Cry of the Firebird (The Firebird Fairytales Book 1)

by Amy Kuivalainen

  “Don’t be afraid of tomorrow. You were born for this. Talk to Aramis about Yanka if that is going to help ease you. He might be angry at you risking yourself today but he doesn’t know you as well as the rest of us. You are a stubborn little cow.”

  “Shut up Vanya,” she said and liked it when he cringed.

  “I hate that nickname. It sounds like a girl’s name.”

  “If the shoe fits…” Anya squealed as Yvan began tickling her.

  “You’re a real shit, you know that? I will go and find the Álfr for you.” He gave her a stubbly kiss on the cheek.

  “How did—”

  “Like I said. I know you, Anyanka.”

  “Aren’t you like the little queen holding court,” Aramis commented as she opened the door for him half an hour later. He looked wired and jittery.

  “I actually feel like I am dying and everyone is coming to pay their respects.”

  “Don’t even joke about it,” said Aramis as he sat down on the room’s only chair. “What can I do for you?”

  “When we were back in the forest I told you that our conversation about Yanka wasn’t over.”

  Aramis stiffened, “You think now is a good time?”

  “Now may be the only time. Tell me.”

  “Yes, I knew her.”

  “That’s not good enough.”

  “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

  “How did she die?”

  “She became too powerful and couldn’t control it. She burnt up.” His face was studiously blank like he had just read her something from a text book.

  “How come I can dream about her and have conversations with her?”

  “Dreaming is common with Shamans.”

  “But I wasn’t just dreaming according to the Twins, I was dream walking. That’s why when I woke Trajan could taste the blackberries on my lips. How is that possible?”

  “I have never heard of dream walking with the dead; usually both parties need to be alive…” Expressions crossed Aramis’s face a thousand miles a minute. He got to his feet quickly. “I have to go and make a call,” he said and hesitated at the door. “I will tell you about Yanka but just wait until you close the gates. You have enough on your mind.”

  “Ara—” But he was already gone.

  ***

  Aramis went outside into the cold air and made sure he was alone before he ducked into the pay phone box and punched in number.

  “Bună seara Aramis, what are you doing calling me on such a conventional level? And after such a long time I might add.”

  “There are too many listeners on the others, Silvian. Besides, you know what would happen if I was caught talking to a Rogue.”

  “Then why are you talking to one?”

  “I need you to look into something for me.”

  There was a long silence on the end of the line. “Why come to me?”

  “Because you are the best, Silvian and because they won’t be able to trace you,” Aramis said convincingly.

  “You sure know how to kiss my ass when you need to. What do you need, Aramis? I owe you a favour and you know I can’t turn you down.”

  “It’s about Yanka.”

  “Aramis, you can’t…”

  “Shut up, Silvian. This is what I need. I want everything the Illumination have on her. Especially concerning how she died.”

  “You’re doubting what the Illumination told you?”

  “I am growing sceptical,” admitted Aramis.

  “My, my, it has taken you long enough. But do you really want to be digging around in the past though? You know how long it took to get over it the first time. What was it? A hundred years? Tell me what has brought this on.”

  “Have you ever heard of someone who could dream walk into a dead person’s dream?”

  “No, but I’m assuming you have.”

  “Yanka’s granddaughter has been walking with Yanka.”

  “Fuck.”

  “She has no idea what she has done. There was no preparation; she just…went to sleep.”

  “How much time do I have?”

  “Not a lot. She has to close the family gates tomorrow. I have no doubt she will do it.”

  “If she is of Yanka’s blood there is no telling what she could do. I will dig deep, Aramis. Let’s hope she doesn’t end up going the same way. Do you still travel with a spare burner cell phone on you? ”

  “Yes of course.”

  “Turn it on and I will contact you when I know something. One question before I go. What if what you are thinking is correct? What will you do?”

  “I don’t know but if it’s true and the Illumination has lied I will be joining you on the Rogue blacklist.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three- The Gates

  Anya woke an hour before dawn. The gate was screaming and so was she. Trajan jolted awake beside her.

