Keeper of the Phoenix by Aleesah Darlison Read Free Book Online

boy to be chosen to look after a phoenix.”
    Ash blushed as he puffed out his chest. “Ah, er, I don’t think I was chosen,” he stammered. “Not exactly.”
    “What do you want with Gwaam?” Rhyll asked Lady Belgrave.
    “How dare you address my lady so bluntly?” Lady Belgrave’s daughter, Opal, stepped out from behind her mother’s chair where she had been hiding. “Where are your manners?”
    Opal was about the same age as Ash, perhaps a little older. She was tall and slender, and her long jet-black hair shone like silk and hung all the way down her back. Ash had heard Opal was spoiled and rude. Though he had never met her before, his family knew several servants who worked in Lady Belgrave’s kitchen. No one ever said anything nice about Opal.
    I suppose that comes from being given everything you want from the moment you’re born, Ash reasoned. Sometimes being rich doesn’t make you a nice person.
    Catching Ash staring at her, Opal glared, her eyes flashing. Ash quickly looked away before he too felt the sting of Opal’s tongue.
    “Opal, you shouldn’t have been hiding,” her mother said. “That’s not polite either.”
    With a shrug, Opal turned to address Rhyll. “Well, where are your manners, girl?” she pressed.
    “My apologies.” Rhyll gave a stiff curtsey. “I forgot myself.”
    Opal smiled smugly. “Don’t let it happen again. You must remember your place at all times, farm girl.”
    Ash saw Rhyll’s fists clench at her sides. He knew it was taking all of her self-control not to snap back at Opal. Despite Opal’s overbearing manner, Rhyll had no fear.
    Lady Belgrave patted her daughter’s hand. “And so must you learn your place, Opal dear.”
    Opal crossed her arms and plonked onto the arm of Lady Belgrave’s chair. “Ha!” she muttered, then idly swished her slippered foot to and fro, making her satin skirt rustle.
    “Since you have asked, Miss Piggins,” Lady Belgrave’s steady gaze made Rhyll squirm, “I will come to the point of our interview.” She once more addressed Ash. “As you know, Lord Belgrave and his men are missing, your father and your brother among them.”
    Ash nodded.
    “Though we have few men left in the village we have sent several search parties after them with no success. My last intelligence from the King’s messengers, though they are few and far between, was that the battle to keep the Draygonians out of Krell continues along our borders. Amid this chaos, the battalion of fine Icamore men that my husband led off to war has vanished. Including my beloved son, Raymond.”
    She shook her head sadly.
    “In this desperate hour, I have nowhere else to turn. I am unable to look for my husband myself and I cannot afford to send anyone else to search for him. I thought and
hoped
that Gwaam, with his magical powers, might be able to find my lord, his son and his men – your father and brother included – and bring them home.”
    “But, Lady Belgrave, what can Gwaam do?” Ash replied. “He’s as weak as a newborn chick, despite his wolfhound’s appetite. He asked for
my
protection, so I’m guessing he’s not up to finding lost men.”
    “Neither are you, cowherd,” Opal added disdainfully.
    Ash tried not to flinch. He knew his clothes proved him to be nothing more than a farmer, but Opal’s words still hurt.
    Lady Belgrave glared. “I will not warn you again, Opal. This boy and his friends may be our only hope to find Raymond and your father.”
    Opal stuck her lip out petulantly and resumed her skirt swishing. “Yes, Mama.”
    “Your phoenix has lived a thousand lives, travelled a thousand lands,” Lady Belgrave addressed Ash once more. “Surely he knows the way to places we know nothing of. Perhaps with his special powers he could find Lord Belgrave for us.”
    Before his ma and Lady Belgrave had brought this idea up, Ash hadn’t even considered it. Now he thought they might have a point. Although he wanted to protect Gwaam and keep him