Phoenix Ashes Master

by Anne, Melody

  “I don’t trust you. You’re just like them, like the men who killed my dad and took my big sister. All of you are bad. My dad made me promise to protect my family, and that’s what I’m doing,” he shouted back as he raised the gun a bit higher.

  “I don’t want to hurt you. Please don’t make me do it. I know you’re scared. You’ve been smart not to trust anyone, but I’m telling you we’re not the enemy. We’ve secured the base about five miles from here. Gather your family and come back with us. We have plenty of food and supplies, warm beds, and safety. Let us help you.”

  The boy’s eyes widened at her words, hope springing in their depths, then he hardened his face and glared at Cassidy, before switching his gaze to the truck and catching hold of Phoenix’s stare.

  “My dad said not to trust anyone. He said even our soldiers were corrupt now — that everyone is bad,” he shouted, but his voice held less suspicion. He wanted to believe that what Cassidy was saying was true. He wanted to lean on someone else instead of being the one to hold his family’s safety on his own small shoulders.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Why?” he asked.

  Cassidy just waited as she looked him square in the eyes, not moving forward and startling him, but not backing down, either.

  “Andy,” he finally conceded.

  “Andy, I want to help you — that’s what we do at our base. We have over a thousand people there, some who were there from the beginning, but most of them are people we’ve rescued, who’ve been in hiding just like you and your family. Aren’t you tired of living like this? Let us help you. Look at me, Andy. I don’t have any weapons on me. I’m going to turn in a circle real slow so you can see I’m not hiding anything behind my back, okay?” Cassidy told him before she slowly spun around.

  When she turned back to face him, Phoenix watched as his gun lowered again, but she also noticed that he still didn’t release his grip on it.

  “Please, Andy, my tummy hurts. I want food,” a young girl’s voice whispered, causing Phoenix and Sadie to search the area. Andy looked down in panic before shushing the girl.

  “Quiet, Tia,” he whispered, though his words carried on the wind over to them.

  “But— ” Her words were cut off.

  “No!” He then turned to Cassidy. “We’re fine just how we are. I’ll stop shooting, but you need to go away. Don’t come back, either. We need that food,” he said bravely. Phoenix could hear the fright in his voice and wanted to step in and insist he come with them. She didn’t want to leave behind the frightened boy and his family, especially the little girl she hadn’t caught a glimpse of yet. By Cassidy’s agitated movements, she felt the same.

  Their camp was strict on the rules, not forcing anyone to come with them. They offered food and shelter, but they didn’t insist. If they dragged people in, it would make an unpleasant experience for all of them. They’d have to start sleeping with one eye open.

  “I can’t make you come with us, Andy, and I won’t try to force you. I’m sorry you’re choosing to stay, though, when we can help. If you change your mind, just head in this direction and you’ll find us,” Cassidy said with a world of trepidation in her tone.

  “Wait!” A woman’s voice called before she appeared beside her son. “I’m sorry, so very sorry about this. We’ve been hiding for a long time and my son . . .” She broke off as a sob claimed her voice. She paused a moment and pulled herself together before continuing.

  “My son has had to grow up too fast. We’re all extremely leery of strangers. I have two children to care for and we’re all starving and too afraid to stay in our home. We’ve been sleeping in the woods in a small tent and scavenging from the homes around here. If there really is a place . . .”

  “The soldiers would’ve shot you by now, Ma’am. I promise we’re not them. We have two guns in the truck, but as you can see, the girls haven’t reached for them. We’re not soldiers. We have trained members at the base who had to become soldiers, but only for protection against the enemy army. We want to save this country, not tear it down,” Cassidy said.

  “We’ll come with you.”

  “Mom!” Andy argued.

  “I’m sorry, son, but we have to trust someone or we aren’t going to make it. Your sister is sick. She needs medicine,” the woman said to her son as her hand reached up and caressed his hair.

