Burning Ashes

by Jadyn Chase

  His emerald green eyes locked with mine, “You know this isn’t going to be that bad, right?”

  Closing my eyes, I waited for the pain to come but instead, I felt the sharp prick of his claw in the palm of my hand. The puncture sealed itself as quickly as I opened my eyes to see the damage. Letting out a sigh of relief, I saw Julian marking a tree with my blood. The Jade Sentinels were the epitome of trackers.

  The sound of his massive wings slicing across the night sky made me fearful. Turning around, Julian had disappeared. He left me alone, as bait?! I was going to kill him.

  The dark brown and green Scaler in the sky had ivory bone plates across its upper torso like a battle vest. He’d zeroed in on me immediately. I froze, unsure of whether to run or scale and take flight. I needed water. I could beat him in the water, but on land or in the air was his domain. My eyes darted around the night looking for a place, any place to run and hide. With his flared nostrils pointed directly at me, Six took a nosedive. My heart raced, panic-stricken.

  It wasn’t until Six came within a few yards of me that Julian’s scaler attacked swiftly and silently, bulldozing into him. Six collapsed and slid onto the glass lake, scaling down as he skidded to a halt. Julian shifted as well, dragging him toward me with a glimmer of a smile on his face.

  “I should kill you, Siren!” I yelled as soon as he was close enough to hear me.

  He covered his hand with my mouth, with his face an inch away from mine, “I would have never let him touch you.”

  A soft gulped fell down my throat as my pussy throbbed at the several meanings behind that statement. He moved his hand and kissed me lightly on the lips, “Come on. Let’s tie him up.”

  I helped Julian bind the Sentinel to a sturdy tree. Staying in that house reminded me of a concoction I used to make to stop a Scaler’s ability to change. I only placed a drop of this elixir along with a counter to Cyrus’ poisonous scent under his unconscious tongue and had Julian shake him awake.

  Six stood a few inches shorter than Julian with a stocky, muscular build and dark blonde buzzed cut hair. His golden eyes shimmered green in the moonlight as he regained consciousness.

  “What the hell is going on?” he mumbled. Once he noticed the vines and ropes securing him to the tree, I could see the fear coating his face. “NO! WAIT! DON’T SACRIFICE ME! CYRUS! NO! DON’T!”

  My heart wrenched at the sound of his pleas, “Sh. Sh. Sh. Cyrus isn’t here. I need you to calm down and relax. Six, right? I’m Aya, the Emerald Siren of Black Harbor.”

  “Crap! You can’t be here! You must run! Get out of here! NOW! Where’s Cyrus? I’ll kill that motherfucker if it’s the last thing I do!”

  15

  Julian

  Aya reserved her ‘I told you so,’ for later as she simply glared at me while Six hissed and yelled about killing Cyrus. Everything about him was different from the Scaler I’d been stalking for the past few months. While I still wanted to rip out his throat, I now wanted to hear what he had to say, much to Aya’s approval.

  “Please, Aya? You said that was your name, right?” he peered at her with sincerity, “You have to leave.”

  I cringed, fighting back my jealousy with the way he ogled her. Too much intensity in his face said he wanted to do more than simply warn her. Then he spotted me. He inhaled the air deeply with his eyes darting back and forth between us.

  “What?” My eyes fixed on him.

  The glimmer in Six’s eye did nothing to calm my irritation with him. He actually laughed, “I can smell him on you. You guys reek of sex.”

  That made me laugh as I shot a look to Aya who inadvertently flexed her thighs, undoubtedly clenching them tighter together.

  “Told you,” I laughed to her. I wasn’t as reserved as she was; my I told you so wouldn’t wait.

  She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Six, “I want to untie you, but we need to know what’s going on. Why are you gooning for Cyrus and the Sect of Zion? Do you have any idea how much destruction you’ve caused? How many lives have been lost as a result of you helping him?”

  “I swear,” the tremble in his voice nearly broke my heart. Those golden eyes bounced back and forth between Aya and me, “I swear it was like my body moved and I was trapped inside a cage he built in my head. Every time I felt like I could break free, he’d whisper that stupid rhyme to me and blow that god awful scent up my nose. I couldn’t say no.”

