Fire and Ash (Rise of the Dragons Trilogy Book 1)

by N. R. Hairston

  Down below, a tall man with a blue suit on had Iago by the arm and was rushing him off the stage. Trout, having opened another one of his portals, popped up beside them.

  That’s all I had a chance to see before a foot to my back sent me spinning. I tried to save myself, to become one with the wings, but the force from which I’d been pushed made it impossible to get control.

  As I was falling, someone hit me in my face and knocked me backward. It stung, and I figured I’d probably have a bruise later, but right now, my main concern was not smacking into the ground.

  Strong arms came around me, and I heard Reid’s soothing voice in my ear. “Control it. Don’t let it control you, remember?” He let me go when someone hit him from behind, and he turned to deal with them.

  I closed my eyes, aware that I was surrounded by enemies and let my wings take over. My eyes flashed with fire and from somewhere deep inside me I had an urge to unleash hell like this place had never seen.

  I screamed, my wings flapping in the air, as I turned to look for Reid and the others. Wanting to know that they were okay, I dipped a little lower, determined to find them.

  From my new spot, I could feel someone creeping up behind me. I flapped my arms, my wings expanding as I did so. When I turned around, I saw a tall man, with his hand out as if ready to attack.

  I held up my index finger and wrapped him in a rope of fire that had him screaming in pain. Then I used it to throw him through the air, away from me.

  When I turned back around, Reid was in front of me. His clothes were ripped, his left eye was black, and he had a split lip that was still bleeding. “Okay?”

  I nodded, though I could already feel the ache in my body. I heard a yell and saw people rushing toward us, away from us, and some even tried to go through us.

  Reid grabbed me by the arm. “We have to get out of here.”

  Together we blazed a trail of fire until we came to the platform where Trout, Iago, and Coen stood in a tight circle, back-to-back fending off the attackers, and the guards alike. I guessed Coen had beaten us to the bottom. I’d lost track of him a while ago.

  Every time anyone got close, Coen would clap his hands together and vibrate them back.

  Iago had the powerless mangles on his wrists, but he was still using his fists and feet to punch and kick anyone who got close.

  Trout was caught up in a power struggle with one guy. The guy’s power and Trout’s seemed to cancel each other out, as they both held up their hands, trying to overtake one another with energy.

  Reid threw a fireball at the other guy, and he let go, trying to protect his face from the flame.

  Trout looked up then and held a hand out. “’Bout time you made it, couldn’t hold them off for much longer, come on so we can get out of here.”

  Something warmed in my chest as I realized he’d waited for us. He could have at least attempted to open a portal before now, though with this crowd I wasn’t sure how successful he would have been, but he hadn’t. Still, from his words, I didn’t think the idea of leaving us had even entered his mind.

  He had who he’d come for, yet he’d still waited for us. That touched me and the word, teamwork flashed in my mind.

  Reid and I headed in that direction, but then a large horn sounded and more guards, hundreds of them, appeared out of thin air and surrounded us.

  Not knowing what else to do, and with my heart in my throat, I threw back my head and let out a hail of fire that I directed to go everywhere and leave none who would hurt me standing. Hurt, not kill, or burn.

  The fire came out with a whoosh and I grabbed Reid’s hand because the fire could only last for so long, and when it cleared, I feared there’d be hell to pay.

  We went toward the platform using the distraction from the flame. Trout, Coen, and Iago met us halfway. We quickly joined hands as the smoke from the fire cleared, and the guards charged us.

  Together we floated up a little, as Trout opened a portal and we all jumped through.

  Chapter 20

  He landed us in a world full of red sand. The air was dusty here, and I was coughing five seconds after we’d arrived.

  Also, my leg muscles were starting to cramp, so I tried to walk them out a bit, but the stiffness in my back and ache in my lower side made that almost impossible.

  I had on a white T-shirt, and the right side was torn and hanging. I looked down at it, thankful there was still enough there to at least cover my chest. My pants had a few holes in them, and my hair hung loosely around my forehead, no matter how many times I pushed it away.

