Firebird (The Elemental Wars Book 2)

by K. Gorman

  It was comforting. Almost like a lullaby.

  “Nochi,” she replied. Good night.

  As the Phoenix retreated back into her bones, she closed her eyes, snuggled in next to the firebird, and slept.

  *

  She didn’t know how long she slept for. Maybe only a few minutes. Maybe hours.

  When she woke up, she was still in the Underground.

  Alexei carried her again, piggyback. A tunnel moved around her as he walked, its walls rough with bare earth. Flashlights bobbed in the darkness. People talked in hushed, quiet voices.

  She yawned, perking up. She didn’t recognize the tunnel, but that wasn’t a surprise. Underground tunnels were still fairly obscure to her—and this one looked pretty new, if the bare earth was anything to go by. Her travels had barely scratched the surface of the Underground, keeping mostly to the tunnels she and Jo used regularly.

  That, and the Core.

  “Good morning, Fire Girl.”

  She glanced to her left. Kitty skipped along in the shadows beside her, looking every bit the eccentric she was purported to be. Her eyes danced in the light like a crow’s.

  “Sleep well?”

  She pulled herself farther up on Alexei’s back and adjusted her legs. They’d grown numb, but that was nothing new. Between the stitches, the pain meds, and all the abuse she’d put them through, they’d spent more time not feeling than feeling.

  “Mieshka?” Dad walked behind her, the suitcases scraping on the ground. Alexei sidestepped, allowing her to see him more clearly. “How do you feel, sweetie?”

  In answer, she yawned again. Honestly, she didn’t know where to begin. Part of her felt like it was still asleep; her movements were delayed, her senses dulled. Like there was a disconnect between her brain and her limbs.

  She felt like a ghost. A heavy ghost.

  But she’d felt worse.

  She shrugged. “Fine. Groggy. Ow.”

  Pills rattled nearby, catching her attention. Robin thrust a familiar bottle in her face.

  “Thought you might be needing these.”

  She took the bottle, feeling the pills click inside. Just thinking of them made the pain erupt in her legs. As if all the wounds had been waiting for a signal to get her attention.

  She popped the top, shook two pills out, and dry-swallowed them both.

  “Where are we?” she asked. “What happened?”

  “Your eyes glowed. Gobardon talked to you. Then, they stopped glowing. Then, you fell asleep.” Robin’s eyes flicked ahead to where darkness swallowed the tunnel. “And now, he’s making a tunnel for us to wherever Aiden’s ship is.”

  As if on cue, the ground shook. Everyone staggered. Dust fell from the ceiling, hitting Mieshka’s hair. She twisted her nose, holding back a sneeze.

  “Didn’t you get shot? Or was that a dream?”

  “Yeah, but I’m fine. Just a flesh wound—wait, you dream about me getting shot?”

  In the light, Robin’s raised eyebrow was obvious.

  Mieshka shook her head. “No, but—”

  “I’m just kidding.” Robin grinned. “Anyway, I did get shot. Thank you for remembering. It skinned my thigh a bit, but Jo fixed me all up. And I took one of your pills. I can barely feel it. See?” She did a little jig, hopping up and down as she scooted her way backward up the tunnel. “I feel fantastic.”

  It was Mieshka’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

  “That would be the drugs working.” Jo’s calm voice cut through the air with an edge of sarcasm. “You’ll be feeling it in the morning.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Robin said. “Anyway, we’re almost there. Aiden’s waiting for us.”

  The tunnel fell silent. Only the scrape and drag of wheeled suitcases on the rough floor permeated the area. The air had an earthy smell to it, like soil and dust and tree roots. The ceiling shook again, sending more loose dirt down onto her head.

  She’d be covered by the time she reached the ship. A great impression for whoever met them in Mersetzdeitz.

  A lump formed in her throat.

  Mersetzdeitz.

  She was about to leave.

  It was funny. She’d only been in Ryarne for a few months—barely half a year—but it had felt more like home than the other cities she’d been in.

  She’d miss the Underground. Even with its crazy life. There were too many memories here.

