Project: Purest: Phase One: Phoenix Rising

By Danielle Dixon

Illusions
Fifteen- year- old Chance thought he'd seen it all. He'd been to war, his best friend's a psychic, and he's constantly being attacked by the Intimate Illusions- hypnotized zombies caught between life and death that can't seem to be released. To cap it all off, he and his brother's own powers seem to be acting up, his hometown's been cut off from the rest of the Kingdom of Frost, and his father's missing. Things can't get much worse, right?
Wrong.

Mysteries
The Illusions have been coming in droves. After a storm hits the island, an onslaught of them attack, leaving Chance and his friends questioning whether rumors of a traitor are true. Chance begins doubting everything... And when the storm washes a mysterious girl named Alix who wields a strange gem called a Wishing Shard ashore, Chance has more questions than ever.

Alix
When Illusions once again attack, kidnapping his best friend and destroying his home, Chance has no choice but to accompany the only person with answers- Alix- to Mainland Frost. There, mysteries unfold, secrets are made, and promises are broken. Can Chance trust anyone... even himself?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469182483

Danielle Dixon

Danielle Dixon is a 15- year- old honor student at Pearl River Central High School in Carriere, Mississippi. Her interests include reading, writing, dancing, singing, acting, and modeling. She has recently been accepted by Victor's International Acting and Modeling Agency in New Orleans, Louisiana. Danielle has won first place in a school- wide writing competition as a third grade student for a poem and a short story. She also won first place in a writing competition for the same short story in a county-wide competition and was published by the local Writer's Group. She has thirteen years of dance experience with three years as a member of an award-winning dance competition team. Danielle was also a member of the audition-only Pearl River Central New Edition Show Choir for two years. She has competed in several pageants, including the National American Miss pageant and has won numerous awards including awards for talent and Most Photogenic. Danielle hopes to attend 'Ole Miss University in Oxford, Mississippi a major in forensics with a minor in Language Arts. Her ambition is to become a detective as well as a writer.

Book preview

Project

Purest

Phase One

Phoenix Ri s i n g

Danielle Dixon

Copyright © 2012 by Danielle Dixon.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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109940

Contents

Chapter 1 Unfinished Business

Chapter 2 She’ll be the Death of Me

Chapter 3 Life Explodes

Chapter 4 Frost Warms Up to Us

Chapter 5 Shadows, Stalkers, and Witches, Oh My . . .

Chapter 6 Purple Mountain’s

Majesty . . . Not

Chapter 7 Alix and Madalynn Save the Date

Chapter 8 Alix Makes A Choice

Chapter 9 Decieved

Chapter 10 God Save the Queen

Chapter 11 Fate

Acknowledgments

Synopsis

For Logan, Ethan, Cole, and

Nikolas . . . For keeping the magic

alive.

Chapter 1

Unfinished Business

It all started on the eve of my brother Luai’s seventeenth birthday. Looking back on it now, a week later, I realize we’re all lucky to be alive. Of course, it’s all our fault; the greed, the hatred, the hostility—that’s what got us into this mess in the first place. We’re dying, I thought. We’re all dying. But, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself . . . Here, let me just start at the beginning.

*     *     *

Thunder in the distance. Gray clouds crowding overhead. Mist obscuring the ocean in front of us. Another storm was rolling in. Great, that’s exactly what I wanted.

Next to me, Shahana was bent over a small pile of rubble, trying her best to pull something out of it. She pushed the rotten wood out of the way, and knelt down to pick up her prize. She smiled as she grabbed a tiny wooden box out of the sand. Her smile could brighten even a dreary, miserable day like this.

I looked around the beach while she dusted off the box. Piles of wood, bricks and other random items ran up and down the beach as far as I could see. To my right, the rubble continued into an abrupt stop at the end of a cliff, and most was piled alongside the rocky wall. To my left, the sea was churning. The water was littered with huge chunks of wood and furniture. I shivered. I’d never seen this place so . . . defeated.

We’d better get back to town, I said, squinting through the fog to see her. I have a feeling there’s about to be another downpour.

She brushed a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear, looking disheartened. Are you sure, Chance? she asked. We still have a lot more stuff to go through.

