Phoenix

by Elizabeth Richards

  Natalie and Elijah . . .

  I can’t get the image of the two of them out of my head—his hand cupping her face, her arms wrapped around him.

  What are you going to tell Ash?

  Nothing. At least not yet. He’d be devastated.

  You can’t keep this from him. He needs to know.

  It’ll break his heart . . . You can’t say a word to him. Promise me.

  I promise.

  I don’t want it to be true, but the evidence is there.

  Natalie’s cheating on me.

  What other explanation is there? Is that why she pushed me away earlier? Couldn’t she stand being touched by me when Elijah was in the next room? I just don’t understand. How is it possible they’re together? They’ve only known each other a few days! But that’s not true, is it? They met months ago, when he was being held captive in the laboratory in her house. A lot can happen in that time, and wasn’t my attraction to Natalie just as fast, just as powerful? You’re Blood Mates—that’s different. Is it? People fall for each other all the time; it’s not unique to Blood Mates. I think about how the girls all look at him, and the way he was flirting with Natalie at the pool, and realize it’s not so surprising she’s attracted to him.

  I’m so wrapped up in my thoughts, I don’t immediately notice the sweet tang of blood. My hair stirs, sensing it. I pick up the two bags and follow the scent down the side of the administration building. One of the horses is lying on the dirt, its guts ripped out. I suddenly realize why they needed sonic fields. It wasn’t to keep people in the camp. It was to keep something out.

  Around the corner, a door swings open and there’s a sound of footsteps. Natalie and Elijah are heading back to the house. They don’t realize they’re being hunted. We all are. I run back to warn them. No matter how betrayed I feel right now, I can’t let anything happen to Natalie.

  “Ash, I thought you were asleep,” Natalie says, casting a worried look at Elijah.

  My blood boils as I glare at Elijah. I would love nothing more than to tear his throat out. “We need to get back inside, right—”

  A low growl comes from behind me, and I slowly turn. A shadow stalks out of the gloom, taking form in the moonlight. A jackal. Although it’s unlike any wild dog I’ve ever seen before. It’s twice the normal size, with dripping fangs, rotting flesh and terrifying yellow eyes. The jackal snarls, taking a step toward us.

  “Natalie, run,” I say calmly. “Now.”

  “I can’t,” she whispers.

  I risk a look over my shoulder. Another five dogs have us surrounded.

  “Head back into the building,” I say, not taking my eyes off the dogs.

  We cautiously edge toward the administration building. The dogs take another step toward us. We reach the door. Elijah fumbles for the handle in the dark.

  “Hurry up,” I say under my breath.

  “I’m trying,” he says.

  The pack leader studies me with hungry eyes.

  They move closer.

  “Now would be good, Elijah,” I say.

  The pack leader howls, and the jackals bound toward us.

  “Elijah!” Natalie exclaims.

  The handle clicks, and we tumble through the open door. I kick it shut just as the dogs reach us. They slam into the door, splintering the wood. I scramble to my feet and twist the lock. The animals howl and snarl on the other side, their claws scratching at the wood, trying to get in.

  “Did you see their eyes?” Elijah says.

  “They’re infected—they’ve turned into some kind of Wrath Hounds,” I confirm. “They must’ve eaten contaminated Darkling meat.”

  It’s the only explanation I can think of, although I didn’t realize the virus could jump species. But the how or the why is the least of my concerns right now. There’s a loud thud as one of the Wrath Hounds leaps at the door.

  “Did they bite you? Are you hurt?” Natalie stretches a hand out toward me, but I flinch away as if her touch were fire. How can she act like she cares about me, after what I saw?

  She furrows her brow. “Ash?”

  “I’m fine,” I say. “We need to get to the roof before they find out how to get in.”

  “I’m going to turn on the electricity. I’ll meet you upstairs,” Elijah says, darting off before we can stop him.

  Natalie and I run in the opposite direction, in search of the stairwell. We find it just as there’s the sound of shattering glass. The Wrath Hounds have found another way in. Natalie tugs on my arm, stopping me.

  “We can’t leave Elijah,” she says.

