Ashes (The Firebird Trilogy Book 1)

by Stephanie Harbon

  I shivered, attempting to swallow the throbbing pain in my throat. My lungs ached tremendously, I was heaving nothing now. I stared at sand and felt Kieran move away from me. Eventually I felt stable enough to look up. When I did, I realised that everyone else was putting on clothes. Look away Ruby.

  I saw a movement next to me and glanced up. Kieran had now thrown on some dry(ish) trousers and was currently sitting back down in front of me. Roughly, he shoved on some chunky leather boots; like army boots. Pulling blades from a bag and sharpening them; they glinted dangerously.

  “Salt is not good for my blades,” he muttered irritably.

  His bare shoulders dripped clammy ocean water. The pearls rolled over his sculpted collarbones, tracing the deep indentations between the plains of muscle like rivers in valleys. I looked at his emerald eyes, concentrating on the metal, and noticed his thick lashes held tiny beads of crystal too. As I watched in an almost mesmerised fashion, a droplet shimmered obliquely down his cheek, journeying over his perfect lips. I felt embarrassingly compelled to reach out and capture the drop. To hold it up to the light and see if he’d somehow turned it to diamond. I think I was dribbling, not good.

  I’d never seen anyone so beautiful in my life. It was ridiculous.

  With an effort I dragged my eyes from Kieran. I glanced around, we were in the arms of a curved beach; the sand was the dull gold of wheat grain. The ocean stretched out like a perpetual frozen blanket; how did we get here? I didn’t ask; some things are better left to the imagination.

  In front of me I saw random tufts of grass eventually leading up to a sprawling coniferous forest. The fresh vibrant green complemented the cool crisp air. Peaking over the tops of the trees I could see mountains that grazed the sky. It was absolutely gorgeous, a winter wonderland. The exact opposite of what I’d expected. It looked like Alaska.

  “So this is it?” I asked, casting my gaze again on Kieran.

  He now wore a dark shirt and was strapping a thick belt around his hips. He then started adjusting the leather and metal straps of his bag thing, wrapping the straps around his biceps and hiding blades in secretive pouches.

  I didn’t know what to do. Everyone else seemed pre-occupied with accessorising themselves with weapons. They all wore dark clothes made from an unrecognisable material, thicker than leather. Anxiety crawled up my back.

  “Are we going to war?” I asked nervously.

  Briseis came closer, apparently fully prepared to raid the Bank of England. She grinned, “Nobody walks into those woods unarmed; they’re not protected.” She said it as if it were inevitable that we should meet something dark and dangerous -other than Adrian-in there. I shivered at the thought.

  “Can I have a dagger or something?” I wondered.

  “No,” Kieran said absolutely without even looking up. “We don’t have the time to delay our journey while I stitch your arm back together.”

  I frowned but didn’t comment as I gaped at the numerous weapons, “Where did they all come from?” I wondered, more to myself than anyone else.

  Chara regarded my sodden clothes with a frown, “You need to change.”

  “I know, that’s why we’re all here, right?” I joked lamely. There was an awkward silence; I guess they weren’t impressed by my attempt at humour.

  “Put these on,” she handed me some clothes.

  “Can I not just wear my own?” I asked, trying not to sound unappreciative.

  “No,” Kieran interrupted firmly.

  I surrendered, accepting the bundle of clothes. Chara waited and I stared at her, realising, “You want me to get dressed here?”

  “You’ll eventually get used to it,” she sighed but pointed off to her side, “If it makes you feel any better you can go behind those rocks. Don’t go far. If you’re too long then I’ll get Adrian to fetch you, and that’s a warning.”

  Grudgingly I trudged off through the wet sand; my feet occasionally sinking completely in. I felt a sting of grief; my dog had loved the beach. Swallowing my sorrow I stumbled behind a boulder and peeled off my sodden jeans. They were being difficult. Finally I struggled into the given clothes. At closer inspection I discovered the material was not like leather at all. It consisted of an almost scaly substance. As I went back, I was surprised at how flexible and light the deceptive clothes were.

