Phoenix

by Elizabeth Richards

  Beetle studies the letter. “It says they need to fetch the container. How come your mom didn’t just keep a sample of the yellowpox in her lab?”

  Day rolls her brown eyes. “Didn’t you ever pay attention at school? Yellowpox is highly virulent. You need a specialized facility, somewhere remote and possibly underground, to safely store it.”

  The tips of Beetle’s ears turn pink, and Day kisses his cheek.

  “Imagine what we could do with that weapon,” Roach says. “We could take out swaths of Rose’s forces in one hit, with little risk to ourselves or the Workboots. It would cripple the Sentry.”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to retrieve it first,” Juno says.

  “Actually, the first thing we need to do is rescue my mom and Lucinda,” Elijah says. “They’re the only people who know where the laboratory is. Plus, it’s clear from the letter that my mom’s skills are needed to finish the project.”

  “Then that is what we will do,” Sigur says.

  Everyone starts chatting excitedly, filled with new hope. All we’d have to do is keep the Sentry at bay long enough for us to rescue my aunt and Elijah’s mom, and get the Ora. It’ll be tough, but we can do it.

  “Are we seriously considering infecting people with yellowpox?” Natalie says. “We’d be no better than the Sentry when they infected all those Darklings with the Wrath.”

  “This is different,” Beetle says.

  “How?” she challenges.

  “They deserve it, for starters,” he says. “Besides, how is this worse than blowing people up, or shooting them? The result is the same—they’re going to be dead. The only difference is that fewer of us will die if we use the Ora.”

  Natalie looks at Sigur.

  “I must put my people first,” he says. “This weapon could be the key to saving us.”

  She turns her gaze on me. “Ash?”

  “I agree with the others,” I admit. “And it’s not the same as the Wrath. That was designed to kill all Darklings. The Ora will only affect a small percentage of people with the v-gene.”

  “Like you and me,” she says.

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” I say. “We’re out of options.”

  “We’ll use it carefully,” Roach chimes in. “We’ll only hit strategic targets to minimize casualties.”

  Natalie says nothing more, knowing she’s outvoted.

  “I’m curious,” Juno says to Elijah. “Why aren’t the Bastets keeping the weapon for themselves? Why share it with us? It’s not like we’re allies.”

  Elijah scratches his neck. “Well, firstly, because we don’t know where it is, and need your help to retrieve it.”

  “And what’s the second thing?”

  He looks at me. “The senate can’t agree on what to do with the Ora. Half of them are too scared to use it, knowing if we do, it’ll be starting a war with the Sentry that we can’t win. However, the rest of us want to fight, but we need support.”

  “You want to join the rebellion?” I say.

  He nods. “But we have to get the other senators on board with the idea. I was hoping that you and Natalie would come to Viridis with me and convince them it’s the right thing to do.”

  I look at Roach.

  “We need all the allies we can get,” she says.

  Sigur and Beetle both nod in agreement. I glance at Natalie.

  “What do you think?” I ask.

  She gives a faint nod. “All right.”

  I stretch out a hand to Elijah. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

  We shake hands.

  “Well, this is a cause for a celebration,” Dad says, going to the kitchen and returning with the bottle of Shine, which I know he stashes behind the boxes of cereal. “To new friends.”

  “To new friends,” we reply, raising our glasses.

  The liquid begins to vibrate.

  I don’t have much time to wonder about this before a low, terrifying rumble above us makes everyone freeze.

  “What is it?” Natalie asks.

  I stand up. “Only one way to find out.”

  We all rush outside to see what’s going on. The streets are already filled with citizens, their faces fearful as they stare up at the night sky. Unnatural shadows swim across the ocean of stars like a shiver of sharks, blocking out the moonlight.

  Destroyer Ships.

  A whole fleet of airships, each over eight hundred feet long, floating across the city.

  My blood turns to ice.

  At that moment, the digital screens across the city spark to life, and Purian Rose appears on all the monitors. We all hold our breaths. I’ve never heard the city so silent before.

