Phoenix

Cave

For an afternoon and evening, a sense of calm washed over Ash. She cooked dinner—damper stuffed with sundried tomatoes and herbs—and didn't even burn the crust. She held a conversation with Apple, Ollie and Jacob without seeing their faces wane behind a heat mirage. She even watched another game of Suits and Secrets, and smiled when Apple dared Ollie to spin around in circles until he could barely keep his feet.

In the middle of a revenge dare in which Ollie made Apple sing Happy Birthday in the style of an opera singer, Oroton walked in. The twinkle in his eye was gone, replaced by a waterlogged dullness. "Everyone is required to meet at the Spiritus tree in ten minutes," he said and Ash immediately felt her quaint pool of calm ripple. She'd forgotten Eli's warning about an imminent threat of a missile attack on the island, and the reminder was a slap to the senses.

The flame inside her flickered.

She subdued it with thoughts of her brother's smile, the steadiness of his touch, the timbre of his voice.

The Spiritus Tree was chosen for its central position between all the houses. Instead of climbing it, they entered through a crack in the bark that Ash hadn't noticed during her lesson with Shorty. It was only the size of a small human and Gunner had the most trouble squeezing through. Ash had more trouble than she would've a month or so ago—the proper meals she'd been enjoying meant she was no longer sinew and bone.

The base of the Spiritus trunk was hollow, the roots forming an exposed scaffold. In the same way the Phoenix dormitories sprouted from a central hollow in the ground, working to the natural pockets of the limestone, so the Spiritus sleeping quarters branched off on all sides, shaped along the complex root system of the tree.

There was just enough room for everyone, with some Wanderers climbing gnarled nooks in the bark to sit and peer down at the gathered crowd. Others hunkered in front of the dormitories, looking back up into the cavernous space.

Eli stood at the centre and waited for everyone to arrive. Freia watched him dazedly, a pink blush appearing on her cheeks every time he looked her way.

Ash concentrated on the knots of bark on the walls to keep her eyes off the waif girl and found herself tracing each tendon in the trunk—years of muscled bark pulled tight over bone—until she became so engrossed, she could imagine the sound of the roots sucking the moisture out of the ground.

Eli began speaking. "I have some concerning news from the city." He turned a slow 360 degrees to address the whole gathering. "As you might already know, Freia and I returned to Ace some weeks ago to resume business at Antiques Trading Incorporated. This—" he leant down to pick up a scroll of paper from the floor, unrolled it and held it up high. "Is what we found, plastered to every shop front, every building, every street corner."

He read—

Attention citizens of Ace

Strange occurrences

Have led us to believe

That a new rebel gang

Have been kidnapping innocent citizens on our streets

Emergency protection lines are to be called if—

You have any information or

Know of any unexplainable disappearances in your area.

Night patrols are now on 24 hour watch

Our number is 1300 Ace

We're here for your protection