They Were Born Upon Ashes (5 page)

As he was running he saw a vision of fire beneath him. He saw flames jumping around right below the rocks from which he stood.

He heard a whistling in the wind. He knew the familiar sound of an arrow mid flight. Nick quickly ran in a horizontal line to the right and then he jumped. An arrow that reached twenty feet long sunk straight into the muddy earth.

Nick was on his hands and knees for a few seconds. His palms rested on the mud. As his palms were touching the ground he felt the sensation of heat. Nick looked at the arrow as it protruded from the ground. His palms got even hotter as more seconds passed by.

He felt the heat grow until his hands burned and he quickly took his hands off the ground. As he did this flames rose from the ground where the arrow had pierced it. It had to have been five feet in diameter and it rose upwards into the sky some twenty feet. After a few seconds the flames dissipated and the rain from the heavens made the area heavy with steam.

Nick looked backwards towards the giants and saw that they had made good ground. Another arrow came hurling towards Nick. At the same time fire was sent from one Reza giant, and ice from another. Nick got on his feet and made a quick sprint further down the desert landscape. The arrow landed behind him and so did the two magical attacks.

When he felt he had ran far off enough he turned and faced the giants. He crouched down and placed his palms upon the muddy earth. He felt the heat rise with every passing second. When his hands burned he kept them placed on the mud. He was in excruciating pain but he held on to the ground beneath him.

Three giants led the pack and Nick fixated his eyes on all three. His hands felt as though they were on fire. Nick let go and a wall of fire came spewing out of the earth like the gates of hell being unleashed. All three giants were set ablaze head to toe. One by one they fell to the ground screaming in pain.

The rains that fell upon the giants were not enough to diminish such of a big area of fire. After a few moments they seized any further movement and lay perfectly still.

The next wave of giants came in a line of four and they ran past the fallen. As they passed their comrades Nick got up from the ground and continued to move forward. After running for one minute he once again got in the stance and placed his hands on the mud.

Within moments a wall of fire for each giant came up from beneath the earth. Nick did not move this time; he placed his hands back on the earth. His hands were immediately very hot. He winced in pain as his hands felt as if they were being burnt to a crisp.

The final five giants made it just to where the four previous giants were burning on the ground when Nick released his hands. Each giant got his fair share of a twenty foot tall shower of flames. The giants screamed and fell to the ground.

The rain started to ease with time. A few minutes passed and the rain stopped completely. The giants were still set on fire in the near distance. Nick could smell the burning of flesh.

The dark clouds that were above him started to move in a fast motion heading north from where he stood. The clouds cleared and gave way to a dark red sky above him. It was not just one shade of red above him. There were patches of lighter shades of red and some much darker. It reminded him of the colors he saw when he would look at a flame.

The ground started to shake beneath him. It felt like an earthquake. The ground shook so violently that it was hard for him to keep his balance.

He turned around and saw a cloud of dust spewing from the ground one hundred feet away. A black point came up from the ground. The point shot upwards as fast as an arrow is released from a bow.

He realized that it was a black tower that came up from the ground. The dust settled as he walked closer and he got a better look at it. It had one black door at the front of it. There were no windows and no other doors. Just a cylindrical black tower with a sharp pointed roof that was no more than fifty feet in diameter.

Nick walked up to the door and opened it. There was a dark room on the other side of the door that was only graced with a few torches scattered along the walls. The torches led to a spiral staircase. He paused at the base for a moment, then proceeded to walk up the stairs. Step by step the halls in which the spiral staircase resided became colder and colder. The walls had become covered in a shiny frost and the stairs had become slippery as they were layered with a thin coat of ice.

Nick had finally reached the top of the spiral staircase. In front of him there was a bright blue door with the etching of his name stretched across it as if it was dug in with a knife. He propped the door open by turning the blue handle.

The room was covered in ice. There was not an inch of the floor, roof, or wall not covered in a thick layer of ice. The walls were riddled with torches that illuminated the room. The fire from the torches seemed to not have any effect on the ice whatsoever.

The tower room was big and circular, and the roof was dome shaped. The walls stretched high above him.

Nick heard a shriek from a woman’s voice. He looked up.

There was a balcony and Penny was standing on it. Behind her there was a man in a black hooded robe holding a knife to her throat. The hood cloaked the man’s face in a shadow.

“Penny!” screamed Nick.

He looked around franticly for a way up to the balcony. It was ten feet above his head and the walls were slick with ice. There was no way he could make an effort to climb up. He looked left and right for a door that could have lead to a staircase to no avail.

“Let her go,” said Nick. “Take me. I know you want me.”

The man took off his hood to reveal his face. It was Poloski of the six.

He smiled down at Nick.

“Come get me, Poloski, she has nothing to do with this.”

He inched the blade closer to her throat while his smile grew with joy.

Nick’s face turned into a look of determination. He ran towards the wall and jumped up.

There was no way a jump could suffice in getting to the balcony. But he tried to jump again and again.

He jumped a fourth time and flapped his arms in the motion as if he was a bird.

He stood still in the air. He flapped his arms again and he rose.

He looked at his right arm to discover it had become a giant black-scaled wing that stretched six feet in length and four feet wide. His left arm had done the same. He flapped his scaly wings and he could feel the wind he created beneath him as he rose in the tower.

He was now eye level with Poloski. His smile had completely faded.

Nick kept flapping his wings and said, “Let her go.”

“As you wish, Nick,” he said.

Poloski pushed Penny off of the balcony.

Nick quickly dove and caught her just a foot before her head landed on the hard icy ground.

Nick set her down safely and flew back up to the balcony.

Poloski took his knife and hurled it at Nick.

Nick flapped his wings just once and he rose over the flying knife. He descended until he was eye level with Poloski and he opened his mouth. He felt heat but with no pain. A breath of fire came scorching out of Nick’s mouth and ignited Poloski.

