Phoenix

by Elizabeth Richards

  The Bastet guards pace down the hallway, then enter one of the rooms on the left. As soon as the door shuts behind them, Elijah emerges from our hiding place and whistles the four-note tune to silence the siren birds. He beckons us forward, and we follow him. We hurry past the large rosewood doors leading into the senate room.

  “I haven’t got all day, Bezier,” Sebastian snaps from the other side of the closed doors. “Bring them to me now.”

  “My servant has gone to get them,” Bezier replies. “Now, about our terms—”

  There’s a gunshot, followed by the sound of a body hitting the stone floor.

  Elijah spins around, his face ashen. “Dad!”

  Pandemonium instantly breaks out in the senate: people scream, more gunshots are fired, bodies hit the floor. The doors burst open, and the Bastet senators run out of the room, tripping over one another in their haste. There’s a smattering of gunfire, and they fall into a heap on the mosaic floor. My nostrils flare with the scent of their blood.

  Through the open doorway, I see Acelot and the other Bastets fighting the Sentry guards, while Marcel takes cover under the table. Donatien lies lifeless on the floor beside his mother and Bezier. In the center of the melee are Sebastian, Garrick, Sasha and two other Lupines.

  The loud noises startle the siren birds, and they begin squawking. Sebastian turns, drawn by the sound, and catches my eye. Surprise briefly registers on his face, and then it hardens into a snarl. He barks an order at the Lupines.

  Garrick and his pack bound toward us, followed by Sebastian and a pair of blood-soaked Sentry guards. The Lupines leap over the pile of dead senators, barely breaking their stride as they chase us down the corridor, although Garrick has a definite limp as he runs. The agitated siren birds wail as we dash by, their cries echoing around the atrium.

  We burst out the front door, into the main plaza. Parked on the far side of the plaza is the Transporter that Sebastian and his men took to get here. The hatch is open. We race toward it, knowing it’s our best chance of escape. I risk a look over my shoulder. Garrick has reached the front door. He charges toward us, closely followed by Sasha and the other two Lupines.

  “Hurry!” I cry out.

  Natalie gasps as her injured leg buckles beneath her and she slams to the ground. I turn on my heel and run back for her, but I know I’m sealing my own fate by doing so. I reach her at the same time as Garrick. He knocks me out of the way, grabbing Natalie. I hit the ground, hard. The two guards grab Elijah, while Sebastian draws his sword on me, a triumphant look on his face.

  He’s so focused on me, he doesn’t notice Acelot by the doorway, gun raised. The Bastet shoots the Sentry guards holding Elijah before aiming his gun at Sebastian. He pulls the trigger. Click. Nothing happens. The chamber’s empty.

  “What are you waiting for, dog?” Sebastian says to Garrick. “Kill the cat.”

  Garrick moves, as if he’s going to get Acelot. Then something happens I wasn’t expecting. Garrick slings Natalie over his shoulder and runs onto the Transporter, along with Sasha and the other two Lupines.

  Distracted, Sebastian briefly lets his guard down, and I take my chance to strike. I lunge at him, putting my full weight behind the tackle. We crash to the ground, rolling across the plaza, each trying to get the upper hand. We’ve been in this situation before—two months ago, in fact, during the riot in Black City. But this time I’m not going to let him go.

  On the other side of the plaza, the Transporter’s engine starts up. No!

  “Get Natalie!” I call to Elijah.

  I don’t know if he’s heard me; I’m too busy fighting with Sebastian. I manage to pin him under me and punch him in the face, over and over, until my knuckles bleed. He slumps against the ground, alive but unconscious, blood spilling out of his nose and mouth.

  The Transporter’s rotors begin to spin, drawing my attention.

  Elijah sprints toward the aircraft just as the hatch door starts to close.

  He’s not going to make it!

  Through the crack in the closing door, I see Natalie being shackled to the metal bench.

  “Natalie!” I yell.

  She turns, catching my eye through the slit in the closing door.

  “Ash!” she cries out.

  Elijah leaps at the hatch, nimbly rolling through the gap just as the door shuts and the vehicle takes off.

