Risen (The Firebird Trilogy Book 2)

by Stephanie Harbon

  I used the bed sheets as bandages and within minutes they were saturated with blood. Eventually the flow slowed and I drifted into unconsciousness.

  I was taken to her the next day as well. This time the names she branded me with -on the right side of my body, as there was no room left on my arm- were more personal. Pathetic. Ugly. I felt sick and dizzy from the pain and blood loss but remained silent. Inevitably she did say something that broke my concentration.

  She had been musing: “I don’t know why Lynk wants to know how you escaped the Island anyway.” She was ignoring me now; the knife in her hand dripping fresh blood from cut number six; Target. I was a target now, she had explained, I would never be free of attacks and abuse because of what I had done. “We can get out. Even Kieran worked out how to for God’s sake.”

  I flinched at the sound of his name. Kieran. How long had it been since I’d seen his beautiful face, heard a cutting remark, or been touched by his rough fingers? She noticed me move but her eyes barely flickered over to me.

  “Ah Kieran,” she sighed thoughtfully. “I do miss those nights we had.” Her eyes glazed over momentarily as she remembered something; her lips twisted in an amused smile. “He did have a gorgeous body; I must admit. I wish he didn’t know how to use it, but he did. Yeah,” she sighed, “he did.”

  I tried to keep my expression apathetic but this infuriated me. The thought of Briseis -this horrible, sadistic bitch- having sex with Kieran just made me want to wrap that braid of hers around her neck and strangle her.

  She continued obliviously. “But not just physically does he know how to use it. He gets inside your head too. He makes you think he loves you.” Her expression was undeniably hostile now; she glared at the wall as her voice rose in hatred. “He takes your God-damn virginity then flicks you aside like a stone from his shoe.”

  Suddenly I pitied her. She must have really loved Kieran then; if he’d taken her virginity. I guessed that it was probably true; I knew it was the kind of thing he’d do. Was all of this purely out of revenge? Could she really have become like this, because of some boy? But Kieran isn’t just some boy, I reminded myself, He’s…Kieran.

  I finally spoke, my voice a fraction of a whisper: “You know doing all of this won’t change anything.” Her glance cut into me but my voice wasn’t harsh, only soft. “You’ll still love him,” I continued, “And he’ll only hate you more.”

  Her face twisted in fury and she thoughtlessly lifted the knife and slashed it across my face. I twisted away instinctively but the blade still nipped my skin, slicing a shallow trench across my left cheek. I couldn’t move anywhere as I was strapped down but tears still filled my eyes. Helplessly they rolled down my checks, causing the injury to flare in pain. She stood up suddenly and went to leave the room.

  Before she left she threatened: “If you don’t answer any questions tomorrow I’ll cut out your damn fingernails with a blunt knife.”

  I shuddered at the thought.

  When she left the guards released me. I touched my face, there was so much red on my fingers when I withdrew them. I felt dizzy and numb by the time the healer visited me back in my room; a needle and thread in his hand to stich up my face. He seemed annoyed and I guessed that Briseis wasn’t supposed to mess with my face. Once my cheek was stitched he offered me painkillers but I ignored him; staring off distantly and withdrawing deeper into my shell.

  It was later, when I was sat up in my bed, my stomach growling but my face hurting too much to eat. When I’d lost all hope and felt swallowed in depression. It was then that I noticed the sign.

  I stared at it for a moment, hesitant and uncertain. Then slowly comprehension flickered, drawing me into reality. I got up carefully, my head still spinning, and shuffled my way over to the small black feather that hung, seemingly stuck, from the space between the door hinge and the rock wall. I reached out for it, thinking my mind was playing tricks on me. In my fingers it was soft, delicate; too small to be notable, too noticeable to be ignored. I gazed closer and my heart picked up speed.

  That colour. It was unmistakeable.

  He’d been here.

  It could have just been a coincidence, but I had to believe it wasn’t. I had to believe that they were coming for me. It got me through the next session with Briseis. I told her enough to stop her from pulling off my nails but nothing really of any importance. Nothing I thought she didn’t already know; today she was just trying to reinforce her dominance over me.

