Ashes of the Firebird (The Firebird Fairytales Book 2)

by Kuivalainen, Amy

  ‘We have tasted of each other and now are bound together,’ said the bear.

  ‘I will try to be a good wife to you, Great One,’ said Hilja, ‘but I am not a bear, so I cannot give you cubs. I am only a human woman so I cannot even hunt quarry for you. What kind of wife would I be to you?’ But the bear did not answer her. He lifted her onto his large back and made his way further into the forest.”

  “Hilja woke in a cave buried deep in the bear’s warm musty fur. It was snoring in a deep rumble. Hilja knew that as soon as she moved the bear would wake but she wasn’t thinking of running away. They were deep in the wilds of the forest and she would likely die if she tried to find her own way. So Hilja settled into the bear’s warm fur and went back to sleep. That was the first time she dreamt of being in the arms of another man. Brown as the oak was his skin, his hair as long as a woman’s and black as the fire’s coals.”

  “In the morning, she roused when the bear did. He took her walking in the forest and he showed her where to find the sweetest berries and the coldest streams. He caught fish with his long claws that she roasted over a fire and soon she was no longer afraid.”

  “Very slowly, as the days passed, Hilja stopped being so silent. She spoke to the bear about her life and all of her dreams. Even though he was not a man the bear was becoming more of a partner and companion to her than her husband ever was. Her days were filled with long walks where she learnt all about the beauty of the forest wilds. Her nights were spent nestled in the bear’s warm fur, her dreams filled with the mysterious man.”

  “At the coming of the full moon the bear no longer joined her walking in the woods. He lay at the back of the cave as if stricken with illness. Hilja searched for the wild herbs in order to heal her bear husband but nothing would cure his affliction. Finally at the night of the full moon Hilja sat by the bear weeping.”

  ‘Dear one, why do you cry?’ the bear asked, enclosing her carefully with his big paw.

  ‘I cry because I have no knowledge to heal you and without help you will die.’

  ‘You cannot be grieved by this knowledge for how happy can a human woman truly be with a bear for a husband?’

  ‘Great One, I have been the happiest in this time with you than I have in all of my life. I do not want you to die because I love you.’ The bear smiled at her and with a great sigh, he laid his head on his front paws and died. Beside herself with grief Hilja curled herself into the bear and wept herself to sleep.”

  “The next morning, Hilja woke with an empty bear skin around her. Something had torn the side of the skin, or someone had crawled out. Frightened, Hilja climbed her feet and hurried from the cave. There in the faint morning light was a man covered in blood, looking at the sky as if he had never seen it. Hilja felt her skin go cold for he was the very same man that she had dreamed of every night.”

  ‘Do not be afraid,’ the man said in a voice that was broken from disuse. Hilja took the man’s bloody hand. She led him to the stream where he could wash himself clean. Out of the water, he emerged in the sunlight, his black hair streaming. Hilja looked away shyly though she was no maid. Very gently the man stroked her face with his wet fingers.”

  ‘Do not look away from me, my wife, for it was your love that broke the enchantment that was placed on me. A bear I have been for centuries waiting for a human woman that would set me free. I am the Spirit of the Forest and I shall walk my kingdom once more on two legs. I would indeed be a king if you would walk beside me.’ With his words, he kissed her and Hilja felt the trees and land around her hum at the return of the Forest Lord. And so it was that day that Hilja discarded her name like she had discarded her silence. Thereafter, she was known as Mielikki, the goddess of the forest who walks forever at the side of her Lord.”

  As Anya finished her story, she opened her eyes slowly. The Twins were looking surprised and Yvan smiled warmly. Anya had forgotten about even trying to use her magic for illusions. Telling the story had made her miss Eikki more than she had in months. It wasn’t until she looked around that she saw the shadow of bear walk through the wall and disappear.

  ***

  A week after Aleksandra’s arrival the Twins said their farewells. Mychal knew this because he had started keeping a closer watch on what went on in Silvian’s house.

