Awakened Abyss (Firebird Uncaged Book 2)

by Erin Embly

  I rushed over to her even though I knew there was no way I could help, but Ray got there first. Carina collapsed in his arms.

  “She’s okay. That’s normal,” I said, not sure if he could even hear me above the panicked words he was saying to her in Spanish.

  Noah came up next to me, and I set my hand on the back of his head. “Is the monster gone?” he asked.

  “Yes, thanks to you,” I said.

  The ground shook under my feet, tremors moving all throughout the walls and ceiling of the space as dust fell from overhead.

  It seemed Carina’s soul had shaken loose more than just the other souls. Gary had implied they’d been woven into the land already—into the structure of the tunnels. And if they had all come out here, in this station, at once . . .

  “We need to get out of here,” Vera said.

  I nodded in agreement. “Dirk,” I snapped, waving him over and gesturing to the vampire campfire at my feet. “Go nuts.”

  The glee on his face lifted my spirits, as did the sight of Gary engulfed by the plume of fire spouting from the flamethrower. The fire in his chest couldn’t be counted on to burn him entirely, and I needed to make sure he was dead for good.

  That taken care of, I swept up Noah in my arms and ran.

  He would slow me down, the heavy thing, but not as much as he would if I’d asked him to run on his own tiny legs.

  The others were already on the move, Ray carrying Carina as the dust filtering from above quickly turned into pebbles, which only threatened to get larger. I wouldn’t be surprised if this whole tunnel collapsed in a few minutes.

  Or maybe sooner, I thought with a chill as a chunk of stone the size of my head crashed into the ground beside me.

  I ran faster, legs pumping hard as I made it to the ginormous escalators that led up to the open air. Everyone else was ahead of me, but not so far ahead of me that I wasn’t worried for them as well.

  Thunderous crashes sounded behind me, the vibrations so strong they sent jolts of pain through the bones in my legs as I pressed down and down and down into each step up.

  I could barely see through all the dust that billowed out from behind and below, but I thought I could make out someone moving towards me from above.

  Adrian? I thought as I recognized his sturdy frame. What the fuck kind of bullshit are you doing now? This crazy man was going to get himself killed along with us.

  He didn’t even pause when he reached me, just plucked Noah out of my arms and turned tail. Without the kid’s weight slowing me down, I moved faster—and Adrian moved faster still with his long legs and powerful muscles.

  But neither of us were moving fast enough.

  The thunderous roar moved closer, the impact of each slab of concrete sending shock waves through my body from behind.

  We’re not going to make it.

  It was the last thing I thought before the dust around me transformed into glitter.

  20

  I coughed into the clear air. Cold crept under my backside, and when I moved my hands they splashed in the puddle of water I was sitting in.

  Noah and Adrian were beside me, the rest of the group scattered around us, everyone on their backs or asses on a wide sidewalk aboveground near the Metro station we’d just been trying to escape from.

  “Etty?” I thought out loud, remembering the burst of glitter that had to be fae dust. I wasn’t sure if Etty even had enough in her at this point to get us all out of there like this, but I couldn’t think of any other explanation.

  “No,” said a sweet-sounding voice beside my ear. “But we are grateful you’ve shown us where to find her.”

  I twisted my body and got to my feet, finding myself standing before two fae who seemed to have no desire to use glamours. They were almost identical to one another, with pointed ears, rich dark skin, absurdly long nails that looked more like claws than anything human, and narrow sharpened teeth in their sly smiles.

  Their heads were shaved, their bodies covered in matching floor-length blue coats, and their facial features androgynous despite the glittering sheen over their cheeks. They both had glowing golden eyes, same as the ones I’d caught spying on me in the alley this morning.

  I bit my cheek, wondering if these were the fae Etty had hitched a ride with in order to escape. The enforcers.

  “Why did you save us?” I didn’t even try to hide the skepticism in my tone.