  “No!” I scream as the Transporter flies overhead. “Natalie! NATALIE!”

  I yell until I have no voice left, but it’s no use.

  She’s gone.

  39.

  NATALIE

  I PULL AGAINST the chains around my wrists and ankles, immediately regretting it as they dig into my sore flesh. We’ve been on the prison Transporter for hours, and Garrick hasn’t said a word to us this whole time. He just sits silently at the pilot seat while Sasha and the other two Lupines watch over us. She occasionally lets me use the tiny restroom near the cockpit, but that’s the only interaction we’ve had.

  When I’m not worrying about Ash, which isn’t often, I plot ways to attack Garrick and take over the ship, although I know it’s futile. The Lupines would kill us before we even got close to him. Besides, it’s not like either Elijah or I know how to fly the airship.

  Elijah stares ahead, his face etched with worry. He must guess that Garrick probably intends to kill him as soon as we get to our destination. I’m briefly reminded of the last time we were on a prison Transporter together, during our failed mission to save Polly. He was such a comfort to me then. I gently take his hand, and he looks gratefully at me. His fingers tighten around mine.

  Clouds drift by the cockpit window. It’s impossible to tell where we are, although my best guess is that we’re on our way to Centrum. Garrick no doubt wants the reward money for himself and didn’t want to share it with Sebastian. What I don’t understand is why Garrick took me and not Ash. I’m of little value to Rose, other than . . . oh God. There’s one use for me. Purian Rose can use me to distract Ash, the same way they used Polly. They’re going to keep me alive, torture me, knowing it’ll drive Ash insane. He won’t be able to function; he’ll be useless to the rebellion.

  I think Rose understands now that killing Ash isn’t the best move. Ash has already been “resurrected” twice; people won’t believe he’s dead, and if they do, he’ll be turned into a martyr, which is the last thing Rose wants. There’s no point arresting him either. That would make him a political prisoner, which will just rally more support for the rebels. No, all Purian Rose can hope for now is to keep Ash distracted, and to do that, he needs me.

  “So how much are you going to get for me?” I ask Sasha. “I hope it was worth all the effort.”

  She doesn’t say anything, just curls her bright pink lips.

  The Transporter suddenly banks to the left, and I snatch a look out of the windscreen. The clouds disappear, making way for plumes of choking black smoke.

  The aircraft descends rapidly, and the peaks of industrial buildings come into view, copper chimneys glinting as we pass by. We’re flying dangerously close to them, weaving through the buildings at breakneck speed, and I cling to my seat, terrified we’re going to crash.

  “You all right?” Elijah whispers.

  “Feeling a bit nauseated,” I admit.

  “If you’re going to be sick, could you do it over your own feet this time?”

  I laugh weakly.

  We fly over a distinctive steel and brass wall, which I immediately recognize as the ghetto wall in Gallium. We’re in the Copper State!

  “This is Alpha One, requesting permission to land,” Garrick says into his headpiece.

  The radio crackles, and a moment later, a man’s voice replies. Something about it sounds so familiar, but I can’t place it over the static.

  “You’re clear to land. Good to have you back, Alpha One,” he says.
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  The Transporter turns sharply to the right, missing a factory roof by inches, and lands in a massive courtyard outside a smelting works. Two of the Lupine pack remove the shackles around our feet, but leave the ones on our hands. The hatch opens, and we’re blasted with hot, stinking air.

  We march through the courtyard into the smelting works and down a maze of metal walkways before we reach two enormous steel doors. They slide open, and I realize it’s an elevator.

  “Where are you taking us?” I ask Garrick.

  “You’ll see,” he says as the doors shut behind us and the elevator descends into the earth.

  My heart is pounding a mile a minute, and my hands shake with nerves. I ball them into fists as Elijah slides a reassuring look at me.

  The elevator slows to a halt, and the doors ping open. I blink against the bright fluorescent lights. We’ve arrived in a bustling subterranean railway network, with a vaulted copper ceiling about twenty feet above us, creating a surprisingly airy feel. Subway cars rattle by, transporting people around the enormous compound. Wide concrete platforms the size of a regular sidewalk run alongside the rails. They connect the metal-walled buildings and adjoining tunnels, giving the impression we’re in the center of a busy town. In fact, as we’re ushered down the sidewalk, I see a sign on the wall saying MAIN STREET.

