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

by N. R. Hairston

  Reid read the sign too. “I guess either he’s been caught trading goods with the Yango, which is something Edward said they all did, or he betrayed his people to the Yango.”

  “It’s the ‘see what happens tonight’ part that gets me. No telling what they plan on doing to him.”

  After a while, I noticed that we were far away from the city. The road was narrower here, and the only thing around us were hills of grass. I inhaled, taking in the sweet honeysuckle smell, a scent that made me think of my childhood. The sky was clear-blue, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear we were at some peaceful countryside resort.

  We walked until we came to a small forest. The sound of running water could be heard in the distance, making me think a stream was nearby, with maybe somewhere nice to sit.

  I’d been cooped up in the house for what seemed like weeks now, and my leg muscles were making their protest known.

  Reid raised a brow as my steps became slower and my feet began to drag. “Let’s take a moment to rest, maybe eat a little lunch, recharge a bit. Can you levitate?”

  I nodded, and we laced hands and floated to the top of one of the hills. A clear blue river flowed below us, and a large tree rested on the bank, other than that, it was just grass and sunlight.

  We landed on the ground in front of the tree. I took off my backpack and pulled out the red blanket we’d brought for just such an occasion, while Reid saw to the sandwiches and bottles of water.

  In the groceries my brother had brought me, he’d thrown in a few things of his own, like the deli meat and cheese he used to make gourmet sandwiches at his restaurant. He’d also given me three home-grown tomatoes from the greenhouse he used in the winter.

  I loved home-grown tomatoes and the ham and cheese sandwich I ate now had two round slices on it. My brother only bought the best. It was so good that I caught myself licking my fingers as I ate.

  Before I’d finished one, Reid had scarfed down two. It was such a pretty day and sitting under the tree provided shade in a way that reminded me of the hot summer days Vonda, Todd, and I would munch on freeze pops, while playing hopscotch and other such games. I smiled a little wistfully, because man, those had been some worry-free days.

  It was actually kind of bittersweet, because I knew we could never be that innocent again, the three of us. Thinking about it though, lulled me into a false sense of security, so I wasn’t prepared when screams sounded from my left.

  Reid and I jumped up immediately, hurriedly throwing our things back into our backpacks. “I’m going to see what’s going on,” he said, looking in the direction the screams had come from.

  “Well I’m not staying here by myself.”

  Another scream sounded, then a few angry shouts. I counted four different voices, but I couldn’t be sure. Reid picked up his pace. “Someone may need our help.”

  We ran until we saw a small group of people gathered just above the river. We slowed to a walk, wanting to get a clearer picture of what was going on.

  Two women and three men held a man by his arms. The man looked to be about five feet six and had pale skin and honest to goodness silver hair. It was lush and wavy, flowing in rivulets down his back and past his shoulders.

  His nose had dried blood on it, and he sported a bruise on his right jaw and under his eye. He’d been wearing a white shirt and black pants, but his clothes were now ripped and torn.

  One of the women was tall, her black hair pulled back into a ponytail. The other was a brunette and only slightly shorter than the first one. One of the men had hair red like fire, and he was on the short side. A different man’s hair was a mixture of blue and yellow, and he stood a little taller than the first man. The last one was of average height, and his brown hair flowed down his back.

  The man with the red hair hit the silver dude, who stumbled but did not fall. This seemed to enrage the guy with the brown hair, and he raised his fist and punched the silver-haired one in the face, snapping the man’s head back.

  I’d seen enough. I was too far away to clearly hear what they were saying, but the name Yango did pass my ears a couple of times.

  The man with the red hair held out his hand and using what I guess was telekinesis, lifted the silver one in the air. The silver one’s face went hard, and I could tell it took everything in him not to fight or struggle.

  The brunette lady raised her hand, and I saw energy crackle around her fingers. Panic made my heart jump. They were going to kill him. They were going to kill him while we stood and watched.

  I broke into a run. I knew it was possible that he worked for the Yango, but I couldn’t watch this happen, besides if he worked for the Yango, maybe he’d have a bit more information on them.

  Reid ran beside me. “Got a plan?” I asked him, and he threw his hands up as if to say this was on me.

  “Hey,” I yelled, once we got closer, making all eyes snap our way. “What are you doing to him?” I figured I’d try the friendly approach first to see where that got me.

  The lady with the black hair looked my way. “This one here tried to raise a rebellion and fight the Yango. We already caught his partner and all of Litvan will witness his death.”

  The silver one paled at her words as if he hadn’t known this. If it was the guy from the billboard earlier, we’d seen it at least three more times before getting here, so I wasn’t sure how he’d missed it.

  Reid furrowed his brows. “He wants to stand up to the Yango, and for that he must die?”

  The man with the red hair turned heated eyes our way. “The only way Litvan stays intact is by giving them what they want. I’ve been to worlds where people tried to fight them.” He shook his head. “They go back and get their buddies, and then thousands come.” He shook his head again. “Nothing but hollowed out cities and dead bodies are left in their wake. We can always herd more cows, produce more chickens, grow more vegetables. Litvan stays as it is because we obey, and they don’t have a reason to attack.”