  “You have done us a favor, and we have done you one in turn.” The fae on the right nodded at the group of people around me. “I trust seven lives are enough to fulfill any debt that was owed.”

  “What did I do for you?” I asked, knowing fully well I was looking a gift horse in the mouth. When the fae were involved, anyone would be stupid not to.

  “Vengeance for our ravaged kin.” A poisonous spite crept into the words as they spoke. They must be talking about the fae in the bar who had completely drained himself of dust in committing the worst massacre I’d ever seen with my own eyes. Who had been forced to swallow iron. Whose soul we had probably just released along with Carina’s. “And leading us to this fugitive,” they continued.

  With a snap of their fingers, Etty appeared beside them in a puff of glitter. She looked confused for only a moment before her face fell into a sullen state I hadn’t seen on her since Becca had died. The sheen of glittery dust surrounding her settled into something that looked like a cylindrical forcefield, which she didn’t even try to move through. They had her trapped.

  “How did you even . . .” I started before realizing it was pointless. It didn’t matter how they had found her, only that it meant I was going to lose her again.

  “We’ve been keeping one eye on you since you left the site of the ravaging. We were there, watching, in the hopes of discovering what could have done such a thing to one of our own.”

  I nodded, not sure what else to say, and Etty lifted her hand in a defeated wave as I made eye contact with her.

  Noah pulled himself out from Adrian’s grasp at this point and started to run towards her. “Etty! Don’t go away again!” he yelled. I tried to hold him back, but he moved faster than I expected.

  The fae didn’t pay him any mind as he ran up to Etty—not until his hands broke through the glitter surrounding her and he wrapped her waist in a hug.

  The fae narrowed their golden eyes at the two, watching intently as Noah took Etty’s hand and led her out of the glittering cylinder, which dissipated easily in a puff of dust.

  Etty’s eyes were wide and her steps small. She turned back to the fae when one of them said, “Stop.”

  They bent over, their tall frame curving in an inhuman manner to put their face level with Noah’s.

  “And who is this?” they said.

  I stood, shaking slightly with the sudden realization that I might lose two people to the fae today, and not just one.

  “He’s mine,” I said, my hand on his shoulder.

  The fae tilted their head up, peering at me with laughter in their shimmering eyes. “I doubt that.” They reached out and touched Noah’s forehead with a single finger, their long nail curving over the top of his head. “Ah,” they said, “I see, he is an oddity . . . but still kin.”

  They stood up straight again and exchanged a glance with their partner, who had been silent this entire time. The silent one blipped out of existence in a puff of dust and then back again only a few seconds later. The first one turned back to us, just as I was contemplating whether to start running, and said, “We’d like to make a deal.”

  I stiffened. Making a deal with the fae was like lying down in front of a hungry vampire and opening a vein. You might have fun for a while, but they would suck all the life out of you before it was over.

  Fae were more than fair in matters of accidental debt, as evidenced by their saving all our lives just a few moments ago, but that was only because they were control freaks who couldn’t stand the idea of owing anyone anything nebulous.

  When it came to intent
ional deals, they never made any that weren’t somehow weighted in their favor.

  “What kind of deal?” I asked, despite Etty glaring at me over Noah’s head like I should know better.

  “We’ll let the fugitive stay,” they said with a wave towards Etty, “if the child becomes hers as well as yours.”

  I pressed my lips together, not sure exactly what they meant. “You want us to share custody?”

  “If that is what your laws call for. As long as it is equal. She should have as much claim to him as you do.”

  I frowned, wondering if it would be a good idea to tell them I didn’t have much of a claim at this point to begin with. Noah’s self-loathing ifrit father hadn’t planned on letting the kid live long enough to bother specifying who should take care of him in the event of his death. And Becca had requested Etty as his caregiver in the will she’d drawn up hastily before going after her ex. I’d somehow managed to convince a judge that I was the next-best choice with Etty out of the picture, but if she were to come back, she might not need a fae deal to take over for me.

