Dark Burn: Fated & Forbidden

by Decadent Kane

  "I agree. None shall touch what is yours." She gave him a grin that set all his tiny hairs on end.

  Nicholas dragged his feet as the people pulled him inside the doors. Doulzen inhaled a deep breath and then spoke words he'd never believed he would. Words few clan members ever spoke, and not because some didn't want to at times, but because the loss of one's powers meant vulnerability. But if he could survive a madman's lab, he could handle these birds. "To the one who granted me darkness, I give it back. To my dark god Erebus, I relinquish my claim to the shadows." He had no idea what to expect. Perhaps some sparks or the whooshing of air, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes and took a tentative step forward because that was the only way he'd know if his words had worked.

  His foot crossed the threshold. No pain.

  It was done.

  He walked beyond the doors, and the shifters took a collective step back, away, wary, for good reason, he was sure. The doors closed with a sense of finality behind him and two men rushed him with chains.

  "I said you wouldn't be harmed. I never said she would see you or that you'd be free to move around our home. Your kin's sins are yours to bear, shadow hunter."

  Chapter 22

  Priya sat straight up in bed, sunlight waking her, along with dreams of scarabs and shadow hunters. Sweat dotted her skin and she shuddered. She'd climbed out of the tub last night after the water had gotten cold enough to wake her from her little nap, then headed to bed. Now, Priya pushed the covers off and swung her legs to the edge of the bed. She'd fallen asleep so fast she barely remembered putting on pajama bottoms. Yawning, she stretched and dropped lightly onto the cool floor. A draft came through but it felt good on her skin. A growl emerged from her stomach and she rubbed it to keep her hunger at bay.

  She glanced at the bedside table. A long white feather lay against the dark wood. Longer than hers or Gran's, like a firebird's tail feather rather than a regular wing tip. But firebirds didn't lose tail feathers. It curled down at the tip in a swirl and fluffed out along the quill. It wasn't any kind of tail feather she'd seen, between hers or Gran's or those of the birds she'd met here. It seemed like pure starlight from the heavens shined through it, the white was so potent.

  Curious, she reached for the feather. It fluttered from her grasp and onto the floor. What in the world? Priya walked over and attempted to pluck it from the boards, but again it skittered away from her, as if floating atop churning water she couldn't see. It landed again, this time at the base of the wall on the other side of the room. The long quill and fluff came to rest along the baseboard. Priya looked around the room, uncertain. She tiptoed closer.

  Encouraged when it didn't move, she kneeled down and snatched at it with her fingertips. Just as her fingertips grazed it, the soft white feather vanished with a pop, and her vision focused on the baseboard. It was bent out a little, as if someone had pried it off and then set it back in place slightly askew. She tugged on it with both hands, and it slid out from the wall like a drawer. Someone had made a secret nook in the wall! Had it been her mother? Inside the drawer was a single piece of torn, yellowing paper with florid black writing covering both sides of the page. It felt almost brittle in her hand . . . as if at any moment it might fall into tiny pieces.

  Priya sat cross-legged on the floor and carefully read over what seemed to be a ripped journal page or a fragment of a letter, though she didn't see any date on it. Somehow she knew the writing was her mother's. She couldn't place why, she just knew. That simple fact alone filled her heart with sadness. Loss of what might have been hugged her insides. Her mother must have hidden the page away, hoping someone, maybe even Priya, would find it someday. Tears slicked down her cheeks as the words sank in. She licked the salty drops from her mouth and wiped the wet away from her face with her other hand.

  She wasn't a firebird.

  She was a phoenix.

  A purebred.

  A Sullen.

  Priya's hands shook. Anger boiled inside, mixed with the loneliness of losing everyone. Gran had kept this from her. All of it. The words went on to describe how the Sullens had owned this land for as far back as the town's founding. That most had thought them human, but they were a family of phoenixes that had moved all the way across the world to escape an avian disease that had nearly killed them all off except for the Sullens, the Drakes, and the Fellows. Priya didn't know these names or the history behind them, but she continued to read her mother's scratched words.

