The Song of Death: Vocal Chronicles

By Dark Phoenix

Three teenager friends just love barging in witches’ houses, hugging giants, running through dark mazes and traveling across continents on sea dragons only to be beaten by random vampires and metal maniacs. Too much? It’s just begun.

Follow Emma, William, and Lara on their journey from an ordinary school to a magical war field where they will experience much harder crashes of emotional suffering, happiness, new friends, and, heartbreaks. It’s a battle with Demons. Quite literally.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Nov 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543754179

Dark Phoenix

Phoenix's a high school student, passionate about writing and currently lives in Saudi Arab. Through her books, she desires to share her world with the readers and let them escape to the imaginary one, if only, for a little while.

Book preview

THE

SONG of DEATH

VOCAL CHRONICLES

DARK PHOENIX

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Copyright © 2019 by Dark Phoenix.

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5437-5418-6

                Softcover        978-1-5437-5416-2

                eBook             978-1-5437-5417-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

CONTENTS

– 1 –   The Explosion

– 2 –   Madame Fashionista Saves them

– 3 –   The Plan Worked… Okay Maybe A Little

– 4 –   The old lady was a freak

– 5 –   A Goofy goofy wrestles… K.O!

– 6 –   The prophecy

– 7 –   New beginning… or not

– 8 –   The Threat

– 9 –   Kid… nap–ers?

– 10 –   Secrets Unveiled

– 11 –   The Training Begins

– 12 –   Destiny or Fate?

– 13 –   The Nightmare’s Gift

– 14 –   A ‘Giant’ problem

– 15 –   The Demon Within

– 16 –   All around the world quest

– 17 –   Farewell

– 18 –   Is the Vamp Champ?

– 19 –   Distinguishing the Devil

– 20 –   Trust

– 21 –   Metallic egg plant

– 22 –   Car chase and boom!

– 23 –   Unknown realm Spoiler: Lots of Mud

– 24 –   Truth or Flare

– 25 –   Almost There

– 26 –   To the war

– 27 –   War of Theradius VII (I)

– 28 –   war of Theradius VII (II)

– 29 –   War of Theradius VII (III)

– 30 –   War of Theradius VII (IV)

– 31 –   War of Theradius VII (V)

– 32 –   The Song of death

– 33 –   The Sacrifice

– 34 –   Tragedy’s Change

– 35 –   Revenge

About the Author

– 1 –

THE EXPLOSION

P retty much everything seems the same every day in life. Getting up, cleansing, going to school and returning. That time, it felt like too much a burden, a stack of bore. Still, Eliza would give anything to return to the good old days of a year ago.

Better than to live in the middle of the unbelievable as a fugitive, she shrugged, even revealing as a chuckle, as she remembered how it all started. She has had gone through a lot of deaths and tragedies in the way, but ended up alone in the middle of the storm anyway.

Slowly at first, the rain started dropping from the black clouds like rocks thrown from heaven. The fresh breeze entered her lungs, and when Eliza opened her eyes, she found only darkness, as all the streetlights had turned off due to a lightning strike. She wished for the lightning to return soon, if only to give her a few more seconds in the light. Then, where would I go?

Eliza let go of a half-hearted smile as the water dripped down from her hair and another thunderclap sounded. Her eyes also blurred, but she refused to believe that were warm tears flowing uncontrollably from her eyes. If only, she could change what happened a year ago, it would not hurt so much. If only I could trap all those memories in my heart forever.

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A year ago.

It’s over.

It is over? As lost as a confused shenanigan, Emma blinked twice at the younger, and then started to process. Recess had just ended and it was finally home time when Lara decided to state her dec‘lara’tion.

What’s over? she asked, tilting her head to a side.

Oh yeah? Quit acting! You know what you heard. The whole thing going on…this friendship. I’ve had enough of it.

Wait! You can’t just -

Whatever.