  “Citizens of Black City. By now, you will have noticed my airships above your heads,” he says.

  Natalie shoots me a worried look.

  “Your betrayal today did not go unnoticed by me,” Rose continues. “And as a response, the government has made an amendment to our segregation laws. Anyone who voted no in the ballot is now considered a race traitor, as are their children, and will be segregated along with the Darklings. You have seventy-two hours to hand all race traitors, and the Darklings, over to my guards. If you fail to do so, you will meet the same fate as Ember Creek.”

  Ember Creek? Wasn’t that the city where people were yelling out “No Fear, No Power!” during the live vote?

  My suspicions are confirmed when the footage cuts to an image of the harbor we saw this morning, except everything is ablaze. The pier is gone. The market stalls, boats and houses all destroyed. Bobbing on the bloodred waters are hundreds of dead bodies, their skin like charcoal. Men, women and children; no one was spared from Rose’s wrath.

  Natalie grips my hand.

  I stare at the horrifying image, knowing it’ll haunt me for the rest of my life. All those people, burned to death. Just like I was.

  “I did this,” I whisper. “It’s my fault they’re dead.”

  A countdown appears at the bottom of the screen, letting us know we have seventy-two hours to comply. The clock starts ticking down—71:59:59, 71:59:58, 71:59:57 . . .

  “We’ll never do it; we’ll never surrender to your demands!” Beetle yells at the screen, as if Rose could hear him.

  The camera slowly closes in on Purian Rose’s face, so that it fills the entire screen.

  “I have one more message, for the boy who calls himself Phoenix—”

  My grip tightens around Natalie’s hand.

  “I’ve been too lenient on the rebels these past two months, and it’s allowed you, like vermin, to multiply and spread,” he says. “It’s time I rid myself of this infestation. The Sentry government is officially declaring war against your terrorist organization. Anyone found to be involved in your movement will be executed.”

  I look at Beetle. His expression reflects my own concern.

  “Oh, and one more thing . . . ,” Purian Rose continues.

  The image cuts to grainy footage of a dark-haired girl bound to a metal chair, her head bowed, her body stripped bare. Blood pools around her feet.

  “If the rebels attempt to interfere in any way, if you defy me again, I will follow through on my promise,” Rose says. “Piece by piece.”

  The girl looks up at the camera, and Natalie screams.

  It’s Polly.

  10.

  ASH

  DAWN BREAKS over the city, casting misty yellow sunlight over the ghetto. After Rose’s announcement last night, the rebels took refuge in the Legion, ironically the only place in the city we’re safe now, because of the Boundary Wall. I barely had time to pack a single bag of clothes and belongings before coming here.

  I pick up the blue duffel bag and take out an ornate wooden box wrapped in one of my shirts. The box contains all my mom’s keepsakes: some old photos,
a lock of white hair, a Legion Liberation Front leaflet advertising a rally in Black City, and the diary Sigur gave me.

  I flick through the journal, taking some comfort in reading my mom’s words. As I turn the page, two photos slip out—one of the family in the forest glen, the other of her as a teenager, with Aunt Lucinda and two girls, taken in a tavern in Thrace. I’d forgotten I’d put them in there. I lift the photos off the floor and study the pictures, my heart pinching at the image of Mom’s face beaming back at me.

  I put the photos back in the journal and walk over to the window. All night Sentry troops and packs of Lupines had been transporting down from the airships to secure the city. It seems Garrick was right—Purian Rose does have another plan for the Lupines, and now it’s clear to me what it is: he intends to use them like bloodhounds to help hunt down Impurities. From the viewpoint in my bedroom—Evangeline’s old room, in fact—I can see at least twenty Sentry and Lupine patrols in the city center alone.

  The clock continues to count down on all the digital screens, but alongside it now is a scrolling list of the names of people who have been marked for segregation. These include Darklings and anyone who voted no yesterday, such as Natalie, Dad, Beetle, Roach, Amy, Sumrina, Michael, Juno, Stuart—everyone I know is on that list.

