by Anne, Melody
“Don’t worry, Phoenix. I want him to come to me. I’ll be the kind of woman he should’ve been with all along. He’ll be warming my bed long before your body is cold. I’m going to take him to places he never knew existed,” Jessica said, not rising to the bait. Then she went into detail about what she planned on doing with Jayden. Her words were more painful than the edge of the blade.
“You pathetic loser. He’d never give you the time of day. He never has and never will. The only way he’ll touch your body is to rip it apart. You’re beneath him,” Phoenix mocked her. She managed to laugh, which was difficult considering Jessica was sitting on her stomach and had her pinned to the ground. She finally got the reaction she wanted from her, though, because Jessica’s eyes flared with rage as the truth of Phoenix’s words sank in. She cried out as she lifted the blade with both hands.
“I’ll meet you in hell,” she screamed and her arms moved downward. Phoenix kept her eyes locked on Jessica’s, not giving her the satisfaction of closing them in fear. Before the blade could reach her chest, Jessica went flying off her. She screamed in fury as she realized her knife hadn’t found its mark.
Phoenix looked up, expecting to see Jayden or John, but it was Devon. His eyes were smoldering, but he barely glanced in her direction.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing? You knew the plan was for her to die, you stupid fool,” Jessica shrieked at Devon as she rose to her feet, still clutching the deadly blade. Phoenix quickly rose and backed away. Her head felt light and her arms stung as blood rushed back into them.
“Let’s leave, Jessica. There’s no reason to kill them,” Devon said. His voice was monotone, no emotion at all in it. He could’ve been talking to a wall for all the feeling he was showing.
“I don’t think so, lover boy,” Jessica snarled as she took a threatening step toward him.
“This can only end badly if we don’t just leave,” he said in the same dead-pan voice. Jessica laughed.
“Be a good boy and shut up. I need to finish this,” Jessica said as she stalked toward Phoenix. Suddenly Devon shot out faster than Phoenix had ever seen him move. He produced an equally deadly looking blade and Jessica turned, her eyes growing wide in shock as he moved toward her. She lifted her blade as he reached her and he thrust his blade deep into her stomach.
Her eyes drooped in pain as he pulled on the blade and twisted it inside her gut. She screamed and a spray of blood splattered against his face. He stepped back, and she dropped to the ground, her body shaking, gasps escaping her mouth.
Phoenix nearly fainted in relief until she saw Devon fall to his knees. She ran toward him, and dropped down. He was clutching his chest, where Jessica’s own blade was embedded deep inside. A stream of his own blood dripped off his chin as he shakily smiled at her.
“I’m sorry, Phoenix. I . . . I love you . . . from the moment I saw you. I . . . was . . . hurting so much . . . when he came . . . back,” Devon managed with great effort, his words stalled as he choked up blood. Phoenix wrapped her arms around him and eased him to the ground.
“You’ll be okay, Devon. You have to hold on, don’t give up,” Phoenix cried. She frantically searched the area. Where was Jayden? Surely, he could help Devon. “Please don’t die,” she pleaded with him. He managed to give her an indulgent grin.
“I don’t think I have much choice,” he said with a small laugh before coughing up more blood, the mist soaking Phoenix’s clothes. She held him close and rubbed his heated forehead.
‘I’m so sorry, Devon . . . for everything,” Phoenix said. She knew it wasn’t enough; she’d put him through so much pain.
“I don’t regret . . . anything,” he whispered. He started to close his eyes.
“Don’t give up. You have to fight,” Phoenix cried. She couldn’t lose her friend. He’d been there for her the entire time her world had fallen apart. She needed him to live. He smiled at her again, though it was only a whisper of movement on his lips.
“Can I . . . get one final . . . kiss,” he choked. She didn’t hesitate. She gently brushed the blood from his mouth, then bent forward and caressed her lips against his. She felt, more than heard, the sigh escape him, and knew the second he was gone.
His body stilled, his breath ceased, and his eyes lost their light. She lifted her head and brushed her hand down his eyes, gently shutting them for the last time. She didn’t know how long she sat there before Sadie appeared. Sadie’s head was bleeding, but she was walking.