Emma flinched at the rudeness. Lara was not usually like this. Okay, maybe the bad pun was a little too…bad but that didn’t mean she could just end their whole five-year-old friendship like that. Grabbing her wrist, Emma called, Lara! Wait-

Lara turned around, glaring. The former just stared in shock at her in return. Lara’s eyes…did they just… glow red?!

Quiet, Emma let go of her wrist and walked back to her now-empty classroom, an unexpected sting in her heart. She threw books from her bag all over the table and pushed back a chair, its legs screeching as she dragged it.

Sitting down heavily, she opened a random book and started scrambling on the pages, somehow, clearing her mind enough to do her homework. She was not the one to cry. Never had before, and usually thought well while she was working.

She gritted her teeth as she broke her pencil’s tip. What is happening with Lara? What did I do is time? Is this a prank and she’s wearing lenses or…? Emma gasped as she came as close to a real reason as she could. It’s because of the Mentos-coke rocket I made at 3: AM which I totally didn’t shower on her.

No, it is probably not the case, dummy. She let go of a heavy breath, but stayed, analyzing through all that had happened recently.

Many strange things were happening, but Lara was not connected with any of it. Nowadays, children, specifically 13-year-old girls, got kidnapped, for two to three days, and returned to their houses safely, strangely, none of them remembering anything as to what had happened or where they had been. Moreover, all of them were from XX School and had some strikingly similar features.

It felt as if someone had located someone they have been looking for a long time but did not know how she exactly looked like. Maybe Lara was one of the kidnapped victims. She did seem out of her mind, and a little strange, but that was usual. Even so, when could Lara have been kidnapped? There was no time that she was-

Lara’s leave of absence…Emma’s eyes widened. No, she had to be wrong. She HAD to.

Convincing herself that she was wrong, Emma repacked her back and stepped outside the lonely room filled with empty chairs and tables, only to find herself hurtling towards the most unused exit in the school. Sure, William would be waiting to scold her for being late, but she did not care.

Suffocated, she just wanted to get out of the school. On her way out, while rubbing her temples to lessen her headache, she caught a glimpse of Lara’s black and purple clothes somewhere outside the same door Emma was going to use. Her breath suddenly stopped, filling her lungs with air, now threatening to burst. She hurried towards her, carefully taking a step after another to keep herself upright. She could not trust her legs to keep her standing, while they were shaking so hard with anxiety. What if she had been kidnapped during the leave of absence?

A wave of cold hit Emma. It was as if passing an invisible barrier. Shaking her head, she dismissed the feeling, focusing solely on the matter at hand. Could it still be a prank? Maybe I could corner her and ask her reasoning. With that, she stepped through the gate.

As the view of the school’s empty and dusty parking lot zoomed in, Emma caught sight of two figures, whose faces covered with — was that a black sock?

Then she heard a muffled cry from inside of a jet-black jeep and understood her reason for being so — disturbed. Short black hair kept bobbing up and down from inside the window. Lara — oh god, Lara. Wait; there were not just two men.

Emma turned to find a whole gang of black sock-faced thugs, consisting of nearly fourteen people, all grown up and full of a bulk of muscles. Her backpack thudded to the ground, completely forgotten as Emma’s eyes ran over the crowd, weighing her options. From the middle of the crowd, a blue sock-faced man (the sign of leadership) walked forward, each slow step sounding like thunder which threw Emma’s heart out of the world as he said in a somewhat familiar voice,

"Well, well, well! What do we have here? A blonde with blue eyes trying to save her dear little friend. How cute?" Most of his men snickered and sneered, no doubt doing their jobs. Their only jobs.

What was he saying? My eyes are not blue. They are green. Moreover, my hair is golden brown, more wards brown. Is he blind? She hoped he would be and answered in the same tone, sugarcoating her words,

From what I know, she isn’t my friend and, I, most certainly, am not a blonde. Nor am I trying to save her. Yet, I cannot just leave Lara in the face of danger now, can I?

