Inside the Fire Book One in the Warden's Series (20 page)

Nadine and Adam had hit it off on their
first date. Both of them had matching personalities. Both of them
were also mortified that they were going to botch the date. After a
very awkward dinner they had spent the rest of the night sitting at
the lake just talking. They were both smitten with each other
almost instantly

She was taller than me, standing at about
five eight weighed around 120, blonde hair, green eyes. I admit I’m
short, standing an astounding five four. However, with heals on I
can extend my height to five eight or five nine (on a good
day).

She was the sweetest thing I had ever met
and Adam meant the world to her. The problem according to her is
that though she was head over heels for him he had yet to be the
same for her. She had told me the other day that he treated their
relationship more like a friendship with the benefit of holding
hands.

To be honest this didn’t shock me. Adam
always came across as the good boy that could do no wrong. I spent
a lot of time with him, the worst the boy did was curse. Even then
it was here and there and mostly just because I did not have a
filter.

I glared at Adam.

"Of course she can use the bathroom." I
pointed towards the door and Nadine danced off with a big smile on
her ruby red lips. I looked back at Adam. "You need to be nice, us
girls have bladders the size of acorns don't you know."

He threw his head back and laughed at
me.

****

We got to the club at six thirty just as the
first band was setting up on stage. We procured a table towards the
front and ordered drinks. Nothing alcoholic, just a few sodas, the
waitress was paying more attention to Wesley than to any of us and
I was instantly annoyed.

He didn’t seem to notice though, which I
find shocking. The waitress was drop dead gorgeous but yet his eyes
never left my face as he made his drink order.

The band hit the stage at seven; their
scream-o style was rough but sounded alright. That is if you enjoy
music that is depressing and makes you want to cut your wrists.

It got hot quickly, with all the bodies in
the club pressed close to the stage the temperature increased
considerably in a short time. I had to get some air, it was
stifling in there and my choice of attire. I was dressed perfect
for the weather outside though it was a bit much in the club.

"I'm going to step out and get some air." I
said leaning over and pressing my lips to Wesley's ear. He looked
at me a second and his face changed to one of concern.

"You want me to go with you?" He mouthed at
me.

I shook my head no and got up from the table
making my way towards the front door. The bouncer gave me a smile
as I showed him the backs of my hands and the two black X's,
depicting that I was a minor. He nodded and let me go out the
door.

The wind hit me hard, but it felt wonderful.
I stood outside for a moment sucking in the cold air watching
people enter the club. After about ten minutes I figured I was cool
enough to go back to my table.

So I turned to go. A shiver suddenly ran up
my spine and I shot back around. I could smell sulfur in the air
which seemed a little odd. I saw nothing though, shrugged and began
walking towards the door again. That's when the hand clasped around
my mouth and the other around my waist.

"Hey there Princess, we need to talk." The
voice was male extremely evil and cold. Before I could pull the
fire to my hands the world went dark.

****

I came to in an alleyway behind the club my
hands were bound above my head, tied securely to something sturdy.
My skirt had been torn at the thighs and there was dried blood on
my knees. I tried to focus on the alley but I couldn't make out
much, other than it was dark and the closest light was a good
hundred yards away. It was cold and I could feel the gooseflesh
forming over my exposed flesh.

I could hear the music inside the club
pumping, the fans screaming and singing along. I struggled but
couldn't get my hands loose. I willed the fire to burn but nothing
came. I tried for the icy prickle and got the same answer. My own
powers were defying me, I was stuck. Fear enveloped me, tears
streaming down my cheeks.

I saw movement to my right in the shadows
and I snapped my head in the direction of the silhouette. Suddenly
I heard an evil laugh, and a boy appeared, short spikey black hair
and eyes as black as night. He was pale, over six feet, around 170
his appearance did not frighten me but the evil in his eyes sent me
in a panic. This was the boy I had seen in the park with Wesley the
night of our first date.