  Every time I said the wrong thing, however, she slapped me across my cut cheek. The pain would flare, each time taking longer to ebb away. When it eventually began bleeding and the stitches were starting to break; she let me go. Back in my room I was losing patience. More hours went by. I don’t know how many. I tried to sleep but dreams evaded me.

  When my bladder couldn’t be ignored any longer the guards took me to the streams. The darkness made me uncomfortable; I hated not knowing what was lurking in the shadows, but the guards impatiently urged me forwards. I could hear music playing from their headphones as I was sandwiched between their bodies. As I squatted awkwardly over the waste-river to pee I watched their backs suspiciously; making sure they didn’t turn. The unspoken protocol was that I would tap their shoulders to show I had finished, unless I had taken too long in which case they would check on me. This was always a tense moment.

  Then I noticed something in the corner of my eye. A small black feather was floating down the ‘clean’ stream just to my right. It stopped momentarily, caught by a rock, and I quickly finished what I was doing and rushed to get it without the guards noticing. My heart thumped hopefully.

  I plucked it from the water and realised that the feather had been delicately slit down the centre so that the pale flexible quill could be opened out like a piece of rolled up paper. Once pried open it revealed a blurry message in barely-decipherable English: Still water. I quickly hid the feather under a rock in the stream, knowing they’d find it in my room.

  The guards stood behind me all of a sudden. My hands were still under the water. I froze in stunned fear but then instinctively turned back to them. I looked at them in confusion, pretending to continue to wash my hands. They looked deeply suspicious but tugged me up to leave.

  Still water. What did that mean? I thought it through quickly as I followed the guards. I glanced at the two shallow streams but there was no escaping via this chamber. Plus this water wasn’t still; it bubbled up from underground then disappeared into cracks in the wall. But where would still water be? And how did that feather get into the stream? Still water. He obviously wanted me to go to still water. Was there a way out of here? As I walked closer to my room it hit me. The water room. Still pools of water. Would they meet me in there?

  The only way I would be taken to the water room would be as a punishment, so I needed to try and escape. We were only a couple of meters from my door now. I had to act quickly.

  Without thinking I turned and shoved the guard behind me. His eyes widened as he stumbled into the wall. The guard in front sensed or heard the commotion and turned but I was already running. I picked a direction at random, knowing I wanted them to follow me, and they caught me almost instantaneously. I was still weak but managed to punch the second guard. He flinched but yanked my wrists into his callused hands, twisting my arms around my back.

  “You stupid girl,” the guard I’d shoved said, rubbing his stomach pathetically. “What shall we do with her for that?” he asked his friend.

  The guy behind me pushed me unexpectedly; so my back was pressed against the wall; his body blocking any escape. He smiled lasciviously, licking his lips with an unanticipated lustfulness. “Well, we could…” he trailed off suggestively.

  I swallowed; I hadn’t prepared for that.

  The first guard, his face already colouring slightly, said: “Could you imagine what Lynk would do to us though…if he found out.”

  “If he found out,” the second guard emphasised, abruptly coming forwards and
laying his hot, sweaty body against mine. I struggled, trapped under his heavy weight. This is not going right, I thought furiously.

  Revoltingly he stroked his grubby fingers down my neck, dipping them into my top to pinch my breasts. I flinched.

  “Get off me!” I screamed; trying to wriggle free as his greasy palms proceeded lower, over my stomach. I shivered in disgust and tried to wrench free of his prying fingers. I pulled back and did something I never thought I’d ever do; I spat at him.

  He barely noticed, mindlessly wiping his face and continuing to snap at me. “Shut up you little whore,” he growled, running his hand over my thighs. He was stiff and hard and gross. And I couldn’t bloody get him off me.

  I screamed and lashed out again, finally regaining control of my arms and clawing my nails across his cheek. Blood instantly began oozing from the little scratches and the guard pulled back in anger and pain. His face transformed into blind fury and he came forwards and punched me right in my eye. My head whirled as he brought his hand up for a second time but abruptly the other guard caught it.

