The Last Phoenix (2 page)

M
illy jumped up and down in delight and Michael shoved the others out of the way to spread the map out on the grass. “Okay, let's see what we've got here…”

The others crowded around. “This must be where the treasure is!” Michael banged his finger down on the red cross. “Now, whereabouts do we start? We need some landmarks or something.”

“But we don't even know it's definitely Moreways Meet,” said Jess. “I know that crossroads seems like the one in the center of town, but look at the rest of the map…”

Jason saw what she meant, and his excitement ebbed a little. “One tree on a map usually means lots of trees in real life,” he remarked. “It looks like these roads are in a forest or something. There aren't any buildings marked on here, either.”

“What about these things?” Michael pointed to a square near the crossroads and then the strange, multilayered rectangle. “They could be buildings.”

Milly peered closely at the paper. “Look! I thought these were just ink marks dotted about, but now they look more like tiny words.”

“Let me see.” Jason studied one piece of microscopic scrawl beside a forest path. “A…S…H,” he spelled out. “Ash.”

Milly shrugged. “Maybe it means there's a pile of ash we have to look for.”

“This one says
beech
,” said Jess, squinting at another.

Michael pulled a face. “There aren't any beaches anywhere near here.”

“Beech as in beech tree,” said Jess.

“And an ash is a kind of tree!” Jason realized.

Michael's eyes lit up. “It's a code we have to crack! Yeah, that'll be it!”

Jess nodded. “Let's go home, write down all the words properly, and try to work out what the map is showing us.”

“Smart one,” said Michael. “Come on, then!”

Jason hesitated. “I was just thinking…Where did the map come from?” The others all looked at him. “I mean, a map like this must be really valuable. It's old—and it's magic. Why was it just blowing around a park?”

“Who cares where it came from?” said Michael. “Finders keepers!”

“I dunno.” Jess bit her lip. “Maybe we
should
leave it here for its owner to find.”

“No way! Look, think about it like this,” reasoned Michael. “It just appeared, didn't it? Maybe we're meant to have it 'cause we've done magic before—like Milly said. Come on, guys, this is a magic treasure map! We can't just chuck it away.”

“Michael's right,” said Milly. “We
can't
!”

Jason looked anxiously at his sister. He felt they probably should try and find who'd lost it but he really, really didn't want to. He wanted to go hunting for treasure!

Jess did a strange half-nod, half-shake of her head. “Oh, all right. Let's take it home.”

Jason felt a rush of relief. “Brilliant!”

He and the others hurried away in an excited huddle, clutching their secret tightly, all their boring worries forgotten. And so they never noticed a mysterious rustling noise coming from a nearby bush, nor the curl of golden smoke that rose up from within it….

 

No sooner had Jess turned the key in the front door than Michael had pushed past her, waving the map like a flag. “Gangway!” he yelled, charging toward their den in the basement. It was part junk room, part cellar with an old sofa, piles of boxes, and wonky chairs. They cleared a
space on the floor and laid out the map, holding down the corners with a random assortment of objects—a chipped china ornament of a little girl, a glass vase, an old casserole dish, and a purple paperweight. Their parents were out, working in their busy bookshop.

“Now, let's have a proper look at this thing,” said Michael.

“But…but…” Jess felt a shiver run through her and her mouth went dry. She pointed at the red cross on the map. “The cross has
moved
!”

They all stared. The cross was no longer beside the tree. It was now in the strange tangle of squares in the top left corner.

“But how can it have moved?” Milly said. “Treasure can't move!”

“Weird,” breathed Michael.

Jason looked at the red cross. Some of the scratchy ink lines seemed to be drawn over it, like it had been placed at the bottom of the layers. He moved his head from side to side, looking at the shapes within the shapes. There was something really familiar about them all. From the position of the six-way crossroads, the layered shapes weren't a million miles from their house, but he couldn't think of any landmark nearby that would match that design.

“I wonder…” Jason traced the ink lines with his finger.
They looked like partitions…or walls…was this a staircase…?

“Hey, Jase, go and find a magnifying glass,” said Michael. “Let's see if we can read any more of the words and get some clues about what's going on.”

Jess frowned at Michael. “Who made Jason your slave? You get the magnifying glass.”

Michael gave a long-suffering sigh and loped away up the stairs. The door to the den slammed shut behind him.

And Jason, still watching the map, suddenly stiffened. “No way,” he said.

Jess had turned to Milly. “I wonder what the treasure is?”

“Gold and jewels!” said Milly immediately.

Jason gulped. “I don't think so. Look!”

Jess and Milly turned. Jason was pointing wordlessly at the tangle of overlaid squares, his eyes wide and fearful. Milly gasped.

There wasn't just one cross now. There were two!

One cross still sat in the lower layer of the overlapping shapes, while a smaller cross had appeared on
top
of the scratchy black lines.

“What…what's happening?” Jess asked, intrigued. “What does it mean?”

“I think that those squares and shapes represent our
house,” Jason began, “viewed from above as if it's all see-through.”

Milly stared at him. “You mean all the different floors are…sort of on top of each other?”