  He desperately wanted to know if Aleksandra had dreamt of his late night visits to watch over the house. Isabelle Blackwood hadn’t shown up to yell at him so he assumed that Aleksandra hadn’t seen him. If he were honest with himself, he would have realised that he was curious about her. He felt a deep protectiveness for her and if demons began hunting her than he was going to make sure he did his duty and kept her safe.

  “We made this for you, Aleki. It will help speed your healing.” Chayton gave her a small leather pouch. She must have recognised what it was because she looked touched by their generosity. Of course, it was hard for Mychal to see properly through the windows without being noticed. Even standing outside in the cold Mychal felt better being near her. It was a new and frightening experience for him. One that he put down to his own guilt that he was responsible for her current state.

  “I hope you will come to America with the others. I would love to show you our forests and sacred places,” Honaw said.

  “More like you hope I will come and cook for you,” she replied seriously.

  “Well, that too. You could make a picnic for our walk through the forest.” Aleksandra laughed loud and bright. It was a rather sweet and innocent sort of laugh as if she had no idea he was trying to get a date with her. The thought of someone taking advantage of that innocence irked Mychal.

  “Come on, guys, you’ll miss your flight at this rate,” Katya was standing in the doorway shaking a set of keys at them.

  “Fine, we will see you in a few months if not sooner,” Chayton promised and kissed Aleksandra’s head. Something dark flared inside Mychal as he watched them so close and intimate. You are finally going crazy, he said to himself and shook his head. He had no right to feel anything except duty towards the woman.

  “Keep the pouch close to your heart and you will be healed in a week or so,” Honaw said and laid a kiss on her cheek and the patch on her temple.

  “Stop taking advantage of the cripple, Honaw,” Katya came, took his hand, and led them out the door. “You keep that pouch close and go to sleep!”

  “That’s all you ever want me to do! You aren’t my mother.”

  “I want to get revenge for all the times you mothered me to death.” Aleksandra waited until the door was shut before she climbed out of bed. Her hands were still bandaged but they didn’t seem to be paining her as much. Mychal followed to the next window when she went to the little bathroom and examined her face for a while, trying to rearrange her hair over where the scar on her face would be.

  “A rose no more,” she said to her reflection. She switched off the light and went back to bed. Mychal couldn’t believe that she thought she was ugly because of one small wound on her face. He didn’t think it was a pride issue, more to do with somehow her self-worth had been diminished because of it.

  After midnight, Mychal picked the balcony door lock and slipped inside. When there was no scream of alarm, he crept to the end of the bed as he had done for the past three nights. For some sick reason, he liked to watch her sleep even though he knew how risky it was. The pouch the Twins had given her was tucked under her hands.

  Mychal scanned her room and double-checked the bathroom to make sure there was no presence of anything that could do her harm. When he was satisfied, he went back to watching her for a few moments. She whispered soft gibberish as her dreams deepened.

  It seemed unfair that this obviously very kind woman would have a talent that made her see such horrible visions. If she had seen half of the things that Mychal had done in the previous few months, the fact she wasn’t deranged was a miracle.

  One thing for sure was that he owed her his life and he felt obligated to return the favour. With a si
gh, Aleksandra started to stir awake. Mychal dropped to the carpet and rolled underneath the bed. Within seconds, he heard her praying again.

  “Please, Lord, help me have no bad dreams tonight, protect the house and all those who are inside it. Protect the Twins on their flight back home. Please protect Mychal while he fights the demons inside of himself and outside. Amen.”

  Great, now she was praying for him. He wasn’t out slaying demons tonight. He was hiding under her bed like a sick stalker. A small voice in the back of his head told him that if he wasn’t such a coward he would have knocked on Silvian’s door and asked to see her like a sane person. He waited until she was settled and asleep once more.

  Finding his courage, he crawled out from under the bed and crept closer to her to get a better look. He had caused her so much trouble and still she prayed for his safety, not her own. He kissed her sleeping forehead before slipping quietly into the night.