  And she was going to miss Robin.

  She watched her friend flit to the shadows, dancing out of reach of the lights. She still had on the hoodie she’d left home with. A bandage was wrapped around her thigh, stark white in the tunnel. Mieshka could see the shock of each step ram into her injured thigh.

  Jo was right. Robin would feel that in the morning.

  She hunkered down into Alexei’s shoulders again. Exhaustion hit her. Her eyelids drooped. His walk was relaxing, smooth. He shifted his grip on her legs, but the twinge of pain it caused did nothing to dissuade the heavy feeling behind her eyes.

  She didn’t remember sleeping again, but the next time she opened her eyes, they’d reached the hangar.

  *

  Lights blazed from the ceiling, bathing the room in such a stark, warm brightness that she squinted as they came out of the tunnel. Loose earth smudged the floor beneath Alexei’s feet, turning it a gritty brown. Bits of debris—left over from Gobardon Elementally punching his way through, she assumed—crunched as the group filed in.

  The hangar was fully lit, and little different from the last time she’d seen it. In fact, all that had changed were the stacks of boxes and bags parked next to the ship. The door was open, and light flickered within the cockpit, orange, shivery, and not nearly as strong as she remembered.

  The last time she’d been inside the ship, the Phoenix had been in charge. Its power had lit up the consoles in a constant, bright glow. There had been little shift and shiver—only the slight undulation of color and shade, like embers in a fire.

  The flickers now coming from inside the cockpit seemed unstable, unreliable. Flames rather than coals.

  When Aiden reappeared in the doorway and the cockpit went dark behind him, she suddenly understood.

  The ship had no crystal. Aiden had powered it, however briefly, with his own Element.

  She frowned. Where was the crystal?

  He waved them over.

  Grime slashed across his cheeks, as if he’d been under the engine of a car. But she knew better. That was soot, not grease.

  And the Fire Mage smelled of smoke.

  “You’ve been fighting,” she said.

  “So have you, I hear,” he said amicably. “But at least, we have both been winning our fights.”

  Alexei set her down on the steps of the ship. Then, he and Buck began to load the luggage.

  She breathed deep. It felt nice here. Open. Peaceful. There was no war. No smoke, no violence. The hangar was so quiet that every time Alexei loaded a new box in, the thump and slide echoed in the room.

  Robin sat down next to her. Together, they leaned back and watched as Mieshka’s dad approached Aiden.

  He had been quiet up ’til now, but the look on his face was worrying. He was drawn and pale, not unlike when they’d left Terremain. She remembered his face reflected in the cenotaph, grim and dark. Like a member of the dead, rather than the living.

  They’d all looked like ghosts back then, but they had survived.

  And they would survive again.

  “What’s our living situation going to be like? What’s the plan? What have you set up in Mersetzdeitz?”

  Aiden looked up. He had a finger on the same Lost Tech device she’d seen him wield when he’d first come to find her—although it had obviously switched out of its magic-detecting mode. It looked more like a phone now, or a long, thin tablet.

  “What do you mean? Like, what hotel we’re at?”

  Gobardon leaned against the side of the ship, his tired eyes perking up at the conversation. Kitty, beside him, gave a deep, healthy yawn.
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  “Anything,” Dad said. “What can I expect? What have you arranged?”

  “I’m friends with the head of the Council there. We’ll be living in the main safe house for a while, I expect. Nice place. Plasma TV and a hot tub.”

  “And after? What about Mieshka?”

  “Mersetzdeitz has a special school for Mage children. If Aeryn will arrange her enrollment.”

  Mieshka perked up. Mage School? This was the first time she’d heard of this.

  Robin stared. “Magic school? Sah-weet. I would definitely study if I went to magic school.”

  Somehow, given Robin’s history with school, Mieshka doubted that. But she shrugged the thought away, rolling her shoulders, loosening the tension that had built up over the last few days. Mage School was a bit far away for her to consider now.

  All she wanted was a bed.

  “Yeah, that would be nice,” Robin said.

