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Cast of Characters from Book 2:

Ryan O’Sullivan: Human. Main Character. Brown hair with blond flecks. Blue/green eyes. Strong, ruthless, mob boss. He recently inherited his father’s gang, but after escaping an FBI raid, he ended up stumbling through a portal and into another world, where he is trying to establish power and build up a new gang.

Chantara: Phoenix. Love interest. Black and red hair. Fiery red/orange eyes. Sweet, strong, damaged from a hard life. Her people are seen as slaves and vermin, but with Ryan’s help, she’s hoping to change all that.

Baz: Ogre. Ryan’s new best friend. Golden dreadlocks. Brown eyes. Funny, friendly, reliable. He used to work for the witches exterminating the phoe people, but he’s left that life behind and quickly became Ryan’s second.

Rumi: Vixen. Love interest. Red hair. Husky blue eyes. She’s a fox-humanoid who is absolutely brutal with hand-to-hand combat. Her wild personality and ruthlessness attract Ryan.

Pepper: Dwarf. Shopkeeper and friend of the group. Bald. Brown eyes. He’s from a green-skinned Buddha looking people, really friendly and helpful. Whenever Ryan or the gang need supplies or info, Pepper always comes through.

Siri: Ogre. Baz’s mom. Golden dreadlocks. Brown eyes. She is sweet but firm and reminds Ryan of his mom.

Thondir: Dwarf. A healer/doctor that Pepper introduces to Ryan. Bald. Brown eyes. Green skin. He is very kind and knowledgeable about his craft, and he previously helped patch Baz up.

Galolin: Dwarf. Monk at the dwarven monastery. Bald. Brown eyes. Green-skinned, first dwarf they meet in the monastery who shows them around.

Kondag: Dwarf. Monk at the dwarven monastery. Bald. Brown eyes. Green-skinned, more high up and respected. He helps translate the book.

Lyra: Vixen. A tentative ally of Ryan and the gang’s. Brown hair. Husky blue eyes. A trusted friend of Rumi’s, but she is only introduced in the last scene. She seems to have taken a liking to Baz.

Chapter One

I smiled at my team, and each one of them wore a determined grin and looked ready for anything. I respected the hell out of that. We’d been through so much already, and yet, here they were, ready to build an army and take out those smug Pfeiffer-Catwoman looking motherfuckers.

As we all sat together in Rumi’s impossible tree home, I marveled at everything we’d accomplished. Chantara had survived death and been reborn as her full phoenix self. She still needed some practice with her powers, but damn, they were already impressive as hell. Baz had also really proven himself as a loyal and dedicated member of the team, and together we’d cured his mom of her heart condition.

And Rumi, well, she was still just as badass and foxy as ever.

“So, Rumi, you’ll talk to the vixens, Baz, you got the ogres, Chantara’s on the phoenixes, and for my part…” I paused and smirked at my crew. “I’m going home to round up the Rabbits. Sound good?”

Rumi’s thick red tail swished, and her husky-blue eyes glistened. There was a dangerous excitement behind her smirk that made me feel excited, too.

“You got it, sugar,” she purred and shot me a wink. “I’m better off talking to the vixens alone, they can be a little wary of outsiders. Lyra being the exception, apparently. I think you really made an impact on her, Baz, you saucy little ogre.”

“I can help you talk to her if you want?” The rosewood-skinned fella twisted his golden dreadlocks around his finger and gazed hopefully at Rumi.

“Maybe next time, stud.” The vixen laughed.

“Okay,” I said with a nod. “I trust you to round up as many vixens as possible. Even just a few of you would make a powerful army, if they all fight like you.”

“No one fights quite like me, handsome.” Her tone dripped with a sultry pride, and my pants got a little tighter.

Before I could respond to Rumi’s flirty comment, Baz butted in.

“I think it would go better if you came with me to talk to the clans, Ryan,” he said. “They all like to think they can judge a person better by looking in his eye, plus they’ll want to put a face to the name since Mom’s been bragging to anyone who’ll listen about how you fixed her up good.”

“Sure,” I replied with a warm smile.

I always liked to see Siri anyway. She felt like my second Mom now, and she always had some awesome food for us.

“It might be good for you to come to the phoenix colony, too,” Chantara chimed in, and I noticed she looked more beautiful than ever with her newfound confidence that made her blazing eyes glow just a little bit brighter. “It’d be good for them to see there are others we can trust, and others who really want to help.”

“Of course.” I nodded. “Although, I think when they get a look at you now, they won’t need any human opinions.”

Chantara blushed slightly, and as she dipped her head, the flaming orange and red tendrils of her hair fell around her face and illuminated her delicate bone structure.

“What about your plans?” Baz asked, and his heavy-set brow arched into a contemplative look that almost made him look scholarly.

It was time for me to go home. I’d built a trustworthy group here, so I could rely on them not to tell anyone about the portal, and I needed to know how, and where, my Rabbits were. We also needed ammo and men, and I had both on Earth if I could track them down.

“I figure I’ll head back, check with the laundromat where the remaining Rabbits are burrowed away, and track them down. They’re a loyal bunch, so whoever isn’t in jail or…” My mind flashed up brutal and blood-drenched images of the FBI raid, and I swallowed hard and forced the thoughts away. “Whoever I can find will be on board.”

“Can we come?” Baz asked, and his big brown eyes were wide with possibility.

“Yeah, can we?” Rumi’s foxlike ears pricked up, and her bushy tail froze in midair. “And what kind of creature is a laundromat?”

I snorted and then tried to turn it into a cough. Yeah, it was ridiculous to me that someone could think a laundromat was a type of being, but for fuck’s sake, I’d eaten pixie ass and killed a mermaid. So, maybe thinking a laundromat could be some kind of dragon or some shit wasn’t beyond the realms of reality anymore.

“I’ll explain later and, er…” I stalled as I tried to think of a diplomatic way of explaining that the only way I’d get away with them on Earth was some kind of Halloween party or Comic Con. “Not this time. I need to keep it stealthy, it’ll be easier if I go alone.”

Rumi and Baz both gave me a slightly disappointed nod, but Chantara frowned.

“I don’t want you to go back to that place alone,” she said as she crossed her arms in a defiant pose. “You told me it was dangerous, so you shouldn’t be in danger alone. I’ve been there before, I can blend in.”

I thought for a moment. She’d managed to blend in before, but that was before she went full phoenix, and her hair turned into literal flames. Maybe we could hide that, though, and it would make it easier to introduce the fucking madness of this world to my Earth-bound buddies. I smirked as I thought about my number one guy, Tony, having to wrap his unimaginative head around phoenixes, vixens, ogres, and fucking merfolk.

Then the realization that he was locked up hit me like a gut punch, and I silently vowed I would get him out of there as soon as I could.

“Okay,” I said to my determined phoenix. “You could actually be really helpful. You could help me convince them I haven’t just been on a weird acid trip this whole time.”

“Acid trip?” Chantara tilted her head and frowned.

“Doesn’t matter.” I shrugged it off, and my small team chatted among themselves as my mind began to wander.

Who could I realistically get a hold of back in New York?

John the Mallet and Tommy had been executed by the FBI, and I still wanted revenge for that. Tony was locked up, I didn’t intend for him to stay that way, but that would be a sizable undertaking, and I’d need a lot more time to plan a jailbreak.

I never saw what happened to Mick and Steve, but if they were alive and free, they would be more difficult to convince that I wasn’t fucking insane. Those two were as loyal and ferocious as a couple of German Shepherds, but they were middle-aged New Yorkers. They had no imagination, and it was highly likely their heads would just pop at the mere sight of Pyregate.

But young Joe, he could be my best option for a starting point. He was just as loyal as the others and handy with a weapon, too. I wouldn’t need to train him on anything, he’d be ready to fight as soon as I told him what the plan was. I knew he’d find it difficult to believe what kind of world this was, but he was young and not set in his ways, so I figured he’d be the most malleable to a new world.

I knew that only bringing one guy into the burgeoning army wasn’t ideal, but my crew had guns. The Pyregate team could cut me some slack for that. Plus, everyone else was rallying troops of beings who had a long-standing hatred of the witches. The Rabbits would think I was crazy for even saying witches, but I knew Joe would be worth ten men anyway, and there was always time to convince the older Rabbit members if I took Joe back to Earth later on.

“So, which way first, boss?” Baz asked with a wide grin and pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Let’s talk to the ogre clans,” I decided.

“Sounds good to me,” the cheerful ogre said.

“I’m going to hang back here and talk to my girls.” Rumi wiggled over to me and pressed her curvy body against mine. “I’ll see you soon, handsome.”

“Don’t take too long,” I said with an arched eyebrow.

I planted a kiss on her thick pouty lips, and then she strutted out the door.

“You two ready?” I asked Baz and Chantara.

“Yep,” they both replied in unison.

“We’ll need to be careful,” I said thoughtfully. “There’s no way those leather-clad bastards aren’t on the lookout for us. We’ll stick to the woods and avoid Pyregate as much as possible… Well, until we’re ready to take the fight to them.”

The phoenix and the ogre gave me matching smirks, and then we left Rumi’s apartment.

I glanced at the walls of the long candlelit corridor and wondered if any of the framed spells might be useful to us on our journey to take out the witches. I was confident that if any of them were, Rumi would let us know. I also noticed some of the paintings of phoenixes, too, and they made so much more sense now that I knew what Chantara truly was. It was awesome to see.

Eventually, we made our way to the tree door exit of this impossible place, and once we had closed it behind us, it became just another one in the forest. No one would ever know just how many powerful, fearsome fighters lived inside an innocuous-looking tree.

As soon as we were back out in the open, I was immediately on the lookout for any witch fuckers, and we stayed in the denser parts of the forest as we walked west toward the river. There was no way we could cross at Canal Street, even during the day, that place was teeming with life, and Chantara was more noticeable than ever thanks to her glorious flaming hair.

Once the trees began to thin out, and I could hear the roar of the water rushing, I pulled out my gun, just to be on the safe side. I quickly checked the mag and realized I only had six rounds left.

That made the trip back to Earth for more ammo jump much higher on my list of priorities.

I scanned around us and saw nothing. It was hard to hear over the crash of white water slapping against rocks, but it seemed like we were in the clear, so I tried to find a way across the river and spotted a few large flat rocks.

We carefully hopped from one rock to another, and just as Baz landed on the other side, I heard laughter erupt from the woodlands on Rumi’s side of the river.

“Quick, get behind those bushes,” I instructed in a whisper.

We ran behind some prickly plants, and I peered out over the top to see a group of five witches emerge from the trees and sit down by the riverside.

“Why would they even be out here?” one gangly leather-clad idiot asked his friends loudly over the sounds of the water.

“Jaeden was sent out here when he went missing,” another replied in a gruff voice.

I wondered to myself if Jaeden was the very informative witch I’d interrogated at Rumi’s before.

“He might have run, though,” a third witch chimed in.

“Everyone knows the penalty for desertion,” the gruff one barked.

The others shut up then and looked a little sheepish. They fiddled around with their canteens and filled them up in the river without saying anything else, but their hunched over body language and pursed lips all seemed to indicate they were feeling scared or defensive.

Were they scared of the other witches? Or us?

I knew for a fact that Jaeden hadn’t deserted the witches, but they didn’t. Just from their expressions and that brief interaction, I could tell others had run.

There was a weakness in their camp, and I could exploit weakness.

A swell of confidence warmed my insides. I thought maybe we could also destroy the witches from within, so when the time came to attack, they would be on the back foot and already crumbling.

I wouldn’t have said it was a close call, but it was definitely a useful encounter.

“Come on,” I muttered to Chantara and Baz. “Let’s get out of here before those morons cross the river.”

They both nodded silently, and we ducked low to run deeper into the woods.

“Did you pick up on what they were saying?” Chantara asked me when we’d gotten far enough away from the group of witches.

“Yeah, they sounded like they’re starting to come apart a bit.” I shot her a smug half smile. “That can only be good for us.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” the pretty phoenix agreed.

“Yeah, me, too.” Baz tried to sound confident, but it was obvious from the way his eyes darted between us that he’d missed a vital piece of the puzzle.

I laughed and playfully shoved his shoulder.

We continued to walk south through the north forest and chatted comfortably with each other. It was nice to forget about plots and plans for a moment and just enjoy our company and the relaxing scenery.

Without any immediate threats present, it really was a beautiful place to be. The warm sun filtered dappled light through the canopy of the forest, and brightly colored flowers swayed lazily in the long grass. Berry-covered bushes were dotted around at regular intervals, and Baz didn’t pass a single one without sampling the fruits. By the time we’d gotten close to the northern ogre colony, he had a Joker type smile made of different wine-colored berry juice.

I finally spotted the first of the ogre treehouses and marveled at this one’s grandeur. I knew the north forest had nicer houses, but this one was almost a mansion in the treetops. It had a domed wooden roof that seemed to have a large rudimentary skylight on the side we were approaching. Massive windows adorned the walls, and a balcony wrapped all the way around.

It was clearly a home for entertaining.

We’d decided to walk along the outskirts of the northern colony since Baz had some long-standing drama with these clans. I didn’t care much for them, either, since those fuckers tried to jump me on my first day in this place. But I knew I needed to put my feelings to one side and analyze them on an ogre-by-ogre basis if I was going to build an army large enough to take out the witches once and for all.

Baz led us down the west side of the woods, away from the huge tree mansion, and around a dense wall of bushes.

His demeanor darkened as soon as we’d spotted that first home, and he kicked his feet and pouted. He seemed to have morphed into a sulky teen.

I guessed his reaction was reasonable. This part of the forest was much fancier than the south side. I wouldn’t say nicer, since the south colony had a more homely and communal feel to it, but the north side was definitely a lot more showy.

“You okay, man?” I asked my grumpy friend.

“Fine,” he huffed unconvincingly.

“We’ll be back at Siri’s soon enough, so you better pick that lip off the ground,” I teased. “She won’t want to see her best boy in such a mood.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The ogre waved me off, but he straightened out his posture a little and gave me a begrudging smile.

“Back to the life and soul of the party.” I laughed.

As we continued our walk behind the thick row of prickly bushes that seemed to border the north colony, I heard a familiar smug voice filter through the air.

“… so uncultured, none of them even have dwarven chefs, not one! They all cook for themselves. Bloody peasants.”

That arrogant sneer instantly got my hackles up, and I knew exactly who it was. Fucking Deckard the Dick.

I glanced over to Baz to see he’d frozen in place, and his expression had hardened into a stony glare. His eyebrows pulled down and together, his eyes were wide, and his jaw muscles flexed. He was pissed.

The self-righteous titters of other ogres seemed to tip Baz over the edge, and he turned toward the sounds. There was a wall of spiky foliage between them and us, but right then, I felt sure Baz would just tear his way through, regardless of any injuries.

“Baz,” I whispered calmly into his ear. “Don’t let them get to you, man, you shit more integrity than Deckard has in his entire family. Let him say whatever bullshit he wants. Soon, everyone will see who the real leader of the ogres is.”

Baz glared into the bush like he could will it to open up. His expression hadn’t changed, and he looked ready to kill.

“I heard they don’t even have verandas.” Deckard laughed like he’d made a brilliant joke, and he seemed oblivious to the fact that the others he was with just made the polite chuckles of people who didn’t know how to leave an awkward conversation.

“Dude, did you hear the others?” I tried a different tact to keep the peace. “They don’t give a fuck what he’s saying, I bet they think he’s a cunt, too. Come on, Baz, let’s just go. We can deal with that tool later.”

Baz softened slightly before his frown returned, and his hands balled into thick rosewood fists.

“He’s done this for so long, man,” he growled. “I’m sick of him getting away with it, he can’t keep getting away with it.”

“So, do you want me to burn this place to the ground?” Chantara asked him in a calm, conversational tone. “Set fire to everyone here, all their houses, all their families, all their children, and belongings? Do you want me to turn this forest into a pile of smoldering ash and death?”

Baz turned and stared at her with a stunned O-shaped mouth, but Chantara just gently closed his mouth with her finger.

“No, you don’t want that, because you’re better than that.” She smiled sweetly at the shocked ogre. “You’re better than him. We have plenty of time to deal with the injustices we’ve both faced. But we need to be smarter than them.”

I mouthed the words “thank you” at Chantara from behind Baz’s back. Just a short while ago, she wouldn’t have had the confidence to say anything like that, and I felt a rush of pride to see the powerful woman she was turning into.

Baz nodded slowly and let out a deep sigh.

“You’re right, Channy,” he said. “When did you get to be so damn smart? I don’t like it.”

Chantara rolled her eyes at his nickname for her before she slipped her warm hand into mine, and we carried on walking south.

As we got out of earshot of Deckard and his bored-sounding cronies, Baz shot me an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was thick with genuine emotion. “He just gets me so mad. What he did to my clan and the others, I can’t get past it, man.”

“I get it.” I nodded in agreement.

Vengeance was an emotion I’d lived on after the murders of my parents, and I knew it intimately. But I also knew it could poison someone if they weren’t careful. I didn’t want that for Baz, he was a good guy. All he wanted was some respect from the northern clans, and I figured I could help him out with that in time.

“One day soon, we’ll straighten out Deckard properly,” I said to my friend. “Chantara’s right, though, we need to be smart about it.”

“I know,” Baz mumbled under his breath.

“We’re going to get all the southern clans rallied behind us,” I continued. “Siri will have told everyone what a hero her son is, so it won’t take much for them all to get on our side. And then we can start to spread the word through the northern lot. They can’t all think the sun shines out Deckard’s ass. Whoever he was with sounded sick of his shit already. I bet with the right push, everyone will see that cocky bastard for what he really is. You’ve just gotta keep it cool while we play the long game.”

Baz nodded, but this time he straightened his shoulders and seemed more settled. I thought perhaps having us all on his side was a bit of a confidence boost for him. It can’t have been good for his ego to have been kicked out of his home and mocked by that arrogant fucker.

I pointed over to a bush that was straining under the weight of a huge cluster of large purple berries that I knew were Baz’s favorite.

“How about a quick snack?” I suggested.

“You read my mind, Ry!” Baz grinned happily and practically skipped over to the bush.

It really didn’t take much to put the smile back on his wide dopey face. I liked that about him.

The bush was on the edge of a little clearing, so the three of us sat down in the sun with a handful of the fresh juicy berries and just took a little time to chill. The berries burst with flavor, and the juice was almost addictive. It was sweet and citrusy, but it also had a hint of something like apple. They were a weird combination, but absolutely delicious.

A sweet scent of flowers drifted along on a gentle breeze, which took the heat out of the almost noon sun. I tilted my head up to the sky, closed my eyes, and enjoyed the warmth on my face. For a few minutes, I could forget we were preparing for a war, and just let myself be in the moment.

After Chantara and I had finished eating, I stretched my shoulders and got back to my feet. It had been a nice little break from reality, in a strange world that was starting to feel more like home than Earth did, but we had things to do and places to be.

Baz was still munching away, and his hands alternated from the bush to his mouth and back again. He seemed like he was glitching, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the comically greedy ogre.

“We’re going to have to roll you to your mom’s if you don’t stop with those,” I scoffed.

“What?” he mumbled through bulging chipmunk cheeks stuffed with half-chewed berries. Then he swallowed hard, wiped his mouth, and grinned at me. “They’re too good! Plus, I’m a growing ogre, you wouldn’t want me wasting away, would you?”

“I guess you’re right.” I rolled my eyes playfully. “Siri will think you’re sick if you don’t eat whatever she’s got cooking on the stove, though.”

“Ah, don’t you worry about me, Ry, I can always make room for more.”

He patted his round belly proudly and popped two more berries into his mouth. Chantara giggled, and the three of us continued on our way to Siri’s place.

“So, what are you hoping for with the ogres?” Chantara asked neither of us in particular.

Baz shrugged and shot me a quick side glance that told me he wanted me to answer first.

“I’ve seen how honest and dependable these guys are,” I said to massage Baz’s ego and solidify his dedication to my future plans. “They’re built sturdier than anyone else around, and I bet with some training they could fight. Plus, all of the south side have got a lot of in-depth knowledge of the witches and the Ministry, and all the north side have knowledge of the transport links. I guess what I’m hoping for is they’ll see Pyregate could be so much better without those fucking witches.”

Chantara gazed at me with those beautiful fire-pit eyes and nodded slowly, and Baz seemed like he was still glowing from being complimented.

I also thought the ogres were more easy to manipulate than the vixens, and they had vanguard written all over them. But I’d keep that part to myself and focus on the positives for now.

“What do you want out of this?” I asked Baz.

“I don’t really know.” The chunky rosewood fella scratched his chin and looked off into the distance. “I guess… I just want Mom to be happy. I want her to feel like she belongs again, and that’s less to do with the witches, I suppose, more to do with that backstabbing bastard Deckard. Ugh, I hate even saying his name. But his family have been in bed with the witches for generations, so he thinks he’s untouchable. I want to be the one to wipe that smug fucking look off his face… Oh, and I guess I want to be able to get my mom back into a home with windows. It doesn’t have to be the fancy-pants thing you were eyeing up back there, but just something with windows. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for in life.”

I put my arm around Baz’s broad shoulders and was touched at how modest his goals were.

“You got it, buddy,” I said with a brotherly smile. “Before all this is over, Siri will be living in a place that’s good enough for a classy woman like her, and you can cut that smug smile off Deckard’s face if it makes you happy.”

“Ha! You know how to make an ogre’s day, Ry!” The stocky golden-haired man chuckled. “Not just the part where I turn that cocky fucker into a patchwork quilt, but being able to finally provide for Mom. My dad would have been proud…”

His voice trailed off, and I looked down to see his lips tightened into a thin line and a slight wobble in his chin. I knew exactly how it felt to want to make your dead dad proud. I knew Baz’s would have been. My friend did everything he could for Siri, he even cured her heart condition, with my help.

I hoped my own dad would have been proud of the man I was trying to be. I’d done my best to be the leader of the Rabbits, even though I didn’t feel like I was ever supposed to be in that position. It ate at me a little that one of my crew was stuck in a jail cell and the others were scattered.

Still, I could only solve one problem at a time. And I felt like Dad would have definitely been impressed at the world I was trying to create here. I was about to round up a dedicated army to defend the little guys, and I was aiming to destroy an unjust system.

Yeah, I had my own motivations, too, and ambitions to lead the new world I created. But my intentions were objectively better than the bullshit dictatorship those shady witches were running.

As we continued toward the south side tree village, none of us said anything more. It was an easy comfortable silence, where each of us just got lost in our own thoughts and relaxed in each other’s company.

It felt good to have this kind of friendship again. It was rare to find even one person you could truly trust, but here I had found three already, four if I counted my second mom, Siri.

I was really looking forward to seeing her again. She always made me feel like one of her own, and I enjoyed being able to act like a good son again. There’s nothing else like the relationship between a mother and son, I guessed it was because she was the first woman any boy ever loved. I missed my mom every day, but it was a genuine treat to be able to play doting son every once in a while with Siri.

A few minutes later, I could spot the first of the southern houses nestled in the treetops. They weren’t anything special like the mansions in the north. They were simple, basic treehouses, some no bigger than a two-car garage with a whole family living inside. None of them had windows, just a front door, a rope ladder, and a chimney, but there was something so honest about these homes. They made me feel like the ogres inside them were honest, too.

I knew that was a bit of a stretch, and I would have to work out who I could trust as I met them all, but I got a much better feeling about these homes than the others.

As I gazed up at the first home and tried to imagine what kind of ogres lived there, I heard aggressive voices up ahead.

“Wait,” I said to Chantara and Baz. “There’s something going on up there. Baz, is there a quiet route around?”

Baz thought for a moment.

“Not around, the bushes aren’t as well maintained around here. But we could go over. After the last time Mom didn’t answer, I freaked out and rigged some ropes. Come with me.”

I was impressed at his ingenuity and followed the ogre as we doubled back on ourselves. He had gone into his stealth mode and moved like the breeze on his toes. I wondered why he hardly ever remembered he could move like that, but now wasn’t the time to question it.

Baz led Chantara and I to another hollowed-out tree. It was similar to the one in the scruff land between the Shambles and the harbor, but a lot narrower. Baz could only just fit inside it. He managed it, but it was a tight fit.

As he wriggled up the tree, I saw he’d fastened a rope ladder inside. He was really exceeding my expectations today.

Once we were all at the top, Baz pointed from one rope to another to another. Each rope led to a platform attached to a tree and went around all the houses, and with this rope system, we could get to any house in the south forest with ease.

From the relative safety of the canopy, I scanned the ground and spotted the source of the argument. Witches. I should have known those fuckers would be on the hunt for us.

A group of them had surrounded a small handful of ogres and were aggressively pushing them around.

I searched for the nearest platform, and I saw one right above their heads. I pointed to Baz, who nodded and swung off like a red-skinned Tarzan.

Chantara and I followed until all three of us had managed to get right above the witches’ heads, and I waited for the perfect moment to launch our attack.

Let’s fucking get those bastards.

Chapter Two

Chantara and Baz stared at me and waited for my instruction. Baz held his dad’s knife in one hand and a rope in another, and I had my own knife and rope at the ready. Chantara was her own weapon, and I could see the powerful intention burning white hot in those blazing eyes.

I held up three fingers and fixed my gaze on the witches below. There were six of them surrounding a group of four ogres. I watched as they shoved a small ogre woman, and she covered her head like she was expecting to be hit.

I lowered a finger, then another, and gritted my teeth. The rope would smart as it dragged through my palm, but it was worth the pain to fuck up these fucking bully witches.

Finally, I nodded my head, lowered the last finger, and pointed to the witches, and all three of us slid down the ropes in unison and landed on the ground right beside them.

“What the--” one witch started before I slammed the blade of my knife deep into his sternum. He coughed blood onto my chest as his expression flashed from surprise to horror. His mouth hung open, and a thick river of blood flowed out.

I turned my attention to the next one, since we had to kill two each. I heard Baz scream in rage, but I didn’t look away from the wild-eyed witch in front of me. He began to frantically fiddle with his hands, and I knew he was preparing to create one of those energy balls, so I gave him a smirk before I slashed my knife across his throat and watched the life drain from his eyes.

“Come on, get back!” I called out to the petrified-looking ogres.

There were two children and two women, real fucking classy of the witches to intimidate women and children. I spat on one of the corpses and ushered the small group of ogres out of the way, and then I turned my attention back to Baz, Chantara, and the remaining witches.

Baz had killed one and was rounding on another. I was about to step in and help him since the witch had a mini energy ball glowing between his hands, but Baz let out a loud battle cry and lunged into a tackle.

He knocked the witch to the ground, and the ball vanished into a puff of green smoke. From there, Baz mounted the witch and began to stab him repeatedly in the chest as blood spurted out and coated him in a haze of red.

Chantara still had two witches to kill, and I began to get a little worried when they twisted their hands around two glowing green balls of light. But then an explosion of light erupted from her back as her glorious red and orange phoenix wings of fire blasted out of her shoulders and wrapped around her, just milliseconds before the two energy balls were thrown at her.

The balls disintegrated against her wings, and she fluttered them out like nothing had happened.

I couldn’t see the faces on the two witches, but if they were anything like the ogres, it was a mix of shock and terror. Even Baz’s eyes bulged, and his jaw hung slack.

The two witches began to slowly back away, but Chantara stalked forward. She looked in her element now, and I definitely enjoyed the show.

Then the powerful phoenix aimed a palm at each witch and released a piercing cry that felt part human and part bird of prey, and a blast of white fire shot out and engulfed the witches.

I watched as they screamed and contorted themselves, before they eventually disintegrated into two piles of ash.

I walked over to the mounds and kicked one with my toe, but all that remained was a molten lump of something that might have been jewelry.

Suddenly, Chantara dropped to her knees, and I rushed to her side while Baz stayed with the other ogres and seemed to mutter things to them in a comforting tone.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I crouched down next to the fire-winged beauty.

“Yeah,” she sighed, and her wings retracted into her shoulders. “Yeah, I think I am.”

Chantara slowly got back to her feet and took another deep breath as she leaned on me for support. I could tell this had depleted her energy a little, but not as much as I’d expected it to. She was clearly getting stronger every day, and I was excited to see just how strong she could get.

I left her for a second to drag the bodies, well, most of the bodies, away from the children and into the undergrowth. We could deal with them properly later, but the kids didn’t need to see this. They had their faces buried into their mothers’ stomachs, and I hoped they hadn’t seen the worst of it.

Once I’d finished my task, I saw Baz mumble something to the kids before he walked over with one under each arm.

“This is Chantara,” he said.

The mothers weren’t far behind, and although each of them had high, worried eyebrows, their smiles were kind and gracious.

“Hello, San-tawa.” A tiny girl grinned up at the phoenix. “I like your wings.”

“Well, that’s very kind of you to say.” Chantara knelt down to look the young girl in the eye. “And I really like your lovely dress, did you make that yourself?”

“Mama hewped me,” the small girl said, as she twirled around and fanned out her skirt proudly. “Mama, San-tawa is my fwiend now.”

“We’re very grateful for your help.” The mother still had a mix of worry and gratitude fighting for dominance on her face, but eventually it settled into a polite smile. “We should go, but we owe you so much, so please know you’re welcome here, Chantara. And you, too, I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

“Ryan.” I smiled.

I could already tell ingratiating ourselves with the ogres was going to be much easier after this little stunt. I couldn’t have planned it better.

“Ryan, Chantara, Baz, thank you, thank you so much,” the other mom said as she seemed to bow to us.

Then the group of four turned to leave, and I realized I didn’t even know what the witches wanted. I suspected us, but I needed to know.

“Just before you go,” I called after them. “What did they want from you?”

“They’re looking for a group who attacked the Ministry,” the first mom said, and I watched as her eyes widened in realization. “Oh, oh, my goodness, well, they’ll never hear it from us, you can trust the southern clans. Those horrible-- cover your ears children-- bastards, they’ve been cruel for a long time, but now they’re just evil. Our men are out of work, our children are hungry. We need change. Real change. If you need our help, we’re with you.”

This was exactly what I hoped for. I knew there was a chance the ogres could see us as the enemy for disturbing the uneasy alliance that had been in place for generations, but I hoped they would see that toppling the witches would benefit everyone.

Especially me.

“You can count on us,” I said with a kind smile. “All I ask is that you tell your people what happened today. Tell them change is coming, and we want the ogres to fight with us when the time comes.”

“You can trust Ryan,” Baz added. “He’s done so much good already, my mom is better now, because of him. Soon, we can all be having Siri-style cookouts again.”

The two moms tilted their heads in unison and gave me that classic proud mom smile. The one only a mom could pull off. The one that makes everyone’s insides feel all warm and comforted.

The four ogres smiled again, the children waved, and then they left.

“Well, I think that went about the best it could have gone.” I laughed once the other ogres were out of earshot. “Awesome work with the ropes, Baz, really great.”

“Thanks, man.” Baz puffed out his chest and walked a little taller.

Chantara leaned over and gave me a quick peck on the cheek, and her lips were so warm that the heat lingered after she moved away.

“What do you want to do with the bodies?” Chantara asked as she shot a quick disgusted glance over to them.

“Bury them, I guess,” I replied but then paused for a moment. “Unless you’ve got the energy to get rid of the evidence permanently?”

Chantara pursed her lips in thought and seemed to be taking an inventory of her body.

“Yeah, I think I can do it,” she said with a determined nod. “Siri won’t mind me getting my strength back up with some of her food, will she?”

“What, are you joking?” Baz laughed. “She’ll be seriously offended if you don’t eat the entire time you’re there.”

Chantara giggled and walked over to the pile of four dead witches, and she glared at them for a few minutes before she hunched forward.

Baz and I watched from a safe distance as she seemed to growl, and then another bird-like cry emanated from deep inside her, and a huge ball of fire covered the bodies in flames.

This time, Chantara’s knees buckled under her, and she wobbled on her feet like Bambi before she collapsed to the ground.

I sprinted the few feet to her side and cradled her in my arms. The flames of her hair flicked over my arm but didn’t burn me, they just felt like warm tickles from a feather.

“Chantara?” I murmured. “Can you hear me?”

Her eyes were closed, but they began to flicker as I spoke to her. Soon, those beautiful molten eyes opened, and she gazed up at me with a weak smile.

“Maybe… I pushed it a little far?” There was a hint of a giggle in her faint voice, and I held her close and planted a protective kiss on her forehead.

“Yeah, maybe a little.” I nodded. “Do you think you can walk to Siri’s?”

“I’m fine,” she replied, and already there was more strength in her tone.

I helped her to her feet, and by the time we’d walked a few feet, she seemed to have almost fully bounced back. I thought it would be wise to keep her from using her abilities again, but I was glad she seemed powerful enough to recover like this.

My mind felt like it was crackling as I thought about all the potential Chantara possessed. With her on our side, the battle was already half won. I knew she had a ways to go before she could fully control her powers, but she was already improving dramatically. To think that a couple of days ago she didn’t have any of these powers was mind-boggling. I was excited to find out what else she would learn to do.