  “What if they hurt Tia?” he cried, his voice sounding even younger as he said his sister’s name.

  “I have a feeling we can trust them.”

  “Dad said not to trust anyone,” he insisted.

  “Dad’s been gone for a very long time. He wanted to keep us safe. If he were here with us now, he’d do whatever he had to do to keep Tia safe. You kids were his life.”

  “What if Rachel comes back and we aren’t here?”

  “Oh, Andy, nothing would bring me more joy than to have your sister returned to us, but honey, it’s been a year, a full year. Those men who took her were bad men. We can only pray she’s still alive and we’ll see her again. We will probably have a better chance of that happening if we get some help,” his mother pleaded.

  “Okay,” the boy sobbed as he threw his arms around his mother.

  “Can I help you with anything?” Cassidy offered, still not taking steps in any direction.

  “No. This is hard for us. We’re coming down. We don’t really have anything to gather. Even this gun has only a few bullets left.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “I’m sorry. After my son shooting at you, and then not even bothering to introduce myself, you probably think we’re horrible people. My name is Ruth, Ruth Prater. You’ve met my son, Andy. My daughter, Tia, is right below us. We’re going to come out now,” Ruth said as she moved back in the brush and the gap closed.

  Phoenix figured they had to have some sort of ladder leading up to the platform because a few moments later, the three of them stepped from the woods. The boy was clutching the gun to his chest, but not pointing it at them. Ruth was holding her terribly skinny daughter against her hip. The little girl was clutching a filthy green bunny in her arms as she gazed toward Cassidy with wide brown eyes in dark hollow sockets.

  The entire family looked like nothing more than skin and bones, but that was a sight Phoenix was used to. So many who came to them showed the wounds of war all across their bodies. They were defeated — as all the survivors were. After being in the camp for a while, they started to get their color back, along with their confidence. Next, a look of hope would appear in their eyes. The transformation was something to behold — a miracle in itself.

  War might be ravaging the world, but in their little base, they felt safe for the first time in years. It was a life-changing experience.

  “I’m sorry I shot at you,” the boy mumbled as he approached them, his body trembling, still not convinced it wasn’t a trap.

  “You were trying to keep your family safe, Andy. I understand that. I try to keep my family safe too,” Cassidy told him. “Put your gun in the back of the truck. It will fit along the side there, next to the bags. Your mom can get your sister in the truck and then we can all go back to base and get you a hot meal and find out how to help your little sister.”

  “O-okay,” he stuttered. He finally released his grip on the gun as his mom and sister climbed into the back seat of the truck. If it was a trap, he knew they were all dead now, and that was a lot of burden on a small boy’s shoulders.

  “We’ll be there in no time at all,” Cassidy said as she jumped in the driver’s seat. It was a silent ride home as Phoenix and Sadie faced forward so not to frighten their new passengers. Ruth kept her children locked tightly against her as she absorbed the warmth from the blowing heater and tried to hide her fear.

  Chapter Six

  *** Jayden ***

  Jayden shot through the night into the forest, knowing John was right behind him. The gunfire and firebombs were coming from human
soldiers, not immortals — making the threat easy to eliminate.

  “I got one,” Ben called seconds before a shot sounded to Jayden’s right. He quickly moved farther away, trying to decide the best position to place himself so he could protect his team. No one would get hurt on his watch — it was unforgivable.

  He saw John disappear into a tree, wishing he could do the same. With Ben on his heels, it wasn’t possible, though, as it left the young man too vulnerable. Instead, he kept moving, holding out his arm when the two of them neared a bend, signaling Ben to stop.

  “Quiet. They’re right around this bend, hiding behind that outcrop of boulders,” Jayden warned his teammate.

  “Can you see them?” Ben asked as he strained his eyes in search of anything indicating their enemy’s whereabouts.

  “No, but I hear them whispering,” Jayden answered. Ben didn’t argue. Jayden always was the first to hear the enemy approaching.

