Rise of the Firebird (20 page)

“Maybe you were wrong, old man,” he murmured to himself. The earth shuddered around him. “Jesus Christ!” he shouted, leaping to his feet and only just catching the cigarette that had fallen from his lips. He started to run in a staggering gait until he got to Ashwell Lane. Up in the shadows of Saint Michael’s Tower, there was a bright aurora burning with all the colours of an opal.

“Another player? That’s impossible. No. No. No.”

Cursing and with considerable dread, Eldon Blaise pulled his jacket tighter around him and headed along the road to the Tor. With each step, he felt the burden of the past weigh down on him. In the Otherworld, a mighty battle had taken place in that very spot. A battle that had destroyed a castle and all the lands surrounding them. After that, a circle of stones had been placed around it as a warning and a memorial to the innocents that had died in the flames. The magic that had once fed the powerful had exploded and created one of the only null zones. In the real world, Merlin had commanded a church to be built on the Tor in the last attempts to cleanse the area and stop the evil from that place seeping through into the real world. There had been earthquakes and executions, but the tower still stood. That was something at least.

The aurora was still blazing as Eldon stepped through the stone archway. The red and green light spiralled down to him. “I am here!” he shouted at the ghosts, his harsh Welsh accent echoing around the stones.

He waited patiently for a few moments before smashing his fists against the walls. It was then that the light wrapped down around him and images bombarded him. He fell to the ground, clutching his head, trying desperately not to fight the visions.

A man that was not a man, one of the light ones, a woman with black hair laughing, another with eyes burning with the green fire of spring with too much power. Fire, fire, fire
.

He vomited on the ground as his vision came back into focus. Stumbling back outside, he collapsed on the wet grass as the sun broke over the horizon line. “I’m too old to be a mentor,” he groaned desperately. “Fifty years of peace…fifty years of being left alone so why now…Light of Heaven, please. Haven’t I suffered enough? Can’t you kill me finally?” Instead of an answer, he got the name of a place, and he knew where he was being told to go.

Yvan woke days later from a nightmare of choking blackness. A cold rag was pressed to his forehead and he calmed once more.

“Careful, honey, you almost knocked me out.” Yvan could only make out the sheen of Cerise’s red hair in the shadows.

“Sorry,” he croaked. “What happened?”

“You got scratched up badly by a shifter. Turns out, bitch kitty had some kind of poison in her claws.”

“Is Anya…is she hurt?”

“Not physically, although mentally, she’s a bit of a wild card mystery as always.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that sweet little Anyanka isn’t as sweet as you think. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t disapprove. I’m happy she is fighting back at last. She needed to find the right incentive.” A spark of flame came from her hand as she lit a cigarette. “Turns out that you getting in the firing line set the old girl off.”

“What did she do, Cerise?” Yvan asked, knots tightening in his stomach.

“She de-clawed kitty right after she pulled all the poison out of your body. Gods know how she managed that. Aramis is freaked out of his perfectly symmetrical head and the Conseil Neutres is threatening action against Anya for bringing the likes of Veruschka into the city. There are whispers in the city beyond the council, Yvan. I’ve been hearing things from a few of my morgue contacts. They’re getting scared that a new war is coming. Ladislav was spotted a few weeks ago, and now with Anya being in their city, they fear she’s going to bring the wrath of Light and Dark on their heads. She needs to leave as soon as she can. Scared people can get stupid, but scared Supernaturals are plain dangerous.”

“Where is she?”

“Sleeping, I hope. I had to trick her to get her away from you. Aramis will be watching over her. He’s worried.”

“About what? That she’s unstable?”

“Is that what you think she is?”

“No, Anya is scared like the rest of us.”

“She isn’t scared, Yvan. She is angry and that frightens everyone else.”

“She would never hurt us, Cerise, and you know that.”

“Not intentionally, but that Elemental did something to her. She hasn’t changed but her power has. I’ve seen what happens when people get driven mad from magic. Not like Vasilli mad, but claw your own face off mad.”

“Aramis is teaching her how to control it,” Yvan said. He took the glass of water from the nightstand and gulped large mouthfuls. His other arm was bandaged and aching as badly as his head.