Whatever the case, Emma peeked around, trying to figure what a bunch of thieves– or perhaps kidnappers– were doing here. There lied a tiny rectangle beside her feet, nearer to the gate. She gaped, astonished and frightened at the sight behind her, on the wall beside the school door. It was a bomb, a huge one at that.

The demolic box, containing a mixture of mechanism, attached itself to the wall tightly. She could not disarm it herself nor could she remove it while turning her back to the gangsters, probably making herself look like an idiot too, so she decided to play along with the role of the sweet, sarcastic girl she was attempting to be. The blue sock faced…dude interrupted her thoughts and said in a threatening voice,

Okay then, step away from the trigger and we all will be on our way. We might even free your little…uh not-friend. He tried for a smile but it was hidden by that ridiculous ski mask of his. He dares strike a deal that stupid and tries to smile? What a man!

Why do you want to blow up the school? Emma’s voice shook whilst she trembled uncontrollably, not knowing what to do next other than test his patience.

Do not test my patience, little girl, he grumbled.

Leave Lara or I will pull the trigger, she warned while reaching for the trigger lying beside her feet. Some instinct deep inside her helped her to stay stable and stop shaking as she bent, getting a hold of the small remote with a gigantic red button on it which would doom everyone if she left it in the wrong hands. Though, Emma could not help but wonder, what kind of School-blowers leave their triggers lying around with no care? It is as if… As if, they want me to pull it.

Now, now, let’s not get pissed off, shall we? You will die if you blow it from there just come here—, he said, trying to lure her into his trap but she interrupted, shaking her head as she set forward her own terms,

You will die too. By now, almost all of the children are out of school. It’s just us. If you take a life, I will take all of yours. Emma warned, still trembling a little. She was just a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl facing fifteen grown-up men. The chance of them negotiating was as thin as a thread. Perhaps, even thinner.

But – The blue-faced man started to protest, mildly annoyed.

Let go of Lara and I will pass you the trigger, she lied, marking the end of the conversation. Emma knew that, no matter what, she was not going to let these people blow up the school, was not going to throw them the trigger even at the cost of her life.

But let them believe. Let them think her to be honest and dumb. Besides, Emma was a good actor. She would even believe herself if she did not know any better. To the blue-faced man, Lara meant nothing but a thing to barter with, a ticket to his movie, a means of getting his beloved trigger. Therefore, he made a sign with hands, gesturing his followers to pass on the girl.

Once Lara was thrown at her side, though angered at the kidnapper-thieves, Emma’s breathing became ragged, her pulse quickened and soon her whole body was embedded with sweat which grew colder by the second, making her shiver.

The blue-sock face looked at her as if he did not intend to blow up the school anymore. It felt as if he found what he was looking for. Whom he was searching for. He gave her a smile that suggested he wanted his victim to be stuck in a microwave or something. Emma struggled her eyes off his mischievous half-hidden smile.

Desperate for any help, Emma scanned the ground. There came the Super-William saving them from their dooms. Just as the black-haired slim boy turned the corner, Emma tossed the trigger his way and he leaped to catch it out of natural reaction.

A sock party? Honestly, I am a little offended I wasn’t invited. You guys are Shrek and the squad from the neighboring class, right? asked William, looking at the gang.

At the same time, each one of blue-faced man’s companions faced their guns at William and some jostled each other and ran for the frightened kid, who had started running around the parking area and buses in circles.

SORRY! I didn’t know you weren’t Shrek and the squad! he yelled while running like an overdramatic princess, while making questionable noises.

The men, distracted by William, did not notice the girls slipping in their jeep–which was Emma’s idea. William, for his own good, was fast, dodged the bullets with ease and a little too many screams, and soon was in the jeep, sitting from across Emma. After he barely managed to close the door, a few bullets embedded themselves into the jeep.

