Chapter 7: The Plan to Shaft The Batarians

Phoenix songs worked surprisingly well on muggles. Our race traitor phoenix was more than happy to sing a song at some dentist's house. The man welcomed us like long-lost members of his own family, and I even had a room to myself. We had stuff and a higher standard of living than I expected. Dentists apparently made a lot of money in Great Britain in the early 90s. We had a few months before my Hogwarts letter arrived.

Instead of wasting my time drinking my liver to an early retirement like Jim or watching endless movies like Ron and Ginny, I focused on bringing my power to the next level. A trill and some flame alerted me to Cinder's arrival. I lowered my reflexive qi beam before I made a mess of her. That's why I needled formations into a glove on the bed.

"I could sing a song of strength." Cinder offered. To gain the benefits of her song, I would have to make myself ****. It sounded like an excellent way to get my brain pecked out.

"The strength you offer has no value to me. My plan will work just fine." She hopped onto my bed and stared at my needlework.

"Ginny's stitches are better; you should have let her help you. I would offer my own assistance, but I lack thumbs." Cinder said.

"What are you, my wife? You should just go back to your father. I don't like being used for your teenage rebellion." I said.

Tears fell from golden eyes. "We are in the wrong. I've seen the things my people do to yours. Slavery and a slow slaughter are evil; there has to be a better way." Cinder said.

I snorted. "If I hadn't seen it myself, I probably wouldn't have cared. I'm as much a wizard as you are a parrot. Societies are always brutal when they start out. If you were pecking out the brains of monkeys or sapient cows, I wouldn't raise an eyebrow. These wizards have a purpose in my plan, and so I'm involved." I said.

"You and my father would get along well if only you were a phoenix. He would love to hold me down with a clutch of eggs." Cinder said.

"Why do phoenixes eat brains? Malfoy claims it's to make it easier to control wizards. But why would you tell a dog like him the truth?" I asked.

"His family are my father's trophy. So long as they obey and keep their population low, they are given privileges. The noble houses maintain their autonomy to keep the government running and communicate with the other magical governments. My father and the other lords fear a wizard invasion. If not for the isolation of wizard society, we might have already been overthrown. If eating brains helped us control wizards, that would be a good reason for doing it." Cinder said.

Cinder stretched out her wings to the length of my bed. She was larger than any of the other phoenixes I've encountered. "Where does a wizard's power come from?" I asked.

She raised her wing and patted herself on the head. "By eating wizard brains, we have evolved in only a few short decades. To continue to grow, we need their brains. Without them, any chicks I have will be weaker and less intelligent. But that doesn't make this any less vile. I gain the memories of the mind I devour. Hatchlings are developing the same ability the lords have taken to feeding them, infants." Cinder said.

"I'm not going to lie. This isn't ok. I can't solve this on my own we need muggle doctors and researchers. If you're serious about fixing this problem, then I may have a solution." I said.

Cinder trilled happily at my response. "I knew going with you was the right choice. So what do we need to do? Is there some kind of magic that can replicate wizard minds?" Cinder asked.

"The answer is cancer. We're going to create a wizard brain cancer farm." I said.

Cinder turned her head to the side. "What's cancer?"

"An immortal cell that replicates endlessly and refuses to die. We just need a ton of bioengineers, neuroscientists, oncologists, and memory wipes when we're done. Of course, we will also need a lot of mind control. So, operation honey trap is a go." I said.

"Mind wipes for the scientists." Cinder said.

"For the witches and wizards currently being used as a buffet. We can tell them they were **** and experimented on by Batarians or something." I said.

"What are Batarians?" The phoenix asked.

"They are a group of slavers, pirates, and rapists who live in the greater galaxy. We can draw a few scary images and use them as the devil in this situation." I said.

"So, are we are blaming a group that had nothing to do with this for my people's crimes." Cinder said.

"Or we can reveal the truth to the victims and see how long it takes for a war to break out. Then, they will contact the other magical governments of the world, and counters to your phoenix song will be created. After that, the war for extermination will begin. Without your song, the wizards will win." I said.

"How can you be so sure?" Cinder asked.

"Because I am here," I said.

She flapped her wings and jumped up to my bedpost. "What are those stitches supposed to do?" Cinder asked.

I was glad she asked. The design for the stitches came from Ex Mortus technology. So while my formations weren't the same, I copied their effect.

"They pull against my qi constantly," I said.

"Why would you want something like that?" Cinder asked.

"By training myself to resist it, I can improve my qi control. I'll start with a glove and work my way up to my whole body." I said.

My first setting was low enough to resist with some effort. After a day, I planned to add another glove and then move on to my socks. Once I can resist the pull, no matter where it is on my body, I will increase that pull. So in a sense, this was resistance training for my qi.