  Reid still looked as bruised as he had earlier, only now the whole left side of his face was blue, and his left eye was almost swollen shut. His shirt was gone, and his pants were ripped down the middle. He looked like he’d been in a royal rumble and I guessed he had been.

  Worry lit his eyes as he walked over to me. He put his hands on either side of my face, checking me carefully. “Are you hurt?”

  I wrapped my arms around him and felt an inner peace settle over me. “I’m okay,” I said softly.

  A little way in front of us I saw Trout, Coen, and Iago checking each other for marks.

  Trout’s shirt was gone, and he had an angry red bruise just below his chest, right where his ribs were. His face, like the rest of ours, was bruised and swollen. He had an arm around Iago, holding him tight, whispering in his ear.

  Iago’s shirt was still on him, but it was torn, and from the little I could see, his whole upper body was covered in marks. I inhaled sharply as I looked at him. They’d tortured him, of that I had no doubt.

  He held on to Trout, just as tightly as Trout held on to him, whispering over and over that he’d thought the other man dead.

  Coen for his part looked on in amusement, though to me, none of this was funny. Especially since he sported a few knots upside his head, and a bruise that spread from his neck down his back.

  Despite all that, he seemed to be in excellent spirits as he looked between us smiling and grinning, a triumphant glint in his eyes.

  Maybe that was it, I thought, trying not to be too creeped out by his reaction. Maybe he was just happy that we’d made it out of there alive and his friend had been saved. I hoped that was all it was anyway, anything else was just too disturbing to ponder.

  Iago detangled himself from Trout and came over to us. He had a slight limp in his step, and I could tell he favored his right leg. He tried not to show it, but it was kind of hard to miss. “You helped Trout and Coen save me, and I thank you. Names?”

  “Alisa.”

  “Reid.”

  He nodded. “I’m Iago, and I hear you saved Trout earlier today.”

  I shrugged. “I guess we did.”

  He took that in with solemn eyes. “I thank you for that too, but wonder what the two off-worlders want now?”

  To show him a little of what we could offer, I breathed fire onto his powerless mangles. I controlled the flame, telling it to melt the bracelets away, but not to burn his skin. The flame danced around the mangles, destroying them, as smoke filled the air. When it cleared, the bracelets were gone, and Iago was free.

  He gave me a surprised look, then turned to Trout. “What do they want?”

  Trout let out a breath. “They need our help. They have a Yango problem as well. After this,” he waved a hand around. “We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

  Iago looked him over as if processing what he said. Finally, he spoke. “Yes, Trout I think we will. They kept you safe when I couldn’t. Not a debt easily repaid.”

  Trout opened his mouth as if to object, but Iago put a hand up to stop him. “Truths, Trout. Only truths here. I couldn’t keep you safe. They did. Nothing left to discuss.” He turned to us. “And how have the Yango affected your world?”

  So, we started at the beginning and told him the whole sordid tale. He listened intently, face solemn in some parts, eyes wide in others. Coen listened too, chuckling mostly and giving a thumbs up a few times.r />
  I looked at the huge grin on his face and came to the conclusion that living in the world that he did, he’d simply learned to take bouts of happiness where he could find them, and there was nothing wrong with that. Though others, myself included, may have a hard time following such a wry sense of humor.

  When we’d finished, Iago looked at Trout and shook his head. “My sister was captured.” His voice went hard, and his nostrils flared when he said it. He’d probably had to watch her be taken, which only made it worse.

  “Tet!” Trout said, running a hand over his head. “Tet!” I assumed tet was some type of swear word on Litvan.

  Iago watched him for a second, then he clamped a hand around the other man’s wrist and pulled him closer. “Shhh.” He put a finger to his lips. “That doesn’t help.” Trout calmed immediately and seemed to relax under the other man’s touch.