I had also seen that look before in the eyes
of my father the day he had told me his little secret. I remember
the fear that radiated through me then and it was intensified now.
I struggled again, willed my power as hard as I could but the fear
in me kept the tingle from forming. He bent down over me and smiled
cruelly his eyes locked on mine.

“So my beautiful Princess, you are a hard
one to find.” His lips curled in a vicious smile. “I have been
searching for eighteen years for you, not sure how you eluded me
for so long. What shocks me even more is that we met before.
Remember when I told you that you would see me again?”

He ripped the fabric at my throat and I
screamed. He flinched, but it didn’t stop him from slowly tearing
the seam down the front of my dress.

"So you are the little progeny of Damien
Weathers?" The top of my dress was now split down to the top of my
bra. I looked at him through tears.

How did he know my father?

"You see." He hiked my skirt up to my hips
grabbing my right leg. "Your Daddy took my life, over a stupid
girl. And the funny thing is he actually thought that Hell could
hold me." He snickered as if he had told the greatest joke
ever.

"What?" I managed to get out my voice
cracking.

"I'm going to send a little message to your
father. Funny enough the same message will be sent to your
boyfriend." He said softly before his fist collided with my
face.

The pain that radiated through made my body
putty for a moment. I started fighting, screaming, kicking my feet,
trying to yank my hands from the binding. I could feel my wrists
ripping blood running down my arm. His fist came down hard several
more times before I heard a click and felt the barrel of a gun
under my chin.

"You can fight me all day and I will not
tire, you can scream all night and nobody will hear. However if you
don't shut the fuck up right now I will put a bullet to your head."
He was angry.

My dress was in tatters, my hair matted to
my head my face stung and I could feel the blood pouring from my
nose and mouth. I willed the power to come one more time. When I
got nothing I willed for death to take me instead.

I prayed for my mother and cursed my father.
This Hell I was living was not supposed to part of any path laid
out before me. This fear was not something that I was accustomed to
feeling and what happened next would give me nightmares for the
rest of my life.

It was the most painful experience I had
ever encountered. I closed my eyes, and I cried. The gun cocked at
my throat did not budge. For an hour I was locked in horror, fear
and agony filled my body. The final string of my innocence ripped
from my body.

The tears kept streaming down my face and
all I could wish for was for my life to just end. Why had God not
just taken me when he had the chance? Was this some sick joke that
he was playing on me allowing this being to do as he wished to
me?

Was this punishment for taking away Wesley’s
innocence?

"Tell your father he has such a pretty
little princess." He whispered in my ear. He pulled the gun away
from my face, and his fist collided with my jaw again then with my
ribs. However the final blow to the head is what did me in and I
went out cold.

****

“Dawn!” The voice was frantic. “Dawn, oh my
God.” The voice was pulling me back to consciousness.

I heard a set of footsteps running towards
me. I felt my arms go limp as they were freed from their bindings.
I slowly opened my eyes and saw Adam untying the ropes from my
bloody wrists.

“Adam.” I choked my body
hurt so bad it stung to breathe.

“Don’t speak, you are pretty battered,” He
looked down at my legs and I saw tears in his eyes as he picked me
up.

I winced in pain as my body folded to his. I
heard a short scream and felt another set of hands on my waist.
They were throwing a jacket over my chest.

“Nadine get Wesley, we need to get her to
the hospital.” He demanded. I could hear her running off.

Adam carried me to the car and laid me down
in the back seat, he adjusted the jacket to cover my exposed
body.

“What the Hell is going on Adam?” I heard
Wesley’s voice frantic. He hadn’t seen me yet.

“Your girlfriend goes missing for almost the
whole show and you didn’t stop to think once that something had
happened to her? You just stand there and talk to that girl the
whole time she is missing!” Adam was pissed.

Nadine had opened the other door and was
adjusting my head to lay on her lap as she looked at me tears
streaming down her face.

What other girl was he talking about?