  At that moment, an image of Polly appears on the screens. They’ve been doing this every hour, on the hour, since Purian Rose made his speech to the city. From what we can tell, the message last night and these hourly updates are only being broadcast within Black City, which makes sense. Purian Rose wouldn’t want the rest of the country knowing what’s happening here. Polly’s still strapped to the chair, shaking, afraid. She’s in a small, dark room made entirely of steel. I wonder if she’s in a cell somewhere—maybe like the one I was in at Sentry HQ? It looks similar. Hope briefly flickers inside me that Polly might still be in the city, although it seems unlikely Rose would risk that. He’d need to keep her somewhere safe and out of my reach.

  Angry voices ring up through the floorboards from the council chamber below us, as the rebels and Darkling ministers fight over what we should do. They’ve been arguing all night. I want to tell them there’s nothing we can do. We’ve lost. Our only hope now is to run.

  I glance at Natalie, curled up in the double bed. When she wakes up, I’m going to tell her about my plan to escape to the Northern Territories. Crossing the border will be dangerous, but I think it’ll be worth the risk. The people there are said to be more tolerant of Darklings. Of course, I’ll have to persuade our families to join us. It’ll be hard bringing everyone along, but I’ll work that out somehow.

  “Polly!” Natalie screams, startling herself awake.

  I rush over and pull her into my arms.

  “It’s okay, I’ve got you,” I say.

  She rests her head on my lap, and I caress her golden hair. I wish there was something more I could do to take away her pain.

  “I think we should run away,” I say quietly, and tell her my plan.

  Natalie sits up. “We can’t do that.”

  “I know it’ll be hard, but—”

  “Not without Polly,” she says. “If you want to leave with the others, then I’ll understand. But I’m not going anywhere without my sister.”

  I rub the back of my neck. There’s no point pushing it. She won’t change her mind, and there’s no way I’m leaving the city without her.

  We get dressed and head downstairs a few minutes later, to find everyone congregated in the Assembly. All the Darkling ministers are there, arguing with each other while Sigur and Logan look on. The digital screen on the back wall shows the countdown clock, letting us know how much time we have left before the city goes up in flames: 63:42:11, 63:42:10, 63:42:09 . . .

  I find a seat at the com-desk between Natalie and Amy, who gives me a small, worried smile. Sitting opposite us are Day, Beetle and Garrick, while Elijah paces up and down the room behind them. I know my dad and the rest of Day’s family are still asleep, since I passed their rooms on the way here. Roach is on the phone.

  “Where are Juno and Stuart?” I ask Amy, surprised they’re not here.

  “They’ve gone into the city. I begged Juno not to go, but . . .” She bites her lips. “Well, you know my sister. She always has to be at the heart of the story.”

  Roach hangs up the phone. “I’ve just spoken to Flea. There aren’t any airships in the other cities. It’s just us.”

  “Has there been any update on Polly?” Natalie asks.

  “Not yet,” Roach says.

  Natalie frowns, making a small crease form between her eyebrows. Garrick walks over to her and rests a clawed hand on her shoulder. Up close, I see his nails are like shark’s teeth, all jagged down the edges. I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of those.

  “I’m sorry about your sister,” he says in a gruff voice. “You must be very worried about her—and your mom?” He leans conspiratorially toward her. “I heard a rumor the Emissary had been spotted in the Copper State.”

  “I wouldn’t know anything about that,” Natalie says. “It’s not like she’s contacted me.”

  “No, of course not. It wouldn’t be safe,” Garrick replies. “But I’m sure if she could get in touch with you, she’d let you know she was all right.”

  “I somehow doubt it,” Natalie mutters.

  Garrick squeezes her shoulder and goes to find an empty seat at the back of the oval room.

  “So what’s the plan?” I ask, the question posed to everyone in the room.

