Phoenix (3 page)

The sound of yelling rings up through the floorboards. It’s Roach and Logan. Concerned,
I quickly tuck the photos back into the diary, and we head down to the main entrance.
The moment we arrive, I know something is terribly wrong. A group of Darklings have
surrounded something on the stone floor, and several rebels are running about, shouting
orders at each other. I catch sight of Roach and Logan in the crowd of people.

“That creature should not be here! Who let him in?” Logan demands.

“Someone get a medic!” Roach yells.

Freya is lying on the floor, her dark skin glistening with blood. Air rasps out of
her lips as she struggles to breathe, her black eyes wild and panicked. Her chest
and stomach have been slashed open, revealing her guts, which are being held in by
the man—the
Lupine
—crouched next to her.

He’s powerfully built, in his late twenties, with a heavy brow hooding steel-colored
eyes and a strip of mottled gray hair down the center of his shaved head. Even though
he’s crouching, it’s clear he’s tall—at least seven feet. He’s wearing a smoky-gray-colored
tailcoat, black leather trousers and steel-capped boots. I understand why Logan is
so furious. A Lupine has no right to be here.

I rush to Freya’s side, taking her hand. “What happened?” I demand.

“I found her at the Cinderstone plant,” the Lupine says. “The guards caught her breaking
into the head office.”

A weight drops in my stomach. She warned me it was heavily guarded.

“And what were
you
doing at the factory?” Sigur asks the Lupine, clearly suspicious.

“She wasn’t the only person there gathering information,” he replies gruffly. “I was
downloading some files from their computers when this stupid girl barged in and nearly
ruined everything.”

My fangs throb. “
Don’t
call her stupid.”

Freya turns her frantic gaze on me and tries to say something, but blood just bubbles
out of her lips. Whatever she needed to say evaporates with her last, rasping breath.
Her eyes glaze over.

Roach tells the rebels to take Freya’s body to the morgue. When she’s been carried
away, the Lupine stands up, wiping a bloodstained hand on his pants leg before stretching
it out to Sigur.

“Rafe Garrick, First Landing pack leader,” he says.

Sigur ignores it. “Thank you for bringing Freya back to us, Mr. Garrick. Logan will
escort you—”

“I think you’ll want to see this,” Garrick interrupts, taking out a shimmering blue
flash drive from his pocket.

“What’s on it?” I ask.

“Schematics for a new super-ghetto in the Mountain Wolf State,” Garrick replies.

“Why has Purian Rose built a new ghetto?” I say.

“Because when he wins the vote tomorrow, he plans to ship the Darklings there,” Garrick
says. “And once you’ve been rounded up, he intends to kill you all.”

ASH

THIRTY MINUTES LATER,
all the Darkling ministers and rebels have congregated in the Assembly—the oval chamber
where our political discussions take place. Logan shifts uncomfortably in the seat
beside me, her cool lilac eyes fixed on Garrick. Sitting next to her are two Darkling
ministers. The first is a man named Pullo—a gruff-looking Eloka Darkling, with ebony
hair and glimmering black eyes, like mine. Next to him is Angel, a Shu-Zin Darkling,
with purple eyes, dark hair and clawed feet, which she’s squeezed into a pair of dainty
heels. Pullo and Angel occasionally throw cold glances in my direction, barely able
to hide their contempt for me. Not all the Darklings appreciate a twin-blood being
on their sacred Assembly.

Garrick inserts the flash drive into the com-desk—a large touch-screen computer inset
into a table—and everyone falls silent as an image of five Lupines—three men and two
women—appears on the digital screen on the back wall. I recognize one of the men.
He’s the Lupine I saw at the factory with the red leather frock coat and hair ornaments
made of teeth.

“I got a tip that a gang of mercenary Lupines, known as the Moondogs, had been transporting
large quantities of Cinderstone out of Black City on behalf of the Sentry government,”
Garrick says. “I got suspicious. What was the government doing? It couldn’t be anything
legit if those gangsters were involved.”

“We had the same concerns. That’s why I sent Freya to investigate,” Roach says.

“My pack infiltrated the factory by posing as fellow Moondogs, and I managed to gain
access to the head office.” He presses a button on the com-desk, and the Cinderstone
shipments log appears on the digital screen on the back wall. “You’ll notice that
the name Mount Alba crops up time and time again.”

