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

by N. R. Hairston

  Edward had said that some of the Yango still traded like they were supposed to, and it was just the rogue ones that were wreaking havoc. “We’ve been to a world where they tried to fight the Yango.” I thought of the death and destruction back on Vilion and shivered. “They tore the place to the ground. The city I was in anyway.”

  Reid got up and stretched, his shirt raising to reveal lean muscles. He seemed restless, and I figured like me, he was probably ready to go ahead and rescue this Iago, so that we could get back to our original plan, with a little extra help this time.

  Trout’s gaze rested on the floor. “I’m not surprised. They kill all those who oppose them. I know they have to eat, but most worlds are more than willing to offer a line of credit, for when they come up short.” He shook his head as if disgusted. “Some Yango just prefer to take and destroy.”

  Reid sat back on the floor, looking a little more relaxed. “So, on your world, the people decided to just give them what they wanted as a way of keeping your city intact and your people safe?”

  Trout nodded slowly, his face now hard. “It won’t last. I tried to tell them that, but they wouldn’t listen. Right now, we are under the protection of a group of Yango calling themselves Bayos. But what happens after they’ve bled us dry and decide to move on? What’s to stop a different Yango group from coming and taking their place? One day our resources won't be enough, then they’ll kill us all.”

  I thought about it because there was nothing to stop another group from coming in now and opposing these Bayos. If that happened, it would be Trout and his people caught in the crossfire.

  The Yangos on Vilion seemed to enjoy killing, enjoy the destruction they caused. Who’s to say they wouldn’t cause a ruckus, whether the people cooperated or not. It was a bad situation to be in, constantly living in fear that your world and everything you loved would be wiped away by a Yango having a bad day.

  I ran my eyes over the map. Kyla and her crew were trying, but they were not getting the job done. The task was too great, and there were so many worlds, that it made it hard to keep track of them all. We needed a way to bring all Yango together, to get them all on the same world, because this had to end, and Reid and I couldn’t simply walk away. Not if there was anything we could do to help. My conscience simply wouldn’t allow it.

  Fire lit up on my hand, and Reid put cool fingers on mine, putting the flame out. We needed to find Brad and Melinda or maybe Kyla. Getting these powers out of us before we dealt with the Yango didn’t seem like a smart idea, but we still needed to know more about them and how to better control them. “Tell us about the dragons,” I said to Trout. The more information we had, the better.

  He stopped tapping the bottle and laid it beside him. “The dragons are from the worlds Cyphen, Kreen, and Dreed. That we know of anyway. No one knows what happened to them. Some say a stronger world overtook them, yet no one knows a stronger world than those three.

  “Others say a strange disease harmful only to those with dragon blood hit, and wiped them away. Then there are those who believe they closed themselves away, not wanting to deal with outside worlds anymore.” He shrugged. “Whatever the case, they have not been seen for thousands of years, so power like yours is not taken lightly.”

  Reid’s brows furrowed. “Has anyone thought to portal to where they live and see if they’re there?”

  Trout shook his head. “A few have tried, but they always ended up right where they started. There is no portal that can take you to dragon land. Besides, it’s been told that there’s lots of fire there. That they live in the stuff and only those with dragon blood can survive.”

  “Were they like the Yango?” I asked, for some reason the answer mattered to me.

  Trout answered immediately. “Some say yes, others no. I don’t think anyone really knows. Look, I don’t know if these Yango you’re looking for can help you. But, if the porter you have is of Yango design, then only a Yango know how to deal with the side effects of it.”

  Reid looked as if he was chasing down a thought and couldn’t quite make it stick. “So, are we talking animals here, these dragons, or are they people like you and me?”

  Trout’s brows rose. “They are people like you. Not me.”

  “So, they are people who have dragon blood, but they’re just like the rest of us?”

  Trout gave him a blank stare. “You keep pushing this we thing. I don’t have dragon blood, so they are not like me. They are like you. I don’t know what they look like. Are we going to have to go through this a third time because I’m tired of it already?”

  Reid chuckled, but I couldn’t tell if it was in fondness or exasperation. “No, I think I get it.”

  Trout came to his knees, and began to gather up his bowl, water, and can of soda. “You know, Iago’s sister Lantana could probably summon the Yango here for you.”

  I started to clean up my mess as well but stopped when he said that. “What do you mean summon?”

  He held the bowl in his right hand and the bottle of water and can of soda in his left. “She can find people as long as we are within ten universes of them. She has the power to call them forward.”

  Reid stood, his dishes in his hand. “That would narrow things down a bit.”

  I agreed. I still wanted to save Iago, but it was his sister I really wanted to meet. “Where is she?”

  Trout stiffened, and his eyes went hard. “She was with us when they attacked. We all went in separate directions. They may have her too, or she could already be dead.”

  I’d pumped myself up quite nicely, but his words made me deflate instantly. “We won’t know anything until we get back there. So, what’s the plan?”

  Apprehension passed through me, and I let it run its course. The PI business wasn’t for the weak of heart, so it’s not like I hadn’t seen and faced down my fair share of danger.

