Rise of the Firebird

by Amy K Kuivalainen

  “You must be Anya, the Ruski witch.”

  “Karelian Shamanitsa actually.”

  “Not that it matters,” their hostess quipped.

  “Cut it out, Lorraine,” snapped Mama Lya. “We don’t have the time for it.”

  “Lya, I didn’t see you lurking there. Harley too? This is momentous.”

  “Well, you see me now, Lorraine, so show us to them so we can get this circus over with.” Lorraine’s red lips pressed together tightly in frustration.

  “Very well, though there’s no harm in keeping things friendly, Lya. If you would all please follow me.” Harley looked mad enough to spit. Fox touched her arm but Harley shrugged away from her.

  Inside, the mansion was dark and cool. There was a pleasant smell in the air, like frangipani and roses, but underneath it, Aramis could detect the lingering meaty scent of decay. He could feel death in the walls and his already jittery nerves heightened. He glanced sideways at Izrayl and Hamish and they both nodded. They could smell it too. Ahead of him, Aramis watched Anya take Yvan’s hand. In the gloom of the shadowy hallway, their auras shimmered. Anya was trying to keep her magic hidden but it flared with the firebirds like a white shimmer. Why haven’t you noticed that before, Aramis? He rarely noticed auras, but that wasn’t an excuse.

  Lorraine pushed on a pair of double doors that opened out into a courtyard built in the centre of the house. Standing solemnly next to a water feature were three men dressed in expensive suits and a coffee coloured girl wearing a blue cotton sundress wearing no shoes. She looked at them with a blank expression, her inner eye seeing something far from the garden around her. Lorraine bowed to them and indicated to the group that they should do the same. Aramis tried not to smile as every single one of them ignored her.

  “Which one of you is the girl, Anyanka?” asked the huge Haitian on the end.

  “That would be me,” Anya replied easily.

  Anya hadn’t moved from her place between Aramis and Yvan. Izrayl, Katya, Isabelle and Hamish stood behind her. Mychal stood tall and threatening with Aleksandra to the side of them. If the Conseil Neutres had thought it would be easy to take them, they were quickly reconsidering. The flick of a lighter broke the awkward pause as Cerise lit a cigarette.

  “There is no smoking in this place,” hissed Lorraine. Cerise looked bored as she blew a cloud of clove-scented smoke in the air, ignoring Lorraine’s indignation.

  “You can see she isn’t going to be any trouble, Frankie,” Mama Lya said, Harley and Fox flanking her.

  “Madame Lya, you know my name is Francois,” he said calmly as his black eyes snapped in annoyance.

  “You will always be Frankie to me,” she replied. “Now that you’ve seen that she is no threat, would you please stop hindering her departure?”

  “It’s nice to see you, Harley,” Francois said with a pained smile.

  “Go fuck yourself, Frankie.”

  “With respect, can we get this over with?” Anya interrupted. “I have time constraints.”

  “Yes, yes, yes, a very short one,” the young girl, Adele, said as her eyes finally focussed on Anya, “and you have to go far, far, far in blackness. And Death will be there.”

  “Tuoni isn’t so bad,” Anya shrugged, although the girl made her skin crawl. “You wanted us to open the gate here and that’s what we’ll do, but please stop getting in my way.”

  “You must understand, Anyanka, the last time someone tried to break the rules in the city, it resulted in Katrina. We have a right to be cautious,” a pale, gaunt man said from beside Francois.

  “You have a right, but I’ve broken no rules. I cleaned up a cat problem and that was all. Now, Aleksandra, please ready yourself to open the gate.” Anya gestured to her. Aleksandra looked confident as she joined Anya.

  “You had best say goodbye to everyone,” Aleksandra said softly. “I can feel the way in already.”

  “Good, are you still okay with them watching you do this?”

  “It’s fine, Anya, let’s get out of here. It gives me the creeps.” Aramis stepped aside as Anya wrapped her arms around Hamish.

  “Look after yourself, kiddo,” he whispered as he squeezed her. “Remember what I told you about keeping your fists up when someone comes at ya.”

  “I will. Keep an eye on Belle.”

