Kingdom of Ruins

by Jen L. Grey

  She’s right. Fury’s hands fell from her shoulders. It won’t happen again.

  “What about…” Hesta pointed toward Aidan.

  “Stop.” The Seer lifted her hand and closed her eyes.

  What’s going on? Hestia’s mouth dropped open, and she glanced back at Brenton.

  I’ve got no clue, but it’s almost like she’s not here with us. Cinder stood and took a few steps toward the Ancient Woman, peering into her face.

  Get back. Fury glanced around the room, attempting to find some sort of clue about what was going on. It could be one of her tricks.

  Something seemed to flash throughout the room, and the Seer opened her eyes again. “Go to your rooms now.”

  “What?” Pele stood and unsheathed two of her daggers. “There’s something wrong.”

  “Now isn’t the time for your disobedience.” Black lines appeared on her face as she narrowed her eyes. “Go to your rooms now or you’ll regret it.” She then jumped into the air and vanished.

  Chapter Four

  Cinder

  Cinder was still having a hard time believing what she’d just witnessed with her own eyes. The Seer had been there, and then she wasn’t. All the other times, it was as though she appeared from nowhere, but now Cinder had actually seen it happen herself. That’s not normal.

  “We better hurry.” Hestia jumped to her feet and began walking to the door.

  “That’s what she wants you to do.” Aidan stood and made his way over to Cinder. “Are you going to listen, or are you all ready to hear what I have to say?”

  “You’ve had a horrible attitude since we got here,” Fury took a step forward to place himself between Aidan and Cinder. “Why should we want to hear from you now?”

  “Because I think he is right.” Pele lifted both hands, still holding her daggers, and circled the whole room. “Your Highness, in all due respect, I think you should listen to him.”

  “Now you believe me.” Aidan snarled at her, and black flames misted around his body.

  “Now isn’t the time for this.” Pele moved to the only exit to the room with both daggers poised for attack. “Something is happening.”

  “She said to go to our rooms.” Brenton sighed and grabbed Hestia’s arm. “Let’s listen to her. I don’t want to get involved with whatever is going on.”

  “If you want a chance to get out of here, this may be our only opportunity to figure out how.” Aidan turned toward Cinder. “Believe it or not, we’re on the same side, and it is the opposite of hers.”

  He could have meant anyone, but Cinder knew Aidan was referring to the Seer. “Both sides are keeping secrets.”

  “That’s true.” He nodded and glanced around the room. “But there are two reasons people keep secrets; survival and trickery. Which one do you think applies to the Seer?”

  He’s right. Fury’s words were cold and angry. We need to get out of here. The Seer is getting desperate and putting us in danger.

  If it were about survival, she never would’ve brought us here and then try to kill me. Even though she had already begun doubting the Seer, the thought made her fire dim. She had thought it was to protect Pyr, but it couldn’t be. They were missing something, and they wouldn’t find the answers here. “You’re right. Let’s go to the opening while she’s distracted and see if we can break through the barrier that keeps us here.”

  “We better hurry while she’s still preoccupied.” Pele opened the hidden door and headed out.

  Go ahead, I’ll guard the back. Fury placed his hand on Cinder’s lower back, pushing her gently ahead.

  “Go on,” Cinder said to Hestia and Brenton as Aidan already slipped out the door following Pele. “Fury and I will follow in the back.”

  “But…” Hestia shook her head, but Brenton pulled her through the door.

  “Now isn’t the time to fight.” Brenton’s tone was soft as he slipped into the hallway. “We just need to get moving.”

  For once, Cinder agreed with Brenton. She had noticed some kind of change taking place in him ever since they left the black phoenixes. And the change was for the better, but she wasn’t quite sure if it was sincere or a ploy.

  It was oddly quiet in the volcano. Normally, there might be an occasional drip of water or the roar from the lava. It usually felt like serene immense power, which were words that didn’t sound like they were meant to be used together. However, the power of the volcano comforted and calmed the animal inside her.

  Aidan and Pele were now side by side, scanning all areas for danger as they headed down the path. Cinder almost expected the Seer to appear and tell them this had all been a test, but somehow she knew that wouldn’t be happening. What do you think is going on?

  I don’t know, but something has to be attacking us… or her. Even though Fury was several flickers away, his warmth could still be felt. We need to take advantage of her distraction right now.

  Fury

  He wanted to keep talking with Cinder so they could figure out a plan, but it was pointless at the moment. They didn’t know what or who they were potentially up against, so they needed to stay quiet.

  Aidan had been distant from the beginning. He was always in the background, but there was something that hid underneath his nonchalant attitude. It was pure anger and resentment. Fury recognized it because he used to live that life, too. The only thing that saved him was his bond with Cinder once she finally gave in to it herself.

  Just as Cinder did, Pele fought their connection. However, Pele had to fight it harder than Cinder and he did. Pele had promised to give up everything in order to protect her Queen, and she viewed Cinder as just that. She had to fight it so Aidan never became more important to her than Cinder.

  The ground rumbled beneath their feet. It wasn’t anything major, but it was movement caused by something other than the volcano.

  What was that? Hestia opened the connection to everyone but Aidan. Did you guys feel that?

