His voice was low and exhausted. “Did we send them to their deaths?”
“We didn’t send them. They went because it was a way for them to contribute. It was something they could do. They didn’t want to be spectators in their redemption.” I’d failed them, though. I hadn’t stopped Janan.
Below, he was threading an end of the chain through the bars of the phoenix’s cage. The racket was incredible as he dragged the silver and skeletons, and for the first time, the phoenix under the cloth moved.
“Did you see that?” Sam leaned forward; the bandages slipped on his arm. “What is he doing?”
“The phoenix moved.”
“Why doesn’t it fight?” Sam whispered. “It could fight and free itself.”
“Maybe they drugged it or hurt it. I don’t know.”
“It could burn itself up and start over.”
“Not here.” I shifted closer to Sam. “Can you imagine being in such a vulnerable state? Between lifetimes with your enemies all around you?”
Sam looked at me, and he wasn’t just a boy anymore. He was an oldsoul, one who’d spent a hundred between-lifetimes in Janan’s grasp.
He’d told me once death felt like being ripped from oneself, like being caught in talons or fire or jaws for years until he was reborn. He hadn’t known then that Janan was his enemy, but now he knew. He could refer back to those memories with new light. And new fear.
“The phoenix will let it happen, whatever happens next. Unless more phoenixes come to save it.” How long had it taken the other phoenixes to save the one from five thousand years ago? Hours? Days? Weeks? And what would Janan do with the phoenix? Nothing good, that much was sure. “I want to save it,” I whispered.
Sam’s expression lifted. “Save the phoenix?”
I nodded. “Whatever Janan is doing next, he needs the phoenix. Deborl sent Merton and the others—his best warriors—to find a phoenix and bring it Heart. We couldn’t do anything for it before because we didn’t want to ruin our chance of the poison working, but the poison is gone. Whatever Janan is doing, he’s not done yet, and we’re not dead. We can still do everything in our power to keep him from succeeding.”
Sam smiled. “Yes, we can.”
Below, the chain was threaded all around the phoenix’s cage, and people were grabbing hold of the silver links and dragging the skeletons into loops around the cage.
If Janan had said anything to them, somehow instructed them, I hadn’t heard it. “We need to get closer.”
Sam looked down the side of the building. The slope wasn’t exactly sheer, but it would be difficult to climb, especially since Sam couldn’t feel his arm. He had nerve damage. That was what Rin would have said. It would take months to heal, if it ever did.
I pressed a third bandage against his shoulder and taped them as tightly as I could. “We can’t go straight down. We don’t want them to see us.” Though it seemed unlikely anyone would. They were all staring at Janan, waiting for something.
For a moment, I entertained the idea of staying up here and shooting Janan, but I’d already seen how easily he dismissed dragons. My pistol was no match. And besides, he was immortal. What could possibly hurt him now?
I glanced beyond the city wall one last time, the heavier pyroclasts settling while the ash and lighter particles hung in the air, making Heart seem encased in darkness. Inside the city, dragons rolled and gasped, fighting the ash they’d inhaled. The exploded debris from the temple still shone with templelight, eerie and beautiful against the blackness outside.
Not far from the Councilhouse, I found what I was looking for.
“Come on.” I slung my backpack over my shoulder and helped Sam to his feet. Janan’s people were still arranging the skeletons, so we had a little time. He was immortal. He probably wasn’t in much of a rush.
Sam and I staggered across the rubble-strewn roof until we reached the northern edge.
A dragon looked up, blue eyes foggy with weakness. The ringing in my head was faint, along with Acid Breath’s voice. <We have failed. The song lives on.>
Oh. When they’d dived earlier, they hadn’t been attacking Janan. They’d been going after Sam’s skeleton. If only Janan had known, he probably would have let them.
I held tight to Sam’s arm and spoke to the dragon. “Help us get down.”
<Why?>
“He has a phoenix down there. We’re going to save it.” Oh, such bold words.
<Why do I care about a phoenix?>
“If we save the phoenix, it will ruin whatever plans Janan has. I thought you liked revenge.”
Acid Breath let out a long cloud of ash-choked breath, then lifted his head until his chin rested on the edge of the roof. He drew back his mouth, showing the fangs as long as my forearm. <Hold on.>
Sam looked at me and shook his head. “I’m not holding on to that end.”
“Yes, you are. If he hurts you, I’ll shoot him in the eye.”