Flight of the Phoenix by R. L. Lafevers Read Free Book Online

shoulder.
    Nate stood just inside the tent, watching helplessly as the only person who cared anything about him was taken away.
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    ***
    Chapter Eleven
    G reasle turned to look at Nate, her eyes wide. "Now what?"
    Nate could only stare at the empty space where Aunt Phil had just been. "I don't know." He felt numb and hollow inside. How was he supposed to survive without her? Let alone accomplish their mission with the phoenix? This was a disaster. Cornelius was right: Nate wasn't cut out to be a Fludd. A true Fludd would know what to do, and Nate hadn't the faintest idea.
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    "Maybe we should follow her," he finally suggested. He took a step forward to leave the shelter of the tent. Greasle pinched him.
    "Ouch!"
    "Not so fast. Look."
    He peered past the tent flap to where the gremlin pointed. A lone sentry stood up on the ridge, watching the Bedouin depart. If Nate tried to follow, he'd be spotted and captured, too.
    He slipped back inside the tent and sat down--hard-- to try to think. They had enough food and water for five days. With Aunt Phil gone, the supplies would last him and Greasle even longer. Besides, Aunt Phil had gone to great lengths to keep his presence hidden. Clearly, she meant for him to stay here and watch over the phoenix's ashes while she ... what?
    Nate's mind slammed into a wall when he tried to guess what might happen to her.
    "I wouldn't worry too much about that old witch," Greasle said, scrunching up her face. "She knows how to take care of herself. The mean ones usually do."
    Nate looked in surprise at the gremlin.
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    "What?" she said. "She's not nice to us gremlins. Not like you are." Greasle reached out and gave Nate's arm a shy little pet.
    This heartened Nate somewhat. He seemed to be doing a good job with Greasle, even if Aunt Phil didn't consider her a true beast. Maybe that meant there was a chance he could help the phoenix. He'd never know until he tried.
    "I guess it's up to us." He scooped Greasle up onto his shoulder, went to the tent flap, and peeked outside. The sentry was gone. Safely alone now, Nate crossed the sand to the palm tree.
    "What if she doesn't come back?" Greasle asked. "What do we do then?"
    "I don't know. But we have three days to come up with a plan. Now, quiet--I have to think." The palm tree was too high for him to see into. The tree's trunk offered no branches or footholds. He turned to Greasle. "I'm going to give you a boost. Check and tell me what it looks like."
    "Right-o." Greasle scampered off his shoulder and up the tree. She peered into the branches and wrinkled her nose. "Ain't nothing but a bunch of ashes and twigs. Not even a feather left."
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    "That's what Aunt Phil said would happen. Is it still warm?"
    "Yep. Could roast a frankfurter on it. Hey! There's an
    "Except we don't have any frankfurters," Nate reminded her. Greasle's face fell, and he almost laughed at how sad she looked. Then he glanced up at the sky. It was nearly fully dark--and the temperature was falling fast.
    "Come on," he said. "I need to read up on my duties."
    Back inside the tent, Nate lit one of the lanterns they had brought and took The Book of Beasts from Aunt Phil's pack. The thick, aged pages crinkled slightly at his touch.
    [Image: A lamp and a book.]
    Greasle clambered up to perch on his shoulder. "Are us gremlins in there?"
    Nate thumbed past pages on manticores, basilisks, unicorns, griffins, wyverns, and something called a kraken. "Not that I can
    see.
    "Stupid book, "Greasle muttered.
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    He found the page on the phoenix next to a map of Arabia. He read quickly. "Keep the ash in the nest warm, protect from cold and wind, add additional fuel. Got it." He started to close the book, then saw there was a second page about the phoenix.
    There are many magical properties attributed to the phoenix:
    If a sick or wounded man hears the song of a phoenix, he will be healed,
    Phoenix tears, if drunk, will provide eternal life, fl phoenix feather is said to possess many magical