“Aramis is out of his depth. Wait, what do you think you are doing?” she demanded as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and struggled into a robe.

“I’m going to find my crazy, unstable, too powerful Shamanitsa.”

“God, you two are as stupid and pathetically co-dependent as each other,” Cerise muttered as she stubbed her cigarette out violently.

“You were the same with Trajan.”

“Yes, and I had to stand there helpless and watch him die,” she snapped. “Now I feel like I’m crippled because he isn’t there to make me stand straight. That’s what such relationships bring once they are over. I won’t watch it happen to the two of you. I care too much. When you leave for Skazki, you will be going without me.”

“Cerise,” Yvan caught her with his good arm and brought her close. She wrapped her arms tightly around him. She smelt of Givenchy perfume, hairspray, and chocolate. “I miss him too, Cerise. We all do. Anya still won’t even talk about it.”

“But you and Anya have each other, darling,” she pulled away from him, her mascara streaking her cheeks. “And it will only ever be you two in that circle.” She walked away, the swish of her skirt the only sound as she crossed to the door. “Protect her better than I protected Trajan.”

“Cerise, it wasn’t your fault,” Yvan began but she was already gone. He ran his hand through his black curls before stepping out of his rooms, quietly shutting the door behind him. He didn’t know what time it was, but something told him Anya wouldn’t be sleeping. She had barely slept for months. He tapped lightly on her door and Aramis answered it.

“Yvan, you shouldn’t be out of bed.”

“Where is she?”

“On the balcony. She won’t go to sleep and she won’t talk to me. I still don’t know what happened with that shape changer, but I saw what was left of her. I’ve never seen Anya act like that before.”

“Go to bed,” Yvan patted his shoulder. “I’ll talk to her.”

“Anya slaughtered that shape changer because she scratched you, Yvan,” Aramis said as his eyes narrowed.

“And your point is?”

“She wanted to tear Veruschka apart for hurting you and she did exactly that. She is blind when it comes to you. She didn’t think rationally, didn’t consider if what she was doing was right or wrong. That kind of irrationality will get her killed in a proper fight.”

“Anya gets angry like the rest of us, or have you forgotten what she did to Völundr to save Trajan or those Darkness men to save you?” Yvan pushed past him before he could reply.

Anya sat on white cane furniture overlooking the lights of the city. Yvan took a throw rug from a chair inside and wrapped it over her before sitting down.

“Have you come to lecture me like Aramis?” she asked softly.

“No, I came for the peace and quiet. Everyone kept telling me you weren’t talking.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small smile curl her bottom lip.

“Are you feeling any better, Vanya?”

He took her hand and kissed it. “I’m alive because of you. Thank you, Anyanka.” She looked at her hand in his and flushed slightly.

“It’s because of me you got hurt.”

“It’s because of you that I hatched to begin with. See how pointless this conversation is? Let’s get to the part where there is no guilt or tears.” He put an arm around her shoulders and she hugged him. “See? That’s much easier.”

“They are going to make me leave the city, aren’t they?”

“Yes, but we couldn’t have stayed much longer. You know that.”

“They fear me.”

“All fools fear what they don’t understand.”

“I killed that woman, Yvan, and though I don’t feel good about it, I don’t feel guilty about it either. I would do it again.”

“So would I if our positions were reversed. We do what we have to do in order to protect the people we love,
shalost’
, never be ashamed of that.”

“I’m not ashamed, I’m angry.”

“You are tired. It’s almost dawn and we both need to sleep.”

“Will you watch the sunrise with me? I can’t remember the last time I was awake this early to see it. Too much night, too much darkness.” Her eyes were burning green in the growing light and Yvan gripped her tighter.

“Anya, you would tell me if something was really wrong wouldn’t you? Too much has happened to you so quickly. We still don’t know what effect will be with what happened with the
Groenn Skaer
and…”

“Shhhh…watch.” As the sun rose over the city, Anya groaned in pain. She twisted out of Yvan’s arms and onto the floor.

“What’s wrong?!” Yvan reached for her but she pushed him away.

“Stay…back,” she said through clenched teeth. “Don’t touch me.”

