Blazing Ashes

by Jadyn Chase

  I let out a deep breath as we made our way up the stairs to the next floor. A familiar face stood out, but not the one I was looking for. Skinner approached me with open arms and that telling creepy smile on his face.

  “Preston!” he practically cheered, “I didn’t think you’d ever break away from duty to come hang with the Skulls. And I definitely didn’t think you’d bring that one with you.”

  Skinner turned to Bart, eyeing him from head to toe and mirroring the same look of disgust, “This isn’t your scene, Bartholomew. I’m sure you can show yourself out. You’re bringing the energy down.”

  “Someone needs to burn this place down,” Bart replied with a slight growl.

  “Now fellas,” I stepped between them, “Let’s not have a go around like last time. No one wins. Skinner, you know who I’m here for. Where is she?”

  He grinned maniacally before tugging on a chain that I didn’t realize he was holding. He yanked the girl forward placing her in front of him. She looked visibly shaken. The first one I’d seen since I arrived. Skinner stuck out his long tongue, dragging it from her shoulder, along her collarbone, and just under her chin before stopping to whisper in her ear, “Where is our royal guest?”

  She shrunk away from him, her voice trembling, “Um… top floor… Mig’s playroom.”

  Skinner licked her lips with a smile, “Thank you, my Darling. You will be rewarded handsomely.”

  “Thanks, I think,” I shuttered thinking about what he could possibly do to reward any Anthro. “Mind if I go up?”

  Skinner bowed slightly with his arms spread out wide, “Be my guest. But please, do behave, and don’t eat anyone, Bart.”

  “I wouldn’t puke on anything in here,” Bart replied.

  “We have a fluid room for things like that if you’re actually interested,” Skinner said in jest, at least I hoped he was joking.

  We pushed passed more people and climbed another set of stairs. I don’t know how Anthros did this every day without wings. Then again, living in the Towers had made me a bit lazier than I was ready to admit.

  The top floor didn’t have a roof. It barely had walls. I could see the appeal of partying under the stars. Even without the roof, there were rooms separated by walls. While no one could actually see what was going on, sound traveled. It was then that I heard the voice of who I’d been searching for.

  “Mig! This is gross! I don’t want to do this!” Lorna shouted.

  Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell what room she was yelling from, so I trailed her voice.

  “Then leave Lorna,” Mig replied back more casually than I expected, “I never invited you to this thing to stay tucked underneath my wings. I need to fly free, Babe. You should know that by now.”

  “If I leave, I’m not coming back,” Lorna threatened.

  “Sure you will, Princess,” he laughed, “I’m Mig.”

  The opening of a door and sound of it slamming shut told me I wouldn’t have to wait long before seeing her. Something, or rather someone, stopped her mid-stride. She was only a few steps away from me when a big brute of a Scaler stepped between us. His hair was black, pulled back into a ponytail. His leathered wings fit snugly around his shoulders as he squared them.

  “Excuse me,” Lorna said more politely than I would have.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked her. “Who do you belong to?”

  “Belong to? I don’t belong to anyone! Now move out of my way!” she commanded.

  Bart nudged my arm. We both guessed what was coming next. The only one who couldn’t was Lorna.

  3

  Lorna

  I could have sworn I just saw Preston, but he wouldn’t be caught dead at one of these parties. The behemoth of a jerk standing in front of me, however, looked like he enjoyed the shift in things a bit more than others. He had to be the biggest Onyx Skull I’d ever seen. At least Mig was ripped, muscular, and handsome … this guy … an ox with a hairy chest dripping in sweat wearing nothing but his wings and tight leather pants. The stench of whatever he was drinking seeped out of his pores and even appeared to drip into his matted ponytail.

  “Please move,” I snarled with my frustration growing. It was bad enough Mig decided to have an orgy rather than hang with me like he said he would, but this? This gargantuan pile of Scaler waste decided to test me, believing I was an Anthro. He was about to be poorly mistaken if he did anything else but move.

  “I ain’t gonna ask you again,” he sneered.