  “Are you insane?” demanded the first guard, his bicep straining under his skin as he restrained the second guard. “If you damage her face, or her voice, Lynk will go crazy. He hasn’t finished with her yet, you know that.”

  The second guard relaxed a little, his arm dropping to his side. Then a nasty, malicious grin sauntered onto his face. “Let’s punish her differently then. You know how she acted after going into the water room…” he laughed and reached out to carefully caress my bruising eye, “All quiet and shaken. We can do what we like to her once she comes out again. I can bet she won’t kick up a fuss.”

  I trembled in fear at his words and he roughly grabbed me again, this time dragging me off deeper into the shadowy cave tunnels. When we entered the water room I glanced around; expecting to see Kieran, Nik, or any of my friends.

  To my utter horror the room was empty.

  It was just me and the two guards; the men who planned to put me into that watery pit until I was ‘quiet and shaken’ enough to face their lust.

  Oh crap.

  Chapter Five

  I kicked out at the guard as he dragged me over to the pit.

  Absolutely petrified, I screamed again; but there was no use. My nails scraped down the man’s arms but he didn’t relinquish his hold as he forced me into that freezing, unfathomable water. No. This was wrong. They were supposed to be here. Why weren’t they here? I couldn’t go back in that hole. I couldn’t. The other guard rolled the boulder above me to trap me.

  The world suddenly went black.

  The icy water seemed higher this time. It reached just above my chin. I stood on my tiptoes, my arms reaching up to scrape at the ceiling; trying desperately to lift the rock but it I knew it wouldn’t budge. I was trapped.

  I took a deep composing breath, but I could feel myself panicking.

  The icy currents passed around my ankles. I felt my heart fluttering uncomfortably in my chest. Again, the thought of the water drowning me, consuming my lungs, left me in a state of numb fear. The current suddenly increased its tempo, running faster and harder; I almost lost my balance.

  A sudden splash made me scream.

  Something brushed my waist and I cringed back instinctively. Fumbling to regain my balance, I stretched my arms to the walls but in doing so I touched something just under the water’s surface.

  My lungs were contracting and expanding frantically as I gulped oxygen; hyperventilating. Surely this wasn’t all in my head? My eyesight was taking longer to adjust to the dark environment. I didn’t know what to do.

  Then I saw a subtle but significant flicker of light under the surface of the water. I wasn’t the only person in here. For a terrifying moment I held my breath as a large dominating figure rose before me.

  Then recognition hit and I unthinkingly threw my arms out around his body, crying silently into his shoulder; unaware of anything but my relief.

  “Thank you,” I whispered, hearing my own teardrops sprinkle into the black cave water. “Thank you so much.”

  It was Kieran. He’d come for me.

  He was cold, his shirt clinging to his muscular body; to his wide shoulders. Perhaps that was why he froze in such a way. Then I realised my mistake.

  Not Kieran. Adrian.

  Still, he was better than no one.

  “Thank you,” I whispered again as I awkwardly released Adrian. I was shocked that he was here. I thought he hated me?

  Adrian managed to say, in a voice so quiet it was barely audible: “It’s fine. Now come with me and hold your breath.”

  “I can’t swim,” I uttered, panicked. “And where can we go from here?”

  “Underneath us there is a gap in the rock on your right. You can get through to another pool through it. Once through you can come up for air –quietly- and wait for me,” he breathed. “I’ll help you through; it’s a bit of a squeeze. After that the water passages are large enough for me to guide you.”

  “Adrian,” I shook my head, panic saturating my voice. “I can’t do that.”

  “You’re going to have to, Ruby.” Adrian replied, almost soundlessly. “We’ve been here for days and this is the safest way out we can find.”

  I paused uncertainly, fear still overwhelming my senses.

  “We have to hurry,” Adrian urged.

  “O-okay,” I stammered eventually, finding it extremely difficult to speak quietly when I was so cold and frightened.

