The Phoenix People

Chapter Sixty

"Hello," I greeted the woman in charge of distributing food. "I was wondering if you had any baby food?" Annamarie had already gotten food for all of us, and while the portions were meager, they were enough to survive off of. It was Jack I was worried about.

The woman raised her eyebrows. "At that age? Can't he eat solid food?"

I blushed at my own ignorance. For all of these days, I had been relying on the crippled man to feed the child that I had taken responsibility for. How could I hope to keep him alive if I didn't even know what kind of food he ate?

"Of course," I murmured, and retreated to our table.

"What did she say?" Melody asked, seeing that I held no baby food.

"Apparently he's old enough for solid food," I murmured, still feeling embarrassed.

"Well, how were you supposed to know?" Anna pointed out. I smiled gratefully at her.

I broke off a bit of bread and gave it to Jack. He chewed with his mouth unabashedly open, staring off into space.

We ate our meal this way, exchanging bites. Finally, the plate was empty. My stomach was unsatisfied - after all, sharing with Jack meant less food for me - but it would have to do.

Anna stifled a yawn behind her hand. Jack was making small sleepy noises as well. I stroked his head gently. "Bedtime?" I asked.

"Bedtime," Anna agreed with another yawn.

"Goodnight, everyone," I said to Melody, Theo, and Griffin as Anna and I stood. Pausing, I asked, "When will the...mission take place?"

"Two days," Melody replied.

I nodded, trying to hide my nervousness. "Thank you."

Worrying about killing my brother could wait. For now, I had to sleep.

*

The next morning proceeded as usual. It felt surreal, knowing that tomorrow, we would attack the palace. For now, Anna and I had an early breakfast and headed to the courtyard. Jack had spent the night in our room, but I wasn't certain where he would be during the battle.

"I think most of the children will be staying here," Anna replied. "Possibly being moved to the forest for maximum security."

"I should check with..." I trailed off at the sight before us as we emerged into the courtyard.

It was in disarray. Rather than training, people were weighing weapons, trying on armor, and holding serious discussions with their friends.

"They must be choosing battle gear," Anna realized, grabbing my hand and tugging me forward. "You should, too."

"What about you?"

She raised her eyebrows and a tiny flame flared from the tip of her pointer finger, dancing wildly in the morning breeze.

"Right." I nodded and surveyed the area. "Where do I even start?"

Anna wriggled through the crowd and soon emerged, holding a small sword. "Try this," she ordered, handing me the weapon.

I accepted it, tossing it experimentally from hand to hand. "Feels good," I declared.

"Good." Anna grinned. "Now, armor."

This was where we found trouble. Either the armor fit but was too heavy, or it was light enough for me to function in but was ill sized. Finally, we found a fitting breastplate, gauntlets, and boots.

"Shouldn't you get some armor, at least?" I asked.

"My father forged me enchanted armor when I was very young," Anna explained. "It grows as I do and has some magical properties."

"Of course it does," I muttered. Then, louder: "Can I drop all of this off in our room?"

"As long as we're down there, we can find out where to send Jack," Anna suggested.

*

"Oh, good," the crippled man said as soon as we entered his room. He gestured us over frantically. "They're sending the children into headquarters."

"You were right," I said to Anna. Turning my attention back to the man, I asked, "Where do we take him?" Jack stirred in my arms, as if sensing that I was about to leave him. I patted his head apologetically.

"The street exit," the cripple replied. "They'll be carting children out at intervals until midnight, I believe."

"Thank you," I said. "For everything."

"My work's not done yet," he told us. "I'll be out with the midnight shipment." There was a hint of resentment in his voice, which I understood. After all, he probably would have been thrilled to fight - a battle was likely where he had lost his leg. Now, he would be supervising terrified children for hours while the rest of us fought a battle that would change the world.

Anna and I hurried to the street exit. It, like the courtyard, was chaos. Children sobbed and screamed as their parents attempted to explain why they were leaving them. Jack began to get distressed and I hugged him closer to my chest.

Anna and I shoved our way through the throngs of tearful families saying farewell for what might have been the last time. It was a dark prospect I didn't want to dwell on.

Jack had already been abandoned by one mother and had another dragged to her death. He couldn't lose me as well.

There was a group of frazzled-looking people trying desperately to take down the names of all the children who would soon be shipped out. I tapped one's shoulder and she whirled as if I had shocked her.

"Sorry," I said, flinching slightly myself.

"Name, card color, and name of child," the woman ordered, seeing Jack in my arms.

"Um, Alexia, red, and Jack."

The woman scribbled the information down on her notepad. "The next departure is in about five minutes," she droned, and moved on.

I was taken aback by her abruptness, but let it slide. She had a lot on her plate.

"Listen," I whispered to Jack. "You're going to go into the forest with these nice people for a little while. I promise I will come back for you." Kissing the top of his head, I settled back and waited.

Finally, one of the women raised her voice to be heard over the crowd. "Please have the following children step forward. Josie, child of Jeremiah. Clover, child of Poppy."

The crowd surged forth, expelling the children one by one as the list continued. For children too little to walk on their own, their guardians handed them to one of the women.

Finally, I heard it: "Jack, child of Alexia." There were quiet murmurs from those who recognized my name or face as I stepped nervously forward. The murmurings increased as news of who I was got passed around.

The woman held out her arms for Jack. I kissed the top of his head a final time and handed him over. He immediately started to fuss, reaching out to me with a confused expression.

"I love you," I told him, and then turned and hurried down the hallway, Anna close behind me.

"You're doing the right thing," Anna told me quietly. "And you will see him again."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I had to devote the rest of today to preparing for tomorrow's battle.

Jack had been a distraction.