Suho is back at the spring, trying to stop his hands from trembling. He's never actually called Chen before and he's not even sure the thunderbird will come, after their argument the other day.

But, he thinks as he glances over his shoulder to where Baekhyun is waiting with the Templars, he really doesn't have any other choice but to try. He looks at his left arm and up at the cloudless azure sky and then slowly lifts his hand up, stretching it out almost desperately, and whispers "Chen."

A spark erupts from the scars on his shoulder and starts dancing up his arm. When it reaches the very tip of his middle finger there is a pause before it stretches out from Suho's skin like a luminous thread, curling towards the sky.

A cloud rolls in, heavy and dark with the promise of rain. As it spreads across the sky, the little thread of light continues to climb upwards. Suho holds his breath.

He isn't sure, at first, if it's real, but after squinting, Suho realizes that a similar thread is winding down from the clouds.

"Chen…" he breathes.

The two lights touch.

The following roar of thunder is deafening. Suho, blinded by the flash, stumbles backwards, to be caught and turned around by a pair of very familiar hands. Chen's silver eyes, cloudy with worry, swim into focus. The thunderbird's mouth, usually turned upward in a cat-like smile, is moving, but all Suho hears is a high pitched ringing. Gradually, the ringing subsides and Suho can hear Chen's frantic words.

"Suho! Suho can you hear me? Are you hurt?"

Suho blinks a few more times, tasting iron in his mouth before smiling weakly.

"I'm fine, Chen."

Chen hugs him fiercely.

"Don't scare me like that, Suho. I thought you were hurt and you needed me."

Suho slowly hugs back, surprised at this show of concern. Baekhyun's words haunt him.

He's using you. When an Adar claims a human they become more powerful.

And yet the fear in Chen's eyes…it seemed so real.

"If you're not hurt, why did you call me?"

Chen's bright voice snaps Suho out of his thoughts.

"I…no reason. I just wanted to see you, I guess."

The lie is bitter in his mouth. Chen smiles but then looks down, biting his lip.

"I'll…I'll protect them too."

"What?" Suho asks, confused at the change in topic.

"Your family. If you want me to, I'll protect them as well."

Chen looks up, his face reminding Suho of a dog wanting to please his master.

"Thank you, Chen," he says after a pause, smiling at the boy in front of him. Chen grins widely and kisses Suho. The smell of rain fills Suho's nose and in an instant Baekhyun's words flee his mind. He's reaching his arms up to wrap them around Chen's neck when icy panic shoots through his heart. This is a trap.

He pulls his lips away and shoves Chen with all his might.

"Fly away! Get out of here!"

Chen just stares at him, head cocked to the side and eyebrows furrowed.

"Suho?"

"Chen, leave!"

But Chen is stepping forward and reaching a hand out to Suho who's trying to swallow past the scream in his throat because Baekhyun is behind Chen and he's smiling.

And there's a moment, a horrible hopeful moment, where Chen sees the fear in Suho's eyes and Suho knows the thunderbird's about to call lightning because of the tingling in his left arm. But then there's a Templar stepping out from the bushes and he's carrying a heavy, metal-tipped club and the thud that it makes when it connects with the back of Chen's head resonates sickly in Suho's ears. Chen's silver eyes go dull as he crumples to the ground. 

Suho screams.

He screams and screams until the Templar steps forward and raises his club and swings it and a blinding pain makes Suho black out.

He's standing on the summit of a mountain, where the sky is almost painfully blue and the air is thin and sharp in his lungs. Looking down, Suho sees clouds, far, far below him, clinging to the mountain's slopes like a thin blanket. He thinks, if he squints, he can make out wings swooping through the clouds. A sudden gust hits his back and he nearly topples forward. He steps backward quickly, his heart pounding in his ears, and looks up, trying to calm down. Instead he's nearly blinded by the sun.

The sun is hanging not two feet above Suho's head, so low that Suho is sure that if he reaches out a hand, he could catch a sunbeam in his fingers. He stretches his fingers out towards the bright sphere floating in front of him. He jerks back when a hand, bright and shining white, emerges from the sun and catches his wrist. Suho looks up to see a pair of fierce golden eyes blinking at him.

A voice reverberates in his ears, warm and rich like a sunrise in summer. And yet this warm voice carries an edge of undeniable power. Suho trembles as he listens. 

"Wake, child. This is no place for mortals."

When Suho opens his eyes it's so dark that for a moment he isn't sure if his eyes are even open or not. When he tries to move his arms feel far too heavy and a rough, grating, metallic sound causes him to pause and wait for his eyes to adjust.

Once he can see in the murky darkness, he realizes that he is lying in an underground cell, with three solid stone walls and one wall made of vertical steel bars. Looking at his too-heavy arms, Suho sees that thick iron shackles are attached to his wrists, with long, rusted chains leading to rings in the back wall and his ankles are chained together.

He sits up but nearly cries out when a dull radiating pain shoots through his skull. Touching his forehead, he feels a jagged wounds crusted with dried blood and he shudders, remembering the Templar who struck him.