  Elder Shara was not what she seemed. She'd captured Priya's phoenix family. She was from another land, a yellow-tailed firebird seeking immortality. At the time of the letter's writing, the other families had fled and Priya's father had already been killed by shades. When she'd started reading this harmless scrap of paper, she hadn't expected her entire world to fall to pieces. Or the heavy weight of her heart to hurt so much. She'd thought growing up without her mom had made it easier to accept her death . . . but reading the journal entry, seeing her writing, hearing her voice in Priya's head as she read, made the ache nearly unbearable. It was as if some unknown force had reached in and ripped her heart out of her chest, dropped it onto broken glass, and rolled it over all those tiny shards. Her chest hurt so much. Gads!

  Priya's hand covered her mouth as she read, holding back the sobs that came when she reached the bloody fingerprints smudged on the bottom of the page.

  I had a baby girl tonight . . .

  Dala will keep her safe from Shara's hunger to consume us piece by piece . . .

  Priya, I love you baby girl.

  Then there was nothing. No other explanations, no clues as to what she should do next. She closed her eyes and let the painful streaks of salty tears race down her cheeks and fall over her lips, past her chin. She didn't care if she cried now, no one could see her. Priya wanted to tuck the paper into her chest, to hold it as close as she would have her parents, to hug the page as if her mother could feel it in the afterlife. If she was a phoenix, how could they have died? Wasn't a phoenix supposed to come back, reborn from its ashes? Where had the others fled?

  Priya wiped at her eyes and reexamined the page. She flipped it back and forth, wondering. What had Shara done to her mother? What would the elder do to her? A soft knock at the door startled her, and she rushed to put the journal page back in the makeshift drawer. Just as the bedroom door opened, Priya replaced the baseboard and looked up. Capri had a plate of berries in one hand and water in the other. She'd showered, it seemed, as her hair was dark and wet, and she wore a sundress full of flowers that hugged her body.

  "Priya, I came to check up on you. Thought you might be hungry. Are you okay?"

  "Oh yes, I'm okay." Priya stood and wiped her sweaty palms on the back of her pajama pants. "I had a rough night is all. How are you? I can't imagine your night was much better than mine." Priya sat on the edge of her bed, patting the spot next to her. Not like there was anywhere else to sit, really. Out of all the people she'd met in this place, Capri was the only one she could trust completely. After all, Capri couldn't have known Nicholas would capture them both. Did she know Priya was a phoenix too? She tucked that thought into the back of her mind to answer later. After coming out of that lab alive together, she'd give the woman, her only friend here, the benefit of the doubt.

  Capri set the plate on the bedside table but stayed standing. She fidgeted. "Nightmares, mostly. I know I didn't get much of a chance to thank you, but I do really appreciate you saving me. I wish we could have met under different circumstances." Her face reddened.

  "Don't be embarrassed. I swear I don't think any less of you. You were a victim but, you know," Capri looked up from the floor at the sudden vehemence in Priya's tone, meeting Priya's eyes, "you are no longer a victim, but a survivor. We both are."

  "You know he's here, right? Elder Shara found him skulking outside the barrier last night. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to face him as our laws dictate." Capri shed a tear.

  "Who, Nicholas? And what do you mean 'as your l
aws dictate'?" And why hadn't anyone said anything to Priya about Nicholas being here?

  "Victims face their aggressors here and choose a fate for them. They can be banished, imprisoned . . . sometimes even executed, depending on the circumstances. I'm terrified to see him. The nightmares are bad enough."

  "I understand. He nearly raped me, nearly killed you. He's done so much harm. How could you not fear confronting him? Don't worry. We can face him together. You won't have to do it alone."

  Capri smiled. "Thank you. That makes me feel a little better. I can't stay though. I have a bunch of work stuff to catch up on, but I'm glad you are doing well. Eat, get dressed, and then come check out the rest of our home. You will love it here." Capri's entire face had brightened, like a switch had been thrown. She waved, then headed out of the room, not waiting for Priya to say anything else.