We finished the walk to Baz and Siri’s place and began the climb up. I was a little confused as to why the rope ladder was already loose, but Baz didn’t seem bothered at all. I figured maybe now that Siri could get about, she was in and out more often, maybe she even had company.

Baz took the lead, Chantara followed him, and I went last to ensure I could break Chantara’s fall if she lost her strength.

“Oh, Bazaketh!” an older voice cried happily from the doorway. “Look how you’ve grown, you look just like your father.”

I finished the climb and pulled myself into their cozy little home.

“He likes to be called Baz now, Cintalia,” Siri chuckled.

“Are you sure, Bazaketh?” I nudged him.

“Shut up,” Baz hissed under his breath as his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Ryan, Chantara, my darlings.” Siri shuffled over and embraced us both tightly. “It’s so good to see you both. Come, sit, eat. I’ve made the bean stew you like, I was hoping to see you before it all got eaten.”

“You’re looking really well, Siri,” I said with a warm smile. It was awesome to see her full of energy and with friends over.

“Oh, I am, I am, never felt better.”

Siri hurried over to the stove and served up three huge portions of the delicious fragrant spicy food, and once we were all sitting around the table, she grinned from ear to ear and began to proudly introduce us to her three friends.

“This is Cintalia.” Siri gestured to the older ogre who’d made Baz blush. All the ogres had similar features, but Cintalia had twists of gray that wove in and out of her golden dreadlocks. “She is Baz’s great-auntie, and a fantastic cook, she taught me everything I know.”

“Oh, hush, Siri, you’ll embarrass me,” Cintalia said, but her proud straight posture and broad smile told me she definitely enjoyed flattery.

“And Juli here is a very dear friend and mother to some very nice strong boys.”

“It’s lovely to put some faces to all the nice words I’ve heard,” Juli said with a polite nod. She was slimmer than all the other ogres I’d met and taller, too.

“And this is my childhood friend, Merathy.” Siri’s eyes filled with respect when she said Merathy’s name, and I could tell she was the one to impress if I wanted to keep Siri sweet. Merathy wore gold rings on every finger, I hadn’t noticed any other ogre do that before.

Chantara quietly said hello to each of the women, and I went into mom-magnet mode.

“Baz, you didn’t tell me how lovely all the women in your life were,” I said, and the four women clucked happily like well-fed hens. “It really is a pleasure to meet you all. Siri is really special to me, to all of us, really. If we can do anything for you, just say the word.”

I might have come on a little strong, but my mom always taught me that flattery would get you anywhere with older women, and it seemed like she was right.

“Oh, you did say he was lovely, didn’t you, Siri?” Merathy mumbled with bright shiny eyes.

“My boys could learn a thing or two from you,” Juli quipped.

“Siri tells us you saved her life,” Cintalia said and then looked straight at Chantara. “All of you. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”

“It was nothing,” Chantara muttered as she ducked her head. She seemed to have retreated into herself a little, and I wondered if it was the praise or her default to meeting people.

“Nonsense,” Cintalia scoffed. “You of all beings had the least to gain from helping anyone on this hellish island. After all your kind have been subjected to. But you did help, and here you are, looking absolutely radiant, my dear. You need to know something, right now, the times are changing. I have always anticipated it, but I’d grown unsure that I would live to see it. You are the change, I can see it as clear as the nose on my face. Have confidence, dear. You and your handsome human here will bring about something special.”

Chantara stared at the elderly ogre for a second and seemed stunned by her empowering prophecy.

“I-- don’t know what to say, thank you,” she said finally.

“No need to thank me, I just need you three to know how important you are.” Cintalia had an air of someone who’d seen some shit in her time, and I wondered if she was able to see into the future or if she was just a crazy old ogre with a wild imagination.

At this point of my time in Pyregate, I knew either option could be true. But part of me really hoped she possessed some kind of foresight.

We chatted with the women for hours, and it was nice to have an afternoon where it felt like I’d gone to see old relatives. They wanted to know so much about Chantara and about what made me want to change things around here.

Chantara answered politely and discussed her people and what they’d been through, while the three women nodded solemnly. They asked her about what powers she had now and what she wanted for the other phoenixes, and I just sat back and let her take center stage for a little while.

When they turned their attention to me, I gave them the answers they wanted but slightly sanitized to keep some details hidden and any of my more violent or power-hungry motivations to myself. The ladies seemed impressed with all of us, and Baz grinned happily the entire time. I figured it was nice for him to seem like he was a hero, so I really emphasized his parts. I had a hunch I’d be able to tempt more ogres into my army if they thought one of their own was already pretty much a General.

“So, you’ll need as much support as you can get then, I suppose,” Merathy said thoughtfully once I’d finished answering all their questions.

“Yeah, that’s the plan.” I nodded.

“Well, as much as there’s been a rift with the northern clans, I still speak to one of the mothers there. She and I go way back, there was never a chance I’d let her go. Anyway, you don’t need my life story. I think I can get her to test the waters up there, maybe there are some others who are sick to the back teeth of that awful Deckard and his rotten clan.”

“I would be in your debt, Merathy,” I said.

I wanted these women to think I was the son they always wanted. I knew with the moms on my side, the others would fall in line. Only a dumbass went against their mom’s wishes.

As it grew late, Siri’s friends said it was time for them to leave and began to say their goodbyes. Then Juli turned back with her eyes wide like she’d just remembered something important.

“I need you to know,” she said in an urgent tone. “My boys, I have three good, loyal boys, if you want them to help you in any way, I’ll let them know they’re needed for something important.”

“Thank you, Juli,” I said and gave her a winning smile.

“Chantara.” The slim ogre turned her attention to the phoenix. “I can’t believe I almost forgot to tell you, I blame Cintalia, she loves the sound of her own voice too much, but you said you were heading to the phoe col-- I’m so sorry, the phoenix colony, yes?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Chantara replied. Her voice was filled with warmth, and I knew it was thanks to Juli correcting herself on calling them ‘phoes.’

“There’s a cave system, not many know about, but it’s right here in the south forest. It was used in times gone by to, er, carry out some unpleasantness on your kind. It’s been disused for a few years, but it’s still safe, and I think it would be a good turnaround for you to use it for good.” Juli clasped Chantara’s hands in her own and looked deeply into her blazing eyes. “I want to make amends for what has happened to you. I know I never can, but maybe this small act can be the first step in the right direction.”

I was touched to see this moment between two former opponents, and it made me wonder just how many others who had historically been against the phoenixes only really did things out of fear of the witches. Maybe all they really needed was a better alternative.

“You… don’t know how much your kind words mean to me,” Chantara said in a voice thick with emotion.

“This is only the beginning.” Juli smiled. “The entrance to the cave is behind a boulder against the largest tree. Go east out of here, and you’ll see an odd boulder that doesn’t quite belong. It may be overgrown with weeds now, but it will lead you underneath Pyregate and out toward the phoenix colony.”

“Thank you.” Chantara pulled the slim ogre into an embrace.

Then the women left, and we relaxed with Siri, who fussed over us and refused to stop bringing food. We had more stew, some delicious flat breads, and a massive slice of some kind of cake. It was dense like a scone and filled with a berry jam that made my mouth water.

All our stomachs were bulging when we finally flopped onto the mountains of pillows in Baz’s room.

“I think Siri’s trying to kill us with cake,” I groaned.

“Yeah, she’ll do that.” Baz chuckled and cradled his bloated belly.

Chantara snuggled into the crook of my shoulder and rested her head on my chest. Her flaming hair settled beside my face, and it felt like I was cuddling a hot water bottle.

I drifted off into a sleep filled with weird food-related dreams, including one where I was chased by a huge cake holding a rolling pin. I decided I would have to find a way to turn down seconds from Siri next time.

In the morning, I woke to the smell of that delicious chai tea, and we each took a seat around the table.

“So, what’s the plan today?” Baz asked, and he sounded full of energy after eating his body weight in food last night.

“We’re going to the colony,” I said and nodded to Chantara. “I’m not sure they’re ready for an ogre on their team yet.”

“Okay, good,” Baz sighed. “I was a bit nervous about that to be honest with you. I can still do stuff, though, just tell me what you need.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” I smirked. “I’d like you to talk to the ogres in the south forest. I trust your judgment, you know these clans, you know who we can rely on and who might end up being hopeless. Get out there and see what you can find out, see what motivates them. Is it hatred of the witches? Or wanting to get back to the north forest? Or maybe they just want to cause a little mayhem. Whatever it is, find out and let me know when we get back.”

“No problem.” Baz nodded and straightened his shoulders like I’d appointed him head of security.

I figured if I started to give Baz a little more power, or at least a sense of power and control, he might really rise to the occasion.

It was like that with young Joe and the Rabbits. He used to just be a little punk kid, always causing pointless chaos for the sake of something to do. He had a bottomless well of energy and aggression, but nowhere to put it. My dad brought him into the fold and changed him from a punk kid to one of the most loyal and dedicated members we had.

I decided then that I would try to lead like my dad, with a little bit of Ryan ruthlessness mixed in, too.

“Are you ready to go?” I asked Chantara.

“Sure am.” She smiled, and her fiery eyes sparkled.

“Siri, it’s always a pleasure. Thanks for having us and for all the food, you’re the best.” I hugged my second mom.

“Do you need some food for your journey?” The stocky woman held me at arm’s length and gave me that patented concerned mom look.

“We’ll be fine, thank you,” I laughed. “Don’t worry, we’ll be back for you to feed us up soon.”

“You better be,” she chuckled. “You take care of each other.”

“We’ll do our best,” Chantara said. She looked so comfortable in Siri’s company, it was almost like the woman had adopted us all.

We said our last goodbyes, and then the phoenix and I set off through the south forest and followed the directions Juli gave us. We found the boulder easily, even though it was mostly covered in moss and weeds now. At least that meant no one had been this way for a long time.

I wondered how safe the caves were, but it was our best option to go undetected, so I stowed my concerns and walked inside the dark tunnel.

“How are we supposed to see where we’re going?” I muttered.

“Hold on a second,” Chantara said with an excited giggle to her voice. “Cover the entrance.”

I rolled the boulder back over the hole, and we were plunged into complete blackness. I turned around and felt totally disoriented, before a little flicker of fire emerged in front of me. Seconds later, I heard a slight puff sound, and Chantara’s huge, majestic wings spread out wide.

They lit up the tunnel with the light of a hundred candles.

“You go first,” she said. “I’ll light it all up from behind.”

I smiled and moved past her, and her brilliant light filled in all the darkness, except for my shadow, which stretched out in front of me like Slender Man and danced with the flicker of the flames.

We moved through the cave for what felt like at least an hour. It was a sizable tunnel, maybe about ten feet high and six feet wide. I wondered how the ogres had built it, or even if they had. I looked around for any of the cave drawings I’d seen in the fairy cave near Chantara’s place, but I found nothing.

The walls were as barren as the cave itself. It might have been cold, too, if it wasn’t for the warmth of Chantara’s wings.

Soon, the tunnel began to veer off to the right. I couldn’t guess what might be above us, but I hoped we’d be out of here soon.

A little further up, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, because I thought I saw a strange turquoise flicker.

“Hey, Chantara, can you put your wings away for a second please?” I asked.

“Sure,” the pretty phoenix replied, and after a few clumsy flaps of her wings, they retracted, and we were plunged into near total darkness.

I wasn’t losing it. Up ahead, there was a definite glow. It reminded me of the bioluminescent algae from the mermaid cove. I really hoped none of those fishy fucks were around.

I moved toward the light with a slight tension, and I found a small archway carved into the side of the tunnel.

It wasn’t algae. The light was coming from thousands of beautiful glimmering stones that were fused into the rock of this archway. They led down some stone steps, and I felt compelled to follow it.

“Wanna check it out?” I asked with a challenging flick of my eyebrow.

“Lead the way.” Chantara matched my energy and threw in a flirty wink.

I walked down the steps, and the light from the stones created a sensual energy to the walkway. Once I got to the bottom, I was glad we had taken this little detour.

The steps led to a magical underground garden. Blue grass had created a comfortable-looking carpet, and dotted among the blades were the glowing night flowers. I couldn’t understand how a garden this lush could survive underground, but I guess I was still trying to apply Earth physics to a completely different place.

“Wow,” Chantara breathed, and her hand ran up my spine. “This is beautiful.”

“It really is.” I gazed around and felt a wave of sexual energy flow through me.

I didn’t know if it was this place, or just being here with Chantara, but I knew I wanted to take advantage of being completely alone in a romantic garden that only we knew about.

I wrapped her in my arms and started to kiss her passionately.

Chapter Three

It was like making out with a whole new woman now. Her lips and skin had a sensual warmth and felt softer than ever, and as our tongues found each other, Chantara melted into me.

She pressed her perky breasts into my chest, and her hands curled around my back to pull me in closer. My hands moved to her cheeks and up into her flaming hair, and it was warm to the touch but didn’t burn me.

It was exciting to be making love to an angel of the flames, or perhaps more like a sexy demon sent up from the fires of hell, and I wanted to just stay here forever.

“Mmm,” she murmured as we kissed, and an electric tingle spread from my lips throughout my body.

My cock ached for her and throbbed inside my pants as one hand snaked over her ass, and the other cupped one of her perfect tits.

I hadn’t had the chance to explore her body since she’d changed into a phoenix fire goddess, and I was excited. It felt like the first time all over again. The feel of her figure-hugging, blazing feather dress was almost indescribable. It was soft like a downy feather but almost alive like a flickering fire, and it cradled every curve on her incredible body.

I wondered how to take it off, since it had just appeared on her when she emerged from the flames, but almost like she’d read my mind, Chantara stepped back from me and gave me a little wink.

“I think we both might be wearing too much,” she said with a flirty giggle.

Then she turned her back to me, flicked out her huge fiery angel wings. and wrapped them around herself. The wings fluttered almost like they were vibrating, and when they fanned out wide again, my beautiful phoenix was completely nude.

Chantara turned to face me, and my jaw dropped.

She’d already had what I thought was the perfect figure, but now it was even more insane. Every inch of her body seemed a little tighter, a little firmer, a little curvier, like her power had leveled up her physique to the pinnacle of every male fantasy come true.

“Wow,” I breathed.

I wanted to run my tongue over every tiny bit of her and fuck her until neither of us could stand.

I walked toward the sexiest woman alive and yanked off my shirt as I did. We came together, and the passion between us was urgent and almost frantic. I needed to fuck her, and it felt like she was thinking the same thing.

Chantara kissed me hard, and she grabbed a handful of my hair, tugged it to one side, and started to kiss and bite my neck.

“Ugh,” I groaned, and I slipped my middle finger between her toned thighs and found her clit.

She was so wet already, and I thought my dick would explode out of my jeans. I massaged her pleasure button until her knees began to buckle, and her nails dug themselves into my back.

“Oooh, Ryan, that feels so good,” she moaned as her head turned up to the ceiling.

I felt her quiver as my pressure and pace quickened. I knew she was close, and I wanted to tip her over the edge.

“Come for me, Chantara,” I whispered into her ear and nibbled on her lobe.

She cried out in pleasure, and at her climax, her wings and back arched together. The light and warmth from her blazing wings intensified as I slipped two fingers inside her to feel the aftershocks of her orgasm.

Chantara stared at me with an intense hunger in her fiery eyes, and I knew I was in for a wild ride.

She dropped to her knees and nearly tore my pants right off me as she released my engorged cock from its prison. The beautiful phoenix looked up at me as she wrapped her juicy lips around my manhood, and then she slipped them slowly down the full length of me.

It felt fucking incredible.

She took her time teasing me. She flicked her warm tongue over and around my head, with her sexy eyes on me the whole time. Then she gripped the base with her hand and used it to twist and pull while she sucked my dick like it contained the fountain of youth.

“I need to fuck you,” I grunted through gritted teeth.

The longer she teased me with her mouth, the more I had to have her.

Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore, so I grabbed a handful of the flaming tendrils of her hair and pulled her back up to standing.

I kicked off my jeans, and when I picked her up, the phoenix wrapped her legs around my waist and slid her dripping wet pussy over my aching dick.

“Oh, fuuuuck,” we both moaned in unison.

It had felt fucking good before, but this was something else. It felt like she had been remade to fit me perfectly. My thick shaft filled her tight hole up completely, and her walls were so warm, it was like sinking my dick into a hot bath.

I carried her to the wall and pressed her up against the glowing rocks. Then I slammed my dick deep inside her, and again, her wings blazed even brighter.

“Ah, Ryan!” Chantara gripped around my shoulders, and we kissed with such intensity as I continued to thrust harder and faster into her perfect pussy.

I could feel the pressure building inside me, and I knew I was close to coming.

Then the phoenix locked eyes with me, gave me a filthy stare, and whispered in my ear.

“Come with me… now!”

The wild dominance in her was new, exciting, and surprising, and I was shocked at how much it turned me on. I felt like an animal.

“Yes,” I growled and sank my teeth into her neck, and her tight walls throbbed around my dick. I grunted in pleasure and thrust pulse after pulse of hot seed into her.

With the final spurt, Chantara’s wings grew brighter than ever, and she rose up off my manhood and flew about a foot into the air.

I held out my arms to catch her as she began to fall, but the intensity of our mind-blowing sex made my knees shudder, and I fell backward into the soft blue grass with my smoking-hot phoenix laying on my chest.

We giggled sleepily, and I stroked my finger along the ridge of her wing.

“I’m not being crazy,” I said as I basked in the afterglow. “I mean, we were good before, but that was… Just, wow.”

“No, you’re not crazy,” Chantara breathed. “That was the best. Like, the best ever.”

“Right?” I was glad she felt it too, and if I could just abandon the war to fuck her all day every day, it would be a fucking tempting proposal. “Hey, did you fly at the end of that?”

“I guess so.” She shrugged. “It wasn’t intentional, I’m not even sure how I would intentionally do that. But some kind of energy took over me, and it just kind of happened.”

“It was impressive,” I remarked and kissed her on the forehead.

I wondered what this meant for the future. Would she be able to take flight on purpose soon? Was it just a cool sex thing? I felt a swell of pride that my dick had made a woman literally fly, but I kept that to myself since it sounded a little egotistical to voice it.

Still, I was a little bit smug at my achievement.

We lay in the blue grass for a while and stared at the glistening turquoise rocks, and I hoped no one else ever found out about our secret sex garden.

Soon though, it was time for us to make a move and get to the phoenix colony. I got up and dressed, and I watched as Chantara flicked her wings back and forth with a confused frown.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Er, I’m not entirely sure how to bring my dress back.” She let out an embarrassed giggle and gestured to her amazing naked body.

I knew she couldn’t just strut around with her wings out and her breasts bouncing, but, man, I would have followed her peachy ass anywhere if she did.

“I have absolutely no helpful tips for you, I’m afraid.” I laughed and took full advantage of the view.

“Oh, great, yeah, very helpful,” the phoenix teased.

Her expression morphed from a playful smile to a concentrated frown, and her wings wrapped her up tightly again. This time, when she fluttered them back out, her asymmetrical fiery-feather dress had returned.

“I think I preferred you the other way,” I quipped with a wink.

“Well, I’m sure we can make some time for that again soon enough,” Chantara responded and blew me a kiss.

I loved her new confidence and sensuality. It was like night and day from the first time we met.

We left the magical hidden garden and went back out into the main tunnel. I’d almost forgotten the mission we were on, but once we’d gotten back to walking, my mind filled with all the possibilities for the other phoenixes.

Would they all fall in line immediately once they’d seen what Chantara had become? Or would the weight of oppression keep them rooted in the status quo? I felt like there had to be at least some of them who had the balls to fight against the witches, but would there be enough?

And then another question sprung up in my mind, one that seemed to dwarf all the others.

How would we break the curse on the other phoenixes without the Fire Quartz and all the other items we’d used for Chantara?

I knew there had to be another way, but it would take some planning to figure it out.

“What do you think about maybe not being the only powerful phoenix at some point soon?” I asked her absentmindedly as I pictured a whole flock of intense and beautiful fire birds.

“I can’t even imagine it,” Chantara replied.

She was behind me, but I could tell by her tone that she would be pursing her lips and trying to picture it. It probably wouldn’t look like my picture, though.

“You guys would be unstoppable with all your powers, there would be no need for any of us to fight your battles.”

Chantara paused for a moment, and I turned to look at her. Her lips were pursed, and she wore a slightly worried frown.

“Did I say something wrong?” I asked and reached for her hand.

“No,” the pretty phoenix said, and she smiled as she laced her fingers with mine. “I-- I just don’t know how to say this without sounding like I’m betraying my own kind…”

She trailed off and sighed deeply.

“Chantara, what is it? You can tell me anything.”

“It’s just, what if some of what they told us is true?” She stared at me with wide doe eyes and scrunched up her face like she’d tasted something awful. “I don’t mean what if they were justified in making us the bottom rung of society. I mean, what if we did something centuries ago to warrant our powers being stopped? Just think of how much power I have now, and I don’t even know how much more powerful I’m going to get. I guess I’m just a bit scared of a bad-natured phoenix regaining their powers. That could ruin everything.”

I smiled at the sweet, caring woman in front of me. After everything she’d been through, she still had such empathy for other races and an understanding of some of the more undesirable instincts people could have.

“I guess it’s a possibility,” I said. There was no point in lying to her, since I wanted us to have the kind of relationship built on rock-solid trust. “What do you think we should do about it?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged and looked down at her feet.

“Look, we don’t know what the future holds yet,” I said reassuringly. “What I do know is that you have a kind heart and a strong mind. We can figure out how to get the other phoenixes their power back in time. And we can even decide on a case-by-case basis which ones you think are worthy of wielding this kind of power. But for now, we have a job to do, and we need to get focused.”

“You’re right.” Chantara smiled, and I let out an internal sigh of relief that I was capable of giving a decent pep talk to a woman.

I thought for a minute about how we would even evaluate the merits of each phoenix and decide who would get their powers, even though we still didn’t know how to get them back. But I shook the thought from my head because right now, the important thing was gathering as many fighters as possible.

After we’d walked through the main tunnel a while longer, I noticed it branched off into four other pathways. Shit. Juli hadn’t mentioned this part of the tunnel. Although, she did say no one had used it for a while, so I wondered if maybe these were newer paths.

We stood at the fork where all four paths joined the main tunnel and stared into each of them.

“What do you want to do?” Chantara asked as she peered down one dark path.

“I guess we just pick one,” I said.

It was a total guess at this point. Each of the paths led to total darkness without any bends or indications on what it could lead to.

“Do you have a good feeling about any of them?” She frowned down the far left tunnel. “I don’t like this one.”

“Okay, that one’s out,” I said with a slight chuckle. “But no, I don’t have any feelings about any of them. How about we go with this one?”

I pointed to the middle right tunnel. It seemed logical to pick one of the middle ones, since they were the right general direction. Although, we had no idea how the tunnels could twist once we were inside them.

Chantara nodded and gestured for me to go first, so I took the lead again and marched decisively through the narrower tunnel.

After a little while of walking in a straight line, the path began to bend around to the right, and I heard the sound of water. As we got closer, the crash of water grew louder until we rounded a corner and came out right beside a familiar underground waterfall.

I’d been here before. When Rumi and I escaped the Ministry, we left this way and found this pretty waterfall. That meant we were close to the underground entrance to the witches’ den.

“We’re close to the Ministry,” I whispered to Chantara. “Put your wings away.”

The phoenix nodded, and her wings returned to her shoulder blades.

I motioned for her to wait there, since the light from her hair was still visible, and I crept along the edge of the wall toward where the underground entrance was.

The first thing I noticed was the two guards, who were standing right underneath the trapdoor and wore matching bored expressions. The second thing was that they had blocked off the other side of the tunnel. Part of me wondered why they hadn’t blocked it all off, but I guessed they might need a backup exit. Maybe we had scared them, and maybe they knew it was only a matter of time before they got hit again.

I backed away and returned to Chantara.

“The entrance we used before is just around that corner,” I said in a hushed tone. “There are two guards, so we can either just go back the way we came and choose another path, or we can go back round there and--”

“Send a message,” Chantara finished my thought for me, and I smirked at her badass attitude.

“Exactly.” I nodded.

“I’m all for it,” the feisty phoenix said with danger glistening in her eyes.

“Good. I don’t want these fuckers to feel safe for a minute, I want them to feel what they’ve done to everyone else tenfold. This is the perfect way to do that, leave them a message right at their back door.”

“I love the way you think.” Chantara smiled. “Do you want to go first or shall I?”

“I’ll get their attention,” I said as I pulled out my knife. “But you’re the main event. Just leave enough of them for us to display something other than a pile of ash.”

“I’ll do my best.” She gave me a playful one-shoulder shrug.

I didn’t know if she intended to melt their bones, or if she just wasn’t entirely sure how to control her powers yet, but either way, the message would be clear.

Don’t fuck with us.

I strolled back out toward the corner and let out a carefree whistle as I flicked my knife around in my hand.

“Hey, fellas,” I said with a friendly wave. “You’re not looking for me, are you?”

“What the fuck?” The first witch jumped, and his beady eyes darted from me to his friend.

“How did you get down here?” the other one barked.

“I know all the ways to get to you cunts.” I flashed them a ruthless grin. “Do you want to play?”

They both began to frantically create energy balls, and the first witch fired off a measly half-assed attempt that I easily dodged. The second one took a little more time, but his aim was terrible, and the ball hit the floor in front of me without me having to move.

I shook my head as if I was disappointed in them.

“Is that the best you can do?” I scoffed. “Maybe it’s time you meet Chantara.”

With that, the phoenix strutted around the corner with her wings ablaze, and I saw pure terror drain the two witches of all their color.

They began to make more energy balls and backed away until they hit the blocked off tunnel.

“I can do that, too,” Chantara said in an almost conversational and slightly cold tone. She held her hands about a football’s width apart from each other, and I watched as a ball of molten lava formed.

I ducked as another poorly-aimed green ball missed Chantara and flew over my head.

“I don’t appreciate you attacking my man.” Her tone was ice cold now, the complete juxtaposition of her fiery self.

The witches bumped into each other and both lost control of their magic, and then they turned on each other. Each one shoved the other forward and hid behind, like they didn’t realize Chantara and I weren’t going to let either of them live.

Finally, the phoenix shoved the ball of lava out toward the two hapless witches. It burst at shoulder height and instantly burned away their ability to scream.

The force of the lava pinned them against the wall they’d built to block what could have been their only escape, and I watched with an awed grimace on my face as the lava melted through the bottom halves of their skulls.

They were dead almost as soon as the ball hit them, which I considered a mercy for the shit they’d done to the phoenixes.

I walked over to them and inspected the damage. Their eyes had burst from the heat, and it looked like they’d cried tears of their own eyeballs. Both jaws were nothing more than volcanic-looking rock all fused into the stone wall. From the neck down, their leather-clad bodies seemed uninjured, but they were now completely separate to their heads and had flopped into a pile underneath the skull display.

The heat instantly cauterized the wounds so it wasn’t anywhere near as messy, blood wise, as it would have been if I’d taken them out, but damn, it was still gory as hell, and I was seriously impressed.

I wondered how long it would take for the changing of the guards and the inevitable shock and outrage it would cause. I wished I could have been there to see the looks on their faces. But they would know who did it, and they would know they weren’t the top dogs anymore.

“That was fucking badass,” I congratulated my warrior woman.

“It felt pretty badass.” Chantara grinned at me as if she’d just driven a car for the first time, not decapitated two witches with her own powers.

“Come on, let’s get back and try to find the right path.”

We walked back to the fork and chose the middle-left path this time. This one was less well maintained, so drips from the roof splatted mucky wet patches onto my face and clothes. It smelled like damp soil, and I was sure I spotted a few worms wriggling free from the walls.

“Watch out,” I called behind me as I sidestepped a huge hole in the ground that seemed to disappear into oblivion.

I turned around to make sure Chantara had seen it, and watched as she moved around it so gracefully. I peered into the hole as the light from her wings illuminated some of it, but it really seemed bottomless.

I continued to walk and made sure I kept a keen eye out for any other sneaky holes to nowhere. More worms and other strange bugs cowered away from the light, and a massive muddy drip landed square on my nose.

“Ugh,” I grunted and wiped it off with my shirt.

I heard a disgruntled squeak from behind me and whipped around to see Chantara wiping her face, too. The leaking roof was definitely getting worse around here. We laughed at each other’s mud-splattered faces, and she tenderly wiped mine clean before I helped her.

After a few more annoying drips, it finally dawned on me why this kept happening. We must have been underneath the canal.

“How far from Canal Street is the colony?” I asked.

So much had happened since the last time I was there that I couldn’t quite remember.

“It should only be a little while longer,” Chantara replied.

I hadn’t seen anyone rely on a watch or even reference specific time since I’d been here. I guessed maybe being so rigid with minutes and seconds was more of an Earth specific construct, perhaps one that other worlds just didn’t need as much.

It felt like a freeing concept on one hand, never having to punch a clock or worry about the time your favorite show was on. But on the other hand, it would make any kind of military level organization a lot tricker.

We carried on walking for ‘a little while longer,’ and after that arbitrary length of time, the floor of the tunnel began to rise.

We were definitely on the incline, which I hoped meant the end of this tunnel, and hopefully no witches were on the other side.

A circle of sunlight shone up ahead, and it looked like I was up close to an eclipse. I figured it must be just another rock that covered the mouth of the cave, but it looked pretty impressive from this angle. As we drew closer, Chantara retracted her wings and then helped me push the boulder out of the way.

It took a few seconds for my eyes to readjust to the sunlight, but when I could see again, I didn’t recognize this place. It was a forest, and I could smell the canal, but I couldn’t see it. I’d been to the colony before, yet this place seemed brand new.

“Do you know where we are?” I asked.

“Yeah, we’re really close. Some parts of these forests have pockets of leftover magic. If you’re not used to them, it can be quite disorienting.”

“No kidding.” I whistled. “Lead the way then, beautiful.”

Chantara smiled at the compliment and led me through the weird trees. I felt an odd swimming sensation in my head, almost like I’d had three or four drinks, but just as soon as it started, it stopped altogether.

We must have crossed some invisible threshold because all of a sudden I knew exactly where I was. The canal lay behind me, and I knew the colony was just up ahead. My brain was clear again, and it was as if nothing had happened.

That was a weird sensation.

I’d thought the witches’ magic only extended to the energy balls and the curse they’d put onto the phoenixes, but now I knew I’d been a little naïve. Those crafty leather gimps clearly had a few more tricks up their ridiculously tight sleeves.

Still, it was better to know now than find out when they were on top of us.

I wondered why the witches didn’t use more of that mind-bending magic, but before I could waste any headspace on it, I spotted the first of the little shacks that the phoenixes lived in.

“How do you want to play this?” I asked Chantara.

With the others, I was happy to take the lead, but I respected Chantara’s opinion, and these were her people. She would know how best to talk to them.

“I’ll give them a brief explanation on how much you’ve done for me and maybe show them my wings, then I’ll let you take over and tell them what the big plan is. Does that sound okay?” Her tone had started out confident, but as she got further through her sentence, it seemed like her old insecurities had reared up again, and I could tell she needed some support.

“That sounds perfect, good thinking.” I gave her shoulders a squeeze, and we walked toward the huts.

Then I heard a muffled cry and a slap.

“Stop,” I whispered as I grabbed the phoenix’s hand and pulled her back. “I think we’ve got company.”

She nodded silently, and we crept behind a nearby bush.

I snuck a quick look over the top, but I couldn’t see anyone. They must have been behind one of the huts.

“We don’t know anything!” a weak and young-sounding voice wailed.

“You’re fucking phoes,” an aggressive voice spat. “You gotta know something about one of your own breaking in. We’ll stay here all day if we have to. Maybe we’ll have to start turning up our interrogation.”

I heard a heavy thud followed by a breathless wheeze.

It could only be the fucking witches.

Chantara was practically vibrating with rage beside me, and I knew it was time to fuck up some more of the Pfeiffer fan club.

I was fucking made for this shit.

Chapter Four

I could tell Chantara was ready to explode with rage, so I took her hand in mine and stared deeply into her lava-colored eyes.

“Take one deep breath,” I instructed.

She did, but it did nothing to quell the anger bubbling inside of her.

“They’re going to pay for what they’ve done,” I reassured her. “But if you let rage take over, you leave yourself open to a level-headed attack. So, just try to keep it together, and we’ll take these fuckers out. You run over there behind that hut, and I’ll go left to that other hut. We can attack those bastard witches from both sides, and they won’t know what’s hit them. Deal?”

Chantara took another deep breath and nodded. I knew this was personal for her, and it had come to feel personal for me, too. But we needed to be smart about it. If she got hurt, it would all be for nothing.

Before we made our move I realized this was the most action I’d seen from witches in the daylight ever. They’d really stepped up their hunt for us if they were doing all this themselves. It also meant they didn’t trust the ogres anymore.