  Iago ran a hand over his face before he spoke again. “Tanko and his group were captured too. I don’t think any of them are still alive.” Coen and Trout both stirred at this, but Iago put a hand up to stop them from speaking. “Not the time.” He turned to us. “Tanko was like us, not willing to live under Yango rule. He got rooted out at the same time that we did.”

  He turned back to Trout. “He said they shipped my sister away.”

  Reid and I had shifted, and we now stood side-by-side, his arm gripped firmly around my waist. I enjoyed the comfort his touch brought and had to stop myself from wrapping my whole body around his. “What does that mean? Shipped away?”

  “They took her through a portal,” Iago said. “Power-stopping bracelets were being put on Tanko when they did so, so his reading was a little off, but he did narrow it down to three worlds. We’ll go to them as soon as we can.”

  Trout looked to Reid and I. “Tanko is...” he stopped and shook his head, exhaling hard. “Tanko was a natural like me.”

  “They won’t kill her,” Coen, said in a no-nonsense voice. “Not many with the power to summon and Lantana is one of the best.”

  Iago nodded. “Something to hold on to, that is.”

  Reid removed his hand from around my waist and stared at the three men in front of us. “So, how about this. We rest up for a bit, give our bodies time to heal, and in the meantime, gather as much information as we can about the three worlds your sister might be on. So, we can know what we’re dealing with and not walk in blind.”

  Iago stood with a hand under his chin, rubbing a single finger across his lips. “You two can use some practice. I’m not going anywhere with you if you can’t fight any better than what I saw today.” He thought about it for a second, and I bristled at the suggestion that we were inferior fighters when I’d saved his tail and those of his friends. “Coen and I will train you.” He said it as if that was the end of the conversation.

  Coen snorted and looked us over, a sly grin on his face. “Should be interesting.”

  I started to remind them just who’d saved whom back there, but Reid’s voice stopped me before I could say a word. He addressed Iago when he spoke. “We’re new to all of this, so any advice and help you can give is greatly appreciated, right Alisa?” He looked at me expectantly.

  “Right,” I said, through gritted teeth.

  “Great!” Reid looked from me to Trout. “One of you open a portal. I’m ready to go home.”

  I pulled out my porter. “I’ll do it.” We were all weakened from the fight, and I didn’t want Trout to have to exert himself any more than need be.

  The large, swirling blue portal opened before us and without another word, the five of us stepped through, straight into the living room where my parents, sister, and brother all stood waiting.

  Chapter 21

  My mother gasped and stumbled back. My father’s eyes went wide, as he looked at us, and I remembered that we were bruised, bleeding, and our clothes were hanging half-off us. Shit. What a sight we must look right now.

  My sister had her thick black hair done up in a messy ponytail. She was two years older than me, a little on the slim side, and about an inch shorter than I was. Though we favored, we were nothing alike, her style being more second grade teacher, while mine was loose and whatever was comfortable. She sat on the couch, hand over her mouth, tears in her brown eyes as she took in my battered face and torn shirt. I wondered what she thought had happened to me.

  My brother, like everybody else in my family, had thick black hair and huge brown eyes. He was three years older than me, about five seven, and of medium build. Of us all, he dressed the most proper, looking every bit the stuck-up chef that he was.

  His thick curly hair reached to his ears, though a few strands sometimes fell in his face. He sat on the opposite couch from my sister, and though his eyes bulged, he was more concerned with catching my mom before she hit the floor.

  He grabbed her gently by the waist, then sat her on the love seat beside him, checking her over to make sure she was alright.

  Beside me, Trout, Iago, and Coen tensed. “It’s fine. This is my family,” I said, before they did something really stupid, like shoot off a blast of energy or something.

  They relaxed somewhat, and except for the cheeky grin on Coen’s face, I felt okay about having them here. It was just my family I needed to deal with.

  My brother had an arm around my mother, trying to calm her down, as she took deep breaths, in an effort to get her emotions under control.

  My father stood, fists clenched, and ironically, most of his irritation seemed directed at Reid. Why he thought this was all his fault I had no idea.

