Ashes of the Firebird (The Firebird Fairytales Book 2) Read online

  “How is it even possible?”

  “I don’t know. She is Yanka’s progeny, therefore very powerful and unpredictable. She is untrained and cannot even wield her power effectively. The day on the farm was blind luck. No one could have anticipated it.”

  “Is she dead?”

  “No, and we do not want her dead. I gave her a taste of what I can do and she fell. Her followers took her before we or the Illumination could get to her.”

  “Where is she?”

  “We can’t be sure. They would not have gone back to France or stayed in Russia. I do not doubt that they will do something to give their position away.”

  “I need to get out of here and begin the hunt.”

  “Heal, Vasilli; Ragana will do a fair enough job in your absence.” Ragana was a Shamanitsa from Budapest who Vasilli hated with a vengeance. In that moment, if he could have moved he would have destroyed the hospital.

  Chapter Two- The Raid

  Katya crumpled the piece of paper in her hand and shoved it back in her pocket. Silvian had written down the address for the brightly lit restaurant that they were standing in front of, a cheerful looking place not far from the lush parklands of Varosmajor. Katya eyed the higher floors of the building where no lights burned.

  “This is a stupid idea,” she said as she fingered the hilt of the knife that was concealed in her pocket. It made her uneasy that they were going to a raid a place without the proper research and surveillance. All they had was Silvian’s word, and she didn’t trust it or him very much at all.

  “It’s okay, Katya,” Isabelle said in a distant voice, “I can feel it. This is definitely the place.” The noise of the restaurant was boisterous as they walked past the side bay of windows and to the back of the building. Izrayl pulled down the metal fire escape and led them up.

  “No sign of any cameras,” he said. There was an elaborate series of locks on the top door that Isabelle expertly picked one at a time. The door opened to reveal a neat hallway with plush red velvet carpet. They neared a door and heard heavy voices arguing.

  “That sounds a lot like goblin. Me first,” Izrayl whispered and kicked the door in. Instantly, there were shouts of panic within. Katya followed Izrayl through the door amid cries of “The demon hunter! He’s come!” Katya shot one and saw what they had on the big polished table, a corpse of a girl that had been opened and gnawed on. Katya’s gun was in her hand and she fired a round, taking one of the panicked creatures down. She didn’t have a chance to fire a second because as Trajan stepped in the room, they started screaming in agony. They fell to their knees, scratching their faces bloody as the silvery strains of their lives were pulled slowly from their bodies.

  “Izrayl?” Katya looked around and saw the black wolf growl at the Thanatos. Trajan rolled his shoulders and the screaming was cut short as he stopped their torture.

  “Katya! Izrayl! They are Ördögs!” Cerise’s voice echoed from outside of the room before the sounds of gunfire and the screams of the dying drowned out all other noise.

  ***

  Night had closed in at Yanka’s cottage and Anya was pacing. “I don’t know why I haven’t awakened yet!”

  Yanka sat by the fire watching her carefully, her green eyes blank. Anya was sick of trying to get conversation out of her. Yanka was nothing like she expected. She wasn’t even trying to reassure Anya that she wouldn’t be trapped there forever. Anya would have loved to have a vodka, but the ghost of Yvan reminded her that drinking with a stranger of unknowable power would be a very dumb idea.

  “I have never known anyone who could walk the Land of the Dead for so long.”

  “How can you be even sure this is the Land of the Dead?”

  “It must be. I have been here for a long time now.” Anya sat down but her leg still jumped with annoyance.

  “Is it true that you couldn’t control the magic inside of you and it burnt you up from the inside out?”

  “Who told you that,” Yanka asked sharply, “that lying old whore Baba Yaga?”

  “It’s what everyone has told me.” Yanka gave a very unladylike grunt.

  “Anybody who knows anything about magic would have known that is impossible.”

  “How did you die?”

