The Phoenix (The Prophecy #1)

by Jessica McCrory

  “I’ve got to admit, Ana, this is doing something for me.” He laughed and bent to retrieve his sword.

  “Wait until we get to the hand to hand.”

  “We’ve already been there, if I remember correctly.”

  Her face flushed and she laughed. She lunged for him again and this time he caught her around the waist and kissed her deeply.

  “But I’m okay to go there again if you want.” He set his sword down and moved away from her.

  “If you think you can handle me.” She taunted him as she set her sword to the side as well.

  Again, she took her stance as he took his. He lunged and she dodged. He threw a punch, one she could tell he had held back, and she blocked. When she spun and felt her right hook come into contact he laughed.

  “Well, well, Anastasia. It seems there is more to you than I ever knew.”

  She threw another punch and he blocked it and then pinned her to the ground. She laughed and rolled him over and when she twisted around him so his head was between her legs in a headlock, he tapped.

  She stood and grinned at him again.

  “Want to go again?” She asked playfully.

  “Of course.”

  They punched, blocked, kicked, dodged and rolled in the dirt for thirty minutes before they heard Elizabeth clear her throat. They looked up at her and Dakota’s sheepish grin from another headlock had Elizabeth laughing wildly.

  Tony stood watching as well, amusement in his eyes.

  “Well isn’t this a sight.” She said when she finished laughing.

  “I let her win.” Dakota laughed and tapped her leg so she released him.

  “Don’t take it too personally Dakota, Anastasia here has been giving some of our best fighters a run for their money over the last few years. She sure is something.”

  “She definitely is.” He said eyeing her.

  “We were coming to see if you had made any progress in your search.” Elizabeth said grinning. “But we can always come back later if you two are pre-occupied.”

  “No,” Anastasia laughed breathlessly. “Now is fine. We did actually, we found his journal.”

  “What did it say? Anything on how we can shut the bastard down?” Tony asked.

  Anastasia knew he had seen so much of this war and was more than ready to see it end.

  “Come see for yourself, you two are more than welcome to read it.”

  They followed a dirty Dakota and Anastasia into the house. Together, Elizabeth and Tony sat at the table reading the letter Gregory had written to her.

  Elizabeth was wiping tears away by the time they were finished. Even Tony looked a bit misty eyed.

  “He was the most wonderful man I have ever known.” Tony said as he set the journal down. “I will always watch over you as if you were my own, Anastasia. Trust in that.”

  “I do.” She smiled and touched his arm gently.

  “He seems like he was quite the man. Dakota, he was right about you.” She smiled proudly at her son. “You never told me that you had met him though.”

  “I didn’t know it was him, he was Silvan.”

  “The man you use to visit with at the bar?” She asked surprisingly and he nodded. “Well isn’t that the darndest thing.”

  “What are you going to do now?” Tony asked.

  “We need to get back to Seattle, but first I want to gather some weapons.”

  “We will send some Fighters back with you.”

  “No.” She held up her hand when he started to argue. “Dakota and I will do this alone. I'm hoping I can draw him back here, to Terrenia. When I do, I need everyone here ready. It has to end here, I feel it.” She said and went to the window. “It has to be here.” She repeated again.

  “Then it will be.” Tony agreed. “We will gather the weapons you need so that you can return. Anastasia, I know he is right about you, you will not turn. You must believe that, no matter what Vincent says to you, no matter what he throws your way, keep that in your mind.”

  “Thank you, Tony.” She smiled at him. “Elizabeth, I’m sorry, but I think you should stay here.”

  “No need to apologize, I agree.”

  “You’re not going to argue?” Dakota gaped at her.

  “I'm not stupid, Dakota, I know I would be no good in battle. I would only be a liability, one more thing for you two to worry about. Besides, I think I can be of some use here.”

  “You will keep her safe?” He asked Tony.

  “I will protect her with my life.” He placed his fist over his heart.

  Dakota nodded and turned to Anastasia. “Its settled then I suppose.”

  “When will you be going back?” Tony asked her.

  “Tomorrow morning. I think I know who has been supplying Vincent with his weapons and I am looking forward to paying that ass hole a visit.”

  “Mitch.” Dakota said to Tony and Elizabeth.

  “Yes.” She agreed. “I'm done being afraid of him, its time he knew who he was dealing with.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  They spent the rest of the afternoon gathering weapons and then joined the rest of the village around the fire. Although her parents and George were missing, she knew they were watching over them all.

  They had lost the last few battles, but she knew that as long as they didn’t quit they would be victorious in the war. Tony sat next to Elizabeth and he said something to her that made her laugh. Brady was with his mother who was fussing over him as she usually did, and the routine of it all made Anastasia smile. Eight children sat together playing with dolls and other toys that the villagers had given them upon their arrival.

  This is what she was fighting for, for these people. Her family. She looked to Dakota who was watching her. He was her center, her focal point, and with him next to her she would walk through the fires of hell without flinching. He was the very strength inside of her, and for the first time in her life she believed she had what was in her to defeat Vincent and get their lives back. These people, this laughter and love that surrounded her was what made it all worthwhile.

