Rise of the Firebird (4 page)

“Anya, I didn’t mean anything…”

“It’s not that, my magic was trying to touch you and I promised you that I wouldn’t use it until I see Ruthann,” she fumbled. Her odd relationship with Aramis and her magic was complicated enough, but if it started to react to Søren in such a way, it would turn into a very scary nightmare. His magic and personality were the complete opposite to his brother and where she’d been to battle with Aramis, and knew she could trust him. Søren was another matter.

“Relax,
Elenya
, I didn’t think it would react like that. I can see by the look of horror on your face that it really bothers you that it did. I promise not to touch you,” he said seriously. “Well, not until you ask.”

“Thank you, sorry. Hopefully Ruthann can explain why it does it.”

“I already told you why it does. Your magic is drawn to Aramis and he is my twin,” he said as they kept walking. “It’s not trying to jump into me like it did to him, but it wants to feel me out. It could be an effect of the
elvianth
.”

“Did you tell Ruthann about what I did to Aramis?”

“He knows what happened but I’m going to let him be the one to drop that particular bomb.”

“Sounds promising,” she said gloomily, “see? Be glad I’m not letting my magic run into you. I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

“Even after I threw a knife at your head?”

“You were showing off.”

“Guilty as charged.” He stopped in front of a tall heavily carved cabinet with a large padlock. He brushed his fingers over the lock and it clicked open. “Go ahead,” he said as he stepped back.

“If something jumps out at me there’s going to be trouble.”

“Trust me.” Taking a deep breath, she opened the doors. Inside was full to bursting with scrolls, books and random scraps of paper all sitting on small shelves.

“I don’t understand.”

“Has anyone told you about how Ilya used to have visions?”

“Yvan did. He said that Ilya must’ve used them to find the firebird’s egg.”

“Before he died, he found the Álfr in Russia at a place called Svetilo. It is a place very sacred to us and is the seat of all of our knowledge and history. He gave all of this to them, because he knew that all writing was sacred to them. Every scrap of writing in here are his visions, dreams and prophecies. After many years, they were shipped here at Ruthann’s request. I thought you would like to have a look at them because you lost everything else when Vasilli burned the farm.”

Anya looked at the writings and back to Søren. It was one of the few moments in her life that she’d been robbed for words. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

“I take it that this counts as a good surprise after all?” he said as he slowly and awkwardly put his arms around her.

“I’m going to have to reassess my views of surprises now,” Anya replied. She felt her magic warm and tingly inside of her and she let it reach through her skin to touch his tentatively. It was drawn to him and afraid of him all at the same time.

“That feels so strange,” Søren said slowly, snapping her out of it. She stepped back and felt the tendrils of magic slip back into her.

“Sorry, it has a mind of its own,” she said and focussed back on the cabinet. “Is this catalogued?”

“No, it was all placed in here and locked up. I thought if you wanted to make a copy of them or read them, at least you have the option.”

“I don’t know how to thank you,” she said as she smiled at him.

“I can think of a few things.” Anya did her best to ignore the insinuation.

“This is a job for Fox. At least she won’t be bored anymore.”

Yanka walked the halls of her handsome 18th century home on Vasilyevsky Island. The Darkness had made many renovations over the years, but it was still aesthetically the same, which pleased her.

Vasilli had sent word to have it ready for them by the time they had arrived and now Yanka was enjoying the peace and quiet. She was still relying on her magic to keep her up right and walking, but she was quickly rehabilitating the emaciated muscles. She liked the new clothing of this world, and admired her fine straight black skirt that ran the shape of her body to her knees and the dark purple blouse that tucked into it. Servants had helped her dress and to straighten her long hair. They introduced her to modern make up and they had shown her how to walk in heeled shoes, something that had delighted her instantly. Overall, she was pleased and impressed by the results.

Yanka wasn’t impressed about how things had been run in her absence. For starters, they now had some kind of bizarre treaty with the Illumination. After the trick they had pulled to capture her, she was ready for some intense revenge. She hoped that Ladislav had a very good explanation by the time he got there.