That must have been what the two moms in the south forest meant when they said their men were out of work. The witches were becoming more insular and untrusting. On one hand, that was great for us. A disenfranchised workforce would be much more likely to latch onto a revenge plot, and it could help me to bridge the gap between ogres and phoenixes. But on the other hand, an animal backed into a corner would do just about anything to protect itself.

I wanted to make sure we didn’t underestimate the witches. We’d been successful so far, but it was a fool’s game to think it would always go our way.

Suddenly, my mind flashed up the memory of the fairy’s prophecy when she’d saved Baz from drowning. She’d warned me that by choosing to save Baz, I needed to be prepared to lose others along the way.

I couldn’t lose Chantara.

That prophecy had played on my mind ever since I heard it. And I was forbidden from telling anyone, since the fairy said if I did, it would alter the outcome in ways they couldn’t prepare for. Part of me wondered if it was real, but I didn’t want to take the risk. I just had to hope that by keeping it to myself, I could lead our side on to victory.

“Be careful out there,” I said as I forced the prophetic thoughts away.

Now wasn’t the time for wondering what the future held. Now was the time for taking out those leather dicks and rallying the troops.

Chantara gave me a tight smile, and with that we both moved in opposite directions, me to the nearest hut on the left, and her to the nearest one on the right.

In the small open bit of dusty land between all the huts, I saw a group of phoenixes all huddled together on the ground. There were others who stared out of their huts with wide terrified eyes, but none of them seemed like they were prepared to stand up to the witches.

I couldn’t blame them. Up until Chantara, all the phoenixes were powerless and generationally browbeaten.

But I knew we could change that.

Surrounding the group on the ground were eight witches. That indicated to me they were scared. Two or three witches would have been a show of confidence, it would show they knew only a couple of them could take down a whole colony. But eight told me they needed numbers to feel strong now.

Good. I wanted them to be scared.

I took my gun out of its holster, glanced over to where Chantara was hidden, and gave her a nod.

Game time.

We both strutted out from behind the huts with confident smiles and a ‘fuck you’ attitude.

“You guys are a little far from home,” I said as I raised my gun and squeezed the trigger.

The witches began to turn toward me, but then my first bullet fired through the eye socket of one gangly fucker, and their manic eyes widened as he hit the ground.

Blood began to pool out of the exit wound in the back of his skull, and I popped off another round, straight through another witch’s temple.

The phoenixes on the ground screamed and scrambled to run away, but they all froze when they saw Chantara.

She was standing opposite me with her fire wings outstretched and a powerful glare on her face.

“Run to your homes,” she said calmly to the small group of phoenixes, and they stumbled over their feet as they tried to run without taking their eyes off her.

One of the witches pulled some kind of shiv out of his boot and ran toward Chantara. I aimed my weapon and squeezed off another shot, through the side of his skull.

Blood splattered over Chantara’s face and wings, but it seemed to sizzle off her wings, and she left it all over her face. It made her look like the angel of death.

I was taking aim at another witch when one tackled me from the side, and I landed on the ground with the witch on top of me. He had knocked the gun out of my hand, so I quickly whipped my knife out, plunged the blade into the top of his thigh, and severed his femoral artery.

When I yanked out the blade, a forceful fountain of blood shot out like it was from a gory hose, and the witch frantically tried to stem the flow. I smirked as I shoved him off me and stabbed the fucker in the heart.

Then I got back to my feet and looked around for my next victim.

The remaining four witches had converged on Chantara, and they were each creating their own energy balls. I bent down and grabbed my gun from the ground, but before I’d even gotten back to my feet, the powerful phoenix let out an intense battle cry, and her wings clapped forward in front of her.

I heard a pained scream as Chantara’s fiery feathers closed around the head of one witch, and when the wings pulled back, he slapped frantically at flames that tore through his hair, skin, and clothes. But it was futile, and soon his charred body crumpled to the ground.

I was a little shocked. I’d touched those wings, and they only felt warm to me. They were almost like a comfort blanket, but now they were weapons of destruction. I figured maybe it was her intent that changed how they reacted, but I couldn’t know for sure.

The other three witches had panicked at the sight of their friend being burned alive by phoenix fire, and they lost their balls, the energy ones, but probably the other kind, too. As they tried to remake them, Chantara grinned menacingly and walked straight at the witches.

I felt a little clench of concern in my gut as she walked right up to their faces, but she was too close for me to get a clean shot, so I had to trust her to keep herself safe.

Chantara brought her hands up to head height and slammed them into the heads of the two outside witches. The force of her slap bashed both their skulls into the middle witch, like she’d just made a dumbass sandwich.

Then she made that same powerful war cry again, and I watched from behind as her hands burst into light, and the outer witches’ skulls began to sizzle.

Her scream grew louder, and all three witches began to shake. Suddenly, the middle witch’s head exploded into bloody vapor, and the other two fell to the ground.

Chantara wilted but didn’t fall, and I rushed to her side to give her some support. As I wrapped my arm around her waist and felt the soothing warmth of her wings, I looked down to the mess she’d left.

The middle witch had absolutely nothing from the collarbones up, not so much as a bit of gristle or bone. Blood poured out of the gaping hole, and I thought part of his esophagus was trying to escape, but I wasn’t a doctor, so it could have been anything.

The other two witches still had most of their heads, but the sides where Chantara had held them were burned down to the brain matter. Two hand-shaped holes had essentially melted the flesh and bone, and when I nudged one of their heads, I saw the ear on the other side was singed off, too. It was like the energy passed through the ear and converged into the now exploded skull of the middle witch.

Impressive. And gross.

I looked around and saw all the phoenixes were inside their homes, and they all stared at us with wide eyes through the holes in their doors or cracks in the walls.

“It’s okay,” I said loud enough for them all to hear. “We only want to hurt the witches. Chantara is one of you, we’re here to help.”

I watched as all their eyes moved from me to Chantara and stayed there. Mouths hung open, and then the hushed muttering started.

“Chan-- Chantara?” a small voice stuttered from inside a particularly run-down hut.

The thatched roof was broken and buckled, the door hung wonky on only one working hinge, and instead of a real window, there was only a small porthole carved into the clay or mud that the tiny home was built from.

A bony hand appeared on the door, and with some effort the wobbly thing creaked inward, and a skinny little girl emerged.

“Maaya?” Chantara asked, and she dropped to her knees with her arms outstretched. “Is that my little Maaya?”

The girl walked forward dressed in a scruffy beige dress, filled with patches and tears. Her knobby knees buckled, and her feet were bare. But she had a sweet little smile on her dust-covered face, and her eyes seemed more brown than the lava color of Chantara’s, but they sparkled with excitement.

After a few tentative steps, the girl broke into a run and leaped into Chantara’s open arms. My phoenix jumped to her feet and swung the little girl around with her wings outstretched, and a brilliant smile stretched across her pretty face.

“Oh, you don’t know how much I’ve missed you, Maaya!” Chantara said as she placed the little girl back down.

“I’ve missed you, too, Auntie Cee!” Maaya hugged Chantara so tightly, and I just kept my mouth shut and let them have their moment. “I like your wings! Will I get some when I’m big and strong?”

“Maybe,” Chantara replied and matched Maaya’s excitement. “But we need to get you big and strong first, don’t we?”

As my sweet phoenix and the little girl caught up and giggled with each other, I noticed the others begin to emerge from their huts. Some still wore masks of utter terror, while others seemed more confused than anything else.

Two families of three inched a little closer to me, and I offered them a smile.

“Hi, I’m Ryan,” I said in my most non-threatening tone. “I’m sorry about the mess, we’ll help clean it up. But we came to talk to you all, about the witches, and about my friend here, Chantara.”

“What do you want to know, Ryan?” The patriarch of one family tried to sound authoritative, but I could tell by the way he pulled his lips in that he was trying to hold back his fear.

“I think it’s best you hear it from Chantara, I’m nobody to you, I understand that. But she means everything to me, and I want to help her in every way I can, which means I want to help you, too.”

I wanted them to see humility in me, which would inspire them to want to follow me. I knew sometimes it was good to lead with a firm hand from the start, but with people who’d been dominated and disrespected all their lives, I knew it was a smarter choice to offer them hope.

“Chantara!” I called over to the beautiful phoenix, who had a happy glow about her as little Maaya flitted around and stroked her wings.

“Hello,” Chantara said warmly as she walked over, with Maaya in tow.

“I was just telling these phoenixes you’re the best one to talk about our plans,” I said and threw a polite smile to the six confused-looking people in front of me.

“Phoenixes?” the dad echoed. “We’re phoes…”

“No,” Chantara said gently. “We’ve never been phoes. We’ve always been phoenixes. The witches gave us that name, they forced our families to choose names that mean water, they took our powers with their curses. They’ve kept us from being who we truly are for so long that we thought we were nothing more. But I’m here to tell you all, it’s just not true. Ryan helped me become what I am today. He risked his life, along with an ogre and a vixen, so I could be who I was always supposed to be. Don’t you see? The witches are the ones who are scared now, that’s why they’re stepping up the violence, and that’s why we have to stop them.”

Everyone stared at Chantara in stunned silence. Even I was a little taken aback, especially by the water name comment. I hadn’t known what the word phoe meant, but I knew she wasn’t a liar. I wondered why she hadn’t told me before, or when she found out. But I was impressed by her speech anyway, and as I gazed around at the group, I could tell she’d really had an impact on some of them.

“You worked with an ogre?” the dad asked as he pulled his young son behind his back. “You know what they’ve done to us, how could you ever side with one of them?”

“Because they’ve been forced into a life they don’t want, also,” Chantara replied in a calm, soothing tone. “It’s not the ogres who are at fault here, it’s the witches. I have friends in the south forest clans now, I trust the ogres, and their people are rallying behind us. Won’t you join us, too? Don’t you want better for your lover? For your son? For your son’s children to come? Don’t you want to give them the life we’ve always wanted, a life where we aren’t seen as servants or scum? A life where we are equal to everyone else and can live together, not shunned into these huts and made to beg for scraps.”

“Of course, I want that.” The dad’s brow pulled downward, and his jaw muscles tightened. “But what’s the cost? Our kind has bled for generations. You were here to save us this time, but we’ve already lost so much, I can’t lose what little I have left.”

Chantara nodded solemnly, and a little stone of disappointment sank into my stomach.

“We have bled,” a decisive woman’s voice came from behind me, and I turned to see a slim, toned, middle-aged phoenix with a man standing beside her and a strikingly beautiful young woman on her other side. “We have bled ourselves dry, and what has that gotten us? We’ve cowered and bowed and bent and wept and given up everything, yet it’s never enough. We have nothing left to lose, don’t you see that? What good is a life if it goes unlived?”

“Narelle, I won’t risk my family for a strange human, an apparent phoenix, and an ogre!” The dad was getting angry now, and I felt like the balance of this conversation was on a knife’s edge.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name, sir?” I smiled at the dad and tried to take the heat off this discussion for a moment.

“That’s because I didn’t give it,” he replied coldly, but when the woman by his side gave him a quick nudge in the ribs, he jumped slightly and relented. “Aenon. It’s Aenon.”

“Aenon, I understand your position, I really do.” I held my palms out as I spoke, it was an old behavioral trick I’d learned to make people subconsciously feel like you were no threat to them. “And we will absolutely respect your wishes if you choose not to join us. Your families have been forced into too many things, and that’s exactly what we’re fighting against, so it would be wrong of us to force you to fight with us.”

Aenon’s head dipped as his eyes blinked rapidly, and I could tell he was trying to process what I had just said. I imagined he probably hadn’t had someone offer him respect before, so it must have felt a little jarring.

“I just can’t risk them,” he said again after a long pause, but this time, his tone was soft and heavy with loss.

“I can respect that,” I said calmly. “I’d give my life to bring back my loved ones, I understand wanting to protect what you have. All I ask is you don’t jeopardize our chances by telling the witches. Can you do that for me?”

Aenon thought about it for a moment before his wife cleared her throat and stepped forward.

“Of course, we can do that, Ryan,” she said with a kind smile and genuine eyes. “You have my word.”

“Thank you.” I nodded.

“We want to help,” Narelle, the middle-aged firecracker, chimed in from behind me. “We might not be strong fighters, but we know of some. Come, sit with us for a while, we have a lot to discuss.”

I wondered if it might alienate some of the others if we left to go into Narelle’s hut, but as I smiled around at the other phoenixes, I could tell they all had a lot of respect for this assertive woman.

Maybe with her on our side, more would follow.

“Thank you, Narelle,” I said, and Chantara and I followed her to her home.

“I’ll come and find you soon, my little Maaya,” Chantara cooed at the little girl once we had come to the front door of Narelle’s place. “You go and think about where you’ll fly to when you have your own wings.”

“Okay, Auntie Cee!” And with that, the little girl ran off fanning her arms.

“Are you really her auntie?” I asked as I watched the kid playing happily. “You’re really great with her.”

“Thanks, she’s the sweetest child.” Chantara gazed after her with a longing in her eyes that seemed as though she craved a family. “But no, she’s a friend’s daughter, I just grew close to her over time. She’s a jewel of the community.”

I smiled at the caring phoenix and then ushered her inside the small hut.

Narelle gestured to some almost flat cushions on the floor of her home. The walls were bare, and the only bed was a small roll mat on the ground with a threadbare blanket over the top, but I could tell Narelle had done her best with what she had.

I smiled politely and took a seat on one of the small round pillows.

“We know of a much larger colony than this, much larger.” Narelle jumped straight into business, and I respected that. “How serious are you about tackling the witches? What are your plans?”

I glanced at Chantara to see if she wanted to take the lead, but she gestured for me to speak.

“Right now, we’re gathering as many people as possible. We have a vixen currently gathering some of her trusted friends. We have some very close contacts with the ogres, and I know it will take time to build the trust between the ogres and the phoenixes, but Chantara and Baz are a testament to what we can achieve with a common goal. We’re hoping we can get enough of an army together to really put an end to the Ministry, once and for all.”

Narelle nodded for a moment and sat silently as she contemplated what I’d said. I smiled at her partner, who hadn’t said a single word the entire time, and I wondered where that beautiful younger woman had gone.

“What are you bringing to this fight? Why do you care?” Narelle squinted her eyes at me, and I could tell she was testing to see if all this was just an ego trip for me.

“I’ve got a decent supply of weapons, and I can train everyone to use them.” I pulled out my gun, quickly unloaded it, and handed the weapon to Narelle.

“This… thing, this is what you used to kill the witches just now?” She held it between her thumb and forefinger and twisted it back and forth like she was expecting it to come alive.

“Yes.” I nodded. “I’ve found these weapons give us an advantage against the witches and the merfolk. None of them have anything like this, and they fire much quicker than their magic.”

“Interesting,” Narelle said and handed me back the gun. “You have our support. The other colony is on the mainland. I can give you directions, but it’s a risky journey to get there. Would you be willing to cross the Black Sea?”

“How far is it?” I asked. I’d known this place was an island, but up until now, no one had discussed what was across the water.

“Less than half a day,” the assertive phoenix replied. “It is treacherous, though, there will be risks from the sea and from the land. The merfolk forbid crossings without permission, and they would never grant it for this kind of journey. So, it would involve deceit and risk.”

“How large is the colony and how do you know they will be willing to join us?” Chantara joined the conversation, and Narelle gave her a proud smile.

“I can’t know how large the colony is for certain, but I know they have declared themselves an enemy to the witches already, so they would be more than willing to join the cause.”

“Please excuse us for a moment to discuss your proposal,” I said as I stood up and offered my hand to Chantara.

“Of course.” Narelle nodded.

Once we were outside, I turned to Chantara with a shrug.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“I’m not sure, it sounds risky, what do you think?” What she said sounded uncertain, but there was a determination in her eyes that solidified my position.

“I think we should do it,” I said with a firm nod. “Narelle is possibly the most genuine person here. I can tell from her tone and her body language that she wants what we want. The only issue is going to be getting across the sea, but I’m sure we can figure something out. Are you in?”

“Yes!” Chantara practically sang the word. “I just didn’t want you to have to do something you didn’t want to do. I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

“Okay.” I grinned.

We went back inside Narelle’s hut and sat back down together.

“We will do it. Do you have any way of getting across the sea?” I was happy that we’d made a new and seemingly well-respected ally. I knew I’d still keep my guard up and not discuss any of the finer points of my plans with them, but for now, it was a strong start.

“There’s a clan in the north forest,” Narelle started. “I don’t know them myself, but I have a friend who used them to get across to the other colony, so I know they can be trusted. They do forbidden crossings for a price. It’s risky water, so please don’t take this lightly. But if you’re certain, then I can give you a name.”

“Are you willing to come with us and facilitate introductions with the northern clan?” Chantara asked.

“I can’t risk it, I’m sorry,” Narelle said with an apologetic slump of her shoulders. “I’ve only just recovered from the last time we were in Pyregate. My love had his tongue cut out. I want to help, and I will, but I need time to build my strength back. I will do everything I can to get this colony on your side, though.”

“That’s absolutely fine,” I said before I looked over to her partner and finally understood why he’d been so quiet. “They’ll pay for what’s happened to you all.”

The mute man in the corner gave me a tight smile and a nod of approval.

We chatted for a little while longer, and we got the name of the head of the transporter clan, Jurek. I planned to talk to Baz about Jurek and work things out from there.

“Thank you for everything,” I said to Narelle as we got up to leave.

“You have no idea how much we appreciate your support,” Chantara added as she gave Narelle a hug.

“I do,” she replied with a knowing smile. “We’ve waited so long for this, Chantara, I know the time is now.”

Chantara blushed and then went to find Maaya before we left.

I said goodbye to the couple before I exited the small hut. The other phoenixes had mostly buried all of the witch corpses, but I thought I should probably chip in and help, so I picked up a discarded shovel and started helping.

“Ryan?” an unfamiliar feminine voice called quietly from behind me.

I turned around to see the stunning young phoenix I’d seen before with Narelle. I guessed she was probably in her early twenties, although no one ever mentioned how old they were around here. Her face was breathtaking and framed by a choppy black and red haircut that made her seem edgy and a little dangerous. I thought she could have easily been a model. Her long lean legs and full hips were poured into some ripped black shorts. Her exposed stomach was both rock hard and soft with femininity, and her breasts were two perfectly symmetrical domes underneath a tight strappy top.

“Hi,” I said and forced myself to stop before something embarrassing fell out of my mouth.

“I heard what you were saying to my mom,” the smoking-hot phoenix said. “I want to join you.”

Goddamn.

I didn’t think I could say no to an offer like that from a woman who looked like a slightly gothic Victoria’s Secret model.

This day just got a whole lot better.

Chapter Five

I smiled at the feisty phoenix, and I could tell she was definitely related to Narelle. She faced me square on with her hands on her hips and a defiant jut of her chin.

When I first met Chantara, she was a timid, worried, mouse of a woman. Her eyes darted like a deer by a lake, and she seemed resigned to a lonely life in the shadows.

This woman was her polar opposite. Her smile was a challenge, like she was daring me to say no so she could fight me. I glanced down at her knuckles and saw they were bruised, so maybe she would genuinely fight me. A part of me got a little kick out of that thought, and I matched her smile and gave her a flick of my eyebrow as if to say, ‘go on then.’

“You know it’s not going to be an easy ride, don’t you?” I asked and failed to keep the flirty tone out of my voice.

“Does it look like I can’t handle a rough ride?” she scoffed.

“A lot of folks think they want to fight, until they get into the fray and shit goes sideways,” I retorted.

The sassy phoenix rolled her eyes at me and let out a bored sigh. Then she exploded into some kind of acrobatic front flip and landed right in front of me with a homemade blade pressed against my throat.

Where the fuck did she pull that from?

“I can fight.” She stared up at me with hot red eyes, and her breasts pressed against my chest for a second before she backed away. “I’m Darya, and I’m coming with you.”

Before I could answer, Chantara walked up behind Darya and gave me a nod.

“We could always do with a fighter like you,” she said kindly to the fearsome young phoenix. “You’ll have to show me how you did that flip.”

Darya’s expression turned to one of awe, and she grinned proudly at Chantara.

“My mom taught me, but it’s easy to learn, I have a lot to offer you guys,” she babbled. It seemed like Chantara was her new hero.

I could understand why. Chantara was the epitome of a badass now, and I bet more of the phoenixes were desperate to have the powers she possessed.

“Come on then,” I said to the two women. “We’ll go spend tonight at Rumi’s and get back to Baz’s in the morning.”

“I heard you say Baz before, but you didn’t say Rumi, who’s that?” Darya asked.

I admired her forward nature, and it seemed like Chantara had taken an instant shine to her, but I wondered if Rumi might clash with another spunky personality.

“Rumi is an important member of our team, so you’ll have to play nice with her.” I smirked at Darya. “Why do you want to join us anyway?”

“How long have you got?” She shrugged.

“It’s a bit of a walk to where we’re going, you’ve got some time,” I replied. “Is it revenge for what the witches did to your dad?”

“That’s just the start,” Darya said as her upper lip curled. “Those cocky shits, they’ve owned this place for too fucking long. Dad always said I had a nasty fucking tongue in my head, well, he used to. Before those bastards took his. He doesn’t correct me anymore.”

Darya let out a hollow bark of a laugh, and I could tell from the way her smile didn’t reach her eyes that it was just a mask of confidence. I wanted to know what was underneath it, but I decided to let her talk for now until she felt more comfortable with me.

“Dad’s tongue was only recently, though,” she continued. “They’ve done way worse to us all before that. I have… had a sister. Those evil fuckers took her. We don’t know if she’s dead or alive or where she is. I sometimes think I can feel her, you know, like I get a feeling in my stomach that feels like her. But I don’t know if I’m crazy or if it’s just a memory. But whenever I get the feeling, I get so fucking mad, I can feel the hatred burning inside me, and I have to find a way to get it out of me and into those fucking shithead witches.”

Chantara shot me a sad glance that said she understood how Darya felt, but I still had some reservations about this new phoenix. She was a fighter, sure, but she might be a little too hot-tempered, and that could be dangerous.

But maybe it was just her trying to prove herself. Maybe if she became a part of the team, she would stow the angsty teen bit and get serious.

“I know the anger you’re feeling,” Chantara said in a calming tone. “I wouldn’t be surprised if phoenixes are born with it now, passed down from our mothers and their mothers before them. But as much as I understand it, and have lived with it, it isn’t good for us. That anger and hatred can burn away anything good within you if you’re not careful. Tell me something you love, I want to know you.”

Darya seemed confused, and she frowned for a moment as if she had thought of nothing but revenge for so long she didn’t know what she loved anymore.

“I’d love to see the look on the witches’ faces when I tear them apart,” she finally said with a wild grin, and I realized she thought Chantara was testing her.

“Well, I love Siri’s bean stew,” I said with a smile. “And damn I love Pepper’s pixie rump pasty. And Chantara’s smile in the morning.”

Chantara giggled and then looked at Darya.

“It doesn’t always have to be about revenge. If that’s all you have left, then even if we kill every last one of them, they’ll still have beaten you.”

“Not if they’re fucking dead,” Darya said defiantly. “I don’t get this, what are you two trying to do here? This isn’t a happy little party, I thought this was fucking war. Why are you trying to make me some kind of weakling?”

“We’re not,” I replied. “We’ve all lost so much in our lives, and we’ve all wanted revenge. But Chantara’s right. If all you have is hate, then what are you left with when there’s no one left to fight?”

“There’s always someone to fight,” Darya scoffed.

“I left everyone, even sweet little Maaya, because I couldn’t face the thought of losing them.” Chantara stared into the woodland ahead of us like she was lost inside her memories. “I thought we’d all be dead one day soon, so I would get away and protect myself by not caring about anyone or anything. All I wanted to do was survive from one day to the next. But it’s a sad, lonely existence, and it’s not a life. I was just an angry shell of who I used to be, of who I am now. And it was only by letting in the good things that I was able to become so much more.”

Darya frowned again, but this time she seemed to be thinking about what Chantara had said, instead of trying to figure out if this was a trap.

“I… I love my mom’s strength, and how fiercely she loves me.” Darya offered a hopeful smile to Chantara, who returned it tenfold. “And I want to be like you. I heard a rumor after the last attack on the Ministry, but I thought it was bullshit. I’m so fucking happy it’s not.”

“Now you’re getting it.” I laughed.

We walked through the woods in silence for a little while. It didn’t feel awkward now, but I could tell Darya was still wrestling with how to be both vengeful and happy.

I thought she seemed like a good fit for our group, but a small part of me questioned whether I was just being overly optimistic due to her smoking-hot body and feisty attitude.

I knew it was a good idea to get Rumi to talk to her and give an assessment of her. She’d been right about that fucking snitch Amaya. I mean, I had too, but that just meant Rumi was as good at judging people’s characters as I was.

Another part of me thought it might help Darya to respect our authority a little more once she saw we had murderous vixens on our side. We weren’t fucking around here, and everyone needed to toe the line if we were going to pull off the destruction of the witches.

“How did you, you know, become… this?” Darya gestured to Chantara’s flaming hair with wide, awe-filled eyes.

“It’s a long story,” Chantara replied with a chuckle. “I’ll tell you all of it one day, but Ryan, Baz, and Rumi all helped me when they didn’t have to. That’s what I’m trying to get across to you, trusting the right people opens you up to a world of new possibilities.”

Darya shot me an impressed smile, and I could tell Chantara was really making an impact on her.

“So, what can you do? Can you fly? Can you turn into fire? Can you melt things?” She had turned from angry and cold to excited and practically giddy, and I had to stifle a laugh since I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

“Er, I don’t think I’ve ‘officially’ flown yet,” Chantara said and winked at me.

“I don’t know, I think we can count a couple of feet as your first flight.” I smirked, and Chantara blushed a little and slightly shook her head.

“I can’t turn into fire, that I know of, but I can definitely melt things and throw fire. I didn’t know I could burn things with my wings before just now, though, so I’m still learning.”

“Whoa,” Darya breathed. “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard. How long have you had your powers?”

“Only a few days.” Chantara shrugged.

“Damn! And if you can already do all of this, just think what you’ll be able to do soon. How exciting! And I love your hair, it’s fucking beautiful.”

My sweet phoenix laughed and flicked some of the flaming tendrils over her shoulder.

“So, what’s your plan for when you’ve taken out the witches then?” Darya was so curious and not afraid to shy away from a question. They were great characteristics to have.

“I’m not entirely sure,” I lied.

I wanted to rebuild this place, in a better way, but with me running the show. I’d be much fairer than the witches, but I still wanted to rule.

“I…” Chantara started and then clammed up and looked down at the ground like she was embarrassed.

“Come on,” I encouraged her. “I want to hear your dream for Pyregate, you’re the one who’s lived here forever.”

“I don’t know if I want to say it, it feels silly…”

I was a little surprised at how much Chantara had regressed to the shy woman I’d first met. Whatever she wanted to say was really important to her, since people only protected their ideas like this when they knew getting shot down would break them.

“Okay, well, how about you, Darya, what do you want?” I didn’t want to push Chantara in front of the new recruit, but I made a mental note to ask her later on.

“I want to be a mom,” Darya said in a matter-of-fact tone. I hadn’t expected that of her, with all her fire and brimstone attitude, but I enjoyed finding out about new depths to her. “It’s all I’ve ever really wanted, but it just didn’t feel right to bring another kid into this shitty world. But if it all got better…”

Her voice trailed off for a moment, and her feisty smirk washed away to reveal a delicate, sweet smile. There was so much emotion and compassion in that smile, I kind of wanted to kiss her.

“One day, maybe it’ll be the right time, and maybe I’ll find the right man.” She shot me a lightning fast glance that lasted milliseconds, but it made me do a double take.

Did she mean me?

“I love that dream,” Chantara said and brought me back to reality and out of my little fantasy world of half-phoenix children.

“We’re nearly here,” I said and cleared my throat.

Chantara smiled, and Darya’s face hardened back to her ‘don’t fuck with me’ glare. I could tell now it was just a protective mask. She’d given me a glimpse of her softer side, and I could tell she had already begun to put her trust in us.

We arrived at Rumi’s tree a few minutes later, and I contemplated knocking, but I couldn’t imagine how she’d hear it. Plus, the vixens always just seemed to know when someone was close.

So, we waited.

After a couple seconds, Darya opened her mouth to speak, but she shut it quickly when the tree bark began to move and swing outward.

“Ryan, Chantara, and oh, hey, sugar, I don’t know you, but damn, you are gorgeous.” Lyra’s melted chocolate voice poured out in a friendly tone, and I smiled at the cheerful, dark-haired vixen.

“It’s good to see you again, Lyra,” I said and then gestured to our new associate. “This is Darya, she wants to help us.”

“Well, it really is a pleasure, darlin’.” Lyra suddenly threw her arms around the new phoenix, who stiffened up before giving the overly friendly vixen a tentative pat on the back. “I’m a newbie, too!”

“Oh, okay, hi,” Darya said flatly.

She looked completely disarmed and confused by Lyra’s warmth, and I assumed that was because phoenixes were used to being hated from every angle.

“Well, don’t just hang there like a bunch of berries, come on in, are y’all hungry?” The sweet, friendly vixen wiggled her way inside the tree and ushered us all in.

“I could eat,” Darya replied. Her tone seemed a little lighter, but her eyes still warily roamed the inside of the impossible tree.

As we walked back through the long hallway, Darya was completely silent. I thought this was the longest she’d kept her mouth shut since we’d met, and I wondered what she was thinking.

“How’s Baz doing?” Lyra turned to me with raised eyebrows and an eager smile. “I’ve missed that little cutie.”

“No doubt, he’s missed you, too.” I laughed. “He’s doing good, he’s in talks with the southern clans, but I think we were going to head over there tomorrow, if you wanted to come?”

“Oh, sweetie, you just done made my day,” Lyra lilted. Her voice had such a musical tone, it was quite soothing to listen to. “Has he mentioned me? I know, I know, a strong old girl like me shouldn’t be hankering for the thoughts of some ogre she barely knows, but ain’t he just the cutest thing you ever did see?”

“Might just be you thinking that one, Lyra,” I chuckled. “But he couldn’t believe his luck that you seemed to take a shine to him.”

“Oh, stop it now, you’re gonna embarrass me.” Lyra playfully pushed my shoulder, and I could see a deep blush rising on her cheeks, even in the dim candlelight of the hallway.

Soon, we arrived at Rumi’s door, and Lyra knocked on it. Seconds later, the curvaceous redhead threw open the door and gave us all a sexy smile before her piercing blue eyes fell on Darya.

“Who’s the new girl?” Rumi asked with a challenging flick of her eyebrow.

“Darya,” she said and took a step forward. “I guess you’re Rumi.”

“You guess right.”

The two women seemed to have a small standoff as they both looked each other up and down, and they had the squared off postures of two people about to fight. I contemplated getting involved, but I did bring her here for Rumi’s thoughts, so I let it run its course.

After a few seconds that stretched out awkwardly, Rumi’s face cracked into a wide smile, and she burst into a warm laugh.

“I like this one,” she said with an approving nod. “She’s got some fire in her, I can definitely work with that.”

Darya sighed almost imperceptibly, but I noticed it and was impressed at her strength in the face of someone as intimidating as Rumi.

Then Rumi put her arm around Darya’s slim shoulders and led her inside, and Chantara, Lyra, and I followed.

The evening was filled with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and Rumi poured drinks of some kind of wine. It didn’t taste the same as the elvish wine Chantara had stashed at her place, but it was just as nice. Lyra fussed around us all topping up glasses and fetching snacks for everyone, and I thought she’d be perfect for Baz. He’d be getting an attractive vixen version of Siri, but I knew better than to tell him that.

After we’d all chilled for a while, the talk turned to business, and Rumi quizzed Darya about what her intentions were and if she thought it would be a good idea to betray us. It felt like overkill when she mentioned the execution of Amaya, but it definitely got the message across that when you were with us, you were fucking with us.

Once Rumi was content that Darya was trustworthy, the vixen told us about how she’d had some long discussions with her friends. Not all of them were as keen to join the fray as Lyra and Rumi were, apparently. I knew the vixens had their own uneasy truce with the witches, but I’d thought that might have changed after we’d found a little spy waiting for us right by their home.

I knew if the witches found out we’d actually tortured that little shit to death, they would probably have something to say about it. But if those witches we’d spotted the other day thought the same as the rest of them, they were more concerned about desertion than they were about the vixens.

Still, Rumi had managed to get a few of her girls on board, and they were in contact with other groups of vixens dotted about Pyregate. Rumi was very cagey about discussing where other vixens lived, which was understandable, but I was happy there were others.

Even just one or two, if they could all fight like Rumi, were worth half a fucking army on their own.

Toward the end of the night, Lyra left the room with a cheerful smile and then returned dragging two huge cushions. They looked like massive beanbag chairs, and she placed them on the floor by the foot of Rumi’s massive four-poster bed.

“I thought we could all have a little sleep party,” Lyra said with a playful giggle. Then she turned to Darya. “Do you need a blanket, sweetie?”

“No,” Darya replied with a surprised grin. “This is amazing, I don’t think I’ve ever slept anywhere so nice.”