  Elizabeth had been right in what she had said. What was it all worth if you didn’t take the time to appreciate what you still had even when everything else was falling apart? She had finally made peace with her past, Mitch would not get the better of her this time.

  The next morning, she and Dakota stood hand in hand in the living room of Gregory’s cottage. Elizabeth, Tony, Brady and Kaley stood across from her.

  “I’ll miss you girl.” She knelt in front of Kaley and rubbed her head affectionately. “Watch over them for me.” She smiled at her and stood to face Tony and Brady. “We will be back soon.”

  They both nodded and Brady pulled her in for a hug. “Be careful out there.”

  Elizabeth hugged Dakota, tears in her eyes and then gripped Anastasia’s arms.

  “Take care of him.” She said to her. “And you take care of her.” She said to Dakota. “I love you both so much.”

  “I love you, too.” They both said at the same time.

  Anastasia threw the portal vial, not wanting to summon any magic just yet. They took one last look at those they loved, and hand in hand they stepped through.

  It took them both a moment to figure out what it was they were looking at.

  “Holy shit.” Dakota said when they got their first look at Seattle.

  The blood drained from Anastasia’s face. “Oh my God.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Anastasia and Dakota stood staring at what was left of their childhood city. They had come through the portal in the alley that had once been below his apartment building. Only now, there were no buildings within their sight that remained standing.

  Smoke billowed up from the crumbling stone that had once been people’s homes. The destruction surrounded her and the picture it made up burned itself into her memory. She would never forget the way her city looked in ruins.

  “Ana.” Dakota gently touched her hand and she looked down to se
e that her skin was glowing.

  She closed her eyes and did her best to get control of the power inside of her. The anger was overwhelming, but she knew that she couldn’t lose it yet. When she got close enough to Vincent that the backlash would take him out as well, then she would give it all she could.

  When she opened her eyes they were back to normal. Anastasia drew her sword at the crunching behind them.

  “What are you idiots doing? Get out of there before they see you!” The man half whispered, half yelled at them and then slipped back behind what was left of the building.

  They followed him and saw that a small group of survivors were gathering supplies.

  “How many survivors are left?”

  “What’s it to you?” One of the men asked. He looked to only be about twenty and was bleeding slightly from a wound in his cheek.

  “Edgar.” The older man who had yelled at them looked over his shoulder at the boy who immediately got quiet. “I saw their faces when they came through that light thing. They weren’t expecting what they saw.”

  “But they came through just like the beasts!” He argued.

  “That they did, and I imagine there is a very interesting backstory there.” He turned to them.

  She knew that they must look incredibly strange standing there with weapons strapped head to toe.

  “We came from a world called Terrenia. Those Brutes,” she added looking at Edgar, “came from there as well.”

  “One more reason we shouldn’t trust you.” Another younger boy spoke up. He was covered with dirt and looked to be only about sixteen.

  “I'm from here.” Dakota spoke up staring at the survivors. “Born and raised, as was she. She was sent to Terrenia ten years ago and it’s a damn good thing she was because without her we are all as good as dead.” Dakota said irritated.

  They stood staring at her for a moment and then turned to continue gathering supplies.

  “So they are called Brutes. That’s fitting.” The first man spoke again and took a step towards Anastasia, his hand outstretched. “I'm Robbie. This is my son, Edgar, and my other son, Zeke.” He motioned to the younger teenager. “These other fine men are my neighbors, or were anyways before our houses were destroyed. They are Ben and Jake.”

  “I’m Anastasia.” She took his hand and then quickly released it.

  “I'm Dakota.” Dakota shook Robbie’s hand. “So, what in the hell happened?”

  “About three nights ago explosions started going off, people were screaming and those Brutes, as you call them, came barreling through the streets grabbing everyone they could. A bunch of us managed to stay holed up, but they destroyed damn near everything and cleared out all of our food.”

  “How many of you are left?” She asked repeating her earlier question.

  “There’s fifty-two of us now. We’ve been searching for other survivors but haven’t found any. Not even a single body.” He shook his head sadly and rubbed his hand over his short greying beard.

  Anastasia walked carefully around the building searching for any sign of survivors even though she knew that she wouldn’t find anyone. It was amazing that anyone had survived at all.

  She heard the growl before she even saw the Brute and using all of her strength threw herself at the beast. She took it down with one slice of her blade and then turned slowly to see six sets of eyes on her.

  “Well I’ll be damned. I think you’re right, boy.” Robbie nodded to Dakota. “It took all of us to take one down before and all we did was slow it down.”

  “You have to take their heads off.” She said, wiping her blade on her pants.

  “But you didn’t.” Zeke spoke up.

  “My blade is coated with platinum. Other wounds will heal but one made with platinum puts them down for good.” She sheathed her sword. “We need to get going, Brute’s always come for their dead.”