  “We must defend the ghetto!” Pullo, the brutish-looking Eloka Darkling, says.

  “No, we should surrender,” Angel—the female Shu’zin Darkling—replies. “We will die here, for certain. We have no food, the people of this city want us dead, and even if we succeed in defending the ghetto, Rose will burn it to the ground.”

  “What about the Ora?” Beetle says. “We’re still going to look for that, right?”

  “And my mom,” Elijah adds, giving me a panicked look. “We have to find her.”

  I briefly shut my eyes, my head spinning.

  “We will send a team to search for the Ora and Elijah’s mother as soon as possible,” Sigur says, and Roach nods in agreement. “But in the meantime, we must come up with an alternative plan to defend ourselves. We only have three days before the Sentry bombs the city.”

  “Perhaps Angel is correct,” Logan says. “The Tenth may be our best option, until you can retrieve the Ora and rescue us. At least the youngsters will be sent to work in the factories in Primus-Two.”

  “But what about the rest of us?” Pullo fumes. “I’m not going to be sent to Primus-Three to be used as someone’s lab rat!”

  “We could try escaping,” Natalie suggests. “Ash has a plan to bring everyone over the border into the Northern Territories.”

  “It was more an idea than an actual plan,” I admit. “I don’t even know how we’d get everyone out of the city.”

  A Transporter flies over the ghetto, making the walls rumble. We hold our breaths until it passes by. It makes no attempt to land.

  “How come the Sentry guards haven’t come to get us yet?” Day asks.

  “I can only presume Purian Rose has ordered them not to take us until the deadline has passed,” Sigur says. “He wants the people of Black City to fail, to give him an excuse to burn the city to the ground.”

  “Then why give us three days to hand everyone over?” Day says. “Why not firebomb us now, like he did in Ember Creek, if that’s his intention?”

  “He needs the prisoners, so they can work in his factories or be experimented on in the Tenth,” Garrick says from the back of the room. “He made an example of Ember Creek, so the people of Black City would be scared into doing his bidding.”

  “It worked,” I mutter.

  There’s a bang as the oak doors to the Dar
kling Assembly burst open, and Juno and Stuart race into the room. They’re both breathless, their hair and clothing a mess, and Juno’s cradling her left arm. Stuart’s carrying his camera, which he immediately plugs into the digital screen at the back of the room.

  “It’s madness out there!” Juno says.

  Amy hurries over to her sister. “Are you hurt?”

  “It’s just a sprain,” Juno replies. “You guys need to see this.”

  Stuart presses Play on his camera, and everyone in the room quiets down as we watch the video recording. The first set of footage shows hundreds of people in the town square, demanding that Sigur send out the Darklings, while countless Legion guards line the wall, ready to die to protect their people. My people.

  “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually glad we’ve got that bloody wall,” Roach says.

  Stuart fast-forwards the video and stops on some footage of Sentry guards setting up more roadblocks around the city, complete with machine gun turrets and tanks. No one will be able to leave by the roads. The next shot is at the train station, where some families are being ushered onto an armored train.

  “Hang on, are those people evacuating?” I ask.

  Juno nods. “That’s this morning’s latest development. Anyone who hands over three or more Impurities to the guards will be given a ticket to leave the city.” She tosses a blood-soaked train ticket onto the table, with the words EVACUATION PASS printed on it in bold red letters. “I got that off a dead guy who’d been mauled by some Lupines. I guess he pissed them off.”

  Garrick’s mouth twitches slightly.

  “A few of them tried to grab me and Stu, but we fought them off,” Juno continues.

  I turn the ticket over in my hands. It has a silvery rose-shaped watermark on it to prove its authenticity. It must’ve taken weeks to get these printed up. Anger rages inside me. Purian Rose has been planning this all along—he guessed I’d vote against him. I’ve played right into his hands!

  “The rest of the country needs to see what’s happening here,” Roach says. “We have to warn them, before the airships move into their city.”