Into the Fire

by Cheree Alsop

  —Stephanie Roberts, Amazon Reviewer

  “This was a heart-warming tale of rags to riches. It was also wonderfully described and the characters were vivid and vibrant; a story that teaches of love defying boundaries and of people finding acceptance.”

  —Sara Phillip, Book Reviewer

  “This is the best book I have ever had the pleasure of reading. . . It literally has everything, drama, action, fighting, romance, adventure, & suspense. . . Nexa is one of the most incredible female protagonists ever written. . .It literally had me on pins & needles the ENTIRE time. . . I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Please give yourself a wonderful treat & read this book… you will NOT be disappointed!!!”

  —Jess- Goodreads Reviewer

  “Took my breath away; excitement, adventure and suspense. . . This author has extracted a tender subject and created a supernatural fantasy about seeing beyond the surface of an individual. . . Also the romantic scenes would make a girl swoon. . . The fights between allies and foes and blood lust would attract the male readers. . .The conclusion was so powerful and scary this reader was sitting on the edge of her seat.”

  —Susan Mahoney, Book Blogger

  “Adventure, incredible amounts of imagination and description go into this world! It is a buy now, don't leave the couch until the last chapter has reached an end kind of read!”

  —Malcay- Amazon Reviewer

  “The high action tale with the underlying love story that unfolds makes you want to keep reading and not put it down. I can't wait until the next book in the Shadows Series comes out.”

  —Karen- Amazon Reviewer

  “Really enjoyed this book. A modern fairy tale complete with Kings and Queens, Princesses and Princes, castles and the damsel is not quite in distress. LOVE IT.”

  —Braine, Talk Supe- Book Blogger

  “. . . It’s refreshing to see a female character portrayed without the girly cliches most writers fall into. She is someone I would like to meet in real life, and it is nice to read the first person POV of a character who is so well-round that she is brave, but still has the softer feminine side that defines her character. A definite must read.”

  —S. Teppen- Goodreads Reviewer

  “I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. . . This premise is interesting and the world building was intriguing. The author infused the tale with the feeling of suspicion and fear . . . The author does a great job with characterization and you grow to really feel for the characters throughout especially as they change and begin to see Nexa's point of view. . . I did enjoy the book and the originality. I would recommend this for young adult fantasy lovers. It's more of a mild dark fantasy, but it would definitely fall more in the traditional fantasy genre . ”

  —Jill- Goodreads Reviewer

  To my husband who is also my best friend,

  Our kids’ greatest role model, and

  A miracle worker in the lives of so many.

  To our family and friends who have supported

  Us in all of our adventures;

  We love you!

  Chapter One

  Fire rolled around me in waves. It flickered on the drapes, creating a battle of shadow and light as the flames devoured the cloth. The fire would win the battle, but shadow would win the war. The darkness always won.

  I turned away from the heat that pulsed at my exposed face and hands. I was no stranger to what fire would do if it captured a live victim; those thoughts kept me focused whenever I glanced into a room already engulfed in dancing orange and yellow. It may look beautiful and mesmerizing, but fire was a cobra whose venom had no antidote once it truly caught hold.

  A scream halted my progress down the hall. No one was supposed to be home. Jake had said the place was clear. The scream had been feminine and young.

  I jogged up the hall in the opposite direction from the study. The stairs were already being consumed. My sneakers heated as I ran up them. There would be no going back down.

  Another scream directed me to the second bedroom on the right. The door stuck. I wasn’t sure if it was the heat or stubborn hinges, but I had to hit it twice with my shoulder before it gave up and burst open. My heart pounded as I stepped into the room and searched quickly for its occupant.

  Smoke poured in around me. I dropped to the floor and made my way toward the bed in the corner. “Who’s in here?” I called out.

  “Help me!”

  I turned toward a closet across from the bed. When I opened the door, a pair of dark brown eyes stared up at me. She was around eleven or twelve and wore a pink and purple nightgown with the word ‘Princess’ on the front. Tears streaked her cheeks.

  A crash sounded below. The fire had taken over. There was no way I could make it to the study. Foreboding filled my chest.

  “Come on,” I told the girl.

  She grabbed my outstretched hand. I led the way to the window in a crouch. The pane wouldn’t budge. I picked up the small folding chair next to her bed and threw it at the window. It shattered, sucking smoke out into the night air.

  The girl ran to the window. “It’s too high,” she said. “We’ll get hurt!”

  I shrugged out of my coat and shoved it quickly into my satchel. “Hold onto me,” I told her.

  “I don’t understand,” she protested, her eyes filling with tears.

  I spread my wings just enough for her to see them through the smoke.

  “You’re a Galdoni!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide.

  Fire crackled behind us. The floor was starting to sink. There wasn’t time for me to reassure her. I wrapped my arms around her waist and dove out the window.

  The fall was short. I barely had enough time to turn and catch the air. The girl squealed in fright. The night breeze filled my wings just before we hit the ground. My heart thundered in my chest as we were lifted above the aspens on the east side of the house. I landed on the road to the sound of sirens.