“Well, aren’t you the sweetest thing, I’m gonna get you a comforter, just in case, I don’t want you catching a chill. If you don’t need it, that’s fine, but it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”

It made me smile to watch the women all bond.

I climbed up onto Rumi’s huge soft mattress and flopped into the middle, and Rumi curled up on one side of me, while Chantara snuggled in on the other.

A room full of beautiful women. Not bad, not bad at all.

My head swam from the few glasses of wine, and I drifted off into a deep comfortable sleep.

In the morning-- well, I assumed it was the morning, but since there were no windows in Rumi’s place so it was only a guess-- I woke up to the smell of chai tea. I rubbed my eyes and stretched, which caused a ripple effect with the two women on either side of me.

Once I was able to move, I sat up and saw Darya and Lyra were making morning brews for everyone.

“This sweet young thing suggested we wake y’all up with something nice, and I had just the thing,” Lyra practically sang.

She seemed to be in a perpetually good mood, which was nice to be around, but I wondered if she would have what it took to do some damage in a fight. Still, I knew all these women had hidden depths, so I didn’t write her off.

“Thanks, both of you,” I yawned. “That’s exactly what I need.”

“Mmm, me, too,” Chantara murmured.

Rumi was still curled up with her tail wrapped around her face like a built-in sleep mask, so I nudged her gently, and she let out a sleepy sound that sounded half purr and half growl.

Her ears began to twitch, and her nose wrinkled as her soft tail moved off her face. Then she frowned and gave me a squinty glare out of one eye that made me laugh.

“Not really a morning person today?” I asked.

“Shh…” Rumi grumbled, but there was a hint of a smile on her pouty lips.

“Er, I made you this, if you want it?” Darya tentatively offered the grumpy vixen a steaming mug with a hopeful smile.

I could tell she was really trying to make a good impression, and from the tinge of worry creasing the young phoenix’s brow, this felt like it could be a pivotal moment for the pair.

Rumi opened one eye again and peered at the mug. For a second, I thought she was going to ignore it, but then the vixen stretched dramatically and gave the phoenix a warm smile as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“Thanks, sugar,” Rumi said as she took the mug. “You can stick around, I like having another sexy thing to look at in the morning.”

Rumi jerked her head toward me as she said the last part, and Darya giggled. She was clearly relieved to have been accepted and part of an inside-joke. I didn’t mind that it was at my expense, it was nice to see everyone bonding. Plus, in a little while we’d be back with Baz, and he always took the brunt of the ribbing.

We took our time getting ready to leave. Lyra and Darya chatted like they’d known each other for years, and every few sentences that I caught had Lyra mentioning how cute Baz was. It was crazy to me how one of the hottest species in this world could be so enamored with an ogre, but I guess we all have different tastes. I was just happy my friend had an admirer.

Once we all ate some breakfast, and Rumi had fully woken up, we set off to the south forest. It was still pretty early, and I wondered what kind of ridiculous time Lyra and Darya woke up.

No wonder Rumi was a bit grumpy.

Large drops of dew decorated each blade of grass and made the morning flowers bob and sway under their weight. When the sunlight reflected just right, it felt like I was walking through fields of diamonds.

It was shaping up to be a beautiful day.

It was almost silent out, too, except for the occasional buzz of kinkajou and the quiet friendly chatting of Darya and Lyra. Those two seemed like they were becoming fast friends.

As we got closer to the north forest, Darya tapped me on the shoulder and gave me a mixed up look. Her eyebrows were fixed into a stern confident glare, but her lips were pulled tight in an attempt to mask her anxiety.

“You alright?” I asked.

“Yeah, er, these ogres…” she trailed off but then squared off her shoulders and tried to appear more confident. “They’re not still hunting us, are they?”

“No.” I smiled. “Baz is my best friend here, he and Chantara are really close too, and his mom has basically claimed Chantara as her own daughter. There’re still some ogres who have issues with phoenixes, but they’re becoming the minority now. You’re safe with us.”

“I can handle myself, you know,” Darya said with a flash of a scowl, but underneath that scowl was relief.

“I know.” I nodded. “We’re a team here, though. Soon, you’ll have to trust us.”

Instead of the attitude I expected in response, Darya gave me a quick sheepish nod and returned to Lyra’s side. I couldn’t quite work the gorgeous young phoenix out yet. She had a mix of badass attitude and insecurity. She definitely had more of the former than Chantara did when I first met her, but there was definitely a lot of depth to Darya, and I was keen to explore it in time.

We took a slightly longer way around the north forest, since I didn’t know if Siri’s friend, Merathy, had been able to talk to the clan she knew yet. It was an unnecessary risk, and it wasn’t that much of a detour.

Soon, though, we’d made it to the south forest and arrived at Baz’s treehouse. It felt like it would be a cozy fit to have six of us inside their small home, but I knew Siri would make everyone feel welcome.

Even though the rope ladder was down, I whistled up with the same sound I’d heard Baz use a bunch of times. I figured it was more polite to announce our arrival than to just climb up and surprise them.

“Morning!” Siri called as she popped her round rosewood head out of the door and peered down to us. “Oh, quite the group, I’ll put some tea on.”

I knew there was no point in telling her not to bother, she thrived on catering to guests, so I shouted up our thanks and began to climb the ladder.

Once we were all inside and settled on the floor around the low table, I asked how their progress with the southern clans had gone.

“Good, but first, Mom… this is Lyra.” Baz grinned proudly and gestured to the dark-haired vixen.

“Oh, it’s such a pleasure,” Lyra gushed as she fiddled with her thick brown tail and flattened out her clothes like she was meeting the queen. “I must say, y’all have raised a real sweet man.”

“My boy hasn’t shut up about you!” Siri let out a warm belly laugh. “I can see why, you’re just lovely.”

There was a friendly back and forth between the two women in Baz’s life, and he was practically glowing. After their formal introductions, Siri insisted she make some food and told us to pretend she wasn’t there.

“So, the clans?” I asked as I tried to get the conversation back onto business.

“Yeah.” Baz nodded so hard I thought his head might roll off his meaty shoulders. “We’ve done good, Ry, really good. Pretty much all the southern clans are on our side, either from what Mom told them about you healing her, or what the others have said about Chantara melting witch faces. They all want to be on the winning side, and more than that, I think we all just want to see the witches gone from here for good.”

“Nice one, Baz,” I congratulated the ogre with a slap on the back. “That’s great. Do you know if Merathy had managed to talk to the northern clans yet?”

“That, I don’t know,” he sighed. “But she’s a dependable woman, if she says she’ll do something, she will.”

“That’s fine, we’re off to a good start already.” I shrugged. “We need to set up a meeting with someone in the north forest, though. Have you heard of someone called Jurek?”

“Er… I think so…” Baz glanced over to the stove and raised his voice a little. “Mom? Do you know Jurek?”

“I did, a long time ago,” she replied with a wistful look in her big brown eyes. “We were good friends, before… all the unpleasantness.”

“Do you think you could still get to talk to him?” I asked her in a gentle tone.

I could tell it was a bit of a touchy subject still, but we needed this meeting.

“Yes, I do.” She nodded confidently. “I would need to go alone, though, the northern clans wouldn’t accept a mixed-up bunch like you just now. But they would tolerate one old ogre.”

“You’re a hero, Siri.” I smiled.

“Oh, shh…” She waved her hand dismissively but smiled in that ‘oh, shucks’ way that moms did when they were complimented. “I’ve just about finished with this, so help yourselves, and I’ll pop over there now. Should only be a quick visit. Do you need to see him today?”

“Yeah, as soon as possible please, Siri. Thank you so much.”

“No need for thanks, you’ve done so much for me and my boy,” Siri said in a voice as sweet as fresh honey.

After a few minutes, Siri left to go talk with Jurek, so we all waited and ate whatever strange and delicious concoction she’d left us. This time, it was some kind of egg dish, well, that’s what I guessed. It had a similar texture to eggs, but the colors and the flavors were wild.

After maybe an hour or so, Siri returned with a proud smile on her slightly sweaty face. I wondered how challenging it was for her to climb up the rope ladder, but she never complained. I guessed it was just nice for her to be able to get out nowadays.

Once the ogre matriarch caught her breath and had a sip of tea, she told us all about her reunion with Jurek and how he was still in the business of forbidden ferries.

“He agreed to meet you, with a little persuasion.” Siri smiled, and she was clearly extremely happy to have been part of the team on this. “I thought it would be best to do it on neutral ground, so he will be in the clearing to the west of the forest. He said noon would be best, does that all sound good to you?”

“That’s perfect, you’re a natural at this,” I said proudly.

“It was nice to show my face in the north forest after all this time,” Siri said with a thoughtful pause. “Good to show that awful Deckard clan they’re not as powerful as they think they are.”

“Don’t you worry about him, we’ve got plans for that arrogant tool.”

Siri’s eyes lit up, and she stifled a laugh.

We didn’t have long to wait until noon, so we gathered up our things and took a slow walk toward the clearing.

“Baz and I will do the talking, for now,” I said to my team. “Can you four just keep an eye on the surroundings and look menacing?”

“You got it, handsome.” Rumi’s husky-blue eyes sparkled dangerously.

Chantara, Darya, and Lyra all nodded.

I hoped the meeting would go well, but I had a vicious and bloodthirsty team ready if it didn’t.

Soon, we approached the meeting spot, and I spotted an ogre.

But he wasn’t alone.

Chapter Six

There were three ogres, two men and one woman. I straightened my back and fixed my gaze onto the middle guy, since he was clearly the leader. The other two kept shooting approval glances at him, but he just stared forward at me.

I could tell he recognized me as the leader too and wanted to appear tough or fearless, I hadn’t decided which. I assumed he was Jurek, but I wasn’t sure who the other two were.

I quickly scanned the small team. All three of them shared the same rosewood skin and golden dreadlocks as Baz, but these three wore more tailored clothes, smarter shoes, and more elaborately tied hair. The woman’s dreadlocks were braided into three thick plaits that had flowers and small gold trinkets woven into them. The two men wore one simple braid that kept all their locks in one neat bundle at the nape of their thick necks. The second male ogre was a hell of a lot uglier than Jurek, though. His eyes seemed too far apart, his ears were wonky, and his skin was covered in craters the size of a pinky nail. One of his nostrils was also nearly sunken into his head, and I wondered what the fuck happened to him.

I noticed Jurek wore a necklace, too. It had a strange set of sharp teeth, and suddenly I recognized them for what they were. Merfolk teeth. There was clearly no love lost between the merfolk and Jurek’s clan, but I thought that could go in my favor.

Even though the northern clans were known to be in bed with those fishy fucks, it seemed clear by his choice of jewelry that Jurek had his own thoughts on their collaboration. Perhaps that’s why he’d chosen to do forbidden ferries, kind of like a big middle finger to authority.

The three ogres strolled toward us as I took a step forward, and the rest of my team fanned out behind me. As soon as the new ogres spotted our two vixens and two phoenixes, they froze. Their posturing fell away, and their eyes widened into huge, startled, owlish caricatures.

“Wait here, please ladies,” I said quietly over my shoulder before I gave Baz a quick head jerk, and we took a few steps toward Jurek and his small crew. “We’re not here to fight, just to talk.”

I knew from this point on I would be in control, so I offered them a friendly smile and introduced myself politely.

“Hi, I’m Ryan, this is Baz, do you guys know each other?” I asked.

“My mother knows Merathy and Siri, but we haven’t met, er, properly,” Jurek replied.

His tone started off strong, but it felt like he wasn’t used to putting on a show of strength. That seemed odd to me. I figured he would have had to have some kind of fear or respect around him, considering the nature of the work he did. But maybe he had a different motivation. I wanted to figure him out, so far he was a bit of a mystery.

That was a strange and kind of interesting feeling for me. Usually, I could figure someone out in the first few moments of meeting them, but then again, I did usually meet people whose motivations were obviously power and domination.

What was Jurek’s?

“You must be Jurek then?” I smiled down at the short rosewood man with the merfolk tooth necklace.

“I guess I must be.” Jurek shrugged, and a small nervous laugh escaped him. He’d attempted to make a joke, granted it was an awful dad joke, but still, he seemed like he was trying to lighten the mood.

“Good to meet you, Jurek,” I said. “Do you know why we’re here?”

“Same reason anyone wants to meet me, I guess.” Another shrug, and then he shot a quick worried glance over my shoulder to the group of women. “I just do a job that needs doing, mister, er, Ryan. I’m not looking to cause any harm. Siri said it was a job, not a fight, we’re not fighters, just workers.”

“You sure stuck with the fighters when we all got kicked out of the north forest,” Baz suddenly spat.

Jurek winced and cowered slightly like the words had actually hit him.

“Look, we’ve all been through some shit,” I said in a calm tone. Then I directed my words to Baz. “And we’ve all aligned with groups that maybe we regret now, haven’t we?”

Baz bristled a little and seemed to try and shake off his anger.

“Yeah, okay, fine,” he mumbled.

“But right now, we’ve got bigger plans,” I continued as I turned back to Jurek. “And that’s where we need your help.”

“Okay,” Jurek said with an enthusiastic nod. “I know I’ve done wrong, by you, Baz, and by the phoes. That’s why we started the ferry. That’s why you wanted to meet, isn’t it? You need a ferry?”

“That’s right,” I agreed. “I want to know more about it, too. How did you get started? What made you turn against the merfolk or the witches?”

At the word ‘witches,’ all three of Jurek’s clan shot paranoid looks around themselves and back into the forest. Did they know something? Were they still working for them? Or were they just as scared of them as others were?

“I… er, I don’t think it’s wise, the trees have ears… we would never betray the witches, maybe we should leave,” Jurek stammered, and the color drained from his face.

“We’re not with the witches, you know that, right?” I frowned in confusion.

“We would never betray-- the ferry, I was mistaken, a joke, just a joke, only a silly joke.” Jurek was a mess.

“Jurek, stop.” I stepped forward and put my hand on his shoulder. “We need the ferry to get more fighters. We’re putting an end to the witches. And we need your help.”

I hadn’t intended on the conversation going this way. I expected an underground people mover, a hard-faced human trafficker of sorts. But what I got was a timid and terrified guy who made the ferry to, what? To help people? To make amends for what he’d done?

It seemed odd, and part of me was a little unsure. But nothing in his body language told me he was trying to deceive me, other than the stammering verbal diarrhea when he thought the witches had sent us.

I felt confident this ogre would be an asset to our team, even if he had the courage of a mouse at the moment.

“I’ve heard it’s a dangerous journey across the Black Sea.” I decided to change tact and stick to facts. “How many times have you made the crossing?”

“Er…” Jurek paused and glanced toward the woman on his left. “How many? At a guess?”

The female ogre with the elaborate dreadlocks pursed her lips and gazed off into the distance like she was accessing her memory files.

“Two, every three days, for uh… many, many moons. Too many to count, I apologize, Mister Ryan.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said with a smile. “And it’s just Ryan. But that’s great. So you know the seas well then?”

“As well as anyone can know them.” Jurek gave me a solemn nod and seemed to settle a little. “There’s real danger out there. Not the petty witch stuff or the arrogant merfolk stuff, but real danger.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

I was curious now. Jurek’s tone was filled with reverence, and he straightened his posture like the sea gave him power. This ogre was a strange mix of scared little boy when it came to land matters, and powerful explorer when it came to the sea. I was starting to like him.

“Just bad things in the water,” Jurek replied firmly. “There’s no point in going through all of it. If you need to make the journey, it’s better not to know all the ways it can go wrong.”

“So, you’ll take us then?” I sidestepped his ‘bad things’ comment. Maybe it was better not to know.

There were rumors of giant squid and all sorts of shit in the Earth’s oceans, but I’d never encountered anything like that. So, maybe he was right. What was the point in listing off every scary fish or spooky-looking creature when it was a one in a million chance of one actually appearing? I figured if he made the trip so frequently, he couldn’t have been that concerned about it. Perhaps he just wanted to save face after his little freak out.

“Yep.” He smiled. “I promised Siri I would help. She said it was important, and it would help to bridge the gap between north and south.”

Jurek paused for a moment and then turned to Baz.

“I can’t make up for choosing the wrong side, lots of us in the north forest feel the same. I was young, but when I grew old enough to know better, I thought it was past repair. Just know we are not the only clan who feel this way. Sometimes, when things get so knotted up, it seems like it will never untie. I hope this can be one knot loosened on the way back to how it was when we were young.”

Baz silently stared at Jurek, and I could see a mix of rage and sadness battling on his wide face. His expressions were only tiny flickers, but they told me so much. His eyebrows twitched from the tight scowl of hatred to the raised upside-down V of loss. His jaw muscles flexed and relaxed, and his nostrils flared. I could practically see the memories of a lost youth rush over his face.

Eventually, his features settled into an expression of calm resolution, and he nodded slowly.

“I know my mom wants peace,” Baz said, and I could tell by his tone how much it had taken for him to begin the process of forgiveness.

“Mine, too.” Jurek offered Baz a weak smile.

“We’re going to kill all the fucking witches,” Baz announced with an air of power. “The merfolk, too, if we have to.”

Jurek and his two companions exchanged hopeful smiles, and I knew how to play the hand to my best benefit.

“Whatever the witches and the merfolk have over you guys is going to end,” I said firmly. “Everyone knows what they’ve done to the phoenixes, but it has almost been forgotten what they’ve done to the ogres, and to everyone here. They’ve forced you into jobs that go against what you believe in. Baz and the southern clans have had to fight and kill beings he’s friends with now. Chantara and Baz have saved each other’s lives. Just our group alone is a testament to how cohesive and peaceful life can be among everyone when we rise up against the witches and their merfolk pets. I want the phoenixes to be free, and I want the ogres to be free, too. So, what do you say? Are you with us?”

I knew I was laying it on a bit thick with the peace among everyone and ‘let’s all sing around a fucking fire holding hands’ imagery, but I knew that was my best shot at convincing Jurek. He didn’t need to know it was in my best interest to have everyone believe I was the good guy.

Jurek glanced at each of his friends, and they seemed to share a quick, silent conversation. Eyebrows flashed upward, big brown eyes gave hopeful winks, and quick smiles were shared among themselves.

By the time Jurek looked back at me, I knew I’d gotten them.

“We’ll help you, Ryan. We’ll be happy to.” Jurek then paused for a second. “But… er, will you protect us? We’re only transporters, we’re not fighters.”

“When you’re with us, we’ll take care of you like our own.” I smiled. “Chantara, Rumi, Lyra, Darya, come and meet our new friends.”

The three new ogres stiffened up as the women strolled confidently over, but they each tried to appear nonplussed.

I facilitated introductions, and everyone except Darya was friendly and tried to make the ogres feel settled. The feisty new phoenix just sneered and eyerolled like some kind of sulky teen, so I finally pulled Darya off to one side.

“What’s going on with you?” I asked.

“So, we’re just supposed to play all nice and happy with a bunch of ogres we don’t even know who might stab us in the fucking back later on?” The feisty phoenix scowled and jutted out her chin. “I don’t like it. And I thought you were supposed to be smarter than that. The other women all act like you’re some kind of super genius and able to ‘know’ about other people. Well, I’m not buying it, and I don’t like this.”

“You don’t have to like it,” I said a little harsher than I intended. “You just have to do what I tell you to do. I’m in charge.”

Darya stared at me with her almost blood-red eyes, and I saw a flash of anger that morphed into something else. What was that? My first thought was arousal. For a second her pupils dilated, and her cheeks flushed. Did she like a firmer hand?

I could give her that.

The beautiful phoenix didn’t reply. She just turned to walk back to the group and gazed back over her shoulder to me with one raised eyebrow, but the anger was gone from her gaze. There was definitely something between us, and I kind of wanted to explore it, but we had other matters to take care of.

I led the group into a relaxed conversation to try and ease the tensions. I knew I needed to keep playing the ‘good guy’ hand for a while, so I asked questions about Jurek, his sister Jurinda, and her partner Nate. I thought Nate seemed like a relatively human name for an ogre, but I assumed it could have been short for anything, since I’d only recently found out Baz was short for Bazaketh.

Once we’d chatted for long enough that everyone felt relatively comfortable in each other’s presence, I brought the matter back to business.

“So, how do your ferries usually work then?”

“Usually, it’s just myself or Nate who rows, and we only take one or two phoes-- no! I apologize, phoenixes. I’m so sorry, it’s still very new to me.” Jurek shot Chantara an apologetic glance, and he seemed very keen to keep our new alliance in a good position.

“Please, it’s fine,” Chantara soothed. “There’s no malice in your words, we understand it takes a while to change after a lifetime of saying one thing.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Jurek said with a praying hands gesture of gratitude. “So, Nate and I only really take up to two passengers, and they are usually one-way trips. I assume you will need a return, and is it all of you?”

“Yes, to both,” I replied with a nod. “Have you got a boat large enough for us all?”

“Yes, well…” Jurek paused and scratched his broad chin. “There’s one. It hasn’t been used for some time, so I’ll need to examine it before we try to make the journey. It should be in a usable condition, but it may require a few little patches here and there.”

“How long will that take?”

“A day perhaps.” Jurek smiled at his sister. “We work fast, and Jurinda is the best shipwright there is.”

Jurinda blushed shyly but didn’t disagree.

“Fantastic, we’re lucky to have you on board then.” I grinned. Massaging egos wasn’t always this easy, but it worked almost one hundred percent of the time. “How often do you get any hassle from the merfolk on your crossings?”

“Rarely, when it’s a tiny boat of two or three.” Jurek’s lips pulled in tight. That meant he was either trying to keep something from me or he didn’t like what he needed to say next. He sighed deeply and continued. “But it is much more likely with the larger boat. More oars mean more disruption to the water, which means the merfolk are more likely to want to investigate the commotion. Where we launch from is a tiny cove, and it’s far from where any merfolk live. But the whole sea is their hunting ground. So, wherever you dip a toe, you run the risk of finding merfolk. I’m sorry it’s not better news.”

“I appreciate your honesty,” I said with a reassuring smile. “Do you know of any times where we’re less likely to run into them?”

Jurek gave me the tightlipped grimace again.

“I’m sorry, no.” He shrugged, and I could tell he was being honest. “Sometimes we can go a whole moon without seeing them, other times they’re everywhere. I’ve done this for a long time, and I still haven’t figured out how they work their hunting plans. If we spot them before we set off, we usually wait until later in the day, or go the next day. But it’s something we’ll need to prepare for. If we set off, and then they attack, there’s no going back.”

“I see. So, how do you usually deal with an attack?”

The three ogres smiled as if they were reliving a funny shared memory.

“Bash ‘em wi’ the oars,” Nate said.

Those were the first words he’d said, and he smiled proudly, which revealed a grim crooked set of near-black teeth. He really was quite difficult to look at, but I persevered and returned his smile.

“Will that be enough if we get attacked by a big group of them, though?” I wondered out loud.

“It is risky,” Jurek replied without really answering my question.

“Okay, when can you be ready to go?”

“Two, maybe three days.” Jurek nodded hopefully.

“Great, that’s ideal,” I said, and my mind was already thinking about what I needed to do in those two to three days. “How much do you charge?”

“Usually, between thirty silver pieces and one gold, it depends on the risk.” Jurinda answered this time, and with some authority in her tone, so it seemed like she was definitely in charge of the money as well as boat maintenance. “But this is a journey where we are not just traveling, we are mending broken relationships. This journey is free.”

Both Jurek and Nate shot a quick glance to Jurinda, who waved them both off with a flick of her wrist. It seemed the matter was settled.

“Thank you.” I nodded. “I’m happy to cover the costs of any repairs to the boat. You’re taking on a lot of risk, and we don’t want to take advantage of your kindness.”

The way all three of them smiled at me told me I’d played the perfect card with that line. I could tell by their open postures and easy grins that they trusted me now, which would go a long way in sowing the seeds of discontent between the northern clans and Deckard. Now that they knew there was a better option, a kinder, more fair option, they would flock to us.

“We’ll take care of protection, too.” I gestured to my team. “We’re no strangers to fights, and we protect our own. If you’re with us, we’ll keep you safe.”

I stopped short of saying ‘tell your friends,’ but I felt like I’d laid a solid bedrock of trust and respect in this little meeting.

Deckard’s days were numbered.

“We’ll get going now, but if you can aim to have the boat ready in two days, that would be perfect,” I added. “If you have any problems, get word to Baz or Siri.”

“We will, thank you, it was an honor to meet you all,” Jurek said and then looked Baz in the eye. “Please count on me, brother. I’ll make up for what we did to you.”

Baz didn’t say anything in response, but he nodded and gave a polite smile. I guessed that was about the extent of his forgiveness for now, but it was a start. There were a lot of years of hurt to move past, and I knew it would take more than one conversation for me to forgive the kind of shit Baz had been through. I was quite proud of him, all things considered.

We split up into our respective groups, and our group moved further west in the clearing, to catch a little more of the afternoon sun. We each sat ourselves down in a circle, and as the others chatted among themselves, I let my mind examine all the pieces of the puzzle.

Soon, we’d be crossing the Black Sea. We knew about the potential for merfolk attacks, and apparently an oar to the head sent them on their way. But I didn’t want to leave it to something like that. I wanted more assurance. A bullet to the brain would end that problem for good.

Jurek also seemed a bit shady when it came to what else might be in the water. He just glossed over the other potential threats like he didn’t even want to think about them.

I didn’t like that.

Then there would be whatever lay at the other side of the sea. Sure, we were on a mission to liberate the phoenixes and destroy the witches, but they didn’t know that. Chantara would go a long way to convincing most of her people that we were on their side, but after generations of betrayal, I wouldn’t blame some of them for not trusting a mixed-up bunch of new people who just wanted to show up and recruit their family for a war.

We needed protection.

I still had a cache of guns back at Chantara’s, but very little ammo. We could probably use a few more guns and other weapons, too. Also, rolling up on a place with a shotgun didn’t really give off the peaceful vibe, so we’d need more easily concealed weapons as well.

I needed to go home.

It was always part of the plan, I wanted Joe and anyone else I could find, but this part of the plan had been bumped up to urgent on the schedule. I thought I’d be able to find Joe relatively easily, and he was less likely than the older crew to think I’d suffered a severe head injury or just been on an acid binge when I started talking about phoenix people and witches and fucking mermaids. Jesus, it was still going to be a challenge with Joe, but if I took Chantara, she could help me out with a casual fireball.

It was time to tell the group.

“Guys, Chantara and I have to go on a supply run, but we’ll only need a day I reckon. We should be back with plenty of time before the boat’s ready. Darya, are you alright with Baz, Rumi, and Lyra?”

Darya grinned at Lyra like they’d known each other for years.

“Oh, you bet,” the gorgeous phoenix said with a cheeky smile.

“Okay, good.” I nodded. “Baz, can we meet you at your place when we get back from our run?”

“Yeah, no problem, Mom will be so happy to have more women to cook for. I swear she only really wanted daughters. I’m second best to Channy and Rumi now!” Baz put on a comically sad face, but his eyes sparkled, and I could tell he loved the idea of being left alone with three women and his mom to cook.

“Right…” I offered my hand to Chantara in satirical gentlemanly fashion. “Shall we depart, my good woman?”

Chantara giggled and took my hand. I didn’t know if she knew what I was talking about or if she just enjoyed me putting on a posh voice, but it was always nice to see her laugh.

We left the clearing as it was getting dark, and I knew it would be full night by the time we got to the side street in Pyregate where the portal was. We just needed to avoid any witchy bastards. Chantara had put her hood up all the way, and she could almost blend in apart from her fiery eyes.

We walked slowly through the south forest, and we took our time in the peaceful outer edges of society. It was nice to just be with each other for a little while. Only one of the moons was out so far tonight, it was the pretty one with all the colorful rings, and it bathed us in a soft pastel light of pinky-purple and blue-turquoise as the rings turned. The glowing night flowers swayed lazily as we walked past them, and they coated our shins and calves with flecks of bright pollen.

I almost forgot we were the enemy of the ruling class, and I savored this little moment of calm before the inevitable storm of returning to Earth.

I focused a little more as we approached the Shambles and wove our way through the maze of little huts to get to the back street we needed. The ratty little homes were eerily quiet, and I wondered if there was any kind of carnival or food festival going on in town tonight.

Chantara jumped slightly as a group of tiny dwarf children exploded out of one hut, all giggles and squeals, and then they scattered off in all different directions like ants at a picnic.

I laughed and put a protective arm around her shoulders, and I could feel her soothing warmth through her cloak.

She was probably capable of burning this entire run-down cluster of homes to the ground with only minimal effort, yet here she was, jumping at kids. I liked that she hadn’t lost her sweetness. It made me feel needed, and I enjoyed comforting her.

Soon, we reached the end of the Shambles and the start of Pyregate. I glanced around to make sure we hadn’t been followed and then led the way up the first back street. It would be a left turn and then one more street north before we got to the portal.

We got to the left turn, and I froze. The left was clear, but on the right was a tight huddle of creatures I didn’t like the look of.

“Hold up,” I whispered to Chantara.

I crept over to the far right edge of the side street and peered back around the corner.

Fucking witches.

But they weren’t alone. Next to the five leather gimp witches were maybe six or seven beings I hadn’t seen since my first night in Pyregate.

Elves.

The purple-skinned, pixie-eared fuckers looked to be deep in conversation with the witches, and I strained to hear what was going on but only caught snippets.

The elves didn’t even live in Pyregate, so what were they doing back here unless the witches had called in backup.

I signaled to Chantara to back up and go around the houses. We could sneak up on the other side and figure out what these shady cunts were up to.

I needed to know what was going on.

Chapter Seven

Chantara and I kept our hoods low, and we moved quickly as we doubled back on ourselves, through the narrow back street and into the top end of the Shambles. There, we squeezed past one of the huts that had been built almost up against the wall of the last store, and then we went back up the next street.

This side had the front faces of the little stores, but the large windows were dark now, since the shops were closed up for the night. But I caught quick glimpses of the trinkets inside. Some stores housed delicate-looking glass smoking pipes, others contained countless different intricately stitched scarves. One tiny store caught the flickering lantern light and magnified it, and I couldn’t tell exactly what was inside, but it felt like I’d gazed into a giant geode.

But I kept focused on the task at hand. We needed to gather intelligence. I’d never seen the witches and the elves together, granted I was still relatively new here, but I’d only seen the elves once, so this felt important.

As we approached the end of the little street, I could hear their muttering much more clearly. I held a hand backward to Chantara, and after she stopped, I inched to the end of the row of shops and strained my ear.

“… our help?” one of the elves finished a question with a smug inflection to his tone.

“Nobody ‘needs’ your help,” a disgusted-sounding witch retorted. “Where do you think they’ll go if they destroy the Ministry?”

“Nowhere?” another elf sneered. “Why would they leave if they’ve got a whole island to themselves?”

It really didn’t sound like there was much love lost between these two groups.

“We found bodies-- elven bodies,” the same witch announced coldly. “It was done by the same team.”

“How could you know it was them?” the first elf asked, and his tone changed to curious but distrusting.

“What weapons have you seen that can make a head explode out backward?” I could hear the fucking eyeroll on this witch.

The conversation then turned into some hushed muttering I couldn’t make out for a while, but I’d heard enough to know the witches had found the elves I’d killed for attacking Baz. They weren’t as dumb as they looked, they knew it was my weapon that killed the elves.

Part of me wanted to just let Chantara strut around the corner and fuck them up, but we were headed to Earth, and I wanted her to have all her strength.

“Okay,” an elf said after some more quiet mutters. “For now, and only for now, we’ll join you. But once the matter has been dealt with, do not contact us again.”

“Agreed,” one of the witches almost growled through gritted teeth, like it hurt him to say the word.

It sounded like the meeting was over, so I pointed back down toward the Shambles, and we ran. The group didn’t follow us, I figured they must have gone back up into Pyregate or something.

But once we were alone again, I had questions.

“What’s the history between the witches and the elves?” I asked. “They didn’t seem too friendly with each other.”

“No,” Chantara agreed. “They have a long and bloody history. Before the phoenixes were the enemy of the witches, the elves were. At least, that’s what I was told. It could all be wrong, I guess it’d only be those dwarven monks who actually know for sure with all their records. But from what I was told as a girl, the elves and the witches fought for power constantly. For a few years one group would rule, then after the next war, the other group would rule. It was like that for generations. But as the people grew tired of constantly trying to avoid war and tending to their wounded family, the phoenixes decided to try and put an end to it all. This is all just what my father told me, so it might not be true.”

Chantara paused, and the flickering light of the lanterns illuminated the pain in her eyes when she spoke of her dad.

“What else did he tell you?” I asked as I took her warm hand in my own and stroked it with my thumb.

“He said we were the heroes of the mainland, at first.” She winced, and I could tell it was emotionally draining for her to dredge up these old memories. “He said the phoenixes started to turn the tide on both the witches and the elves, that they swooped in and stood up for the little guys. We protected the innocent and flew children to safety. But at some point, the witches and elves called a truce between themselves to take on us. And somehow, we became the bad guys… I know my father was probably keeping darker parts from us, maybe we were brutal and violent, we had to have been, you can’t win a war without some bloodshed. I know that. But we were the ones who wanted to end the war, yet somehow we became the hated ones.”