  All this contributed to me feeling like I was clearly getting the better end of the deal here—and that meant I was most certainly missing something.

  “Why?” I asked. But they only smiled as Etty shook her head at me.

  I sighed, trying to work through the implications. Etty was powerless against these creatures, as far as I knew. She lived her life at the behest of their whims. And anyone who had control over a parent would effectively have control over their child in turn.

  It was Noah they wanted, although they weren’t yet sure when and how and in what capacity. Planting Etty as his guardian would allow them to keep an eye on him, to influence him, to come back later and offer me another deal I might be stupid enough to take.

  After all, I was certainly stupid enough to take this one. There was no way out of it in my head—now that Noah was on their radar, I couldn’t risk that they would dig deeper and find out Etty had a case for full custody.

  And as much as I knew her limitations, I trusted Etty completely. I knew that while she may technically be their pawn, she would look out for what was best for the kid. And so would I. Together, we could handle anything they decided to throw at us down the line.

  “Okay,” I said. “I agree.”

  Etty let out a breath, her eyes closed, and I couldn’t tell whether it was relief or frustration, or a combination of the two.

  “It is done,” the fae said, and then they were gone.

  I turned around to see that some of the others had disappeared as well, all except for Miriam, Dirk, and Adrian. I assumed Ray and his family were smart enough to know you should always fuck off quickly when the fae started trying to do favors for you.

  “Ha haaa,” Dirk hooted, sauntering over to me with a wide grin. “You got our girl back for good!”

  Our girl? I thought with a grimace, but then my eyes popped wide open in horror as he grabbed the sides of my head roughly and pressed his lips hard against mine.

  It happened quickly and ended quickly, not at all a romantic kiss but more the kind you would give to a puppy in training who had done a good job.

  I hated it thoroughly.

  “I’ll make sure to give you a good write-up,” he whispered close to my face before giving my arm a slap and turning away from me towards Etty.

  The side eye she was giving him was almost as terrifying as the even stare Adrian was giving me.

  Miriam marched over to me with a huff, reached around my neck and plucked off her squishy.

  I’d had just about enough with everyone at that point, and Noah’s head was digging into my side as he leaned into me with sleepy eyes.

  “We all need to get some rest,” I said calmly as I settled my fingers into his hair and shifted my hips so he wouldn’t slide off. “Etty . . . let’s go home?”

  21

  I met the morning groaning, unable to even open my eyes under the weight of the dull, aching pain of my battle hangover.

  Sure, all the individual wounds and bruises and breaks had already been healed by magic. But that didn’t matter to my nerves, and it all felt a thousand times worse without the adrenaline there to distract me.

  I winced as I turned over in bed and cracked open my eyes, almost wishing that Noah would wander in with his intoxicating joyful morning spirit and force it on me.

  But I was alone, no little intruder beside the bed, not even any creaks or squeaks to be heard through the walls of my room.

  That was new. I hadn’t woken up before the kid . . . well, probably ever. And he wasn’t exactly great at being quiet or holding still at this time of day.

  It was weird enough that it was actually concerning, and I sighed at the teeny adrenaline boost that came with that realization.

  It was enough to get my achy ass out of bed.

  I pulled a robe around myself and wandered out of my room, glad at least that I’d managed to take a shower before turning in for the night. If I’d had to deal with crusty blood on my bedsheets on top of all this . . .

  I shook my head at the empty living area, then poked my head into Noah’s room, which was similarly empty. The bed was even made, like he hadn’t slept in it at all last night.

  I frowned, letting a small burst of panic run through me before I remembered it wasn’t just me and Noah in this apartment anymore. Turning to Etty’s room, I twisted the doorknob gently and cracked open the door.

  Etty’s snores washed over me like a wave of calm, a more reassuring sound even than the hiss of freshly brewing coffee. Better still was the little lump in the star-patterned pajamas lying next to her, his arm hanging loosely over her side.

