Phoenix smiled at her friend also feeling the connection to her and reality. Time to go home. She tightened her left hand and turned towards Eevi's tug. As they began to walk, something moved. Indefinable, but menacing.
Phoenix brought them to a stop. "Damn it!" she breathed.
It doesn't look like it's going to be easy after all, she thought, in annoyance and alarm. She took another tentative step and the ominous feeling grew.
Tightening her left hand she slashed it across the front of her eyes and breathed "Light."
Seconds later a flash of brightness flooded the area and disappeared. But she had known where to look. "Oh, no."
She felt Yvonne stiffen. "What is it?"
"Your guard."
"My what?"
Phoenix sighed. "Ever since your brother survived silver and wolfsbane by bleeding to the point where he needed an almost complete transfusion, the bad of our kind have tried to find a way to make that miracle useless. Now they use dark magic," The darkness rippled and Phoenix said more on instinct then anything. "Start a memory, Yvonne, a good one."
Yvonne nodded and a version of herself, looking younger then Celeste now danced and giggled with a lovely woman in a field of flowers while a gangly André pretended to lose a wrestling match against a grinning boy that Phoenix realized must be Luc, and a handsome man held a beautiful baby.
Phoenix pulled her eyes from the image and felt relief as the threatening aura subsided. "Oh. They're distractible, that's why it hasn't attacked me yet. Memories! Yvonne, we need to keep this a secret, don't tell anyone until we wake. Eevi's going to be so pleased."
"What?"
"The reason you're caught in your mind? It wasn't just silver and wolfsbane they used on you. No, it was them and a dark spell. Making your mind a prison. And when sorceresses found a way to lead werewolves back, they added monsters to attack the ones who tried. There are multiple types. You have the worst, of course. I mean why wouldn't you? It doesn't just catch the guides, it kills them. Me. I know spells to fight them. And I beat the one in Warren. But every time we succeed, they make them stronger. I was hoping you'd have a different kind."
"Phoenix? How much danger are you in?"
"A lot less then I was a minute ago. It likes your memories. It calms when you play them. To the point that I didn't know it was here. Let's see if we can use that to get to our exit. Why don't you show me good memories of André as a child? A teenager? Like a photo album in your head? Or show me any memory you want. I don't care. But keep them coming. Start the next one before the last one finishes. While we walk very slowly out of here."
Yvonne nodded.
"Let's try walking again. If I stop, stop. But keep the memories playing. And don't let go of my hand."
"Okay."
Phoenix tightened her left hand and shot it forward like she was stabbing something, while breathing "Sword."
She tightened her hand around the sword that appeared there. She smiled at Yvonne's shocked face. "Just in case."
And they took a step forward.