Northstar: The Phoenix Enigma, #4

By Jay Aspen

A daring escape. Hidden dangers. And the enemy draws nearer.

 

Jac and Bel escape to the frozen Ice Islands, where Jac discovers terrifying new depths to her abilities––and learns the joyful new skill of falconry…

 

And then Raine is faced with a bitter choice; protect his people or rescue the woman he loves.

Northstar is the fourth book in the Phoenix Enigma series, the near-future dystopian epic from Jay Aspen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sandfire Publishing Ltd
• Release date: May 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201410919

Jay Aspen

Jay writes from experiences in wilderness travel and extreme sports; snow peaks in the Andes, big walls in Yosemite and Baffin Island, sailing the Irish sea to photograph puffins and dolphins. A science degree and training with Himalayan shamans led to an interest in bio-psychology. She lives in the wild Welsh Borders, sings jazz, rides horses.

Book preview

Maps

Future Britain

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1

Jac gunned the stolen jeep as fast as she dared on the crumbling road surface, fearing that too much jolting would put the heavily repaired military vehicle out of action altogether. Trying to cover any distance across rough country on foot was not an option with Kit still recovering from the bomb blast. He needed time and rest to regain his former strength and this wild, lurching escape was rapidly making things worse.

Jac glanced across at Bel. She was asleep, her long legs scrunched into the minimum space remaining since she had moved the passenger seat forward to make more room for the two in the back. Jac envied the way the experienced ranger could use every opportunity to rest and recharge her formidable energy, ready for the next battle.

Her own mind was still too hyped from their recent escape to even think about sleep and she held back from relinquishing her turn at the wheel. Part of her focus was running hasty calculations, knowing from years of navigating neglected roads that this route would be seriously unforgiving for night driving.

How much distance have we already put between ourselves and the military base? And how many more miles can we cover in the remaining hours of daylight?

It was inevitable that more armed vehicles would soon be redeployed and sent in deadly pursuit.

By the time the windswept reeds of the eastern salt marshes had given way to flat scrubland and scattered stands of windblown trees, they had already passed several road junctions. Jac made a wild guess at the best direction and opted for straight ahead before passing the map tablet back over her shoulder.

By the way people, where are we going? Apart from heading away from that compound in a hurry.

Fin was wedged in the back seat of the jeep where she had been treating Kit’s cracked ribs with the psi-neuropulse device. She handed the psi to her patient for safekeeping and reached forward to grab the map, giving a hiss of pain as her bandaged fingers connected with the tablet.

Give me a minute to check. I’ve only been over to this side of the country once in the last few years.

Jac glanced at Fin in the rear-view mirror, watching the elderly medic study the maps.

Calm, controlled, thoughtful. As always.

Fin had a quiet assertiveness that made everything sound so matter of fact in spite of their precarious situation. Jac found her mentor’s offhand manner reassuring, especially now Fin had quietly, unofficially, taken over the lead since the IED in the market had left Kit recovering from concussion as well as damaged ribs.

As if she’s simply taking us on a plant-hunting expedition instead of running for our lives with who knows how many guns behind us.

Fin handed back the tablet. I don’t think we can head directly west to get to the Tarn, even though it would be the shortest distance. It would mean crossing the intensive food production acreages in the central zone where we would be easily visible from the air. Not enough tree cover.

Jac instinctively glanced up at the empty sky, half expecting a phalanx of aircraft to appear overhead at any second.

Don’t let anxiety take over from logic...

Fin, I only heard three small planes taking off when we were locked up at that military base.

Not military planes. The crop-patrol drones would spot us before we were even halfway across. Their cameras aren’t only for monitoring the watering and pesticide-spraying. They also track food thieves, and of course any debt-slaves trying to escape from the insolvency hostels. Or we might run into hostel guards.

So we head north?

For now, at least. There’s good tree cover across the line of hills running north-south up the middle of the country. The area is as big as the western forest and it’s mostly uninhabited. We’ve been clear of pursuit for the last few miles. If we can take advantage of that, we might make it.

Jac glanced at the map tablet between pothole-dodging.

And then?

Wait till the military gives up hunting us. Then it’s a reasonable gamble to double back and get home to the Tarn. Or, if we don’t get that chance, we keep heading north.

To the Ice Islands? To Jac it was just a name, an unknown place beyond the reach of her knowledge or experience, apart from a few intriguing seconds of vid that Kit had shown her during the evac from the Warren.

Maybe. If the hunt gets too intense in this part of the country.

I don’t know much about the Ice Islands. I always thought they were frozen and mostly uninhabited. Have you been there, Fin?