Chantara let out a long sigh, and I gave her the space to just breathe for a moment, since I could tell by the way she pursed her lips that there were more words ready to burst out.

“I guess…” she said with another sad sigh. “Maybe when you’ve won a battle, you get to tell whatever story you want. And maybe the normal folks just believe it. Maybe it happens right away, or maybe it happens after years and years of telling the same story. But eventually, everyone comes to believe whatever story the winners tell them. That’s what happened, as far as the phoenixes know anyway. But maybe we’re wrong. Maybe we were the bad guys. Maybe we got power hungry, and it made us as bad as the witches and the elves. I don’t know, nobody alive knows for sure. All I know is the story the witches told is the one that’s lived longer than any of us. It’ll take a long time to change that story, if it even can be changed.”

“It can,” I said with a firm nod. “You’re already changing the story. There are already phoenixes, ogres, dwarves, and vixens who know the new story. They know of a beautiful, powerful, and kind phoenix, one who’s already saved innocent lives, and one who’s already making the witches pay for what they’ve done.”

Chantara smiled up at me, and the warmth in her eyes made me feel like I’d slipped into a soothing bath.

“Shit like this takes time,” I continued. “But look at how far you’ve come already. Because of you, the phoenixes have hope, and the ogres are mending bridges that were burned down years ago. We’ve even got the vixens to join in, for fuck’s sake, and you can’t tell me that would have happened if it had just been me asking them. They’ve joined because of you. Now, let’s get our heads in the game and make some major changes around here. I need to know, what happened after the witches and elves teamed up against the phoenixes?”

“After the curse was put on all of us, we were powerless, and they decided to use us however they wanted to. The witches kept half the phoenixes on the mainland and split the rest between Pyregate and the east lands, where the elves went.”

“Why did the elves go to the east lands?” I asked.

I knew there weren’t many on Pyregate, but I hadn’t heard of the east lands before.

“Arrogance, I guess,” Chantara replied with a shrug. “Neither of them could tolerate each other, but neither of them could kill each other after teaming up the way they did. The truce was a shaky one, but they were keen to keep their respective power, so the elves declared themselves the rulers of the east lands and left. From time to time, some come back here. They are despised by the witches and disliked by the rest of the Pyregate residents, but they’re mostly ignored or avoided. But I guess, now that we’re making changes, the witches have summoned them to help take us down.”

“That’s great,” I said with palpable glee.

“Why is it great?” Chantara frowned.

“It means they’re fucking shitting themselves.” I smirked. “Why else would they go to the bother of calling in backup from creatures they despise? They’re so scared we’re going to take over that they’re back in bed with people they hate. Just think, a group with egos as big as theirs are having to go cap in hand to their enemy for help. This is great for us. We can use this to our advantage. We’ll have to be careful, a wounded animal is a dangerous thing, they’ll do just about anything to stay alive. But this is good.”

“What is ‘cap in hand?’” Chantara tilted her head like a confused puppy.

“Just a phrase, it means they’re having to beg for what they want,” I replied.

I always forgot she wouldn’t understand all the little idioms I took for granted.

Then I paused for a moment as another thought popped into my head. We didn’t know how long it would be before the elves invaded in number. It could be days, or weeks away, or it could be tomorrow while Chantara and I roamed around Manhattan on the hunt for weapons and fighters.

I needed to get word to Baz.

“We need to tell the others what we saw here,” Chantara suddenly said, and I stared at her for a second as I tried to work out if she’d just read my mind.

“Good idea,” I agreed, but I was still unsure if we’d had simultaneous thoughts or if she possessed new powers she hadn’t told me about.

“Shall we go back to Siri’s?” the smoldering phoenix asked with a slight frown.

I didn’t really want to go all the way back to Baz’s place. It was a long walk, and I was eager to get back to Earth as fast as we could. But how else would we let them all know…

Then it hit me. Pepper.

“Pepper has a raven,” I said with a wink. “We’re close to his cafe, and I’m sure if we ask him nicely, he’ll send a message for us.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea!” Chantara clapped her hands together. “I love Pepper.”

I grinned, repositioned my hood, and set off north into the town.

Thankfully, the back streets were deserted. I could hear the faint sounds of music coming from the market square, but it definitely wasn’t a carnival sound. It was more like gentle lounge music to keep people calm inside an establishment.

I had kind of missed the sights and sounds of Pyregate town. The atmospheric lanterns cast long dancing shadows on the ground, and satyrs clip-clopped along the cobbled road. Some pretended to be drunk to stumble into others and pick their pockets, while others stood in the middle of groups and told wild hilarious tales.

A small group of ogres leaned against each other for support and drunkenly swayed along to one of the larger bars. A heavy-set dwarf shooed a rogue satyr out of his café with a straggly-looking broom. Further down the main street, a pair of willowy vampires glided out of a dimly-lit tavern, and each had an arm around a pudgy ogre. The vampires stared hungrily at their ogre companion and led him off down a dark alley. I couldn’t imagine that ending too well for the little guy.

Before we left the relative safety of the shady back street, I took another look around and inspected every being I saw. There were no witches or elves in sight, so I nodded to Chantara, and we stepped out onto the cobbled square.

I felt pretty confident I could go unnoticed in Pepper’s night café, but Chantara was a whole other matter. Her blazing eyes and flaming hair were noticeable even under her hood, so I told her to meet me around the back.

Once I made sure she’d gotten around safely, I casually strolled into the café and waited in line with my hood still in place. I knew it was a long shot that anyone would know me, but I didn’t want to run the risk of Pepper calling my name loudly.

While I waited, I listened to everything around me. I only heard fragments of conversations, but they were all fairly benign. One ogre was worried his partner was bored of him, another one thought he might have some kind of wart on his ‘red sausage,’ a satyr was in the middle of a joke about a phoe, a witch, and a vampire, and it didn’t sound funny.

None of them sounded even vaguely interested in the power struggle that was going on around them, which made me feel very at home. There was always some kind of political dick swinging going on back on Earth, and even on the smaller scale, there was always gang warfare, but no one other than the ones fighting ever truly cared about it. Sure, we might say we support this or that, but until it’s at your own front door, no one really cares.

Finally, I’d made it to the front of the queue, and Pepper called over his shoulder.

“What’ll it be, friend?” My dwarven buddy was busy pulling more mugs out of a cupboard and hadn’t noticed it was me.

“Just a brief moment of your time, if you can spare it?”

Pepper spun around so fast I thought he might fall over.

“Oh, ma boy!” he laughed, and I was glad he didn’t use my name. “How are ya? How are ya? Where’s that lovely lady of yours?”

“I’m good, Peps.” I grinned. It was awesome to see his cheerful emerald face again. “And my lady friend is around the back. Looks like you’ve got quite a line, though. We can wait if you need us to?”

I didn’t want to ask him outright to close up his shop for us, but I did need his time.

“No, no need to wait ma boy-- Katag! Katag! I need ya, boy,” he called into the busy café like he was shouting for a pet.

A little round green head popped up, and a young dwarf with the innocent and excited expression of a puppy appeared out of the crowd.

“Coming, Mr. Pepper!” the young dwarf yelled and hurried back behind the bar.

“I need ya to take over for a little time, I shouldn’t be too long, can ya handle it, boy?” Pepper spoke to the kid in the firm caring way a grandfather would if he was teaching his grandson how to fish.

“Yes, Mr. Pepper,” Katag eagerly agreed. Then he turned to the next in line and parroted Pepper’s line in almost the exact same tone. “What’ll it be, friend?”

Pepper smiled proudly and ushered me out of the back door into the stockroom. He patted a small cushioned stool and then hurried to the exit to let Chantara in.

“Oh, my darlin’,” Pepper said and threw his arms around the phoenix. “Ya look more lovely than ever! Look at that hair, it’s just wonderful.”

“Oh, stop it, Pepper, you’ll embarrass me,” Chantara said playfully.

“Okay, okay.” Pepper held his hands up in mock surrender. “So, what can I help my favorite two out with?”

“Have you still got your raven?” I asked.

“Yes, old Petals is tucked up in bed, but I can wake her up for ya, if it’s urgent business.”

“Old Petals?” I smiled at the sweet childish name. “If you don’t mind Pepper, that would be perfect. We need to get a message to Baz as fast as possible.”

“Yup,” the friendly dwarf said with a nod of his big bald head. “I suppose Petals isn’t ya usual name for a raven, but someone I loved named her. Kinda stuck after that.”

“It’s a lovely name,” Chantara chimed in.

“It was a lovely dwarf who named her,” Pepper said with a mix of pride and sadness in his voice. “I’ll go wake the old girl up.”

He disappeared out of the back door, and I wondered where he kept Petals. I knew the name meant a lot to him, but it made me want to laugh every time I thought of it.

A thought suddenly smacked me in the back of the head. What if Petals got intercepted? I figured it was unlikely, but it wasn’t impossible. If it was shot down or captured, or even if old Petals got a bit senile and didn’t get to Baz straight away, I didn’t want anyone else getting the message.

It needed to be in code.

But what code? How could I get the message to Baz in a coded language he would understand but others wouldn’t? I thought quickly, what was the language he’d recognized at the dwarven monastery? Jotun? I was sure it was Jotun. But then I remembered he said he could barely read it. And I sure as hell couldn’t write it. I thought Pepper might know it, but even if he did, it would be pointless if Baz could only make out every third word.

Still, I thought I could try. Maybe if I stuck to basic words, he would get the overall message. I remembered he could read the word ‘welcome’ on the stones that said ‘welcome traveler,’ so he definitely had a grasp of the language.

I was still taking a risk that maybe a witch or elf could read Jotun, but if I had to put money on it, I would have assumed they would be too arrogant to learn a different language. They thought they were the most important beings around, why would they waste their time with a peasant language?

Once Pepper returned with old Petals, a small scroll of paper, a quill, and some ink, I asked him the question that my plan hinged on.

“I don’t suppose you know how to write in Jotun?” I mentally crossed every finger and toe as I waited for the response.

“I know a little,” Pepper replied and scratched his chin in contemplation. “Nothing fancy, not like Siri, she’s the one who taught me when I was a youngen and keen to learn everything I could. She’s much smarter than her son, her love, too. He was a good fella, couldn’t hold a candle to Siri’s smarts, though.”

Goddamn, Siri was just full of surprises. I remember Baz telling me his dad taught him bits of Jotun, and I wondered if that was a deliberate move by Siri to get them to bond or whether it had been an ego move by his dad to seem like the smart one. Either way, this was going better than I’d hoped for.

“That’s amazing,” I muttered half under my breath.

“Sure is,” Pepper agreed happily. “What do ya want me to write, and I’ll do ma best.”

I didn’t like putting Pepper in the position to know what was going into the note, but it was a necessary risk at this point.

“Can you put, ‘Witches and elves are teaming up, stay out of Pyregate until we get back.’ That should do for now, we can tell them the rest when we get back. I just need to make sure they’re safe while we’re away.”

“Teaming up?” Pepper frowned, and I thought that was one of the maybe three times I’d seen him with anything other than a smile on his face. “That’s bad news, Ryan, very bad news, ma boy.”

“I know.” I nodded. “But don’t worry, Pepper, we’ll never let anything happen to you.”

“It’s not just me, ma boy, so many around here suffer when the powerful play their games.” Pepper’s shoulders slumped, and he focused on scratching the twisted unfamiliar letters onto the small scroll.

“We’ve got some plans,” I told the worried dwarf. “But we don’t want to bring Pyregate town into it. Just make sure anyone you care about stays away from the Ministry for a while.”

“Ya got my word, and don’t fret, I won’t go blabbing ya plans all over.” Pepper blew the ink on the paper until it was dry and then carefully fastened the small scroll to the ankle of old Petals. “Ya can trust me, Ryan, I know ya got a good heart, Chantara too, never met a girl with a purer heart, ma darlin’.”

Pepper got up quickly and scuttled out of the back door while mumbling something to his bird. He stroked it so lovingly that it tugged on something inside me and made me worry about Petals coming home safely.

“Thank you, Pepper,” I said as the dwarf returned. “I owe you big time for all the favors you do for us. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Oh, no, I don’t do it for a return,” Pepper said and shook his head. “No, no, I do it for the kindness. Remember ya showed me a kindness on ya very first day here? I remember, I’ll always remember. Ya don’t need to offer me anything, ma boy. Just be happy and be safe.”

“One day, I’ll pay you back for all you’ve done for us.” I placed a hand on the dwarf’s thick rounded shoulder and smiled at him. “You’re one of the good ones, Pepper. We’re going to have a nice long talk one of these days, and I’ll figure out how I can make your life better for all the good you’ve done for others.”

Pepper didn’t say anything, but he swallowed hard and blinked his huge round eyes. I could tell my words had meant something to him. And I meant them all.

“We should probably get going,” I said. “And you’ll want to make sure little Katag hasn’t been overwhelmed by everyone out there.”

The old dwarf laughed and agreed.

Then Chantara and I left out of the back door into the alleyway behind his shop, and Pepper shuffled quickly back into his café.

It had been a nice little break to see his happy face again, but now it was time to get vigilant and get to the portal.

We moved silently through the streets and waited for a cluster of drunken ogres to stumble past us. We used them as cover to get across the market square and dipped back into the quiet little back streets on the opposite side.

Soon, we were back on the right street, and I spotted the familiar spiky bush that covered the entrance to the basement with the portal. It was particularly spiky this time, and I got my cloak snagged on a couple of two-inch-long thorns before I managed to get inside.

I led the way down the stone steps and toward the twisted tree roots. I took off my cloak and stashed it behind the thick trunk, and Chantara did the same. That revealed her fiery hair, so I removed my black hoodie and gave it to her to wear. It was less conspicuous than a cloak, and it would hide her hair nicely.

“Mmm,” Chantara murmured and nuzzled my hoodie. “It smells like you, I love this strange cloak.”

“It’s a hoodie,” I chucked. “Keep it, it suits you.”

She looked almost like the classic rom-com chick with the boyfriend’s hoodie, and I thought she’d fit in just fine. I could always pick up another one.

Chantara grinned and zipped it up to the top while she tucked all her flaming hair inside the big hood.

Then we wriggled through the tree roots toward the mysterious turquoise portal that had been the beginning of my wild adventure. It was still a strange and magical experience, but it wasn’t the same mortal worry I’d felt the first time.

Chantara clung to me as we fell through the vortex. Swirling cartoon ocean-colored light spun around us and made me feel like I was on a dizzying rollercoaster. It felt like it took longer this time, and just as I was about to question whether we were headed somewhere else entirely, we landed with a heavy splat.

No, not quite a splat. More of a splash.

There was water everywhere. And it fucking stank. I jumped to my feet and helped Chantara to hers, and I realized we were knee deep in stinking, stagnant water.

What the fuck had happened?

Chapter Eight

The stench was awful. It was a mix of damp, rot, and death. That’s the best way I could describe it, and I had to breathe through my mouth to stop the odor from making me gag.

Chantara wasn’t faring much better. She had her hands on her knees, and she leaned forward and dry-heaved into the stinking knee-deep pool.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

It was obvious neither of us were living our best fucking life right now, but I wanted to know if she was hurt.

“I think-- ugh-- so,” she spluttered between retches. “What is that smell?”

I took a proper look around us. Daylight filtered down through gaping holes in the floorboards, and dirty brown droplets fell from each of them. It created a kind of wet chorus, and each drop sent a ripple of stagnant stinking water around us.

I couldn’t see much above the first floor, but I assumed the roof had collapsed somewhere and turned the precarious flooring into a rotten disaster. I remembered the cop’s foot breaking through when they were on the hunt for me, so it was already as sturdy as a wet paper towel then.

I wondered how we were going to pick our way across the half-collapsed room above us, but my thoughts were derailed by Chantara letting out a little yelp beside me.

“Ryan!” she squeaked and grabbed hold of my arm with a vise grip. “What is that?”

I glanced down to where she’d pointed and saw a bloated floating corpse of a rat. A big one, too. It was almost the size of a decent-sized house cat. It bobbed past my leg, and I recoiled slightly as I noticed the swollen and bulging beady eyes that stared blindly out, and its tongue lolled out of its mouth, seemingly engorged by death.

“That used to be a rat,” I replied and tried to keep the pure revulsion out of my voice. “There’s plenty of them here, but they don’t usually look so gross. I mean, even the good-looking ones aren’t going to win any beauty pageants, but this one is an ugly fucker.”

“Can we get out of here, please?” Chantara asked in a small girlish voice.

I was a little surprised she didn’t ask me what beauty pageants were, but I guessed she was more grossed out than I expected.

I hadn’t heard her sound so, not weak, but not herself. She seemed to have been transformed into something smaller by seeing that rat. It made me feel kind of protective of her.

“Of course,” I said and offered her my hand. “Don’t look at the rat, we’ll be out of here in just a minute.”

Chantara clasped onto my hand with both of hers and allowed me to lead her out of this stinking pit.

As I walked through the knee-high flood water, I saw all sorts of things I wished I hadn’t. Used Band-Aids rode the small waves like tiny bloody surfboards, cigarette butts bobbed along, my foot dislodged a lump, and then a fucking diaper rose to the surface before it sank again. I walked through it all with a fixed grimace of absolute disgust.

Finally, I reached the concrete stairs and took my first step out of what felt like Earth’s version of the Bog of Eternal Stench. A huge shudder ran from my head to my toes, like my body had tried to expel the grossness, and I walked up two more steps before I was out of the water and glanced back to Chantara. Her whole body convulsed and shook almost like a dog getting out of a pool, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“What are you grinning at?” she asked with a half-playful frown.

“You just looked cute, that’s all,” I chuckled.

“Great, well, I stink, can we keep going?” She had a comical sassiness to her tone, and part of me wanted to keep ribbing her.

But I also needed to get out of this shit.

I led the way up to the trapdoor, which was the only thing that seemed to still be intact. It let out a pained screech as I pushed it open, and I heard the sound of more chunks of flooring hit the water below.

As I looked back to help Chantara out, I wondered how long this place would still be standing. It had been condemned for some time, but now it was in a really dangerous state. If it stayed like this, I couldn’t imagine it would be safe to just come and go between the worlds like I’d been doing.

Would there come a time where I was forced to choose between my old world and my new world? Would I have to choose which people I wanted to commit to?

My mind began to swim with all the unfinished business I had in both places. We were in the middle of a war in Pyregate, not even just Pyregate now, it was spreading to the mainland, and maybe the east lands, too. I had a whole crew there who depended on me and trusted me as their leader.

But I had that on Earth, too. The Rabbits had been my family for my whole life. I wasn’t really considering abandoning them for good for a brand-new team, was I? The Rabbits were fragmented and wounded, and Tony was locked up, I couldn’t ditch them like that. My parents raised me better.

I knew I couldn’t choose. I belonged to Earth, just as much as I belonged to Pyregate and the new world.

I needed to figure out a way to keep this place secure enough to maintain my two lives. I had no idea how I would do that yet, but between myself and my two loyal mobs, I would be able to work something out.

But first, Chantara and I needed to get out of this rotting death trap and back onto solid ground.

I studied the floor and tried to find any of the supporting beams that might still be sturdy enough to get to the door. I led Chantara along as we walked slowly over one solid beam that intersected another, and we zigzagged across the room carefully.

It reminded me of the time my dad needed me to help him in the attic in our first home. He’d hoisted me up into the dark and cobweb-filled space, and I’d been frozen in fear waiting for my dad to come up and make everything feel safe again with his presence.

When his smiling face appeared through the hatch, I suddenly felt unstoppable and jumped to my feet ready to help him find whatever he needed. If I remembered right, I think Mom sent us up to look for an old photo album for Grandma’s funeral. But right then, I’d forgotten all of that because I was a young kid on an adventure with my dad, in the up-there cave above the hallway.

Dad had told me to be careful and watch that I didn’t get trapped in a spiderweb, and I still remembered the exciting mix of terror and wonder. Could I really get trapped? How big were the spiders? Did they eat people? Would Dad be able to cut me loose? What if I punched one right in all its eyes? I peppered him with questions, and his deep belly laugh felt like it rumbled through my bones.

Once he’d caught his breath, he directed me with his flashlight to the tiny crawl space at the far end of the attic. He was sure the photo album was tucked away in there. I’d gone to take my first step when Dad’s voice boomed ‘No!,’ and all my muscles froze in midmovement as if he’d pressed pause on my skinny little boy body.

“Stick to the support beams,” Dad had called in a calm but assertive tone, and I could still hear the words in his voice, funny how memories can do that. “Just stick to the big beams like you’re walking the plank, son. The floor ain’t right, you’ll stick your damn hoof through the ceiling and spook your ma something rotten.”

I nodded seriously, stuck both arms out like a gymnast, and walked along the beams. I got to the crawl space with no problem and felt like a champ. I always felt the best when I thought I’d made Dad proud. I rooted around inside the dark hole and shuddered as I stuck my skinny little arm through a thick web, but eventually I found the heavy leather-bound photo album and yanked it out triumphantly.

“I got it Dad!” I yelled, full of excitement and pride.

“Good job, kid.” He’d smiled so broadly that his gold back tooth glinted off the flashlight. That was how I’d always known he was either really happy or really proud. That little glint made my insides feel all warm and glowy.

I turned to go back, and I was so giddy Dad was proud of me, that I practically skipped along those big beams. I’d nearly gotten back to him when I bounced a bit high, and my face went careening straight into another cobweb. To me, it felt like it was thick enough to trap a kid for good, so I yelped and stepped back away from it, and my sneaker went straight through the plasterboard ceiling below.

All of a sudden, Dad had just been there, like he was Superman and just flew to save me, and he pulled me free from the ceiling and bundled me into his huge strong arms.

I still had hold of the photo album and kept telling Dad I was sorry, but I saved the photos and don’t be mad and I’ll fix the hole and I’m sorry Dad and I didn’t mean it and don’t tell Mom and I really didn’t mean it.

By the time Dad carried me back down into the hall, he was laughing again. He set me down carefully and checked my ankle for any injuries. I had a little nick on the lowest part of my shin, and he told me I’d have a good-looking scar to show off. Then he promised he’d tell Mom it was all his fault and gave me a bear hug.

It felt like I could still feel that hug, right here in this rotten, run-down building so many years later.

I kept walking along the beams, and I kept checking behind me to make sure Chantara was doing okay, too. Despite the soaking wet shoes and stinking water that felt like it had seeped into my bones, I felt warmed by the memory of my dad.

“Why are you smiling like that?” Chantara asked with a puzzled frown.

“Ah, nothing really,” I replied. “Just reminded me of an old memory with my dad. I’ll tell you about it sometime.”

“I’d like that.” She smiled.

We made it through the first rotten room and into the next one. This one wasn’t quite so dilapidated, but it still felt risky. Soon, we were at the boarded-up door, and I popped the loose board out with my shoulder and helped Chantara through the hole.

I noticed a gross green-brown tide line along her knees and realized we would need to get cleaned up and into some fresh clothes pretty soon. My hoodie fell to just below her fiery feather dress, so right now, she kind of looked homeless.

I figured it might actually help us blend in, no one in Manhattan wanted to make eye contact with a hobo, they were all too busy with their own lives and if they stared too long, they might get asked for money or something. So, if she kept her head down and her hood up, the phoenix would be as good as invisible.

I fumbled around in my pocket, on the off chance my credit card was still in there after all our adventures. For a second, I thought I’d lost it, but I checked the back pocket, and there it was, a little dirty, but still usable.

It would be nice to buy Chantara another Earth disguise, she’d been so happy with the last shopping trip.

But first we needed to make it through skinhead territory.

I glanced up and down the street. It appeared to be mid-morning, but I couldn’t know for sure since we were crowded by all the towering high-rise buildings. I hadn’t missed that. I also hadn’t missed the smell of gasoline and cigarette smoke and falafel. The occasional waft of cheap hotdog woke my stomach up from time to time, but even they didn’t smell as good to me as they used to.

Was I becoming detached from my home city?

Before I’d left, I would have balked at the idea of ever leaving Manhattan. This place was my home, this place felt like it was a large part of my personality. I stared at the people around me, business men, hipsters, hobos, corporate moms, art students, and they suddenly felt more alien to me than merfolk and ogres.

We made it out of the skinhead territory without any sight of the ugly racist cunts. I guessed maybe it was a little early to be out dicking around the streets on the hunt for trouble. They were probably still tucked up in bed snuggling their dog-eared copy of Mein Kampf.

Chantara’s hood slipped momentarily as a helicopter flew overhead, and she gazed up at it in amazement, but I quickly readjusted it for her and scanned around for anyone who might have witnessed anything.

Everyone, and I meant every single fucking person, from frantic Wall Street coke heads, to bums begging on street corners, had a phone glued to their hand. Not one single person seemed to be engaged with the world around them. The suits shouted business buzz words into theirs, younger people posed and danced in front of theirs, and the beggars stared into the dull screens while they held out a paper cup and repeated ‘any change, pal,’ like a broken robot.

Had I been like this?

I must have been, but I’d never noticed the madness of it all before now. In Pyregate, everyone walked with heads up, they made eye contact with others and held full conversations without having to stop and check for any notifications.

Suddenly, I felt a buzz in my front pocket, as if the memory of notifications triggered off an ingrained physical response. My hand tapped my pocket on reflex, even though I knew I hadn’t carried my phone since I left the clubhouse during the FBI raid. It all came flooding back to me how suckered in everyone had become to social media and likes and ridiculous, meaningless internet points.

Why the fuck did that matter so damn much to us all?

I shook the thought from my head, since it didn’t matter now anyway, and led Chantara through a zigzag maze of back streets toward the Rabbits’ warren. I stopped a few streets away after I remembered a great little thrift/charity shop. It was off the main roads, and it was a charity Mom used to really care about, I couldn’t remember exactly what, cancer or kids or kids with cancer, something like that. But I figured they’d be less likely to judge my Bog of Eternal Stench stink.

“Wait here,” I said as I ushered Chantara to a quiet doorway of a closed up store. “I’ll be quick.”

“It’s okay,” she replied sweetly. “I like just looking at this place, it’s so busy and full.”

I smiled at the innocence and joy in her fiery eyes and dipped into the store. Inside, I hunted through the racks of heavily marked down clothes until I found a suitable pair of pants for me and Chantara. I also found another couple of hoodies, a black and red one for Chantara to match her eyes, and a navy blue one for me. I didn’t really care how it all looked, I just knew I needed to get out of these stinking clothes as fast as possible.

As I walked to the cashier, I spotted the shoe display. A pair of lightly worn Converse sneakers with flames up the back just screamed ‘phoenix on Earth,’ so I grabbed them and hoped they’d fit her. There was also one pair of off-brand sneakers in my size, too, and I finished off the growing pile of items with a couple of pairs of socks, a pair of shades, and a packet of baby wipes.

I placed all the items on the counter, and the woman behind the till smiled kindly at me. She had the complexion of a raisin, but her brilliant blue eyes seemed to indicate the woman she’d been before age sucked the radiance from her.

“I can probably do a bit of a discount for you, if you’re struggling today, dear,” the old woman said in a sweet caring tone that didn’t carry a hint of judgment. “Might even have a couple of complimentary cookies for you, a growing boy like you needs to keep his strength up.”

I could tell she’d smelled me, but she went out of her way to lean in and talk to me like I was her best customer.

“Thank you,” I said with a warm smile. “Save them for someone else though, I can pay my way today.”

I pulled out my card and handed it to her. The woman’s face flickered with confusion as she tried to marry the stinking dirty man in front of her with the black American Express card in her hand, but she just nodded and rang up my items.

I bagged them for her as I noticed the twisted knobby fingers of arthritis, and I thanked her again.

Once I was back out into the street, I noticed Chantara doing a weird eye covering gesture, almost like a kid watching a scary movie through their fingers.

“What are you doing?” I laughed.

“I-- I think someone saw my eyes,” she replied a little shakily. “They gave me an odd look, so I thought I would try and hide them from people. But this place is too exciting, I want to see it all.”

“Well, I can help you out with that.” I rummaged around in the store bag and produced the pair of cheap sunglasses. The lenses had a deep rose color, it wasn’t intentional, but it seemed quite fitting, and I figured it would probably block out some of the redness in her eyes.

“Oh, wow!” Chantara practically snatched them from my hand and stared at them wildly.

She placed them carefully onto her face, and then her head swiveled around all over the place as she took in the new pink scenery with an open-mouthed grin of amazement.

“So, you like them?” I laughed.

“Everything is like the rings of the moon!” The phoenix spun around and then abruptly stopped as her hood tried to flop down. “Sorry, sorry, I know I need to be a little calmer, it’s just these-- things, they make it all so… beautiful.”

The way she breathed the world ‘beautiful’ made her sound like a Disney princess, and I couldn’t help but smile. As much as I was starting to dislike the dirt and the grime and the people here, it was still nice to witness it through the eyes of an outsider.

We got the rest of the way to the clubhouse and found it all boarded up. All the windows, all the doors, every access point was closed up and heavily secured. On the back door was an FBI flyer, I just skimmed it, but it was a plea for any information.

Ha. Good luck with that one, pigs.

I knew it wasn’t smart to stick around here too long, and my plan to get cleaned up and changed inside was out the window, so I decided to just head to the laundromat.

The laundromat had been a key part of the plan all along, it was a Rabbit-owned establishment, although very lowkey. No one but us and the Korean owner, Joon, knew the Rabbits used it for money laundering. He was an unremarkable-looking fella, which was perfect for us. He just blended in with the surroundings and quietly cooked the books for us, while he made a decent profit for himself.

We’d always kept him sweet, and he had always gone above and beyond for us.

That was where I’d sent Joe when the FBI were after us, so I knew if anyone would know where my young Rabbit was, it would be Joon.

The back door was always wedged slightly open to let out the continuous stream of cigarette smoke. Joon knew good and well it was illegal to smoke inside, but the guy never fucking stopped. I’d never known someone smoke so continuously, the second he put one out, another one would appear in his crooked mouth as if by magic. The smell of laundry detergent and air freshener always masked the smog of pure cancer that dwelled permanently in the back office.

I nudged the door open and peered my head round the corner. I was immediately struck with a cloud of smoke, and it almost took my breath away. The walls of the office were once white, but now they were a sickly yellow with thick drips of brown nicotine and tar that streaked from a filthy ceiling. I shuddered as my mind flashed up an image of what Joon’s insides must look like.

“Joon!” I held my arms out and smiled wide. “How the fuck are you, you old bastard?”

“Ryan!” The old Korean shuffled over with a fresh cigarette between his yellowed teeth. “Oh, I heard some stories about you, boy. Tell me they’re not true.”

“I wouldn’t know,” I said with a shrug. “Been out of town on some business. But you know a Rabbits’ a Rabbit, we’re never too far away.”

“Just glad you’re not in the big house.” Joon widened his eyes to emphasize that it was one of the rumors.

“Nah, they can’t catch me, buddy, I’m too quick for them.” I mocked a bob and weave as if I was Muhammad Ali, and the human cigarette in front of me crumpled into a hacking cough laugh. “You want to be careful with those, Joon, you’re not sounding so fresh.”

“These keep me young,” he said and preened his hair. “You stink by the way.”

“Oh, very fucking kind,” I responded sarcastically. “Not seen you for a while, and this is how you treat me.”

I shot a glance over my shoulder to Chantara, who had plastered a polite, if confused, smile on her face.

“This is Chantara.” I stepped aside and let the pretty but a little smelly phoenix inside. “Chantara, this is Joon, this old fucker is a good friend of the Rabbits.”

The pair exchanged polite but slightly awkward greetings, and Joon turned his attention back to me.

“What do you need?” he asked with an earnest nod of his head that seemed to send a ripple of smoke wafting off around him.

“Well, for starters, can we use your office to get changed?” I gestured to our filthy shins. “Had a little bit of trouble on the way into town. But after that, I’m looking for a little bunny who might have hopped on over a little while ago.”

“Take your time, it’s a quiet morning.” Joon gave Chantara a bright smile and then shuffled out of his office into the back street.

I’d noticed Joon didn’t so much as walk any more, he’d never been the most nimble and graceful character, but now he barely lifted his feet off the ground. He just pushed his sliders along like he was attempting to skate.

Once the back door was closed, I pulled out the baby wipes and offered them to Chantara who took the packet and squished them between her hands like it was a game. I probably should have thought about that.

I took off my filthy pants and boxers that had seen better days and threw them straight in the trash can. Then I took the baby wipes back from Chantara and showed her how they were supposed to be used. She seemed amazed the packet kept producing wipe after wipe. She was even more impressed when these little wipes managed to clean almost all the filth from our bodies and made us smell fresher.