  Hundreds of people dash around us, wearing simple orange factory overalls with guns slung over their shoulders. Where are we? A petite black woman in her midtwenties, with waist-length cornrows and intense brown eyes, greets Garrick at the crossing of Main Street and Second Avenue. She gives me a quick smile. I vaguely recognize her, but I don’t know from where. What’s going on?

  “They’re waiting for you in command central,” she says.

  “Okay, Destiny, tell them I’ll be there in five. I’ve got to take these two to their rooms first,” he says.

  He tries to grab my arm, but I yank it away from him.

  “Don’t touch me!” I spit.

  “She’s a feisty one.” Destiny winks at Garrick and heads off.

  “This way,” Garrick says.

  We’re taken down Second Avenue, past rows of green doors built into the corrugated copper walls. He stops in front of a door marked BUCHANAN. I glance at Elijah, who raises his brow at me. I have my own room? How long have they been expecting me? I’m more confused than ever.

  He opens the door, and I go inside, knowing I have no other option right now than to play along. The room is about fifteen feet long, with a pair of bunk beds, a storage space built into the metal wall, a small desk, mirror and sink. There’s a vase of flowers on the desk.

  Garrick removes the shackles from our wrists.

  “Make yourselves comfortable. We need to debrief you in ten minutes,” he says, leaving the room.

  The door shuts behind him.

  Elijah sits down on one of the bunk beds and rubs his sore wrists. “What’s going on?” he asks.

  “I have no idea,” I say, “but I’m starting to get a vibe they’re not intending to kill us.” At least, not yet.

  I walk around our room, checking it for clues. There’s nothing to give any indication of who these people are. All I find is four orange jumpsuits inside the storage space. The whole setup seems very organized and professional, the kind of thing I’d expect the Sentry government to be involved with, although if this were a Sentry stronghold, surely they would have put me in a cell, not decked me out with my very own room. No, this all seems too . . . cozy.

  “Is she here? Is she all right?” I hear a woman say outside the door. My heart leaps into my mouth, recognizing her voice but not quite believing.

  The door bursts open, and a tall, thin woman wearing an orange jumpsuit stands in the doorway, her jet-black hair flowing in waves around her bony shoulders. She’s wearing a slick of bright red lipstick, which makes her alabaster skin look ghostly pale. Even so, she’s as beautiful as ever.

  She stretches out her arms toward me. “My darling girl.”

  I run into them. “Mother!”

  I cling to her, and she folds her arms around me. The last time I saw her, she was being dragged kicking and screaming out of my prison cell back in Black City, after I was arrested for Gregory Thompson’s murder. She’s even thinner than normal, her bones jutting out through her jumpsuit. She pulls back and gently tucks an unruly curl behind my ear.

  “I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” she says. “But right now, there’s someone who wants to talk to you.”

  I furrow my brow. “Who?”

  “Hello, sweetheart,” a male voice says by the doorway.

  I turn around.

  A blond man stands in the doorway, dressed in a jumpsuit similar to my mother’s. His face is badly scarred, the flesh puckered with numerous bite marks and slashes, making it hard to determine his features. Even so, I’d recognize those bright blue eyes anywhere.

  I rush over to him, tears spilling down my cheeks, and he pulls me into an embrace. That’s why the voice on the radio sounded so familiar.

  It’s my father.

  40.

  ASH

  I SIT ON THE EDGE of the harbor, overlooking the ocean, the rambling favela rising up the cliff behind us. Abandoned fishing boats bob up and down on the waves, the sound of their bells ringing hauntingly across the bay. I rub a hand over my face. I’m so goddamn tired. I haven’t slept in over thirty hours, since Garrick took Natalie.

  Where has he taken her? Sebastian’s refusing to speak to me, which is hardly surprising, but even if he did talk, I doubt he’d be able to offer any clues to her whereabouts. He seemed as surprised as I was by Garrick’s actions. Sebastian is currently being held captive in the villa’s vault, until we decide what to do with him.