  “We learned that the hard way.” Robbie nodded. “The one we took down was right outside our first hide out. We lost thirteen people that night.” He shook his head at the memory. “You are more than welcome to come with us. We could use some more information on our enemy. But if you choose not to come, then that is fine as well.” Robbie turned towards his men and Dakota looked to Anastasia.

  “We don’t have a lot of time.” She said to him.

  “Ana, they may have information on where to find Vincent. Can we afford not to go?” Dakota whispered to her.

  Anastasia thought about it for a moment, he had a point. It was best that they found out as much as they could so they didn’t end up going in blind. She nodded and followed the men through the crumbled city.

  As they crept through the rubble she couldn’t help but feel the guilt weighing on her heart. Mitch had warned her that Vincent would tear apart the city looking for her. She couldn’t ever have imagined the level of damage he would have caused though, she reminded herself. She tried to tell herself that focusing on the guilt would only distract her so she instead added the victims from the city onto the steadily growing list of those she was going to get vengeance for.

  They came upon a crumbled house and Robbie lifted a large piece of plywood revealing an old cellar door. She briefly remembered the cellar she had found the bodies of Ophelia’s family in, and for a moment the scent of death surrounded her.

  “Are you okay?” Dakota whispered when she hesitated.

  “Yes, just a bad memory is all.” She took one last look around at her surroundings and with a deep breath descended the stairs.

  CHAPTER THRITY-ONE

  Anastasia and Dakota followed the men through a labyrinth of hallways and then emerged into a large common room. The survivors that filled its space turned to stare at them when they entered.

  “This is Dakota and Anastasia. They are here to help us.”

  The men and women nodded in their direction and then a few came forward to greet them.

  “Hi, honey.” An older woman came forward and kissed Robbie on the cheek. She was beautiful and her graying hair was braided down her back.

  “Hi Tilly.” He kissed her back and then turned her to face Anastasia. “This is my wife, Matilda.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” She took her hand and the woman smiled at her.

  “You as well.”

  “They came through one of those lights.” He said in a whisper to her.

  Matilda’s eyes widened with surprise. “So you know how to stop those beasts?”

  “They are called Brutes” Robbie corrected her. “And Anastasia here single handedly took one down within seconds.”

  Anastasia nodded and Matilda gaped at her again.

  “Well, this is very interesting.” She said.

  “I want to know everything you may know about where the Brutes are operating out of. If there is any building that is still standing in Seattle, its where they will be.”

  Robbie rubbed his hands over his face. “I honestly have no idea. We have only gone out once since it all happened and that was today. Didn’t do much scouting past the that building you found us rummaging through.” He handed his pack to Matilda and she turned with it, heading for a room Anastasia assumed was the kitchen.

  “We need to get going.” Anastasia turned to Dakota.

  “You just got here, why don’t you have some food.”

  “Thank you so much, Robbie, but the longer we are here the more damage they are doing.”

  “What has the rest of the world been doing since this happened?” Dakota asked Robbie, ignoring Anastasia’s glance. She was growing impatient, ready to get the upcoming battle over with.

  “Honestly, it’s the darndest thing. It’s as if they have completely forgotten about us. The last news broadcast was the evening the attack started and there was nothing about us. Not a single story about the city that was being overrun with beasts that the world had never seen before. We thought for sure the National Guard or someone would be coming for us, but no one ever did. At least not yet, anyways.” He looked at his su
rvivors. Everyone looked worn out, and Anastasia could see the fear in their eyes. “I don’t know how long we can hold out for, there is very little food left, and judging by what we saw today there won’t be anything left soon.”

  Anastasia’s hand rested on the last remaining portal in her pack. She knew she could help these people, but it would mean that she and Dakota might never be able to return to Terrenia, at least not without a price. She wasn’t sure she could summon the amount of magic she would need in order to send them home without a vial.

  “Mom needs your help.” Zeke came up and tapped Robbie on the shoulder.

  “Excuse me.” He said and turned with his son.

  “How has no one noticed what’s going on here?” Dakota said quietly to her. “Why has no one come?”

  It was a thought that had occurred to her as well. It was strange that no one had even tried to help the city, although maybe they had and were stopped. But then a thought hit her. “Vincent may have blocked the city somehow.”

  “He has that kind of power?” Dakota asked shocked.

  “It’s probable.” She nodded. “He can freeze time,” she said leaving out the fact that it seemed she could as well, “and he has been able to cloak himself so they Gregory couldn’t find him.”

  “But block an entire city? That seems, out there.” He added with a pause.

  “It’s a possibility and something we can’t just brush past. If his magic has expanded that far-”

  “We can still win.” Dakota touched her shoulder lightly.

  “These people won’t survive long.” She said quietly, changing the subject.

  “I know. We can go out and try to scrounge up some supplies for them, but from what he said there isn’t much left.”

  “We can send them to Terrenia.” Anastasia whispered to Dakota. “At least some of them. There is plenty of food and with the focus being on Seattle for now, they will be safe there.” She saw the children running through the adults and her heart hurt. She needed to save whomever she could.

  “Is that a good idea?” Dakota asked her, his eyes narrowed on her face.