Wings of Blood

by Miranda Martin

  I did mourn the loss of the little girl I knew. But we all grew and changed. I wasn’t the same either, and I wouldn’t be the same five years from now.

  I thoroughly enjoyed that time with the new Siro.

  Eventually, the night had to come to an end. “The sun is going to be coming up soon,” I commented.

  Siro immediately popped to her feet. “What time is it?” she asked, just as there was a knock at the door. “That must be Lugh,” she whispered. “I told him to come back with snacks or something if I didn’t call him.” She hurried over to the curtain and gestured at me wildly to open the door.

  All right then.

  I went over and did so. The guards on duty now were Jermaine and Newman.

  “Just got a little hungry,” I explained with a tense smile. Everyone already thought I was weird, what was one more oddity?

  They nodded at me—consummate professionals that would likely wait until I was out of earshot to discuss my weird snacking habits—and Lugh pushed his cart into the room. I shut the door behind him and Siro popped out right away.

  “I have to leave the snacks here,” Lugh said almost apologetically, moving over to set down some plates and pick up the used ones.

  “Thanks for coming back, Lugh,” Siro said. “I owe you one.”

  “You do,” he agreed, giving me a careful look.

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to tell anyone. But don’t do it again,” I added over his sigh of relief.

  He nodded. “I won’t,” he said sincerely. “This already took ten years off my life.”

  He seemed like he really meant it which made me add a few points for intelligence. Siro could use someone a little more careful.

  “Maybe I should walk you home,” I said, frowning at how dark it still was outside, a sliver of the night sky showing through a crack in the curtain.

  “I’ll be fine,” Siro reassured me. “You’ll draw more attention if you come with me. And you’ll have to bring guards, so Mom and Dad will definitely find out what happened then.” She came up to me and gave me a tight hug. “I promise to go straight home. It’s less than a five minute walk.”

  She had a point. The place was safe enough; we were in the heart of our flock’s territory. I still wasn’t completely comfortable with it, but I also didn’t want to get her into trouble. Also, she was around the same age I was when I moved in with her family. Not a young child.

  Against my better judgment, I conceded. “Straight home. And you have to message me when you get there or I’m coming to check on you,” I warned. “I won’t care if your parents find out then.” I’d given her all my contact information now that she was old enough to have her own devices.

  “Got it,” she agreed, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Maybe I’ll see you next time you come home?” she asked hopefully.

  I hadn’t thought of my flock as home for quite some time. But now that I had an incentive to visit...

  “We’ll have to figure out a way that doesn’t involve you sneaking out at night,” I said.

  She nodded, grinning as she ducked into the empty bottom of the cart. “I’ll work it out somehow,” she agreed, then let the white cloth drop to cover her as she left.

  Lugh rearranged it to make sure she was covered.

  “Be careful,” I told him.

  He nodded. “I will.”

  Feeling a little out of control—Siro was turning out to be a master at manipulation—I opened the door to let him out with his contraband. Giving Jermaine a little wave when he looked over at me, I shut the door once again.

  Grabbing my phone, I got onto the bed and went horizontal. I didn’t have much time at all before we had to leave, and it was sure to be a fun flight home after no sleep.

  I smiled to myself. Totally worth it.

  Chapter Six

  Once more, I checked my watch and then my phone, though I would have seen a message on either.

  Siro should have sent me a message a half an hour ago.

  I checked my watch for the third time.

  It was less than an hour until we would leave to go back to the capital. I got out of bed, not having even closed my eyes, the grittiness of sleep making me blink. Feeling the knot in the pit of my stomach grow, I started to pace. Had she just forgotten to send the message?

  Maybe Jamine and River had caught her sneaking back in and she couldn’t send anything right now.

  I let out a frustrated sound as I went to the window to look out at the city. The sparkling lights were giving way to the light of dawn. The rebuild was fully underway, though it would likely take a year or more to fully recover.

  I looked at my watch. Again.

  “That’s it,” I muttered to myself, grabbing my shoes. I didn’t know why Siro hadn’t messaged me yet, but I was tired of waiting around and worrying.

  If something had happened to her on the way home…

  I took a deep breath to quell my fear. It was most likely nothing. She probably just forgot or was distracted by something. That didn’t mean I wasn’t taking the precaution of heading over there and making sure of it. If that meant I had to face Jamine and River, I would. Siro’s safety was more important than my emotional well-being.

  That being decided, I opened the door heading out to the hall. Amna and Reelin immediately came to attention. I stared at them, looking fully awake and alert, their clothes crisp. It was uncanny.

  “How much sleep did you guys have?” I asked.

  “Three and a half hours,” Amna supplied.

  I shook my head. Some people were just built differently. Compared to them, I knew I looked rough, though they did get a few more hours than me.

  “I need to go track someone down,” I said, closing the room door behind me.

  Reelin checked his watch and nodded. “Lead the way. I’ll send out the notification to the rest of the guards. Can you give me the location?”

  I rattled off where Siro had told me they’d moved to after their section was completely demolished. I just hoped I could find it easily.