  “How did he catch you and Axel in the first place?” I asked him.

  “We were standing guard when some ash-like dust bomb exploded around us. We were knocked out, and when we woke up, he had us bound with these ropes. They're made from Onyx Skull wings, unbreakable. He held us until he perfected that mind-bending trick he does. Once he was sure we were under his control, he began this stupid conquest. I wish I could have stopped it. I wish I could stop him now. But if he still has Axel, you guys need to run. Two Emerald Sirens will make Cyrus fight an all-out war. He thinks you’ll make him immortal.”

  “So stupid,” Aya spat under her breath.

  “We’re not leaving, Six. Cyrus is supposed to head into Black Harbor to recruit Scalers and Anthros to help him overthrow the city,” I told him.

  “Then we have to get there to warn them. I’ll keep Axel busy long enough for you guys to warn your Scalers. Get rid of Cyrus. As much as I want to slice his throat myself, I can’t get near him without going under. I don’t ever want to go back to that,” he shivered.

  A low growl rumbled at the back of my throat as I made my way over to Six. I let my talon break through my fingers. He began protesting immediately, “Wait a minute! Man! Wait! I’m sorry!”

  Aya shouted with him, “Julian, don’t! He didn’t know!”

  Talking and shouting over each other they both yelled simultaneously, “NO!”

  Aya jumped on my arm to hold me back, but she wasn’t strong enough. I sliced through the ropes holding Six to the tree and retracted my talon. Aya let me go, and Six crumbled, bent over at the waist clutching his heart. They both let out a huge sigh of relief.

  “Lucky for you, Six, Aya’s been rooting for you since she knew I wanted to kill you. Even after you broke her ankle.”

  “That was Axel,” he said.

  I grimaced, “I don’t care. Be happy I spared your life. Let’s go! We have to warn the Scalers of Black Harbor!”

  By the time we reached the outskirts of the city, a pile of slaughtered Anthros had greeted us, along with a few drag marks in the dirt. No one else was around. Six groaned as he pointed to the marks, “Whatever Scalers you had stationed here put up a good fight, but you see these marks? They’ve been netted and hauled off.”

  I closed my eyes trying to cage the beast threatening to break free. I wasn’t ready to let Cyrus know we were closing in. Turning to Aya, I could see the tears forming in her eyes. Burgeoning rage threatened to force my scale. She never wanted anyone to die, and I never wanted to see her hurt. At that moment, I realized I wanted to protect her from anything that would bring her pain.

  “Where would he gather the most Scalers?” Six asked Aya.

  I could see her trembling with a range of emotions sprawling across her face. She stood there quietly.

  “So much death,” she whimpered.

  I grabbed hold of her, pulling her into me. I clutched the back of her head as she mourned the loss of life. There had to be at least 20 Anthros shredded to pieces here. Her pain made her shake. I wanted to console her, but we had to move, “Aya, we have to find where Cyrus would go in Black Harbor to rally the Anthros. We must prevent this from happening anywhere else. These Anthros belonged to the Sect, but the next batch of death will most likely come from those who live here. Please Aya, I need you to focus.”

  “I will make sure he burns for this,” she hissed. “The Towers! The Towers has the largest Anthro population, both above and below ground. They have the largest visible area of the city. He would go there.”

  Six and I followed Aya as her fu
ry propelled her through ash covered streets toward the twin skyscrapers of Black Harbor. The foul stench of Cyrus permeated the air with every step we took closer to him. It didn’t take long before we heard his voice. It boomed as if it were blasting through speakers around the city. By the time we reached him, there was a massive crowd of Scalers and Anthros watching him speak. He’d capture all of their attention, but none of them seemed to notice the four Scarlet Wing Scalers bound in the black nets.

  Honestly, if Six hadn’t told me about the Onyx wing rope, I probably wouldn’t have noticed them either. They looked like leather mesh boulders. They couldn’t scale. They couldn’t break free. I hadn’t any idea how we were going to help them. I shot a glance at Six who was scanning the crowd. It wasn’t until he looked up that I realized who he was searching for.