  I didn’t fear much, but people with powers and abilities weren't the norm in my little slice of the world. I wouldn’t say I didn’t want to fight, because back there on Vilion when we’d faced down the Yango, I’d felt something powerful and deadly scratching at the surface clawing to break free.

  I hadn’t let it out, not sure of what would have happened if I had, but at some point, we would have to face more Yango, and I wasn’t so sure I could continue to keep the beast contained.

  Chapter 18

  Trout had informed us that a special square had been built in the middle of town to carry out public executions of those caught collaborating against the Yango. That’s where they’d bring Iago tonight, so that the powersquad could take him out.

  Once again, we stood in my living room ready to go. Since Trout knew where he was going, it was decided that he would be the portal opener for this trip.

  He stood, body tensed, waiting for Reid and I to finish getting our stuff together. “There’s a hide-out we have. Something only Iago, Lantana, Coen, and myself know about. I think we should lay low there until it’s time to go.”

  Reid was busy cutting off the lights but stopped when Trout said this. “Who is Coen?” I wanted to know this as well.

  I locked the back door, then did the same in the kitchen and living room. “And what’s a powersquad?” I asked, once I was done.

  Trout’s face said he wished we’d stop with the questions, he seemed annoyed, or just ready to go, and I understood that this Iago was important to him, so I got the impatience. “Coen is the other member of our team,” he said. “He wasn’t with us when they got us, so hopefully, they don’t know about him.”

  I nodded, not so sure we could trust this Coen. Awfully convenient for him not to be there when the rest of his team was taken down. “Are you sure you can trust him?”

  “Yes,” he answered without hesitation or pause.

  As I didn’t really know him, or this Coen, it didn’t go a long way toward making me feel better about the situation, but it did help a little. “Powersquad?”

  His shoulders sagged, and he turned away,
his voice going low. “It’s where they line you up with powerless mangles, and on the count of three a group of twenty men and women use the full force of their powers on you.” He stopped for a moment to clear his throat, head still turned to the side. “Powerless mangles are bracelets they put on your wrists to mute your power, so you have no way to defend yourself.”

  I shuddered, thinking about how awful that must be. It sounded barbaric, and I wondered how long this practice had been going on.

  Reid shifted from one foot to the other, and I could tell he was just ready to get this over with. “What if this secret hideout of yours has been compromised, then what?”

  Trout answered in a very matter-of-fact voice. “Then be prepared to fight.” I didn’t like the sound of that, but I liked less the idea of innocent people being killed because they refused to hand over their world to the Yango, so I’d do what I could to help.

  Trout looked at me. “I’m going to open a portal in the air, above our spot, just to be sure no one else is there, so be sure to have your wings out.” He looked to Reid. “You be ready too.”

  It was dark now back on Litvan and true to his word, we came out the other side of the portal suspended in midair. Reid waited until my wings were fully out, and he was sure I wouldn’t fall, before letting my hand go.

  We hovered above a small wooden house in what looked like a deserted forest. No sound came from the house, and I didn’t see a light anywhere. Still, that didn’t mean there weren’t a dozen Litvan citizens waiting inside to take us out.

  Trout turned to me and Reid. “I’ll dip a little lower. If I’m not back in five minutes you two just go.” He paused for a second. “Try to save Iago if you can, and tell him that I love him, and that I tried.” With that, he dropped to the ground and entered the house.

  I turned to Reid. “We’re not going to leave him here to fight alone.”

  Reid floated beside me, eyes intent on the house. “No, we’re not.”

  A second later Trout came out and waved us down. “It’s just Coen inside.”

  We still moved with caution as we landed on the ground and let Trout lead us inside. The small house had only one room, with wooden floors and walls. Two green couches sat in the middle of the floor opposite each other, with a wood work table between them.

  The two windows in the room had dark brown shades on them, and a bar stool sat under one, making me think they used it for a lookout spot. On one of the couches sat a man, who like Trout, looked to be in his late twenties. He had dark hair that reached just to the nape of his neck. His face was lean, but not hard or severe. He was a little on the thin side, but not waif-like.

  Just judging from him sitting down, I’d put him at around five feet five or six. He wore an expensive-looking pair of black khakis and a short-sleeved black dress shirt. Even though the house was dusty and smelled musty and pine-like, he didn’t have a spot on him, and I’d bet he’d never had a bad-smelling day in his life.

  This man screamed money and prestige, and I gave Trout a hard look because this dude didn’t seem to be hurting from the Yango. Then I thought back to when we’d first met Trout. Though his clothes had been ripped and he’d been beaten, he’d radiated the same air as this guy.

  These two came from money and were probably on the top social ladder on Litvan. Their businesses may not have been hurt by the Yango, but I’d bet plenty of other peoples were.

  If their businesses were still intact, then I respected them for taking a stand against the Yango, knowing what it would cost them.

  Coen’s voice was rough when he spoke. “So, Trout says that you’re going to help us get Iago back, but he didn’t tell me how.” He ran critical eyes over both Reid and myself, as if looking for some type of defect.

  I blinked, trying not to feel insulted, but really.

  Reid took a seat on the couch across from Coen. “Have you heard anything? Have any news we can work with?”