  “Are you alright?” I asked.

  She stepped back, the reflection of her burning home in her eyes. She nodded wordlessly.

  “Go to the sirens. They’ll get you to your parents.”

  She nodded again.

  I spread my wings and pushed down hard. Within seconds I was far above the city watching the smoky haze turn the lights below brown and dull. I circled once, then followed the road a few blocks south. A green light blinked three times, then went dark. A few seconds later, the same pattern repeated. I landed next to the gray car and Jake shut off the light.

  “I saved a girl,” I said, still filled with adrenaline at the close encounter. “She was trapped in the fire.”

  “Where’s the bag?” Jake demanded.

  I took off the satchel and handed it to him, my thoughts still on the girl. “She was scared and would have been killed.”

  Jake pulled out my trench coat and threw it on the ground. “Where’s the money?” he shouted.

  Jolted back to the present, I stared at him. My gaze shifted from his angry glare to the empty bag in his hand. “I, uh, I couldn’t get to it. The flames were out of control.”

  His eyes narrowed; my stomach tightened at the look.

  His voice took on the deadly cold tone that made my blood turn to ice. “You set the fire like I instructed?”

  I nodded.

  “You should have had plenty of time to reach the safe before the fire took hold.”

  I nodded again. I no longer dared to look at his face. I could feel the anger rolling from him in waves. The consequences of my actions would be heavy.

  “You left the money to rescue a girl?”

  “She would have died.” My answer was a whisper, a mere brush of breath from my lips.

  His fist connected with my face. The pain flared through my cheekbone. I wanted to fight back, to make him pay for the punch. I could have made him so sorry he would never lift a finger again; but if I did, I would lose everything. I wouldn’t go back; I could take anything if it meant not going back. />
  “Get in the car,” he barked.

  I slid into the backseat with my wings held tight against my back so the door didn’t catch them when he slammed it shut. Trees and cars rushed by in a blur. I felt numb, frozen. I heard the girl’s cry for help over and over in my head. Jake’s reaction told me I shouldn’t have rescued her, yet I couldn’t have left her there to burn. I buried my face in one hand, too numb to fear what lay ahead.

  ***

  Five lashes later, I lay on my back on the ratty couch. I could feel the blood dripping down my chest. It hurt to move. One lash had sliced along my shoulder, so it hurt to move my right wing, though they were fine; he never touched my wings or my back. He had said often enough that my ability to fly was his road to riches. He would never do anything to damage that.

  “Tell me why I did this, Saro.”

  I gritted my teeth, but to ignore him would only invoke his anger once more. I let out a slow breath and turned my head to face him. Jake leaned in the doorway with an unaffected expression on his face.

  “I shouldn’t have left the money.”

  He nodded. “Why is that?”

  “Because of the fines you pay to keep me.”

  He nodded again. “That’s right, my boy. I pay huge amounts of money so that they don’t take you back to the Academy.” He spoke slowly as if I was a child who didn’t understand, but I was seventeen. His condescending tone made me even more frustrated. “Do you want to go back?”

  “No, Jake.”

  A hint of a smile showed on his face. “Good. I don’t want you to.”

  There it was, that glimmer of truth. My heart reached for it; I wanted it to be true so much I pushed aside all that had happened. He wanted me to stay. Even though I had messed up and didn’t bring him the money to pay the fines, he would let me stay.

  “I’ll do better next time.”

  He smiled, showing perfectly straight teeth. “I know you will, my boy.”

  He left the room and silence flooded the space around me once more. I closed my eyes, but the pounding of my heart beat a rhythm along the whiplashes that crisscrossed my chest and stomach. I was always surprised how much it hurt. I avoided looking at the wounds. The few glimpses I had taken showed skin that looked like little more than hamburger meat after all the lashings I had received over the last year and a half. Even my back carried a few marks, remnants of the nights he went into a true rage.

  I was lucky. Though I had messed up, I had gotten away with only five lashes. There was another house he wanted to hit in a week, and I had to be fit enough to do it. He said we had to or we wouldn’t make the payment; I didn’t want to go back to the Academy. Keeping a Galdoni was expensive.

  Sleep tugged at the corners of my mind. The girl’s scream echoed as my thoughts were obscured by tendrils of smoke and flame. Light and shadow warred as it always did. This time, the shadows won quickly and I was pulled away to blissful unconsciousness.

  ***

  “You remember where the safe is?”

  I nodded and checked my pack for the twentieth time to ensure the tools I needed were there. The Molotovs Jake had made smelled strongly of gasoline and the alcohol he had used to soak the wicks. The three bottles were separated with towels to keep them from breaking, though I had lost more than one pack to accidents that were later branded on my skin in whiplashes.

  I slid a hand into my pocket to reassure myself that I had the lighter. I slid the tan trench coat over my wings, then looped the satchel over my head and one arm.

  “The green light will guide you home.”

  “Got it.”

  Jake had repeated the same statement at every robbery for the last year. No matter how chaotic the smoke, fire, fire engines, and police became, I could always fly high above whatever city we were in and locate the green light.