  “I don’t remember. I don’t know if I have blocked it out because of the violence or if I never saw what killed me. I wonder if I have been here so long the memory has gone.”

  “You remembered Aramis.” The change in Yanka’s face was instantaneous. The guard was quickly brought up and locked down. “He is rather unforgettable though,” Anya added lightly.

  “Yes, he is.”

  “Your old acquaintance with him could explain his interest in me.”

  “What interest?” Yanka’s tone wasn’t friendly, though Anya was learning there wasn’t a lot about her that was.

  “It’s not what you think. He is trying to help me. The Illumination wanted him to capture me. He ignored their orders and promised to protect me. You don’t need to get so defensive, I already told you this.”

  “It doesn’t matter. The main problem is Ladislav and Vasilli. They could have killed you and that could explain why you’re here.”

  “I don’t think he killed me. He wants me for some other purpose. He wanted to throw his power around to let me know I’m no match for him.”

  “You are no match for him.”

  “And you are?” Anya said defensively.

  “I’m more than a match for them both.” Not for the first time that day, Anya wished she would wake.

  ***

  “I wonder where you are,” Aramis whispered as he sat by Anya’s side. In the beginning, he thought that her body was recovering from the huge magic loss of closing the gates and holding off Vasilli. It had been a month and she still showed no signs of recovery. Cerise had hooked her up to an IV drip to make sure she didn’t dehydrate and that she got the relevant supplements.

  The file about Yanka contained information on the facility where she was being held with no reference to an exact location. Aramis didn’t know whose blackened corpse he had wept over, clearly it hadn’t been hers.

  First, they had used potions and other magical beings to hold her captive. As technology progressed, they had pumped her with various drugs. Finally, they had placed her in a chemically induced coma. The entire facility was built solely to conduct research on her. They were syphoning her magic to keep her weak and under control.

  Aramis had accepted what the Illumination had told him about her death so blindly. He had not seen Yanka for many years at that stage and had no reason to suspect the Illumination for her disappearance. They were on the side of good, why would they lie? They were no more than torturers. Aramis knew what Anya’s reaction would be like if he got the chance to tell her. She had been dream walking with Yanka all this time.

  Aramis shot up from his chair and ran for the door, “Everyone get in here now!”

  “So that’s where you think she has gone? To Yanka?” asked Silvian, his voice deep with an accent that was a vague mixture of Turkish, Greek and Italian. He looked like a resplendent Persian king on a throne. His long black hair hung in thick, oiled ringlets and the crimson silk shirt made his olive skin glow. If some of the stories he had told Aramis were true, he had watched Babylon being built, been drunk with the young Alexander the Great and had seduced the wives of Roman Patricians at the height of their power.

  “I believe Anya is caught in the dream world. Ladislav hit her with such force I am surprised she is still alive at all.”

  “Her spirit could have been disconnected from her body,” Chayton’s voice was quiet. “When we walk the dream world we take our souls from our physical body, we know how to get them back in. Anya would have no knowledge or training to dream walk. If what you say is true she could be walking there lost.”

  “Could there be a way for you to find her in the dream world and bring her back to her body?” Yvan asked. He had formed back into his own body at Ho
naw’s request.

  “If we knew that is where her spirit was then it could be possible. It might take a lot of time to find her. Although, Aleksandra has made a psychic link with her so she may be able to track her in the dream world using that connection,” Chayton answered thoughtfully.

  “It will have to be that way.” Honaw’s voice sounded more like a growl. “I will not risk my brother’s spirit or my own by looking through the dream world with no direction.”

  “I agree. If you could send the message to Aleksandra to begin as soon as possible, it would be appreciated. At least we now have some sort of a plan,” said Aramis.

  “We will have to wait for Katya. She can link the easiest with Aleksandra.”

  They talked and argued possibilities as they waited for the others to return. After an hour, they gradually got up and walked from the room until only Aramis and Silvian remained.

