Chapter Three (Fire Away)

Chapter: Two (fire away)

 

 

Thinking back to that race now, how could I have ever been so naive? So happy and care free when my entire world was crashing down all around me. Everything I had ever known was being crushed and crunched into some mind-boggling alternate universe, and I would now be force into living in it for the rest of my life, or until I died at least.

 How it pains me to think back to those last few moments of innocence in my life.

Addison reached the steps to our house just moments before I did. He immediately stopped laughing. I came crashing into him, smiling.

“Hey! No fair! Your legs are longer then mine.” I giggled as I panted. He grabbed my shoulders.

“Maddy! Shhhh!” His face looked tight and serious.

“Wha-?” I stopped mid-sentence as I looked up at our front porch.

Our door had been busted through with what looked like the damage of a ground of angry quarterbacks on steroids. The glass was smashed out and the bottom of the door was broken off the hinges and hanging lopsided in the doorframe. I felt fear bubble up in my throat. I probably would have let out a scream if Addison had not already clamped his hand firmly over my mouth.

“Shhh… I hear voices inside.” He whispered into my ear. He pushed me behind him, holding his hand out.

“Stay here.” He was already creeping towards the door. Yeah right, I thought as I slowly followed close behind. Addison disappeared inside the door as I began to creep up to the broken door. I cringed as my shoes crunched loudly on the broken glass that littered the wooden porch. My breath came out heavily, my pulse pounding inside my head.

As I entered the house and my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I gasped at what I saw. Papers and books had been thrown onto the floor, picture frames with photos of last summer’s family vacation to the beach laid shattered on the floor.

Oh my god, I thought. We’ve been robbed.

I spotted Addison squatted down behind the partially closed door leading into the living room. He looked up at me and put his fingers to his lips. The door was cracked and Addison was definitely right, there were people inside the house still. Voices drifted to us from the other room.

“Tell me where it is!” One voice caught my attention as I crept up behind him and peered over his shoulder through the small gap in the doorway. I slammed my hand over my own mouth this time.

Mom and Dad were here! They were standing in the living room in front of the fireplace looking at something across the room out of our view. Boxes were stacked to the left of the room. I guess they had stayed home from work to pack. My mid twisted. How soon were they planning on leaving?

My eyes darted back to my parents. They were standing with their hands behind their backs, straight and stiff. They both looked stone faced and fierce across the room to where I guessed the unseen voice had come from. My father began to struggle and twist with his hands behind his back as if he had handcuffs on.

“Zavion, you can’t do this!” My father shouted, his face warped with anger. He struggled harder against whatever it was that bound him.

            I gripped Addison’s shoulders. Who was Zavion and what was he trying to do? My mind was racing and my throat was dry and tasted metallic like a penny.

“You’re making this too difficult, Forza,” the voice spoke, soft as velvet, from across the room. “Just tell me where the stone is, and I promise to make your death quick and virtually painless.” sneering, the voice changed velvet to splinters.

“You will never get your filthy hands on it!” My father roared as he lunged against the unseen restraints that bound his hands.

            The voice growled and a figure charged across the room towards them and into view. He flung himself at my mother, grabbing her face in his hands. I sucked in a deep breath and felt my brother stiffen under my hands. The man was very thin underneath the worn-out, dusty suit and stringy gray hair stuck out from under a stiff brimmed hat. He clutched a wooden cane with a silver ball for a handle. He gripped my mothers face and rasped harshly into her ear.

“Surely a beautiful, smart woman like you can see how futile this whole mess is.” He brushed a fallen strand of hair out of her face and turned to my father, all the while still clamping his hands around her jaw.

“It would be a pity to have to make you watch as I slice your wife’s throat, Forza.” Zavion smirked as he twisted her face around to face Dad. My mother’s face contorted beneath the sharp angles of the man’s fingers. “Just give me the stone and I’ll make sure to kill you first so you don’t have to watch.” He chuckled darkly.

My father futilely surged towards Zavion only to be held in place by his invisible shackles. My mother yanked her face free of Zavion’s bony fingers and turned to him.

“I would rather die then have you get hold of the Blood Stone!” Her voice shook with anger, but she stood her ground, pure hatred burning in her eyes. Zavion let out a crackling laugh.

“Oh, I think you may change your tune soon enough, my dear.” He reached one hand up and snaked his skeleton like hand around her throat, with the other hand a small dagger seemed to have come out of nowhere. He held the razor-like blade against the hollow of her neck.

“Now,” he hissed.” This is your last chance Belza; tell me where the stone is.” He pronounced each word slowly, an icy warning in his voice.

My mother growled between her clamped teeth; “Never.” She then threw herself forward and she spat in Zavion’s face.

What happens next is a series of events that happened so quickly that I didn’t really have much time to react. Zavion screams and before I knew what was happening he plunges the dagger into my mother and slices the blade across her collarbone, pearls of red followed the path of the blade.

My mother threw her head back and barely suppressed a scream between her gritted teeth. My father began to struggle wildly to free himself and before I could do anything Addison had hurled himself off the floor and burst through the door. My fingers barely brushed the cloth of his jacket as I tried to grab for him.

Before Zavion could turn around at the interruption, Addison roared and threw all of his body weight into Zavion’s back. The impact momentarily knocked him off balance and the old man dropped the dagger. Zavion hissed and countered on Addison, raising his cane and bringing it into a wide arc to smash into Addison’s head. With a loud crack, Addison slumped to the ground a few feet from the door he had tore through just moments ago.

“No!” I screamed and ran into the room, sliding to a stop by my brother’s head. He had a deep gash across his left eyebrow and was definitely unconscious.

“Addison!” I shouted shaking his shoulder. No response. I looked up to face the man just in time to see the silver gall of his cane, glowing a dark orange. A giant crackling ball of embers shot up and out of Zavion’s cane directly for us.

“No!” our parents shrieked in unison as the ball of heat surges towards my brother and me, vulnerable, with nothing to shield us and no time to escape. The force knocked into us full force. I felt the heat singe through our clothing before the impact knocked me off my feet. I flew across the room, smashing into the bookcase before landing on the floor in a crumpled heap.

The last thing I remember seeing before everything went dark was looking from my brother’s motionless body lying on the floor to the man rushing over to my parents and a huge globe of fire consuming the three of them. My head swam and everything went still and dark.