  “Trajan, we need to go. The gates are about to burst,” she panted. Battling sweat and nausea she managed to get out of bed and put on some clothes. She grabbed Ilya’s knife and tucked it into her coat pocket. Her magic was threatening to break out of her skin without her consent. By the time she got downstairs everyone was up and ready to go. They had the edgy look that people get when they have been awake far too long.

  “We will take the cars. Aramis can shield Anya so hopefully our presence will go unnoticed until we get to the farm,” Trajan instructed as he took her hand. Yvan had taken her other one without her asking. It helped keep her calm as her lungs felt like they were being squeezed.

  “Isabelle and I will ride on the roof rack of Trajan’s car to slow them down if they attack,” Hamish added as they walked outside. Izrayl drove because Trajan refused to leave Anya’s side. She sat on the back seat wedged between Trajan and Aramis. Katya rode in the front with her gun ready in her hand. Yvan had gone with the Twins and Anya felt nervous without him. The Twins had whispered their encouragement to her and promises of magical protection. Cerise had kissed her cheek and said, “Good luck sweetie, try not to get too damaged. I am a nurse not a miracle worker.”

  “Just don’t drink my blood if I die,” Anya replied. Cerise pinched her cheek affectionately but didn’t make any promises.

  “I can’t give you the mixture again because it will mess with your power flow. I will do what I can but you are going to be a beacon either way,” Aramis said in the car beside her.

  “Just get me there.” Anya sounded a lot braver than she felt. As they got closer she felt the gates heaving and screaming more strongly, an extra pulse beating out a rhythm in her brain. Trajan held her tightly as she rested against him.

  “Don’t worry; your abilities far outweigh your training,” Aramis continued. “Your ancestors could do it and they only have a fraction of the power you have.”

  “They had the blessing of being taught what to do. Yanka said it’s all in the blood so we’ll wait and see what happens.”

  “She told you that in a dream?”

  “Yes, she wasn’t very helpful. Then she set me on fire.” Anya saw Aramis’s grim smile in the faint light.

  “That sounds like her.” Anya itched to ask him about Yanka more than ever but it wasn’t the time and it seemed to be a touchy subject. She wondered what had happened between them.

  Something crashed into the roof rack followed by a sharp scream and then nothing.

  “One down, a million to go,” Izrayl chuckled. Katya had a keen look on her face as Hamish’s Winchesters began to fire off their ear piercing round.

  “It sounds like they are following us.”

  “Sounds like good sport to me,” Katya looked outside searching for something to shoot.

  “You will get your chance, I have no doubt. Just make sure you are firing at the right people,” Aramis told her.

  “You know, if you weren’t a Sparkie I would say you were trying to make a joke then,” came her sharp and sarcastic reply.

  “I am trying to wear you down into liking me.”

  “You h
ave a long way to go yet,” she said curtly. Aramis’s laughter filled the cab with warmth and the tension eased slightly. Anya suspected Álfr magic. Her own power bubbled and fizzed at the sound. Knowledge dropped into her brain like ice water. “The gates are going to open just before dawn,” she said vaguely.

  “Dawn is the time between times. No surprise there,” Izrayl said as his gold eyes scanned the skyline.

  “Not just a pretty face, are you,” Katya pinched his cheek affectionately.

  “For starters I am a very pretty face,” stressed Izrayl. “Brains and charm are bonus features.” Anya smiled at them and their teasing. The normality of it helped ease the butterflies in her stomach. It didn’t last long. As the pulled into the farm she almost blacked out.

  “If one thing goes wrong I am getting you out of there,” Trajan whispered in her ear. “If they try to take you by force I will kill them all.” Anya knew that he would and she fought the urge to shiver. She had been upset by killing a few enemy soldiers. Trajan would massacre all the enemy to stop them.