A few times, with groups of refugees escaping from the city. The roads are too frost damaged to get military vehicles across, so it’s the safest place to take families with children. And with aviation fuel so scarce and expensive, the military can’t afford to send planes that extra distance. For now, we can focus on the idea of using the forest as cover, then doubling back home if or when things go quiet. The first part of the journey is the same.

Jac gave one last glance at the map and headed for the nearest main road.

North it is then.

*

Raine was pacing, back and forth across his reclaimed office at the Warren farmhouse. At least there was room here to move from one plain whitewashed wall to the other but with four of his rangers still out of contact after their escape, it was small comfort to be back on familiar territory––even if it was preferable to the cramped space he had recently vacated at the Tarn. All his focus was on the people currently beyond his help, over on the east side of the country.

Prime targets for the Avarit military.

He was finding it impossible to disentangle the way he felt about Jac and his anxiety for her safety with his sense of responsibility for what had happened to all four of them. It had been his decision to send them into the city and the market. And yes, his instinct had been right. They had managed to evacuate the crowds before the bomb ripped through the whole area.

But that very success had led to their arrest.

It should have been me, not them. I should have been there.

Raine knew that if Fin were here she would deliver her usual mentoring lecture. This time it would be about how he had been exactly where he needed to be during that op. As commander of the western forest Resistance, it had been his responsibility to oversee the relocation of all hundred and forty rangers from the Warren to the Tarn and to get the place operational in the shortest possible time.

But everything was moving too fast, every future path fraught with flaws and dangers, leaving him trapped in a cycle that only offered bad choices. Fin had already tried and failed to deflect the legacy Avarit rendition had left in him, the survivor guilt that that haunted him, heightening his anxiety about a loved one in danger.

Raine forced himself to stop pacing. It wasn’t helping. Every time there was a respite from immediate demands, Jac’s image would be there in his mind. He could see her running across the clearing outside her farm, chestnut curls blowing across her face, green eyes full of laughter, her elfin body lithe and graceful even in her grey-brown Outlander work clothes...

He wondered why he remembered her as she had looked when he met her, before the rangers’ strict camouflage discipline made her cut and darken her hair, before she exchanged her coarse grey hemp coveralls for a shadowed flak jacket––and weapons for which she had no training and still could not use.

I should never have let her talk me into taking her away from her home. She wasn’t ready to deal with this level of threat before she learned to defend herself...

Raine’s best hope for his missing people lay in what might play out in the next twenty-four hours. Michael Parry’s new promotion to military chief now gave him far greater power within the Avarit system. Power to help the fugitives evade capture a second time––if Raine could persuade him to defy the strict orders from the president to hunt them down and kill them. He had no way of knowing whether the colonel’s sense of obligation for their help would outweigh the lure of enhancing his career and reputation.

And if Parry’s association with a known outlaw is discovered, a ruined career will be the least of his concerns.

Raine’s restless spirit chafed at the need to wait another day for this meeting. Anything could happen by then and none of the possibilities were likely to improve his chances of persuading the colonel to extend their recent truce.

He called Cass at the Tarn and waited impatiently for her to pick up, reflecting that there were disadvantages to having older and more experienced advisers with whom he could talk through problems. When they were no longer immediately available the empty space they left behind was hard to deal with when so many lives were at stake. Not only was Fin out of contact altogether, but Raine’s head of intelligence was still based a day’s journey further north, on the other end of an unreliable analogue link.

This time to his intense relief, Cass took only a few seconds to answer, although her image was little more than the usual fuzzy outline of long honey-brown hair and tanned features.

Raine? What is it now? Second call in as many hours.

I just thought you might have come up with something that might influence Parry, persuade him to be more proactive in getting Jac and the others back here. Something we haven’t explored so far.

Sorry, Raine. The blurry image moved a little. We went through everything I could think of last time you called. You really are the best judge, seeing as you’re the only one apart from Bel who had a chance to actually talk to the colonel face to face. And the key will be in how well and how quickly you can adapt to the way things unfold at this meeting of yours. Provided it isn’t a trap of course.

I’ll scope it out carefully––but I don’t think that kind of deception is the way Parry operates.

Don’t forget, his predecessor issued a kill order on one of his own undercover agents. That kind of system affects everyone in it eventually. If you hadn’t moved that tracker, Luc would already be dead.

Raine repressed a shiver. That episode had come way too close to disaster.

I know... but that’s why so much depends on my getting it right tomorrow––

You’ll be fine. And the warning light is flashing. The link is about to go down again––

The crackle of static drowned anything else Cass might have said as the tenuous analogue connection failed once more.

2

Evening dusk was deepening to night when Jac gave up trying to see potholes in the dark and turned the jeep onto a rough logging road. It was the first sizeable stand of forest they had encountered since crossing this area of scrubland. She parked the jeep well out of sight behind a dense clump of evergreens and hurried round to the far side of the vehicle.