  Coen’s eyes turned to Reid. “This one,” he pointed to Trout, “was caught but he got away.” He didn’t say anything else, but the look on his face was almost like a challenge for Reid to ask him more.

  “You do realize that they’re here to help, right, Coen?” Trout sat beside him on the couch while I plopped down next to Reid. “I mean they could just leave. They don’t have to help us, and then it’ll be just you and me going to get Iago. You are coming, right?”

  “Probably have to kill you if I don’t,” Coen mumbled, head down, pretending to pick lint off his pants.

  Trout folded his hands together and sat rod-straight. “Yeah, you would.” He sounded serious, and from the hard look on his face, I think he was.

  “Anyone want to tell me the plan?” Coen waved a hand through the air as if to say it was anyone’s floor.

  Since no one else felt inclined to answer, I decided to do the honors. “We’re going to hover above, check out the guards, wait until they are distracted, then open a portal and get him out of there.”

  “That’s a horrible plan,” Coen said, shaking his head. He looked to Trout. “You should know better. They’ll have guards in the air, they always do.”

  Trout gave him a hard stare. “Then give me a better plan. Go ahead I’ll wait.”

  “We need to portal under the platform, that way—”

  Trout threw his hands up. “You don’t think they’ll have guards there too?”

  Coen didn’t seem fazed. “We can take them out with hardly a sound.”

  “If we’re under the platform then how will we get to him?”

  “Look.” Reid held up a hand. “We do it the way we already planned. There is no getting out of this without a fight, so let’s just do what we have to and get it over with.”

  Trout stood, fingers twitching by his side. “What I said from the beginning. While we stand here arguing, Iago waits.”

  He opened a portal, and taking a moment to compose myself and make sure that my wings were out, I stepped through with no idea of what was waiting on the other side, or if we’d even make it out of this alive.

  Chapter 19

  High above our heads, a bunch of lights burned brightly, casting a glow that lit up the night.

  We hovered above the town square looking at the thousands of people milling around down below.

  My heart did a quick spin at this. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but there were a lot of people here, no way could we fight them all. I wondered how many agreed with Coen and Trout. From a closer look at the signs some of them held, not many.

  Their posters weren’t written with markers, like I’d come to expect from my own world. Instead, their signs were electronic just like the billboard I’d seen, and they came in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some read: “Keep Litvan safe!” “We will all die if we oppose the Yango.” “Death to anyone who would try to bring us down.”

  My eyes went wide, a little shocked at the vitriol of the Litvan people. I would have thought, like the people of Vilion, they’d want to be out from under the rule of the Yango, but apparently not.

  A loud drum sounded, and I looked down to see two men and one woman set up on a raised platform. The stage, made of blue marble, was about twenty by sixteen and just like us, it floated midair.

  Besides the drummer, a large crystal podium stood in the front of the platform. The people below crowded around the thing, some on the ground, but most floating so that they were eye level with it.

  Their angry jeers and sneers reached my ears just fine, and I looked at my three companions to get their reactions.

  Reid stood arms folded, a look of disbelief on his face. To know that so many people wanted someone to die for simply standing up for them was a tough pill to swallow.

  Trout actively searched the crowd, a look of worry on his face when he didn’t see who he was looking for, Iago I assumed.

  Coen had a strange cocky grin on his face, and I got the impression that this was all fun for him.

  Guards dressed in gray-and-black uniforms
were spread out every few feet just below us. All it would take was for one of them to look up, then all hell would break loose.

  Coen looked to Trout. “Now what?”

  Trout turned until he faced all three of us, arms spread wide. “Now I fall.” And that’s what he did. Flying backward, as if he’d been pushed and had no control of his body, he made his way toward the bottom of the crowd.

  My brows rose to my hairline. I hadn’t known he was going to do that. Reid looked amused, and the look on Coen’s face said he’d expected as much.

  As soon as Trout’s five-foot six frame sailed past the guards, they immediately went on alert, fumbling over themselves as they reached out to try and grab him. He opened a portal and disappeared.

  He popped up again, this time only a few feet above the platform. “Get him!” one of the guards yelled, and that’s when Reid, Coen, and I, sprang into action.

  My wings flapped as I flew down, opening my mouth, and letting out fire that I commanded only to scare, not to hurt. People screamed, and for a second the area was so confused, I couldn’t see anything.

  Then I heard a loud boom that made my bones rattle, and my soul shake. I looked beside me to see Coen, clapping his hands together. A guard had tried to grab him from behind. Coen waited until the man made contact then clapped his hands together.

  The man screamed in horror as he vibrated from the effects then went falling, arms and legs flailing.

  Reid had balls of fire in his hand, and I hoped he’d made them nonlethal like I had. One of the citizens touched the sign he was holding, and it lit up with white energy. He swung it at Reid’s head, with a force that had me holding my breath. Reid threw one of the balls at the thing, and it blazed and burned to ash.

  The man shot that same energy out of his hands, and I saw Reid duck and throw a fireball at him.

  A woman also tried to swing her sign at me, and I shot fire at her, meant to sting, but not hurt. It hit her on the neck and shoulder, making her drop the sign and scream something about dragons.