  Adrian dropped the light which he’d previously grasped in his hand; revealing, at the bottom of the surprisingly clean water, the promised gap in the rock. Looking down, the image blurred because of the current. Reluctantly I took a deep breath and dived down. I clawed at the wall, discovering no means of escape, and almost instantly I freaked out.

  I broke through the water’s surface; gasping frantically and shaking my head. “I can’t do it,” I cried, “I can’t.”

  “Ruby,” Adrian said, still beside me, with an uncharacteristically soft voice. “You can.” He nudged me forwards slightly. “Go on.” His voice grew harsher when I hesitated, “Go!”

  I stopped, took another determined breath, then forced myself back under the water. The liquid wrapped around me, clinging to my skin and drenching my clothes as I scrambled for the hole in the rock. The temperature was nearly unbearable; ridiculously cold. My ears rang, painfully fighting the water. When I eventually discovered the hole I pushed myself forwards.

  The rock encircled me, suffocating me. My arms scraped against the rock and immediately I became stuck. I felt Adrian shove my body forwards and I just reached the end of the tunnel-like hole. I managed to grip my fingertips onto a rough edge and haul my weakened body through. Once free I rose to the surface and breathed in.

  This pool was deeper than the one I’d just been in; which was obviously no more than a metre away. I desperately kicked my legs and attempted to swim my way to the wall; I wouldn’t be able to stay afloat by myself for long.

  The pool was open to the air; no impenetrable rock barricaded the exit above, creating a temporary ceiling; like in the other pool. Unfortunately this meant that any guards lingering nearby might be able to spot me; so I tried to be as quiet as possible as I tried not to drown.

  Eventually I reached the side and clung onto the jagged rock; hopefully concealed by the lip of the pool. I sucked in air at an alarming rate as I waited for Adrian to come through; knowing if this went wrong we were screwed.

  Luckily I noticed the tip of his head silently rise to the surface a few feet away. As he swam over he gestured for me to get on his back. Grudgingly I relinquished my hold of the wall and grasped his shoulders, ducking my head into the back of his neck and holding on with a suffocating intensity.

  “One, two, three,” he whispered. I swallowed a mouthful of air as I felt him dive forwards.

  The freezing water hit my face with a renewed power, like a thousand needles jabbing at my flesh. I didn’t know
what was guiding Adrian, but nevertheless he seemed to know where he was going. I didn’t dare open my eyes and soon the longing for oxygen made my lungs itch.

  Water poured into my ears and my heartbeat seemed to echo. I could tell we were moving downwards somehow. An unrelenting current was pushing against us; from where I wasn’t certain. I could feel the prominent muscles of Adrian’s shoulders working underneath my fingers. I could tell that he was a fast, strong, and capable swimmer. Without him I wouldn’t have survived this far; I would have drowned, lost forever in this flooded passageway.

  I clutched tightly onto him and prayed that we would make it.

  As my last supplies of oxygen were rapidly spent I felt dizzy. Adrian seemed to be slowing, growing weaker. I could feel something hard brush against my back, gently nagging at my clothes, then suddenly we broke through the surface of the water; emerging into a tiny pocket of air.

  I gulped the air frantically, pushing the drenched strands of hair from my eyes and wiping the water away with my hands so I could see. It was very dark, the pocket of air no larger than an upturned rowing boat. Our only light source was the glowing orb in Adrian’s hand; a dim light that strained to flicker over the grey rock above us and barely penetrated the first few inches of water below. Adrian was growing weak from holding us both up and almost immediately we had to move again. We reached the next pocket of air sooner and it came in the form of a much larger, water-filled chamber.

  My quiet voice echoed across the space, amplifying it.

  During the next dive Adrian dragged me deeper underwater; I could tell this by the pressure popping in my ears, threatening to crush my skull -though I knew it wouldn’t. I clung to my breath as I clung to Adrian. They were both my life source. And then the almighty current that had been pulling us constantly from the moment we’d entered the water, overwhelmed us and we were swept forwards at an astonishing speed.