Bel was attempting to get Kit out of the back seat without damaging his ribs even further, using all her height and muscle to support his weight. He was gripping the side of the vehicle, trying to stifle a grunt of pain as Bel carefully eased him to the ground. Jac knelt beside him and ran sensitive fingers across his chest, palpating for additional damage. Nothing seemed to be out of place.

Nothing to explain why he seems to be getting worse instead of better.

She slid her pack under his broad shoulders.

Kit, see if this helps. If you could just get more sleep it might make a difference.

He tried to smile but it was a visible effort through the exhaustion. Thanks, Jac. I’ll expect I’ll be fine in a couple of days.

He looked and sounded a long way from fine but she didn’t comment. Fin climbed out of the jeep, gave Kit a quick appraisal and to Jac’s surprise walked off into the trees with a curt wave that told her to follow. There was always a good reason why Fin did anything, even though it often took a while before the value of it became obvious. Jac left Bel to keep an eye on Kit and hurried to catch up.

Fin? Where are we going?

Fin showed no sign of slowing her pace. I think we’re probably ahead of the hunt until tomorrow, so this could be your last chance to learn a few things that may help keep us all alive. She noticed Jac’s look of alarm. Don’t panic! It’s not combat training. I suspect results in that direction would be insignificant. Relative to time invested, anyhow.

So maybe you could give me some clues, instead of dropping something totally unexpected on me when I’m feeling too tired to be particularly adaptable?

Fin seemed in no mood for going into details.

This is only the first stage. It won’t take long. While we were being transported to that grimy place in the marshes, Kit gave me more information on the truthseer abilities you demonstrated while you were with him and the others in the city.

Jac followed her into the shadowy trees in silence, hurrying to keep up with the relentless pace the wiry medic was setting. There was no point asking any of the dozen questions demanding attention. Not yet, anyhow. She had already learned enough to guess that Fin was simply being careful to prevent her from forming preconceived ideas before launching into something new. One question had already been answered. The subject of the whispered conversation in Illyrian between Fin and Kit in the back of the jeep while they were being taken to the marshes after their arrest.

Jac hadn’t yet had time to learn the reconstructed language the rangers used for covert communications. She had assumed at the time that Fin had been asking Kit about his injuries, trying to discover why he was not recovering as expected for someone who was previously so strong and healthy.

Now it seemed that Kit, as usual, had given priority to the needs of others. Jac hoped he wouldn’t pay too heavy a price with his own slow healing. Whether it was the damaged ribs or the concussion, or some deeper trauma from the bomb blast that they had so far failed to discover, she was starting to fear that this relentless journey would finish him if they failed to find a safe house somewhere.

At last Fin halted in a stand of ash circled by the dominant evergreens on the slope of the low hill. She motioned Jac to sit on a fallen tree and stood beside her, speaking quietly, her instructions edged with her usual assertiveness.

Jac, I can’t say exactly how your gift will develop. Everyone is different. If we aim for a fixed outcome it could limit your potential. So we both need to be open to what happens and be prepared to explore. First, focus on the forest. When you pick up on what I’m doing, go along with it, copy, learn.

Jac steadied her breathing and let her senses align with the pulsing life-force of the surrounding forest. After spending so much time in constant danger in the city, the familiar focus on the shimmering network of connections brought waves of relief washing through her body. After a few moments she could feel Fin’s presence emerging in her mind, more demanding and powerful than her grandfather had ever been even in his more autocratic moods.

She overcame the shock of it and held back her instinct to resist, letting Fin’s direction take her as she cautiously aligned her own concentration with that of her guide. Gradually, she became aware that Fin was calling... something.

Slowly, the snake emerged into her consciousness until she could no longer tell whether she was reading the forest with the mind of human or serpent. The unfamiliar intrusion felt invasive and disturbing but she resisted the urge to break focus and hide from it, telling herself to trust her mentor’s expertise.  Fin would bring her back again, when... what?

I wish I knew where this is going.

Even in the half-light she could see the dark zigzag markings running from head to tail as the adder slithered through the grass at her feet.

Fin stooped and picked it up.

Hold out your hand.

Jac obeyed, steeling herself for the burn the split second before sharp fangs sank into the soft flesh at the side of her palm, while a small but persistent voice at the back of her mind insisted that maybe this was taking trust just a bit too far.

Thank you. Fin was whispering softly to the creature as her fingers expertly released its jaws from Jac’s hand. She set it down, stepping aside as it slithered silently back into the shadows. Almost in the same movement she pricked her finger and dropped a spot of blood on each of Jac’s burning puncture wounds.

Jac looked up hopefully. Does that work as an antidote? The vicious sting of the snake venom was becoming unbearable.