Anya was burning up inside. Pressure filled her until she thought she would choke. Yvan was calling her name but she couldn’t see him. Her vision exploded around her. She saw Baba Yaga laughing with Yanka, burnt hands and white pieces of a game, blood was flowing as the sun rose. She heard a man cry out in anguish. Saw his face, felt his yearning for death. Then she was back on the floor in New Orleans, Yvan looking at her as red and gold flashes danced under his skin.

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she wheezed. “Don’t look so worried.”

“What happened?”

“I had a vision.”

“Sent by whom?”

“I don’t know, but something is happening with Baba Yaga and Yanka. They had a meeting. We need to move.”

“Anya, are you sure?” Aramis asked for the second time that morning.

“Why would I lie? They were drinking together while sitting around a strange board game. It had its own magical aura.”

“Jumanji!” Hamish piped in, making Harley snort coffee up her nose.

“So what you are really saying is that you are leaving,” Isabelle said quietly. The laughing around her stopped.

“You know I can’t stay. Veruschka took her frustrations out on the neutrals in the city because I was here and she was bored. More will come like her. The best thing for me and for New Orleans is to get the hell out. What I can do, is tell you all again that I don’t expect any of you to come with me. Skazki is a nightmare at the best of time. Who knows what it will be like now with Yanka back and war brewing. I can’t ask any of you to come,” Anya replied, her throat feeling like it was full of broken glass.

“From a tactical point of view, it would be better only to have a small group going into Skazki. People who’ve been there before would be better. If we split up, at least one group will be able to know what’s happening in the real world and one to know what’s happening in the Otherworld. We will have fingers in both pies,” suggested Katya. She was calm but her knee was jumping as it always did when she was nervous.

Anya didn’t protest or make any suggestions as they all argued with each other. Her friends. Her family. Wild, chaotic, violent, and beautiful
family
. Yvan sat beside her, his large solid presence comforting her, giving her strength. Aramis sat on the other side of her, their magic dancing together in waves that only they could see. His concern was battering against her brain, but she couldn’t do anything about it until they were alone.

Ever since Veruschka’s attack, she had felt uneasy leaving Yvan alone anywhere. The bitch of a cat had struck at her worst fear, one that she hadn’t been fully aware of. She remembered Trajan saying something about Yvan and herself being a packaged deal, but she had never understood what he had meant by that. Now she did. If there was no Yvan to help keep her in check, to keep her grounded…she didn’t want to think about what she would turn into. Aramis, sensing her anxiety, let his long fingers lightly brush hers. They had yelled at each other the night before and they both felt terrible about it like they always did. She twined her fingers with his and like that, their argument was over.

After their meeting, Aramis and Anya decided to go for a quiet walk. Yvan assured her that he would stay at Legba’s Ladies talking to Blue Jay until she got back.
You can’t be watching him every second. I won’t let anything harm him
, the firebird reassured her. She was shocked that her concern was so obvious. Outside, Aramis offered her his arm and she wrapped hers around it.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” he said, jumping into the uncomfortable topic straight away.

“I am too. You were voicing your concerns; your very
valid
concerns.” Anya bumped gently into him. “But you don’t need to worry. I will not be another Yanka.”

“I have no concern over that. I suppose I had never seen you be so violent. I inspected the house in Paris but that was long before we met and it shocked me.”

“I protect those I love, Aramis. After losing Trajan, I promised myself that I would fight harder.”

“Trajan was
not
your fault, Anya.”

“If I’d been more ruthless, perhaps more diligent with learning my power, I could have done something. Instead, all I could do was sit there and watch helplessly. That will
never
happen again,” she finished coldly.

“I thought you murdered Veruschka because you love Yvan so much. I worry that kind of love will be as destructive to you as it was to me.”

“I would’ve done the same thing if she attacked you, my
hjarta bróđr
. You are all my family now.”

“Why do you keep calling me that,
hjarta bróđr
? Where did you hear that term?”

“I…I don’t know,” Anya admitted and she truly didn’t. “Ever since the
Groenn Skaer
, sometimes I know things. Words and symbols will sometimes pop into my head and I will feel like they have been there all along, but I’m only remembering them now. Why do you ask? Is it upsetting you?”