Apparently, either Lara knew how to drive and thrust her foot on the accelerator or she didn’t know how to drive and pushed the accelerator. The jeep was about to drive out of the school’s driveway. All the criminals turned their guns on the jeep but the blue sock-face raised his hand and said,

If we shoot them, they are going to pull the trigger and cause damage to earthen property. Besides, they are not worth our bullets. We are done with our task here. We have found her. Let’s head to the Master and see where the heir goes and what she does.

Lara asked, driving, What’s that box you are carrying, William? Done being a drama llama, he replied with sass and an accent, Tsk. A trigger.

And so William passed the trigger to Emma, whose hand slipped and the trigger landed in Lara’s lap who, in turn, threw it back and, in a vain attempt of catching it, Emma ‘accidentally’ pushed the trigger. Behind their rushing car, XX School blasted out of existence, debris and rocks flying everywhere as the smoke rose high. After a huge moment of awkward silence and crows croaking outside, the other two finally averted their laser eyes from Emma.

Brushing her golden-brown hair aside, Emma exhaled slowly as she wiped the cold sweat off her brow. Adrenaline slowly left her system but apparently, not from her friends sharing the same car. Emma found it bizarre, sitting next to her thirty-minutes-ago-best friend, and an extremely shocked friend who literally looked like he was electrocuted. Lara, still driving, turned to glance at her,

You saved my life. Even after what I did. Even though she was stating the obvious, it was the most gratitude anyone could ever get from her. No one could get her to say ‘thank you’ forever.

You are the one driving, Emma said still refusing to look her in the eye and stop herself from asking ‘do you know to drive or are we a stack of roasted pancakes?’ About earlier, she hoped Lara would say it was a test to see how far Emma was willing to go to save their friendship, but Lara said no such thing. Emma exploded the entire school and it still was not enough. Lara fixed her sapphire eyes on her, pinning her under her gaze,

You sacrificed your whole life for mine. Your parents…now the school. The school was the only place you had left. Emma’s chest hurt thinking of what she did. The. Whole. School. Putting it like that makes it hurt more. Because now I have lost you too. Maybe being a bunch of Papadopoulos was not such a bad idea after all.

"Okay, you two. Enough of the you-are-my-savior-wah-haaa- thing. Credit me for it. I just appeared, you threw me the end of the whole school, and there were like fifteen guys chasing me. Besides, I managed to go the whole while without exploding the school. And - His gaze shifted from Emma to Lara then back again as he stopped flipping his mullet. You didn’t break your ‘five-year-old friendship’, did you?"

Silence.

Lara got interested in driving and Emma started to scrutinize clothes: an oversized hoodie over a grey shirt, which tucked at the waist under a short black skirt. On her long legs were half-transparent black socks that reached above her knees, with sneakers. Wow, I really do have a nice fashion sense but AH! This situation… William, knowing the answer, changed the topic

So where are we headed anyway?

Silence.

O-Okay let’s go to my home. He knew that Emma’s home was no longer and Lara’s parents would not appreciate a bunch of school kids jumping around in their house. Therefore, Lara changed the course and seemed to know the way just fine. This girl was full of surprises.

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– 2 –

MADAME FASHIONISTA SAVES THEM

G etting out of the jeep first, William knocked on his house door and after a while, a dark-haired woman emerged. She looked slightly like William: Dark hair-check, skinniness-check, heavenly proportions- CHECK. That is where the similarities end. His mother had light brown skin and black eyes whereas William had milky skin and warm hazel eyes. He asked his mother,

Mom, have you heard the news?

No, but did that underage girl just drive you here? William’s mother asked in return, peeking through the door. Lara rolled her eyes and replied, I am twelve and it’s nice to meet you too.

Well, hello Twelve! I am Sarah, William’s mother.