  “Tell me this whole charade is about saving Anya and nothing to do with Yanka,” Silvian said finally. His black brows were forced together in an annoyed frown.

  “Of course, it’s about saving Anya. We cannot leave her like this. When she wakes, I will tell her what we have learnt about Yanka. She will go after her without any encouragement from me.”

  “And isn’t that convenient for you? I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that to attack a facility like that is suicide. There is also a huge danger to Yanka herself. There are special medical procedures that need to be done when waking up a person in an induced coma. Some don’t wake up at all.”

  “You of all people should understand what this means to me,” Aramis said softly.

  “I know you’re hurt, Aramis. I know you’re furious at the Illumination’s betrayal. You were their number one man for a long time. I only ask that your passion doesn’t over rule your judgement in this situation. We will get her out, but we will plan and execute it as coldly as we would any other mission.”

  “Do you have any other suggestions?”

  “You need to tell these people about Yanka and what you plan to do.”

  “Why now? Why not when Anya wakes?”

  “They deserve to know, Aramis. If you want to recruit their help, and you’ll need it, they will not thank you for withholding any information. This is not the Illumination. They are not your soldiers. They are hers,” he nodded towards Anya, “whether they realise it or not. This is her personal army. If you have read anything concerning her family you would realise they have a way of inspiring loyalty.”

  “I know, Silvian. I haven’t had anything to do with the family since Yanka’s death but it doesn’t mean I haven’t checked on them from time to time. Especially concerning Ilya’s writings.” Aramis looked down at Anya and touched her hand lightly.

  “I would’ve loved to have been there when you saw her for the first time. I bet you would have panicked no end,” Silvian commented. “She looks like a Little Yanka through and through. Hopefully that is where the similarities end.”

  “She is nothing like Yanka. She is kind, though she tries to hide it. She’s smart and is completely unaware of the way she draws people to her.” He would never tell Silvian how much he cared for the sleeping girl. Silvian was grinning at him as if he knew anyway. Aramis had forgotten how annoyingly perceptive he was.

  “Do I detect emotional stirrings?” Silvian asked innocently.

  “Has anyone ever told you that you look like a Babylonian rent boy?”

  “Yes, they have, right before they ask me how much I charge. You know better than anyone that old habits die hard when it comes to an immortal’s taste in clothing. The old priests always got the finer things in life. One gets accustomed to dressing appropriately.”

  “A priest? Of what religion? Baal? I’m getting confused. Was that before or after you posed as Pan to get virgins to have sex with you?”

  “Before Pan, although I once pretended to be a priest so I was given virgins to have sex with. Really took the fun out of it after a while.”

  “If only they knew the truth,” Aramis commented.

  “Heaven forbid they ever find out.”

  ***

  Katya felt raw and dirty by the time they got back to Silvian’s mansion. The things she had seen that night would haunt her for a long time. It had been worse than Paris, and like Paris, they had set the place on fire as they left. Every room on the top floor of the ördög’s nest had revealed another monstrosity. Huge family trees had been pinned to the walls in one room. The Darkness were searching for magical bloodlines more fiercely than any of them had seen in recent years. They seemed not to have minded that their ördög subjects ate the flesh of the ones that died. Isabelle snapped photos of their research on her iPhone for future study. Bodies of innocents had been piled into a freezer for further experimentation, or like the girl on the wooden table, a fresh meal.

  “What did they mean by demon hunter? I think they mistook us for someone else,” Katya said to Isabelle after they had all piled into the car. “I have never met a demon hunter. I didn’t think one could ever exist.”

  “There is only one person I have ever met that went after demons,” Isabelle replied and absently rubbed her shoulder. “I might have to see if he is still alive.”

  Katya shed her gear as soon as she got to her room. She pulled off her bloody, smoky clothes and dumped them into the bathroom bin. Climbing into the empty tub, she turned on the taps to let the hot water pool around her. She wrapped her arms tightly around her knees and started to cry. No matter what terrible things she had seen there was always something worse. Whatever event competed with tonight would be truly horrifying.