  We left that wing and headed outside, the city waking up around us. I got a few lingering looks from people, a couple of friendly waves, but I kept moving. I needed to make sure everything was fine. There wasn’t time to linger at the food stalls, even though I saw Reelin eyeing one of them.

  “We can stop on the way back. This won’t take long,” I promised.

  He looked back at me sheepishly, nodding. So there was a person under that stoicism after all.

  It made me like the man better.

  Siro’s family had gotten one of the apartments in a newly constructed area. Single people and couples without kids would have to wait a little longer to receive housing. Our flock wasn’t hit as hard as some, but it was hit hard enough for us to be feeling it for quite some time.

  I turned the corner and saw what I thought was the right building just a block away. It had that new feel to it though, it had been constructed to blend in with the old buildings. The shape of it was just a touch too modern to be old.

  Okay, I’d just knock on the door and ask if she was there—

  A high pitched alarm screeched down the street, echoing around us.

  Everyone around us winced collectively as the sound stopped as suddenly as it had started. Then there was a loud buzzing sound...

  Belatedly, I realized along with everyone else on the street that I had an incoming message and brought my watch up to look at the screen.

  RED ALERT: MISSING TEEN-AGED GIRL, AGE SIXTEEN, CURLY DARK HAIR, DARK EYES, FIVE FEET SEVEN INCHES TALL, NAMED SIRROCCO MARINO. CONTACT...

  I stared at my watch. Siro. Siro was missing.

  It took a moment for the sound to come back, for me to get through the shock of the blow that text had just dealt me and focus on the world around me once again. Up and down the street, those in crowds started talking to each other, more people spilling onto the road as a city wide search began with one message.

  I needed to talk
to her parents. I needed to talk to Aaden. I—

  Someone jostled me in the chaos, and Amna was suddenly there holding people back on my right while Reelin held everyone back on my left.

  “We need to head back,” Reelin said, his expression grim. “We can’t keep you safe in this.”

  “Yes,” Amna concurred. “You’ll have to run your errand later.”

  My hand clenched on a small piece of faux paper that I hadn’t realized I was holding. Someone must have slipped it into my hand. I looked around, but I hadn’t gotten a good look at the person, and the crowd was too thick now to even guess who it had been.

  Reelin and Amna were focused on the crowd.

  “That’s fine,” I said, though my voice wasn’t loud enough to carry in the din as they herded me back the way we’d come.

  I unfolded the paper as they guided me through the crowd. Keeping it low so the guards wouldn’t see, I continued walking as I glanced down. My hope that Siro was maybe just out having fun with Lugh died.

  We have the girl. Meet us at the Crevice in fifteen minutes.

  Do not tell anyone.

  Do not contact anyone.

  We will know.

  My hand clenched on the small slip of paper, crumpling it into a tight ball.

  Siro.

  Someone had Siro.

  Chapter Seven

  I continued to walk with Reelin and Amna for a bit, running through options in my mind. There were really only two.

  One was to tell Reelin and Amna, but their first and last priority was keeping me safe, and I might end up on lockdown, my options gone. Then Siro might suffer the consequences.

  The other one was to ditch them in the crowd and head over to the Crevice, the crack in the rock at one end of the valley that had been hollowed out at some point to allow vehicles through.

  If they wanted to meet at the Crevice, they planned on transporting me. How they planned on leaving through the closely guarded exit, I didn’t know. I didn’t think it was even passable right now, but they had to have a strategy they were pretty confident about.

  I didn’t even dare send a message to Sven.

  I had security on my phone and my watch, but I didn’t make the mistake of thinking it was impenetrable. They could be watching my messages, and I wasn’t taking the risk when losing Siro was the possible fallout.

  Okay, then. I really only had one option here. I had to be fast and decisive. It would take me about ten minutes to get to the meeting point if I ran from here. The closer we got to the main building, the farther I was getting from the Crevice.

  I needed to leave now.

  Luckily, the crowd was thick enough that I could manage something if I was careful. Reelin and Amna were looking to keep me safe from other people, not from myself.

  I felt badly about what I was about to do, but I’d make it up to them later. Hopefully.

  They might hate me, but I needed to do it.

  I waited until there was a particularly thick part of the crowd.

  Hanging back a little, I let them take a step forward without me. My eyes fell on a young, well-built guy who could take a shove.

  “Sorry,” I muttered.

  His eyes met mine in confusion as I grabbed him – and shoved him right into Reelin.

  There was an outcry as he fell against the guard, shoving him back, creating a domino effect of confusion and stumbling bodies. I used the moment to duck into an alley, not looking back as I sprinted away.

  There was no time to do anything else.

  If I hesitated, I had no doubt Reelin or Amna would grab me. So I didn’t.

  I ran through the maze of construction sites, damaged buildings, and tents, not slowing even when the way was different from what I remembered. I knew the general direction I was going.

  I reached the edge of the city line and ran right up to the edge of the rock that formed the valley. It was still early in the day, or I would have felt heat coming off the red rock as I ran.

