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

by N. R. Hairston

  We’d been inside a nice warm house, so we hadn’t been wearing jackets, and the cold reached down to my bones and settled itself there making me shiver. “We have to get out of here,” I said, then noticed the blood coming from my mouth.

  My stomach twisted into knots and my blood turned to ice. I coughed, and blood fell to the white ground below us. I looked around. All I saw was ice and snow, but up ahead I heard voices.

  The porter was still in my hand, and I slipped it into my pocket, not sure if using it so soon was a good idea. “We need shelter,” I said.

  Reid wrapped an arm around my waist. He had on combat boots, while I wore bedroom slippers. My feet were blocks of ice, and now I understood how one could easily lose a limb. I coughed up more blood, yes, I completely understood.

  “Let... let me carry you?” Reid asked.

  I looked at him and noticed how he swayed back and forth, barely able to stay upright. We started a slow walk, but the cold on my feet was making it impossible for me. “Going to pick you up.” He tried to lift me and ended up hacking up blood as I had earlier.

  We were going to die, depending on how far away the voices were, we were going to die.

  Bit by bit we walked, the cold and snow showing us no mercy. “We have to use the porter,” I said. “We can’t make it much farther like this. We’re dead either way, but I refuse to die in a strange world leaving my parents to wonder what happened. We have to go back.”

  He nodded, and I pulled out the device and aimed it in front of us, pushing the little button on the side and thinking of nothing but the comforts of my own home.

  The swirling blue light came, and we joined hands, not letting go even after we stepped inside the portal.

  It spat us out back into the kitchen, in the same spot we’d left from. We both hit the floor with a bang, and I tried to come to my feet as fire engulfed me.

  I screamed as it lifted me in the air, covering me from head to toe. Only, I wasn’t dead, I felt no pain, and the smell of burning flesh didn’t linger in the air.

  My heart sounded like a herd of elephants, and I couldn’t see Reid. I didn’t know if he was okay or not, and that scared me more than anything.

  I thought back to those side effects Brad and Melinda had warned me about and knew this wasn’t it. Never had they said I could be burned alive, yet I knew I had no one to blame but myself. I’d clicked the damn thing, and now it was Reid paying the price.

  The fire raged on, seeping into my bones and igniting them as well. I opened my mouth and fire shot out, setting my kitchen counter aflame. Until this moment it had been contained to just myself, now, though, now it was everywhere.

  Through the smoke and flames, I saw Reid’s hand reach out toward the counter. When he did, the fire leaped from there and went up his arm.

  I watched, heart in my throat, not sure what was ready to happen. It raged for a second, then died out, leaving him unharmed and unburned.

  It let me go as well, disappearing as quickly as it’d come. I floated to the ground, aware of the fact that I’d been six inches in the air and it was me now controlling my descent to the floor.

  As soon as my feet hit solid ground, I went to where Reid stood on the opposite side of the room, a dazed look on his face. “Are you okay?” I asked, checking him over. “Are you hurt?”

  It took me a second to realize that every time I opened my mouth, a wisp of black and gray smoke came out.

  “I think—” he said, then stopped short as that same smoke came out of his mouth as well.

  My voice was low when I spoke, as I was still trying to process what had happened. “What does this mean?”

  “We wanted fireworks,” Reid said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

  “That’s all you got?” I asked through gritted teeth. I expected him to at least be as upset about this as I was.

  He made a gesture for me to follow him and went to take a seat in the living room. He didn’t walk like he was still in pain, and I noticed that I wasn’t either.

  What had happened to us? Where had the fire come from? I wasn’t sure, all I knew was, I hadn’t felt this good in months. I’d been coughing up blood, now any trace of that was gone.

  Had the flame healed us? Had it caused us to be sick in the first place? I had too many questions and not enough answers.

  Reid sat on the couch, hands clasped in front of him. I sat across from him on the love seat, checking the room, making sure there wasn’t some small fire in the corner that we hadn’t seen. “We have to find Brad and Melinda,” I said. I’d been over the file Melinda had given me about Brad a million times and nothing had jumped out, and since they’d planned this from the beginning it probably wouldn’t.

  The house might hold clues, but something told me that going back there just yet, wasn’t a smart thing to do. Not at the moment anyway.

  Reid didn’t say anything, just waved a hand for me to keep talking.

  “They told me there’d be side effects, but nothing like this.” I ran a hand through my hair and fire from my fingertips set it aflame. It didn’t burn, didn’t even hurt, but I still patted it down, trying to put it out. It was... unsettling.

  Reid cocked his head to the side and looked at it, and just like that the flame was gone.

  “I think,” he let out a hollow chuckle and shook his head. “I think I can control it.”

  I thought about how he’d reached out to the fire on my counter and called it to him. “Yeah, I think you can,” I said, my voice coming out as dismayed as I felt.

  He looked to be in deep thought a moment before he spoke. “I agree with you that we need to find Brad and Melinda. No way to know what’s going on if we don’t.” He didn’t look upset, just resigned.

  A cold chill went through me, and I licked my lips. “Are you scared?” I asked, because my hands couldn’t stop shaking.