I bit my lip. Looking at all these remains of houses, I felt a little . . . beaten. With every able-bodied man over the age of eighteen away fighting the war, we were the only ones who could clean up this mess. I wanted more than anything to do what I did best; kicking supernatural butt, but without my dad there, I was unlikely to ever step foot on the Mainland again.

You see, unlike most fifteen-year-olds, I wasn’t content sleeping at home all day. I guessed that after the typhoon and all the damage it did, I’d be keeping plenty busy, but this is a little too much for us. Three of my friends lost their homes, and Shahana and I were the only ones brave enough to venture out into the ruins.

Come on, I said. I didn’t want to stay here much longer, and I didn’t want to leave Shahana here by herself. It’s past curfew.

Shahaha nodded, but kept her eyes fixed on the box.

What is that? I asked.

The box was small, and it fit in the palm of her hand. It looked wet and rotting, with chipping rose paint on it. It was probably a jewelry box.

She waved her hand over the wood, and immediately the texture shifted from dark to light. The paint expanded over the box, covering it in a light hue. Even the rusty keyhole shined back into gold.

That still creeps me out, I said. Shahana giggled.

What? she said. Is the big, tough, war hero afraid of a little witch?

I rolled my eyes. Shahana went back to her box. She flicked open the keyhole, and lifted the lid. She pulled out a small strand of pearls, white and flawless.

They’re Natalie’s, she observed, twirling the necklace around her fingers.

I remember those, I said. In fact . . .

I dove into a pile of wood that was next to us. Anxiously picking through the bricks and rubble, I had seen something that caught my eye.

Here it is! I cried. Shahana, here’s what you were looking for!

She sprinted across the beach and slid onto the sand next to me. Really? Oh my . . .

The picture frame was cracked and useless, and barely fit in my hands without cutting them. The poor sight of the frame—for a split second—sent a chill down my spine, but I instantly felt much better once I saw the real important thing it contained.

Behind the dismantled glass lied a crooked picture, still preserved in its vibrant ink. Inside of it, five teenagers were jokingly pushing each other to get in the center of the photo. One was young, and still had a little-boy nature to him. Two of the older ones were next to each other, a boy and a girl, smiling at one another. The other two had mischievous smiles upon their faces, as if they were ready to jump out at you at any second. They all looked happy.

Luai’s sweet-sixteen, Shahana whispered longingly. Things sure were different back then.

You don’t know the half of it, I wanted to say. Hmph.

Instead, I said, "Sure they were. Luai actually cared. Now all he does is go around sulking all day. He’s so upset because of the atrocious, unsophisticated, downright platitudinous, uncultured life he now leads. I kicked sand up with the toe of my foot. As if he’s got it so bad."

Shahana smirked. I know, she quipped.

Know what?

"Ever since you came back from the Mainland you two have been wanting to return. As veterans, tourists, something. The Intimate Illusions have been gone for a year now, so there’s nothing wrong, right?"

Her face fell. I saw something in her blue-as-crystal eyes.

You can sense something . . . Can’t you?

She nodded softly. Chance, I can’t explain it. But something’s going down on Mainland Frost. I just feel the evil radiating from the north. That was the direction the typhoon came from, wasn’t it?

I was silent.

"See? That proves it! There has been a great tragedy on the Mainland. You know how, here in Frost, magic manifests itself from emotions, right? That typhoon, when it hit, I felt a strong emotional connection to it. Someone on the Mainland is really hurt right now. And all the anger, which formed the storm itself, chased them away. Of course, only some powerful witches and some really emotional magicians could manage something like that."

I tilted my head. You can tell all that by feeling a raindrop?

She frowned. Yeah. Can’t you? Anyway, at the center of the anger I sensed terror, and inside of that, sadness. I also felt . . . Well, I don’t quite know how to put this . . . But I think . . . the Illusions are coming back.

I grabbed her arm, and she turned back to look at me. My face was stone cold. That’s impossible, I said slowly, measuring every word. Dad and Mom made sure the entrance to the Gap Between Dimensions was sealed, and the bridge between realms destroyed. They imprisoned Harana, and all the Illusions were sent back to where they came from. They couldn’t save the people inside any of them, so they didn’t outright destroy them. It’s ancient history where we’re concerned. I mean, besides the occasional leaks, Illusions are almost never seen in the real world anymore.

