A Phoenix First Must Burn

by A Phoenix First Must Burn (retail) (epub)

  Nalah ventured to the mouth of the river and into the ocean. She kept rowing until she made it to the edge of the Veil. The mist curled around her, silvery and mysterious.

  Lying down in Malik’s boat, Nalah could no longer see the sky, only the pearly whiteness of the Veil. It wasn’t too late to turn around. The Boo Hag was dead. Nalah could return home. But now she no longer had any family. Malik was gone. Both of the island communities had shunned her. What kind of life would she have under the Council’s oppressive rule?

  She placed one hand over her heart. If the witch was right, Nalah and her baby were going to a better place. It could be the truth or a lie. But it no longer mattered. There was nothing left for them on Samara Island.

  Nalah took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and waited for what came next.

  SEQUENCE

  By J. Marcelle Corrie

  A.

  I didn’t know how anyone could be this perfect.

  Margot stood near the pool surrounded by all of her friends, or really anyone who wanted to be like her. As usual, she had a group of people around her, attracted by her infectious smile and the way she made people feel. As if they’d always find a friend in her, one who wouldn’t judge or blame. Someone who’d remain by their side.

  Just watching her from across the dome made me want to be closer to her. The way I had always imagined.

  “Hello? Eden?”

  Lily waved her hand in my face, her purple cuff clanking against her bracelets. Her button nose was scrunched up in that way that made her look too cute to be that upset with me. It was hard to take her that seriously because of it.

  “Are you even listening to me?” She crossed her arms, waiting for me to convince her that I heard every word she just said. But truth was that I didn’t. I was too distracted by the way Margot’s hair floated in the air, the nape of her neck exposed every few seconds.

  “Sorry, I was just thinking about . . . something.”

  “Daydreaming as usual, huh?” Forrest tapped her finger against her cuff. She wasn’t even looking at me as her cuff beeped, alerting her that her message was sent. “It’s fine, you didn’t miss much.”

  Lily groaned. “Do I have to start over again?”

  “I think Eden can keep up.” A hologram popped up from Forrest’s cuff. Another advertisement to upgrade Society’s system software. She deleted it. “Your stories don’t require that much thought to put together.”

  Lily glared at Forrest, who just continued to scroll through her messages.

  “Anyway, have you tried it?” Lily asked.

  “Tried what?”

  “Sequence, Eden.” Lily rolled her eyes. “You really weren’t listening, were you? Too busy staring at Travis?”

  I couldn’t even begin to understand what that meant until I followed Lily’s gaze to the pool house. Margot was still there with her friends, but a group of guys circled them now, Travis at the center, preparing to do something obnoxious, I was sure. He pulled up the hem of his shirt to show off a six-pack he claimed to have. I turned away before he started flexing his muscles. I still didn’t understand how someone so basic could gain that much attention.

  “You know I don’t like that guy.”

  “Whatever you say, Eden.” She smirked. “But I see the way you’re looking at him, and looks don’t lie, girl.”

  I glanced over my shoulder again. Boy, was she wrong about that. Not that she’d ever believe me. In her head, Travis would always be my match, for a reason she’d never explained. She just always “had a feeling,” whatever that meant.

  And even if I told her I liked Margot (and she actually believed it), the entire district would find out before I got the chance to tell Margot. Not the way I’d want that to go. Lily’s mouth was just too big to keep that kind of secret. And Forrest, well, I’m not sure she’d even care.

  “Like I was saying, everything played out the way Sequence said it would. It was like one hundred percent accurate.”

  Forrest glanced up from her messages. “How can a program predict how your life will play out that accurately?”

  “It just does, Forrest. It’s technology.” Lily made a face at her. “That’s like asking me to explain how our holograms work. Do I look like a scientist to you?”

  Forrest looked over her dark triangular shades, giving Lily’s purple ensemble and her matching purple cuff a once-over. She pushed her shades back up. “Do you really want me to answer that question?”

