Equinox (Book One of the Firebird Chronicles) WATTY AWARD HIDDEN GEM WINNER 2015

Chapter Twenty Two: Submerged

A/N: Hi there! Hope you like the media for this chapter, it's underwater photography which inspired me to write a certain scene in this chapter! ;) Let me know what you think xx

'She truly is the Opal heir,' Iggy breathed, 'the city has welcomed her home.'

It was a strange, undeniable thing; I stared hard at the life that now grew from the ground, the wind that stirred the dead debris from their resting place. It was my doing. I could be in no doubt that I was not only an Angel, but one that had been from nobility.
Once the shock and dumbfounded silence had settled, Sakura suddenly grabbed my wrist and beckoned to the others to move.

'We have to get out of here!' She said urgently, 'Run!'

She began to charge, dragging me along the now-green field. Iggy scooped up Valkyrie into his arms, being careful to only touch her clothes, and Kirsten was trailing after them.

'Why? Why are we running?' Kirsten cried, but I had a feeling I knew the answer.

'I just reawakened a city that has been gone for eighteen years,' I said, jogging faster to keep up with Sakura's speed. She had such long legs that seemed to whirl as she ran, her footsteps light along the gravel. She carried her bow at the ready with grace and ease, like a huntress pacing through her forest. We were not so lucky; Iggy looked bright red, Kirsten was huffing, and my sword was hitting my thigh with every step. I was certain I would have more bruises from the journey than if I'd had an actual fight.

'She's just announced to the enemy that she's back!' Iggy hooted, and Sakura gave him a silencing glare.

'Our duty is to protect Lumina,' she said, calling out behind her. 'This is a grave situation. It is no laughing matter. Keep moving!'

'Do we need to move quite so quickly?' Kirsten looked exhausted. 'I'm offering to stay behind as bait if it means I can have a rest.'

'Fool! Do you think they will take kindly to this?' Sakura looked fierce for someone normally so quiet and demure. I think it was her urgency that kept the group running.

'They will know about Lumina sooner than you think,' Sakura said, 'possibly even already. If they catch us, we are all dead, no doubt about it. But if they catch one of us? They would wish that they had been killed. Traitors to this kingdom are never dealt with kindly.'

Kirsten's mouth snapped shut. She looked as if she were going to protest, but thankfully, didn't. Luckily there was no time to change her mind either, because Sakura had made it back to the wagon and was unsheathing a knife from her belt. We reached her only moments later, but she was already kneeling by the water's edge. I hadn't looked properly before, but the road the wagon was on forked because of a rocky cliff face, carving a jagged course behind the stream that followed around it.

Inside the wagon, a familiar head poked out from the door. Clae groggily blinked at us.

'Wher'd you go?' she said, her head lolling as she fell back into the wagon. The stare Kirsten gave her could have killed a casual passerby that happened to get in the crossfire.

We all jumped as Sakura, ignoring Clae's interruption, using the knife, sliced across her palm with a shallow cut without even flinching, and dripped the few drops of blood into the pool of water below.
We all watched as she stood back, and the blood that dissipated into the water, instead of disappearing, began to steam and smoke. The cloud rose from the water, and with curling tendrils carved an archway into the rockface, revealing a gated doorway. Sakura waded out into the water, her clothes swirling at her knees, and knocked upon the door.

'Open up! We are friends of Morwena!'

There was silence.

Sakura knocked again; louder, more urgently. She was furtively glancing around, desperately scanning the air.