Chen.

Suho staggers to his feet and throws himself at the bars, straining against the chains on his wrists.

"Hello?" He calls, his voice barely more than a hoarse croak. He tries again, his voice cracking in panic. "Hello?!"

Silence.

He hits the bars, his manacles clanging loudly in the silent gloom.

"Is anyone there?" He screams, bile rising in his throat. Was he alone? Had they left him there to die? Where was Chen? Where was his family?

"Please! Someone! Anyone!"

Nothing.

He's crying now. Sobs rip themselves from his throat as he slides down the bars to the ground, hugging his knees to try and keep himself sane.

"Chen…I'm so sorry, Chen…" he hiccups, rocking back and forth as tears slide down his cheeks. He cries for what seems like an eternity, until exhaustion rolls over him and he falls back into sleep's embrace.

The next time Suho wakes, it's because a bucket of ice cold water is thrown over him and he splutters awake, shivering violently and blinking in the torchlight.

"Rise and shine, heretic," purrs Baekhyun's voice. The priest is not dressed in his usual loose robe, but instead in some sort of heavily embroidered ceremonial garment that bares his arms. Baekhyun squats in front of Suho, a cold smirk on his face.

"Where's Chen?" Suho's teeth chatter as he glares at the priest.

Baekhyun's smirk stretches into a smile.

"Alive. For now. And that's all you need to know."

The priest stands, brushing dirt from his front.

"Not that it'll matter in a few hours. The whole town is coming to watch you be purified."

Purified. The official term used by the church for someone burned for heresy. Only death by fire can cleanse their sin, as decreed by the god of light.

Suho is going to die.

Suho closes his eyes tightly, determined not to cry in front of Baekhyun. He hears the rustle of Baekhyun's embroidered coat and the clink of the priest's sun pendant against his belt buckle and soft footsteps padding away.

Then a pause. And Baekhyun's voice, almost as an afterthought.

"You needn't worry about your family. I will keep my end of the bargain, even though you almost broke your end."

Suho opens his eyes and stares after Baekhyun.

"You'll leave them alone?" He rasps, his chains rattling as he grips the bars desperately.

Baekhyun sighs and nods.

"Yes. To be honest it would be a shame to lose a mind like Sehun's. He's a smart boy."

It might be the dim light, but the look in Baekhyun's eyes when he looks back at Suho is almost apologetic.

"You were one of my favorite students, you know. If things were different…you had potential. You might've done something great."

Before Suho can respond, Baekhyun is striding down the hall, his soft footsteps echoing in the silent jail.

When a Templar comes and unlocks Suho's wrists from the wall, yanking Suho to his feet and marching him down the dim hallway, Suho doesn't resist. A strange sort of numbness has settled into his bones, like the numbness he felt while he watched his father's funeral.

He is going to die.

And there is no way to avoid it.

He's temporarily blinded when the doors of the dungeon are pulled open and the late afternoon sun pours over him. Suho's eyes water and he blinks rapidly, tripping over his own feet as the Templar pushes him roughly forward.

The sound of a crowd reaches his ears and he forces his watering eyes open to see most of the town gathered around a pile of dried wood and straw and sticks with a stake in the middle.

Suho's knees shake and he finds he can't move with the place of his death staring him in the face. But a Templar rams the of his spear into the small of Suho's back and he stumbles forward with a cry of pain.

"Suho!"

A familiar voice rings out and Suho's head snaps up in alarm. His mother and Sehun and Sunny are standing at the front of the crowd, flanked by Templars and staring at him in horror.

Suho's eyes find Baekhyun and he lunges forward, a now familiar anger bubbling up inside of him.

"You said you would leave them alone!" He yells, stumbling forward and nearly tripping over the chain that still binds his feet. Electricity, unbidden, sparks along his arm and the crowd gasps in alarm.

"Heretic!" screams a voice and it breaks the dam of fear among the spectators. Before long, the cries and shouts and screams are mixing together and crashing into Suho's ears in a cacophony of fear and anger.

Someone starts a chant and it leaps from person to person, building slowly but surely until it's a roar; a single voice repeating a single phrase.

"Burn him"

He wants to cover his ears but, looking over at his family, he decides not to show them how close he is to shattering. Instead, he looks at Baekhyun, who raises a hand high in the air.

The crowd grows quiet.

"Suho," the priest begins. "You stand charged with the crime of heresy. For this, you will be burned at the stake until dead."

The crowd roars again and Baekhyun lifts his hand again to quiet them.

"However, considering your young age, the elders of the church have decided to give you a chance to redeem yourself."

Shocked murmurs whip through the crowd. This is unheard of. Suho's heart lifts, just a little bit.

But then a Templar drags a bloody and battered tangle of black feathers through the crowd and throws the crumpled body of Chen at Suho's feet.

Suho's throat constricts. Chen. Is he dead? He can't be dead. Can he?