His black robe first caught on fire followed by every inch of his skin. He screamed in pain and fell on the balcony floor. Nick did not care to watch the man die so he flew back down to see Penny.

He stood in front of her and he said, “I’m so glad you are safe, Penny. I love you.”

The floor beneath Nick crumbled. He fell through a hole the size of his body.

He flapped his wings up and down, then he realized that his black-scaled wings had transformed back into his arms. There was nothing but darkness; he could not see a thing.

He was free falling in a black abyss and all he could think about was if Penny was safe. The blackness finally shed into light as Nick flew through a mist of white clouds. The clouds broke open and Nick realized he was falling from the sky with the tower directly below him. He looked around in the distance and saw the giants still burning on the muddy and barren landscape.

Nick fell through space. His body tumbled and thrashed about the air with no signs of stopping. He was about to hit sandy ground right next to the tower. His clothes vibrated in the wind. He covered his eyes as he was about to hit the hard ground. There was no impact.

Nick opened his eyes to realize he was still falling from the sky. This time, however, he was falling along side the great mountain he had climbed earlier. Above him was a blue sky.

He maneuvered himself so that he was no longer facing the rocky mountain. Below him he saw the dirt road he had traveled and the acres of trees on either side of the road.

He came closer and closer to hitting the dirt road. This time he did not shield his eyes. When he arrived at the dirt road at unreal speeds he simply went through it as if he had gone through a cloud.

He was still free falling and a few hundred feet below him was the grand king’s room. The golden throne sat there idly as Nick hurled towards it. Within seconds Nick fell directly onto the throne.

Nick’s eyes sprang open and his body rose up from the bed of leaves. He startled Andrew, Jeffrey, and Jacob. He breathed heavily and sweat flew down his face.

“You made it,” said Andrew. “Good. Very good.”

Nick still breathed heavily as he remembered every single event that had just taken place in his mind.

“Lie back down, Nick,” said Andrew. “Tomorrow will be filled with nothing but sleep and more sleep after that for you, Nick.”

Nick was exhausted. The supreme Reza transformation had taken a toll on his entire body. He lay back down on the bed of leaves and closed his eyes. He instantly fell asleep.

Chapter Four

Penny Goldstem found herself to be in a terrible situation. She had just arrived in Genold City on the night the king was slain in front of the public’s eye. She was in the crowd of people in the courtyard that witnessed the horrid act.

She had came to Genold City to surprise Nick and to be by his side. She made the decision to leave her home to her parents’ dismay. She made the choice because what she felt for Nick was unparalleled.

She had no idea where Nick was but she knew that he was in the city somewhere and that he was meant to serve the king. She had no idea that Nick was standing at the front of the crowd with Jeffrey, while she stood in the back.

When the king’s throat was cut there was a massive panic. People all around her began to scream and push and shove as they franticly tried to return to their homes for safety.

She had no home to run to. She had no one to run to. She was simply there alone in a state of panic of her own. She immediately felt unsafe and decided to run with the crowd.

Hundreds of people ran down an alley just south of the grand courtyard. Penny kept up with the momentum of the crowd. She knew that if she tried to slow down that there was a chance she would get pushed to the ground and then trampled over.

She was not the tallest girl; she was average in height. Although she could not see over the majority of the people in front of her, she still managed to see a family going into a small home in a left alley along the main dirt street. She squeezed her way past a few people to her left and ended up in the alley.

Just as the door was about to close, she yelled, “Wait!”

She ran over to the propped open door to find a family of Reza on the other side of the door. There was a short, skinny man, an equally short, skinny woman, a young boy around the age of seven, and a baby that was being held by its mother.

“Go away,” said the man.

“Please help me; I have nowhere to go,” said Penny.

“That is not of our concern,” said the man.

“I am from Vincot. I do not have family here. I do not know anybody here.”

“I do not know you; even if I did, I would not open my doors to you,” said the man.

“There are thousands of inmates running free as we speak,” said Penny. “These are murders, thieves, and rapists. If you turn me away I know my fate tonight will not be favorable.”

The man sighed and said, “A girl as pretty as you with nowhere to go will most certainly end up in harm’s way tonight.”

Penny turned back and saw the hoards of people running down the street screaming in fear.

The man sighed, then said, “You can stay tonight, but only tonight.”

Penny walked into the home and the door slammed behind her. The man quickly locked his door. There were five locks above the door handle. The man twisted each one. Penny realized that all four members of the family were still wearing their white gloves. They had opted to not take them off in the courtyard like she saw so many others do. The man finished turning the last lock and then he turned around to face Penny.

The home was very small, much smaller than the home Penny had grown up in. Hers was two stories, made wholly of wood, and felt spacious. This home was small, about the size of her own bedroom. There were four stone walls and a low stone roof above them. The walls were decorated with pots, pans, blankets, and clothing. Everything was cluttered. There was one bed in the left corner and another smaller bed in the right corner. There was a table to eat at and a fire pit to cook over.

“You look to be human; is that right?” asked the man.

“Yes, I am human,” said Penny.

The man gave a slight smile in response.

“Thank you for allowing me to be here. Words cannot describe how thankful I am.”

“What is your name?” asked the woman.

“My name is Penny Goldstem of Vincot. Do you mind me asking what yours are?”

“My name is Hudson,” said the man. “This is my wife Claire. My son is named Robert and our baby girl is named Tina.”

“Glad to meet you all,” said Penny.

She looked at her hand and she noticed that she could not stop it from shaking.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” asked Claire.

“Please,” said Penny.

Claire guided her to the table and had her sit down. Hudson followed suit and sat across Penny. He held his baby girl while his wife prepared tea for them all.