branches: the same berries Eoghan popped into his mouth. Elder
Trees mixed with the Hawthorns blossomed with white flowers, attracting humming
birds that hovered above the petals.
    Behind the trees, rolling hills laced
with yellow Furze and purple Heather added contrast from the
calming earthy colors of the trees. Larks flew above the Heather
and Furze chirping the lullaby her mother used to sing.
    Eoghan held out his hand to help Bre
up. Before she could grab it, the wolf shoved its head into
Breanna’s back and tossed her to her feet. The wolf grunted, which
to Breanna sounded like a chuckle. Bre did a double take at the
wolf as she could have sworn she saw the beast smirk.
    “Eoghan MacBeatha, it’s time to
explain,” Breanna said as she turned back to Eoghan with a stern
face. “First off, where are we?”
    Eoghan smiled as he scratched behind
the ears of the panther. “We are on the Eastern border of
Gaul.”
    “What? ” shouted Breanna, “The