  Pele stopped and glanced around. Yes.

  “Keep moving.” Aidan’s voice was stern but quiet. Since he hadn’t officially bonded with Pele and he didn’t acknowledge Cinder and Fury as his rulers, he was the only phoenix not able to join the mind link.

  Once more, the ground shook but harder. A small piece of rock fell from the ceiling.

  Aidan’s black eyes glowed a slight blue from his animal inside. “We need to get to the opening fast.”

  “Why?” Brenton placed both hands on the wall as the volcano rumbled once more. “What’s going on?”

  “There’s a way out,” Aidan answered and picked up his pace.

  Maybe we shouldn’t go. Fury didn’t trust Aidan even if he understood the guy.

  Pele trusts him now. Cinder broke into a sprint as she raced to keep up. That’s enough for me.

  Maybe it shouldn’t be. Even though he was arguing, Fury moved fast, trying to keep up with his mate. He would follow her to the end of the world, but he just hoped that the Pyr didn’t end today.

  As they ran into the opening where they had first landed, not so long ago, nothing looked different. Not at first. The blue sun was peaking, and the color ricocheted off the walls. Even when the barrier was in place, they couldn’t see it until they tried to leave. So, no one could be sure right now if they were free or not.

  All of a sudden, something soared through the air toward them from outside the barrier.

  Pele reacted first racing in front of Cinder.

  Terror ran through Fury. Cinder, run. That’s a knife heading right at you.

  Cinder froze in fear as Pele ran toward it, readying herself to knock the incoming knife out of the way with her daggers.

  “Stop!” Aidan yelled as he went running after her.

  Not wasting a moment, Pele jumped into the air to deflect the knife, it hit the barrier instead and ricocheted back outside.

  Once more, the ground trembled under their feet.

  “For the first time ever, I’m so thankful for the barrier.” Hes
tia let out a deep breath and stepped into Brenton.

  “You’re not kidding.” Brenton wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his side.

  “Oh, gods, look.” Pele stood on the edge of the volcano and peered down below. “How did they find this?”

  Fury ran over and saw at least fifty black phoenixes either flying below or above. They were flying into the barrier or throwing knives or black flames into it.

  A loud shriek filled the air and echoed all around them. “I told you to go to your rooms.” The wind inside increased, and a small tornado appeared in the center of the room. “Now go and do as I say.”

  “Like ice, we will.” Aidan began shifting into his phoenix, letting his black flames with intermittent blue loose.

  The wind began to die down as the Seer materialized in front of them. No longer was her skin shiny and radiant but rather black and wrinkled. Her long silver and brown hair was now all gray, and her skin hung from her bones. “I said stop!”

  Another blast shook the ground, and the Seer cried out in pain. “This has to end now.”

  Now was their best chance to escape. Aidan had been right. Fury called on his still weakened phoenix and began his shift while the others followed suit. If they were going to make it out, all hands had to be on deck.

  As soon as Pele completed her shift, her bright blue flames lifted her into the sky. She breezed past Aidan and landed on the other side of the opening, pushing her power inside it.

  “Arghhhh,” The Seer screamed, and she closed her eyes, pulling some sort of dark power from inside her.

  We’ve got to end this now while she’s still weak. Fury took a deep breath and let loose a stream of flames from his mouth that hit the Seer square in the chest.

  Phoenixes could breathe fire, but it took a lot of power from them even more so than a fast shift. However, they now had to give it their all.

  Bright orange flames appeared beside him as Cinder joined in attacking the Seer with the strongest of their magic.

  The Seer screamed, cried and fought, determined not to give up. But whichever way she moved allowed her no reprieve. Another blast hit the barrier, dropping the Seer to her knees. She swayed before she fell to the ground, and there was a large snapping sound. An eerie silence surrounded them.

  What just happened? Hestia’s voice was a faint whisper in their minds.

  I… don’t know. Brenton’s answer was almost inaudible.

  Then a large blue flamed phoenix flew into the opening, and their eyes settled on the space right in front of Fury. Hey, friend. Did you miss me?

  Fury couldn’t believe his eyes. Joash somehow broke through the barrier and was standing right before him.

  Chapter Five

  Cinder

  At this moment, nothing made sense to Cinder. Not only did the Seer’s magic break, but even if it was only for a little while, Joash somehow stood right in front of her. She began her shift back into her human form, and she noticed the others were following suit as well.

  As they shifted, several other black phoenixes also flew through the opening and landed.

  She wasn’t sure what that meant, but it made her nervous realizing that Joash somehow gained enough trust from the outsiders to be here right now. When she stood on both her feet again, she faced him and waited for his shift to complete.

  His familiar brown eyes found hers. “Are you guys okay?”

  That wasn’t what she expected. “We’re fine.” Now that he had been away from them for some time, she wasn’t sure what his current strategy was. “How about you and the others?” She motioned her head toward the opening.

  “We’re okay, too.” Joash glanced from Cinder to Fury, and then his gaze settled on Hestia. “Hey, sis.”

  “Hi.” Hestia pulled back her shoulders and stood tall. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “That’s the problem with some of us.” Aidan tilted his head but remained facing the Seer. “You never know where some may stand.”