  They parked next to the charred remains of the farmhouse and the other cars pulled into a protective ring around them. As she climbed out of the car Trajan grabbed her and wrapped her under his jacket. His body radiated warmth and comfort and she really wished that today they were somewhere safe.

  “You will be amazing,” he assured her.

  “I’m glad you’re confident.”

  “I don’t need to be. I know what you are capable of. You will rise above everyone’s expectations and more. That’s why I love you.”

  “You do?” All thoughts of gates, Vasilli and impending doom melted under the shock revelation. Trajan, the one who made her skin ache, loved her.

  “If love is this sick, scared sensation under your ribs and when your heart feels like it’s going to give out then yes, I love you.”

  “That’s love,” she kissed him gently. “Your timing is lousy.”

  “It’s the only time I have.”

  “When I am finished closing these gates we are going to have this conversation with much more words and a lot less clothes,” she said seriously.

  “It’s a promise. Now go and become who you were meant to be.”

  Anya’s heart was beating hard and fast as she approached the place where she had seen Ilya perform the ritual. She glanced behind her at her people, her family. They stood in a line behind her, looking like gunfighters ready for action. If the Darkness were there they were holding off attacking them. Aramis had said that the Illumination’s teams were making a perimeter to protect them. A stand-off to see who would attack whom. Breaking the treaty was the worst of crimes. The Darkness had willingly attacked their convoy because they were neutrals but they wouldn’t risk attacking Illumination soldiers without good reason.

  “Good luck, Anya. Remember what I told you about focussing your mind and visualising your intent. When you were captured you used words instead of blood. Remember that. You don’t need to severely damage yourself; only a small cut to bind your blood to the gate will be necessary,” Aramis said as his dark sapphire eyes scanned the gate and beyond it. “If Vasilli appears try not to look at what he is doing. Just focus on the gate. I will deal with him.” He squeezed her shoulder gently before joining the line.

  Anya steadied her nerves and approached the gate. She stood and watched as it shimmered and heaved. Her mind was churning over and over with words…it’s all in the blood. Her blood; her ancestor’s blood. Their memories could show her the way, standing on the lands where their bones were buried. They were beneath her.

  “Please help me,” she prayed to anyone who would listen. “Show me the way.” She opened her eyes as her magic flowed through her. The heat and rage of the night she escaped Völundr rose in her mind. She thought of her magic possessing her and the words that had come out of her. Her heart was thudding painfully in her chest. Her power was pushing hard against the confines of her body so Anya took a deep breath and let it go.

  As if in a dream she saw herself take Ilya’s knife and run the edge over the palm of her hand. Blood pooled up into it, the colour a garish red. When she had a handful she placed her marred hand against the gate. It shuddered and glowed. Voices were behind her but she couldn’t understand what they were saying. As before her tongue was loosened when it needed to be.

  “I am Gate’s strong keeper,

  Rune singer and Magic wielder.

  Door to Dreamland

  Land of heroes, Land of stories

  I stand on your threshold

  Between the spaces of the world.

  I stand on your threshold

  And offer all that I am.

  I stand on your threshold

  And hold your door shut.

  That space to Hero land

  I hold closed

  To those who are unworthy

  They cannot pass.

  I am Gates strong keeper,

  Rune singer and Magic wielder.

  My magic, my blood, my voice

  Commands you,

  Tells you to close.

  With blood spilt over,

  Where Gates have broken.

  Join like flesh together

  And bless it into its place.

  I am Gates strong keeper,

  Rune singer and Magic wielder.

  With words and blood

  I command you.”

  Energy and power flowed out of her and into the earth she stood on. It shuddered underneath her but she held her feet. The screaming she heard in her head suddenly quietened and she gasped for breath. As she looked up again she saw Vasilli walk out from the edge of the forest, a cloak of shadows and smoke flowing around him. Anya’s concentration tripped.

  “Focus Anya!” Aramis shouted.

  “Anyanka!” Vasilli shouted across the field. His voice reverberated through the wall and rammed into her like an invisible fist.