“I’m sorry, Phoenix,” Sadie whispered, tears falling from her eyes.
“I hurt him so much,” Phoenix sobbed.
“You were there for him when he most needed you,” Sadie said, and laid her hand against Phoenix’s shoulder.
“I’ll bandage your head in a minute. Are you okay?” Phoenix asked, feeling worse that she hadn’t checked on Sadie as she lay bleeding on the ground.
“I’m fine — just a really nasty headache,” Sadie said. She would say that, of course. Phoenix continued to hold Devon, crying for a dear friend.
When Phoenix was finally able to let him go, she stood. Jessica was still lying on the ground, writhing in pain. Phoenix and Sadie approached Jessica and stared down at her, no sympathy in either of their expressions. Jessica paused and laughed at them.
“You think you’ve won, but he’ll never stop hunting you,” Jessica rasped. Phoenix knelt down next to her, and brushed her hair back, almost tenderly, before she fisted it in her hand and yanked, smiling as Jessica cried out again.
“I don’t care, Jessica. I don’t care if he kills me. All I care about right now is that you’re suffering. I could be merciful and finish the job, but I won’t. I’m going to walk away and you’ll lie here for a minute, an hour, a day . . . I don’t care. Every last second of your miserable life, you can think about me, you bitch,” Phoenix said.
Jessica’s eyes widened at the pure hatred on Phoenix’s face. Even Sadie was a bit shocked and unsure what to say or do. Phoenix stood and turned her back on Jessica and began to walk away.
“Don’t you leave me here,” Jessica cried when she realized they were walking away. Neither of them turned. Jessica yelled out again, but her cries quickly turned into coughs as more of her life drained away.
Phoenix knew she had to get to Jayden. Anger was boiling through her, and she needed to find enemy soldiers. She hoped they refused to surrender just so she could take out all of her pent-up vexation on them. Her life had been twisted and turned in so many directions and she was fed up with it. She gently bandaged Sadie’s head, then they headed into the heat of the battle.
The girls rushed around the side of one of the buildings, and the heat from the flames made them stumble back. As they drew closer, they heard shouts coming from all directions. Two soldiers ran toward them, but the girls relaxed when they realized they were their own men. The men didn’t stop as they passed.
Sweat dripped from their bodies as they ran closer to where the original explosion had occurred. It looked like one of the larger sleeping facilities. There were bodies scattered all over the ground, and the girls stepped over corpses, relieved they were only seeing enemy soldiers. Neither of them spotted any of their own men or women.
Phoenix looked for any sign of Jayden, John, or Cassidy. If she found one, she could find the others. Suddenly she felt her body rising in the air, as she tripped over one of the many bodies strewn across the ground.
She cried out as her face landed on the bleeding, open chest of one of the bodies. As she glanced down, she realized the lower half of the man was missing, from his hips down, and a pool of his blood was soaking into the earth. She scrambled to her knees, but before she could rise, she threw up. The smells and sights were too much for her. Sadie quickly caught up and rubbed Phoenix’s back as she retched over and over until her stomach had nothing left in it.
She shakily stood. Sadie enveloped Phoenix’s side, to lend support, and they once again began to mov
e, but much more cautiously.
“Jayden,” Phoenix called. She didn’t care if the enemy heard. Adrenaline coursed furiously through her veins. Let one of them try to kill her. She’d gladly take her anger out on them. No one came, not the enemy, not Jayden. “Where are they?” she cried.
“I don’t know. I can barely see with all of this smoke and ash. We need to get out of the center of this, then maybe we can regroup and find them,” Sadie said. Phoenix realized she had to be worried about Brian. He wasn’t immortal — he was flesh and blood, and very much in danger.
“Okay, let’s go,” Phoenix answered, and Sadie’s shoulders sagged in relief.
The girls moved sideways, through the smoky war zone, sidestepping bodies and avoiding gunfire. They finally reached a building that wasn’t burning, and stepped to the side of it, dragging in breaths of fresh oxygen. They slumped in defeat against the wall. There was nowhere for them to run or hide. They were better off waiting.