  “Ask me what?” I replied with sarcasm.

  “Who do you belong to?” he growled.

  “I thought you weren’t gonna ask me again?” I laughed.

  “I’ll teach you. Don’t you worry. I’ll teach you a pet’s place. I got plenty of room,” he said pushing the door open while grabbing my forearm.

  “Let go of me!” I shouted. My talons came out, slicing him across his arm.

  He yelped in pain while bringing his hand up to hit me.

  “I think she’d like you to move out of her way now,” Preston said grabbing the guy’s wrist before he could strike. As annoying as he was, I was happier to see him than the open side of that Skull’s palm.

  The blue-eyed Black Sapphire sure had a knack for showing up just in the nick of time. I was beginning to think he was following me. Perhaps it was my imagination, or maybe Dad put him up to it, but everywhere I ended up in Black Harbor, Preston was likely to show up. I only hoped that this time wouldn’t be like the last. The scent of cinder and ashes still lingered in the air, hovering like a cloud.

  I took a step back to watch Preston maneuver himself in front of the enormous Scaler only to see him be shoved and tossed over the broken wall and out of the building.

  “PRESTON!” I screamed.

  Luckily for him, his wings worked and quickly. His friend, Bart I think his name was, lowered his shoulder and charged the Skull sending him outside of the building as well, taking a piece of the deteriorating wall with him. Preston’s dragon zeroed in on my aggressor, but he scaled too.

  The Onyx Skull wasn’t as big as I thought he’d be but then again, none of them were. It brought me back to thoughts of Mig. Why did I find him so irresistibly sexy again? The fire in Preston’s eyes as he battled the matte black Scaler in the sky made me nervous and then a bit jealous. I knew how to take care of myself. I could fight too. I was just about to scale when I felt a firm grasp on my shoulder.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Lorna,” Bart warned, standing beside me with his eyes on the battle as well.

  “I don’t know why you guys think it’s okay to tell me what to do,” I huffed, but still, I stood there. It wasn’t until Preston and the other Scaler came barreling down toward us that we backed up.

  After taking out even more of the dilapidated building, they shifted back into their Anthro form both visibly tired. I walked over to Preston holding my hand out to him, while the ogre sat slumped against the door he came out of.

  Mig poked his head out with a slender smile across his sunken cheeks, “What the hell is going on out here? Something I should get into?”

  “No!” I snapped.

  “Aww, don’t be mad at me, Lorie,” he chuckled.

  “Lorna,” I corrected him.

  “I knew you belonged to someone,” the slob groaned pushing himself up from the floor. “You should have said Miguel owned you. Miguel! You really need to teach your pet how to behave. Especially with respect to your brothers of the Skull.”

  I’d had enough of him, “For the last time, NO ONE OWNS ME!”

  I couldn’t help but take a deep breath, lean back an inch and kick him in the center of his torso. Letting my anger get the best of me didn’t turn out as I expected. He grabbed my foot, twisted it by the ankle and flung me to the side like a doll. The pain radiating from my ankle up through my thigh making me see red. Rage came shortly after but I could barely move.

  It wasn’t until I calmed down that I saw Preston going at it with the Onyx
Skull again. Bart was crouched down in front of me with the weight of his body pushing me against the wall while he tended to my ankle. He didn’t say anything. He just wrapped it with what looked to be a torn piece of cloth.

  The battle wasn’t as equally matched as the last one as Preston had his bare hand gripping his throat. He used his free hand to pummel his face into a bloody mess. The savagery of red droplets spilling from open wounds around his face didn’t even match the glare in Preston’s eyes. In his fit of rage, they blackened with flecks of sapphire, reminding me of his Scaler.

  With every blow to the Skull’s face, his arm flexed and bulged. It wasn’t until I noticed Bart vanish from in front of me that I picked up something was wrong. Miguel came out of his room with only his wings draped over his shoulders and a pair of shredded denim jeans. He began pulling on his Scaler friend while Bart tugged at Preston.

  “Snap out of it!” Bart yelled at him.