“She said she was going out to get some air.
I asked if she wanted me to go with her.” Adam was blocking me so
Wesley couldn’t see.

“Yeah well take a look at what that fresh
air did to her!” He screamed at Wesley moving out of the way, our
eyes met and he crumbled. “Now get in the damn car we have to get
her to the ER.” Adam adjusted my legs and shut the door before he
stormed around the back end of the vehicle and got in the driver’s
seat.

Wesley hesitated for a moment just staring
at me before he got in the passenger seat and we were off.

I don’t remember much of the trip to the
hospital I spent most of it in and out of consciousness. My body
hurt from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and a sick
queasy feeling was buried in the pit of my stomach. I felt like I
was on fire, and honestly I wouldn’t be shocked if I was. My powers
had failed me, when I needed them most, they just fizzled out.

“What were you thinking?” Adam was
demanding.

“I was thinking she had gone out for some
air.” Wesley said quietly.

“For two hours?” Adam sound beyond
pissed.

“I didn’t realize it had been that
long.”

“You didn’t what? Good lord Wesley the band
changed twice in that time period. That should have been a huge
indicator of the amount of time she was missing.” Adam growled.

I heard the angry mumbling in the front
seats but all I could do was stare up at Nadine and into those
perfect green eyes and let her rock me to blissful sleep.

****

"Eighteen year old female. Name is Dawn
Cordelia Weathers. Brought into ER by friends after finding her
near dead in an alley way. Possible sexual assault." Why was I
hearing all of this? It didn't seem like I was moving.

I was floating, and these voices kept
passing on information between one another. I was lifted and
dropped onto a softer mattress. I felt hands on me but none of them
were familiar. Blasts of images kept hitting my mind.

Deep breath Dawn. It will all be over
soon.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

“Here heart rate is stable.” There was a
flash of violet eyes followed by darkness.

Holiday

I was in a tunnel, it was dark at both ends
and I had no clue which direction I was supposed to go. I could
hear Wesley calling for me from one end but the acoustics were
messing with me so bad I wasn’t sure what end he was calling to me
from.

Then he appeared, the dark demon from the
alley, looking just as sinister as he had before. He glared down at
me hatefully and then smiled this toothy grin before pushing me
against the walls of the tunnel his hand secured over my mouth.

“I will always come for you Princess," he
said bitterly. “I will be the one you give your soul too.”

I relived that horrible moment over and over
again until a white light appeared and pulled me from Hell
itself.

****

“Dawn,” my mother’s voice was sweet as I
opened my eyes.

I had been crying, obviously, by the look on
her face. I was in the hospital now. My wrists were bound and soar,
my ribs wrapped and aching, IV’s were pouring into my body and all
I felt was complete pain. I looked around; it was only my mother in
the room.

“Oh, goodness honey.” She was crying as
well, her hands twined with mine and she just bawled.

“Where’s Wesley?” I asked softly.

“I sent him home, he wouldn’t come in. I
think Adam was about to kill him anyway. You’ve been out for a few
days.” My mother looked sad as she touched my face. “Who did this
to you?” she whispered as if someone would hear us. I looked at her
and closed my eyes.

“I’m sure you have your ways of finding
out,” I said softly just as I felt her hand on the top of my
head.

I relived what I could remember, every last
dirty detail. Her hand was shaking I knew she wanted to pull away.
I could hear her sobbing. When the memory was over I opened my eyes
and my mother’s hands clasped my face.

“He needs to know. He needs to know that
monster found a way to escape Hell.” I knew she meant my father. I
looked at her and nodded.

I knew this was one thing that I had to tell
him, no matter how much I didn’t want to. It was time to make the
dreaded phone call.

“Not here, after you talk to the police,
when I get you home.” I nodded again, and she smiled sadly down at
me. “I love you Dawny.”

My talk with the police was way too long.
They had so many questions that I had to answer. Physical
description, what clothes he was wearing, what he had said to me,
was I sure it was a gun he had at my throat?