  I linked myself into the circle of people. Kieran’s face was an apathetic mask. Glancing around, I saw a similar expression on Adrian. My vision flickered to Briseis and she was smiling, nearly affectionately at the land. Nikolas wound a comforting arm around Chara.

  “No matter how long we’ve been gone; this place still…gets to you, doesn’t it?” Chara sighed restlessly, surveying the impressive world like an old forgotten friend.

  I shivered lightly; she’d been right, the fire burning within me had already targeted the cold. My skin felt warm to the touch already.

  “It’s still our home,” Nik murmured.

  “It was the people in it who ruined it, not the place itself.” Adrian spat sharply. Hate practically radiated from his pretty brown skin.

  “I used to dream about it.” Bris said.

  I used to dream about it too. I just didn’t realise at the time.

  “Let’s go,” Kieran said.

  Chapter Eight

  As we edged closer to the forest it took me a moment to realise that Kieran hadn’t followed. I paused uncertainly then slowly crept towards him. He had his back to me, the straight hard line of his jaw upraised as he gazed at the glistening ice.

  “What happened to you here?” I asked quietly.

  When he finally turned his face was angry.

  “Nothing happened to me here.” His voice was filled with bitter contempt. “I had a great life.” He laughed humourlessly. “I was young, powerful and full of promise. I was a Son of the Ashes and I was an Ashaik.” He breathed out then, shaking his hair, sprinkling little droplets from the glistening strands. “I was also ignorant. My blood was my pride. I never thought it would be my shame as well.”

  “What was the problem?” I wondered softly.

  Kieran looked at me with those gorgeous emerald eyes; passion smouldered there like a constantly burning fire. I saw something else in him, a reason behind the anger. He hesitated for a long moment, his lips pursed as if calculating whether or not he could trust me with his secret.

  Eventually he sighed, looking away and murmuring, “My brother is human.” I frowned in confusion. Kieran’s voice was filled with resentment. “He never burnt.”

  Kieran returned those piercing hawk eyes to the ocean. He spoke like he was the only one listening. “Being human, to my father and my country, is like being a parasite. It is seen as the ultimate disgrace.”

  I spoke gently, “What did he do?”

  Kieran met my eyes; there was a fierce protectiveness in his.

  “Everything in the book: beat him, cursed him, tried to kill him frequently.” Something flickered in his features, something morose and guilty. “I should have known,” he whispered, “but Adrian’s too proud, he never told me anything. I had no idea. But one day, I caught them both fighting; really fighting, there was blood everywhere. Adrian had defended himself for once. I didn’t know what to do. In the end my mother found them and knocked my father out while he wasn’t looking. She knew what was happening.”

  His eyes drained of emotion. “My mother turned to me and told me I had to leave with Adrian. Not just the city but the whole island. She said to take him or he’d be killed. She said he needed me. I knew what I had to do. I made my plans to escape. I was seventeen.”

  I gaped at him, speechless. I never expected all that to spill out of him.

  The thought of it was awful. I gazed at Adrian differently now, at the tense shoulders of his thick frame retreating into the woods. Noticing how his eyes flickered around suspiciously. Finally I understood.

  “Your mother didn’t come,” it wasn’t a question, but he answered it anyway.

 
“No,” he said curtly, he deliberately avoided my eyes.

  “You were seventeen? How long were you in England?”

  “Two years.”

  “How did you escape? Through that rock again?” I probed cautiously.

  “That isn’t important,” he said, his features conditioning back into a solid unapproachable stare.

  With that he turned and followed the others where they’d begun to walk off towards the coniferous forest.

  The trek through the forest was long and precariously intense. The ambiance would shift so suddenly that it made my skin crawl. I still couldn’t believe I was actually here. Not in my world anymore. It just seemed far too bizarre to believe, so I didn’t even bother trying; to me this was just a long strange dream.

  At first it seemed a nice place.

  The surrounding pine trees swayed their spiky fur, festively filling the air with a refreshing scent. The ground was covered in intricate patterns of ice, natural complicated decorations, almost invisible like marks from ice-skates. It reminded me of Christmas with the scent of the trees and the cold chill.