  ***

  “Okay, so we have a location, now what?” Katya asked Isabelle. They were pouring over the old blueprints that Fox had emailed them.

  The Brooks Mountains and the lower forests were isolated with temperatures that were close to freezing most of the year. It stretched from west to east across northern Alaska and into Canada’s Yukon Territory.

  “Now, try not to think about how impossible this is,” Isabelle replied. “This isn’t a walk in guns blazing type of operation. We are going to need GPS trackers to make sure we don’t get lost in the surrounding forest which will be rigged and guarded.”

  “It seems like they have gone to a lot of work for one person,” Hamish commented as he looked at the plans over her shoulder.

  “She isn’t a normal person and the Illumination have done a hard job of keeping the story of her death circulating. If the Darkness knew she were alive and incapacitated then it would be all out war.”

  “What if they are keeping her in that state for everyone’s good?” Katya asked quietly. “Does anybody know anything about her?”

  “I do,” Aramis answered as he joined them. “No person should be kept this way. It is disgusting that the Illumination would lower themselves to this level. Tell me, Isabelle, do any of the files that your friends sent you mention a woman named Vasya Melenko?”

  “Not that I have seen so far,” Isabelle replied. “Why, is she important?”

  “Vasya gave the order for Yanka to be locked up in this way. Melenko is a myth and Silvian tells me she has finally come out of hiding. I have no information on this person and I don’t like going up against an enemy with unknowable power.”

  “I will send Harley a message and see what we can find,” Isabelle assured.

  Katya went up to see Aleksandra after lunch and was surprised to see her up and pacing. Her hair was out in a riot of curls and she had managed to clothe herself. How she got the top button of her jeans done up Katya would never know. The fact that she was even out of a skirt was a revelation. Katya noticed a single white rose sitting in a glass of water by her bed.

  “Have you been sneaking into the garden without me noticing?” she asked as she eyed.

  “You didn’t leave it there?” Aleksandra was frowning, “It must have been the Twins.”

  “I don’t think so. I was with you when they were saying good bye and it wasn’t there.”

  “Then I don’t know who put it there,” Aleksandra said as she rubbed her bandaged hands together.

  “Maybe Silvian, he is a bit of a charmer like that,” Katya commented thoughtfully, “You shouldn’t be rubbing your hands together.”

  “They are itching.”

  “It means they are healing. Here, let me have a look,” Katya took her outstretched hands and began to unwind the bandages.

  “Well, fuck,” whispered Aleksandra in surprise. Aleksandra’s hands had been open wounds the day before and now the burns looked at least two weeks old. Katya didn’t know where to look in alarm.

  “Did you just swear?”

  “Yes, I did. I don’t have to set a good example anymore, remember?”

  “We will get to that later. Wow, that pouch of magic juju must sure be doing the trick,” Katya couldn’t believe her eyes. “No wonder they were itching. They are already scabbing.”

  “Good, the sooner the better, I have something I have to do.”

  “Yes? And what would that be?”

  “I’m going to see Mychal.”

  “I know you are eager to talk to him and find out what links you both but some things are better not known.”

  “Do you think that coming into Mir has stopped the visions? You think some painkillers are going to take it away? I have to do this, Katya. Don’t worry about me anymore. I know what I have to do.” Katya had never seen Aleksandra so angry and determined in her life. It was strange to see her transforming before her eyes.

  “I won’t stop you. Let’s make sure that your hands are healed first. Come here and I will bandage them up again.” Aleksandra sat down and let Katya play mother for once. Aleksandra could still wriggle her fingers though they doubted whether her nails would grow again. The burns reached almost to her elbow, nothing long gloves wouldn’t cover. Her beautiful sister would still be beautiful.

  “You have gone awfully quiet,” Aleksandra commented.

  “I’m thinking that maybe getting kicked out of the tribe is the best thing that has ever happened to you.”

  “How?”

  “You’re wearing jeans, you’re swearing, what next? An affair with a man no one would approve of and a tattoo on your ass?”

