Prompt from "Write to Survive Contest", Round 3, by @SecretTreasures, December, 2021: Identical chalk drawings are appearing at random places around the city. What do you discover about them?

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

Story word count = 992

*** Contest Honorable Mention ***

The evening sun hung low as we entered the capital city outskirts, walking along a dusty road between brown adobe buildings. Suspicious eyes followed us. My heart raced as I clutched Ewin's arm. A part of me desired to run back to the familiarity of home. But the stronger part clung to his side, despite the unknown dangers.

He placed his hand over mine. "Remember," he whispered, "We are pilgrims seeking the Covenant Way."

And not Wanderers, those the Covenant wished to convert under threat of death.

Our quest took us to the Homelands, the land of our enemy, which the Covenant controlled with rigorous religious laws. The Mechs, the Priests' dreaded beasts of flesh and metal, killed my family two cycles ago, and more recently, Ewin's father. His mother disappeared three cycles ago in the Homelands, seeking others like her who opposed the Covenant Way. Dead or alive, we hope to discover her fate.

"What is this?" I paused beside a tall garden wall, nearly causing Ewin to stumble. A mural drawn on the smoothed adobe displayed the mythical phoenix in flaming red above a series of ancient symbols. But we knew the Phoenix was no myth, since recently among desert mountains, it blessed our quest and activated the relic crystal pendant that Ewin wore.

With hesitation, I touched the drawing, pulling back fingers kissed with red. "Chalk."

Ewin repeated my test, rubbing fingers together. "Then it must be recent, else it would have washed away. The Covenant Priests condemn the phoenix myth, so it is not their doing."

Further travel revealed another identical drawing, then further, yet another. What did they mean?

We spent the night at an inn. After sleeping so many nights on the hard ground, I so looked forward to a soft bed and warm bath.

The old innkeeper cast judgmental eyes at me, since the Covenant tightly regulated relations between men and women. Ewin explained, "My wife, Gwendolyn."

Heat came to my cheeks. Ewin and I grew up together, sharing adventure and mischief. The thought of actually becoming his wife brought an unexpected warmth.

Ewin asked, "What are those chalk drawings of the phoenix we saw?"

The innkeeper huffed, "Some say they be secret messages of the rebel Heretics. But I think them just petty vandalism."

That evening we shared a bath in our room, an appalling sin to Covenant adherents, but to us Wanderers, nudity was a natural thing. The wooden tub barely fit the both of us, and I leaned my body back against his chest under the warm water, adding fuel to the embers held deep within.

But this was not the right time. Lest the fire consume us both, I lifted my head from his muscular shoulder and squeezed water from my auburn hair, saying, "Do you think there are rebels?"

"There must be," he answered. "Perhaps they will help us find my mother. But how do we find them?"

A realization hit me and I spun around, drenching Ewin's head with a mini-tsunami. "The symbols below the phoenix, they are script of the Old Ones." I nearly squealed with excitement. "I remember them from the map!"

Eyes widened, Ewin jumped from the tub. Naked, he held out the relic crystal attached to a neck cord. Light burst out, forming a three-dimensional map of multi-colored lines within our room, as it did previously with the Phoenix. Dripping wet, I rushed within the image, pointing to an object. "There! It is marked with the same symbols."

Smiling, Ewin nodded. "Then tomorrow, that shall be our destination."

That night I slept well, wrapped within strong, caring arms.

The next day took us back to the wilderness, traveling off the main roads toward a collection of red buttes standing like soldiers on the desert floor. Slung over our shoulders, longbows and quivers stood ready in case a Mech appeared. The map led us to a rock spire. From a flared base, the vertical monolith seemed to touch the clouds.

We entered a crumbling domed structure, similar to other Old One remains, where we sometimes found the hard relic metal we used for weapons. The crystal revealed a hidden door in the back that opened into the butte.

He hesitated. "Gwendolyn, I know not what dangers await, you should--"

I interrupted by stabbing a forefinger at his chest. "Listen well, Ewin! We began this quest together, and we shall see it through together."

He sighed, knowing well my resolve. "Then, shall we?" he said, gesturing forward.

"We shall."

The relic crystal lit the way down a dark, dank tunnel with smooth rock walls, glowing brighter the deeper we descended. Eventually, we came to a large cavern-like room. Strange panels overhead illuminated strange dust-laden equipment and panels. Old Ones technology?

As we came to a low-ceiling alcove, Ewin paused, putting a finger to his lips. Were there others here? He motioned me to hold back. I did so while notching an arrow, then nodded.

As Ewin entered the shadows, a shiny blade appeared at his throat. A dark shrouded figure hissed, "Who are you?"

Drawing my bow taut, I shouted, "Drop the knife, or I shoot!" But another blade appeared at my neck, and I relented, lowering my bow.

A third man came into view, gazing at Ewin's glowing pendant. "Where did you get a relic crystal?"

A hidden female voice answered for him. "I left it with him." With her nod, the men then lowered their knives.

A woman with gray-streaked hair limped into view, leaning on a crooked wooden cane. Color drained from Ewin's face and his lips trembled. "Mother?"

"So long has it been."

Tears fell as they embraced.

She beckoned me forward into a three-way hug. "Gwendolyn, so good to see you." Stepping back while holding hands, she said, "We have much to discuss. The crystal you bear, Ewin, called the Eye of the Phoenix, holds the key to the Covenant's fall."