  Jayden studied Ben, who was one of the larger members of their team, sporting wide shoulders and sleek muscles, giving him an unusual strength for his age. Though he was only twenty years old, he had a lifetime of experience in his short years. His dark brown eyes and shaggy copper hair gave an appearance of innocence that fooled many of their enemies. They took his looks as a sign of weakness, giving him the extra seconds needed to take them out.

  It wasn’t that any of their team members enjoyed killing — they knew it was either the enemy’s life or their own. It stopped being a hard decision after years of fighting.

  Jayden put his finger over his lips as he listened to John moving above them as the enemy started to shift closer, their weapons still firing toward the ravaged streets of the city. His team was safe, keeping themselves protected as they fired back.

  As the sound of the approaching soldiers grew louder, Ben finally heard them and stiffened. He knew one false step on the dry leaves at his feet could cost him a bullet to the head, so he stayed motionless behind a large tree.

  Two men cautiously moved into the open as they prepared to ambush Jayden’s team. Their bodies were on alert, their shoulders hunched, weapons pointed forward as they surveyed their surroundings, keeping their eyes on the trail, scanning for any movement. They had no idea they were about to take their last breaths. Jayden turned to glance in Ben’s eyes. His friend nodded before lifting his gun and looking down the night scope, targeting the first man.

  Without hesitation, his finger squeezed inward twice, the weapon only moving the smallest fraction as bullets raced out, and a second later, the two men dropped to the ground.

  The next few minutes were a whirl of activity as their enemy realized they’d been spotted. They tried to retreat, but John quickly boxed them in by surprising them from behind.

  The rest of Jayden’s team rushed into action and they were trapped. The difference between Jayden’s team and the enemy — they always gave the other guys a chance to surrender. If they stopped firing and threw down their weapons, they’d take them as prisoners instead of killing them. It had only happened once so far.

  “Drop your weapons and we won’t shoot,” Jayden called out.

  A few heads turned in his direction, eyes darting wildly, searching, guns still in hand and ready to go off.

  The only answer was the firing of their guns as they aimed in the direction of Jayden's voice. Jayden sighed, realizing more lives would have to be taken in the early dawn of a new day.

  His team knew what to do, and though none of them relished killing the dozen men trying to take the lives of Jayden's team, they opened fire. Smoke from the gunfire swirled up into the cold morning air, entwining with the lingering fog that clung to the ground as if reluctant to depart the shadows of the forest.

  Cries rang out as the enemy troops fell, all refusing to drop their weapons, fighting to the last breath. When it was apparent they weren’t going to win, a couple of them tried to retreat, diving to the side of the small clearing, but still firing their weapons, hoping to take out their targets with a wild shot.

  Jayden realized long ago that bullets made many different sounds, depending on what they were sinking into. It was a sort of dull thwack, with a lot of crackling when a tiny bullet hit a tree, diving within its solid surface. Hitting a rock created a shattering noise, as if the seemingly indestructible material crumbled beneath the bullet’s force.

  By far, the worst sound was when a bullet struck flesh. Hitting the skin, Jayden could hear the tearing of the fragile protection a mortal wore, their skin seemingly so tough to them, but in a bullet’s path, it showed its true weakness. The noise was a splashing sound as the deceivingly small ball tore through the mortal’s arteries, wading around as if taking an afternoon swim. As it reached the bone, there was a crunching noise as the bullet took pleasure burrowing into a new home. Rarely did a bullet pass clear through its victim, usually liking to lodge in a vital organ or a once-strong bone.

  Jayden would never forget that terrible opus of noises as they came together to end a mortal life. It wasn’t something he liked hearing or thinking about as he tried to sleep, but it would stay with him for all time. He only hoped people would make better choices in their afterlife, though experience had taught him an evil man was still evil, no matter which realm he resided in.