After we’d cleaned up and gotten dressed in our new clothes, I called Joon back inside. Chantara had sat herself down on Joon’s swivel chair and was spinning around in circles and admiring her new hoodie and sneakers. The pants were a little big on her, but she still looked stunning, as always.

“So, what little Rabbit are we trying to snare?” Joon rubbed his hands together in an almost cartoonish manner, and I laughed.

I’d missed this guy.

“Young Joe,” I replied. “I sent him this way when the FBI hit the clubhouse, did you see him?”

“I did.” The old man nodded. “He hid in here for a little bit, and then he said he was going to hole up in a safehouse. He didn’t say where, though, but I gave him one of my burners. I always keep a few stashed in case you boys get yourselves into trouble, I know what you’re like. I’ve got the number around here somewhere.”

Joon puffed little plumes of smoke around the place like a foul-smelling steam engine, and he fiddled around with boxes of paperwork. He occasionally dropped ash and embers onto them and cursed in Korean, but after a few minutes, he thrust a sheet of yellow legal pad paper into the air like a trophy.

“Ah-ha!” he announced as he spun around with a proud gleam to his dark eyes. “No one but me can find anything in this place. Keeps me useful.”

“You-- useful?” I mocked but clapped him on the shoulders gratefully.

We’d known each other pretty much all my life, and we’d always had a playful back and forth. He was one of the few people you could say pretty much anything to, and he’d always laugh it off and give you a jab back.

He passed me the piece of paper and waited for me to make the call.

“I lost my phone in the raid,” I said with a shrug. “Can I borrow yours?”

“Just take, take, take with you, isn’t it?” Joon laughed and fished his phone out of his pocket. “Anything else? You want some blood? Maybe some clean urine for the cops?”

“Just the phone for now, Joon, keep your piss.”

I called the number, and Joe answered on the fourth ring.

“Joon? What’s up, man? Everything cool?”

“Not Joon today, buddy,” I said and felt excited to be talking to my friend again.

“No fucking way, Ryan?” Joe gasped. He sounded more excited than I was, and it felt good, no, it felt like old times. “Where the fuck have you been?”

“Long story, pal,” I replied truthfully. “Where you at? I need to talk business ASAP.”

Joe gave me the address to the safehouse, and I hung up.

“Joon, you old sack of shit, you’re a hero.” I ruffled the old guy’s hair, and he shoved me off.

“Go on, now, get the fuck outa here before I call the feds myself.” He laughed and then doubled over into coughing fit.

“These things will kill you, man.” I flicked the cigarette out of his mouth and then gestured to Chantara to get up. “Thanks for everything, Joon. You’re a good man.”

“Don’t go pretending to be Mr. Nice Guy now, it doesn’t suit you. I bet your lady ain’t buying it, either.” He shot Chantara a wink and then cough-laughed again.

Just as we left his office, Joon called my name, and I turned around to see the little old Korean giving me the middle finger.

“Be safe out there, I don’t have anyone else I can call a cunt around here!”

I shook my head and chuckled as we began to weave our way through the back streets toward the little apartment Joe was using as his safehouse. It was a tiny little place above a crappy pizza joint we all used to go to as kids, cos the owner sometimes gave us a Bud Light each to fuck off out of his business.

I led Chantara around the back of the pizza shop, up the fire escape, and to the heavy steel door to the shitty apartment.

“Joe, open up, man!” I called after the door went unanswered.

I knocked a couple more times before I started to get a little pissed off. He knew we were coming, where the fuck was he?

Then I heard the sound of heavy boots clanking against metal steps, and I instinctively shielded Chantara behind my back and grabbed my gun.

“Easy, easy,” Joe’s friendly voice called up the stairs. “Jesus, man, I try and do a nice fucking thing and get a damn Glock pulled on me. Last time I get you a fucking pizza!”

Joe’s dark hair flopped around his face, and it looked like he’d just jumped straight out of the shower. In his skinny arms were three huge pizza boxes and what looked like a box of hot wings.

“Thought you might be hungry, boss.” He smiled.

I laughed with relief and with the joy of finally seeing one of my Rabbits again, healthy and free.

“It’s good to see you, Joe,” I said and took the boxes from him so he could open the door.

“You too, Ry, can’t say I’ve not been worried about you.” He paused. “We all have.”

“All?” I repeated hopefully. “Who else you got stashed away in there?”

“Ah, no, sorry, boss. Just me in here, but I’ve been talking to the fellas. Come on in, I’ll catch you up. Who’s your girl? She’s way too hot for you.”

“Yeah, I know,” I chuckled. “This is Chantara, we’ve got a lot to discuss.”

From the second we stepped inside, it was blatantly obvious that a single guy had been living in this little apartment. There was a faint smell of body odor, Axe body spray, and old sneakers. Joe kicked dirty boxers off the two-seater couch and swiped all the empty beer cans off the small coffee table before he gestured for me to put the food down.

“Can I get you a beer?” He glanced over to Chantara. “Do you like beer? I don’t have anything else, I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting company.”

“Beer sounds good,” Chantara replied as if it was her favorite thing ever.

Chantara and I sat on the worn out old couch, and Joe dragged an ancient leather footstool out from the bedroom and plonked himself down on it heavily. Then he opened up the first pizza box and the wings and grinned proudly.

“Four cheese, salami, and olives,” he presented it to Chantara like it was a rare delicacy. “Dig in!”

Despite my prior knowledge of just how shitty the pizza was from downstairs, my stomach growled loud enough for Chantara and Joe to hear it and laugh.

We all grabbed a slice and began to hungrily devour it, and Chantara wolfed hers down in a matter of seconds and reached for another before Joe or me had even got halfway.

“Damn, you can eat!” Joe whistled. “I like a woman with an appetite.”

“I’ve never tried this,” Chantara mumbled happily with cheeks puffed out like a hamster. “It’s really good!”

“You’ve never had pizza?” Joe dropped his slice and drained his beer as if to punctuate just how ludicrous he found her statement. “Where’d you find this chick, Ry?”

“Well, actually, that’s kind of what I want to talk to you about.” I gave him a knowing smile as I finished my slice. “Okay, so don’t freak out when I show you something.”

Joe frowned at me but had a deep curiosity in his blue eyes.

“Chantara, can you take your hood down please?” I asked.

The phoenix first took off her rose tinted shades, and Joe’s head tilted in confusion. Then she slowly pulled down her hood and shook her hair out. As the flaming tendrils flowed out of the hoodie and came to rest on her shoulders, Joe tried to get up and tripped over backward off the leather stool.

“Wh-- what the fuck?” he gasped, and a mix of fear and amazement swirled around the young Rabbit’s face. “Seriously, what the fuck?”

“Chantara isn’t from around here,” I said slowly. “I’ve been with her, where she’s from, and she’s not the only, er, different kind of being there is.”

“What do you mean?” Joe asked me but kept his eyes fixed onto Chantara. “I’m sorry, I really am, I don’t mean to be rude to you, but what the actual fuck is happening right now? Did you slip me some fucking acid?”

“Nope,” I replied gently. “Look, Joe, I only came to you cos I thought you would be the only Rabbit who wouldn’t totally lose his shit. Don’t prove me wrong, man. Chantara is a phoenix. And I kinda want you to come back with me to her world.”

Joe put his head in his hands and stared at the ground for a solid minute or two. Occasionally, he would shake his head and mutter something under his breath, but when he lifted his head again, he seemed a little more together.

“What do you need, boss?” he asked with a determined gaze.

“Guns, ammo, and any other close-combat weapons we can get our hands on. There’s some bullshit we need to take care of, and I need your help. You’ve always been a solid Rabbit, one of the best. So, I need you to be that Rabbit, just in a different town with different bullshit.”

“You got it, boss.” Joe sounded like he was desperately trying to reconcile the world he knew with this new information, but I knew he was the right man for the job. He was young and malleable and tough as they come. It would take him some time, but I knew he’d get there.

“You’re a good man.” I gave him a proud smile, but I thought I’d move the conversation on to Earth dramas for a moment and let Joe gather his marbles again. “You said you’d been talking to the fellas, what do you know?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Joe began. He still had the wide eyes of a deer caught in headlights, but his tone switched back to business. “Tony, I’ve been talking to old Tone in the slammer a bit, he’s bearing up okay, you know Tony, he’d never say if he was having a shit time anyway. But it sounds like he’s having no bother from the other inmates, I get the feeling he’s running the show in there. But the feds, man, they’re pressing him hard. You know he’ll never give us up, but I don’t think he’s having too much fun with their questions, you know?”

I nodded and silently seethed at the thought of my number two guy getting harassed by the fucking feds. I needed to get him out of there. And I made a promise to myself that Tony was not serving a full sentence.

“What about the others?” I asked.

“Mick and Steve are still on the run, I’ve spoken to them twice, it’s hard to get a hold of them, but I can do it every now and then. They’re not together, but they’re in touch with each other more than anyone else I gather. It sounds like they’re doing as well as they can. But I guess a life on the run isn’t really what they wanted in their late forties.”

“I don’t want that for them, either,” I said through a clenched jaw. “What about the rest, you heard anything from any of the other guys?”

“Nah, not a thing.” Joe shrugged and gave me an apologetic tight-lipped smile. “I can’t know for sure, but I heard rumors there’s a few Rabbits in a different jail to Tony, a couple more got shot in the raid, and a couple are in the wind. Sorry I don’t know more, boss.”

“Don’t be, you know more than I did.” I passed Joe another beer and took one myself. “I’ve got plans for the Rabbits, I haven’t abandoned them, and I never fucking will. But right now, I’ve got things I’ve promised to do in Pyregate, that’s where Chantara’s from.”

“Pyregate, got it.” Joe nodded like it was the most normal thing in the world, but his rapid blink rate indicated he was still wildly confused.

I couldn’t blame him.

“Have you got a good hook-up for the weapons then?” I asked as I quickly moved Joe back to an area he was comfortable with. “Is Jimmy still about? Or Big Dee?”

“Nah, man, Jimmy got taken out by the skinheads, and Big Dee has been MIA since the raid. You really are out of the loop, aren’t you? But I do know a chick, real underground badass type, she won’t give a name, I’ve just always called her the Lady.” Joe snickered into his hand a little. “She seems to like it, think she reckons I call her that cos she’s classy. Ha, she’s far from it.”

“Do you trust her with business?” I probed.

“Oh, yeah, big time, she’s always been a trustworthy bitch when it comes to the rough stuff.” Joe shot an awkward look at Chantara. “I’m sorry, I’m not used to having women around.”

“Why are you sorry?” Chantara scrunched up her face in confusion.

“Just my language.” Joe shrugged. “If you don’t mind, I guess we’ll get along great.”

“I don’t mind at all.” The pretty phoenix smiled at the young Rabbit, and then she fidgeted uncomfortably. “Ryan, is it safe for me to take off this-- uh-- hoodie? I’m really warm.”

“Yeah, sure, if it’s just me and Joe, you’re safe,” I replied with a smile.

Chantara stood up and took off her top to reveal her fiery feather dress underneath. Joe’s eyes widened, and he gazed at her in wonder. I had an idea that would either blow his mind in a good way, or send him packing straight to the loony bin.

“Why don’t you show Joe your wings?” I said and shot Joe a smile that said, ‘prepare yourself.’

“Fuck off! You do not have-- whoa!”

Joe’s jaw practically hit the floor as Chantara smiled lovingly at me, and her huge beautiful wings exploded out of her shoulder blades and fluttered out wide. Her wingspan almost reached both walls and nearly touched the ceiling, but the heat was minimal.

“What do you think?” I asked the gobsmacked Rabbit.

“Wha-- ho-- uh-- Goddamn!” Joe finally got to a full word. “You’re amazing! Ryan, she’s amazing!”

“I know,” I chuckled.

We relaxed for a little while with pizza and beer as Joe got to grips with Chantara and asked her a million and one questions. Chantara had some of her own, too. Hers were mostly about beer and pizza and what kind of animal a chicken was, but the two managed to bond well despite their worlds of differences.

Soon though, I was anxious to get moving and get some weapons since we needed to get back to Pyregate and ready for our boat voyage.

“I think it’s time to call the Lady,” I said to Joe.

“You got it, boss.” He jumped to his feet and left the room. I heard him having some flirty banter with the woman on the other end of the phone, and when he came back, he had a pleased grin on his slightly tipsy face. “She’s good to go now. We can be there in about fifteen.”

“Good man.” I nodded and stood up to leave.

Before we got out the door, Joe stopped me with an earnest look on his young face.

“I didn’t mean to seem like I was doubting you before,” he said sheepishly. “It was just all a bit crazy what you were saying, I swear, I get it now, well, as much as I can get it. But I give you my word, I’m a Rabbit ‘til the day I die. You can count on me, boss.”

“I know I can, Joe.” I put a protective hand on his shoulder. “That’s why I came to you, I trust you with my life, brother.”

Joe’s chest puffed out, and he seemed to grow two inches with those words. I remembered how my dad had welcomed him into the fold and given him a new respect for life, and now it felt like I’d finally filled my dad’s shoes.

We left to go meet the Lady and arrived promptly fifteen minutes later. Joe was dead on with the timing.

He knocked on the door, and I turned around to make sure Chantara’s hair was covered.

“Little Joey!” a harsh Brooklyn accent came barreling out of the doorway, and my insides clenched up.

No way.

Not her.

Why the fuck did it have to be her?

Chapter Nine

I jerked around to the sound of that grating nasal voice and winced when the face matched my memory.

Tiffani.

Fucking Tiffani-- ‘with an i,’ as she always reminded everyone.

“No fucking way, Ry-Ry, oh, my god, I never thought I’d see your face at my door again. Just couldn’t keep away from me, could you?” Her voice set off some kind of deep-rooted disgust in me, and I wondered how the fuck I’d ever dated this bitch.

“Hi, Tiffani,” I said with a curt smile.

“That’s all you gotta say? Hi? After all this time, just hi?” She yanked me by the shoulders and dragged me into a hug, and all at once I was overpowered by her sickly-sweet perfume.

Tiffani always bought the latest celebrity perfume, Britney Spears when we were dating, or Jennifer Lopez, but they all stank the same to me.

“You two know each other?” Joe asked quietly, and he shot me a wide-eyed apology glance with a shrug.

“Oh, sure, Little Joey, me and Ry-Ry go waaaay back, don’t we, baby?”

I grimaced at both ‘Ry-Ry’ and ‘baby,’ but I quickly reset my face to a polite smile.

“Yup.” I nodded.

I needed to keep it together. As much as Tiffani’s voice was like nails on a chalkboard, I still needed her weapons.

“Well, come on in then, boys,” Tiffani said with a flirty wink. Then she paused, and a jealous glare washed over her face as her gaze shifted to my side. “Who’s the girl?”

“This is Chantara,” I replied. “Chantara, Tiffani. Can we come in now?”

I wanted to move things along. I knew Tiffani had more than just a mean streak, she could be a full-blown psycho when she wanted to be, and I wasn’t even sure if she could control when her rage would explode out. So, I kept the introductions to a minimum and resolved to keep the two women from speaking to each other as much as possible.

“Sure, baby,” Tiffani said. Her voice oozed fake calm, and I knew she’d already started to plan on how to exert her dominance over Chantara.

She turned to lead us into her home, and my eyes scanned her. She hadn’t changed a bit. Her brassy bottle blonde hair had grown out to reveal an inch-long streak of black roots. Her eyebrows had been plucked into oblivion, and she drew on new ones, which accentuated the nineties style blue eyeshadow that matched her eyes. As always, she’d lined her lips in an almost brown shade with a much lighter color in the middle, and she’d kept her Monroe piercing, a cheap gold stud next to the smile line of her top lip.

Her body had filled out slightly, but not by much, and by the look of her bare arms, it looked like she was still partial to what she called a ‘party,’ and what most other people called drug addiction. She still wore too-tight clothes, with a bra that clashed with the color of her strappy top and booty shorts no matter the season. Her tits spilled out of the top of her hot pink bra, and I noticed a couple of new tattoos. The one on her left breast looked like a poorly covered up name, I could just about make out some script under the lilies.

We’d dated for only a few months, back when I was probably about seventeen or maybe nineteen. Young enough to chase pussy, but old enough to know better than to stick my dick in that. We’d experimented with drugs and sex and been a little infatuated with each other for a bit. But then Dad called me into the big leagues and told me if I wanted to be a Rabbit for real, he wanted me off the drugs.

It had been no big deal to me. I wasn’t really interested in them like other kids were, I’d just done it to see what all the fuss was about, and I guess because Tiffani said it made fucking better. She was a couple of years older than me, and at the time it seemed like I’d won the jackpot getting an older woman to teach me the ways.

But once I’d stopped partying, I kind of wised up to what she was, a trashy sensation seeking psycho who’d never be the woman I’d want to bring home to Mom. At that age, though, I didn’t really know how to let a girl down easy, so I just kind of drifted away, until I heard on the streets that she’d been hooking up with someone from a different crew.

Then I’d sat her down and told her I knew about the other guy. She’d cried and said she didn’t mean it, but she liked him, and he was there for her, and I was never there anymore. Maybe I should have been mad, or maybe I should have felt some kind of possessiveness or outrage or something. But all I felt was relief, since I knew I finally had a way out of this drama.

It was then I realized I could get out of that shit without any plate smashing or fist fighting drama, and I took the easy road and agreed with her. I laid it on thick that she deserved to be happy, and I was no good for her, and we split relatively amicably. But every year or so, she’d get messed up and text me I was the one who got away.

So, I knew there was still the risk of a crazy jealous blow-up if I didn’t tread lightly in this arms deal. If I’d known Tiffani was the contact, I would have never brought Chantara.

Tiffani showed us into her apartment. It could have been quite nice, but it was filled with trashy leopard print throws and pillows and photos of her that hung at wonky angles on the walls. Each photo was her in various states of undress, and it was almost like she’d made her whole living room into a shrine for herself.

The glass coffee table was littered with overflowing heavy glass ashtrays, burnt aluminum foil, and rolled up bits of paper. It was blatantly obvious Tiffani had taken causal partying to full-blown fiend. It made me uncomfortable. I didn’t like the thought of being somewhere filled with weapons, drug paraphernalia, and a woman who played hopscotch with the line between sanity and madness on a daily basis.

Sure, the Rabbits had weapons, and occasionally some of the fellas would partake in some illegal substances. But none of us were addicts, none of us would risk our operations by being fucked up on crack or heroin or meth.

“What do you need, baby?” Tiffani’s voice grated on me, and I could tell she thought she was being seductive by the way she leaned forward from her seat on her white leather couch and thrust her tits at me.

“Whatever you’ve got, Tiff,” I said and forced myself to smile. “I’ve got a big job on, and I need handguns, knives, tasers, yeah, whatever you’ve got.”

“You can count on me, Ry-Ry, you should know that by now.” She giggled, lit a cigarette, and winked at me.

“I knew I could,” I said with as much warmth as I could muster.

Tiffani eyed up Chantara again and gave her a sneer as she looked over the phoenix’s poorly fitting jeans and big hoodie. I could tell the blonde had assessed the phoenix as a lower status woman, but I knew that wouldn’t stop Tiffani from becoming territorial.

I was so grateful my beautiful phoenix didn’t have a jealous bone in her body.

Tiffani got up off the couch with an over-the-top display. She stuck her ass in the air, swiveled her hips, and flicked her bleach fried hair off her large fake tits, but Chantara barely moved, and her face remained neutral. I wasn’t sure if she knew Tiffani’s performance was an attempt to prove she was the most desirable woman in the room, or if she noticed and wrote it off for the ridiculous notion that it was.

“Little Joey,” Tiffani called from the door with one arm stretched up against the door frame and the other on her bony hip. “I need a big strong man to come and help me with all my toys, come and give a girl a hand, would you?”

“Sure thing,” Joe replied with a friendly smile, but as he walked past, he whispered almost too quiet for me to hear. “I’m real sorry, boss, I had no idea about you two.”

I smiled and gave him a quick shake of my head to let him know it was fine, and then I turned my attention to Chantara.

“Sorry about her,” I muttered. “She can be a bit… much. Just don’t let her get to you, and we’ll be out of here as soon as we can.”

“It’s fine.” Chantara smiled from under her hood and through her rose-colored glasses. “I’ve had much worse than a Canal Street woman flaunting her wares at me. You’re doing the right thing, being nice to her, I mean. Just say what she wants to hear, and I’ll keep my mouth closed.”

“You really are something.” I returned Chantara’s smile but repressed the urge to kiss her.

“I know,” she giggled playfully.

From the other room, I heard grunts and clunks, and then a ‘you’re so strong, Joey,’ which was too loud to have just been for his benefit. After all this time, she still tried to make me jealous, even after I didn’t give a shit in the first place.

Fucking crazy bitch.

Eventually, after more over-the-top giggles, the pair returned. Joe carried two huge hold-all bags slung over each shoulder, and his floppy dark hair had been deliberately messed up.

Tiffani strutted back in with another smaller bag and pretended to trip so she could fall against me and press her tits into my chest. She was painfully transparent to everyone, except apparently herself. The crafty smile on her face told me she thought she was playing a sly game of seduction, but it was about as sly and seductive as a shotgun blast to the face.

“Look at all my goodies, baby,” she said and wiggled her boobs at the word ‘goodies.’

I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat and nodded at the bags.

Slowly, Tiffani opened them all and began to pull out a whole army’s worth of ammo, mag after mag after mag, guns, too. But that wasn’t all. In another bag she revealed pepper spray, tasers, brass knuckles, and knives, and Tiffani gave me a wink and bit down on her lower lip before she opened the last bag.

Inside that was about fifteen to twenty hand grenades.

“Where the fuck did you get these?” I asked and couldn’t keep the impressed tone out of my voice.

“I have my ways, baby.” Her pierced tongue ran along her top tip. “You know I always satisfy my men.”

I cringed internally but outwardly smiled and thanked her.

“If you’re in need of all this, and you’re coming to me, I’m guessing you’re not able to pay upfront…” Tiffani paused for a moment but didn’t give me time to answer. “It’s okay, baby, your Tiff’s got you. You can pay me back whenever, Ry-Ry, I know you’re good for it. I know you’re better than good. Maybe even the best.”

She traced her finger over the lily cover-up tattoo, and that’s when I realized the first letter underneath was ‘R.’ Surely, even she wasn’t that crazy? She hadn’t had the tat while we’d been together, so if it was my name, this fucking nutjob got it after we’d broken up. The thought deeply unsettled me, and I wanted to leave as soon as possible.

“I’ll see that you get your money, Tiff,” I said and went to pick up one of the bags.

“Not so fast, baby.” She put her hand over mine.

It was cold and bony and had what looked like injection site scabs all over it. It took everything inside me not to recoil from her touch and grimace.

“I think you owe me a little something, come on, Ry-Ry, let’s have a little chat before you leave me all over again.” She gazed up at me from the couch and looked through her eyelashes. It felt like she was trying to imitate the way Princess Diana used to do it, but only if Princess Di lived in the hood and had been smoking crack for years.

I shot a glance over my shoulder to Chantara, and she nodded quickly.

“You’re not looking for permission, are you?” Tiffani’s tone had shifted from flirty to aggressive.

If I wanted to leave here without any bust-ups, I needed to play my hand carefully.

“Of course not.” I gave the blonde a wink and a flash of a smile. Then I held my hand out to her. “Come on, lead the way.”

“What a gentleman.” She giggled, but instead of it sounding like my favorite song when Chantara did it, hers sounded like a record being scratched to shit.

Just before I left the room, I turned back to Joe.

“Pack this shit up,” I muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

Joe nodded and immediately began to repack everything.

I followed Tiffani to her bedroom, which was up a carpeted flight of stairs that had cigarette burns and crumpled up foil strewn around. Inside her room it smelled like crack. That kind of burnt plastic, nail salon fumes stink, had infected every soft furnishing in her room.

She threw herself onto the unmade bed that had mismatched animal print pillows and a black comforter with more burn marks on it and patted a spot beside her. I perched on the edge and turned slightly to face her.

“It’s been so long, Ry-Ry,” she practically purred. Well, it might have been a purr, but the gravely smoker’s lung turned it into more of a growl. “Do you ever think about the old days?”

“Sure,” I said. It wasn’t exactly a lie, I thought about them plenty, just never about the days with her in them.

“Me too, baby.” Tiffani ran her finger over her lily tattoo again. “You know I got this for you, right?”

“Lilies?”

“No, not the lilies, silly bear.” She giggled unpleasantly and sparked up a cigarette. “I got your name, right over my heart, right where it belongs.”

I didn’t know how to respond. I also didn’t want to point out that it was too high up on her massive fake breast to be over her heart, so I said nothing and waited.

“I guess, I hoped it would bring you back to me,” she said after she’d smoked most of her cigarette in three huge drags. “Maybe you just took the long way home. There’s been other boys, of course, you know I have a hard time sleeping alone. But there’s been no one like you, baby. No one like my Ry-Ry.”

“Tiff--” I started.

“Don’t say my name like that,” she said with a hint of anger, and her blue eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “I don’t want you to say my name unless you’re screaming it. I want you to fuck me like we used to. Do you remember that time in the back of my daddy’s truck?”

I frowned as my mind was assaulted with the recollection. From what I recalled, it was a clumsy grope fest and a slobbery drunken blowjob.

It seemed Tiffani and I recalled our time together very differently. She seemed to have immortalized it as some kind of Romeo and Juliet kind of love story, a pair of star-crossed lovers who were pulled apart by circumstances and doomed to wander this life alone. In reality, it was actually more like a drugged-up fling that went on as long as the ecstasy lasted. Once the come-down wore off, I could see her for what she was. A cheating tramp who I’d escaped and forgotten about.

“I remember,” I said and tried to keep my face set on neutral.

“How about the time my momma caught us going at it in my bedroom back home?”

I could tell this conversation was on a knife’s edge, so I played into what she wanted.

“Yeah, you weren’t exactly being quiet,” I replied with a forced chuckle.

“How could I be quiet, when you’re giving me that good dick?” She bit her lip in what she must have thought was a seductive way.

I gave her a tight smile and repressed the resentment and revulsion.

“What’s the matter, baby? You don’t wanna cuddle like we used to?” Tiffani arched one overplucked and heavily drawn on eyebrow.

“Not tonight, Tiff,” I said.

I knew full well I’d never touch her again, but I still needed the weapons, so I thought I could play nice for a little bit longer.

“Don’t you miss how we used to be?” The trashy blonde rolled onto her stomach and kicked her feet behind her. Her tits threatened to burst right out of her strappy top, and she pouted. “How about one more time… for old times’ sake?”

“That was a long time ago,” I said slowly. I had to tread very carefully with her, she was totally unpredictable, and I had no idea what could trigger her short fuse nowadays. “You look like you’re doing really well for yourself, why dig up the past?”

“What are you saying, Ryan?” I knew I’d said the wrong thing when she used my full name. “Are you saying you don’t want me? You don’t find me attractive anymore? You really don’t wanna hit this?”

She had pushed herself up so she was kneeling on the bed and ran her hands all over her body. If she hadn’t been so… her, I guessed maybe that would have been a sexy display. But it just came off as desperate and made my skin crawl.

“Of course, I find you attractive,” I lied. “I’ve just got to be somewhere with those weapons. How about I come back and see you?”

“It’s that plain little whore downstairs, isn’t it?” Tiffani scowled, and her eyes flashed with danger. “You bring your ugly ass bitch round to my fucking house and think I’m gonna be okay with that?”

“Tiffani, stop.” I stood up since I knew I should never have my back to her when she was behaving this way, kind of like a wild animal.

“Telling me to fucking stop! In my own fucking house!” She pounced off the bed like a rabid cat and sprinted out the door and down the stairs.

“Tiffani!” I shouted and ran after her. “Joe, get Chantara out of here!”

I ran into the living room to find Joe with his hands on Tiffani’s shoulders, and she was flailing her arms as she tried to escape his grip.

Just as I was about to pick Tiffani up and remove her, she flung her knee up, hard, and connected with Joe’s nuts. He crumpled into a heap and let out a strange whining-gurgle.

Then Tiffani lunged at Chantara and clocked her right in the jaw. Chantara stepped back with a shocked look on her face and looked at me for what to do next, but the blonde bitch threw another jab, which Chantara ducked and took another step back.

Now her back was against the wall, and Tiffani lunged forward again.

“Tiffani!” I shouted again and grabbed hold of her wrist.

I managed to grab the other one, too, and pinned both of them behind her back.

“Joe, take the weapons, take Chantara, I’ll meet you back at yours!” I barked at the crumpled heap on the floor, and he began to climb to his feet.

“Tiffani,” Chantara said in a calm and kind voice. “I don’t want to fight you, I don’t want you not to have Ryan, if that’s what you want. If he wants that, too, I’ll never stand in his way.”

I frowned. Surely, she didn’t think I wanted this psycho. I studied Chantara’s face, as well as I could through the tinted shades, and I saw only genuine kindness. It really seemed like she just wanted to cool things down.

Tiffani stopped struggling in my arms for a moment, and her eyebrows pulled down into a mask of confusion.

“You mean, he’s not your man?” the blonde asked slowly.

“He’s his own man,” Chantara soothed. “If he wants to take you to bed, he should do that.”

Tiffani looked at me with a mix of triumph and lust. I glanced over her shoulder to the phoenix, and she flashed her eyebrows up, as if she was saying ‘play along dummy.’ She was a smart woman.

“So, what do you say, baby?” Tiffani’s switch had flicked back to calm, well, as calm as a junkie with anger issues ever got.

“Let’s go finish our conversation,” I said and smiled at her.

In my mind, I pictured Chantara’s sweet face, and it helped me sell the lie to the trashy bitch in my arms.

“Okay, baby,” she sighed and leaned into me. It was as if her memory had just been wiped, and she’d gone right back to thinking we were still an item.

Was that the drugs? Or her rampant narcissism? Either way, it would be easy enough to play her for long enough so Joe and Chantara could get out of here safely with the weapons.

Tiffani and I waited at the bottom of the stairs for Joe and Chantara to leave. I told Joe I’d be back soon, but Tiffani said it wouldn’t be that soon, with a disgustingly crude laugh. I shot Chantara an apologetic glance, and she responded with an almost imperceptible nod.

Once we were alone, Tiffani immediately yanked off her top so she was just standing in front of me in booty shorts and a hot pink bra that seemed at least two sizes too small.

“I said I wanted to finish our conversation,” I said firmly. I didn’t need to protect Chantara anymore, so there was no point in leading Tiffani on now.

“You said you wanted to fuck me!” Tiffani protested.

“No.” I shook my head. “I didn’t say anything like that.”

“You did!” she pouted and actually stomped her foot like a toddler throwing a tantrum. “Maybe not with your words, but I can tell you still want me, I know I’m the best you ever had. Come on, Ry-Ry, we were so good together!”

I was fucking sick of this charade now.

“Tiffani,” I said as gently as I could. “We were together for, what, maybe three or four months? Years ago. Probably around ten years ago.”

“No,” she said, but it was softer now, like maybe I was beginning to pierce through the veil of insanity she’d wrapped our fling in. “No, it can’t have been. It was at least a year… Wasn’t it?”

“It wasn’t even close.” I almost felt sorry for her as she plopped down onto one of the stairs and stared off into her memories. “We had fun, sure, but that’s all it was. A bit of teenage fun. And do you remember why we broke up?”

“You left me,” she said in a hollow broken voice. “You left me, for your Rabbits. They told you to choose them or me, and you chose them.”

“Is that really how you remember it?” I asked.

From her tone and her body language, it sounded like this was the story she’d sold herself for all these years. Maybe she’d told herself this lie for so long it felt true.

“Yeah?” Tiffani looked up at me, and her blue eyes were magnified by tears. “That’s what happened. And then I ended up with Billy cos you just abandoned me and broke my heart.”

“Tiff…” I took her hand and looked deep into her sad eyes. I wanted her to know I wasn’t trying to be a dick, that I just wanted to tell her the truth. “We split up because you were hooking up with Billy on the side. One of the fellas saw you two in the back of his truck and told me.”

“No, no, that’s not right.” Tiffani shook her head and blinked at the information as if she was trying to slot it into her own twisted version of events. “No, I would never, I could never, not to you, never to you, you were my soulmate, you are my soulmate… don’t you feel it, too?”

“I’m sorry, Tiff,” I said slowly. “It’s time we both moved on.”

Suddenly, the switch flicked inside her mind, and she snatched her hand away and shoved me back.

“I knew it was that whore!” she snarled and bared her yellow, crooked teeth. “That dirty, fucking whore! Who is she, Ryan? Who is she really? Why is she all covered up? What is she trying to hide? What are you hiding?”

“Stop this, Tiffani,” I spat the words out. “You sound fucking delusional.”

“Don’t you fucking dare make me out to be crazy!” she screeched like a banshee. “I see your fucking game! Trying to fucking gaslight me into thinking I cheated! Fuck you, Ryan O’Sullivan! Fuck you!”

Tiffani ran into her living room, and I heard a smash.