“Is there anything I can get for you, Yanka?” Vasilli asked. He had cleaned himself up, had shaved, and changed his clothes.

“I’m content for the moment. This world has changed so much. I caught glimpses and gained information from Anya’s mind, but it is impressive how much the humans of this world have learned.”

“Technology is their new god,” Vasilli said as he poured himself some vodka from a decanter. “They no longer believe in the old ways or the old tales. We are reduced to characters in the pages of children’s books.”

“Do not worry, Vas’ka, I’ll change all of that. I will give them reason to believe again. Tell me, why this treaty with the Illumination? They are our enemy!”

“The last two major wars we had against the Illumination tore the human world apart. In the last one, we were winning for many years, but then our human leaders failed us. We made the treaty with the Illumination to prevent our kind from being completely annihilated. Most of our numbers have been restored. Ladislav and I had hoped to bring a legion through the gates once we had them open, but Anya and her tricks managed to stop us. I earned these in the process.” Vasilli lifted the side of his grey shirt to reveal his mass of burn scars.

“I saw her do that through her memories. The foolish girl had no idea what she was doing. Ladislav overreacted like a child and almost killed her. If that had happened, I would not be free right now. The girl is stupid but she managed to find me when all of you failed.”

“She would have had help. Aramis would have contacts that he could have called on as soon as his suspicions were roused. He went Rogue for Anya. The way rumour tells it, the Illumination wanted her and he refused to give her up.”

“Typical of him. He always wants to be the hero. He went Rogue for her and she was still fucking the Thanatos? How pathetic.” Now the Thanatos was dead, Yanka was sure that Aramis would be there patiently to comfort Anya and try to move to be by her side. It didn’t bother her. She was free and soon she would have it all.

The next morning, Anya heard her group before she even opened the door to a training room. Izrayl and Hamish were throwing each other around like rag dogs and loving it.

“They are like little children,” Isabelle said as Anya laughed at them. “Thank you for getting this training room for us. We were all going crazy with nothing to do.”

“I didn’t organise it,” Anya said confused.

“Really? An Álfr came and got us an hour ago, and said that Søren requested it be given to us. I thought you may have asked him.” Anya shook her head.

“I never mentioned it though he’d know that these boys would’ve been getting restless.”

“He’s a bit sweet on you,” Katya teased, and Harley threw a towel at her.

“Don’t start.”

“I’m not starting anything, merely making an observation.”

“Søren threw a knife at my head yesterday, I don’t think that is a sign of a crush,” Anya stated.

“He did what?” Yvan said, appearing behind her.

“He was showing off. If he had wanted to hit me, he would have.”

“That is no excuse,” Yvan growled. Isabelle, Katya and Harley quickly got on the treadmills and pretended not to be listening.

“Let it go,” Anya said. “Is the firebird back yet?” Yvan lifted his shirt causing Harley to start coughing loudly and obviously. Anya tried to keep a straight face as she looked at his blank, brown muscles.

“I can still feel him in there if that’s what you are worried about,” he said as he lowered his shirt again, “He’s very quiet.”

“I could ask him to come back out,” Anya suggested. She didn’t like that Yanka’s power had damaged him.

“No need, he will come back when he is ready. Honestly, I’m enjoying not having another voice in my head.” He smiled and it was warm and content. She hadn’t seen that smile for a long time, but being among the Álfr and knowing that you were perfectly safe was good for the soul. Yvan hadn’t had that since he hatched. Strong protective emotions welled up inside of her as she gazed at him.

“Did I tell you about Ilya’s prophecies?” she asked.

“I heard something about it and it explains Fox’s absence.”

“I had to put her to work and besides, she’s the perfect person for the job. If anyone could code and catalogue them, it’s her. She’ll record all of them into her computer and pick up patterns that I would be too stupid to spot.”

“You’re far from stupid,” he said, “but you are right. She will know how they fit together. What do you hope to find?”

“I don’t know,” Anya answered honestly. “It would be nice to have a copy of them. If I can learn anything from them, it will be a bonus. I would like to know what he was like. I’m not the one who used to get drunk with him.” She elbowed him playfully.