  The door softly closed and Priya eyed the berries. She reached over and popped a blueberry in her mouth while her stomach grumbled for more. The more she chewed, the more she realized just how hungry she actually was. She scarfed down the blueberries by the handful . . . chewed, swallowed, drank, then repeated the process, devouring the wonderful breakfast within minutes. Once her plate was clear of food, Priya approached her mother's wardrobe. She pulled out jeans and a black tank top. The aerie was surprisingly warm for its elevation. She slipped her old shoes on instead of looking for others and then took Capri's advice to check out the compound.

  She had no idea what she would say or do if she ran into Elder Shara. Confronting her wouldn't be the right option. Priya had no idea what the woman was capable of. Priya was no longer caged, but at what expense? Elder Shara had asked what her gran had said about her family; perhaps the knowledge that Priya hadn't known who Shara really was kept her from being caged.

  For now, she'd accept the elder's hospitality and see what came by the end of the day. She would find out what happened to her mom, then decide to stay or go. Someone here had to know, someone other than Elder Shara.

  Chapter 23

  That bitch! Doulzen sneered as he slammed a fist into the rock wall of his cell. Solid stone surrounded him on three sides, the fourth made up of bars and a cell door through which he could see anyone coming down the dirt hallway. The place was some kind of dungeon buried deep under the mountain.

  The skin along his knuckles broke and he wiped the blood along his black pants. She'd kept her word all right, but without his powers, he couldn't get out of this godforsaken cell, couldn't get to Priya, and when the Blood Moon came, every hekan creature or magic user outside the human ideal would lose their otherworldly abilities. If one failed, they all failed. That's what she'd said in his dream. Would it be so bad if they all turned human? Doulzen couldn't imagine life without the supernatural, without shadow powers or firebirds. What would he eat?

  At the thought of food, his stomach growled. He had grown weaker and weaker without any kind of sustenance. He'd only ever known water and bird essence. Could he even eat human food? Could he survive on it? Did it make him human already, giving back his powers? Fuck, there were too many variables. He should have thought this through, should have considered they would trap him. But all he'd wanted was Priya.

  He was sure they had a connection. Lifesaving drama tied people together and he would have always sought her out, human or not. There was only one thing left to try, something he'd never done before: to speak to his god as the elders in his clan would. The elders always prepared the clan offerings and enacted the ritual to speak to Erebus. Clan members didn't generally do it on their own, but Doulzen had memorized the words anyway.

  Doulzen didn't have anything to offer but himself. So he settled on a blood offering to Erebus and found a slightly pointed rock. He set about sharpening it, stone against stone, and it didn't take him long before he had enough of an edge to break skin. It wouldn't feel great but it would do what he needed. He pressed the jagged edge into his forearm and cut his skin open. The sting slid up his bicep and he cringed. Blood flowed freely from the wound and he wiped it into both of his hands. He raised them to the rock ceiling and said, "Erebus, god of darkness, protector of the shadows, hear my plea." Normally, he wouldn't dare include a request with his prayer, instead intoning a blessing to the god for good harvests they had received and powers already bequeathed to the shades. He fell to his knees and slammed his hands against the ground, pounding at the darkness below, demanding it come to him, calling on his god to grant him an audience.

  "Mortal of my followers. Doulzen of the high tribe. You dare to tread upon my sacred slumber." A deep, booming voice echoed around Doulzen, and he suddenly found himself enveloped in the night. The darkness twisted around him, lapping at his wound and the blood on his hands.

  "Erebus, I beg forgiveness and request my powers back. I have been fooled." Doulzen had no idea if this really was his god or if he was just fantasizing. Or perhaps some higher power he hadn't seen coming was playing a trick on him. But he needed his powers back and without his elders' help, his normal ways of accessing them were gone.

  "Why would I give a fool my shadows?"