  “Forget him,” I snap, dragging her farther up the stairs.

  “Ash, what’s gotten into you?”

  She looks up at me with beautiful blue eyes, which are so full of concern for him. Pain rips at my heart.

  “Will that make you happy?” I ask quietly.

  She looks at me, bewildered. “Yes. I don’t want him to get hurt.”

  Her words tear through me, but as upset as I am, I’ll do anything for her—even save the boy she’s cheating on me with.

  I release her hand and thrust our duffel bags into her hands.

  “Fine, I’ll go get him,” I say. “You head to the roof.”

  I don’t wait for her to answer, just race down the stairs in search of Elijah. I run past the office with the broken window. One of the dogs must’ve scratched itself on the glass, because there are drops of foul-smelling blood on the floor. The scent leads me all the way to the generator room.

  The place is boiling hot and pitch-black, and I’m grateful for my night vision. I catch glimpses of five shadowy creatures lurking down the walkways, prowling toward Elijah, who is standing at the end of the room, searching for the levers to turn the power back on.

  For a moment, I consider leaving Elijah with the jackals, but quickly cast that thought aside and look around for a weapon. Normally I’d use my fangs, but I can’t risk infecting myself. I yank some steel piping off the wall and quietly stalk the jackals as they in turn hunt Elijah.

  He finds one of the levers and pulls it, turning the generator fan back on. The sound startles the Wrath Hounds, and they howl, the noise echoing around the room, making it hard to pinpoint the source. Elijah looks about him, fear etched on his face. Bastets have great hearing, but their eyesight isn’t as good as a Darkling’s.

  A Wrath Hound scurries across the walkway behind him, ready to pounce.

  “Behind you!” I call out in the dark.

  He turns just as the dog leaps toward him. Elijah takes it down in one swift movement, snapping its neck.

  “Three o’clock!” I shout as another dog springs for him.

  The animal lands on him and they fall to the floor. Elijah grips the dog’s throat, holding its gnashing teeth at bay as I dash toward him. I swing the steel pipe, cracking the animal’s skull. It rolls off Elijah, and I help him to his feet.

  “There’s three more,” I say to him, scanning the room. “I’ll hold them off—you turn on the electricity.”

  Elijah races back to the generator while two of the Wrath Hounds bound toward us, their fangs dripping. I strike one of them, the pipe easily tearing through its gangrenous flesh. Warm blood sprays out of its wound. The second jackal turns on its fallen comrade and starts tearing at its flesh, overtaken by a feverish bloodlust.

  Elijah finds the second lever, and all the lights blink on.

  “Ash!” he calls as the last Wrath Hound lunges for me.

  There’s no time to block the attack, and I’m knocked off my feet. The pipe rolls under the generator. The Wrath Hound is inches from my face. I struggle to hold the creature back as it snaps at me with its deadly fangs, my fingers slipping through its rotting flesh.

  “Help me!” I yell.

  My arm muscles start to shake from the strain. I can’t
keep this up much longer.

  “Elijah!” I say, panicked.

  There’s a clunk as another lever is pulled, and the Wrath Hound immediately rolls off me, whimpering as it writhes around the floor in agony. I can’t hear it, but the sonic shield must be on again. A shadow falls over me. Elijah.

  “You alive?” he asks.

  I get to my feet.

  “That was close,” he says, grinning. “I thought we were—”

  I punch Elijah in the face.

  He lets out a pained yell as blood squirts out of his nose. The bones in my hand rattle, and I know my knuckles are going to be bruised for the next few days, but it was worth it.

  “What did you do that for?” he says through his bloodied hands.

  “You know what that was for,” I snarl, shoving him against the generator. “Leave her alone. She’s mine.”

  “What?” he says.

  I don’t answer. I’m not interested in hearing his excuses. I pick up the pipe and kill the last two Wrath Hounds, pretending their heads are Elijah’s.

  “I think they’re dead,” he says, dabbing his nose with his sleeve.

  I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. We study our handiwork.

  “Weren’t there six dogs outside?” Elijah asks.