Catalyst. Vaccine. Just enough to guide your own immune system to transmute the poison more quickly than it would on its own. You told me before that your grandfather taught you to work with psychoneuroimmunology techniques. This takes the concept a bit further. Don’t try to ask questions right now. Focus on what is happening inside your body.

Jac found it difficult to obey this time, unwilling to engage with the toxic pain. She desperately wanted to focus elsewhere until it was all over but the presence of Fin’s unrelenting willpower in her consciousness was as compelling as an armlock.

It’s making it worse!

Keep going.

Jac no longer questioned leaving behind the need for words and let herself fall into the poisoned darkness, the clash of chemistry stinging in her veins. Indistinct shapes and feelings and sounds lurked in that darkness and none of them felt good. Worse, the black pit they were pulling her into promised worse to come...

And then it was over. Somehow she had crossed a tipping point as the chain reaction spread through her body like cool water. She felt light-headed and dizzy but Fin was supporting her, steady and reassuring, preventing her from falling off her perch on the tree.

Jac, keep focus on the body-learning. Can you remember how it feels?

I––I think so. Jac absently wiped beads of sweat from her face as she paused for a few moments to go over the microscopic sensations of the catalyst change before they faded. "But what’s it for? If the enforcers catch up with us tomorrow they’re going to be shooting at us, not injecting us with snake venom!"

Fin finally allowed herself a smile and Jac started to relax, sensing or maybe simply hoping that the painful part was over, at least for now. Before releasing her shoulders, Fin checked that she was steady enough to stay upright without collapsing.

You just fast-tracked the way priestesses in some ancient cultures accustomed themselves to increasing doses of venom until they were immune. They used it to see visions of the future.

Is that what I’m supposed to do with it?

No. Unreliable hallucinations aren’t much use to us. It’s the process of transmuting that develops your focus and your control for other purposes. Fin paused, as if knowing the next shred of information might be just a little harder to accept. And it makes it easier to deal with each new poison.

Oh great. You mean I’ve more like that to look forward to?

It gets easier. Fin led the way back to the jeep.

Hmph. I remember Kit saying the same thing about getting shot at after my first day training at the Warren. Hasn’t happened yet.

Fin just laughed.

3

Jac woke suddenly at dawn, terrified and sweating, forcing control into her breathing, calming the panic. It had been a restless night, haunted by strange dreams and images.

I’m glad Fin told me the visions were unreliable. Wouldn’t want any of those disasters to look forward to.

She knew the worst part of the dream was simply playing-out her sense of being separated from Raine while things were so precarious. And yet the empty space felt so real, their relationship forced apart while it was still too new to have grown a resilience.

Will we be able to pick up the threads, when we finally find each other again?

She could remember Raine’s presence with the intensity of their first kiss, the powerful, athletic feel of his body when he held her in his arms, the sound of his voice, soft and vibrant as he whispered in her ear, the way his lips brushed against hers before exploring deeper... and yet now it felt as if even imagination and memory would fade, destroyed by the ever-present danger––

It’s just the snake-venom. It will pass. Get a grip while we’re still in danger.

She filled the water bottles at the stream and hurried back to make sure Kit was staying hydrated, wishing they had better med facilities with them, wishing they knew more about what had happened to him in the blast. He looked no better than he had the previous day, leaning against the front wheel of the jeep, his face drawn and pale under its deep tan. In spite of the way Fin had stepped in with her years of experience and steady judgement, Jac found the loss of Kit’s powerful leader-presence and fight-skills for their small team unnerving. A kind of living proof that the enemy could bring down even the strongest of them.

Fin had taken first and last night-watch and was standing motionless, bow in hand, outlined against the dawn light filtering through the tree canopy far above. She made one last check for any movement beyond the camp before walking over to Jac.

We need to move on soon. This logging road has been used recently otherwise it would be completely overgrown.

Jac checked Kit’s pulse.

All this driving on bad roads is making his condition much worse.

No choice. We have to keep moving. Parry may be able to delay the pursuit for a while, but he can’t call off the hunt completely without his paymasters discovering what he’s up to. It would help if we knew more about what else is happening, but we’re well out of transmission range of the city and we can’t risk trying to contact the Tarn. We could lead the enforcers right to it.

Bel pointed to the largest conifer on the edge of the clearing. Karim showed me a good technician’s trick last year. He got extra power by linking four handsets together and transmitting from as high up a tree as we could take them.

Kit almost managed a smile. Can’t be possible.

What?

Karim actually climbing a tree?

Bel raised an eyebrow. "Come off it, you know what Karim’s like. I climbed the tree, he issued tech instructions. She hesitated. Fin? you know what I’m asking."

"Sure. A