  Once the two were finally separated, Skinner had found his way up to us. He looked over at me shaking his head and then to the blood splatter with a gleam in his eyes.

  “I can’t believe you all started without me,” he said running his finger down the bloodied face of my aggressor.

  “I can’t believe this all started because of her,” Miguel said motioning toward me.

  “Well of course it did,” Skinner grinned, “The daughter of the Great Argos, Lord and King of Empyrean. She deserves all the bloodshed spilled at her feet.”

  He bowed toward me but then looked up as I still sat on the floor against the wall. Those light purple eyes of his only accentuated his pale complexion. He made my skin crawl.

  “Daughter of Argos?” Mig said with shock. “I knew you were a Golden Imperial which is truly why I thought he called you Princess every time you came here. But you really are a Princess, aren’t you? Slumming it with the Onyx Skulls? While living in your golden palace up in the sky, looking down on us.”

  “Do you have any idea what Argos will do if he gets wind of her being hurt here,” Preston interrupted. He turned to Skinner with his arm out, who rolled his eyes but accepted the peaceful handshake.

  “Take her out of here Preston,” Skinner commanded, but then he turned to me, “Unless, of course, you’d like to stay and help clean up the mess.”

  He ran his hand over the blood on the wall next to him. I turned away not wanting to bait him any further. I couldn’t stand Skinner, but even in all of his creepiness, he never did anything to hurt me. I’m sure that was out of fear of both Preston and Dad. With a heavy sigh, I hoisted myself off of the floor and looked to the sky. I couldn’t return to Empyrean in this condition. I needed to get help first.

  “Come on, Lorna,” Preston said from behind me. He touched my hand slightly sending a shock through my body like I’d never felt before. I didn’t want to believe that this moment changed everything between us, but it did.

  My heart sank when I glanced down at his bruised knuckles. He cut his hands punching that guy in the face. This was the same person I grew up with. We went through an awful fighting phase a few years ago, but that had graduated into a simply annoying habit of him following me around Black Harbor. I had to admit that a piece of me liked it, and him. There was a sexiness to the way he stood up for me. And our connection these days was so strong, I'd feel wrong if I didn't see him while in the city. However, I thought it would be too complicated and pushed thoughts of Preston out of my mind and my heart, substituting my affections with my infatuation for Mig. It's good to see how well it's been working out ... yeah right.

  “Let’s get out of here guys,” Bart insisted staring around at the increasing number of Onyx Skulls coming up to look at the scene.

  I tried to walk, but the pain shot up through my leg forcing me to bend over and drop to my knees. Preston wrapped my arm around his neck. I thought he was simply going to let me hang onto him, but he scooped me into his arms and carried me to the stairs.

  “Oh now that’s power,” someone mumbled.

  “I wish he’d carry me like that,” another laughed.

  “He’s so sexy and that’s Preston Cane?” someone else jeered.

  Preston meant more to me than any of those partygoers would ever know. With his arms bulging, and injuries so pronounced on his hands, I laid my head against his chest letting the stares and comments of others roll off of me. His scent after doing battle engulfed me, and I couldn’t shake it. But more shocking? I didn’t want to.

  4

  Preston

  The scent of fire mixed with something so sweet hit me as soon as Lorna’s head rested against me. The soft brown waves of her hair trickled over my arms as we made our way down the stairs and out into the night. Bart took a bit of pleasure pushing people out of our way, happy to be getting out of there. He truly didn’t understand the notion of pets, and normally I'd laugh at his discomfort, but Lorna was hurt, and I had to get her healed before she returned to Empyrean. Both of our fathers would kill me if anything happened to her.

  Standing in front of our motorcycles, Bart hopped on his ready to peel out, but he stopped to look back at me, “What do you want to do now? We got her, per orders.”

  “Orders?” Lorna looked up at me. She shoved me and forced me to put her down. The moment she stepped onto that twisted ankle, she yelped in pain.

  I held my hand out to the bike for her to get on.

