Page 29 of Fire Bird

There is another rumble, so violent it brings even Mack to his knees.

Eve jumps down, opening her arms and pushing the crowd of werewolves back too.

At the same moment she screams, the fountain cracks down the middle. It splits in half, the blood and the water flood free. They swell around the wolves’ feet and soak the earth.

The two concrete halves of the fountain fall. They smash into rubble and litter the earth.

Where the fountain stood, a hole has appeared. At first, it is pure black, but then it starts to glow. Like someone has lit a fire beneath it.

“Are they flames?” I breathe, crawling forward on my hands and knees.

“Nova,” Mack whispers. “She’s coming.”

We stagger to our feet, clutching one another, staring, praying. The hole grows wider. Then it becomes a crack. There is a sound—like the entire world is breaking—and the hole becomes a crater. The earth splits open. The gash widens and spreads. It is moving toward us. Sam and I leap to one side as Mack, Luther, and Kole leap to the other.

It continues through the woods. Trees fall. Roots heave and split. Fire burns beneath it. The ground becomes hot beneath my feet. When I pull Sam away, a rumble fills the air. Like thunder laced with ash.

“Nova,” I whisper.

“Not Nova,” Sam looks at me. A tear rolls down his cheek. “Him.”

17

THREE WEEKS LATER

SAM

“I’m going to look for him again.” I take one last sip of Rev’s rancid tea and wrinkle my nose.

Sarah shakes her head at me. “Sam, no. It’s not safe.”

“Nowhere is safe.” I pull my dark hoodie on and head for the window. Luther has to move his legs, stretched out in front of him while he sits in Rev’s armchair, so I can get past. On the couch, Tanner is sleeping. His face is cast in an eerie red glow. Red from the sky outside, which still looks like it is stained with blood.

“There are three hours until sunset. Most of them will be in hiding.”

“Most, not all.” Luther stands up and takes a lighter from his pocket. He flicks it open and stares at the flame, making it swell and darken.

“Luther, I said no flames.” In the doorway of the bedroom, Rev folds her arms. Her injured hand is now bandage-free, but the scar is deep and ugly. “Sam? Where are you going?” She notices I’ve got my shoes on, and her tone hardens.

“I have to look for him. I can’t just leave him out there.”

“Mack will come back when he wants to come back,” she sighs.

“If he wants to come back,” Luther adds.

“When Layla took her own life, he went missing for weeks. He came back eventually.” Rev moves into the living room, her jewelry unsettlingly bright and yellow against the scarlet hue of the walls.

“Yeah, well,” Luther snaps, “Phoenix Falls wasn’t the living, breathing definition of hell on Earth back then.”

Outside, the street is deserted. Before the S.D.B. and the Army sealed us off, anyone with an ounce of sense fled. Those who remain are either quivering in their homes or trying to ingratiate themselves with the demons who are running riot.

“It’ll never leave me,” I say, glancing at Luther. “The sounds they made when they crawled out of the earth.”

Luther swallows hard. “It’s his face,” he says. “I see it when I close my eyes.”

“I see nothing.” Tanner mumbles as he sits up. His legs are splayed and he leans forward onto his knees. “Just darkness.”

“Well, I see a bunch of guys who’ve lost hope.” Rev strides into the middle of the room and puts her hands on her hips. “What the fuck happened to you all?”