  Axel circled above Cyrus. It was a tactical warning for other Scalers not to go near the leader of the Sect of Zion.

  “We have to free those Scalers, and we have to get him out of the sky,” I told Six.

  He nodded, “I’ll go tango with Axel. You need Onyx blood to burn those ropes free.”

  That made sense. One of the most lethal substances to any Scaler was the blood of an Onyx Skull. It burned like acid. Something told me I might have to owe a certain Skull another favor. It would indeed be worth it to make sure these would be set free.

  We watched Six scale and take off into the sky. Aya and I crept closer to the spectacle of Cyrus and his speech. I tried my hardest to ignore him, but there was a certain charisma in his voice. All the better to enslave minds with.

  Aya and I crouched down as we tried to maneuver the ropes to see if there was any other way to let the Scarlet Wings go.

  “Please,” one of them begged, slipping his hand through the net. “Help us.”

  The others seemed to be knocked out, covered in a light grey dust. That must be the same powder Six told us about. Aya dragged her finger along one of their shoulders, pulling the grit between her fingers. She rubbed it and then brought it up to her nose. A deep inhale brought horror to her face as tears welled in her eyes.

  “What is it?” I asked her.

  “Julian, we have to kill him,” she cried, “It’s the crushed bones of Sirens.”

  16

  Aya

  The tears streaming down my cheeks burned hot with anguish, fear, and most of all, fury. Scales pulsed up and down my arms as I locked eyes on Cyrus who held the attention of the crowd like a hypnotic beacon. I couldn’t take it anymore leaping to my feet and pushing through the crowd, I charged at him.

  Cyrus saw me, and Axel attacked with Six right behind him. I couldn’t see where Julian went as only anger controlled my every move. I screamed through my tears, “You sick son of a bitch! I’m going to kill you!”

  I could see the expressions of surprise as most weren’t used to me in such a state, or speaking in complete sentences. Dozens of Anthros attacked to hold me down.

  “Ah yes!” Cyrus held his hand out to me as he continued to address the crowd, “Finally, she joins us as I promised. You will do as I say. I will tell you what to do. You will do as I say. So what say you?”

  “DIE! YOU VILE PIECE OF ANTHRO SLIME!” I spewed vehemently.

  “You will do as I say. I will tell you what to do. You will do as I say. So what say you? You will be calm. You will listen to me. You will do as you’re told,” he moved closer to me, and the odor hit me like a punch to the gut. Wet fur and soiled meat lulled me into a state of compliance. There was nothing I could do. I let my anger control me, and now I was a prisoner in my own mind listening to Cyrus speak to his followers. Where the hell was Julian?!

  “Ladies, gentlemen, and Scalers alike, followers of Zion, I implore you to listen to me. We have a unique opportunity to build something great for the city of Black Harbor. I beg of you to allow me to demonstrate what the blood and scales of an Emerald Siren can give unto you,” Cyrus turned to me with a smile before continuing, “Make sure she’s restrained to the altar. The more who partake, the weaker the life-giving potion, so there must be a process to select those who are truly worthy.”

  The crowd began to clamor as they all shouted questions, threats, and other senseless words to get Cyrus to answer each of them personally. His focus, however, was directed toward me. He approached in a long cloak with his beard braided and adorned with gold clips. I could see the madness in his eyes. He’s obsessed.

  My heart pounded. My Scaler cried and roared deep inside of me. She wanted to be free, and I could feel her right on the cusp, but I still couldn’t move. I wish I could, or I would have turned my face, so Cyrus didn’t have full access to me. He leaned against me, cheek to cheek closing his eyes and inhaling deeply.

  “You smell absolutely delicious,” he chuckled to himself. He spoke quietly so as not to alert his non-followers of my presence. I wish I could scream out to the Towers. There were too many people around us and with Six fighting Axel in the sky, they couldn’t see me. The ashes still coating my skin meant they couldn’t smell me either. My brethren didn’t even know I was in danger.

  Cyrus pulled away from with perplexity riding his face, “Oh my, is that a tear?”

  He licked it off my cheek making me shudder with disgust. I didn’t want help. I needed to help myself, but I would give just about anything to have Julian show up at this moment.