  “I like to smoke. Not all the time, but when I do, I enjoy it.” Katya’s grin slipped clean off her face.

  “Web of lies! Why have you never told me this? I feel like I don’t even know you.”

  “Father told me that I was to set an example for you and the tribe, “They will look to you to show them the way, show no weaknesses, stick with tradition. That is all we have.”“Aleksandra’s voice had sounded so much like their father’s that Katya fought the urge to shudder.

  “What an asshole,” she muttered instead. “How could he put that responsibility on you?”

  “I was the one to follow it so I’m as much to blame. Not that all my years of virtue have done me any good. I have put the tribe in danger and have demons hunting me.”

  “Like I said before, leaving the tribe is the best thing that ever happened to you and to me. I might actually get to know my own sister now.” Katya tucked the corner of the bandage in place. “If you keep healing the way you are you’ll be able to knock Mychal’s head in sooner than you thought.”

  “Good, I’m tired of dreaming and worrying about someone too rude to even come and meet me. It’s his fault that I am repulsive now.”

  “You’re not repulsive. Give him time. He is extremely anti-social as it is. He is probably afraid because you’re a woman and you know all his dirty secrets.”

  “Well, if I go to the church and he still refuses to see me, then that is fine. I won’t be so quick to save him next time though,” Aleksandra said with an indignant sniff.

  “Wow.”

  “What?”

  “You like him, don’t you?”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  “Oh, I think you do.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I have never been so angry at someone in my life.”

  “He’s has gotten under your skin enough to make you angry so you must like him a little.”

  “I think you’re so caught up in your little love circle with Izrayl that you think you are seeing it everywhere.”

  “I didn’t mention love at all.”

  “You know what I mean,” Aleksandra was getting exasperated which made Katya smile bigger. “Stop baiting me with your silliness.”

  “Okay, whether or not you like him, you do care about him a little. It’s going against your nature to not care. He is another bird with a broken wing that you think you can fix.”

  “I do not lo
ok at him like a broken bird. If I did, I’m sure I would find a way to heal him. I always do.”

  “I don’t want you around him if it means your ass getting singed every time you think you can help him.”

  “It’s my ass on the line, Katya, not yours. I already have a target painted on my back and there is nothing that you can do to stop it.”

  Chapter Twelve- Lilu

  Anya and Trajan had started to play a game. It had started the day Aramis had interrupted them kissing, Trajan’s dark plum shirt tossed and crumpled casually on the floor. It was a game of stolen deep kisses, gentle caresses and softly spoken words when the world was dark and still.

  He had been reading her Pablo Neruda when it happened. There was a shift in temperature and mood as Anya curled into him, her head nestling on his chest as he read the verses. Anya’s lips found the base of his throat in the soft dip and curve of his collarbone.

  “Love is a journey through waters and stars, through suffocating tempests of grain; Love is a war of lightning, and two bodies ruined by a single sweetness…”

  Trajan’s recitation fumbled as she popped a button on his crisp white shirt. A place, behind his ear covered in a curl of hair was where Anya pressed her nose and lips. She breathed him into her, and in one smooth motion, the book had been dropped from his hands and she was straddling him. With care, she slipped off his glasses and placed them on the nightstand.

  Trajan’s hands bunched into her hair as he brought his mouth close to hers, kissing her deeply to drink her in. “Kiss by kiss,” he whispered against her lips. “I cover your tiny infinity, your margins, your rivers, your diminutive villages, and a genital fire, transformed by delight, slips through the narrow channels of blood to precipitate a nocturnal carnation, to be and be nothing but light in the dark.” With a gentle consent, they unwrapped each other like presents made of glass and wonder, each layer that fell away revealing a new stretch of skin and a new treasure to explore. Trajan’s lean hard body felt like a joy next to her softness and Anya revelled in it. Before the darkness overtook her and a scream shook the night, Anya saw Trajan’s face above hers and thought that at last something in her life was going right.