I ran in to see the mirror opposite the couch in shards on the floor. She was standing on the couch with one of the heavy glass ashtrays in her hand and launched it at the window. It shattered the windowpane, and then I heard it crash onto the back street below. I was thankful it wasn’t the main road outside that window, but this was still getting risky.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked coldly. “This is your shit that you’re destroying, you fucking psycho.”

“You wanna see a fucking psycho, Ryan?”

She jumped off the couch and sprinted back up the stairs, and then I heard a heavy thud. I went upstairs to see what she’d done now and found her swinging a baseball bat into her own bedroom furniture. The thud was the sound of a hole being smashed into her wardrobe.

“You think I’m gonna take this lying down, Ryan?” Another thud punctuated her question, and her chest of drawers took the brunt of it. “Do you think you’re going to get away with leaving me, and then coming back all these years later to rub fucking salt into my wounds and flaunt your ugly cunt whore in front of me?”

She slammed the bat into the mirror on her wall, and it rained glass all over her bed.

“Don’t call her that,” I muttered through gritted teeth.

“What, ugly? Or cunt? Or whore?” Tiffani grinned madly at me before she abruptly burst into tears. “I love you, Ryan! Why can’t you see that? I’ve always loved you!”

“Did you love me when you were fucking Billy?” I asked bluntly.

“You’re wrong!” she cried and then grabbed two handfuls of her own hair and yanked them out of her head. “Even if it did happen the way you said, I didn’t mean it… Why can’t you give us a second chance? Why don’t I deserve a second chance? We can be happy, Ry-Ry. Don’t you want to be happy?”

“I’m good.” I shrugged.

I’d run out of patience long ago, and this just felt pointless now.

“Oh! Oh, you’re good. You’re good. Well, I’m not! Can’t you see what you’re doing to me? You’re killing me, baby.” Tiffani collapsed dramatically onto the bed littered with shards of broken mirror and sobbed.

I just stared at her. The memories of our brief fling had resurfaced from the tightly locked memory box I’d kept them in, and I remembered all the crazy, manipulative, psycho bullshit she used to pull all the fucking time. She hadn’t changed. If anything, years of abusing drugs made her ten times worse.

She was dangerous.

“You don’t even care what you’re doing to me, do you?” Tiffani sobbed the snotty hacking sobs of a child mid tantrum.

I said nothing since there wasn’t a single thing that could be said that would stop this insanity. I contemplated leaving, but an awful niggling thought kept me rooted to the spot.

She could bring down the Rabbits.

She knew too much, and she’d just provided us with three fucking bags of illegal weapons. She had contact with Joe and maybe others. And she held a grudge.

Hell hath no fury, and all that.

While I was lost inside my bubble of concern for the Rabbits, Tiffani grabbed one of the larger shards of mirror and dragged it along her stomach and then her arm. The cuts weren’t deep enough to do any lasting damage, and it was clear she was just desperate to try and make me care.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I sighed.

“What’s the point in sticking around if the only man I ever loved doesn’t want me?” she wailed.

“Get a fucking grip of your life, Tiffani.” I shook my head. “You’re embarrassing yourself over a goddamn fling that happened a fucking decade ago. Get the fuck over it.”

Tiffani’s jaw hung open in shock. I didn’t think she was expecting that response, but at least it stopped her, and she dropped the chunk of mirror. A few seconds later, her expression hardened into a cold and calculated glower of rage, and even before she opened her mouth, I knew what was going to come out of it.

“How about I get a grip on your life?” she said with an ice cold calmness. “How about I tell the cops how you roughed me up good and smashed up my place? How about I tell them how you made me stash weapons for the Rabbits and how you beat me something fierce to keep my mouth shut? Maybe you raped me, too. Or maybe it was Little Joey. Maybe I got abused by every one of you rotten rabid Rabbits. How’s that for getting a grip, baby?”

I sighed.

If only I’d known Joe’s contact was Tiffani. I could have avoided all of this shit. But Joe wasn’t to know, he didn’t even know her name. I didn’t blame him for what I had to do.

I didn’t even really blame Tiffani for what I knew I needed to do. She was always exactly who she was. But I couldn’t let one crazy bitch ruin the lives of all of my men.

And I wasn’t going to.

I took another deep breath and prepared myself for what was to come.

Then I stepped forward toward Tiffani.

Chapter Ten

I knew what I had to do, but that didn’t make it any easier.

I needed to think of the Rabbits, they’d suffered enough, they were on the run, locked up, or dead. I was their leader, and I hadn’t been able to help any of them yet. But I knew for a fact I wouldn’t let this irrational strung-out blonde fuck with them, the FBI already fucked with us plenty.

Tiffani was in a tailspin and headed for an explosive end that would take everyone down with her. She thrashed herself around on the bed and flipped between screaming accusations and crying for one more chance with me. She spat venomous plots about how we’d apparently beaten and abused her for years, we’d forced her into stashing weapons and kept her malleable with drugs. And then she would wail and sob about how we were meant for each other, and everything would be okay if I’d just stay with her.

I could tell from the details that she’d spent some time considering how to fuck me over. I wondered how long she’d wanted to do this, and what had stopped her. Perhaps the drugs kept her scattered enough to move on from revenge before she enacted it.

But I’d avoided her all this time, so maybe her plots just festered in the background like an undiscovered infection. Now that I’d unwittingly returned into her life, it seemed this particular boil had grown as large as it would ever grow.

It was time to lance the boil and be done with this disease once and for all.

Tiffani slammed both her fists down onto her bed and stared at me. Her hands, wrists and legs were all covered in cuts now, but she barely seemed to notice the shards of mirror that stuck out of her in various places. All I could see in her bloodshot blue eyes now was a pure white-hot rage.

She grabbed another chunk of mirror and dragged it along the lily tattoo covering up my name. Blood sprang to the surface and trickled over the flowers.

“All I ever wanted was for you to love me!” she yelled through huge hacking sobs. “Why can’t you love me?”

“It was just the drugs, Tiff,” I said calmly. “We never had real feelings for each other, it was just the ecstasy talking. We were kids, and we were together for maybe three or four months, tops. You could have moved on and got yourself anyone you wanted.”

“I didn’t want anyone else!” Tiffani made another cut into her tattoo. “I only ever wanted you.”

“That’s just not true.”

I didn’t know why I was bothering to argue with her. I knew what needed to happen, and I knew even if she did somehow see reason and let the fantasy of ‘us’ go, it still wouldn’t be safe to just walk away and leave her to her own devices. But maybe a part of me wanted her to find some peace before it happened.

“Don’t tell me what’s true, Ryan!” Tiffani roared and lunged at me with the blood-covered shard of mirror.

I sighed as I grabbed both of her wrists and held her at arm’s length. She would never change. She couldn’t change. Maybe it wasn’t her fault. Maybe life had conspired against her like she said it did. But we all have to take responsibility for the choices we make. She could have chosen a different path a hundred times over. But she didn’t.

Tiffani had chased the high and ran the constant hedonistic treadmill, and now here we were. Back on her bed, to finally end it, where it started all those years ago.

She thrashed in my grip and tried to kick me with her bony bruised and cut up leg. I dodged her kick and swept her other leg out from underneath her. Tiffani landed heavily on her back, and I heard a crunch of glass as I landed on top of her.

“I knew you wanted me.” The trashy blonde sneered up at me and gyrated her hips. “You just wanted it rough, didn’t you?”

“This is over, Tiffani,” I said.

Instead of the pitiful begging or outraged threats, Tiffani made a hacking sound and spat in my face.

It was time.

I moved both of her bony wrists into my left hand and clamped onto them tightly. With my right hand, I grabbed the nearest leopard print pillow and forced it over her face.

Tiffani bucked her hips and thrashed around underneath me, but I easily overpowered her and kept the pillow in place. She let out muffled cries I couldn’t make out, but there was nothing she could have said or done that would alter the outcome now.

After a few minutes, her movements became weaker, and shortly after that she stopped struggling completely. I kept the pillow in place but let go of her wrists, and they both flopped listlessly onto the bed.

I let out a long shaky sigh and climbed off her. I hadn’t wanted it to end like this, I hadn’t even thought about Tiffani since we broke up.

But it had to be done. I needed to think of the Rabbits, I had to do everything in my power to keep them safe from any more bullshit. I could tell by the venom in her voice and the hatred in her eyes that she would go ahead with those disgusting false accusations and horrific lies. Some of my men had kids, some had wives. None of them were fucking rapists, and none of them deserved to go through the trauma of having to defend themselves against lies like that. I knew how it would look to the courts, too. A bunch of gang members accused of abusing a woman for business, who would a jury believe?

I couldn’t take that chance.

For a minute, I just stood beside Tiffani’s bed and stared into the void. Then I inhaled deeply and got to work.

I knew I couldn’t leave her smothered on her bed, since it would be too obvious she’d been murdered. But I knew it wouldn’t take much effort to make this look like suicide or an overdose.

She was already covered in self-inflicted cuts, and it was clear she’d smashed up her own apartment, so all I needed to do was finish setting the scene.

I picked up a clean sock dangling out of her half-broken dresser and used it as a glove so I wouldn’t leave fingerprints. The cops didn’t have mine on file, but I figured they would have picked up plenty of them at the clubhouse, and if one set matched ones found in a dead chick’s apartment, the Rabbits would be on the hook for that, too.

As I searched for a plausible cause of death to pin this all on, I wiped down the door handles and anything I thought Joe might have touched.

Then I found a knife, a few coke crusted razor blades, and a bottle of strong Oxycontin in her bedroom. So far, I could have easily staged a suicide or an overdose, but I kept up with the search and cleared off fingerprints until I found a bent-up spoon, a foil wrap, and a syringe.

Drug overdose for the win then.

I’d never injected someone before, but I figured a dead junkie wouldn’t complain too much. A cold gallows humor laugh rumbled out through my chest, and I smirked despite the shitty situation.

Gotta laugh when you can, I guessed.

I put almost all the heroin into the dirty spoon and mixed it with a drop of water. Then I grabbed the lighter off Tiffani’s bedside table and heated the underside of the spoon. Once it had dissolved into a brownish liquid, I sucked the mixture up into the syringe through the filthy little cotton ball blob until it was full.

I had no idea how much a person could pump into their veins, but again, it really didn’t matter. It just needed to look like this was the cause.

New York was rife with murders, overdoses, suicides, accidental deaths, and all other kinds of ways people bowed out from this life. I was counting on the fact that if Tiffani looked like a junkie who just took too much, then they wouldn’t waste time with a detailed autopsy. She’d lost touch with her parents not long after we’d broken up, so as harsh as it might sound, there really wasn’t anyone who’d care enough to push for an investigation.

I lifted up Tiffani’s lifeless arm and searched for a vein that hadn’t already collapsed. I could feel a barely-there pulse under her skin, so she was still alive, but that would work in my favor. Tiny scabs and sunken track marks ran the full length of her left arm and made it impossible to find anything useful, and in her left armpit was a huge swollen abscess that looked badly infected.

If she didn’t die by my hand, it looked like sepsis would have done it for me soon enough.

I lifted up her right arm and finally found a faint but intact vein halfway between her elbow and her armpit. I knew it didn’t have to be perfect, but it still had to be believable, so I took my time and made sure the needle went directly into the vein and not into the muscle since that could leave an obvious mark.

Once I’d pumped the full syringe into her vein, I left the needle where it was so it would look like she’d just overdosed straight away. Then I wiped my prints off and carefully lifted her left hand to plant her own on there.

I uncovered Tiffani’s face, and I stared into her lifeless eyes as I checked her pulse again and found it was gone. She had an almost serene far away expression, and she looked more at peace than I’d ever seen her.

Maybe this was for the best.

I knew I was just rationalizing what I’d been forced to do, but perhaps there was an element of truth to it as well. Life hadn’t been too kind to Tiff, and although she brought most of it on herself, at least now she didn’t have to deal with any more of her own self-inflicted bullshit anymore.

I scattered the bottle of Oxy around her bed and the floor, did one more fingerprint sweep of her room, and then left Tiffani for the last time.

Before I left her apartment, I searched for anything incriminating she might have kept on the Rabbits. She had multiple burner phones, which I shoved into a carrier bag, just in case they had any Rabbit contacts on them. In her spare room, I found another bag with a few mags, a couple of knives, and another set of bright pink brass knuckles.

I could see Rumi or Darya appreciating those, so I took the lot.

Just as I was about to leave, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I turned back to the living room, and for a second I couldn’t figure out what it was. Then I spotted it, a small zebra print notebook that just peeked out from underneath the couch.

I walked over, fished it out, and began to search through it. Inside were names, contact numbers, debt lists, and information. Really incriminating information. This bitch had kept a log of who’d bought what, when they’d bought it, and for how much. She also had info on who’d taken drugs with her, who she’d fucked for favors, and snippets of information she’d presumably gathered from pillow talk or drugged up ramblings.

I saw multiple notes on information she’d gathered on the Rabbits, as well as some of the skinheads and a few of the other gangs.

Tiffani was either working with the authorities, or she’d clearly thought out her survival tactic if she ever got busted. Sneaky little cunt. If I had even an ounce of guilt for what I’d done to her, it was gone now. She deserved everything she got.

I took the book and shoved it into the bag. Then I left the apartment and made my way back to Joe’s.

Along the way, I spotted a small group of bums huddled around a trashcan fire, so I walked over with the book and threw it into the flames. The homeless people didn’t say anything, and I stood with them until the fire had eaten all the evidence.

Once I’d gotten back to Joe’s, I found him and Chantara chatting quietly over a coffee. Joe had a friendly smile and kind eyes, but I could see the tension in his shoulders, and I knew he would feel bad for putting us in this situation.

Chantara jumped to her feet as soon as she saw me and ran over to give me a cuddle.

“You smell like fire,” she breathed as she hugged me tight. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I replied and sank into her warm embrace. “We won’t have any dramas with Tiffani anymore.”

“Boss, I’m soooo sorry!” Joe’s eyes were wide, and he reminded me of a puppy that had just shit on the rug. “I would have never brought you into that shit if I knew who she was to you.”

“I know,” I reassured him. “It’s okay, I actually ended up finding some incriminating shit, so it’s probably for the best. At least the Rabbits won’t have to worry about her snitching.”

“Wait… What?” Joe’s jaw hung open. “That cunt was a rat?”

I explained what I’d found and what I’d done with the book and then showed him all the burner phones.

“Sneaky fucking bitch,” Joe grunted through gritted teeth. He was absolutely seething, and I could tell he’d really trusted her.

“Yep.” I nodded in agreement. “But it’s done now. We should get out of here before any more bullshit finds us.”

“Whatever you say, boss.” Joe got to his feet immediately and loaded both the heavy bags of weapons onto either of his shoulders.

I smiled at the young Rabbit and felt glad I had him with us. It was nice to know that whatever happened when we got back to Pyregate, I’d have a loyal and fearsome fighter with us.

Obviously, the Pyregate natives were loyal and fierce in their own rights, but Joe was a soldier. He knew how to handle a weapon, how to follow orders, and would follow me to the end of the world and back. I mean, Jesus, he was literally about to follow me to a new planet. If I needed to, I could have him train the others with guns too, he was a really talented kid.

I also felt even though I was only bringing one guy to the battle, my one guy was worth ten ogres, easily.

“How have you been speaking to Mick and Steve?” I asked the determined young Rabbit.

“Through Joon,” Joe answered with a smile. “Crafty old fucker’s been a diamond. I would have been caught on day one without him.”

“He’s a good man.” I smiled. “We’ll stop off there on the way back and ask him to get word out to those two and any other Rabbits he might come across that Tiffani is out of business, and I’ll be back for them all in due course.”

“The old fellas’ll be glad to hear from you,” Joe said. “I think we’ve all been a bit worried about you since the raid.”

“Worried?” I frowned.

I didn’t like the thought of my men worrying, especially about me. They should have known a Rabbit can outrun a pig.

“Yeah, after your folks, and then the raid and… well, you know, the deaths… I guess some of the fellas thought you might have left us for good.” Joe’s face suddenly dropped, and his eyes darted around the room. “Er… I didn’t mean, left us, like abandoned us, I know-- we know you’d never do that. I think I meant like you just needed some time to grieve, or something. Ah, what do I know, man, I’m just a dumbass. Ignore me, boss.”

“Joe,” I said calmly. “I get how it must have looked to you guys. The FBI hits us, and then I vanish without a word. I don’t blame you guys. I’m glad you told me, now I can put it right.”

Joe nodded nervously and pulled his lips in tight like he wished he could suck the words back inside.

But I was glad he told me, I needed to know if the Rabbits were scared their leader had left them. Now that I knew, I could get word out to everyone that I was alive and well and would die before I abandoned my men.

We walked quickly back to Joon’s laundromat and let ourselves in the back door.

“Joon, you old fucker,” Joe chuckled and slapped the back of the old Korean’s head playfully.

“You little son of a bitch,” Joon replied and shook his fist like a cartoon villain. “How have the police not found you? I sent them to yours and your momma’s house!”

“Ooooh!” Joe mimed a mic drop. “You wanna steady on old man, your balls can only get so big!”

I let the two of them carry on with their good-natured banter, and I unpacked all the burner phones I had swiped from Tiffani’s. When they’d stopped ripping on each other, I gestured to the collection.

“Found these on my travels,” I said to Joon. “Do you reckon you could get them wiped and then get them out to as many Rabbits as you can? I need to get the word out that I’ll be back to kick some ass very soon.”

“You got it, Ryan,” Joon said with a sharp nod.

“Do you have a way to contact Tony on the inside?” I knew Joon would be my best bet, his sticky little fingers reached into a lot of different pies.

“Shouldn’t be a problem.” He nodded again but this time with a broad conspiratorial smile. “What does he need to know?”

“That he’s not going to do even half his sentence,” I said with a smirk. “He’s going to be out as soon as possible and let him know he’ll be out on bad behavior.”

“He’ll be out on bad behavior,” Joon repeated with a childlike giddiness. “You got it.”

I didn’t have an exact plan for Tony yet. But that man would have laid down his life for me, he let himself get taken in to save Joe and I during the raid. There was no chance I was going to let him rot in there.

Maybe once the war in Pyregate had been won, I could bring some fighters with powers over to get my number two back. I smiled to myself at the mental image of phoenixes, vixens, and ogres rolling up on a prison to break someone out, let alone Tony. His unimaginative mind would snap into pieces.

I said my goodbyes to Joon and thanked him for always remaining loyal to the Rabbits. Then I led Chantara and Joe back to the portal.

We took a minor detour as we entered skinhead territory, since a few of those ugly bastards were loitering around and looked like they wanted some trouble. On any other day, I would have taken great pleasure in putting those fuckers in their place, but we had places to be and a ridiculous number of weapons on us.

Soon enough, we’d gotten back to the decaying old building. Joe frowned slightly as we entered, but he kept his mouth shut. Once we were safely inside with the boards back over the door, I thought it might be best to try and explain what kind of experience he was in for.

“Okay, just try and keep an open mind for a bit, Joe,” I said, even though I knew for a fact it would blow his mind anyway. There was no way anyone could just hop worlds without some brain frying. “We’re going to go into the basement, and there’s a portal that’ll take us to Pyregate.”

“Basement, portal, Pyregate… got it.” Joe’s voice dripped with sarcasm, but that was just the way he had always coped.

“It’s going to be a fucking crazy experience,” I continued. “I’ve done it five times, well, this one will be my sixth journey, and it doesn’t get any more normal. What do you think of it, Chantara?”

“It feels like you’re flying,” the phoenix said, and her eyes sparkled with excitement. “I was scared at first, but it’s actually really fun, just try and enjoy it.”

“What’s not to love about flying?” Joe laughed.

It sounded like he was really trying to believe what we were telling him, since he’d witnessed Chantara’s hair and wings, but being told about a fucking magical portal is one thing, going through it is a completely different experience altogether.

I supposed it was like trying to explain what a firework display looked like to a blind person. I could talk and talk about it, but unless someone had seen it with their own eyes, it would always sound a little unbelievable.

“I guess it’s time for a Rabbit to fly then, Joey-boy,” I chuckled. “Follow me through the next room, the floor is rotten, and it’s dangerous. One of the coppers that followed me in, got his foot caught, it was hilarious, I nearly gave away my position from laughing.”

“Lead the way, boss.” Joe grinned and seemed so ready for some new experiences.

“Chantara, can we have some light please,” I said with a wink.

The beautiful phoenix removed her hoodie and tied it around her waist, and then she returned my wink and unleashed her stunning fire wings.

“Whoa!” Joe jumped back slightly and stared at her in awe. “I know I’ve seen them before, but damn… they will never not be the fucking coolest thing ever!”

Chantara giggled and fluttered her wings as if to say thank you. I could tell she was enjoying being appreciated by someone else, and I loved to see it.

I led the way, Chantara followed me, and Joe brought up the rear. I carefully picked my way back through the cross-hatched maze of beams and tested each footstep to make sure it was strong enough for us now that we were carrying a literal shit ton of weapons.

I made it back to the trapdoor and turned back to face Chantara and Joe. My gorgeous lady gave me a warm smile and then turned her focus back to the beams and got to me with no trouble. Joe seemed a little distracted by her wings but kept making slow progress.

As I turned my attention to the trapdoor and bent down to lift it, I heard a yelp, and I whirled around. Joe had managed to do exactly what the cop had done, and his boot was trapped in a rotten hole in the flooring.

“What did I tell you?” I laughed. “Are you hurt?”

“Nah, boss,” Joe grunted. “Just stuck.”

I made my way quickly back over to Joe and took his heavy bag of weapons from him. That made him light enough to wiggle his foot a little, but it still wouldn’t come loose, so I took the bag over to the trapdoor, placed it where it wouldn’t just fall through into the stinking swamp of the basement, and grabbed a knife.

“Stay still, buddy,” I said as I crouched down beside him. “I’m just going to have to amputate.”

“Wha--” Joe jumped at my words and tumbled backward onto his ass.

As he fell, I grabbed hold of his jacket and made sure he didn’t fall off to the side. The force of the fall yanked his foot out of the hole, and he stared at me with a mix of relief and horror on his baby face.

“Oh, man, I’ve missed fucking with you!” I let out a loud belly laugh and had to hold onto the beam to stop myself from slipping.

“Very funny, boss,” Joe snorted.

“You don’t have to keep calling me boss when we’re out of Manhattan,” I said as I helped him back to his feet. “Just Ryan is fine.”

“I’ll do my best, bo-- Ryan… it’s more of a reflex than anything else.” Joe shrugged.

“Well, whatever, just as long as you know the new crew doesn’t call me boss.”

I led the slightly wobbly Rabbit to the door and then heaved it open. The stench of the stagnant water made us all retch, and I really wasn’t looking forward to getting back in there.

We climbed down the concrete steps slowly, as if we thought it might have somehow drained by the time we managed to get down there. It really was rancid, though. I thought it actually smelled worse this time, but maybe I’d just wiped the rotten stink from my memory.

Before I took the first step into the black pool of filth, Chantara placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Wait,” she said softly. “I want to try something, step back up there for a minute.”

I was intrigued by her tone and also her expression. Her mouth had curled up into a crafty smile, and her blazing eyes glittered behind her pink shades, so I nodded and moved out of her way.

Joe shot me a ‘what the fuck’ kind of glance, with one eyebrow raised and an excited smirk on his face. I said nothing and instead just wiggled my eyebrows back at him. He would enjoy the show, whatever it was.

Chantara faced into the basement and held her hands in front of her. I couldn’t see past her blazing wings, but her shoulders seemed to shake with what I assumed was concentration, or effort.

A few seconds later, a new light erupted. A brilliant ball of white-hot fire filled the room, and it was like a new sun had appeared in the basement of this decommissioned building.

As the ball of light grew, the heat grew, too. Soon, it was so warm that Joe and I had to back up to the top step and just watch from the entrance.

Chantara didn’t seem fazed by the heat or us moving, she seemed totally consumed by making and keeping hold of this fireball. I watched in amazement as she continued to grow the new sun until it was about two feet wide. Then she held it out in front of her and moved it down into the water.

There was a loud hiss and a wave of decay stink as the pool evaporated instantly wherever she moved her new sun. Gradually, the disgusting black pool got lower and lower until it was less than a puddle. Then Chantara clapped both her hands together, and the ball vanished into a small puff of smoke.

“Holy fucking shit!” Joe yelled and clapped his hands wildly like he’d just witnessed the best magic show ever. “You’re fucking awesome!”

“Thank you.” Chantara turned around to Joe with a wide smile and laughed.

“He’s not wrong,” I agreed as I walked down the steps. “You are fucking awesome.”

I planted a kiss on her warm red lips, and Joe actually cheered behind me.

“You ready for an adventure, Joe?” I asked with a smile.

“Oh, fuck, yeah!” The young Rabbit punched the air and ran down the steps.

“I think I’m going to like having this one around,” Chantara chuckled.

“Ah, just you wait Chantara, you’ll see, we’ll be best friends before this is over.” Joe grinned like a kid who’d just gotten everything he’d ever wanted from Santa.

I enjoyed seeing the woman I loved and one of my best friends getting on so well. I guessed it must have been really nice for Chantara to have someone new be so in awe of her. Joe didn’t know anything about the politics of her world, he didn’t know anything about the struggles she’d faced all her life. All he knew was what he’d seen and what they’d talked about while I was dealing with Tiffani. And they seemed to get on like a house on fire.

I knew bringing Joe into the new team was a good idea, but now I was even more happy about it.

“After you, beautiful,” I said to my gorgeous phoenix.

Chantara gave me a little wink, made sure her bag was secure, and climbed into the portal.

“Do you want to go next?” I asked Joe.

“Er… Sure, I guess.” Joe gave me a determined nod, but his voice wobbled like he’d reverted back to a teenager again.

“Just you wait for what’s on the other side.” I slapped him on the back. “It’s a whole new game through there, Joey-boy.”

The young Rabbit straightened his shoulders and fixed his expression to the one I’d seen a million times. He’d gotten himself into mission mode.

But this wasn’t like any mission he’s done before.

He put one foot into the swirling turquoise vortex in front of him and let out a long sigh.

“Okay, boss,” he said with as much courage as he could muster. “See you on the other side.”

“I’ll be right behind you,” I reassured him.

Joe nodded once and plunged into the portal.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuu…”

And then he was gone.

Chapter Eleven

This had to have been the funniest time through the portal yet. I stepped in after Joe and felt the familiar and always strange whoosh of liquid air swirl around me, but this time, as I fell, all I could hear was the young Rabbit.

He alternated between screams of terror and the whoops and laughs of someone riding their first ever roller coaster, and I couldn’t help but laugh the entire time.

By the time we landed on the other side and crawled out from the roots, Chantara was wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, and my sides ached.

“Oh, man!” Joe jumped to his feet and punched the air again. “We have to do that shit again! I think I might have crapped myself just a little bit, but holy fuck, that was so awesome!”

I laughed more and doubled over. This was one of the best ab workouts of my life. If having Joe around was going to be this funny, I’d have washboard abs before the week was up.

But we were back in Pyregate now, and we had a war to fight.

“Glad you enjoyed it, bro,” I said with a smile. “But we’ve got to keep a low profile when we step out of here. You’re going to see some crazy shit, and I’ll explain everything I can when we’re somewhere safe, but for now, just keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, got it?”

“Got it, boss.” Joe straightened up and snapped right into Rabbit mode.

Chantara smiled sweetly at the young Rabbit, and she had a kind warmth to her that made me think she’d already adopted Joe as her younger brother.

I stuck my head out of the gap in the wall and saw it was dusk in Pyregate. The sky was a deep purple, and the stars had just begun to emerge as the sun faded away. Suddenly, I thought of one extra thing Joe might need to know before he spotted it himself, and his mouth ran away with him.

“One more thing,” I muttered as I glanced back at the younger man. “Just a quick heads up, there are two moons here, but remember to keep it stealthy from here on out.”

Joe’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, but he kept his mouth shut and just nodded.

I led the way, Joe followed me, and Chantara took the rear. The bags were starting to get heavy, but it was worth the shoulder ache to get all these weapons back to Baz’s place.

I took us through the tightly packed maze of shacks in the Shambles and was grateful there didn’t appear to be anyone out on the streets. I heard a few muffled conversations through the shabby walls, but everyone stayed inside their little homes.

Soon, we were back into the scruff lands and headed toward the south forest. I scanned the surroundings, and it seemed weirdly quiet. I wondered if there was something going on in the town or if the witches had put some kind of curfew in place. That felt unlikely, but it did feel strangely silent. I figured it was probably for the best, though, at least this way Joe could take in the scenery without having all his senses attacked by everything all at once.

“Whoa,” Joe breathed, almost too quietly to hear.

I turned around to see him nudge one of the night flowers with his boot, and he watched the little puff of luminescent pollen float off into the air.

“They’re pretty cool, aren’t they?” I smiled.

“I can’t believe this place, I don’t blame you for wanting to be here.” Joe stared around at the flowers and then up at the sky with wide eyes and an even wider smile. “It’s amazing. It really is. I’ve never even left the city before, I thought it was cool if the pollution cleared enough for me to see the big dipper. But this! This is the wildest adventure I’ve ever been on. Thanks for trusting me, boss, I swear I’ll never let you down.”

“I know you won’t,” I said proudly. “Come on, we’ve got some people to meet. Well, I say people, but we’re the only humans in the group.”

“Oh, cool, you mean you’ve got some pets here?” Joe asked excitedly.

“No,” I chuckled. “Definitely not pets. Our crew is made up of ogres, vixens, and phoenixes, but we also know some really decent dwarves, too.”

Joe stared at me slack-jawed for a beat before he snapped his mouth shut and nodded like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Y-Yeah, right, got it, ogres and dwarves, totally,” he mumbled with a slight frown.

This was really going to be the test to see if any of the other Rabbits would be able to get along in this world. Joe was the youngest and probably the most mentally flexible in the group. If his brain turned to mush here, Tony or Mick or Steve would have no fucking chance. I knew the older fellas would have a harder time anyway, but maybe it was just a step too far to bring the whole mob to a new world.

We continued slowly through the long grass toward the forest. Since it was so quiet, I wanted to give Joe a bit more time to take it all in and get a little more acclimatized before I threw him in the deep end with the rest of the team.

I chuckled to myself as I wondered how Rumi would react to being called a pet, but I knew better than to do that to poor Joey-boy.

After a lazy walk, we entered the forest, and the only light was from the few scattered night flowers. My eyes seemed to adjust much faster, and I easily picked my way through the twisted tree roots toward Baz and Siri’s place. Chantara practically skipped along behind me, and Joe moved a little slower with the occasional ‘ah, fuck’ as he tripped over a couple of roots.

As we drew closer, I could hear a new sound. I held my hand up, and Chantara and Joe stopped so I could listen better. It was music and the loud off-key shout-singing of drunk people. There was a party going on, and it sounded like it was coming from Baz’s.

I shot an eyebrow flash at Chantara, who shrugged in confusion, and then we made our way toward the sounds.

I could see the treehouse door was open, and it looked like a full house. I spotted Baz, who stumbled in front of the door with a flagon of booze, but then he disappeared into the crowd. I saw a flash of a bushy red tail and knew Rumi was also letting her hair down, and it seemed like exactly what I needed after the bullshit at Tiffani’s.

“We’re going to a party?” Joe asked with a mixture of trepidation and excitement in his voice.

“Yep.” I smirked. “You’ll love it, they’ve got some decent alcohol here.”

“Say no more, I’m in!” All of the young Rabbit’s fear ran out of his face as soon as I mentioned alcohol.

Chantara giggled and strutted the rest of the way to the rope ladder.

“You okay carrying that bag up there, Joe?” I asked, mostly out of politeness since I knew Joe’s bravado wouldn’t let him say anything other than yes.

“Yeah, no problem, boss.” He nodded.

Chantara climbed up first, and I followed her. When I was halfway up, I heard a cheer, and then Siri welcomed the phoenix inside. Everyone seemed to be in great spirits tonight, no doubt due to Siri’s hosting skills.

I got the same warm welcome when I pulled myself up into the small treehouse. The living room/kitchen was absolutely packed with ogres. The usual crew was there, Rumi, Baz, Lyra, Darya, and Siri, but there were also at least ten or fifteen other ogres I hadn’t met before.

I heard the faint slap of a palm against wood and turned around to help Joe up the last little bit. A stunned expression of utter shock washed over his face before he quickly morphed it back into a friendly smile.

“This is Joe,” I announced to the room. “He’s one of my best friends, and a solid guy.”

“Joe!” a chorus of different voices cheered in unison.

The young Rabbit had a hint of a blush on his cheeks, and I could tell he wasn’t used to such a warm welcome. Then Siri shuffled over with a warm smile and a big mug of what looked like ale.

“Joe,” she said as she handed him the drink. “I’m Siri, welcome, welcome, it’s so lovely to meet you darling, I’m Baz’s mother, and I think kind of Ryan’s too now.”

She laughed with such happiness and genuine kindness that it made her seem twenty years younger. I could see a freshness and a renewed sparkle in her eyes I hadn’t seen before. It made sense why everyone used to love Siri’s parties.

