Prompt from "Write to Survive Contest", Round 2 - Inflammable Quest, by @SecretTreasures, November, 2021: Legend has it, if you see a phoenix at night, you are destined to go on a turbulent quest; an unknown adventure. What does this quest hold? What's the purpose and where does it lead? No one knows; and you happen to see the phoenix.

[Author's note: This short story is a standalone sequel to "The Mechs of the Covenant".]

Story word count = 999

**** Write to Survive Round 2 Winner ****

The problem with any quest was knowing the path to take.

"Where do we go now, Ewin?" Gwendolyn asked as we hiked along the dusty trail, her long skirt and auburn hair fluttering in the breeze. "Marching into the Homeland to demand justice would not end well. Please tell me of a better plan."

Our village was not keen to see us go, thinking my quest foolhardy. But there came a point of desperation, and we turned toward the Covenant rather than running from them. Kindred spirits, the mechs, their fearsome beasts of flesh and metal, orphaned us both. I hoped first to find my mother, a former Covenant Sister, who returned to the Homeland to seek other dissenters like herself.

"Do you remember the story of the phoenix?"

"Aye, from the Writings. A beast of fire that rose on the darkest of nights to the Great Prophet, renewing his soul and purpose. It foretold a holy quest."

"Many times my mother told me the tale." I fingered the blue relic crystal, looped on a lanyard around my neck. "That is what we seek."

"Are you daft?" Gwendolyn narrowed her eyes and shook her head, like she often does. "The phoenix is but a parable."

"The tale is fanciful, but the phoenix is real, so my mother told me. She left me a key." I revealed the crystal from beneath my tunic, letting it gleam in the sunlight. "I had not told you of this, but she was once a Covenant Sister and knew of their secrets. She witnessed the corruption and fled, coming to live among the Wanderers where she met Father. Three cycles ago, she returned, seeking others, like her, who dissented to the Way. She never returned." Stopping, I turned to Gwendolyn. "I would learn the truth of her fate."

"Where would we find the phoenix?"

I pointed toward the setting sun and distant shadowy peaks. "To the west among the mountains of the Wasteland, just past the circle of rocks. Mother said the phoenix guards knowledge of the Old Ones, and knowledge is power."

It took six days through the desert to reach the foothills, following a stream. Mostly dry, it only reluctantly quenched our thirst when the water emerged from the rocky bed.

The mountains seemed impenetrable. Illuminated by the morning sun at our backs, sharp points of hard rock speared the sky above, standing side by side like soldiers. My skin prickled, as much from the chilled breeze that descended from the heights as the apprehension of what laid before us.

As the nights grew colder, Gwendolyn moved her bed roll next to mine and accepted my arms, warming both my body and heart. But the closer she nestled, the more I regretted her presence. Mine was a dangerous quest. What if I led her also to a dark destiny?

The climb began within a notch that birthed the stream, the water now trickling cool and clear. We skirted enormous boulders between towering walls of red rock.

"There!" Gwendolyn exclaimed with the glee of discovery, pointing ahead. "That must be the circle."

An arch of dark rock spanned the canyon, creating a large circle through which the stream tumbled.

"Yes, it must be."

As we made camp beneath the arch in the fading twilight, the crystal pendant hanging from my neck glowed, becoming brighter as it bathed nearby rocks in blue light.

"Something happens," I whispered, and we both gawked.

A low, rumbling growl pierced the silence, sending electric jolts down my spine. A mech-wolf snarled from the rocks above. Part beast, part machine, and twice the size of the animal it represented, it glared primal rage with blazing red eyes.

It leaped. I tossed Gwendolyn aside and reached for my knife, but before I could raise it, the monster crushed me to the ground under metal claws in a fury of dust and motion. Pungent, smoky breath assaulted my senses as it snapped metal jaws.

Thunk! A relic-metal tipped arrow imbedded itself in the monster's neck, originating from Gwendolyn's bow as she crouched. Dark liquid spewed from the wound. Snatching up my knife, I finished the mech with a thrust to its gut.

"You owe me," she said with a smirk.

"You owed me first," I answered while sliding out from under the downed mech.

We might have argued debt further, but three more wolf-mechs emerged in the stream bed below, each as menacing as the first.

"Umm, this is not good," Gwendolyn mumbled, tossing me my bow and quiver.

Standing side by side, we notched our arrows, waiting for the attack. Instead, an ear-shattering screech blasted out from behind us. Turning, we witnessed a massive winged bird of metal and fire swooping over the ridge. Flames trailed its wings, blazing bright against the darkening sky.

My heart dropped. It was the phoenix. And it was another mech.

Skimming the hills, it dove toward us, but inexplicably, shot past, leaving only hot wind of its wake. With another screech, it pounced on the mech-wolves, violently ripping them apart with talons, beak, and fire. In barely a moment, the battle ended.

The phoenix hopped up the rocky slope and deposited itself before us, slumped down in a shallow depression like a hen on a nest. Its head twisted, regarding us with curious green eyes. The flames ceased, leaving only fading wisps of smoke. I clutched Gwendolyn's hand, and we crept forward.

Tentatively at first, in case it was still hot, I stroked the phoenix's metal beak. As I did, dazzling light burst from the relic crystal swinging at my chest, painting the air around us in a multi-colored structure of lines and contours.

Gwendolyn traced the lines with her fingers, then exclaimed. "A map from the Old Ones! What secret places it must reveal."

We bowed to the phoenix, then watched it fly off into the night on wings of fire.

I smiled, hugging Gwendolyn to me. "And now we know our path."