  Cyrus traced an imaginary shield around my body with his fingers, “You are going to make me live forever.”

  I wanted to tell him, ‘You’re crazy.’ But even my lips were paralyzed. I hated that I’d landed myself in this. I understood why it took Julian as long as it did to get close to Cyrus. If this were the result, then it would be impossible to kill him by one’s self.

  “I can smell your fear,” Cyrus taunted as a twinkle sparkled in his eye. An air of familiarity struck him, “Oh, I know who you are. My, oh my how you have grown up. You are the spitting image of your parents.”

  I could feel my Scaler shaking. She was punching through just like under the dock.

  He continued to egg me on, “Did you know it takes seventeen hours for a mature Siren to bleed out? It took three days to remove every single scale, and every strand of hair by hand. If you interlock Siren hair with Onyx Skull wings, you get this steel grade, pliable type cordage. It’s magnificent. Anyway, you guys seem to take hours to burn as well. I practically had to douse them in Scarlet Wing blood. It was after they burned at the altar, their bones remained, and after some experimenting and recipes handed down through my lineage, I discovered the paralyzing effect their bones had on your kind. You see every part of the Scaler is put to use. None of you will go to waste. Every single inch. It’s a shame. If we weren’t in front of such a large crowd, I’d taste and sample every inch of you thoroughly before your sacrifice. What do you say?”

  He moved closer to me, and my Scaler had had enough. She could never be bound. He looked as if he were about to kiss me and that was it. I could feel the heat burning at the back of my throat fighting everything to be free. Scales pulsed and flashed up and down my body as his mind-bending trick began to wear off. I spit a single bolt of white-hot flames onto him. He moved back just in time for it to catch his beard.

  FUCK! I wished it were his face as he howled in pain!

  “BURN HER! BURN THAT BITCH AND GRIND HER BONES!”

  I watched as a herd of Anthros moved toward me. One held a glass canteen with a thick, maroon liquid sloshing around inside of it. The blood of a Scarlet Wing. I could smell it. Nausea swept over me as I fought to break free of the ropes.

  “Listen to me!” I shouted, thankful to have my voice again. I still felt sluggish, but my Scaler was pushing me to my normal self. I pushed my talons out to saw at the ropes. Nothing happened but smoke and embers, neither of which made the slightest tear in the material. I tried again to reason with the crowd, “You don’t have to do this. I will not give you immortality. Ingesting me will not give anyone immortality. Ask yourself why Cyrus’s a
ncestors aren’t still alive if this actually worked! Where are they?!”

  “SHUT YOUR MOUTH!” Cyrus shouted with a good portion of his beard charred and missing. I let out a soft chuckle which only infuriated him, “Don’t dare speak or laugh at the great family of Zion!”

  “Have any of you seen this Zion of which he speaks?! Don’t listen to him!” I shouted to the crowds. I could see their questioning glares. I was beginning to make sense. “Ask Cyrus to cut himself and show you his immortality! If he’s been consuming Scalers than he should heal just like we do!”

  I was able to slice into my arm and shove it out for them to see. “LOOK! If he were immortal, if any of his nonsensical bullshit were true, then you could do the same to him and expect this result!”

  I could hear the awe in their voices as they watched the wound seal itself in a matter of minutes.

  “Set me free!” I shouted in a rhythmic tone. “Set me free! Cut him up! Set. Me. Free. Cut. Him. Up!”

  I got a good rallying cry behind me as they wanted to see Cyrus bleed now just as much as I did. He tried to regain control of the crowd, “I have already proven myself to you all. Look at what I can do!”

  He pointed up to the sky where Six and Axel were still duking it out.

  “They listen to me!” he shouted. “They do my bidding! Only an immortal can do that!”

  “He’s lying! He’s using scents and ashes of our burned brethren! Don’t let him fool you,” I begged of them. “Listen to me! Release me! Set. Me. Free! Cut. Him. Up.”

  I got the crowd going again much to Cyrus’s dismay. I could see the red splotches of his skin deepening. He practically shook as he glared at me with murder in his eyes. Julian crossed my mind. I don’t know what happened to him or where he went, but if he’d been captured too …