  “It was rhetorical, Forrest.” Lily stroked her long braided ponytail, her brown skin shimmering in the light. “Anyway, I asked if I should stay home and study, but my Sequence showed me that even if I studied for that test tomorrow, I’d still get the same grade.” She shrugged her shoulders.

  “So you wasted your credits on a question like that?”

  “I didn’t waste my credits. I needed to know how to better spend my time.”

  Forrest grabbed her cup from the table beside us. “But Sequence is just a glorified Magic Eight Ball.” After taking a sip, she placed her cup on one of the servers’ trays as they strolled by. She nodded at them before they collected more abandoned glasses. “I mean, why can’t people just trust their judgment rather than rely on some machine? It can’t be that accurate.”

  “Well, maybe some people want another opinion, or maybe they want to stay in line with the life Society projected for them, so they don’t get in trouble. It’s not like everyone has everything figured out,” Lily said. “And my Sequence even showed us having this conversation, so I’d say that’s pretty accurate. Just look.”

  Lily held her arm in front of us as a hologram materialized. A few kids looked over at the bright light shining from her cuff until they lost interest. I stepped beside her so I could see everything.

  After a few seconds, a home screen appeared in front of us, the word SEQUENCE at the top. Through the hologram was the city, streaks of purple and blue lights wrapped around the buildings in the distance. Our glass dome was nestled in the mountains and surrounded by nothing but trees, but the darkness right outside the dome helped us see the hologram better.

  Lily tapped her cuff, the screen morphing into two videos: one labeled “A” and the other labeled “B.” They both started to play at the same time.

  “We’re even wearing the exact same clothes,” she said, pointing to video B. Sure enough, there we were, huddled together while everyone else mingled around us, separating and morphing into different groups. Servers walked by with trays full of hors d’oeuvres and drinks while people danced near the pool. Video A showed Lily at her desk, her books open, her notebook empty, and her attention all on her hologram feed, scrolling through pictures and videos posted from this very party.

  No wonder she decided to come here instead.

  Forrest narrowed her eyes. “So your Sequence told you that you would’ve just looked through your feed instead of actually studying.”

  “Well, at the end of each Sequence, it showed that I’d get a B on the test either way,” Lily said. “So there was no point in staying home to study.”

  “We could’ve just told you that, Lily.” Forrest swiped two shrimp puffs as a server glided by. She ate one, sliding the toothpick from between her lips. “And Sequence isn’t one hundred percent accurate.” Forrest pointed to her ear in the frame with her toothpick. “Those are studs. I’m wearing hoops.”

  I looked at the video more closely. It did show her wearing studs.

  “And there’s someone in the pool in your video and no one’s—”

  We heard a splash behind us. Travis laughed from the side of the pool as his friend’s head surfaced, bobbing up and down in the water. After a few seconds, Travis took off his shirt and jumped in, splashing everyone around them.

  Forrest turned back around. “Your Sequence still only shows one person in the pool.”

 
Lily closed her hologram. “Really, Forrest? That’s not even the point.”

  Forrest just shrugged, chewing on the second shrimp puff.

  “The point is Sequence knows how everything will turn out. People use it to choose which college they’ll go to, what to study, where to move. It’s helped so many people choose the best possible outcome for their lives.” Lily looked around for a moment. Then she leaned in. “Simi’s mom used Sequence to decide if she should get a divorce.”

  I stepped back. “We really didn’t need to know that.”

  “Oh, please. Everyone in the district knows this, and they’re still together anyway. Otherwise Simi wouldn’t be throwing this party.” Lily shrugged. “But still, wouldn’t you want to try it if you had to make a tough decision?”

  Forrest looked at me. That question wasn’t for her, I guess.

  I glanced over my shoulder at the pool house. Margot was still with her friends, sitting on a lawn chair. Travis sat beside her, a towel draped over his shoulders and his arm draped over her shoulder. I turned back to Lily and shrugged. “If I had a tough choice to make, I guess I would.”