“He certainly drank me under the table. You would’ve liked him. He was melancholy but funny at the same time. You’re a lot like him in that respect.”

“It’s nice to know that there was one of my ancestors who wasn’t a psycho. I feel really let down by the whole ‘Yanka is pure evil’ outcome. It’s really annoyed me. She seemed so genuine.” Anya was trying to make a joke of it, but Yvan saw right through it. He always did.

“Perhaps, she thought by being genuine you would join with her. I, for one, am glad that you didn’t.”

“As if I would! You’re more like family to me than she will ever be. Blood doesn’t matter. Thank God, because I really don’t want to be like her.” Yvan put an arm around her shoulders and she looped hers around his waist.

“You will never be like her
shalosť
,” he said seriously, “you are far too stable.”

“I have been accused of many things but being stable isn’t one of them.”

“You know, Anya, you should really be on one of these machines,” Isabelle called over as she ran a perfect stride on a dreaded treadmill.

“I don’t see you jumping down Aleki’s throat to get on one of them,” Anya said defensively.

“She doesn’t need it. I’m sure Mychal is giving her enough of a work out,” Harley said on the machine next to Isabelle.

“God knows, I would if I was in her position,” Katya added and high fived Harley. Anya looked over at Izrayl to see if he had heard her, but he was too distracted with Hamish holding him in a headlock.

“Leave them alone, it’s none of your business,” Anya defended. She knew that Aleksandra would be embarrassed about them talking about her sex life.

“Aw, Anya, we were joking,” said Harley with a slight pout. It was her secret weapon. She could get anyone on her side with it.

“Would you like to go for a walk?” Yvan asked her quietly.

“Yes, please. There are too many pheromones floating around in here,” Anya said and they walked out together, arms still around each other comfortably.

“So how are you?” Yvan asked as they wandered through the hallways.

“I don’t know what I should be feeling, but at the moment, it’s mostly anger. With Eikki’s death, I drank and it numbed me. I don’t think I will have the luxury to do the same this time.”

“Circumstances are different. Your grief will be different too. You’re feeling betrayal on top of your grief as well, so it might be more intense. It will ease off a little each day, you’ll see.”

“Yvan, the Wise Prince, you always know the right thing to say. It’s not natural.”

“I’m an old man, remember? I’ve had many years of mistakes to cultivate wisdom.”

“Being the only one that shuts up and listens probably doesn’t hurt either. You absorb everything. Maybe that is the secret to wisdom.”

“You make me out to be a much better man than what I am.”

“You’re the best man I’ve ever known.” He didn’t reply as they walked out into the milky sunshine. The winter garden was wild and beautiful around them. Something about the gardens made Anya feel like she was in a cradle of life despite their snowy covering. The thrum of magic in the earth seeped in through her boots and sent her senses tingling.

“This path leads into the forest,” he said. “I want to show you something.” There was no rush so they strolled through the gardens talking of inconsequential things between themselves. Anya always seemed to relax and open up around him better than anyone else. She trusted him not to laugh at her trivial and real fears, or throw knives at her head.

Søren had organised a training room for them, given a top of the range laptop to Fox, gave her access to the prophecies, and had taken Anya to Aramis when he needed her most. To say that they had gotten off on the wrong foot was an understatement, but Anya was becoming increasingly aware of someone completely different inside of him. She didn’t know if that was a good thing. Maybe she did have trust issues. Yanka had certainly destroyed what remained of her faith in people.

“Where are you?” Yvan touched her cheek softly.

“Nowhere… stuck in my own head as usual.”

“A dangerous place to be.”

“Tell me about it,” Anya said. “Where are we?” The trees were taller and thicker, and they looked less taken care of than the gardens. In Anya’s last trip to the forest, she had been running and it had been too dark to notice details.

“Sit down on that rock and wait.” Anya did as she was told and Yvan sat beside her. After a few moments of bird song, Anya opened her mouth but Yvan was quicker.

“Just wait,” he whispered. She went quiet again and within moments, a falcon landed on a low branch near her. It watched Anya carefully. A low growl echoed through the trees and rolled up her backbone.