  He’s right; there are only five hounds here, which can mean only one thing.

  “Natalie!” we say in unison.

  We run out of the generator room, through the corridors and up the stairs. My heart is racing. Please let her be okay, please, please. We burst onto the roof. It’s unnaturally dark out here, as something blocks out the moonlight. At first I don’t see Natalie, but then I make out a shape slumped on the flat roof. Blood stings my nostrils.

  The night becomes still. I can’t move.

  Elijah rushes over to the figure.

  “It’s the dog! Just the dog!” he says.

  I let out a sigh of relief.

  “Natalie?” I call.

  “Sshh,” she whispers, walking out from behind a chimney stack. She points upward.

  We all turn our heads up to the sky. At first I don’t know what she’s referring to, then I realize what’s blocking out the moonlight. My blood turns to ice.

  The Destroyer Ship.

  22.

  NATALIE

  “IT ARRIVED a few minutes ago,” I whisper. “I don’t think we’ve been spotted yet.”

  Down below, in the center of the compound, there are two Lupines writhing on the ground.

  “Garrick and Sasha?” Ash whispers to me.

  I nod. “They collapsed about a minute ago. I don’t know why.”

  “That’s when we turned on the sonic shield,” Ash replies. “It seems to affect canines.”

  “How do we get out of here?” Elijah asks. I notice his nose looks slightly swollen. He must’ve been injured while fighting the jackals.

  I point toward Crimson Mountain, which is a few hundred feet away, to our left. At the base of the mountain is the boarded-up railway tunnel I noticed earlier, when we entered the compound.

  “I think the Sentry used the tunnel to transport supplies into the camp,” I say. “It should lead to a depot.”

  “Let’s go before they realize Garrick and Sasha are in trouble,” Ash says.

  He takes his duffel bag from me, while I carry mine. He refuses to meet my eye as he rises to his feet. We sneak back inside the administration building. I reach out my hand toward Ash, but he ignores it. I lower it. Is he mad at me for some reason? He can’t be upset that I rejected his advances earlier, surely. Ash isn’t like that. I get a terrible sinking feeling. Did he overhear my conversation with Elijah? But even if he had, that wouldn’t explain why he’d be angry at me. Unless . . . unless he’s not mad at all. Maybe he’s repulsed by me? I never considered that as a possibility; I thought he’d be devastated by the news, not sickened by it. Humiliation burns at my cheeks.

  Ash edges the front door open and peers outside, just as a searchlight comes on from the Destroyer Ship. He swiftly shuts the door. The blue light shines through the dusty windows, filling the corridors with its eerie glow. We crouch down as the light scans the building once, twice, before moving on.

  “Now,” Ash says, opening the door.

  We run outside and hurry for cover between the barracks. They don’t offer much protection; if the searchlight turns on this area, we’ll be spotted immediately. Ash takes the lead as we dart from building to building. The light sweeps toward us, and we slam our backs against the wall. I shut my eyes, whispering a prayer. It passes by, just missing us. Adrenaline courses through my veins, making my pulse race. Ash takes my hand, sensing my panic, and immediately my heartbeat slows. His touch means more to me than he realizes. Perhaps he simply didn’t notice my outstretched hand earlier, and that’s why he didn’t take it?

  We run to the tunnel, hand in hand, Elijah following. The searchlight fixes on something in the center of the compound: it’s found Garrick and Sasha. We have a few minutes at most before a Transporter comes down for them and the area is crawling with Sentry guards. I don’t understand why they didn’t bring the guards down with them in the first place, though. It doesn’t make much sense, but I’m not going to complain about a bit of good fortune.

  We reach the tunnel, and Ash and Elijah start pulling at the wooden boards nailed in front of the entrance. Above us, a hatch opens in the Destroyer Ship and something metallic streaks across the night sky. A Transporter.

  I help Ash and Elijah with the boards, yanking at them with all my might, ignoring the splinters digging into my hands.

  Dust stirs in the air as the Transporter lands nearby.

  “Hurry!” Elijah says, pulling at the wood.