  My sister, who was the cause of all this, because she was the only one with a key to my house, so she had to be the one to let them in, strolled forward, face hard, and eyes narrowed. “What happened to her?” she asked, teeth clenched as she looked at Reid. Really? Were they all going to blame him for this?

  My mom, somewhat recovered, got up and left the room. She was back a second later, with a long-sleeve white shirt. “Put this on,” she said, her voice low, almost frightened.

  After I slipped the shirt on, she placed her hand in mine and swallowed hard, fear still on her face. “Let’s go sit down, and you can tell me what happened and what we need to do now.”

  She was terrified, and a deep sadness settled over me, as I realized she had every right to be. I couldn’t even say, ‘this isn’t what it looks like’ because it was. I’d been involved in a life-and-death battle and had I died, they never would have known what had happened to me.

  I let her lead me to the living room, kicking myself for once again reducing my mom to tears. She didn’t deserve this. She was my mother, and she loved me, and I could only imagine how scared she was right now.

  Reid tried to keep pace with me, but my father and sister bumped against each other, creating a wall in front of him. My father raised an arm, and pointed a finger at Reid. “What did you do to my daughter!” He stopped for a moment then looked at my mom and brother. “Do I need to get my eyes checked?”

  My brother snorted and stood, walking over to where my father and sister were still facing off with Reid. “Nope, you don’t. They appeared out of nowhere in a hail of blue light. Either of you care to explain?”

  “No, no.” Coen came to his feet, an irritated look on his face. “Can we get a bandage? A glass of water? Or have you forgotten that we are guests on your world and in your home.”

  I patted my mom on the hand to let her know I was okay and went to stand beside Reid, hoping to diffuse any tempers that might grow out of control.

  Todd watched Coen through hooded eyes. “Yeah, I’ll get you a bandage, some water too, if you shut up and let my sister tell her story.”

  I held my breath. My brother was a blunt man, and sometimes people didn’t know how to react or took offense to the things he said. This was not one of those times.

  Instead, Coen gave him the once over and smiled. “Your call, hero. I’ll take my water now and shut up.”

  Todd smiled, which just looked wrong on h
is usually stern face and walked toward the kitchen.

  I faced off with my sister and father. “Want to blame someone? That’d be me. I dragged Reid into this, not the other way around. Come on.”

  I walked back into the living room and sat down, waiting for the others to do the same before I started talking. “Now this is what happened...”

  Once again, I told the story from beginning to end. When I was done, my father sat stone-faced, eyes drawn together in worry. My mom just looked confused and couldn’t stop wringing her hands. My sister seemed curious and maybe a little excited. I let out a breath, not sure what she was thinking.

  My brother Todd was the first to speak. “Obviously, I don’t want you coming to my restaurant and stealing the flame while I’m cooking.” He paused and shook his head, his wicked sense of humor taking over at this point. “Don’t do that. It’s naughty, and you should know better. You don’t think people are going to start wondering how their flames keep leaping away?” It wasn’t like that. When I took the flame, as in the case with the little boy trying to set his couch on fire, all they saw was the fire go out, nothing more, but I was too exhausted to explain any of that at the moment.

  “So, dear,” my mom said, finally pulling herself together. “You’re a dragon now? That’s what you’d like us to believe?”

  She wanted me to use my powers and prove all I’d said was true. She could have just asked, but that wasn’t her style. I held up my right hand and fire lit my fingertips. I heard one or two gasps, but even more so, when Reid called the fire to him, and it leaped from my fingers to his.

  With a sly smile on his face, and making sure all eyes were on him, he shaped it into a small ball, then stuck it in his mouth and ate it.

  The room went deadly silent until I heard a moan from the floor. I looked down, not knowing who it’d come from.

  Iago raised a hand. “It was me. I’ve not eaten for days. Do we have to be here for this? I think you’ve proven your point and given them something to think about, but for now...” He waved a hand.