  Lily jumped up and down, her blond ponytail swinging from side to side. She squealed, her hazel eyes bright. “Tell me! What would you ask Sequence?”

  I looked at her as if I’d been caught in a lie. “I—I don’t know—”

  “What would Eden have to ask Sequence that she doesn’t already know?” Forrest clasped my shoulder and squeezed it. “Honestly, you’ve had your life figured out since the day I met you, and you still haven’t veered in any other direction. You’re pretty predictable.”

  “So I’m boring is what you’re saying,” I said.

  Forrest opened her mouth to say something, but decided to shove more hors d’oeuvres down her throat instead. “Not boring, just predictable,” she said with her mouth full.

  “I’m sure there’s a question everyone would like to ask.” Lily pointed at Forrest’s head. “Maybe I’ll ask Sequence if you’d lighten up once we loosened those bantu knots of yours.”

  “Respect the knots, okay?” Forrest checked her white lipstick in her mirror, then patted her knots to make sure none had unraveled. They were all still in place, as was the rest of her white outfit. She unzipped her jacket. “I’m going to get another drink.” She gazed around for a server. “I wonder if your Sequence predicted me making my exit.” Forrest strolled away, giving us a twirl before heading inside.

  Once she was out of earshot, Lily turned to me. “Joke’s on her, because it actually did.” She laughed before she looked at her messages.

  I stole a quick glimpse of Margot and Travis still sitting together. He moved closer to her, their legs touching, his lips against her ear. Lily cleared her throat.

  “Maybe you can ask Sequence if Travis likes you.” She arched her eyebrow and pursed her lips.

  Still wrong, but she wasn’t going to let it go. Because I’d never shown interest in a guy before. So she’d latch on to any prospects at this point.

  “Maybe he’ll take you out on a date, or you’ll head to university together,” she said, looking up at the stars above the dome, “or maybe you’ll get married, and have kids . . .”

  “Lily, that’s not—”

  She gasped. “You’d make the most gorgeous babies . . . then I’ll be an auntie!” Lily went on as I looked at my empty cup on the table, trying to focus on something other than what was going on across the pool. But I couldn’t help it.

  I could tell Travis laughed at everything she said, in an attempt to flirt with her. Margot, as gracious as she was, would return everything he said with a warm smile, her dark eyes engaged, despite the corny story I’m sure he was sharing. She started to look around, probably for a way out of the conversation, until her eyes landed on me. I looked away.

  “Are you zoning out again?”

  “I’ll be right back.” Before she could protest, I slipped past Lily and jogged toward the back door. There were more people huddled inside, holding drinks and plates of food, and playing simulation games in the den. I circled the kitchen island, trying to figure out what to do next, when I saw my reflection in the surface of the oven, my eyeliner smudged and my lipstick smeared around my lips.

  This was exactly why Lily shouldn’t do my makeup.

  I grabbed a tissue from my bag, rubbing it against my face. Did Margot see this mess? Why didn’t Lily or Forrest tell me I looked like this?

  When the makeup wasn’t coming off, I walked around to find the bathroom. Of course there was a line, so I washed my face over the kitchen sink. After rubbing my face for what seemed like forever, I looked even more like a mess.

  “Are you okay?”

  I looked over my shoulder to see Margot gazing at me. She narrowed her eyes at me as I peered over to check my reflection again. I froze.

  After what felt like a lifetime, I finally squeaked out a reply. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine.” I turned away, looking for another way out. I’m blowing this. I’m really blowing this.

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. “Yup, I’m sure.” I headed toward the sliding glass doors to escape, but Margot stood in the way. I kept my eyes on the floor. I didn’t want her to see this disaster of a face up close.

  “I have makeup wipes if you need them.” She dug her hand inside her clutch and pulled out a packet. She opened the lid. “Take as many as you need.”