  “Like I need it.” Isabelle hugged her and Anya felt the shapes of all the weapons under her coat.

  “I might miss you,” Fox said as she pulled on the tip of Anya’s ponytail. “You’re the only person I have met that is as unco as me.”

  “Thanks. Keep an eye on the Darkness and Illumination for me. Send them a computer virus or something.”

  “Will do.”

  “Watch your back,” Anya whispered into to Harley’s ear. “I don’t like the way these guys are looking at you. Don’t let them fuck with your business.”

  “They wouldn’t know where to start, but I will.”

  “Make sure you don’t wear Blue Jay out.”

  “Ha! The old man loves it,” Harley gave her a dirty wink. Anya gave Mama Lya a polite nod, which was about as informal as they got. Mama Lya would protect them all. Cerise was looking at her red satin peep toes as Anya moved to her.

  “Have fun in Skazki,” she said as she took the cigarette from her mouth.

  “I doubt it. You know what Skazki is like.” Anya smiled up at her but Cerise struggled to return it. “Don’t feel bad about not coming, Cerise. I have plenty of body guards.”

  “Be careful,” she whispered, “and don’t trust any bastard you come across. You are too trusting. Watch Yvan, don’t let the firebird fly away with him.”

  “I would never let anything hurt him.”

  “One day, Anya, you’ll realise what you have there. Don’t abuse it and stop ignoring it. You never know how long you will have it for.” Anya looked over Cerise’s shoulder where Yvan stood waiting patiently.

  “I will keep him safe.” Cerise let her go and adjusted the collar of Anya’s shirt.

  “I got you something to keep you warm,” Cerise took out of her bag Trajan’s dark red scarf that ran to black. She wrapped it around Anya’s neck. “Kick their asses for him.”

  “With pleasure,” Anya replied, swallowing the massive lump in her throat.

  “Now get out of here, sweetie.”

  Anya turned away from her and back under the gaze of the Council. Lorraine had moved to stand next to Francois closely, but he was still staring at Harley.

  “Do it, Aleki,” Anya said and Aleksandra shut her eyes. Almost instantly, Anya felt the shift of power in the air. She looked at Aleksandra’s fierce concentration. She was in awe of the natural talent that Ruthann had nurtured for only a few short weeks and turned it into something powerful.

  The air in front of Aleksandra started to blur and heave. The Council stepped back as the fabric of the worlds opened in a glow of yellow light. Through it, Anya saw the heavy woodlands. A cold wind blew towards them and she could taste the magic in the air.

  “Go, Anya,” Aleksandra said, her voice far away. Anya held out her hand to Yvan. He smiled as he took it and like the first time so long ago, they stepped through the shimmering light and into Skazki.

  ***

  Harley watched the gates close and felt the air around them settle. The Conseil Neutres were whispering in amazement.

  “That’s our signal to leave,” she said as she turned away.

  “You got what you wanted,” Mama Lya told the Council. “You can breathe easier now knowing that you aren’t going to be challenged.”

  “It was never about that,” Lorraine defended shrilly. “She was bringing death to the city.”

  “This city already reeks of death. She didn’t bring it here,” Harley growled.

  “Harley, please…” Francois interrupted. Isabelle gripped Harley’s arm hard enough to stop her from saying the words that were burning on tongue.

  “You know what? Fuck it. None of you is worth the argument. Let
’s go,” Harley said as she pushed her way towards the double doors. Cerise smirked as she fell into step beside her.

  “These fools don’t even know what power is,” she said as she flicked her cigarette butt. Harley watched it sail through the air and land with a hiss in the koi pond. Hamish waited until they reached the doors before he moved from his post.

  “Harley, wait!” Francois had made to follow them but Hamish’s revolver stopped him in his tracks.

  “Just don’t, mate,” Hamish warned.

  “How dare you pull a weapon,” Lorraine screamed.

  “Oh, shut your mouth,” Hamish cocked his gun and stared Francois in the eye. “It’s pretty obvious if she wanted to talk to you she would, but she doesn’t wanna, so back off or I’ll make you.”