  I shut my eyes and place a hand over my chest, feeling the thrum of Natalie’s heart beating in time with mine. She’s alive. I know that much. But that’s only a small comfort. They might be torturing, beating and abusing her this very moment. Pain grips my stomach, and I bend double, groaning. I couldn’t save her.

  Acelot walks down the wooden walkway and sits beside me. He looks as exhausted as I do. He’s spent this whole time tending to the wounded Bastet guards and surviving senators, and assisting with the cleanup of the villa. We sit in silence, watching the clouds drift across the cobalt-blue sky. The color reminds me so much of Natalie’s eyes. I let out a shaky breath.

  “Elijah will protect her,” Acelot says, reading my mind.

  “What if he can’t?” I say. “I need to find her. I can’t just sit around here doing nothing when she could be . . .”

  Acelot grips my shoulder as grief washes over me.

  “Where do you think they are?” he says.

  “Centrum would be my best guess. I think Garrick took them to the Golden Citadel to be interrogated.” It’s the most likely scenario I can think of. “I need to get there. Do you have any vehicles I can use?”

  “We have the boats,” he says. “And there’s my father’s Transporter, but it’s pretty beaten up. Marcel took it out for a joyride a few months ago and crashed it, so it’ll need fixing.”

  I nod. “Okay. As soon as it’s ready, I’ll head to Centrum.”

  “It’s a suicide mission,” Acelot says.

  “I know, but I’m going anyway,” I say. “Besides, I won’t be going in unarmed. I intend to find the Ora first; it’s my best hope of saving them.”

  “Then I will come with you.” Acelot stands up. “I owe you, and Elijah, that much.”

  We walk back up the cliff, to the villa.

  The scent of death still lingers in the air as we head through the plaza. There are pools of dried blood on the mosaic tiles. The majority of the bodies have been taken to the local morgue, ready to be cremated, while those of the Consul, his wife, and their son Donatien have been taken to the family mausoleum. All
across the city, black flags have been hung out of windows, in mourning for their lost leader.

  Signs of the battle are visible all the way through the atrium into the senate chamber. The room is in disarray. There’s broken furniture, paintings are punctured with bullet holes, and the tapestry of the United Sentry States has been torn off some of its hooks, so it hangs at an angle. Marcel is slouched in his dad’s seat, the contents of my bag spilled out on the table. My mom’s diary is open in front of him, and in his hand is one of the photographs.

  “That’s private!” I say, snatching it from him.

  It’s the picture of my mom’s family in the forest.

  “I’m bored,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest.

  My fangs pulse with venom. I don’t know how he can act this way, when half of his family has been killed. He doesn’t seem affected by any of it. There’s something not right with that kid.

  Acelot grabs Marcel by the ear and lifts him off the seat. “Make yourself useful, and fix the tapestry.”

  He lets Marcel go, and the younger boy bares his saber teeth at his brother.

  We sit down while Marcel fixes the tapestry. I put my mom’s photograph on the table in front of me, studying the faces in the portrait. My eyes are drawn to Lucinda.

  “So where will we find this weapon?” Acelot asks.

  I look up. “It’s at a place called the Claw. It’s a mountain. Have you heard of it?”

  Acelot shakes his head.

  I sigh, glancing at the tapestry, wondering where it is. I know the mountain is close to Gray Wolf, so I locate the city on the old map and scan the surrounding mountains, hoping for some clues. My eyes snag on a familiar name: MOUNT ALBA.

  I get up, confused. That can’t be right. The mountain in the tapestry has a sharp peak, but Mount Alba has a flat top, and it certainly doesn’t have any towns around it, like this map suggests. No one’s lived there since the eruption around thirty years ago. But then again, the map is old—it must’ve been woven a hundred years ago, long before Mount Alba last erupted and blew its top. I study the towns around the volcano, having never heard of any of them before—all the maps at school were modern ones, given to us by the Sentry government. There’s a place called Mountain Shade, and another called Carrow Falls, and—