  “Why are we not flying there, wherever we are going?” I asked Nikolas. He was the closest to me. “Surely it’s faster?”

  “It’s too dangerous, the forest isn’t protected,” Briseis interjected. “There are monsters living here that could swat us out of the sky like flies. At least we’re out of sight in the trees. All we have to worry about down here is big bugs.”

  The thought of something so big and terrifying it made the Phoenix cautious was a very scary thought indeed. I watched my surroundings intently.

  “And we’re heading to Forenna, the Capital,” Nik explained. “It’s the only mixed city. All the others are segregated.”

  I frowned, confused, “What do you mean?”

  “Our kind is divided into four Tribes. Earth, Air, Water and” he glanced at me as he spoke, “Fire. All you need to know is that Phoenix are like their element, in appearance and power. For example, a Phoenix of Air is very pale with almost clear hair and eyes; and they will have a certain amount of control over their element. This lets them evoke Air and do things with it.”

  “Like what?”

  “Change the direction the wind blows,” Chara suggested. “It’s very useful when flying. If you can get a good wind behind you; you go faster.”

  “Are you an Air Phoenix?” I asked thoughtlessly.

  Everybody laughed. I glanced down embarrassedly. What did I say?

  “No, chick,” Chara smiled, “the different Phoenix tribes are very distinctive. All of us here look similar because we’re of Earth. You are of Fire, that’s why you look nothing at all like us. Trust me; you’ll be able to tell the difference.”

  Yeah, they did look nothing like me. They were all tall, tanned and mysterious. I was loud, stubby and ginger. Thanks for pointing that out.

  Nik seemed surprised. “Surely you remember how badly the Tribes are prejudiced against each other? It’s been that way for generations. Its only now, after seeing the way people behave in your country towards each other–blacks and whites together, all different races, colours, genders-that I realise how wrong it is here. Hedero is a city only populated by Earthbirds. And the Air Phoenix only live in Ciza and so on.”

  “That’s really sad,” I commented, frowning, “but why not Forenna?”

  “Forenna used to be a human city, that’s why it’s so old. It’s as old as your pyramids,” He explained, patiently. “We are native to Kariak, our people were born here. Forenna is the city that the Original Mother lived in before she Changed. And after she Changed, eventually the humans who lived here died out; replaced by us because we are stronger and more adaptable.”

  “The Original Mother?” I questioned.

  “Don’t you remember anything about the Resurrection?” Nik was surprised.

  “Of Jesus?” I said confusedly.

  Adrian shook his head impatiently, “No, not of Jesus you moron, of the first Phoenix.” When I shook my head he rolled his eyes.

  “Well, our legends say there was a first Phoenix and she started out as a human woman.” Nikolas informed me, “I’ll tell you the story,” he smiled.

  “One day the sun shone so brightly and the air was so hot that the land became alight with flame. The woman tried to protect the people; she saved many lives but eventually the flames overwhelmed her; she died. She was only young and pregnant with her own children. Water, Earth and Air tried to help her for they saw what her bravery and sacrifice cost. But Fire would not be extinguished and eventually the woman turned to ash. Fire finally saw his wrongs and produced a spark of life again for the woman. Water mixed with Earth to rebuild her body and Wind sculpted her into shape. With all the elements working together, life arose from the Ashes in the form of a magnificent bird with the power of all four elements.

  “What happened next?” I wondered, intrigued by the way he told this obviously beloved story.

  “She wandered alone for a while, watching and missing her husband. That winter she laid four eggs. When they hatched, each chick had a gift from one element and also possessed the ability to transform into a human; for it was with their mother’s humanity that the elements remade her. The four first Phoenix grew up as humans and eventually had children of their own who inherited the same affinities. These gifts were passed on again and again and eventually began the age of the Phoenix.” He finished.

  “What happened then?” I asked “Why did the tribes split up?”

  Kieran appeared as if from nowhere; he’d ventured off ahead for a while to ‘find something’–I didn’t want to ask-and interrupted, “Jesus Ruby, he’s not a bloody encyclopaedia; leave the poor man alone.” He added, almost as an afterthought, “Oh and we might have a little problem.”