  “Hamish, let’s go,” Isabelle said as she filed through the doors. Harley breathed a sigh of relief as they reached the curb outside.

  “Are you okay?” Fox asked as Harley grabbed her bike helmet. Fox knew all about the drama she’d been through with Frankie and the Council in the past. It was the last thing in the world Harley wanted to talk about.

  “Fine, I’m heading home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Fox nodded, knowing better than to argue with her about needing space. Harley didn’t even wait to see Mama Lya before she started her bike and flew down the busy streets and back to the safety of Legba’s Ladies.

  Harley was halfway through a bottle of tequila when there was a knock on her apartment door. She sank lower into the couch and pretended to be invisible. The door opened and Blue Jay walked in. His glance scanned the hole in the wall where she had punched it and back to the bottle in her hand. He sat down on the recliner in front of her without saying anything.

  “Fox or Mama Lya?” she muttered.

  “Isabelle.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah.” His long fingers tapped the arm of the chair. “Pancakes?” Harley looked over at him. He was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of old faded jeans, but in that moment, he was the most perfect thing in her world. He was going to make her pancakes because she was upset and he knew that it was the one thing that always made her feel better. Harley burst into tears.

  “Hey, cher, don’t cry,” Blue Jay said softly, but he didn’t move to touch her. He knew better about that too. “I’ll be in the kitchen when you are ready.”

  It took Harley a good fifteen minutes to stop crying. She watched Blue Jay move through the small kitchen, finding a bowl and eggs, searching her cupboards. She stumbled into the bathroom and washed her face, smearing the last of her mascara. Blue Jay had certainly seen her worse, but she fixed her face as best as she could and brushed her teeth to get the tequila out of her mouth.

  Harley sat down on one of the bench stools and he placed a glass of orange juice in front of her. “Want to talk about it yet?” he asked as he turned back to drizzle butter on the hot skillet.

  “Usual Council crap,” Harley murmured as she drank some juice. “Hamish pulled a gun on Frankie.”

  “He’s a good guy, that Hamish.”

  “Yeah, he is.”

  “They didn’t try anything, did they?”

  “Of course not. They wanted to try to throw their ‘authority’ around to try to prove they have some.”

  “So Frankie is still in with them pretty deep.”

  “He’s a Council member. If I’d known that he would be there, I wouldn’t have gone. Anyway, this is weird. I don’t want to talk about my ex-boyfriend to my new one.”

  “You seem to be forgetting who mopped you up last time,” Blue Jay said as he flipped a pancake out onto a plate and covered it with sliced banana and maple syrup. “And you never asked me if I’d be your boyfriend,” he added as he put the plate down in front of her.

  “I didn’t think I needed to…what are we then if you aren’t my boyfriend?”

  “Friends with no benefits?”

  “You need to make better pancakes if you want benefits.”

  “You haven’t even tasted them,” he said and handed her a knife and fork. With her first bite, she knew he had out done himself.

  “Mmmm, Harley, happy.”

  “That’s what I thought.” He turned to put more batter in the pan.

  “Blue Jay?”

  “Yes, cher?”

  “Will you be my boyfriend?”

  “That good, are they?” he winked at her over his shoulder. She looked up at him in a very slow and obvious way.

  “Good enough to eat.”

  “Hey, none of that.”

  “None of what?” she asked innocently.

  “Just eat your pancakes and stop worrying about Frankie.”

  “I’m not worried about Frankie. I’m pissed at Frankie. I’m pissed that the Council looks down their nose at the neutrals they claim to protect. I’m pissed off that I got dragged into their crap. If anything, I’m worried about Anya’s little army going off into the Otherworld.”

  “Anya is the least of my worries. She has good people around her and they will protect each other. And the Council and Frankie aren’t your fucking problem. He gave up the most beautiful girl in the world for a place beside creepy old men and a girl that doesn’t age. Not that I’m complaining…the most beautiful girl in the world is my girlfriend now.”

  “So, I’m the other woman? You bastard!” Harley exclaimed as she walked around the counter to get another pancake. He took her sticky plate from her and put it on the counter before he took her face in his hands and kissed her gently.