  He blew out a breath and smoke, and a little fire leaped from his mouth and nostrils. “I’m not scared, just curious. We portal jumped to ice and snow, then caught on fire? Talk about your polar opposites.”

  Yet it has to be connected I thought, but Brad and Melinda would know more about that. They would at least know how to control it, maybe even how to remove it. Also, what if we had been given some type of disease or ailment that only they knew how to cure? They held all the knowledge so finding them, or maybe even Kyla, was a must, or we might never be able to leave my house again.

  Right now, it was too dangerous to be around other people. A simple laugh could set a whole room afire. A cough at the grocery store could turn anybody near me to ash.

  Brad and Melinda had said if we survived the first trip then we should be okay to jump again. I certainly hoped so, because right now it was impossible for either of us to earn a living and I got the feeling that this was just the beginning.

  Chapter 8

  We were tired. So much so that we’d fallen asleep on the floor in the living room after putting out about a dozen small fires. It was the insistent knocking at my front door that finally woke me.

  I sat up, blurry-eyed, Reid still snoring beside me. The hardwood left a small ache in my back, especially since we hadn’t even bothered with covers before plopping down.

  “Coming,” I mumbled, probably only loud enough for myself to hear.

  I looked to Reid. His hand was thrown over his face, and his chest rose and fell with each snore. I smiled as I stared. Reid was a good friend, an excellent lover, and always there when I needed him.

  I frowned as I thought of the day before. I hadn’t meant to bring him into this mess, and he was okay with it for now, but I feared once the realities of our situation really hit home, then it would be a different story and I wasn’t sure I could handle his scorn, though I knew I deserved it.

  The knocking didn’t stop and rising clumsily to my feet, I wondered who could be bothering me at such an hour. My phone lay on the end table by the door, and I picked it up to see that it was twelve o three.


  My sleep addled brain told me that something important was supposed to happen now, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what it was.

  I pulled the door open, not bothering to look through the peephole because whoever it was, was leaving now. I wasn’t in the mood to entertain, and besides that, it wasn’t safe.

  Imagine my dismay when I saw my parents standing on my front porch. My mom had on a gray wool skirt and sweater. The skirt stopped just above her ankles, just enough to be practical and not an inch more.

  My father wore black Dockers with a tan polo shirt, giving the impression, he just stepped off the golf course.

  I started to ask them what they were doing here, then noticed the two black traveling bags in my mom’s hand.

  Reality slammed into me like a brick to the face. They were here to collect me, how had I forgotten that?

  “Oh, I’m not going anywhere,” I said, my brain still not fully functioning.

  I turned away from the door, hoping they’d take the hint and leave. They didn’t. Instead, they walked inside, closing the door behind them.

  I started to assert my independence again but stopped once I took in the frozen expression on both their faces.

  Reid. Shit. I’d forgotten he was laying half-undressed on the floor. My father liked Reid, though I didn’t think he realized it.

  Reid had defied him when he’d let me train under him, and though my father hadn’t appreciated it at the time, I could tell that Reid had earned a bit of his respect when he’d done it.

  My mom’s face was unreadable as she watched Reid blink and slowly come to life. “If he’s here like this, then he should be paying your rent for you,” she said, completely serious.

  I gave her a sharp look, as did my father. She ignored us both, electing to talk to Reid instead. “Did you not know we were coming?” she asked, eyes wide, the very picture of innocence. A part she played well when she wanted to.

  Reid blinked again, his eyes going from my mother to my father as if he was just now noticing their presence.

  My father cleared his throat, and a bit of fire shot out of my fingertips and onto the floor.

  I yelped when I saw it, which caused all three eyes to turn my way.

  “The kitchen,” I said before the flame got out of control and the smoke had a chance to rise.

  I charged that way, shooting a quick glance at Reid as I did so.

  “Alisa, why aren’t you ready?” My mom asked, following right behind me.

  “Isn’t it obvious, Marta?” my father said, coming into the kitchen as well.

  Behind me, I could sense when Reid put the fire out, I’m not sure how, but I did. I breathed a sigh of relief. My parents hadn’t even noticed. Crisis averted, for now anyway.

  My father stood in front of my kitchen counter, his loud voice booming, and making my ears ring. “She has him here as a way of telling us that she’s not going.” His eyes held accusations as he looked at me.

  Not wanting to argue and tell them the real reason he was here, I looked away, panic making my heart speed up. To me, my father was all-knowing, always had been. Somehow, I felt if he stayed here long enough he’d eke the truth out of me, then the fun would really begin.

  How would I explain any of this to them? I shook my head, not even wanting to think about what that conversation would be like.

  My mother’s eyes strayed back toward the living room where Reid was busy slipping on his shirt. “But he doesn’t help you pay bills.” She sounded dismayed.

  Hoping to defuse this quickly, I opened the door to my refrigerator. “He bought me groceries, look.” I smiled like an idiot, hoping they’d go now and leave me to it.

  Reid ruined any chance of that when he came into the kitchen. “I did not. She gave me the money, and I went to get them for her.” He rolled his shoulders, and smiled at my mom while giving my father a slightly pointed look. “She also gave me enough money to pay her rent for the next three months.” He grabbed the receipt I’d left on the counter and handed it over to my father. “So, are we good here?”