  Mieshka jolted awake. Had she said that last part out loud?

  “Wonder when I’ll get to see one of those next, considering…” Her friend trailed off.

  “Has your mom called yet?”

  “Nope. She’s probably at work now. She has a weird shift on Thursdays.”

  “I’m sure it will be fine. You won’t be homeless. She’ll let you back in, even if she’s angry. That’s what moms are for.”

  Robin huffed. “She always picks him over me. He’s the good boy. I’m the shady one.” She shifted, hunching her head forward. “You know, sometimes, I think she’s not my mom.”

  “What?”

  “Like, she doesn’t do very many mom-like things. Like she’s got a list in her head of what she needs to do to fulfill her role as a parent, and that includes food, shelter, and education. Once those boxes have been ticked, she turns herself off. Like she’s done her job. I’m not sure I want to go back.”

  Robin leaned back, head rocking back to look at the ceiling. Her hair fell back off her face, revealing the light blue of her eyes—although right now, they were pinkish, punctuated by thin, watery red lines.

  “I’m sure she loves you,” Mieshka said.

  “I’m not sure I care anymore,” Robin said.

  Mieshka said nothing. In the silence, Alexei and Buck finished packing the ship.

  And a new person appeared out of the tunnel. Ketan stepped through the improvised door—a surprisingly intact archway, considering Gobardon had blasted it out of the wall—and into the stark lighting. His steps were strong and fast.

  Aiden straightened up. “Ah, there we are. Time to go. The crystal is here.”

  Alexei moved to take Mieshka, and Robin touched her shoulder. “Goodbye, Meese.”

  “I’ll come back,” she said.

  Robin smiled and slipped off the crate.

  She didn’t get to say much more. Alexei lifted her up, and she gritted her teeth as pain flashed across her mind.

  But Robin didn’t seem to need any words. She watched as Alexei sat Mieshka down on an errant box inside the ship. Others climbed in after her, crowding the room. Buck and Alexei settled into the back corner. Jo and Dad squatted down next to her. Gobardon took point in the co-pilot’s seat. Kitty sat on a box next to Mieshka, flashing her a wild grin.

  “I’ll come back,” Mieshka said. “You have my email.”

  In the background, Aiden spoke with Ketan. The Fire Mage gripped the Elemental’s shoulder with a hand. Then, he took a bag from him.

  He walked toward the ship without looking back.

  Orange lights flickered as he stepped into the ship. The door closed behind him with a smooth hiss, shutting out the hangar’s lights.

  “Right,” Aiden said, working his way through the room. Mieshka felt his power pulse in the air. “Time to go.”

  A hatch hissed open in the console at a touch of his hand. The crystal looked like an ember when he fished it out of the bag. Facets of light glowed brightly on the black insides of the ship. She squinted, and Aiden’s silhouette bent over the dashboard’s chassis.

  Then, the hatch hissed closed.

  The light vanished.

  For a second, they saw nothing. The interior of the ship was black as pitch, the darkness a solid presence. She could feel people near her. She heard the rustle of clothing, the intake of breath. Jo found her hand and squeezed gently.

  Then, with a quiet series of clicks, the ship lit up.

  Aiden hunched over the dashboard, standing between the pilot and co-pilot’s seats. A screen lit up on his left, a second on his right. Words ran down their sides, unreadable by anyone except for Aiden and Gobardon.

  “Everyone ready?” Aiden’s voice had a softness to it, as if the ship were a sacred space.

  No one spoke. Jo’s hand tightened over hers. A series of lights winked by the navigator’s seat across from them, where she could just make out the outline of her dad’s face.

  Aiden sat in the pilot’s seat. His hair poked out above the chair’s back, limned in orange by the screen in front of him. A map appeared, its lines a bright orange. Mieshka recognized the layout of the hangar and the subway tunnels above. The right-hand screen showed a different map, which she did not recognize.

  The Fire Mage pressed a button, and the floor tilted underneath them, vibrating. Somewhere, deep in the bowels of the ship, its engines rose to a barely audible whine, building power.