"Chen?" He whispers, kneeling at the thunderbird's side.

Silver eyes flutter open and gaze, unfocused, at Suho.

"Suho," Chen chirrups quietly, lifting a quaking hand to Suho's cheek. Suho grabs Chen's hand, tears threatening to fall at the state of the thunderbird.

Baekhyun's voice breaks through Suho's stupor.

"If you want to redeem yourself…" There's a pause, and then a gleaming, razor sharp knife is dropped into the dust next to Suho.

"Kill the Adar."

Suho stares at Baekhyun, not sure if he's heard correctly. The priest's face is deathly serious. Suho looks back at Chen. The raven haired boy, though he can't quite focus his eyes on Suho, smiles.

"It's okay…" he whispers, squeezing Suho's hand. "Because I love Suho."

Suho leans over and kisses Chen, right there in the sight of every person in the mob. He ignores the outcry and the screams and the gasps and focuses on Chen. Chen and his soft lips and clear laughter. Chen and the way he smells like rain and the tang of metal. Chen and the way his eyes turn into crescents and his tongue peeks between his teeth when he smiles. Chen and his black hair and black feathers that shine in the sun.

He breaks the kiss and smiles at the flushed boy beneath him. He kisses Chen's forehead before standing up and staring Baekhyun straight in the eye. And then he spits in the priest's face.

The Templars grab Suho and he doesn't even bother to struggle. He is going to his death on his own terms and he is choosing this path and he is strangely at peace, despite the screaming of the crowd and the bird screams coming from Chen's battered form as he tries to reach for Suho and is held back by Baekhyun.

They tie Suho to the stake and unlock his feet. Suho can't look at his family but he knows that his mother is crying and Sunny is crying and Sehun, poor Sehun, is looking at his older brother, about to be burned alive, and realizing that he can't cry because now he is the man of the house and he has to look after his mother and his sister and Suho almost laughs because history is repeating itself.

Baekhyun steps forward and reaches his left hand up, and that's when Suho realizes that there is an intricate patchwork of scars all along the length of Baekhyun's left arm. Before he can process this, he's hit by a wave of heat so intense that it knocks the breath from his lungs. Apparently the crowd feels it too, because they back away, whispering to each other and looking at Baekhyun in awe.

Heat waves ripple out from Baekhyun and Chen's screams are growing louder, more accusatory, as he glares at Baekhyun furiously. Fiery sparks swirl up around Baekhyun's feet and reach for the sky. A few moments later, there's a burst of fire and a man, an Adar, is standing in front of the priest.

Even from fifteen feet away, Suho can feel the overwhelming heat pouring off of the Adar. The man is tall, towering over Baekhyun, with auburn hair that seems to flicker and shift like flames. His cloak of red feathers droops off of one shoulder lazily and as he lopes towards Suho, the ground cracks and shrivels in his wake.

When he reaches the base of Suho's funeral pyre, he pauses and grins, a wide, almost manic smile, and Suho is close enough to see that his orange eyes twitch slightly because of it.

"Phoenix…" Suho manages to gasp, almost passing out from the blistering heat rolling off of the Adar.

The phoenix laughs, his voice surprisingly deep and booming.

"So you know of my kind," he says, tilting his head curiously. "To most, I am god."

Chen, who had fallen silent at the phoenix's arrival, cries out.

"Take me instead! Let him go, take me instead! He has nothing to do with us!"

The phoenix turns around and chuckles, his voice becoming dangerously quiet.

"You brought him into this when you marked him as yours. Now deal with the consequences."

Fire erupts around the phoenix's feet, at the base of Suho's stake. The dry wood catches almost immediately and Suho closes his eyes and bites his lip to stop himself from screaming.

Chen, however, screams, long and loud and desperate.

"Please!" Chen's voice is choked with tears and Suho finds himself crying as well.

He can feel the fire against his feet and he shuts his eyes tighter, preparing for his clothes to catch on fire and then his skin and his bones but suddenly a howling gust of wind slams into him.

His eyes fly open to see that the fire has been blown out and the phoenix is standing in front of the stake, his orange eyes narrowed at the sky.

"I thought you were neutral in this, Kyungsoo!"

Another howling blast of wind whips past Suho and slams into the phoenix, making him stumble back. Something cuts Suho's ropes and he nearly falls forward, but two hands catch him.

"Don't move."

The voice is unfamiliar but Suho obeys, watching with fascination as a breeze begins to swirl around the stake, picking up speed until a whirlwind of leaves and sticks and dust is rising in a cone around Suho.

"Hold on," the unfamiliar voice says, and amidst the whine of the whirlwind and the outcry of the crowd and the frustrated scream of the phoenix, Suho is lifted into the air and carried away by the wind.

---------

A/N: Wow an update that didn't take me a month to write. How did this get so long oh my god I'll probably edit it a little later since it's 5 am and I've been chasing this plot bunny since 11 pm. I love you all, thank you so much for your comments and subscriptions and upvotes! I'm going to bed.