  His reaction to the girl still sat in the back of my mind. He hadn’t cared that she had been in the house. He wanted me to let her burn alive. I hoped he had been more careful to make sure this house was empty.

  I followed his directions to a large home in a cul-de-sac with yellow siding and black shutters. Four white columns stood along the front porch. I peeked into the garage window. Two cars were missing of the four that occupied the place. I checked the door. It was unlocked. I had found that most people were careful with the front and back doors, but their garage doors were often left open.

  I knelt near one of the two remaining vehicles and took out the first Molotov. I withdrew it carefully from the towels and set it under the car. I laid the extra-long piece of alcohol soaked wick on the ground and lit the end. I hurried into the house.

  The alarm began to beep when I opened the door that led from the garage to the kitchen. I entered the code Jake had given me. The alarm stopped beeping and the light on top turned green. I never questioned where Jake got the codes; I was just grateful for them. They definitely made my life easier.

  I lit another Molotov in the kitchen next to the well-stocked pantry and put the last one in the living room before following Jake’s directions to the master bedroom. It wasn’t hard to find the safe embedded in the wall behind the end table. I knelt and pulled out my tools.

  The months of practicing with a stethoscope would pay off with the older safe. I listened carefully as I turned the dial to the left. A faint click sounded. I let out a slow breath and turned it to the right. The explosion from the first Molotov made my heart jump. I pushed down the adrenaline and concentrated. I couldn’t rush or I would miss the click and have to start over again. I didn’t want to risk more lashes.

  I felt the second click through my sensitive fingertips, and turned the dial back to the left. The second Molotov exploded. I held my breath, willing the click to sound. I could already hear the fire tearing through the house. The cocktail Jake put in the bottles made them spread quicker than the combination we used when I first started. I only had a few minutes before the place would be entirely up in flames.

  I forced my fingers to slow on the dial. I closed my eyes and put all my attention toward the lock. Each tiny click as it turned made my heart race. I rotated the dial at a maddeningly slow pace. I had just about given up to start over when the slightly louder click sounded. My heart leaped. I yanked open the door. Stacks of cash, gold coins, and a few documents filled the safe. I pulled open my bag and dumped everything inside.

  A crash shook the floor. The fire was raging. I stepped out of the bedroom to see flames racing up the hallway. I ducked back inside and threw off my trench coat. Shoving it in my bag, I hurried to the window. The sound of a siren wailed faintly through the crackling flames. I pushed open the French doors and stepped onto the small balcony. The rush of fresh air through the house brought raging flames into the room.

  I glanced back and realized I had forgotten to shut the safe. One of Jake’s rules was to close the safe to give us more time before they realized it was the focus of the robbery. I ducked inside, running low to avoid the fire now snaking along the ceiling, and slammed the safe door closed. I darted back to the open French doors and dove over the railing just in time to avoid the reaching tendrils.

  The rush of air filling my wings never ceased to thrill me. I raced low over the lawn, then pushed down hard to send myself high above the neighboring houses. I circled the house once and noted that the lights of the emergency vehicles were drawing closer. I wheeled slowly south. The green light blinked lazily along a back road not too far away.

  “Did you get it?” Jake’s gruff voice carried a hint of threat, warning that I had better not have failed him again.

  Luckily, I had succeeded. I handed him the bag.

  He grunted at the weight. “Good job, my boy.” He set the bag on the front seat and began to look through it.

  I smiled and slid across the back seat. Satisfied with what he found in the bag, he shoved it to the passenger seat and started the car.

  “Keep this up and we’ll be able to keep you out of the Academy for good,” Jake crowed a
s he took us slowly down the road. He always drove five miles per hour under the speed limit; his way, he said, of balancing out the robberies we had to do in order to keep our lives afloat. I wasn’t quite sure how not speeding related to theft, but he seemed perfectly happy with the explanation. I closed my eyes and tipped my head back.

  Chapter Two

  The streets below didn’t look anything like they had from the barred windows of the Academy. A chill filled me even though I knew it was a dream. The dream came from memories all too fresh. Dead-end alleys were filled with trash, and a scent rose into the air that made my stomach curl. I pushed my wings harder, fighting to get as far away as possible from the cold stone building behind me.

  A part of me trembled at the thought of leaving. I shouldn’t be afraid to go; I shouldn’t have any fear left in my body after the rigorous training regimen. Fear was weakness, and weakness was scorned behind the gray walls.

  I pushed my wings harder, flying faster than I ever had before. My soul soared. I had never flown with such freedom. We had been allowed to fly inside the Academy in the Arena for the few minutes a week we were given to strengthen our wings. Such flights were done with swords, chains, and armor to weigh us down and prepare our muscles for the battles for which we had been raised.

  Freedom had never crossed my mind. It was a forbidden word, because to talk of freedom meant to acknowledge captivity. We weren’t captive; we were raised within the confines of the Academy to better teach us the honor and nobility of battle. Every second was given toward perfecting our art. Each fight was a form of worship, and honing our strength and skill showed true dedication.