Midnight Fire - Rise of the Dark Angel - Book One (26 page)

             
Chastity dropped next to Sadie and pulled her close, knowing she needed comforting as well. The four of them sat for a while with no one speaking.

             
“Are you okay?” Jayden finally asked. Phoenix didn’t know how to answer
his question
. If Jayden and Chastity hadn’t gotten there when they did, she knew both her and Sadie would’ve been
raped, tortured
and killed
. B
ut
,
at the same time she didn’t know ho
w
to process what she’d just watched him become
.

             
“How did you get here so fast? There’
s no
way you should’ve been able to make it
,” she finally whispered. Out of all the questions she wanted to ask
it
was the first to come out of her mouth.

             
“There are things I need to tell you
,
but
I can’t do it right now. Y
our brother and the others will be here
soon
.
I need
for
you to trust me,” he pled with her. She looked into his face and realized
s
he trust
ed
him with her life and she could wait to find out what he needed to say.

             
“Okay,” she muttered
and a few minutes later John came crashing thro
ugh the woods with Brian in tow
along with
several other men. John dropped to his knees before Phoenix and J
ayden, completely out of
breath
and
a wild expression in his eyes. He saw the dead bodies lying around
but
his eyes were only for his sister.

             
He ran his hands along her legs and arms, making sure she was okay. There was already a large bruise forming on the side of her face
,
which
seemed to make him look even
wilder
if that were possible. He grabbed her from
Jayden’s
arms, which wasn’t an easy task, as Jayden didn’t want to let go of her.

             
“I’m so sorry, Phoenix,” was all he managed to get past his tightened lips. Phoenix couldn’t even respond back.

             
When he was satisfied his sister was going to be okay he went over to
check on Sadie
. Brian had already pulled her into his arms
, holding on
tight
while she sobbed.
O
nce John was reassured both gi
rls were fine
,
he
fell
to the
ground.

             
“I don’t know how you got here so fast and I
don’t even care.
I owe you my life,” John said on a slight sob
to Jayden and Chastity
. “If anything happened to my sister or Sadie, I couldn’t have lived
through it
,” he
finished
and reached toward
Chastity, who quickly dropped and
burrowed
into his arms.

             
“Everything i
s fi
ne
,
John. W
e got here in time
,” she whispered soothingly in
his ear as they held each other tightly.

             
“Thank you,” he repeated over and over again. The other men standing around were uneasy with how far they were from the cave.

             
“We need to get ou
t of here. T
hey could have more men
behind them
,” one of the guys said. John looked up and pulled himself together. He quickly got to his feet but wouldn’t release Chastity’s hand.

             
“Can you girls walk?”
He
asked
and Phoenix honestly didn’t know if her legs would support her.

             
“They don’t need to,” Jayden and Brian said in unison. Both men stood up
while still cradling
the girls tightly to their bodies
.
T
he group started to head quickly back toward the cave.

             
Jayden couldn
’t believe how close he’
d come to losing Phoenix. If something would’ve happened to her his life would’ve been over. He simply couldn’t live an eternity without her and he r
efused to even think about it.
She would go on to an afterlife and he’d be stuck for an eternity in the darkness Vyco made on earth.

             
He knew the time was coming when he had to tell her who he really was. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized that it hurt him to keep anything from her. He hoped she wouldn’t despise him when she found out the truth but he was going to tell her, no matter what.

             
The group was silent as they made their way back, a mixture of feelings swarming
among
the people. There was relief the girls had been saved, terror thinki
ng about what could’ve happened
,
and fear for the future. The enemy
was getting closer
and the war was
deadlier than ever
.

             
They reached the cave and immediately took the girls into the infirmary where Larry could check them and make sure
their injuries weren’t serious
. John, Brian, Jayden and Chastity stayed
with them. They needed to be
reassured
the girls were fine. Larry had to wipe a tear from his face when he saw his daughter and Sadie. He gave Jayden and Chastity a silent thank you
they’
d managed to reach them in time.

             
“I know this is a difficult question
but
I have to ask. Did the men rape you?”
He
asked, terrified of what the
answer
would be.

             
“No, Jayden and
Chastity got there just in
time,” Phoenix said
and Sadie nodded her head
,
confirming she wasn’t touched either.