Her eyes were gentle. I know all that, she said.

But I was just telling you what I saw when I touched those magically-charged raindrops. I believe that the Realm of Darkness has been reopened, by someone from the outside.

A traitor, I said, realizing.

Shahana nodded gravely. That’s why everyone who survived the attack on Lost Pass hasn’t returned yet. The Illusions overtook them. It would also explain why we haven’t heard any news from Frost proper. Something is very wrong. She then got this look on her face, something I couldn’t very well read. You know how you, Luai and I have those ‘gifts’? she asked.

Yeah.

Well, I can see the future, Luai can detect the Illusions, and you can tell when somebody’s lying.

We can do that, I said. It was true. We’ve been able to do that since forever. Sometimes it got us in trouble, but . . . I’d secretly always felt special because of it. It was a very important type of asset.

Yes, well . . . You know that girl they’re always talking about in the newspapers? They always mention her, but never her name. The princess of Frost . . . that’s the girl. We know everything about her—her birthday, her shoe size, even her favorite color. They say she has the same powers we do.

I raised my eyebrow. And . . . ?

She smiled. "What about the other princess? They’re always talking about this one . . . But she has a twin. They’re both fifteen, like we are. I wonder what she’s like. I wonder what her favorite color is."

I eyed her, but she just shrugged. "What?"

"Where did that come from?"

She half smiled. I don’t know. I guess . . . just curiosity talking here.

You can say that again, I said. She laughed.

We walked all the way home. Something told me that, come tomorrow, something big was going to happen. And the way Shahana kept watching the water didn’t make me any less nervous. One way or another, Luai’s sixteenth year was going out with a bang.

*     *     *

Ready? Luai asked.

I smiled, digging my feet into the ground. Across from me, I saw Natalie narrowing her eyes. She had pulled her midnight-black hair into a ponytail, and was flexing her hands.

Shahana was laughing at her challenge. I could see the ice in the air between the two as Shahana raised her hand. Natalie glared at her. I don’t know what it was, but my two best female friends had always had a rather . . . frosty relationship. To put it simply.

You see, that’s where we live: the Kingdom of Frost. We were raised in a sunny island province by the name of Storm Hollow, south of Mainland Frost. It was a war—torn country, hardly a place to be happy in, because of a bloodstained history involving something about power—hungry rulers and a wizard named Harana. Of course, my friends and I managed. Mostly. Natalie was the new girl, having moved here two years ago. Luai took to her instantly and likes her a lot (Shh!). Sam, Luai, and I were born here, away from the fighting, and Shahana’s mom moved here when we were little. Her mom died shortly after the commute, though, and left Shahana under the care of Sam’s family.

Once upon a time, back before things got so ugly, when my Dad was still alive, Luai, Natalie, Shahana, Sam, and I wouldn’t have to worry about a curfew, or pirate raids, or Intimate Illusions taking over the kingdom. My friends and my brother would play games and have competitions. Now those once—fun pastimes have become only means of training to survive those deadly raids.

All this is way too sullen for my tastes.

You’ll have to try hard to beat me this time, kiddo, Luai teased, bringing me back to reality.

Bring it on, I retorted, trying to regain my wits. Luai might think he’s the toughest kid in the country, but he really has a soft heart. And though he may be my brother, Luai is my opposite in every way. Where I have messy dark brown hair, Luai has neat, caramel—colored hair. I still have my baby face, so even though I’m fifteen, I still get treated like I’m ten sometimes. Luai, however, is seventeen today. He has broad shoulders, chiseled features, and height, most of which I do not possess. I’m fast, he’s strong. I have big emerald green eyes, and his are sapphire blue. He knows he’s older and better-looking than I am, and he never lets me forget it.

Shahana backed away from me. In her hands, a sharp wind began to blow. It rolled itself into a sparking yellow ball.

Serve’s up, she smiled.

She wound her hand back, and catapulted the ball over our volleyball net.

Luai vaulted forward, and pulled a dagger from his back pocket. He attempted to stab the ball, sending it back over the net in my direction.

Oi! I yelled. "What