  The screaming of the dying soldiers began to fade as their lives ebbed and the last of them fell to the ground. A single soldier writhed on the cold soil as he clung to life, blood oozing from a fatal wound in his chest.

  Jayden and his team slowly approached the man, checking for weapons as they stepped forward.

  “If you surrender, we can see if our medic can help you,” Jayden said, not liking to see the man in so much pain, even if it was their enemy.

  The soldier glared up at him, before his lips quirked up in a mocking smile.

  “You will die — all of you — and your deaths won’t be as quick as mine. We’ll never surrender,” the man whispered before coughing, sending a spray of blood into the air.

  With those final words, his body relaxed as life left him, his evil eyes still looking straight at Jayden. A shudder ran through him, because he knew the enemy was right — he had zero doubt the soldiers would keep fighting, keep coming after them. Their lives meant nothing to them — they only lived to serve evil.

  “Steve, Todd, and Dan, secure the area and keep an eye out. The rest of us will take care of the bodies,” John said as he pulled himself together.

  The team silently gazed down at the still forms before them, trails of blood coating the ground, pooling as their lifeless mortal shells cooled. They knew what to do, but it was never pleasant, never something they looked forward to.

  Some of the fallen men were sightlessly staring up at the brightening sky, while others were lying face down against the ground. A couple of them had been hit so hard their limbs were almost severed. War wasn’t pretty — it wasn’t cut and dry like in the movies. When the battle was over, the job wasn’t done. They didn’t just get to walk away and forget about the dead. They had an obligation to take care of their remains. They’d never turn into the monsters their enemy were.

  Wordlessly, the men started pulling the bodies into a pile away from the trees. They gathered rocks to secure the circle, and then covered the dead in dry foliage before lighting the mass. The team moved back, the smell of burning flesh too horrific to stay near.

  When they were sure the flames wouldn’t spread to the rest of the forest, they moved out, not wanting to witness the loss of more human lives evaporating into the air. Too many had been lost already. It felt as if it would never end.

  Mortals had a different sense of time than a being who could live a nearly endless life. But even in the supernatural world, there was death. Nobody was truly immortal. Saying that, the end of a mortal existence wasn’t the end. All life moved forward. Death wasn’t an ending. It was just the start of a new life.

  Even knowing this, there was an instinct to survive. Mortals
all knew their current circumstances, even if they didn’t love what they were. The unknown was too much for many people. What if they were wrong? What if the end was truly the end?

  Jayden had started out a mortal, a very susceptible mortal. He’d been saved by the magic world. But what had he truly been saved for? Was it this? Was it to savagely take weaker lives? He didn’t want to think so, but how could he think differently?

  He was losing his faith the longer he fought an enemy that should have never become one. It was a world war for sure, but here in the land of the free, it had become a civil war as well. Jayden knew what made mortals special was their uniqueness and individuality. No one wanted to live in a world where everyone was exactly the same.

  But no one wanted to live in a world full of hate either. It was hard to know what was good and what was bad anymore. Jayden hoped he’d figured it out sooner rather than later. He hoped for his own sake, and the sake of those he loved.

  Chapter Seven

  *** Vyco ***

  Vyco smiled with pleasure. It was a good day. His whispering temptations had not only been heard but followed better than he’d predicted. He’d known it was his time for glory — his chance to prove to Josiah once and for all how pathetic mortals truly were.

  Evil thrived in this new world earth had become. Josiah was speaking with the council, but Vyco had been careful. He’d obeyed the rules of their game. His demons were causing chaos, but Josiah’s followers were interfering as well. How many had Josiah lost now? Vyco’s numbers were growing as Josiah’s precious followers ceased to exist.

  The enticement of evil overruled people’s so-called morality. Why live with rules when you could be free to do whatever you wanted? The battle between good and evil had always been fought. Neither side would succeed without the other. Good needed something to believe in, and evil needed something to rule over. It was Vyco’s perfect example of yin and yang.