  “What is it?” Chara began, but stopped to listen. Everyone went silent.

  I heard a patter, distant but progressively growing closer and louder. It sounded like the tapping of rain on a conservatory roof, thousands of points of pressure showering down restlessly on glass. Automatically Kieran reached for one of the blades dangling from his chunky belt. He withdrew it, effortlessly, sliding the steel from its scabbard in a way that seemed far too natural. This was something he was well accustomed to.

  There was a loud rustling of leaves. Instantly I shifted my vision to the direction of the sound. From a smattering of thick brambles, a creature appeared. It was like a giant millipede. A millipede about the length of two park benches and as tall as my thigh while on all its legs. Its winding segmented body was armoured with a seemingly impenetrable outer layer. It didn’t have any eyes, at least not that I could see, but I could clearly visualise the rest of its splintered teeth from the few spilling from a huge gaping mouth, which occasionally dripped foamy saliva. It seriously needed a napkin.

  It hissed at me, as if guessing my thoughts.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said lowly, glancing at Briseis. “I didn’t think you meant bugs that big.”

  Without hesitation it snapped forwards, startlingly fast. The thing would have snatched Briseis’s leg if Kieran hadn’t have sprung forwards, swinging the blade high and piercing where a shallow valley formulated between its head and its exoskeleton. The creature collapsed to the ground, screeching violently. Kieran slammed on top of it, stabbing it again.

  I stood there for a moment, staring at the honey-like liquid now dripping from Kieran’s blade as he stood. Did that really just happen?

  “Is it dead?” Bris asked.

  Kieran shook his head sharply. “Just stunned,” he answered.

  “Um,” Briseis swallowed, uncharacteristically anxious, “He had friends.”

  With wide eyes she scanned the coniferous forest. I followed her gaze, flinching when I noticed another millipede-thing march into the clearing. As I watched in horrified astonishment, I counted at least half a dozen more surreptitiously surround us, one even crawling down a tree trunk. I swore under my breath. I hated b
ugs.

  Kieran grabbed me, harshly yanking me against him. My breath caught.

  The others took up defensive positions, gripping weapons in preparation. The creatures leapt forwards simultaneously; slashing at everyone with their razor-sharp teeth. Two came straight at me and Kieran.

  With swift, precise movements Kieran swiped at the first one. It reared back and the otherwise crushing blow missed; glinting off its protective armour. Kieran dodged us out the way while I struggled to get free. A strong hand clasped unyielding around my waist.

  “I can help,” I insisted angrily as the second thing charged forwards.

  With a swift lance of Kieran’s blade the thing toppled to the ground; in half.

  “How?” Kieran hissed; plunging the knife into the second thing.

  It hissed like a rattle snake. Rearing back, it doubled my height. The blade was now embedded in the centre of its body, piercing part of its black shell. That must have been a strong hit, I thought. I watched as Kieran pulled out the blade and relocated it to a precise spot. It collapsed. Dust glittered up where it landed. Kieran released me unexpectedly; I stumbled forward but managed to catch myself before falling onto the remains of the dead thing. Its wounds oozed a dingy yellow liquid that filtered slowly to the earth. More dribbled from is drooping mouth. The fat droplets cast stringy threads that demolished boundaries between the carcass and the grass, like amber leaking from tree bark in long sticky strands. It was vile.

  “I could have helped,” I muttered stubbornly, to no one in particular.

  I glanced around; only three creatures were still alive. Kieran automatically snatched another blade from one of the straps on his arm, spinning it he sent it hurtling through the air. It faultlessly penetrated the soft dip between the creature’s head and body. That stunned it momentarily, giving sweet innocent Chara a chance to tear out its bowels. Kieran ran at the last two and everybody shuffled back. Fearlessly, with eyes of a predator, Kieran pulled anther blade from his belt so he had one in both hands.

  Swinging them around his wrists, he smiled at the creatures, “Come on my beauties. I don’t have all day.” He was actually enjoying this.