  “Besides,” the man with the brown hair said. “It is law that anyone trying to defy the Yango will be put to death by a powersquad. Do you have a problem with that?” His voice held a challenge that I readily answered.

  “Put him down now. You’ll be killing no one while I stand here.”

  My heart was beating out of my chest, but I meant what I said. I wasn’t the best fighter, but Todd, Vonda, and I used to scrap all the time, with each other, and with other kids in the neighborhood.

  When I got older and knew going into the PI business was something I wanted to do, I started to take self-defense classes, learning what I could. Sometimes I was even able to convince the instructor to stay over and teach me a few extra moves.

  Reid too had taught me a few things, and we sparred against each other as much as we could. By both of us being in the private detective business, it was important to be able to handle ourselves if a fight broke out.

  The man with the brown hair whipped our way. “Are you saying you’re a part of this little uprising?” His voice was dangerous now, and I noticed how his friends moved in closer to us, blocking us in.

  The one with the red hair dropped the silver one as all of his focus turned to us. Good. I wanted the silver one to run, to get away and let Reid and I handled whatever these five threw at us.

  He didn’t go though. Instead, he stood behind them, arms out as if waiting for one of them to attack.

  The one with the brown hair rushed forward, coming straight at me. Reid hit him with a fist to the face before he got close.

  The man wobbled a bit then fell flat on his back, knocked out cold.

  The woman with the black hair raised her hand, energy popping. The man with the blue and yellow hair floated above us, his face pulled back in a snarl. The woman with the brown hair had white energy flowing through her body and crackling around her skin.

  The man with the red hair held out his hand, like he was ready to attack.

  My eyes flashed with fire, and I called to my
wings, praying they would answer. As before, the skin on my back parted, and they flapped out. Relieved, I rose in the sky, breathing fire out of my mouth.

  Reid rose as well and did a flip of his hand. When he turned it back around, he held a large ball of fire.

  At first, they looked stunned, even the silver one. No one moved or said a word. Then the one with the red hair threw his head back and laughed. “It’s a trick! Parlor games! There are no dragons here. There are no dragons any—”

  Reid threw the fire at the man’s foot, and he fell over screaming as it burned through his clothes. Probably because he didn’t really want to kill him, Reid quickly pulled the fire back.

  The man’s eyes went wide, and I thought they’d stop trying to fight and leave us alone, but instead, they started to gather their power.

  “We’re not getting out of this without a fight,” I said to Reid.

  He nodded, his hands already out, as if he knew he’d have to attack again.

  The one with the silver hair held up his hands and silver energy hit the ground and tripped our would-be assailants up.

  They didn’t stay down for long, but by the time they were back on their feet, the one with the silver hair had floated up and was beside us.

  “We’ll have to kill’ em if we fight’ em. No skin to me, but you might feel different.”

  I most certainly did feel different. I didn’t want to kill anybody, ever, but I also knew I would not let them kill me. I fought to survive. I always had. Growing up in a house with my father, the supreme ruler, I hadn’t had a choice.

  White and yellow energy flew past us, and I knew these people were playing for keeps. I hissed, and fire shot out of my mouth, spraying them all and knocking them back.

  They screamed, and Reid quickly snatched the fire away, but from the smell of burnt flesh, I knew it’d done some damage.

  The silver one took in the situation and turned to us. “Into the water. We can lose them once we’re in there.”

  “I can’t hold my breath for that long,” I shouted as he made a nosedive toward the stream below. “Just do it anyway,” he shouted back.

  A strand of weak yellow energy missed me by an inch, making me think they weren’t hurt too bad if they could still do that. White energy went by my head, and satisfied that they were still alive, I dove into the river head first.

  Chapter 17

  Reid and I followed the silver-haired guy to the other side of the river. We must have swum downstream a bit because when we came up, the angry five were nowhere to be found.

  The water was cold, and it was an extra struggle making sure my backpack stayed attached. The silver one stopped moving, and Reid and I did the same.

  His hair was in wet strands around his face, and he carelessly pushed it away. “Name’s Trout, and you are?”

  I wiped hair out of my face and frowned as I took a look at our surroundings.

  Reid’s shirt clung to him, his broad muscles easily defined through his now soaked top. He stepped out of the water running a hand through his damp hair.

  I got out too, as did the silver one. I really hoped he agreed to help us. We knew next to nothing about the Yango, but I was betting there was a lot we could learn from him.

  Looking around again, I noticed the grass was gone, replaced by trees, brown dirt, and red mud. “Ummm, where are we?”

  Trout put his hands on his waist, then shook his head, making water fly everywhere. Thankfully neither Reid nor I were near him. “Later for that. First your name. Call me crazy, but I generally like to know who I’m talking to.”

  “Reid.”

  “Alisa.”

  He smiled. “We are...” his brows furrowed, and he turned around. “Somewhere.” He looked confused, but not worried.

  A loud growl came from the woods, and I froze and turned in that direction. “Where are we, man?”

  He held up a hand and wiggled his fingers. “I opened a wormhole as we were going through the water. I’m not sure where it landed us.”