  At first I hesitated, wondering if she thought I was as pathetic as I looked. I didn’t want her to see me this way. She was supposed to see me at my best, when I was able to muster up enough confidence to tell her that I liked her. Instead I just took a sheet, wiping the makeup off my face.

  Margot smiled. “Don’t worry. You still look cute, Eden.”

  I almost froze again. Margot shut the lid, shoving the wipes back into her clutch. “See you around?”

  “Uh, yeah.” My mind raced, trying to figure out what that meant. Maybe she was saying that just to be nice. Maybe she really meant it? “Wait!” I blurted, cursing myself for the loud outburst.

  She just looked at me, waiting for me to continue.

  Crap. I had to say something.

  “Um, I . . . I think . . .” I gazed over at the pool through the sliding glass doors. Travis was still standing there, but this time with his friends. Probably telling them he had Margot in the bag. “Travis seems really into you.”

  I immediately shut my eyes and sighed. That was literally the worst thing I could’ve said.

  Margot just crossed her arms and smirked. Her cuff was gold, fitting seamlessly with her black dress. “A few people told me that. But he’s not really my type.” She pushed the door open. “Thanks for the heads-up, though.”

  As soon as she shut the door, I cursed under my breath. This was the way she was going to remember me.

  I blew it.

  My cuff lit up, a message from Lily waiting for me. After I pressed the key, a photo of her with Travis in the background popped up.

  Lily: Someone’s waiting to meet you . . .

  I clutched my cuff and took a deep breath. She’d been waiting to play matchmaker all day. After smoothing out my shirt and checking my reflection in the oven one last time, I stepped back outside to see Lily waving me over as if she were directing air traffic. I glanced over at Travis beside her.

  This was going to be a long night of playing pretend.

  * * *

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Sequence headquarters was a lot smaller than I thought it’d be.

  It was definitely sleek, spotless, impeccable; I could even see my reflection in the white marble walls. The curved sculpture at the center of the room mirrored the curves and bends in the furniture. Other than the receptionist, the waiting room was empty. According to her I came in at a quiet time.

  After looking through their brochure for the
seventh time, I wondered if I shouldn’t have kept this from Lily and Forrest. This was the type of procedure I’d share with someone in case I needed support or if I was having second thoughts. Someone who’d know what to do if anything went wrong.

  Maybe I shouldn’t be here.

  Did I really need this? My parents had my life planned since the moment I was born. I was meant to follow the footsteps of my mother—graduate from her alma mater, become an accountant, have two kids, grow old with my future husband beside me. That’s the life that was assigned to me, and my parents made sure I always stayed on track. To maintain Society’s orders.

  But what if I wanted something different? What if I veered from the path that was assigned to me? What would Society do to someone like me?

  “Eden?”

  I looked up. My assigned specialist, Dr. Nadeen, stood in front of a narrow hallway. She lifted her arm in the direction of the hall, her white cuff matching her lab coat. “Ready for round two?”

  The specialist led me into a bright room, gesturing toward the chair at the center. Her assistant sat on a stool next to the equipment, a welcoming smile on her face.

  I eased down, careful not to step on the wires gathered around the base of the chair, leading into a hole in the back wall. When I was settled, the assistant measured my pulse.

  “How are you feeling, Eden?” Dr. Nadeen asked from the other side of the room. She was facing the wall, tapping at the surface where a hologram had appeared. All I could see was the angular pattern on the back of her shaved head.

  The assistant placed small, circular pads on my temples and my arms, connecting them to wires. I gripped the armrest, my nails digging into the fabric. “I feel fine.”

  Dr. Nadeen closed the hologram and turned toward me. “Would you like me to go through the process for you again?”

  I glanced at her, afraid to move my head in case the wires were to snap. I barely heard her voice above the thoughts tangled in my head. And hearing the process again would only put my nerves more on edge.