  “You cannot escape me! I will hunt you to the world’s end!” He thrust out his hand and a wave of power crashed over her, making her stagger but she held her ground.

  She heard the Twins gasp in pain behind her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aramis sink to his knees. Vasilli wasn’t just trying to get her but to take out anyone remotely magical.

  “You are too late! The gates are closed and you will never have me or mine, Vasilli! I will destroy you before my body ceases to draw breath!” she screamed. The power she had felt from the earth when closing the gate shot up through her. All the hair on her body stood on end. She crackled with power like static electricity.

  Vasilli was drawing shadows to him, feeding his cloak of magic preparing for another attack. Anya flicked out her hands and imagined him burning up like the other men she had killed. White light streaked out of her hands like a bolt of lightning. It cut through the gates and headed straight for him.

  Vasilli saw it coming and tried to defend himself. A wall of shadows hit it and forced it back. Anya felt the evil creeping down towards her trying to throw her concentration off. She fought the whispers telling her to give up and forced the light towards him.

  “Anya stop, he will kill you!” Aramis begged. Hamish and Isabelle fired some shots at Vasilli but they glanced off him. Anya forced the light harder towards him and the cloak of black shadows started to burn like newspaper set alight in the wind. Vasilli shouted in alarm as it ate its way through the cloak and up to his shoulders. Anya laughed and fed more towards him. His shadowy cloak burst into flames and he screamed and dropped the attack as he hit the dirt.The white light shimmered before disappearing, melting into the air. The rush of power holding her vanished and she stumbled. Burnt ozone scorched the air and the grass was black around her.

  “Don’t touch her,” Aramis warned them behind her. Another figure suddenly appeared on the tree line. He had silver hair to his waist and was naked except for a black loincloth tied around him. Blood adorned on his chest and face and dripped through his hair.

  “Ladislav…”Any
a choked.

  Aramis watched Ladislav come out of the trees and Anya heave with exhaustion. As if in slow motion Ladislav raised a hand and threw his power in her direction. Aramis ran to push Anya out of the way. She held up her hand but had nothing left; the force hit her and she fell. Yvan was burning brightly as he and Trajan both hurried to her side.

  “We have to go now! He will kill us all!” Aramis said as Trajan scooped Anya’s lifeless form into his arms. The others followed him as he faded making himself and Anya invisible as they retreated. Aramis and the Twins threw up magical shields to protect their backs but Aramis knew it wouldn’t hold for long. They got back to the cars and climbed in. Trajan was visible again and was rocking Anya in his arms, tears running down his face.

  “Where are we going?” Izrayl shouted.

  “Just drive!” Aramis shouted and his burner phone started to ring as they sped up the drive way and onto the road.

  “What?” he shouted down the line.

  “It’s Silvian; you need to come to me in Budapest right now!”

  “Why? What’s happened?”

  “The Illumination just put out a death order for you and everyone you are with. It’s being broadcasted over every channel of communication. Real world tech as well as psychic and magical links. Do you understand? They are hunting you now!”

  “How do you know this?”

  “I was in their system as the call went out and I intercepted it.” Silvian sounded panicked and guilty.

  “What aren’t you telling me, Silvian?”

  “It’s about Yanka and the reason why the girl can dream walk with her…”

  “What about it? Hurry up!” Aramis shouted as he looked across at Anya. She hadn’t moved. Whatever colour she had had gone from her and she still hadn’t regained consciousness. Trajan had buried his face in the crook of her shoulder and was sobbing like a child. There was silence on the end of the line.

  “Silvian!” Aramis shouted as the phone reception began to drop out.

  “Yanka is alive!” Silvian’s voice crackled, “Yanka is alive!”

  ***

  Look through the forest and see an ugly bone cottage on chicken legs. Clack, clack goes the loom that the iron toothed witch works with her withered nimble hands. Very carefully she whispers the words of power, adds the threads and tries to find what she is looking for.