I am not ‘Twelve’ I am— started Lara

But you just said-

Aunt Sarah, interrupted Emma our school just exploded and we need your help. Funny, when you describe that in one sentence, thought Emma. Aunt Sarah gasped and her expression serious. She said,

Come in and tell me everything. After half an hour, when they finished telling her about the explosion and the ‘leader-dude-who-had-no-sense-of-mask-fashion-or-color’, there was an eerie silence for about five whole dreading minutes until William’s mother said silently,

Follow me. She led them into an old dusty attic with crippled walls. The ancient smell of paper seeped into Emma’s nose. Sarah went directly to the ancient chest hidden in the corner of the room and slowly opened the lid. Inside it was… a map that looked like it was from centuries ago and any second it would turn into dust. She held the map in her hand and took out some notes from under the chest. She exhaled slowly and turned to face the children, her expression grave. As if the happy woman we met minutes ago didn’t even exist.

"You have to go to Boston. In there you will meet someone who will make sure you reach your destination. You two are special and you can’t live here anymore. Not when he knows of your power. Just head north. It’ll probably take three days. Leave, and do not look back. Or even try to come back."

What? asked William, I don’t get it…Inside my head are too many questions, mom-

Her eyes turned watery as she said to William, clenching her hands into fists, Your father wanted to take you there from the moment you were born but I couldn’t make myself to think– to think that you may turn into a monster that he— that you may hurt and kill people. I wanted you to have a safe and perfect future. It was their turn to ask.

"What do you mean powers? What do you mean two of us? And why would I hurt people? What does any of this have to do with the blue sock face man?" asked William. His mother chose to ignore the first three questions and said,

That is not a sock he is wearing. Instead, it is a piece of cloth his sworn enemy was wearing while he died. He was there in school after you two, She motioned her head towards the trio, not sure, which two.

"You two are not mere mortals and he knew that. Therefore, he thought that by destroying your school while you were in there, might mean your end or bring you out. He was half-wrong. He saw both of you. That is why he didn’t make a move to get the trigger.

Now he’s going to catch your scent and pursue you till he has the satisfaction of having your blood dripping from his hands. Either that was his plan, or his master told him to find out the magic wielders and that, if any of them looked like who he was looking for. You have to leave fast.

Emma said, So basically it COULD be a sock. Also, we’re in danger now? A serious nod was enough to hint at how much danger.

Great. Not creepy at all. With that, she rushed from the attic into the living room and, after a minute, came back with two bags, giving one to William and one to Emma. She hugged William tightly at the door for the last time and said to everyone. Safe journey. Bye William, Emma, and Twelve.

Emma was a hundred percent sure she did not listen to half of what his mother just said but she got the important stuff. Special kids. Powers. Boston. Weird master looking for power wielders to find some person. Psychopath after us. Dashi Run. By the look on her friends’ faces, they did not get much of it either. As soon as they stepped in the car, Lara said,

I hate your mother. I mean, who names other people Twelve? And that was NOT the ideal pep talk but oh hey. Only Lara can have a sense of humor at such times. She shook her head and pulled the accelerator. Though most of the journey was quiet, boring and HOT, they traveled for a total of four hours until they decided they needed to rest and passed by a hotel reading ‘Three hours rest for Free!’

As Lara turned the car towards the parking lot, Emma voiced her suspicions, How can that offer not be a scam? It’s totally suspicious. I’d rather put two toothbrushes and my mouth and spend the night in area 51. Seems appealing?

William replied, Cool. I’ll join you. We can buy fluffy pink headbands on the way too. Lara added, But we’re broke and have a sad life so we’re here now. Let’s go

Therefore, they entered the hotel, which was not much but creaking wooden floorboards and dirty walls. It was just fine for them, as they did not need more than three hours, so when the hotel man showed them their rooms they plopped on their beds straightaway because each one of them had a separate room.

Emma was finally about to drift off to sleep after an hour but just then, she heard Lara scream her vocal cords out. That girl could not stay alive for two minutes without causing trouble.

In a flash, their own doors were closed shut