  I felt my pocket, making sure the porter was still there, and sighed in relief when I felt the outline beneath my thumb.

  Another roar sounded, this one different than the first and something rustled in the bushes behind us.

  “So, you’re a natural?” Reid asked, and it took me a second to remember what that meant.

  Trout could open a portal without the help of a porter. To him, it was all body and mind. He nodded as more roars sounded behind us. “Do you think they’re close?” His eyes strayed toward the woods, then he waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter. We have to go back to Litvan and save Iago.”

  A chill went through me, and I realized I was shaking. It wasn’t as hot here as it had been on Trout’s world, but then again, we were surrounded by trees that helped keep the sun away.

  Reid wandered a little toward the bushes, and I held my breath, curious to what he was doing. “What kind of animals are in this forest?”

  Trout’s stomach growled, and he put a hand over it. “The kind that bite, probably. Can we go now? I haven’t eaten in three days. Need to find some food, a candy bar, something.”

  I started to dig in my pack, to give him one of my gourmet ham and cheese sandwiches, but then stopped and thought about it. I was soaking wet, they were soaking wet, and any food we had was probably ruined and no doubt the clothes in our packs were soaked too. “Let’s go home instead.” I turned to Trout to let him know I included him in this as well. “If we’re going to come back, to save this Iago of yours, then we need a plan, and I can’t think with my clothes clinging to me like this.” This was good. Hopefully with Trout, and maybe his friend Iago, we’d find helpful allies.

  “I kind of like the way your clothes cling,” Reid said, causing me to smile at him.

  He gave me a fond look then turned to Trout. “What do you say? We’ll help you, but it has to be on our terms.”

  Trout’s demeanor went from open and friendly to closed off in a second. He stared off into space for a moment, then his shoulders sagged. “I don’t care about your terms. All I want is to save Iago. I’ll do anything to make that happen, so lead the way.”

  I pointed the porter, and we stepped inside. It landed us in the same spot in my house we’d left from, and I wasn’t sure if that was my doing or the porter’s. Edward would probably know.

  Trout let out a breath and looked around my colorful living room. “Nice. I like it.”

  “Thanks,” I said, a little surprised. Not many people got my strange sense of style, so it was always nice to meet someone who did.

  I dropped my bags to the floor then thought better of it. This stuff needed to be washed immediately. I handed it over to Reid. “I’m going to go take a shower and put on some fresh clothes. Can you put these in the laundry room? I’ll sort it later.”

  He took the bag. “I’ll get Trout a towel and washcloth and see if he can fit any of my clothes.”

  I nodded, knowing I needed to hurry as both of them probably wanted to use the shower as well. As I went down the hall, I made a note to not use all the hot water.

  AFTER WE’D ALL FRESHENED up, we sat on the floor, a large hand-drawn map in front of us. If we could save this Iago, then get both he and Trout’s help in finding out more about the Yango, that would make things a lot easier. Plus, with Trout being a natural, I was sure there were a lot of things about world-hopping he could teach us.

  He sat now, with his back to the kitchen, a determined look in his eyes. Reid had found him a pair of blue jeans and a black shirt to wear and they fit him okay. Reid himself had on black jeans and a white shirt. I wore a pair of brown khakis and a yellow sweater.

  Reid and I sat in front of Trout. The whole house smelled like cheese and hamburgers. While I’d been in the shower, Reid had thrown some hamburger in a pan, cooked it up, cut up a block of cheese, and opened up a can of tomatoes and green chilies.

  By the time I’d gotten dressed he’d thrown it all in the Crock-Pot. We each had a
bowl in front of us now. I scooped mine with nacho chips while Reid and Trout used tortilla. We had cans of cola and bottles of water to drink.

  Trout’s face was grave as he looked at the map. “They’ll have guards stationed everywhere. So, we have to go in hard and fast.” He looked from me to Reid, his voice laced with steel. “He will not die. He will not.”

  Well, I didn’t want him to die either, whoever he was, but I needed a better understanding of what we were dealing with. So far, the picture I had was a little murky.

  I scooped up a little of the dip with my chip and popped it into my mouth. It was really good. The cheese, the spices from the tomatoes and chilies, plus the hamburger made for something quick, easy, and appetizing. “Can you tell us a little more about your world?”

  He sat up straight, long legs folded under him. “The Yango have a material called yang. It’s a grainy black substance native only to their world. We use it in building our houses and other such structures. It protects against things like mold, and water damage, but can also withstand any size windstorm. It also makes constructions more resistant to fire.”

  Reid sat with his legs stretched out in front of him. He looked the map over, brows drawn in tight. “It seems like a good material to have, and from what I understand, the Yango were not always so aggressive.”

  Trout let out a small sigh and put a thoughtful hand under his chin. “Well, they were never really nice, but they did offer fair trade. They have other stuff besides the yang.”

  He downed his water, keeping the bottle in his hand to tap lightly on the floor as he talked. “They have chrusten and milina stone that people use for jewelry and design. Those only grow on Yango as well. These are just a few examples. The point is, Yango have a lot of valuable resources that a lot of us would be hurt without.”