They huddled together and time stood still. It could’ve been minutes or hours. They were exhausted, scared, and useless.
“It’s gone silent,” Phoenix whispered when she realized she hadn’t heard any gunfire for a while.
“I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” Sadie replied. They stared at each other for several moments before they got to their feet. If their side had won, they had nothing to fear. If they’d lost, the girls would soon be found, so why put off the inevitable?
Phoenix felt as if she was in one of her nightmares as they walked around the building, the smoke still heavy in the air, the dead covering the ground, and the ash acting as death’s blanket. They heard voices and headed in that direction. They had to know if their loved ones were safe.
“They ran that way,” someone shouted, and the girls heard the pounding of feet as men went running across the base. It was eerie how they couldn’t see anything. Their other senses peaked as they crept forward.
“Where are the girls?” someone else shouted. It took Phoenix a moment to realize it was John. Her heart swelled with joy. John was okay, though he sounded highly agitated. “I need a search team, now!”
“John,” Phoenix cried, before she could think to stop herself. She quickly covered her mouth, not knowing if he was alone.
“Phoenix,” John called back. She relaxed as the smoke cleared enough to see his face, and she realized it was over. They’d won. The war for their country was far from over, but they had a base of operations, a newfound sanctuary.
“Sadie . . .” Phoenix turned in Sadie’s direction but before she could say anything more, the ground began shaking and lightning streaked from the sky, lighting up the surrounding smoke and the horror scene of a deadly battle. Sadie screamed, reaching for Phoenix, but was violently pulled away from her, her small body flying through the air by an unseen force. Phoenix tried to follow her but couldn’t seem to move.
John screamed her name, but it sounded distant and faint. She didn’t understand; he should’ve been closer, not farther away. She realized she was falling as an unbalancing sensation registered in her brain. The ground had opened up and swallowed her, and she was in what seemed to be an endless tumble into the depths of the earth.
Phoenix instantly reached her hands out, trying to grasp at anything. She was surrounded by dirt walls, free-falling into the belly of the earth. Screaming, she scraped her hands along the walls, ignoring the excruciating pain of her fingers being shredded.
She knew Vyco was somehow pulling her to him. He was taking her into his world, and when she landed she’d be dead. She’d interfered too much. He deemed her a threat, though the thought almost made her laugh, even now. She was a weak mortal, not a threat to the powerful demon of darkness. She closed her eyes, silently saying goodbye to her family, to Sadie, and to Jayden, as she waited for the deadly impact.
Seeing a flash of light, she knew she’d reached the bottom, but to her great astonishment, her crash felt cushioned. She seemed to stop for a moment, then she was moving back up the hole. Dirt flew around her as the giant hole started to cave in. She heard a scream of rage from below her, but she was too terrified to open her eyes.
Maybe she had hit the bottom, and she was dreaming. Maybe she was a ghost and her spirit was floating back toward the surface of the earth. Maybe she wouldn’t be locked in an underground prison for all eternity. She hadn’t been perfect her entire life, but she didn’t think she deserved an eternity in hell. That was it, she convinced herself, she was being freed from the underground. She could surely open her eyes, and not look into the cold depths of Vyco’s glowing hatred.
Suddenly all movement stopped, and she was set on the ground, her legs too weak to hold her. There was no way she could be dead, or her body wouldn’t throb everywhere. Death had to bring relief from physical pain, didn’t it?
“Open your eyes, Phoenix. Don’t be afraid,” Josiah said. Overwhelming warmth filled her body as her eyes opened in amazement, and she gazed into the loving eyes of this man of light everyone relied upon. He was smiling at her, and looked like her father did when he was at his proudest. “You’ve been brave through this. Most mortals wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation Vyco has thrown your way, but you have stood strong.”
Phoenix gasped at his words. She hadn’t done anything anyone else wouldn’t do. Vyco wanted to kill her family, her friends, and the love of her life. She couldn’t stand back and allow him to take her soul and leave them all behind. It wasn’t bravery, it was fear . . . fear of losing those she couldn’t bear to lose.