  My father’s nostrils flared, and he stood a little taller, his shoulders widening. He looked Reid over, and though he’d rather swallow his own tongue than admit it, I could see the respect in his eyes.

  My mother seemed amused, if that was the right word to use. Not sure what was going on with her, I leaned my head to the side, giving her a curious look, which she promptly ignored.

  “I,” my father started, but I stopped him before he could go farther.

  “It’s done.” My voice held no room for argument.

  “Very well, then,” my father said, his voice sending chills down my spine as I held my breath waiting to hear what he would say next. “We’ll be back in three months.”

  My shoulders slumped. Of course he’d be back to micro-manage my life in three months. What else had I expected the man to do? Giving up wasn’t a phrase in his vocabulary.

  I tried to look neutral as I followed them to the door, but inside I was jumping. This at least was one less thing I had to worry about as I tried to get the rest of me under control.

  “Three months,” My father warned once he and my mom had stepped back out onto the porch. “I’ll be back in three months, and if your situation has not improved, you will be coming home.” He said it as if I didn’t have a choice in the matter, and by his thinking I probably didn’t.

  “Furthermore,” he said, straightening his lapels. “Your sister and brother will be bringing you groceries every week until that time as I refuse to put your mother through the worry of wondering if you’re eating or not.”

  “I can buy my own food,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “Obviously not, if Reid had to buy you groceries in order for you to eat.”

  “I bought them,” I said, wishing I’d never opened that refrigerator trying to prove something that didn’t need to be proven.

  My father held up a hand, designed to stop me from saying more. “I’m not going to argue with you, Alisa. You’re the one who said it, not me.”

  He did this when he didn’t get his way, when things didn’t go exactly as he’d planned. I called it saving face, but who knew what really went on inside his head.

  “Your mother and I will write the check, and your brother and sister will make sure you’ve got enough food. I’ll also direct your brother to give you a standing invitation to his restaurant, something he should have done a long time ago. All meals will be on your mother and me of course.”

  He was really overcompensating, and behind me, I sensed another fire break out. “Todd has told Vonda and me that we can eat free whenever we want, so just leave him out of this.” I didn’t want him harassing my brother any more than I wanted him bothering me, yet somehow, I handled it better than my brother did.

  He sniffed the air and grabbed my mother’s hand as they started down the steps. “That’s no more than a brother ought, and to be perfectly honest, he should have done it long ago. Very well, I’ll talk to him and your sister about this later.”

  I rolled my eyes. The man was like a dog with a bone when he wanted to be. I watched them until they got in the car and pulled away.

  Usually I didn’t let them get this far into my business, but today I was too tired to fight them off. Not that I wouldn’t deal with them later. This was my life and they had to understand that.

  Chapter 9

  We didn’t leave the house for three days. It was a good thing I’d sent Reid to load up on groceries because ordering takeout seemed a good way to set the delivery person on fire.

  “We can’t keep staying in this house,” I said it loud enough for Reid to hear me. Right now, he was in the small laundry room just past my kitchen. He kept a few clothes here, for those times we did want to be together that way, and he spent the night. He’d been through four outfits now, and so he was washing them, to make sure he had clean clothes for tomorrow.

  He walked back into the living room, wearing
light-blue jeans and a white T-shirt.

  I sat on the couch, pulling a yellow throw pillow onto my lap. “It’s too cold for short-sleeves.”

  He snorted and sat beside me, snatching my pillow away. “And if we leave the house I’ll put on a sweater.” With a twinkle in his eye he gave the pillow back, and I smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. His skin was warm under my cool lips, but that’s just the way I liked him.

  Pillow back in my hand I thought about our situation. “I think we’re getting better at controlling it.”

  He nodded. “Well, we’ve done nothing for the last three days but try to control it, so we were bound to make progress. The question is, are we ready to look for the people who did this to us?”

  I thought about how yesterday around dinner time I knew that the house three doors down from me had a white gas stove that they’d just turned on. Their fire had called to me, yet I hadn’t answered and was proud of myself that I’d been able to resist.

  Around two this morning I knew that the woman across the street had flicked her lighter and had an early morning smoke, that fire too had called for my attention.

  I looked at Reid. Had he experienced the same? “I felt when a woman smoked a cigarette this morning, also I know what the Chappell’s had for dinner last night. The flame called out to me the whole time their hamburgers and gravy was cooking.”

  He didn’t seem surprised, yet he didn’t seem like he could relate either. “I can call the fire to me, change and rearrange it when it’s in my hand, but I can’t sense it from other places. Maybe our powers are not exactly the same?”

  “Maybe not, because I can’t change it the way you can, so who knows. I say we need a little more practice.”

  A gas oven cut on three streets over. Then another one flared up two houses down from mine. In a ten-mile radius, six people lit a cigarette, two people struck matches, someone played with the flame of a butane lighter, and one odd man set a plate of peanut butter on fire.

  “Ahh!” I grabbed my head, wishing I could make it stop, but I didn’t even know how to control my own flame, much less someone else’s.