“The volcano?” Logan says. “But that area has been deserted for decades, ever since
Mount Alba erupted.”

“Precisely,” Garrick says. “So I hacked into the Sentry network to find out why they
were sending so many shipments to a volcano. This is what I found.”

The image on the digital screen shifts, to zoom in closer to a mountainous terrain
within the United Sentry States. I instantly spot the volcano, with its familiar flat
peak—it lost its top after the eruption thirty years ago. At its base is a sprawling
urban area enclosed by a wall just like the one surrounding the Legion ghetto, but
on a
much
larger scale. Written in block letters across the urban area are the words
THE TENTH
.

“It’s the size of a small state!” I say.

“Why do you think they called it the Tenth?” Garrick says.

“Because it’s the tenth state,” I reply, cottoning on.

He nods. “Really it’s more a state-within-a-state, but the name is sort of catchy.”

“This isn’t evidence the government plans to exterminate us,” Pullo says in a brusque
voice.

“I agree,” Angel chimes in. “It’s just a ghetto. It’s no different from the Legion,
other than it’s bigger.”

I look at Garrick. “How are you certain Purian Rose plans to kill the Darklings?”

“Not just the Darklings,” Garrick says, bringing up some documents stamped
CONFIDENTIAL
. “From these memos, I was able to determine that Rose plans to send
all
Impurities—”

“Impurities?” Logan says.

“Anyone Rose feels doesn’t fit in with his plans for the One Faith, One Race, One
Nation campaign,” Garrick explains. “This includes Darklings, Bastets, blasphemers,
race traitors, Dacians—”

“What about Lupines?” Pullo challenges.

“We weren’t mentioned in the documents,” Garrick says. “I guess he has other plans
for us.”

“Then why are you helping us, if you’re not at risk?” Pullo says. “What do you have
to gain by telling us about the Tenth?”

Anger flares across Garrick’s face. “Just because I’m a Lupine doesn’t mean I obediently
follow everything Purian Rose says and does. I happen to support the rebellion.”

“I’m a little confused,” Logan says. “Rose’s Law only specifies the segregation of
Darklings from humans, so how can he justify sending those other people to the concentration
camp?”

“The Darklings are just pawns in all this,” Garrick explains. “The government is playing
on the tension between your two species to garner support for segregation. But once
the law passes, they intend to attach addenda to Rose’s Law to include
all
the groups—”

“And because they’ll be adding to an existing law, he doesn’t need another vote to
do it,” Sigur finishes. “He can send anyone to the Tenth, and it’ll be perfectly legal.”

There are outraged murmurs among the Assembly.

“You didn’t answer my earlier question,” I say. “How do you know Rose plans to kill
us?”

“From the intel I’ve gathered, it’s clear that the Tenth is divided into three cities.”
Garrick presses a button, and a trio of urban areas glows on the map.

Each city is surrounded by its own boundary wall and joined together by a complex
system of roads and rail networks. Garrick indicates the largest city in the Tenth,
which is easily five times bigger than Black City.

“This city is called Primus-One. It’s the base camp, where all new arrivals will be
sent before they are evaluated and then transported to Primus-Two or Primus-Three.”
He indicates the two smaller cities, to the south and east of Mount Alba. “Prisoners
will be checked for health, age, strength and skills. Those deemed suitable for work
will be sent to Primus-Two, to work in the factories.”

The screen pans in on Primus-Two. It comprises dozens of large industrial buildings.

“What are they producing in those factories?” Roach asks.

“I didn’t have time to access that information before Freya turned up with half the
Sentry guard after her,” Garrick replies.

“What happens to the people who aren’t suitable to work in the factories?” Logan says.

Garrick moves the map to the final city, on the east side of the mountain. “They’ll
be sent to Primus-III.”

He zooms in on a series of white buildings, each with a green cross painted on the
roof, just like the ones they paint on medical laboratories. Dread starts to set in.

“He’s going to experiment on us?” I exclaim. “Why?”

“I’m not sure,” Garrick replies. “But those concrete buildings next to the labs are
crematoriums, so whatever they’re planning, they don’t expect the test subjects to
survive.”

I think I’m going to be sick.

“It’s just like the concentration camp they had in the Barren Lands,” Logan says.

