The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Burning Phoenix Read Online Free Page B

and our
mission together. Let’s be off to conquer the demon’s house.”
    “First I must deliver this.” Mihai took up the
letter. “Come, my hero, let me deliver this to its owner, and then
you, I request, will deliver me up to your passionate dreams.”
    Laughing, the two stood, Zadar starting to assist
Mihai out of her uniform, she rolling her head with delight as he
tenderly kissed her neck. Then it was quickly down the hall to the
baggage room and up another set of stairs to Mihai’s sequestered
cabin.
     
    * * *
     
     
    Lowenah’s repeated rapping on the stateroom door
elicited no response. She was not in the mood to be ignored and her
patience was tiring out. “Ardon, dear, it’s Mother. Please allow me
your indulgence. The morning has long passed by the waking hour and
I have not seen my little darling this day or any since beginning
our adventure, though I’ve requested his company to breakfast with
me many times now. Please allow me entrance, dear one.”
    No answer was returned.
    Lowenah’s sufferance of Ardon’s self-imposed exile
was about run out. “You may secret your heart from me, child, but
you cannot hide from the one giving you life!” She swept her hand
across the face of the locked panel door. Instantly there was a whirr and snap! as tiny gears and tumblers sprang
into action, freeing the door’s restraints.
    Slowly sliding the panel back, Lowenah peeked her
head into the little cabin. Ardon did not look up, but sat on the
narrow cot next to a tiny table, pretending to be absorbed in some
important paperwork. Silently stepping through the doorway and
quietly closing the panel, Lowenah stood there studying her son.
After some little time passed, with Ardon’s continual ignoring of
her presence, she stepped over and sat down beside him on the
cot.
    Ardon still did not respond, he only feigning to
concentrate all the more on his papers. Lowenah tenderly placed a
hand on the man’s shoulder. Resting her head on him, she waxed
lonely, “Please, my lovely darling, speak to the one who loves you
so much. Did I not create the very moons of Chrusion just to
satisfy the wandering heart of my son? You know there is nothing I
would not do for you. Please, do not make me pine for your love and
attention.”
    There was little response from Ardon, other than his
shoulders slumped some, involuntarily welcoming Lowenah’s gentle
touch. She ever so tenderly began to massage Ardon’s tense muscles,
playing her silent hypnotic songs with musical fingers as her
breathing kept tempo with the soft strokes and caresses. Few could
resist Mother’s gentle persuasions. The fellow would have to come
around soon. Just be patient and wait upon the moment.
    It was not long before Lowenah’s magic gradually
took effect. Eventually, Ardon set down his quill, sighing long and
sad as he turned his lonely eyes away from the papers. Staring
across the room, he asked, “Mother, do you recall the day when my
brother attempted my murder while I blocked his path to get at my
sister, Mihai?”
    Lowenah cuddled close, rubbing her cheek on Ardon’s
arm, quietly answering, “Yes… yes, I do. You were such a brave man
that day, stood up to all those evil villains who had come to harm
my little girl.”
    Ardon’s head sank, hiding his face from Lowenah. “I
was brave maybe, but very foolhardy. If it weren’t for Chisamore’s
sudden appearance, I doubt I would have survived. He saved me that
day.”
    “Yes.” Lowenah closed her eyes, remembering. “Yes,
dear, it was just outside the palace wall. They wanted Mihai, you
know. It’s true that Chisamore and his company saved the day, but
if you had not been there to hold them up awhile… well… I don’t
know if he would have arrived in time to save my little girl.”
    Ardon rested his hand on Lowenah’s knee, sadness
growing in his heart. “I miss him, you know, miss him so much.
Chisamore understood me. I think he was the only one who ever did.”
He wiped away a