“I’m no one, Josiah. I’m just a regular girl. Why does he think I’m such a threat? Anyone would refuse to follow him,” Phoenix said. Josiah smiled as he tenderly brushed a strand of hair from her face. Immense sensation of pure love broke out from the touch.
“Phoenix, you’re more special than you can imagine. I know all. You’ll have to trust me. You and Jayden will accomplish far more together than any others on this planet, as long as you always remember who you are,” Josiah promised. His words sent a shudder through her body. It was like a prophecy.
Josiah grew brighter, then his form started shimmering. She had to look down, as the sight of him was too glorious to look upon.
“Remember my words, have faith in yourself and you’ll save the world,” were Josiah’s parting words. The light vanished, leaving Phoenix with a deep ache in her heart, but the soreness and small wounds on her body were temporarily pain-free from Josiah’s touch. She once again heard John calling, but she also heard Jayden. She turned toward the sound of their voices, and watched as they broke through the thick smoke. Jayden’s eyes widened in relief when he saw her.
As all the day’s happenings flashed before her; it became too much. Phoenix’s knees gave out and she crumpled to the ground. Jayden instantly was at her side.
“Where’s Sadie?” Phoenix asked, struggling to find the strength to form the words.
“She’s safe. Brian has her. John went to tell her you’re safe. She’s been hysterical since she saw you literally swallowed by the earth. I was trapped in the smoke; it was surrounding me, and I couldn’t get to you. I tried, but I couldn’t get to you,” Jayden blurted, his words jumbling together.
“I’m fine, Jayden, I promise. I’m just so tired . . .” Phoenix managed to say before she passed out. She felt as if she was slowly drifting down a tunnel. She could hear Jayden calling her name, feel him shaking her, but it was as if he were shaking a different person. She let go . . . allowed herself to drift, and passed out, knowing Jayden wouldn’t let anything else get to her.
Epilogue
“You’ve served me well,” Vyco taunted Jessica. Her last breaths came out in shallow pants as he towered over her, surveying her beaten body. She opened her mouth to reply, but didn’t have enough oxygen in her lungs, and more blood poured out instead.
“Mmm, this is the quietest I’ve seen you,” he told her with a laugh. Jessica used her last remaining strength to g
lare at him. Everything around her was growing darker. She knew she only had moments to live. Why was he taunting her? She’d done everything he’d asked of her. He sat down next to her and ran his cold hands across her clammy face.
“You’ll be rewarded. Do you want to continue to serve me?” he asked. With great effort, she nodded, not understanding what he was asking of her. “Good,” he said with a look of delight.
“I almost had her in my grasp. She would’ve been destroyed and Jayden would’ve joined me again, but Josiah stepped in. I was furious until I realized I still had you,” Vyco said almost thoughtfully.
“This will hurt, but it’ll be worth it. I’m bestowing a great honor upon you,” Vyco said. He placed his hand on her chest and she felt a burning sensation. His eyes were alight with glee as he continued pressing fire into her body.
She could see by the look on his face that he was actually getting off on her suffering. For one millisecond she wondered if she’d made a mistake. The fire spread through her body, burning her alive. She screamed in anguish, the sound masked by Vyco’s laughter.
At the highest peak of pain, it was so overwhelming her body gave out and darkness finally overtook her. Her last thought was relief that it was over and she could die. Nothing was worth that kind of pain, not even remaining by Vyco’s side.
***
Phoenix swam in and out of consciousness. She cried out as she woke, pain eating her alive. She felt hot, then freezing cold. She didn’t know where she was, how much time had passed, or if they were safe. Each time she tried to wake, pain would consume her and her body would shut back down.
Her mind was stronger than her will to have answers. She needed to sleep until the pain ended. It was too much; all of it was too much. When she’d woken for brief moments, she’d heard voices . . . Sadie . . . Brian . . . Jayden . . . John. She thought she heard her mom, but knew that was impossible.