The Rising Fire (The Witch in the Woman Book One)

by Stacey Criswell

The day drags on. Shae shows him everything from fighting with a knife to shooting arrows. He opens the door to the room they gave him, it is still daylight outside, but for some reason they told him to go take a shower and look presentable. Obviously sweat and dirt aren't "presentable". He gets undressed and into the little shower in the bathroom. There are bottles of shampoo and conditioner placed around the sides. He washes his hair, and gets out. There is a suit on his bed. They must have put it there while he was in the shower. He put it on. It is grey velvet, and is a perfect fit. How did they know all these things, it is all too weird. He finds a pair of black dress shoes in the small closet, and puts them on. There is a knock on his door, "Come in." He says. It is Bliss.

  "What are you doing here?" Jacob asks harshly.

  "Wow, thanks for the hospitality." Bliss laughs. She sees the irritated look on his face, "What not happy to see me?"

  "It's not particularly you that I'm not happy to see, it's just I'm a little mad at your brother right now, and you remind me of him."

  Bliss rolls her eyes, "Oh, get over it. You are going to have to be this for the rest over your life. Our mom always used to say, 'Suck it up cupcake, because at isn't getting any better.'"

  Jacob finishes tying his shoes, "I'm not mad about that. He brought my sister here. I was hoping she wouldn't have gotten dragged into any of this."

  Bliss sits down beside him, "She is this. She is the key to our revolution. Without her and her sister we will all be under Skylark's control forever."

  Jacob nods, "Everyone keeps saying, 'Her and her sister.' Wouldn't our parents have told us if they weren't really her parents?"

  Bliss shakes her head, "No, they wouldn't have. They swore not to, because if word got around then Skylark would have killed you both a lot sooner."

  Jacob shakes his head, "This is all too much. She needs to have a normal teenage life."

  Bliss grunts, "Normal, what is normal? These days, life under Skylark is normal. He wiped out the older generation, because they knew too well how to survive. He didn't want that passed down. He wants everyone to depend on him. That's the only way he can be happy. If he is making someone else miserable, or if they need him, he's happy. No one will have a normal life if we don't win this."

  "I know. Why did they have me dress up?" He asks changing the subject.

  She stands up at the door, "You have to do an interview." She answers.

  That takes him by surprise, "What do you mean?"

  "You have to go to the square with Shae and I, and then announce you are still alive. We need you to take the spotlight off of your sister. He has already given her a forty eight hour period. When her time is up, he will come for her, or someone else she cares about. If you are alive, he will think you are still the last one with powers. They will be so amazed, and Skylark will be furious." She brags.

  "What if he kills me?" Jacob asks.

  "He won't kill anyone, not right now; because he wants to make absolutely sure he's killing the right person. If he went around killing everyone, he would have no one to depend on him, and he can't stand that. He may send others though. But, they will be humans, you can kill them easily. Although, he will be deeply in control of those men. So, they will come back even if they don't have the legs to do it with. They will drag themselves to kill you." Bliss explains.

  "You ever think maybe I don't want to kill them?" Jacob mumbles.

  She doesn't seem to hear him, but he knows being a vampire means you hear everything. Bliss opens the door, and steps out. "Are you coming?" She asks.

  "Do I have a choice?" He replies.

  "No, not really."

  "Exactly." He says and walks through the door into the hallway.

  They walk down the long hallway to the door. Shae looks him over, "Hey, good looking'!" She says. Jacob raises his eyebrows, but really doesn't know how to respond to that.

  Chris walks up behind them, "So, we going or what?"

  Shae rolls her eyes, "You're not going."

  Bliss huffs, "Yes, he is. I told him to come, the more guards this boy has the better. I think he may run to trouble if he sees Skylark. He's killed to many people close to him."

  Jacob just looks down, she's probably right. Shae huffs, "Fine, but don't do anything stupid." She says to Chris. He holds up his hands innocently.