  I made sure to stay close to the wall, using it as cover. It would make me harder to spot from the sky and I couldn’t afford to be derailed right now. My muscles were burning, my breath coming in controlled gasps as I finally reached the cooling shelter of the Crevice.

  The patrols for this area had been lightened as the fighting had actually managed to cave it in towards the side that led out, though I knew flyovers were still done. Much of the flock’s manpower had been diverted to the construction as well. That, along with the number of phoenixes that had been lost, also made it impractical to spend much time and energy guarding an as yet impassible tunnel. If we didn’t have wings to transport what we needed, clearing it out would have been higher up on the priority list.

  I stopped just inside, where I was sure no phoenix flying overhead would spot me. Then I waited for my eyes to adjust.

  “Just in time,” someone murmured.

  I knew that voice.

  My eyes slowly focused in the dark. They landed on Bren.

  I wasn’t completely surprised. In a warped way, it made sense. Viewed as a way to draw me out, the attack was actually well planned. I’d fallen right into the trap, hadn’t I?

  Someone must have been watching my room somehow. How else would they have known about Siro? I hadn’t spoken to her in years. Someone saw and opportunity and took it.

  For her, it was probably just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Arranged behind the bastard were the two sisters and the other guards he’d brought with them. The one person I wanted to see wasn’t there.

  “Where’s Siro?” I demanded after catching my breath.

  “Don’t worry. We have her in safe place,” he said with a tight smile. “Just a little insurance for your cooperation.”

  “How do I know you even have her?” I needed to know she was alright.

  Bren didn’t argue. He played a recording on his watch.

  “Let go of me, you assholes!” Siro screamed, her voice tinny in his watch. He pressed the stop button and raised a brow at me.

  Shit.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  “For you to come with us,” he said calmly. “It’s simple, really. You cooperate and we let Siro go in the end.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  We both knew he had me by the short hairs. I was already in a secluded place in any case. There wasn’t much of a chance of getting away now.

  “I wouldn’t want to hurt a young girl like that, but this is business.” He spread his arms. “Sometimes business requires unpleasant actions to be taken.”

  I didn’t have any options here. Man, was I getting tired of that.

  “What will it be, Adara?” he asked, even as two of the larger guards started walking towards me.

  Each of them outweighed me by a minimum of seventy pounds. The bald one had a stoic, bland face. The one with the dark hair in a stubby ponytail looked like he practiced his mean face in the mirror every morning to make sure it was just right. I wondered if his hairstyle was an homage to Bren’s.

  “Watch and phone,” the bald one intoned, holding his hand out as the ponytail circled around me.

  I watched Bren as I undid my watch and handed my phone over at the same time.

  “Good choice,” he said, nodding coolly. “Tie her up.”

  Ponytail frisked me briskly and then tied my hands behind my back. There were too many of them to fight and I was too far to run to safety at this point. What did they think I was going to do? Go Bruce Lee on them?

  The group turned to go deeper into the tunnel, and they pushed me into a brisk walk.

  “Time?” Bren asked.

  “Forty-five seconds,” one of the sisters said as we turned around a bend.

  I hesitated as I saw the vehicles. There were three of them, one of them larger than an ordinary car. That armored monstrosity alone would be able to hold most of us. They were all painted to match the red of the rock. Camouflaged.

  Up ahead, I
saw sunlight coming through a small portion of the tunnel that wasn’t blocked by a wall of rubble. They’d dug out just enough to let the vehicles through.

  The tunnel was obviously usable now. I wondered how long it would take for Aaden to catch it.

  In short order, they shuffled me into the middle of the larger vehicle, with my two “guards” sitting on either side. Bren got into the front passenger seat, while the same woman who’d told him the time slipped into the driver’s seat. Someone had introduced them during the negotiations—if they could even be called that—but I was still confused as to who was who.

  They hadn’t done much talking, after all.

  The car lurched forward. The engines were all electric and quiet enough that even phoenix ears wouldn’t hear them.

  “Easy, Camille,” Bren ordered tightly.

  Okay, Camille it was. The one behind me had to be Terra.

  We drove through the opening. When I looked to the side, I saw that they hadn’t had to dig too deep to get through. The cave-in had been fairly shallow. We drove up the tunnel; the incline was steep enough that my weight shifted onto my bound hands uncomfortably.

  We came to a stop behind the lead car. They were obviously waiting for something.

  A few seconds later, a large shadow passed over the entrance.

  The patrol. They were waiting on the phoenix on patrol to pass.

  One minute later, the lead car headed out. We followed, out of the tunnel and the valley, into the bright sunlight. The car made an immediate left turn and booked it for the mountainous terrain. The area around the valley was rocky, with ravines and mountains and cliffs.

  It was rough territory, but easy enough to patrol from the air. Unless, of course, there were fewer patrols, and there was only a small group trying to leave rather than to sneak in.

  The landscape could be used to hide if one planned carefully, and Bren seemed like he was a planner.

  He barked out orders as we plunged into the shadow of an overhang less than three minutes later. I doubted anyone had seen us. Leaning forward, I tried to take some of the stress off my shoulders.