Phoenix

Healing

They charged through the forest and onto the dusty field above the Phoenix House cave. All the while, Ash stared at her feet and bit her lip until it drew blood. They didn't stop until they were past the smoking coal seams, up a hill and drawing closer to the sound of trilling crickets. Ash was so distracted, she walked straight into Eli when he came to an abrupt halt on the outer edge of the field.

She looked up and gasped. The landscape recessed into a valley where a lagoon spread out before them, glistening under the late night stars, the molten surface the same colour as Eli's eyes. A wooden canoe parted long tufted reeds along the boundary, its hull reminding Ash of the careful craftsmanship of Shorty's boats. The tingling in her hands subsided as she remembered flying across the ocean on that journey that seemed so long ago now.

And then she saw something else that made the fire recede altogether.

As the moon passed behind a cloud, the scene, momentarily, went pitch. There she saw it, a yellow-green glimmer in the trees next to the water, so faint at first, she thought she must've imagined it. But as the pitch continued, it grew brighter and brighter until the whole lake seemed to be lit up by thousands of pulsating lights. Her hand flew to her mouth and she pointed.

"Fireflies," Eli whispered.

They stood and stared until eventually, Eli moved towards the canoe. She stumbled after him, trying to walk and watch the spectacle at the same time.

He helped her aboard, steadying the hull with one hand while his other grazed her waist as she wobbled to her seat. Using a long stick attached to the keel of the boat, they slid out onto the water. A cool breeze lifted the fire from her skin—the only place that didn't cool was the spot on her waist where Eli had touched her.

They reached at the centre of the lagoon and Eli let down the anchor. "Better?" he asked.

She nodded, having forgotten all about her loss of control. They watched the fireflies until Eli turned turned and said, "I brought you here because there's something you need to know." Reaching into his robe, he retrieved another, smaller poster from his pocket, one he hadn't shown the others. "I wanted to make sure we were away from everyone before you heard it."

Ash immediately felt sick. "Why?"

Eli took a deep breath. His hands gripped the page so tightly, she could see the white of his knuckles. "They know about the boy," he said.

Ash sat very still. She'd experienced so much shock lately, she couldn't feel anything anymore. Eli unrolled the poster and read—

Wanted: Valancia Asher

A brown-haired, brown-eyed girl

Thought to be known as Val

Cuts on her upper left arm

Height: approx. 155 cm

Outcast and orphan

Unemployed

Twenty-one years of age

Believed to be armed

Last seen in the Entertainment District

Undermining business owners and

Establishment authorities

Have you seen her? Contact us

Anonymous calls will be accepted

Incentives have never been higher

Reward: Informants will be upgraded to Elite citizen status

She stared at the words on the page, noting her brother's name at the bottom. She scanned the words again, noting how they didn't sit right. Something about the way they were arranged was clunky, inefficient and kept drawing her eye. And the name—Valancia. The descriptions were, undoubtedly, of her and yet, the name was wrong. Either there'd been a lucky typo, or something more was going on behind these posters. If Jai had, in fact, written them, surely he would've known they were referring to her. But he couldn't have changed her name without being found out. And if the Establishment knew who she really was, they would've arrested Jai for being her brother. It didn't make sense.

"How did they find out?" she said.

"Found the body, I assume. I was in a rush. I must've left traces..."

Ash shuddered. She didn't want to know what he meant by 'traces.'

Eli continued, "They must've questioned the orphanage, then matched your file to a description supplied by the Madame."

The only plausible explanation was that the Establishment truly thought her name was Valencia. And the only plausible way that could've happened was if the orphanage had supplied them a different name. But why would they have done that?

Then it struck her.

Amerie.

Amerie was Emmeline Wilson's daughter. Ashalia had helped Amerie escape from Sinderella's Palace on the night she'd accidentally dropped hot coals on the Director. Could it be that Ms Wilson had changed her name in the records to protect her? It seemed unlikely, but then what other explanation was there? She rubbed her temples. Her brain was beginning to hurt.

"It's a nice name, Valancia," Eli said.

It was the last thing she expected him to say at that moment. And it was something she wasn't about to correct. She couldn't have anyone on the island knowing it was her brother who was writing those posters. So, she whispered, "Thanks."

They sat in silence again, each lost in their own thoughts. And as the clouds cleared and the moon diminished the light of the glowworms, Ash shivered. "Does Freia know about me?" she asked.

Eli shook his head. "Nobody knows about the boy except you and me."

Nobody except Miki, Gunner, Shorty, you and me knows how Lydia Syntra died, Ash mentally added. Nobody knows about Jai. Nobody knows who I really am.

It was all too much. The secrets and the lies were tangling around her and pulling poison ivy tight. The air crackled. She couldn't breathe. Eli leaned forwards and took her hands in his and it felt as though she was holding an electric fence.

He didn't tell her to calm down, didn't tell her to think happy thoughts. Instead, he told her to, "Let it out."

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*~*

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