  They were off.

  Chapter 52

  The ship moved like nothing Robin had ever seen before. Jet black, smooth as polished obsidian, it had no visible engines. The air simply warped around it, concentrated at its wings.

  It hovered a few feet above the floor, its landing gear retracting smoothly into its seamless hull.

  Sometimes, it was easy to forget the Mages were actually aliens. They seemed so… normal.

  But that ship definitely wasn’t normal.

  The engines—wherever they were—keened into a steep whine. The air pulsed and warped, waved.

  Then, with a pop like a cap gun, the ship vanished.

  Gone.

  Vamoosh.

  “What the fuck?” she said.

  Ketan stood by her side, a silent sentinel. Heat radiated from his body. She hadn’t noticed it before, but with the ship gone, there was precious little to focus on. She wondered if the heat was from his Element, or whether it was some weird effect of the hangar’s cool air and the fact that she had only thought to bring a light jacket into the Ryarnese cold.

  The Underground might have had some sort of geological heat thing going on, but the hangar was not that far below the surface. Take away a few more degrees, and her breath would rise up in front of her.

  She turned to the Fire Elemental. “So, what’s your plan?”

  He wasn’t bad-looking, now that she’d gotten him into the light. A bit scarred and perhaps due for a change of clothes, but not the demonic figure she’d painted him as back in the café. She’d warmed up to him in their long walk.

  And he had stayed behind with Meese against a rogue Earth Mage. And been burned for his trouble.

  Her gaze dropped to the folding of pink and black skin along his finger. It did not look happy.

  Ketan shrugged. “Find a new place, clear my name with the Society, get a job. Maybe with them, if I can swing it.”

  Robin perked up. “The Society pays money? Like, cash money?”

  For the first time since the ship had left, he looked down at her, a frown creasing his forehead. “Yeah?”

  With a grin, she slipped her arm through his and turned him back toward the tunnel. Although he raised an eyebrow, he didn’t protest.

  “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” she said. “You should tell me more. Especially about the new place and the cash money parts.”

  Maybe, just maybe, she’d found an alternative to being homeless.

  They left the hangar, arm in arm, and made their descent back to the Underground.

  Chapter 53

  The ship sat at an angle on the mount
ainside, its slender landing gear digging into the rock like a spindly tripod. They were above the tree line—somehow even above the snow line. The rock around them was bare, broken, and cold. Scree shuffled underfoot as they stretched their legs.

  Well, as everyone else stretched their legs. Mieshka sat in the doorway, nursing her wounds. Frozen air blew in from the outside, in sharp contrast with the muggy warmth of the ship’s interior. Apparently, eight people was a little too much for the ship’s life support to make comfortable. The air smelled of sweat, dirt, and hot metal.

  Outside, it was crisp, clean, and cold.

  A thick layer of cloud separated them from the city below. Ryarne would be unshielded now, Sophia having redirected the energy to protect her Underground. Swarzgard soldiers hadn’t entered yet, but they were on their way. Distance cut off her cell phone network, but Aiden had patched the ship into Ryarne’s main news source. By the reports, the president was hard at work preparing the city for occupation.

  Now, the Mage was contacting his friends in Mersetzdeitz. She could hear him tinkering around inside, working the console. If she leaned back…

  A piece of rock skittered across the steps in front of her. A second later, Gobardon leaned against the ship’s smooth hull.

  “How are you feeling?”

  She squinted up at him. The hazy light bleached the definition from his features. Dust coated his clothes, mingling with the hem of dirt on his pants—like he’d just spent the day at a construction site.

  But his eyes were still dark. They reflected nothing.

  She shrugged, the motion stiff and careful lest she tug a stitch. “All right. Tired. Drained. Nothing twelve nights’ sleep won’t help with. I heard you talked to the Phoenix?”

  A smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. “I suppose I did.”

  “It say anything interesting?”

  “Yes. It said ‘good night’ in Russian, so Alexei informed me.”

  Ah. Right. She blushed. She sort of remembered that part.