“Right. I
knew
I recognized it!” Jason started to talk rapidly, pointing at the different layers. “See, this must be the den where we are.” He ran his finger along the dotted lines. “That's the staircase. And then up above that is the kitchen and the hall and the lounge—the dotted lines are the walls. And the next square up is divided into the bedrooms, with Michael's right at the top.”

“So some of the treasure is in our house!” Milly cried. “Cool! But, hang on…why are there
two
crosses?”

Jess recoiled from the map, pointing in amazement. “And why is one
moving
?” Sure enough, the red cross was flickering about, drawn, erased and redrawn in different parts of the square. “I thought we agreed treasure can't move!”

“It can if it's alive…” Jason pointed to the big cross. “Don't you see, Jess? That's us.” Then he pointed to the smaller moving one. “And that's Michael.” A shiver ran through him, and he swallowed hard. “To whoever owns this map—
we're
the treasure!”

J
ess, Jason, and Milly watched the little red cross blink in and out of existence on the old yellowed paper. And although they were expecting the den door to rattle open as Michael entered, they all still jumped.

“What's got you lot so spooked?” Michael said.

Ten seconds and one stammered explanation later, he had his answer.

“
We're
the treasure?” he spluttered. “But that's crazy!”

“Look at the whole map.” Jason's freckled face was pale. “This wonky rectangle must be the park and the bigger ones at the bottom are most likely our school buildings. The smaller box by the crossroads has to be Mum and Mark's shop.”

“It's a map of all the places we're most likely to be found together,” said Milly.

Jess got up from the floor. “Watch what happens when I go out of the room.”

She left the basement. Michael saw a small red cross move up from the lower layer into the next layer.

“See?” Milly whispered.

“I do see.” Michael gulped. “And I don't like it.”

Jess came back downstairs, her face creased with worry. “The cross moved, didn't it? Whoever this map belonged to is trying to find us!”

Just then there was a knock on the door. All four of them jumped about a mile in the air. “Hi! Is anyone home?”

“It's Mum!” hissed Jason. “Quick! Hide the map.”

“Hi, Mum!” Jess called as Milly rolled it up. “We're just…um, down here!”

There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs and, just as Milly shoved the map under the sofa, Ann Worthington looked over the banister. “What on earth are you all doing down here when it's such a lovely afternoon?”

“Just hanging out,” said Jess.

“Kicking back.” Michael agreed.

“How was the shop?” Milly asked, a fixed smile on her face.

“Good,” said Ann. “I was just going to do some baked potatoes for supper. Can someone give them a scrub for me?”

“I will,” said Jason, getting to his feet. The thought of being close to his mum and doing something ordinary and dull seemed suddenly
very
comforting. The others must have thought so too, as they quickly followed him.

Mark Worthington, Michael and Milly's dad, was in the kitchen setting the table. “Here comes the posse,” he said brightly. “All right, everyone?”

They all smiled briefly but no one said anything.

“You're quiet,” Mark commented. “Has it been a tough day then? I wish parents got half-term holidays. I'd love a week just hanging about with nothing much to do.”

“Yeah, me too.” Ann sighed. “I could go shopping, see my friends, do some more pottery…speaking of which, Jess, if you haven't got much to do tomorrow, do you think you could pop around to Mr. Milton's workshop with Milly? He came into the shop today to say he's fired those pots we made.”

“I guess,” Jess said reluctantly. One of the customers at the shop had an old workshop with a kiln, and when he'd found out Ann dabbled in pottery he'd insisted she use the kiln whenever she wanted. Ann had taken Milly there the other day and they'd made some wonky pots together.

“I'm glad you're sending the girls along in your place, Ann,” said Mark with a mischievous smile. “I still say Mr. Milton fancies you!”

“He does not!” Ann protested. “He's just a lonely old man trying to be friendly. You should see his house, it's enormous! And the grounds are full of the most amazing sculptures.”

“Sounds awesome,” said Michael wryly.

Ann ignored his sarcasm. “We'll have to find time to make more pots, Milly.”

“Maybe after my audition,” Milly agreed.

“Ah, yes,” said her dad with a smile. “You'll soon be swapping the art studio for a recording studio!”

“Can I go and practice my singing now, Dad?” asked Milly.

“And I was thinking I should write some practice essays,” said Jess quickly.

“Good girl,” said Ann approvingly. “Milly, perhaps you should sing in the shed if Jess is trying to work.”

“Outside? On my own?” Milly froze. Michael gave her a warning look, and she sighed. “It's a bit spidery out there. Maybe I'll just practice quietly in the lounge.”

She hurried from the room.

“So it's okay for me to play on my Game Boy,” said Michael. “Right?”

“Wrong,” said Mark flatly. “Essays and singing practice get you out of setting the table, playing your Game Boy doesn't. Cutlery, please.”

Michael rolled his eyes and stomped over to the silverware drawer.

Jason began washing the potatoes. He couldn't stop thinking about the map. Who was looking for them? What
were the tree names supposed to mean? Jason didn't like puzzles without answers.

Then again, he thought with a shiver, if someone scary was trying to find them, he might not like the answers even more.