  Trajan had been back to his complete human form by the time they had left and Katya had a hard time looking at him. She couldn’t deny that the creatures he had killed had deserved a painful death but she didn’t expect Trajan to be that ruthless. He hadn’t been mad enough to open the Hell realms again which Katya was grateful for.

  It wasn’t only female prisoners that they had found in the building. They had found plenty of men cut and tortured beyond recognition. Katya was doing her best to squeeze the images of nailed bodies and sliced genitalia from her mind. She had torched the top floors and pulled the fire alarm in the restaurant downstairs on the way out. The others didn’t stop her. They were all sick and disgusted. They left none alive because evil like that didn’t deserve a second chance.

  When a large warm hand rested between her shoulder blades a short time later, Katya didn’t jump. She was cold and numb from her heart out.

  “Go away, I don’t want you to see me like this,” she sobbed and covered her face. She heard a rustle of clothing hit the tiles before Izrayl climbed into the bath behind her. He didn’t say anything as he stretched his legs out on either side of her. After a couple of minutes, he started to gently sponge her back and shoulders soothingly but it didn’t stop the images from battering her head.

  Izrayl leaned forward and wrapped his big arms around her making her feel safe and protected. His acceptance of her in such a weak moment relaxed her enough that she could lean back into his body and let herself be comforted.

  Chapter Three- Lazarus Trick

  “You’re serious? Yanka is alive? Yanka?” Yvan stressed. Aramis had called a meeting so they were all sitting in one of Silvian’s opulent lounge rooms looking exhausted from their long night.

  Aramis placed the file on the coffee table. “It’s all there if you don’t believe me.”

  “This explains why Anya has had so many dreams about her,” Trajan commented as he sifted through some of the file notes. Most of the documentation was the experiments they had done. “This will infuriate Anya when she wakes.” All were in agreeance of the plan to recruit Aleksandra’s help in retrieving Anya’s spirit from the dream world.

  “I can contact Aleki,” Katya said, “I will try to link with her tonight.” She looked edgy and frustrated. Hamish had told Aramis about what they had found above the restaurant, it had been harrowing for
all of them. Aramis felt guilty for dropping this onto their shoulders so soon afterward. Silvian had been right about telling them, no secrets were welcome among such a group. Aramis needed them more than they knew. They were the perfect group to plan Yanka’s rescue mission. If anyone could do it, they could.

  “I will send a copy of this to Harley and Fox and see what they can turn out. Hopefully they can get specs of the area or at least a more precise location.” Isabelle was looking at the photos. “So much for the Illumination being the good guys.”

  “Imagine how it makes me feel. I was highly ranked and even I had no idea that they were capable of such atrocities,” Aramis shook his head.

  “They wouldn’t be so stupid as to reveal this to you. They knew you were close to Yanka,” Silvian said, earning himself a poisonous glance from Aramis. He didn’t want to divulge his personal life if he didn’t have to. Everyone was looking at him expectantly.

  “Yes, I knew her. You can all stop looking at me like that.”

  “That is why you were so interested in Anya,” Trajan said coldly. “She is a lovely young substitute for Yanka.”

  “My interest in her has always been honourable, Trajan. I wanted to help and protect her.” Trajan’s posture relaxed only slightly.

  “We are all on the same page now. Look through the file. If you have any contacts like Isabelle, call them but be as discreet as possible. We don’t want the whole world to know that she is alive. If you think the fight we have over Anya is bad it is going to be nothing compared to the one that will be over Yanka.”

  “Or for them both,” Yvan murmured.

  In the last few weeks, Yvan had waited for Anya to wake as eagerly as the others. The firebird had no answers for him. Yvan had taken to holding her hand for long periods of time, slowly feeding the firebirds heat into her. He sat next to her now and brushed her hair back from her face.