  She shoved it away and shouted at me through clenched teeth, “You were ordered to come and get me? By who? My father? Is he here? Is he in Black Harbor?!”

  “No,” I told her, “Relax, Lorna. My father sent me. You can’t just sneak into Black Harbor. Not without him or anyone else finding out. You know that right? And especially after what happened the last time Argos came looking for you. Just come on.”

  “I’m not going anywhere! I’m tired of people telling me where to go and what to do! I can do whatever I want!” she argued.

  And just like that, all the warm fuzzy feelings I had for her began to evaporate with every screeching complaint and question. Yet, no matter how angry she'd get, the urge to help her, to protect her, it never left me.

  “Do you want to come with me so I can help you get your ankle fixed?” I asked her.

  “Where?” she huffed with her arms folded across her chest. I had to stop myself from laughing as she tried not to put pressure on her injured leg.

  “To see Aya,” I told her.

  “Oh you’re on your own with that,” Bart shook his head as he sat on his bike, “I’m not going anywhere near those damn docks. I hate the water anyway. I’ll head out on patrol and after you get her back home, come and find me.”

  “Will do,” I nodded to him.

  “Aya? The docks?” she tilted her head to the side.

  “Yes,” I said hopping on the bike. I turned toward her, holding my arm out for her to get on. She continued to stand there. I shook my head, “Why do you have to be so damn difficult all of the time? I don’t want you going back home and having to explain that ankle with the scent of Skinner dripping off of you.”

  Her eyes lowered to her body and then she brought the crux of her elbow up and sniffed. Pulling her shirt out from her chest, she also inhaled the inside of the collar.

  “Can I shower at the Aya too?”

  “No,” I laughed, “You can’t shower at Aya, but you can come back to the Towers and shower if you want. I really just want you fixed up before you go back home. Not to mention I need some healing help too.”

  The simple act of opening and closing my hand was becoming increasingly painful. It didn’t matter how powerful we were, scales and all, it still took an obnoxiously long time to heal. Not as long as an Anthro, but still long enough to be annoying.

  “So you’re not just -”

  I cut her off, “I’m not trying to do anything but keep my own neck out of the very hot line of fire. You shouldn’t want your Dad breathing down your neck either. If he finds out what happened tonight, what do you think he�
�s going to do to you? You think you’re going to be able to sneak out of that castle anymore?”

  Lorna’s reluctance to agree with my line of thinking annoyed me more than I wished, but she still slinked her way toward me. The amount of restraint in her steps as she tried desperately to keep the weight off that injured leg was entertaining. I held a laugh back as she threaded her leg over my bike and under my arm. She didn’t speak another word until she was sitting comfortably in front of me.

  “Why do you always get on like this?” I groaned under my breath.

  Granted the distance between my seat and the handlebars gave the illusion like another person could fit there. It was just uncomfortable for steering purposes. She leaned forward gripping the metal emblem, a decorative piece, between the bars. Bart went out of his way to add it. Two wings sprouting from a tornado of burning flames… it was a masterpiece. A masterpiece that was now blocked by the dainty hands of Lorna Ornopolis, daughter of the Great Argos.

  The way her hair fell over her shoulder, especially as she turned her head slightly to look back at me, sent a feeling from one head to the other. She smirked as she answered, “Because it feels better this way.”

  I couldn’t stand it. One minute I’m pummeling the bloody pulp out of an Onyx Skull, the next I’m dreadfully annoyed with her, and now I’m craving her touch. I wanted, needed, yearned to have her bare ass pushed back on me just as it was now, but without the clothes and motorcycle in the way. Revving the bike into action and switching its gears reminded me of exactly where we were going. I couldn’t daydream about the frustration and ecstasy of Lorna Cane… Shit.

  It sounded better that way anyway.

  We rode the bike over the debris-filled streets, reaching the docks in a matter of minutes. When I finally stopped and shut its engine off, I gazed around wondering where exactly I was supposed to go. It all seemed familiar but foreign at the same time.

  “Are we here or not?” Lorna finally asked.