             
“Thank God for that,” Larry said
with a heartfelt prayer
.
E
veryone in the room bowed the
ir
heads
in relief.

             
Larry examined both girls, who had a lot of bruising
but
otherwise
were
fine. He had them lay down for a while, giving them each a sleeping aid so they could forget about
everything for a short time
. It was the best medicine he could prescribe at the moment.

             
Everyone else departed the room except for Jayden and Brian who were unwilling to leave the girls. They waited until the
y
woke from their nap and then w
alked them down the hall,
toward the kitchen. They needed food to refuel their energy.

             
“I don’t want everyone to know
about this,” Phoenix said in
a panic. She didn’t want people seeing her as a victim. Sadie
and
she
had been lucky to escape with
only
bruises
.
T
heir innocence and lives
were still
intact
.

             
“I understand and we’
ll try and keep things secret
,
but
you know how fast
word
travel
s
around here,” Jayden said with sympathy.

             
“Well
,
if they expect me to hang my head and cry
,
they’
ll be disappointed,” Sadie said with some of her normal fire. Phoenix was relieved to see her
best friend’s
chin up
.
I
t gave her some of her own strength back.

             
“I’m sorry I led you so far away
,
Sadie,” Phoenix had to tell her best friend. She felt as if the
entire
incident
was her fault. Sadie stopped and pulled her close.

             
“Phoenix
,
don’t you even blame yourself
for this. I
t was those evil men
and if the entire
incident
has taught me anything, it’s
that
we can’t just sit back and let things like that continue
,
while
we do nothing
.
It’s not right to sit in our cave in oblivion.
We have to take responsibility and save others.
Today, w
e were lucky
,
but
there are so many people out there
who
are getting abused and killed
.
I can’t feel good about myself pretending it isn’t happening,” Sadie said with
conviction
in
her voice.

             
“I agree with you,” Phoenix said. The two girls hugged and entered the dining area. Luckily
,
it wasn’t a normal meal time so there weren’t t
o
o many people around. They were able to sit in peace
while
eat
ing
a warm meal. The food
soothed
their bodies and
gave
them much needed strength to get through the rest of the day.

             
In the last few weeks they’d seen more than any one person should be able to handle, yet they still remained strong. It helped knowing they had people to depend on, to lean against.
They finished their meal with the guys hovering
nearby
.

             
“Can Sadie and I have some time alone?” Phoenix asked. Jayden looked at her with a scowl and for a moment she thought he was going to refuse her.

             
“Yes, of course you can. We’ll walk you to your room and then come check on you in a couple hours,” Jayden said. Brian reluctantly nodded. They walked them to Phoenix’s door and the girls stepped inside, closing it firmly behind them.

             
They sat on the bed together, not saying anything for a while. They needed a few moments to process everything they’d been through. They were pressed closely together, though, both needing the comfort of human contact.

             
“Did you see their faces?” Phoenix finally asked. She’d been afraid to bring the subject up but she had to know if she’d imagined the entire event.

             
“I was afraid to say anything, thinking I’d imagined it. I’ve heard you can see all kinds of things in stressful situations. But, their eyes, they were glowing. They both looked so fierce,” Sadie said in a hushed tone. Phoenix breathed a sigh of relief to know she wasn’t going crazy.

             
“I
just don’t know what to think
,” Phoenix mumbled.

             
“I
agree with you, me either. Are you afraid
?” Sadie asked. Phoenix thought about the question, not sure of her answer. She searched deep
within
her soul. Was she afraid of Jayden? How could she be afraid of him when he’d shown her nothing but love and protection? She realized she wasn’t in the least
frightened
.

             
“I’m not afraid. I think he cares about me.
I honestly don’t think I have anything to fear,” Phoenix said.

             
“I think you’re right, Phoenix. I’ve watched him a lot, at first
be
cause the guy is so dang dreamy it was impossible not to. But, the longer he’s been here, I’ve watched him just because the way he looks at you is mesmerizing. I think he’d die
,
himself
,
before he’d ever let anything happen to you,” Sadie said.

             
The two girls looked at each other, feeling better being able to talk
alone
. They’d always turned to each other for comfort and they always would.