“Except on a much bigger scale,” Garrick replies. “The Tenth can easily handle twenty,
maybe thirty, million prisoners at any one time.”

“We must not let Rose’s Law pass tomorrow,” Sigur says.

There are nods of agreement from around the room.

“But won’t Purian Rose still attempt to send us to the ghetto, even if he loses the
vote?” Logan says.

“I’d like to see him try!” Roach says. “There would be civil bloody war if he sends
the so-called Impurities to the Tenth when over half the country has voted
against
segregation.”

I consider the fact that Purian Rose came all the way to Black City to threaten me
into supporting his law and suspect she’s right. He doesn’t want this to break out
into a civil war if he can avoid it.

“Then let’s not give that bastard any chance to do it!” Roach hollers. “We’re gonna
win this vote tomorrow, right?”

“Right!” the rebels all chant.

The room erupts into chaos as people discuss this new turn of events, but I’m too
numb to hear them. I glance at the map again. This is so much bigger than trying to
free my people from the ghettos; the very survival of our species and many others
is at risk. So what am I going to do tomorrow? It comes down to this: Whose life is
worth more? Natalie’s or theirs?

I honestly don’t know how to answer that question.

NATALIE

“CLOSE YOUR EYES,”
Day says as we approach the canal.

The sun has just started to set over Black City, casting a muted peach glow over the
buildings. With me are Polly, Day, and her little brother, MJ, plus their parents,
Michael and Sumrina. Michael is holding MJ’s hand, helping him walk. It’s funny seeing
them side by side, as MJ’s the spitting image of his father; both have the same dark
skin, soulful brown eyes and easy smiles, although MJ has a curved back because of
his kyphosis. I’m really touched that my sister has come out with us; I know she hates
being outside ever since she was tortured and disfigured by Purian Rose.

I wonder if he would’ve been so cruel had he known that she’s his daughter. I search
Polly’s face for any resemblance. They share the same startling, metallic gray eyes,
but otherwise she looks nothing like him. Polly gives me a small smile. She’s still
breathtakingly beautiful, despite the zigzag of scars across her cheeks. It’s wonderful
seeing my sister happy. The past two months with Day’s family have been good for the
both of us. It’s been tough without Mother around, but Sumrina and Michael have made
us feel like we’re part of the family.

“Where
can
we be going?” I say teasingly as we head along a familiar part of the canal, near
to where I first met Ash. My heart stumbles, thinking about that encounter under the
bridge. I know they’ve arranged a surprise party for me on Beetle’s boat—Michael accidentally
let it slip last week—but I play along, screwing my eyes shut as Day leads me toward
the barge.

“Here we are,” Day says.

I stretch out a tentative hand so I can be helped on board the barge. A cool, firm
hand takes mine in response. An electric shock zings into my heart.
Ash.
He lifts me onto the boat, and I giggle, falling against him.

“No peeking,” he says.

He softly kisses me, making butterflies flutter in my stomach.

“Can I look now?” I say when he brings me inside the cabin.

“Go ahead,” Ash replies.

I open my eyes and give a little squeal of delight. Beetle has decorated the entire
barge with colorful paper chains and ribbons, and a handmade banner hangs over the
window announcing
HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY
. Everyone is here: Ash’s father, and my former housemaid Martha, as well as Beetle,
Roach, Sigur, Amy and Stuart. Amy rushes over and gives me a big hug. We’ve become
quite close since she joined the rebellion. We even got our Cinder Rose tattoos at
the same time.

“Juno’s running late,” Amy says. “She got called to the station because of some breaking
news story, yada-yada-yada. You know how it is with reporters.”

We all find a place on the long benches. I squeeze in between Ash and Day, wincing
slightly as I sit down.

“Is your leg still hurting?” Ash asks.

“A little.” I lift up my purple tulle skirt to reveal the nasty bite mark on my leg,
where a Darkling boy took a chunk out of me a couple months ago. The wound still hasn’t
completely healed, and the flesh around it is raised and sore. I scratch at the scab.

“Don’t pick at it, or it’ll scar,” Day chastises.

“Sorry,
Mom,
” I say, lowering my skirt.

