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Book two in the Thiery Chronicles.
Sequel to Sacrifice the Sun

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phoenix ~ a person or thing of unsurpassed excellence or beauty; a paragon.
paragon ~ model of excellence or perfection of a kind.

Mythology - Phoenix
A bird fabled to exist single, to be consumed by fire by its own act,
and to rise again from its ashes. Hence, an emblem of immortality.
For those few who were already up, the rising of the sun was a beautiful sight to witness. The colors danced over the sky as it rose, spreading light over the city, chasing away the shadows, and all things that hid in them. They were not of those that watched the sunrise. As the first rays of light appeared on the sky, they had already gone inside, shutting heavy wooden doors behind them and moved into a huge windowless room, bathed in shadows and light from candles, which provided the only source of light. Her eyes took their time to adjust, yet when they did she was stunned. The room was empty, save the three with her, and the three standing in front of her. The one called Niran took a step forward now, kneeling in front of the three, muttering something too low for her ears. The man in the middle stepped forward then, putting his hand on Niran's shoulder, allowing the man to rise. "The boy?" he asked, and Niran's gaze fell to the floor. "We lost him" he replied, his voice low, barely audible. There was a silence then, that seemed like it lasted for an eternity. Niran kept his head down, not daring to look into the eyes of the one before him. She didn't understand any of it, yet watched with interest, slightly worried about what was to come, wanting to understand what they were talking about. What boy was it that Niran had lost? And why did it even matter? "How?" The question broke the silence, and Niran's head shot up before he could control his reactions. He clearly had not been expecting that. Maybe it was that he was not used to having to explain, and maybe it was that he had expected something else. She didn't know, but kept her attention on the two, wanting to know the answer to that as much as the man who had asked it. "There was another. Avatar of Avalon. He claimed the boy, and as he is of a latin line, there was nothing we could do, save kill him for it. And that prize was too high, and the outcome too unclear." The man nodded, accepting the answer. He turned then, and his gaze fell on her. She took a step back, not expecting his eyes to be so piercing, so bright. They shone in the dimly lit room, and she found it hard to look away, yet she did. "Your name?" he asked, his voice gentle and caring now, not harsh as it had been when he had been talking to Niran. "Janet Maria Collins" she replied, her voice trembling, though she couldn't explain why. A feeling of familiarity and love was washing in over her, stronger now than ever before, and it took all of her willpower to stay on her feet, to not collapse and succumb to it. "Well, Janet. Do you know why you are here? Where we are? What we are?" His voice lingered on each question, making the sentence seem much longer than it truly was. "This is home, and I am here because you wanted me to come. As for what you are, you are a vampire" she replied in a steady voice, proud of the amount of self-control she was showing. She didn't know how she knew what he was, but something inside her told her that it was the right answer, the one he had expected. "Yes, a vampire I am. As are you child. There is much I must tell you, much you must learn. But for now, I will settle for showing you a whole new world. Then, later, we will talk, and I will tell you everything you need to know." She raised her head then, and let her eyes fall on his face, entranced with the way the shadows from the candles danced on his face. He took a step closer, now standing less than a foot away from her, his right hand moving to wrap around her waist, his eyes locked on her neck. She didn't try to move away. Instead she moved closer, tilting her head to the side, allowing him better access to her neck. He leaned closer, and she could feel his breath on her neck, cold where it should have been warm, just as his embrace. "My name is Cathal, and I am your at'hethan. Remember that, young one" he said, as his teeth sunk into her neck, and her world faded away until only darkness remained.