  He tears off another plank, creating a hole just big enough for us to squeeze through. Ash and I toss our bags through the gap, and then the three of us clamber through the hole, dropping to the other side just as bright lights flood the camp. We don’t hang around to find out if we’ve been spotted. We sprint into the depths of the pitch-black tunnel. I’ve never known darkness like it—I’m totally blind. My feet keep getting caught in the wooden ties of the railway track, making me stumble more than once. I run my hand along the stone wall until my fingers find a cold, hard metal railing about four feet from the ground, and I cling to it, trying to rein in my terror.

  There’s a loud grumble, and at first I’m worried we’re having a cave-in. Then Elijah gives a small laugh.

  “Was that your stomach, Darkling?” he whispers in the dark.

  “I haven’t eaten in days,” Ash replies through gritted fangs. He leans against the wall for a moment, letting out a low groan as his stomach rumbles again. Yet again, I wish I could do something to help.

  “Are you all right?” I ask him.

  “I’ll be fine.” He staggers onward into the blackness.

  Somewhere deep in the passageway, I hear the chatter of bats and just pray they’re not infected with the Wrath as well. I can’t deal with flesh-eating bats and man-eating dogs all in one night. My eyes start to adjust to the dark, not so much that I can see things clearly, but enough to differentiate between the shades of black: lighter black is air; darker black is the curved tunnel walls. Even so, I keep my hand firmly grasped around the cool railing as I follow Ash.

  I’m starting to get the vibe that he doesn’t know I’m ill. It’s just the way he’s acting around me—he seems concerned, but only the normal amount you’d expect given our predicament, not “my fiancée is going to die of a horrific virus” kind of worried. I don’t think he overheard my conversation with Elijah earlier. If he had, I’m certain he would’ve mentioned it by now.

  In one way it’s a relief—I can spare us both the heartache for a while longer, until I find the strength to tell him. But eventually, I will have to break the news to him, and that’s not a
conversation I want to have. I know that as soon as the words fall out of my lips, it’ll mean the end of our relationship. I’ll have to leave him, not just for his own safety, but because it’ll be the kindest thing to do. I can’t let him watch me rot and die the way his mother did. My heart cramps at the thought of losing him, and Ash sucks in a breath, feeling my pain. That’s the only problem with being Blood Mates; every time my heart bleeds, he feels it too. He looks over his shoulder again at me, his eyes glimmering with concern.

  We walk through the dark tunnel for hours, until I think I’ll go mad if we don’t get out of here soon. Thankfully, I don’t think we’re being followed. I’m sure we would’ve heard them by now.

  “What do you think the others are doing right now?” Elijah asks.

  Ash stops and rummages around his bag, pulling something out. “I forgot I had this, sorry,” he says. There’s a flick of a switch and immediately the portable digital screen’s bright light fills the tunnel. The sudden change in light hurts my eyes, but it’s a relief to be able to see again. We listen to the latest news reports, while Ash uses the digital screen like a flashlight.

  For over an hour we hear story after story about members of Humans for Unity being rounded up and executed. The Sentry’s hit rebel factions in Fire Rapids, Red Winter, Lithium, the list goes on. I quickly do the sums. That’s over two hundred people, dead. The numbers are really shocking when you consider Purian Rose only declared war on us a few days ago. If things continue on at this rate, the rebellion won’t last long. I glance at Ash. His face is illuminated by the bluish glow of the digital screen. His mouth is set in a grim line. He’s obviously thinking the same thing as me: we have to find the Ora, and fast.

  “Can we take a break?” Elijah says. “My feet are killing me.”

  I don’t want to stay in the tunnel forever, but I’m sweating from exhaustion, and I know Ash can’t carry on much longer, given the way he’s clutching his stomach. We find a recess in the tunnel wall and sit down, using our coats as pillows. Ash puts the digital screen on the ground between us so we can share the light.

  “I’m going to use the little girls’ room,” I say, hurrying down the tunnel until I find another recess in the wall. It’s much darker down here without the light of the digital screen, and I try to be quick, spooked out by the idea of rats, cockroaches and heaven knows what else scurrying about in the gloom.