“Let’s get this party started!” Beetle says, clapping his hands together. He’s made
a bit of an effort to look nice tonight, wearing a clean shirt and black pants with
just one tear at the knee. He’s even brushed his usually scruffy brown hair. “Who
fancies a game of Lady Fortune’s Wheel?” Beetle asks.

This is met with cheers from everybody, even Ash’s dad, who gives a rueful grin. He
may be a minister, but he likes to gamble. Beetle places a twelve-spoke wheel in the
middle of the table, and places a container on the end of each spoke. MJ drops a bean
in nine of the containers, and coins in the remaining three. Beetle pops the lids
on the pots, so no one can see what’s inside, and spins the wheel.

“The birthday girl goes first,” Ash says, kissing my cheek.

I glance up at him, and my heart squeezes. A thought glimmers in his smoldering eyes.
He lowers his long lashes, like he’s trying to hide it from me. I don’t have much
time to analyze it, as my attention is dragged back toward the game.

As the wheel spins, I quickly lift the lid off one of the pots. Inside is a gleaming
coin.
Yes!
People ooh and ahhh.

“Lady Fortune’s clearly on your side tonight,” Ash whispers in my ear, passing me
the coin.

It’s impossible to concentrate when he’s so close by, his cool breath spilling over
me, delicious, intoxicating. Yearning unfurls inside me, a flower blooming in winter.
Memories of our time together this morning fill my mind, and I touch my glowing cheeks
with my hands, willing them to cool down.

We play ten rounds of the game, and Day wins the majority of the coins.

“No fair! Day’s cheating,” MJ huffs.

“Don’t be a sore loser, son,” Michael says, ruffling MJ’s hair.

Day gives her winnings to her brother.

I look at Ash, who is sitting silently beside me. Even though he’s right next to me,
he doesn’t seem to be really here.

“A coin for your thoughts,” I say.

Ash smiles, but it seems forced.

“Everything okay?” I ask, suddenly worried.

“Everything’s fine.”

“You’re lying to me.”

“Let’s not talk about it tonight,” he replies. “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“Tell me now,” I demand. I hate secrets.

Ash leads me away from the game, and when we’re alone, he tells me about the break-in
at the Legion, and the Tenth. I lean against him, shaken by the news. I can hear the
steady thrum of his heart through his black shirt. It’s the only sound that ever calms
me in these mad times.

“How did the Sentry manage to build an entire new state right under our noses?” I
say.

“No one’s lived in that area for years because of the volcano,” he explains.

My fingers dig into the material of Ash’s black shirt. “We can’t let this happen.
No matter what, we have to stop Purian Rose.”

Ash’s body tenses. I look up at him, but he simply kisses my forehead again. We return
to the game, but neither of us is in the mood to play anymore. Day senses the shift
in the atmosphere.

“Time to open presents!” Sumrina says.

Everyone gathers around the table again, and they jovially hand me their presents.
I manage a smile, although all I can think about is the Tenth.

Polly shyly hands me an envelope, and I open it up. Inside is a photo of me and Polly
when we were kids, with Mother and Father standing primly in the background. This
was back in a time when we were all happy together, before my father died and my mother
was imprisoned. Even though we had our differences, I miss them both so much. I give
Polly a big hug.

“I love it. And it’ll go perfectly in my new picture frame from MJ! Thanks, everyone,”
I say.

Ash takes my hand. “I want to give you my gift outside.”

* * *

Out on the deck, the air is cool and crisp, the sky bright with stars. It’s a beautiful
evening. Perfect. Ash leads me up a small flight of stairs onto the flat roof of the
barge. I gasp. The roof has been covered in glass lanterns, which cast a kaleidoscope
of colors across the varnished wood. Scattered between them are white orchids, my
favorite flower. The sweet scent perfumes the air around us. So this is why I had
to shut my eyes earlier?

“It’s beautiful,” I say.

Ash picks up a flower and passes it to me. “You’re beautiful.”

I giggle, suddenly self-conscious. I certainly don’t consider myself pretty, but I
love the fact that he does. He digs around in his pants pocket and retrieves a small
parcel, carefully wrapped in brown paper and bound with red ribbon.

“I didn’t have much money,” he says, passing it to me.

“It’s okay. You know I don’t care about that stuff.”

I untie the ribbon and open the package to reveal a stunning pendant. It has a traditional
knotted design intricately etched into the gold, and some Darkling script written
around the edge. It’s very old and clearly valuable.

