by A. Q. Owen
“If we can work together, we can drive these vampires back to where they came from. At least it will buy the people some time to evacuate the city.”
Finally, the lightbulb went off in Diggs’s head. “Okay,” he said. “I think I see where you’re going with this. My power commands aren’t strong enough on their own to work on a huge scale like this, but together we might have a chance.”
Another booming drum sound echoed through the hills and rolled up into the city. The vampires began chanting something I didn’t understand. Over and over, their war chant grew louder. They started marching toward the gate in perfect rhythm, weapons drawn and ready to spill blood.
“They’re coming,” Diggs said. “If we’re going to do this, we have to do it now.”
We stepped over to the front edge of the tower and stared out at the approaching army.
“What were you thinking?” he asked.
“The vampires in the sewer seemed to hate that fire you made. I say we go with that but bigger. We make a wall of it that encircles their forces.”
“Okay,” Diggs said. “Ready when you are.”
I gave a nod and took his hand. “Strengthens the connection,” I said to fend off the awkward look on his face.
“Giant wall of flame that wraps around their army,” he said.
“Giant wall of flame,” I repeated.
We closed our eyes. I imagined the flames wrapping around the oncoming enemy, slowly closing in on them. I let myself feel relieved as the vampires panicked and ran back to the forest, all in my imagination.
Then I opened my eyes and watched, still focused on the feelings of appreciation for our victory. The cold seeped through my veins.
Clouds gathered overhead. Lightning crashed in the distance.
The vampire army was less than a hundred yards from our position on the tower. My instincts told me to panic, to freak out and worry about being killed. I pushed those instincts aside and focused on the feelings of gratitude and relief.
Suddenly, a flame erupted from the ground. It started as a pillar of fire and then spread immediately to the right and left, stretching across the battlefield in front of the first vampire lines just fifty yards away.
I watched as the flaming wall grew, reaching all the way around the vampire army in a half circle.
Their initial lines came to a halt, thrown off by the sudden anomaly. The leader in the golden armor looked up at the tower. I didn’t know for sure if he could see us, but it felt like his eyes were bearing down on me.
“Move them back,” I said.
The wall of fire started creeping toward the first wave of vampires. They held their ground, intent on not giving an inch. Then one of them howled as the flames touched his skin and set him on fire. Then another warrior, and another. It only took three or four of them to die a horrible death for the rest of the army to realize what was happening. They were being hemmed in. The two ends of the half circle also began closing in on the enemy.
Many of them started yelling, and a moment later the columns and rows broke apart as the vampires retreated back to the forest.
I turned back to Johnstone, who was watching on the side of the hill. “General!” I shouted. “Loose your arrows!”
The general hesitated, probably because he didn’t take orders. He gave them.
“Now, General!” Diggs shouted over his shoulder.
“Fine!” Johnstone relented. “Archers! Fire!”
Rows of bowmen tilted their weapons up and let hundreds of arrows fly. There were so many of them that for a second they blotted out the darkening sky as they soared toward the enemy.
Vampires dropped all over the field as they tried to retreat. Johnstone’s men loosed another barrage and another, killing or wounding thousands of vampires in the span of a minute.
All the while, the flaming wall crept in on them, forcing them back.
The one in golden armor looked at me one last time and then motioned for his forces to retreat, which I thought was funny since most of them were already on the run.
After several minutes, the last of the vampires had vanished. The battlefield was littered with bodies, but the people of the city were safe.
A victory yell went up from behind us as the people rejoiced in their victory. I looked over at Diggs and gave a nod. He returned the gesture. His eyes looked different. Was that admiration in them? I didn’t dare bring it up.
“Good job,” I said in the most macho voice I could muster.
He gave a nod. “You too, kid.”
17
The next morning, the eastern gate was crammed with people waiting to leave the city.
I looked out over the group with a sense of pride.
Johnstone was going to let them leave the city, but he’d only given us a tiny window. Anyone left after noon that day would be executed for treason.
It was all the generosity we could expect from the guy.
Diggs finished loading up a cart and then came over to where I was standing, looking out on the road leading away from the city.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “Just a long journey ahead.”
“Still going to try to find your parents, huh?”
“Were you going to try to talk me out of it?” I turned my head and looked up at him with surprise.
“I would never do that. It’s just that…well, together, you and I make a pretty good team. And where we’re headed, it’s going to be dangerous. We could use another sword, not to mention your abilities with the power.”
I nodded. “I know, Diggs, but you’ll take good care of them. When you get to the castle in the sky, you’ll be fine.”
He was leading the people to a smaller city about a hundred miles to the north. A big mountain overlooked the area. On top of the mountain was an old college that used to be called the castle in the sky. There, he believed they could set up a community where they could protect themselves if necessary. It was so far off the beaten path, though, I doubted they’d get many invaders.
“Thanks for your help,” he said, sticking out his hand. “I appreciate it.”
I shook his hand with as firm a grip as I could muster. His handshake was strong, the skin on his fingers rough from years of hard work.
Then I frowned.
“What?” he asked, puzzled.
“The tattoo on your back, the one with the bird sticking up close to your neck. What is that?”
He chuckled. “After everything that’s happened, you’re asking about my tattoo?”
I gave a nod.
He sucked in a deep breath. “It’s a phoenix,” he said. “This city was once burned to the ground by a ruthless invader. It rose from the ashes and became greater than ever before. This tattoo symbolizes my hope that humanity can be like the phoenix and rise from the ashes once more.”
I smiled. It was a good answer. “I’m just glad it actually means something and wasn’t a tattoo you got on a whim during spring break.”
He let out a full belly laugh. “No. Definitely not.”
The gates swung open, and people started marching out in ragged columns.
“I guess it’s time,” I said.
“Yep.” He flashed a broad grin. “I have a feeling I’ll see you again sometime.”
I couldn’t explain it, but I thought the same thing.
“Yaw,” I said to Billy and nudged his ribs with my boots.
He kicked into gear and galloped past the lines of people and out onto the road. Off to the northeast were the Blue Ridge Mountains. North of that was Old Appalachia and, hopefully, my parents.
18
Thank You
Thank you for choosing to spend your time and money on this book. I’m a relatively new author and the fact you’d take a chance and spend your time with someone you might not have heard of means a great deal to me. After all, there are millions of books out there. I’m so glad you decided to give mine a read.
I appre
ciate it and hope you enjoyed the story.
Sincerely,
AQ Owen
19
Other Books by AQ Owen
I AM EVE Series:
I Am Eve Book 1
I Am Eve Book 2 (January, 2018)
I Am Eve Book 3 (February, 2018)
Armageddon Chronicles
The Guardian (February 2018)
20
Acknowledgements
I couldn’t create these stories at a high level of quality without some important people behind the scenes, working diligently to make sure everything looks amazing.
So, thanks to my editors Jason Whited and Anne Storer for their hard work in cleaning up my messes.
And thank you to my cover designer, L1 Graphics.
You guys make my work shine and I can’t say how much I appreciate that.
For you, because deep down, you are a hero to someone.
I Am Eve is a work of fiction. All names, characters, events, and places are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright ©2017 AQ Owen
AQOWEN.COM
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States of America by Enclave Publishing.