  “You’re one to talk, aren't you?” Joash huffed and crossed his arms. “But right now, we need to focus on binding the Seer.”

  “Why would we do that?” Fury ran a hand through his short hair. “We trust you just as much as the Seer.”

  “I guess you’re going to have to trust your gut.” Joash motioned for the black phoenixes behind him to head toward the Seer. “So, either help us, or fight us.”

  We can’t let him take her. Pele growled in her mind. There is no telling what he’s up to.

  That’s true. Cinder hated times when she had to make a difficult choice. There wasn’t an easy way to know what the right answer was… or if there was a right one. But there are over fifty black phoenixes here. There is no way we can fight them all off and be successful.

  “Let them have her.” Aidan took a few steps back, making room for the others. “We’re better off with them than her.”

  “Who said we had only two choices.” Brenton raised both hands in the air. “We might be better off on our own.”

  I hate to admit it, but the dimmy has a point. Fury connected to Cinder’s mind. Outwardly, his focus was purely on Joash.

  Aithne seemed to know more than she was telling us. For once, Cinder would have liked for someone to share all these secrets. If what the Seer said was true about her and Fury reuniting and saving the kingdom, they kind of needed to know what they were up against. I think we should comply with their wishes but be cautious.

  That might be a good idea. Pele followed Aidan’s lead and took a few steps back. Aidan wants us to go. He said there was something he wanted to show us.

  Then, let’s go. Hestia’s tone was eager, and she licked her bottom lip. I’d like to get out of here as quickly as possible.

  “Fine, we take her, but I still want a chance to talk to her.” Cinder moved so the black phoenixes could take her.

  “There won’t be a problem with that.” Joash nodded and reached into his pants pocket, extracting some type of black flamed rope. “Raise her up so I can put this around her wrists.”

  Why are they following Joash’s commands? Brenton took a step away from the guys.

  It was hard for Cinder not to laugh. She, too, was perplexed with this question, but Brenton actually betrayed Joash that day when he was taken into custody by the others. She was sure Brenton was concerned with Joash’s retribution. He was a grudge-holding type of person. Not sure, but this is what we have right now.

  Two of the black phoenixes reached down and grabbed each of the Seer’s arms. They lifted her up, and Joash moved between them so he was facing her back. He took one end of the dark rope and tied it around one of her wrists and then followed the same process for her other wrist.

  Once Joash finished tying it, he dropped his hands, and the rope began to rise on its own. It twisted and sorted itself several times until her wrists were now together, and it knotted securely around them multiple times.

  “What is that?” Hestia’s mouth dropped open, and she leaned forward.

  “It’s a type of rope that the black phoenixes infuse with their powers.” Joash gave his sister a small grin and shrugged his shoulders. “They have a lot of neat things that we didn’t know about.”

  “So it’s easy to get out of?” Brenton’s voice was laced with worry. Is that how Joash is now standing in front of us?

  “No, it’s not easy at all.” Joash chuckled almost as if he heard Brenton’s thoughts himself. “In fact, it’s hard for one of us to undo it once it’s done. Only the person who infused the rope can.”

  The Seer moaned, and her head flopped to the side.

  “We better get moving.” Pele walked past the others toward the exit. “It’ll be harder to transport her once she’s awake.”

  Fury

  Even as the group came upon an old compound, Fury still couldn’t determine how Joash had gained the trust of the others.

  Two black phoenixes flew underneath the Seer, keeping her secure. Joash flew in front, scan
ning the area for any sign of problems and led the group into the crumbling building that led to the underground living areas.

  It was strange to be free and able to fly on his own accord. He’d almost grown accustomed to being held in the cave and only flying when the Seer would allow.

  Under normal circumstances, this would be nice, wouldn’t it? Cinder’s sweet voice echoed in his mind.

  It’s sad that this just feels weird. Phoenixes were meant to be free to fly whenever they chose. Fury glanced at the dark red sun, which seemed fitting since they were heading to the black phoenixes home. There was thick grass now on the ground that hadn’t been there before. They hadn’t been lying back there. Something was really wrong with Pyr.

  We should just be grateful we got out. Cinder flew next to her, her orange flames brightening the area around them. Now we can attempt to fix this whole mess.

  True, but we need to watch Joash. His friend always had an ulterior motive. That’s how he got left behind with the black phoenixes, anyway. I still can’t fathom how he is free. They were taking him in as their prisoner.

  Oh, I agree. Cinder sighed and flapped her wings a little harder than necessary. We’ve got a good team. We’ll stay wary of him.

  The phoenixes in front landed and shifted back so they were on legs. Once they were settled, they motioned the two phoenixes that had been carrying the Seer down.

  As they lifted the Seer off the backs of the phoenixes, the Seers head lifted, and her eyes barely opened.

  She’s waking up. Pele flew down and cawed loudly. She quickly changed to her human form and pulled out one of her daggers. “We need to get her into a secure location now.”

  One of the men who were holding her up yanked her from the other’s grip and threw her over his shoulder.

  A loud humph sounded from the Ancient woman like a breath of air had been knocked out of her, and then her eyes closed one more time.