“I love it!” I say.

“It was my mom’s,” Ash explains.

I try to hand it back. “It’s too special! I can’t accept it.”

“She’d want you to have it,” he says. “
I
want you to have it.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, touched by his kind gesture.

His fingers brush my skin as he puts the pendant around my neck, sending little shivers
of pleasure down my body. I twist around and kiss him, my hands running through his
rippling, silken hair, which coils around my fingers. He lets out a soft moan, his
arm looping around my waist, drawing me closer.

“Let’s get out of here,” I murmur against his lips.

“It’s your birthday,” he replies.

“So?”

He pulls away, sighing. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but Day made you a cake, and
I think she’ll kill you if you don’t eat it.”

I pout, and Ash laughs.

“I suppose we should get back to the party,” I say reluctantly.

“Not just yet,” he says quietly, retrieving another parcel from his pocket. This one
is smaller than the first and wrapped in beautiful, handcrafted silk paper.

“Another present? You shouldn’t have,” I say, taking it.

“I hope you like it,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

He anxiously watches me as I carefully unwrap the parcel. I open the silk paper, and
something glimmers.

My heart trips over.

In my hand is a blue diamond ring.

My head snaps up, a question in my eyes.

“I know we’re young,” he says softly. “But I love you, with every beat of my awakened
heart.”

I hold my breath, waiting for him to say the words.

“Natalie Buchanan, will you marry me?”

“Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!” I squeal with delight.

He slips the ring on my finger, and I throw my arms around his neck, kissing him over
and over. Happiness radiates through me, making my heart swell until I think it’s
going to burst.

“I love you,” I say between kisses.

“I love you too, blondie,” he says.

I giggle joyfully as he spins me around, the cool breeze brushing against my skin.
Eventually he puts me down and kisses me again, this time softly, slowly, opening
a channel between us so I can feel everything he’s feeling: his love, his joy, his
happiness. We’ve Soul Shared before, but this time is the most intense of them all,
and tears spill down my cheeks. We eventually break the kiss.

“I hope those are tears of happiness?” he teases, wiping them away.

I nod.

We hurry downstairs, eager to break the good news. As we enter the cabin, everyone
is silent, an expectant look on their faces. Ash grins sheepishly at me. They must’ve
all been in on it!

“Well? Don’t keep us in suspense,” Day demands when nobody says anything.

I show them the ring, and everyone cheers.

The women all hurry around me to coo over the ring—even Polly, who manages a few smiles—while
the men pat Ash on the back, telling him “well done, mate,” and “how did you get a
girl like that?” Beetle tops off everyone’s drinks and raises his glass.

“To Ash and Natalie—may you have a long and happy life together!” he says.

“To Ash and Natalie!” everyone else responds.

I glance at Ash, and for a second there’s worry in his eyes, but he quickly conceals
it, giving me the broadest, most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. I smile back, but
I can’t help but wonder why he looked so concerned. Is he already having doubts? No,
I’m being paranoid! I push it from my mind and allow myself to enjoy the moment. I
can ask him about it later.

The party carries on in full swing. Everyone is in high spirits, dancing and singing—even
Sigur, who, as it turns out, has an amazing voice. He teaches Polly and MJ a traditional
Darkling song, while Ash’s father, Harold, comes over to me and gives me a hug. My
cheek scratches against his gray beard, but I don’t mind.

“I’m so glad you’ll be joining the family,” he says. “I’ve never known Ash to be this
happy.”

“I promise to take good care of him.”

“I know you will.”

“You’re not worried we’re rushing things?” I ask quietly.

He gives me a gentle smile. “I was, but Ash convinced me that he’s ready for this
commitment, and when my son sets his mind on something, there’s no changing it.”

I laugh lightly. “That sounds like Ash.”

“If you have any doubts . . .”

“I don’t,” I say, which is true. I have no reservations about marrying Ash. After
nearly losing him two months ago, I’ve learned to grab happiness with both hands and
not wait around for a future that may never happen.

Harold hugs me again, and I hold on to him for a bit longer than necessary, but he
understands. With a dead father and a mother serving a life sentence in prison, I’m
essentially an orphan. When I marry Ash, Harold will become my father too. It’s a
very comforting thought.