 

Later that evening, after eating her supper without tasting it, Jess stared miserably at the history books laid neatly out on her desk. Milly was just getting into bed, fidgeting from side to side. Usually, Jess moved out to the study when Milly wanted to sleep, but now she looked over at her stepsister huddling down under the duvet.

“Hey,” Jess said softly. “Are you okay?”

“I think so.” Milly swallowed. “I mean, if someone nasty was looking for us, they can't find us now, can they? We've got the map.”

“Right,” Jess agreed.

“But!” Milly's eyes widened in alarm at the thought. “What if they threw the map away because they don't need it anymore—because they've already found us!”

Jess felt as if an ice cube had just slipped down her spine. “Oh, Milly, you and your imagination!” she said quickly. “Now, I really must do some studying…” She looked back at the open book on her desk. She'd read the same paragraph sixteen times, and still all she could see were
little red crosses scuttling across the page.

Magic,
she thought anxiously.
We're better off without it!

 

The next morning, Jason lay in bed, waiting until he heard his mum and Mark leave for the shop. He hadn't felt like going down and chatting to them as he normally did. He was exhausted. In his dreams he'd been running from some unknown menace through a dark forest full of strange trees.

Pushing back the covers, he got out of bed and padded downstairs. The house was still and quiet.

Jason jumped as Milly came into the kitchen.

“Sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn't mean to startle you.”

“It's okay,” said Jason. “It's just…I keep thinking about the map…”

“So do I,” said Jess, yawning as she came in. “Hi, you two. Did you sleep okay?”

“No,” said Jason. “The map is still freaking me out.”

“And me,” Milly added.

Jess sighed. “Me too. Let's get Michael up and start talking about it.”

“Michael
is
up.” Michael shambled into the kitchen in his boxer shorts, T-shirt, and dressing gown, waving the
map. “I wondered where you'd all gone, then I saw the red crosses on this thing…”

Milly shivered. “Don't, Michael.”

“Look,” said Jess sharply. “Just because this magic treasure map has turned up, it doesn't automatically mean we're going to be up to our necks in crazy, freaky stuff all over again—”

“Hey,” Jason interrupted. “Does anyone else smell something strange?”

Michael sniffed the air. “Yeah. I just assumed it was Jess.”

“Shut up!” Jess said witheringly. She twitched her nose. “Actually, I
can
smell something. It smells like smoke.”

They glanced around the kitchen but nothing was burning. Milly got up and looked out of the window. She gasped. “The shed! The shed's on fire!”

The others ran to the window. Sure enough, the small, poky shed full of Mark's rusting tools in the garden was wreathed in smoke.

“Oh, no!” Jess's hands flew to her mouth. “We'd better call the fire brigade! Where's the phone?” She started to search the cluttered counter.

Michael joined in, hastily sweeping piles of papers and bills on to the floor. “It must be around here somewhere.”

“Something just moved in the shed!” cried Jason.

“I saw it too!” Milly gasped. “Something moved past the window.”

Jess stared. “What? You mean, there's someone in there?”

“I'll check it out,” cried Michael, throwing open the back door. “If it gets around school that I'm a hero who saved someone's life, I'll definitely be one up on Rick the Slick! Come on, Jase.”

“Don't you dare get too close,” Jess warned them. “Oh, where
is
the phone?”

“I think one of them is in our bedroom. I'll go and get it!” Milly fled from the kitchen.

“Get my cell phone if you can't find it,” shouted Jess. “It's on the bedside table!”

Heart racing, Michael bundled Jason out through the door ahead of him, steering him out into the garden and toward the shed. The smoke was wafting across the lawn, and Michael coughed as he breathed in a mouthful. It was strangely fragrant and made his head tingle.

Jason went rigid and pointed. “There it is again—movement. There's definitely someone in there!”

“Or some
thing
. Probably just a sparrow.” Michael peered through the haze. “Okay, I'm going in. You wait here, Jase. I just hope I'm not risking my neck to help some stupid bird!”

Covering his mouth with his arm, he headed for the shed door. Thick smoky tendrils were curling out from under it. Tentatively, Michael reached for the wooden handle of the door with his free hand and pulled.

A cloud of smoke exploded toward him. He reeled back with a yell.

“
What a to-do!
” came a loud, female voice from inside as he fell onto the grass, speechless with shock. “
I set your little house on fire—that's not good manners! Ooooh, I
am
sorry, but thank you so much for getting me out…
”

So, there
was
a person in the shed! Michael wiped his stinging eyes. “Who's there?” he shouted, starting to get up and peer through the smoke. “Are you all right?”

“Me, dearie? Oh yes, I'm fine!” There was a flash of gold in the smoke. “You two look a bit off, though.”

Michael and Jason stared, dumbstruck, as a bizarre golden bird about the size of a turkey came waddling out of the shed toward them. She cocked her head to one side and her beak seemed to curve up in a smile. “Hello, lovies!”

“It's a bird!” burbled Jason, pointing wildly. “Michael, it's…it's a talking bird!”

“Jess! Milly!” Michael called in a high-pitched, frightened screech as he fell back down on his bottom. “Get out here!
Now!
”