  They walk out to the opening where everyone is still training and making weapons. Ren?e and a blonde girl are sitting outside a tent. He goes up to Ren?e, but she cringes away. He sighs, "I'm not going to hurt you." He assures.

  "I keep telling myself that, but you keep proving me wrong." She snaps.

  "Get over it." He says harshly.

  The blonde girl sitting next to her stands up, "Is he your boyfriend?" She asks Ren?e.

  "No, this is my brother, Jacob. Jacob, this is Allison. I guess she's my sister."

  Allison bats her eyes, "Well, hello Jacob."

  "Hi." Jacob says. "I got to go, it was nice meeting you. Bye, Ren?e."

  "Wait, where are you going all dressed up?" Ren?e asks.

  Shae taps his shoulder. "Let's go." He nods and Shae walks beside him, "Don't tell your sister things like this."

  "Why?" He asks.

  "Do you really think she wouldn't make a scene to keep you from going? And, she's a girl do you think she tells you everything? You're deluding yourself. We are very secretive, it's our nature."

  She walks up closer to Bliss before he could say anything. They walk for what would normally seem like forever, but they are going so fast it seems like seconds. They are standing in the square on a small stage made of wood. They brief him quickly about his sister's powers, and all that has gone on. There is a pile of ashes, where he assumes his fake execution took place.

  He looks around the square; there is no one out walking around. Everyone is either hiding inside or working for Skylark during the day, and at night there is a curfew, no one can be out past eight.

  "Okay, how long is this going to take?" Jacob asks.

  Shae looks around and sees a guard running towards Skylark's mansion, "Not long at all. Skylark will be here soon. "

  Jacob takes a deep breath. "Let's just get this over with."

  Guards start pouring out of Skylark's mansion coming towards them. Shae and Bliss stand incredibly still. Chris smiles devilishly. The men form a circle around them, and Skylark comes to the front of the stage.

  "Hello, Jacob. I didn't know you were still standing. What have you been up to lately? Burying your sister's friends?" Skylark mocks.

  Jacob takes in an angry breath, "No, fortunately for you I was?detained at the time. But, I'm here now. I heard you were looking for what you called, 'the sibling'. Well, here I am."

  Skylark contemplates Jacob's words. "I think you are lying to me. Do you know how much I hate liars?"

  "I'm not lying. I may not have my powers yet, but when I do?you'll be the first to know." Jacob assures calmly.

  Skylark laughs, "Okay, here's what we'll do. I'll let you go today, but every day you don't have those powers, I'll kill someone you care about or your sister cares about. How's that sound?"

  "That won't work you've already killed everyone I love. Other than my sister, but you will never get to her."

  Skylark walks up the stairs to the platform of the stage, "Maybe not her, but I can kill enough of her friends to make her come to me. Then with her in my possession, you will come like a love sick puppy. Won't you?"

  Bliss, Shae, and Chris all stand between Skylark and Jacob, but he pushes past them, "You wouldn't dare touch her. If you so much as lay a finger on her, I will kill you. And, everyone you've ever come in contact with. Do you understand?"

  Skylark laughs, "Sure, but let me know when you get those powers." He walks down the stairs back to his men, "We won't waste our time with him. He's not the one we want."

  Jacob turns to Bliss, "Why don't we just kill him now? We could rip his head off."

  Bliss shakes her head, "No, we can't. He has control
of many people. Like the two men up there in that building." She points to an old run down building off to the left. "They are very skilled ax throwers. If they throw an ax they will always hit the target. One only needs to throw one at us, and if it cuts our necks, or hits us in the heart, we're done. And, he could take control of your mind at any moment. He kills people by making them kill themselves."

  "So, what now? Do we let him walk away? Can't we leave some type of mark?" He asks angrily.

  "No, now we leave. He knows that you are the true last sibling. He will want to contemplate it now." Bliss explains knowing Skylark could hear her.

  Chris stands next to Jacob, "Believe me I want to hurt him as much as you do, but the ax throwers will kill us."

  They all jump down off the stage, and head back for the camp.