  Noah was awake, I was sure of it, but he was pretending to sleep so he could stay in bed with Etty a little longer. As much as I’d missed her, he’d probably missed her even more. To lose not only his mother but the auntie he’d been closest with at the same time . . . I had done my best in their place, but I’d always been more of a stranger to him, the new arrival trying to live in his home without really fitting into his life.

  I knew I wasn’t that stranger anymore, so my heart ached with comfort rather than envy at the sight of them snuggling.

  The door creaked as I moved to pull it shut, and Noah lifted his head to look at me with bright eyes.

  He moved a finger to his lips, imploring me to be quiet, before extricating himself from Etty’s bed much more carefully than he needed to; that woman slept like a rock.

  “I’m hungry,” he said to me as soon as he was out of her room and I’d closed the door.

  I chuckled, my insides grumbling, emptier than they’d been in a long time. “Yeah, me too.”

  Noah ran circles in the kitchen while I threw stale cinnamon rolls in the microwave and cracked some eggs into a pan. He was quiet while we ate, which I was fine with, every sip of coffee waking up more of the brain cells I would need to have a meaningful conversation anyway.

  “Do you want to go see Carina today?” I asked when I’d drained my mug. As much as I wanted to stay here all morning and relax with Noah and Etty, I had a ton of damage control to do after everything that had happened last night, and part of that meant visiting Ray.

  Noah was quiet for a moment, chewing a bite of cinnamon roll slowly before saying, “No,” as nonchalantly as if I’d asked him whether he wanted some orange juice.

  “Oh?” I hadn’t thought I would ever hear Noah turn down a visit with Carina. But he had seen her murder several innocent people last night. “Why not?”

  He looked down instead of up at me, putting his fork back on his plate. “I’m embarrassed.”

  “What do you have to be embarrassed about?” I scrunched my face up in genuine confusion, giving him a playful tap on the shoulder. “You proved to her you could fly without falling off.”

  But he didn’t even smile. “I get it now,” he said. “Why I’m not supposed to make people feel things. Even though there was a monster controlling her, I c
ould tell . . .” He ducked his head even further. “I could tell she wouldn’t like it.”

  I opened my mouth and then closed it, at a loss for how to respond.

  “Like . . .” he continued. “You said she wasn’t herself, but then I made her even less herself.”

  “I—” I started, but he kept going.

  “It was like when Mommy was a zombie. That was bad, but then with the jellies on her, it was even worse.”

  It clicked in my head as soon as he said that, the point he was trying to make. I remembered how I’d felt seeing Miriam control soulless Becca like a puppet, the way it had seemed to make a mockery of her even more than what her empty body had done of its own accord.

  “And . . .” he said in a dark tone, making me raise my eyebrows. “It was fun.”

  Ah, I thought, heart sinking even more. This was what was really bothering him. Just like his Auntie Salma and Uncle Baz, there was some part of Noah that liked controlling people. Maybe even hungered for it. But I couldn’t help the feeling that if he was telling me all this—if he was aware enough to be able to put it into words and admit it to himself, let alone me—that he would be fine. At least I hoped that would be the case.

  I nodded at him. “Okay,” I said. “I get it. Just remember there was a monster inside Carina, and she would have died if not for you. You didn’t do it because it was fun. I know it feels wrong, but you did a good thing.”

  My fingers twitched on the handle of my empty coffee mug as I watched Noah’s face harden. It was no surprise he was struggling with the contradiction. I was so in over my head here, and this conversation needed far more coffee and planning to be had properly.

  “That’s why everyone hates monsters,” I added, feeling the need to leave him with something more. “They put us in situations where there are no good choices, and sometimes it’s hard to figure out which choice is less bad.”

  That seemed to get through to him, and he picked up his fork again to stuff a bite of eggs into his mouth.

  “Now, I have to go. If you don’t wanna come with me, I’m gonna need you to go jump on Etty as hard as you can.” I felt a tiny bit bad about it, but I couldn’t leave him here with her unless she was awake.