  "I seek my fated mate. I gave them up for her. She bears the symbol of Nyx, your beloved." Doulzen hoped that small fact would encourage Erebus to help. He couldn't show fear though, couldn't show weakness, or else all would be lost, perhaps forever, even if he managed to get back to his clan. Erebus didn't offer power to those he perceived as too weak to wield it.

  "You possess a feather. I smell a phoenix on you." The voice sounded amused. But Doulzen dared not look at the god to confirm. He stared off into the darkness, trying not to reveal his surprise that the feather was from a phoenix.

  "Yes."

  "Eat it, mortal, and all shall be granted. Be warned that mixing the powers of a shade and a phoenix will set off a chain reaction, one you might not be ready for."

  "Why are you actually helping then, if there is a price?" Doulzen asked.

  "Do not question me, mortal, for I can eat you alive, bring you back, and devour you again if I feel the need. Be warned: if you choose to take back these powers, it will come at a price, and not just for you, but for everyone."

  The shadows faded and the cell returned. His god had fallen back into his own realm to watch and see what Doulzen chose to do. He felt for the feather in his pocket. He had intended to give it to Priya as a sign of goodwill, but if he could get free with it instead, would that not be better? Nothing in this place was as it seemed, and he desperately wanted to know why Priya had refused to at least hear him out.

  Whatever effect came from his choice, he would deal with it as it happened.

  Doulzen ate the feather.

  It scraped along his throat as he swallowed. His stomach boiled as if he'd consumed a flame. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as the world shifted around him. Plane merging with plane . . . In his mind, the Blood Moon mixed with his choice would trigger events he would never be able to take back. He saw both destruction and happiness. Pain and love. All of it mixed with faces: human, wolf, dragon, all number of beasts and people. They flitted together, meshing, ripping. The sound of someone screaming brought him back to his cell, to the here and now. Only to realize the scream was his own.

  Chapter 24

  Everywhere she walked, firebirds in all kinds of orange, red, and yellow hues flew in and out of giant open windows, down halls, into wide-open rooms. It seemed this place had been specifically designed just for them. Had her family, the Sullens, owned it? Built it? Or had Shara taken everything and rebuilt it this way? She gave off the impression that she wanted to help . . . but after reading her mother's journal entry, Priya needed to find out the truth.

  "Ah, there you are!" Elder Shara stepped out of her bird form, gracefully landing on her feet in front of Priya. "I was wondering when you might come out and see our world. I'm sure Dala had a great place like this too." She smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

  "We lived in a small home outside of a city. We didn
't have much, but she made up for it with love, raising me after my parents passed."

  Shara's mouth formed a thin line at the mention of Priya's parents, but she quickly righted it. "Well, I hope your experience here will be just as fulfilling. Now come. I want to introduce you to someone. Will you shift with me?"

  Priya didn't want to set off any alarms; besides, she wanted to see where this might lead. "Lead the way." Priya shifted, flying into the air, then hovering as she waited for Shara. The woman watched her with a twinkle in those blind, yet all-seeing eyes. Gooseflesh rose beneath her feathers' quills. But she followed the elder out an oval window set into the ceiling. Shara flapped up to the top of the north wing, slipped her wings in, and dove through a small circular hole in the side of the wall. Priya followed suit. After Gran Dala's playfulness in the sky, a little circle was easy to accommodate.

  Once inside, the elder hovered while slowly spiraling down to the marble floor. A young man sat in a high silver chair at the head of a very long table. Several people flanked him, some standing and others sitting beside him at the table. As Priya stepped out of her shift, the room focused entirely on her. Some whispered as she walked up to the table behind Shara. Others blatantly gawked.

  "Welcome, Priya. We hear you've traveled a long way to find your kin." The man smiled.

  Priya shrugged; if they considered Sterling a long way, perhaps they didn't get out much. "I came to find my kin, but other than my deceased family, I've found no other white firebirds like me." Priya kept her mouth shut about being a phoenix. She couldn't trust Shara, and the woman seemed to be banking on Priya's supposed ignorance.