  “You’re the most beautiful girl, even when you are drunk and pissy,” he said.

  “And covered in maple syrup.”

  “Oh, there is an image that’s going to stick.” She reached past him and turned the stove off. “Hey, what are you doing?”

  “I don’t want the house to burn down.”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s…what are you doing?” he asked as she moved in on him, a grin on her face. She ran her hands under the edge of his shirt and stood up on tiptoes.

  “Benefits,” she whispered before kissing him.

  “I’ll believe it when I see it,” Blue Jay laughed. He almost choked when she lifted her t-shirt off, mentally congratulating herself for remembering to wear one of her nicer bras that day.

  “Believe it now?”

  He ran his thumb along the fresh scar on the curve of her stomach. “God no, but I don’t know if it’s such a good idea with you drunk.”

  “I’m only half drunk. Drunk enough not to be a nervous wreck and back out like every other time.”

  “You? Nervous? Ha!” His face changed, “Wait, you’re serious?”

  “Of course I am, idiot man!” Harley stepped back from him and tried to spot where her shirt had gone.

  “Don’t you dare put that back on,” he said as he put his foot on it. Reaching behind her, he took the clip out of her hair and buried his hands into the thick softness. “You really are the most beautiful girl in the world.”

  Harley grinned at him and she knew it was as dirty as the thoughts running through her head, “Convince me.”

  ***

  The transition into Skazki wasn’t as smooth as last time and when Anya got through the gates, her skin ached like it had tried to get sucked from her. She crashed into Yvan as they went through and he caught her before she had a chance to fall into a river.

  “Let’s get out of the way or we are going to get pushed down the bank,” he said as he helped steady her. They’d reached the trees when Katya and Izrayl jumped through. Katya swore as she slipped in the mud, Izrayl laughing as he pulled her up the bank. Aramis stepped through, surefooted, and quickly made his way towards her.

  “We need to speak with Aleksandra about her choice of spots,” Katya grumbled as she tried to wipe wet mud from her jeans.

  “She’s done very well, considering,” Aramis defended. “Picking gates is like reaching into a bowl of spaghetti where each noodle is an opening into the Otherworld and picking the exact Russian
noodle you need, stretching it out towards and hoping it doesn’t snap out of your grasp before you can get everyone through to the other side.”

  “Great, now I want spaghetti,” muttered Katya. Mychal came next looking edgy as he waited for Aleksandra, as she stepped through, the gate shut with a hiss.

  With the Council closed safely behind her, Anya dropped her guard. It took only a moment before the magic of Skazki swamped her. She gasped in pain as the power in the trees, rocks, river, and very earth rose to meet hers.

  “Aramis,” she choked, “make it stop.”

  “What’s happening?” Yvan demanded as Aramis pushed him aside. Anya tried to put the blocks back up, but couldn’t stop the flood of power.

  “Breathe, Anya, focus,” Aramis instructed.

  “Get them out…away from me…” she shuddered as she gasped for air. “I…can’t hold it.” He reached out to her when a crack resonated around them.

  “Do not touch her!” an unfamiliar voice shouted and Aramis jumped back. A tall man was standing on an outcrop of small boulders behind them. Anya’s eyes grew wide and before anyone could stop her, she threw Ilya’s knife at him.

  The stranger flicked his fingers and it dropped to the ground, “No need for that, I’m here to help.”

  “Stay back!” Aramis demanded, one of the boulders near him lifted out of the ground and flew at the stranger. He dodged it easily and waved the boulder away to crash heavily on the riverbed.

  “This isn’t necessary, Álfr. I’m going to help her.” Aramis pulled out his sword.

  “Stop…”Anya groaned as she curled in on herself. “I know him.”

  “What?” said Yvan and Aramis at once. The others had retreated to the tree line as soon as the magic started to fly.

  “You see? She knows me, now stop throwing your power around and get out of the way before she explodes.” Through blurred vision, Anya watched him crouch down beside her.

  “Help me.”

  “I need you to remain very still. I haven’t had to do this for quite some time.” Strong fingers curled around her head as soft strange words rushed out of him. The pressure lifted and the last thing that Anya saw was a crooked smile.