“It’s a real privilege Mrs. er… Siri,” Joe faltered and looked to me for guidance.

“Just Siri,” the happy hostess chuckled. “Now, are you hungry? A growing lad like you, you must be, come with me, let me get you some food.”

Before Siri dragged the kid off to the stove, I took the bag of weapons from him and gave him a supportive nod. He seemed a little confused, but it was hard not to feel at home when Siri wanted you to feel welcome.

“Baz!” I called into the crowd of drunken party people. “Meet me in your room.”

A thick rosewood thumb jutted above the heads of the other ogres, and I knew he’d heard me, so I wove my way through the group and into the slightly quieter room full of pillows.

I plopped myself down onto a cluster of comfortable cushions and relaxed for a moment. Seconds later, Baz opened the door and came in with Rumi and Chantara. The four of us sat together in a circle, and I placed all the bags in between us.

“We’ve got a fair stash now, guys,” I said as I unzipped the bags.

Baz and Rumi let out matching whistles of approval as they stared into the huge cache of weapons. There were enough to arm every one of us to the teeth with some left over. I knew we’d need to arm any new members we managed to get into the group too, but for now I wanted to keep these to just the core members and hide the rest.

“Is there somewhere you can hide these?” I asked Baz.

“Yeah, sure,” he replied and then moved to the far corner of his room.

I had just assumed the room of pillows was the full extent of his bedroom, but apparently not. He dug around and threw cushions to one side until there was a small clearing of wooden flooring. Then he started to slide small chunks around like one of those tile puzzles until a door that was maybe about two feet wide opened and looked to go all the way underneath his room.

“You crafty little fucker,” I said and slapped him on the back.

“I thought you’d like this.” Baz grinned proudly. “No one but me can open this door, so it’s all totally safe.”

“You’re a good man, Bazaketh!” I laughed.

“Hey! Watch it with that.” Baz rolled his eyes but laughed and then began carefully moving the bags inside his sneaky stash hole.

Once everything was safely inside, I suggested we go back out and make sure Joe was okay with everyone. Baz promised to take Joe under his wing and make sure he felt at home, and I thanked him.

It was nice to see my two loyal crews beginning to blend.

The rest of the night was filled with food, drink, and laughter. Joe got on surprisingly well with everyone, maybe not surprisingly, he was always a good laugh and made everyone feel settled and relaxed at home. I just hadn’t expected him to gel so quickly with ogres and all the other beings. But he impressed me, and at one point he was actually showing some of the ogres how to do some kind of dumb dance moves, which got everyone cracking up.

Siri looked like she was in her element as she flitted from guest to guest. She topped up drinks, passed around food, told jokes, and got everyone bonding and having fun. That cure had clearly made a world of difference to her, and I could see how things used to be between the ogres.

When the party started to dwindle down, the clans began to leave, and every one of them thanked Siri first and then came to me and said the exact same thing.

“The southern clans are with you, Ryan, call on us anytime you need.”

I smiled and thanked each of them, but it was really Siri I needed to thank. One party with her, and we had the entire south forest on our side. I knew helping Siri was the right thing to do, and I’d also hoped it would count in my favor when it came to rallying the troops. But I’d underestimated Siri’s influence and the respect the ogres had for her.

I knew now, that with the southern clans on board and the forbidden ferry crew with us, the rest of the ogres would join us eventually.

Well, maybe with the exception of Deckard. But fuck that guy.

After the last guests left, my team helped Siri to clean up the mess, and then we all turned in for the night. It was a little more cramped in Baz’s room than I would have liked, but it would do for tonight. We all found a collection of pillows to rest on and settled quickly. I drifted into a heavy sleep, and I only had one slightly disturbing dream about Tiffani. The rest of the night was dreamless and restful.

The morning brought with it the familiar scent of Siri’s chai tea, coupled with her humming happily to herself in the kitchen. I was the first one awake, probably because I hadn’t been as reckless with alcohol as the others, so I quietly left the room and sat down for a cup with my second mom.

“Last night was a blast,” I said with a smile. “You really know how to host a party.”

“Oh, that was nothing,” Siri said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Just you wait until things are better with the northern clans. I’ll get a proper venue, and you’ll see what a real party is.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” I meant it, too. It always felt special to see moms in their element, it was like a glimpse of who they used to be before mom stuff took over.

“We still have some work to do with the northern lot.” Siri stared into her mug as if she could see into the future. “But we’re already making headway, everyone in the south forest has claimed you as their own now. Joe, too, he’s just adorable, I could eat him up. And I know some of the southern clans have secret contact with the north forest, so I would assume that soon enough word will get around, and everyone will see that awful Deckard and his rotten clan are not the powerhouse of the forest like they used to be. One day soon, we’ll all be celebrating together, I can feel it.”

“Me, too.” I nodded.

I knew better than to tell Siri that relying on gut feelings wasn’t the smartest plan, she just wanted reassurance and to feel like she was right, and I was happy to give it to her.

When the others got up, Siri jumped to her feet and began pottering about making sure everyone was fed and had a fresh brew at all times. Baz came over to me after his breakfast and asked if we could have a quick word in his room.

“What’s up, man?” I asked once he’d closed the door.

“I got your raven,” Baz replied with a quick glance over his shoulder as if he was making sure Siri hadn’t followed us in.

“Could you read it?” I had wondered if I’d wasted Pepper’s time with a note Baz might not be able to read.

“Yeah.” The ogre nodded. “It took me a little while to remember some of the words, but I got there in the end. That’s why I planted the seed for a party in Mom’s head. I didn’t want any of the southern clans going into Pyregate. They’d probably be safe enough, but I didn’t really want to run the risk, especially when we’re trying to get everyone amped up for the battle.”

“You’re a good man,” I said and smiled gratefully. “I guess we’ll have to take on the elves too at some point. But let’s worry about that after we’ve come back from the mainland. Those pointy-eared pricks mostly stick to the east lands, don’t they?”

“Yeah, they do.” Baz frowned and looked as though just the thought of elves and witches together made him physically sick. “I haven’t told Mom what the note said, I didn’t want to worry her. But I’ve made sure she’s got everything she needs here, and I told her we need her on standby, so she’ll stay here and safe.”

“Dude, are you getting smarter?” I laughed to break the tension.

“I wouldn’t go that far!” The ogre returned my laugh and looked relieved for a change of subject.

“So, are you ready to go to the mainland?” I asked.

“I guess so,” Baz replied.

It wasn’t really the determined agreement I’d hoped for, but it was better than a no.

“Ah, come on,” I teased. “I’m going to need a better response than that. What’s holding you back?”

“Sorry, Ry.” The ogre shrugged and chewed on his bottom lip. “I’ve just heard some stories about the Black Sea before. You know, as a kid they tell you all sorts of things to stay out of the water, but some of the stuff… it kinda stayed with me.”

“What kind of stuff?” I frowned and felt a mix of curiosity and dread. “Do I even want to know?”

“Probably not.” Baz shook his head and then slapped a smile back on his broad face. “It’s most likely kid stuff, like sea monsters out to get naughty ogres if they dip their toes in the water. I bet it’s not really true. If it was, the merfolk wouldn’t fuck with the Black Sea, would they?”

His tone at the end sounded like he really needed me to reassure him, and I did, but a little niggling part of me was stuck on ‘sea monsters.’ Sure, it could have been Pyregate’s equivalent of the Loch Ness Monster, or Bigfoot, but so far, everything that seemed too fantastical to be true, ended up still being true.

I swallowed my concerns since worrying wouldn’t change anything anyway. We still had to cross the sea, regardless of what may or may not be in the dark depths.

“Can you get word to Jurek and the others and see if they’ve sorted the boat?” I thought it would be best to get Baz focused on a task and keep him occupied rather than just sitting about and worrying.

“Yep, no problem,” he said. Then he paused and gave me a slight head tilt like he’d read my mind. “I’ll be okay once we’re on the water, you can count on me, these muscles were made for rowing.”

Baz pulled multiple comical bodybuilder poses until I burst into laughter and shook my head.

“I trust you, man,” I chuckled. “Shall we find you some time in the afternoon? We’ll come to the clearing where we met Jurek before, sound good?”

“Perfect.” Baz grinned. “Oh, I better show you something before I go.”

The ogre went back to his hiding spot, and he showed me how to unlock it. He seemed slightly reluctant to reveal his secret, and I could tell this meant a lot to him.

“I won’t tell anyone else,” I said once he’d finished showing me. “And I won’t go using it without your knowledge. Thanks for trusting me. Do you want to take a weapon now? I’ll get everyone else tooled up before we meet you.”

Baz puffed his chest out proudly when I thanked him. It was easy to make him feel special, and I knew a team that felt respected was the key to a loyal and lethal mob.

He quickly rooted around inside the bag and pulled out a handgun and set of brass knuckles.

“Good choice.” I nodded.

“Thanks!” Baz eagerly stashed his weapons and locked up his wooden floor safe.

We left his room and rejoined the rest of the group. Joe was sitting in the middle and seemed to be holding conversations with everyone all at the same time. He was in his element as he chatted away and asked a million different questions. The women all seemed to love him. Well, except Darya, she had a little more of a standoffish attitude, but she still answered his questions, just a little more bluntly than the others.

Lyra practically pounced on Baz the second he was close enough to her, and she gushed about what a sweet kid Joe was. Then she nuzzled her face into Baz’s thick neck and peppered him with kisses.

They made quite a cute couple.

Baz took off to meet Jurek and his crew not long after breakfast, and the rest of us relaxed with Siri. She seemed so happy to have a houseful, and Joe couldn’t help but ask her what she was making and how to make it and if he could help. It was almost like my hardy, capable fighter had reverted back to a kid in the presence of a strong mother figure.

I caught up with the women while Joe buzzed around Siri like a fly. Lyra and Darya had become fast friends, and the vixen brought out a sweet side of the phoenix that she otherwise kept hidden under a cloak of attitude and bravado. Rumi was just as Rumi as ever, confident, relaxed, and ready to battle. And Chantara was excited to meet more phoenixes.

The morning flew by, and soon Siri had prepared a feast for lunch. With Joe’s help, she laid out a spread of different breads, what looked like a variety of cheeses, and a selection of cold cuts. It had a kind of Mediterranean feel to it, with olives and different oils to dip bread into.

Every time Siri decided to feed us, it felt like a masterclass in hosting.

We took our time with our food, and I packed up a decent selection for Baz, too. I knew he would definitely be upset if he found out we’d eaten all this and saved him nothing.

It got to around mid-afternoon when I told the group to meet me in Baz’s room, but I went in first and quickly opened the puzzle door safe so I could keep my promise to my friend.

“Okay, we’re heading out soon,” I said to my team of five mismatched soldiers. “Everyone, choose your weapons. Lyra and Darya, you two haven’t used guns before, so for this mission, I want you to stick to the other weapons. Rumi, Chantara, and Joe, have at it. Take what you want.”

Lyra and Darya stared at the collection with gaping mouths. Darya was the first to pick something up, and she chose the bright pink brass knuckles. Meanwhile, Lyra picked up a little handheld taser and twisted it around in her hands.

“Nice choices,” I said to the two women. “Let me show you how to use these.”

I took the taser from Lyra and gave her a quick rundown on how to use it. After a few little demonstrations, she seemed happy, and Darya wanted one, too.

I was happy for everyone to put a taser, some pepper spray, and a knife in their pockets, since I didn’t know exactly what we might be up against on the other side of the Black Sea. Eventually, everyone felt suitably tooled up and ready to meet Baz in the clearing.

We said our goodbyes to Siri, and Joe gave her a long hug. There was something special about that ogre, she just made people want to be her kid.

Then we set off down the rope ladder and into the woods.

It was getting to be late afternoon now, and I was glad of the warm summery air. It felt like a light jacket made of the scent of flowers and berries as we walked through the forest toward the west coast and eventually got to the clearing.

Baz was leaning up against a tree and was deep in conversation with Jurek, but when he heard us arrive, he jumped to his feet and ran over to us.

“The boat’s ready.” My friend grinned. “Been ready since this morning, and they’re confident it’s a sturdy vessel.”

“I’d hope so!” I laughed. “Thanks, Baz. Here, I brought you some food.”

The grateful ogre immediately tucked into the parcel of leftovers and shoveled it into his face like a trash compactor.

While Baz finished his food, I went over to Jurek and reintroduced myself. He was cheerful and seemed confident in both his boat and his abilities to get us across the sea safely.

“Jurinda and Nate are with the boat,” Jurek said proudly. “It’s not anything that will win any prizes for beauty, but she’s a good strong girl, and she’ll get us there.”

“Brilliant! Thanks, Jurek,” I said and wondered why even on another planet, boats were still referred to as women.

As the sun began to set, Jurek’s eyes began to sparkle with what looked like excitement. He rubbed his hands together and then announced with authority that it was time to leave.

“How long will it take us?” Joe asked. “And how come we’re going at night?”

“It may take half a night,” Jurek said with a shrug, and I realized I hadn’t told Joe about Pyregate’s aversion to specific timescales. “And we go when it’s dark to avoid the merfolk, although that’s never a guarantee. But at least in the dark we’re less visible to those types of predators.”

The way Jurek put emphasis on ‘those types’ made me feel a little unsettled, but it was too late to back out now. And I didn’t think I would have anyway. We needed fighters, and our best option was to gather more phoenixes, so we’d take our chances with whatever predators the Black Sea had to offer.

I figured it couldn’t be that risky. Jurek, Jurinda, and Nate had done this trip countless times. What was one more journey?

The seven of us followed Jurek down through a little winding cliff path that none of us would have even spotted without the knowledgeable ogre. At the bottom of the path, I saw a glowing lantern in the shade of the cliff, and two shadowy figures were standing next to a boat.

As we got closer, I could make out Jurinda’s smiling face and Nate’s wonky smirk. He didn’t look any better by firelight, he actually looked worse, kind of like a melted Halloween mask. That ugly fucker was made to be at sea, far away from anyone who had the displeasure of seeing his face.

I said hi to them both and then went to inspect the boat. It was about eight or ten feet long but quite narrow. It reminded me of a Viking longship, but on a much smaller scale, with oars fastened to the side. It had a small sail all folded up, and it seemed like rowing was going to be the main method of propulsion.

The boat seemed strong and well maintained, but I didn’t know why that felt a little bit surprising, since both Jurek and Jurinda were knowledgeable and passionate about sailing. Maybe it was Nate, something about his face and the creepy idiot smile he had permanently plastered on it gave off a real sense of uselessness.

But regardless of one ogre and his unfortunate face, the rest of my team seemed strong and ready to go.

Jurek stood by the water’s edge and stared out into the choppy dark ocean. I could understand why it was named the Black Sea, and I tried to repress the slight pang of concern I felt for sailing off into the unknown.

I’d always felt a bit uneasy about the sea, there was so much below that it made me feel really insignificant and vulnerable. But I wasn’t about to show my team that.

“Ready, Jurek?” I asked with a confident smile.

“Ready, Ryan,” he replied firmly. Then he turned to his sister with a respectful nod. “Jurinda, we’re at your command.”

“Nate, Jurek, to your positions,” Jurinda commanded. Her brown eyes sparkled in the light of the lantern, and her face was filled with an easy power.

I could tell we were in good hands with her in charge, and I rounded up my team and got us all seated by an oar ready to row when Jurinda instructed us.

Nate and Jurek shoved the boat along the wooden runners into the water and then hopped inside. Jurinda took up position at the helm and began to bark instructions to us all. Within a few minutes, we had fallen into a synchronized pattern, and the shoreline began to disappear.

No going back now.

Chapter Twelve

If you’d like to see a map of the journey from Pyregate to The Mainland, you can find it in my Facebook group (Search for ‘fans of Logan Jacobs’ in Facebook Groups), or on my Patreon (search Google for Patreon + Logan Jacobs).

Sweat poured down my face after only a few minutes of rowing. The water was choppy, and we had to battle hard against the tide. But we all stuck to the rigid stroke pattern that Jurinda demanded of us, and we were making decent progress.

Well, most of us were. A few of the team clearly didn’t have the stomach for sea travel.

Darya and Rumi had their heads over the side of the boat and were projectile vomiting almost in sync with each other. It was weird to see Rumi being anything less than a total badass, and I knew I’d have to rip on her for this later. But Darya was white as a ghost and shivered like she’d been set to vibrate, and I felt a little bad for her.

As the rest of us took the strain and powered the boat onward, I noticed Joe hunch over. He was one seat in front of me, and Lyra was opposite him. He continued to row, but he was making some odd lurching movements until suddenly he jumped up, threw his head over the side, and threw up violently. Lyra glanced over to him and winced, and then she turned away and did exactly the same.

After that, we were four rowers down, and each of them were leaving a sloshing line of puke like a disgusting bread crumb trail in the worst kid’s story ever. That left me, Baz, Chantara, Jurek, and Nate to row. Jurinda gave the seasick crew a disappointed shake of her head and then moved Darya out of the way. She took her place at the oar and rowed while continuing to bark out orders to the rest of us.

I was pretty impressed with Jurinda. She’d seemed like a quiet, almost shy woman back on land, but now she’d come to life and looked as though she could take care of this whole ship by herself.

We pushed on and continued the demanding pace. Baz was opposite me and shot me a sweaty look of disbelief. I didn’t know if he was struggling with the exertion, or the fact that half our crew were hopeless on the water, or what, but my lungs were burning from the effort, so I just met his eye, shrugged my shoulders, and continued to do as Jurinda told us.

After maybe half an hour, I couldn’t see the shore anymore. The sun had finished its final descent behind the island, and the only light was from the moons. They cast a shimmering dancing light over the wild sea but did nothing to stop it from just seeming like the blackness below us went on forever.

I shuddered at the thought of what could be beneath us and then quickly tried to push that worry out of my head. It was so easy for me to spiral into terror when it came to the ocean. On land, humans ruled, at least on Earth anyway. But in the water, fuck, anything could be down there. Especially here, where there were fucking unicorns, and pixies, and fuck knows what else. Despite my best efforts, my mind began to conjure images of toothy monsters with tentacles and red eyes that were right below the boat lying in wait for the perfect moment to crush this little vessel and drag us to our watery graves.

Stop.

I forced myself to listen to Jurinda and her firm confident calls of ‘stroke, stroke, stroke.’ I had no idea how she was managing to keep up with rowing and shouting, but I appreciated it.

After another half an hour or so, the water seemed to calm down a little. Jurinda yelled for us all to hold, and everyone who wasn’t puking froze in place, while she jumped to her feet and unfurled the sail. Once it was in place, the wind began to drag us along, and we got a respite from the torturous rowing.

I shuffled toward Rumi and put my hand on her heaving back.

“How are you holding up?” I asked.

“Ugh,” the vixen grunted weakly.

“That good?” I chuckled. “It won’t be too much longer, and we’ll get you back onto dry land. Just rest up, we can handle it.”

Rumi gave me a wobbly smile and then lurched over the side again to vomit.

I checked on Darya, Joe, and Lyra, too, and each of them was extremely apologetic, especially Joe.

“Boss, I’m so sorry, I thought I’d be fine, I’ve been on the ferry to Long Island once when I was a kid, and that was fine. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I’m so sorry to let you-- ugh--”

I waited for him to stop puking and then gave him a reassuring pat on the back.

“It’s fine, Joe,” I chuckled. “You haven’t let me down at all, just take it easy. I wanted you for your fighting, not your ability to handle the sea.”

The young Rabbit gave me a half smile and half grimace and then pressed his knuckles into his lips like he was desperately trying to hold down another bout of sickness.

We bobbed along in the water for a short time, and I watched as the stars began to disappear behind black clouds.

This didn’t look good.

Jurinda’s eyes lifted to the ominous clouds, and a stormy frown crumpled her forehead. She began to yank ropes and quickly folded away the sail. Then she took up her position on an oar again.

“Rowing positions, now!” she shouted at us all. “Anyone who can row must row, anyone who can’t, stay low and hold on to something.”

Jurinda’s tension spread through the group, and we all gave each other a mix of worried and determined glances as we rushed back to our positions.

As the demanding ogre began her orders for rows again, the clouds above us covered the entire sky. The only light came from some unsettling orbs under the water which I tried to ignore. We put all our effort into powering through the water, but it had started to become wild and choppy again.

The clouds had brought the storm, and a vicious wind whipped salty sea spray into our faces. Joe somehow managed to repress his seasickness or he’d puked up everything inside himself and was now rowing with all his energy.

The narrow boat bucked and lunged around in the water like a wild horse, and it felt like we were close to capsizing a couple of times. We crested one huge wave, and the descent made me feel weightless for a moment.

Despite my fears about what was beneath us, I was actually having fun. It was a wild adventure.

Another giant wave converted my excitement back to fear as we took on a decent amount of water, and Jurinda’s voice pierced through the sound of crashing water like a foghorn.

“Nate! Bail! Now!” she yelled, and the ugly ogre sprang into action and used a weird built-in contraption that ran the length of the ship to bail out water. It was like a trough, and the water ran into it, and when he lifted it from the front end of the ship ,it all ran out of a gap in the rear.

It didn’t take too long before the water had gone from mid-shin depth to a small puddle. Then it was back to frantic rowing and the battle against the elements.

A few minutes later, I saw another orb in the dark and stormy water. It moved with too much precision to be something like an angler fish, and it seemed to be doing circles around the boat.

“Jurinda!” I called over the rush of the wind. “What’s that orb?”

“Nothing good!” she shouted back. “It’s not an immediate threat, keep rowing. I’ll let you know when we have to take care of it.”

I nodded in response and continued to row. I wanted to ask more, but Jurinda seemed like she had a good handle on everything. She was the authority out here, and I trusted her judgment.

Soon, though, another orb appeared in the water, and I noticed our captain gave it a scowl. I could tell the time to take care of this threat was approaching fast.

When a third orb joined the other two, Jurinda got up from her position and crouched down beside me.

“What weapons do you have?” she asked with a serious frown. Then she scanned my body with her dark brown eyes and did the same to the others. “Do you have any arrows or spears?”

“No, but we do have something better,” I replied. “What’s going on? What are those lights?”

“Merfolk,” she sneered and then spat overboard in disgust. “They’ll attack soon, and we need to get rid of them fast before they make too much noise.”

“We can handle them,” I said firmly. “Just tell me when to fight.”

Jurinda nodded and got back to her oar.

I wondered what she meant by noise, since the waves and the wind were almost deafening. What would it matter if a few merfolk added to the ocean choir?

I half wished I’d brought some of our grenades on this trip, but I’d left them back on Pyregate for our next battle against the witches. It would have been fun to do some “dynamite” merfolk fishing, but I stowed the idea for a later time.

Once the captain had returned to her position, I turned to Baz.

“Be ready,” I said over the roar of the waves and the slap of the wind. “Merfolk are going to attack, so we need to shoot them as soon as Jurinda gives the signal, got it?”

“You bet,” the ogre grunted in between rows.

I moved to Chantara, and then to Joe, and finally to Rumi and gave them all the same information. They all agreed, and Rumi seemed determined to not let motion sickness derail our plans.

We rowed for a few more minutes, and then Jurinda stood up and looked over the edge. She held her hand up in a ready position, and all five of us who had guns got them out of our holsters and took a knee against the side of the ship.

As we waited in anticipation for Jurinda’s signal to fire, the orbs rose up to the surface. I could see the lights were attached to long poles, and I assumed the poles were some kind of weapon.

The first of the glowing balls broke through the Black Sea, and a murky webbed hand followed. Seconds later, the face of a flat-nosed merman appeared, and Jurinda shouted ‘Now!’

All five of us fired into the water, but the waves conspired against us and threw Chantara backward into the boat. My round went straight through the seal-like nose of the first merman to appear, and he vanished into the depths leaving a slimy-looking pool of oil-colored blood.

“They’re hit!” Joe shouted, and I recognized it instantly as his Rabbit mission tone. He’d put aside any of the madness associated with shooting a fucking merman and had snapped right into battle mode.

I knew it was a good idea to bring him here.

A few more shots were fired before he called out again.

“Clear, boss!”

“Good work, Joe,” I said with a smile. “You handled that like a real Rabbit, and you killed your first merman. How did it feel?”

“I honestly have no fucking idea!” The young Rabbit laughed with raised eyebrows and shook his head in pure confusion.

“Are we good now?” I asked Jurinda.

I didn’t know if the sound of gunshots would have been too loud for whatever she was concerned about.

“We are for now,” she replied, but her tense jaw and raised shoulders told a different story.

We were in the middle of a seemingly endless black ocean, though, so I didn’t want to press the matter. I just wanted to get my team safely to the other side.

So, we kept on rowing. The muscles in my back and arms screamed at me, but I ignored the pain and pushed through it. Baz’s forehead was slick with sweat, but his determined frown told me he wasn’t even close to giving up. Chantara and Joe both kept pausing to wipe the sweat from their brows and stretch out aching backs, but everyone capable of rowing gave it their all.

I gazed around proudly at my team and noticed even Darya had started trying to row again. The younger phoenix still stopped every few strokes to dry heave over the side, but she really tried hard.

I thought we might be in the clear for a minute before a shrill high-pitched screech made all of us drop the oars and cover our ears. I winced as the sound pierced through my eardrums like a dagger and looked to Jurinda for guidance.

Her eyes were wide and pinballed from one side of the boat to the other, and I could tell she was searching for something awful.

“What was that?” I shouted when the ear-splitting sound had stopped.

“Mermaid!” she called back without looking at me. “She’s found the dead.”

“We can handle one more mermaid,” I said as relief washed over me.

That relief was short-lived, though.

Jurinda’s eyes suddenly stopped their frantic search and froze onto something behind my back, and her already wide eyes bugged out to the point that I thought they might actually pop out of her head.

I turned around to see what she’d spotted, and I felt the color drain from my face.

Huge wasn’t the word. Massive wasn’t either. Enormous was close, but it didn’t accurately describe the fucking terror I felt.

A monstrous and enormous tentacle had emerged from the sea. It looked black, but everything looked black in this light, so it could have been any dark color. The suckers were easily the size of a man’s torso, so that should give some kind of scale to the creature.

My blood turned to ice in my veins, and I felt rooted to the spot and transfixed on this thing. I watched in complete shock as the tentacle slowly loomed up from the depths and then shot outward toward where the mermaid screech came from.

Seconds later, I heard that awful ear-dagger wail again, and the tentacle moved back past the boat, but it wasn’t empty. The mermaid’s tail was crushed in the coil of the beast’s muscular appendage, and the top of it slowly curled around her body until her wail turned into a crunch of bones being crushed. I couldn’t take my eyes off the scene, and bile rose up in my throat as the mermaid’s body flattened and blood gushed out of her mouth, nose, and eyes.

The sea monster retracted its tentacle into the black waves and vanished from view. But that did nothing to ease the terror on all of our faces.

After a couple of seconds of us all sitting in frozen shock, Jurinda snapped back to business and bellowed at us all to keep rowing.

I managed to pull myself together first and got back to my post. Joe followed my lead, even though his face was a ghostly white mask of fear.

“Baz! Chantara! Lyra! Darya! Rumi!” I shouted all of their names in an authoritative voice that kind of surprised me considering how shaken I felt. “Get behind an oar, now, and fucking row!”

My voice seemed to snap them out of their trance-like state, and everyone, even the seasick ones, got moving. I figured the sight of whatever the fuck that creature was was enough to pause any bodily functions because everyone rowed like their lives depended on it.

Which was probably the reality of the situation.

No one except Jurinda spoke for at least two hours after that encounter. For whatever reason, the tentacled creature didn’t want the boat, at least not yet, and we focused all our energy on putting some distance between us and it.

The current and the wind was against us, and we bobbed around with the grace of a rubber dinghy for a while. It was absolutely exhausting, especially when Lyra, Darya, and Rumi all began to get sick again. Joe heaved over the edge a few times, but he never missed his stroke. I’d almost forgotten what a determined and hardy fucker he was.

For a short time, the sea calmed down, and rowing got a little easier, but I didn’t want to get too hopeful. Minutes later, the heavens opened, and a torrential downpour battered our heads and soaked us to the bone.

I fucking hated the Black Sea.

It felt like this night was never going to end, and I wondered if the ogres were lying about the length of the journey. By this point, it felt like we’d been rowing for days, but realistically I knew it couldn’t have been more than three hours. Still, it was torturous, and with soaking wet clothes, every row was heavier and took more effort.

“Shore!” Jurinda finally yelled over the percussive beat of the rain.

I turned my head and squinted into the darkness. I couldn’t see anything, and I didn’t know if she was just trying to boost morale or if she had some kind of night vision from her years on the water. She didn’t seem like the type who really cared too much about other people’s feelings, though, so I let myself hope that this was nearly over.

As we kept up the back-breaking pace, the rain stopped, and the clouds started to dissipate. The stars glittered above us, and the moons seemed to drench us in their cool light. I took advantage of the improved visibility and turned to see if I could spot the shore. Sure enough, I could see the tide lapping against a sandy beach not too far away.

It would still be maybe half an hour or forty minutes of rowing, but the sight of land was a welcome one and seemed to unlock a little well of hidden energy I didn’t know I had left.

“Come on, guys!” I cheered. “We’re so close now, just one final push. We’ve got this.”

“Fuck, yeah, boss!” Joe shouted and threw his back into rowing in between the occasional dry heave.

The rest of the crew made some approving grunt sounds, and the little boat began to move slightly faster. We kept that pace for the next half an hour.

“Jurek, Nate, berth positions!” Jurinda barked.

The two ogres let go of their oars and leaned out of the boat like divers on their marks. A few seconds later, they jumped together and yanked on two ropes as the rest of us continued to row until we had run out of water.

Jurek and Nate dragged the boat up onto the beach as far as they could with all of us still inside it. I jumped out into the shallow water and held my hand out for Chantara, and one by one, I helped my team out of the boat and onto the sand.

Just as I helped Darya off the boat, I heard a strange low rumble coming from deep in the Black Sea. I turned to face it and saw the waves ripple downward almost into a whirlpool, then out of the middle came three of those fucking terrifying tentacles with one wrapped around another one of the merfolk. The tentacle squeezed the burly-looking merman in half like it was pulling apart a dinner roll, and then all three tentacles sank back into the depths.

“Okay, what the fuck was that?” I said to the three ogres. “Maybe a bit of fucking warning would have been nice.”

“What would a warning have done?” Jurinda asked bluntly. “It wouldn’t have changed anything. Sometimes we see him, most often we don’t. He has been more active recently, but knowing he’s there doesn’t change anything about needing to cross the sea, does it?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. She wasn’t wrong, even if she’d told us about every possible creature in the Black Sea, we would still have had to go across. We’d have probably just been scared shitless. I couldn’t say I was looking forward to the return leg of this journey, but I’d have to worry about that later.

“Yeah, fair enough.” I shrugged. “But what was it?”

“The sea god,” Jurinda said with a mix of respect and awe in her voice. “Ktulu has been here longer than any other being. No one sees the face of Ktulu and lives. But we were close tonight. He chose to let us pass. Jurek, Nate, and I often give a gift to him for safe passage. I don’t know if he knows it’s us or even if he cares, but we do it regardless in the hope that he knows we respect him.”

I nodded at the crazy information since I had nothing to contribute to that. A fucking sea god. Jesus fucking Christ. I was sure, somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I’d heard of Ktulu before. Maybe the story on Earth had origins in this realm. Either way, I was sure those fucking giant tentacles were on his fucking head. And if they were that damn big…

I shuddered and turned away from the water. I didn’t want to even think about how fucking big that thing could be.

Once the boat was safely moored, the ten of us walked up the beach toward a sheltered alcove. There was an overhanging tree which covered us in case of another downpour, and the cliff blocked us from the wind. It felt cozy and safe, and we all collapsed onto the sand.

“I’m taking the watch tonight,” Rumi said firmly. “I’m not having any arguments, I was fucking useless out there, but I’m not here. I’m going to make up for my embarrassment on the water, and it’s not up for discussion.”

I could tell by the way her hands rested on her curvy hips and the challenging glare she gave me that it was pointless to fight her on this. Plus, I was absolutely worn out and close to sleep already, so I just shrugged and let her do her thing.

Jurek and Nate had built a small fire and then immediately curled up nearby and fell asleep. Everyone else seemed happy enough for Rumi to take this one for the team, except Darya who got up and stood next to the fearsome vixen.

“If you’re on watch, then so am I,” the younger phoenix stated in a matter-of-fact tone. “I owe you all, too.”

“Wake me up in a little while, and I’ll keep you company,” Lyra mumbled sleepily from her position curled up with her head on Baz’s chest.

The rest of us were unconscious in seconds. The stress of seeing Ktulu and fighting merfolk as well as battling the elements had rendered us totally drained.

“Ryan.” Chantara’s voice sounded worlds away and fuzzy like she was talking through a pillow. “Ryan, do you want a drink? This stuff will really wake you up.”

I grumbled something incoherently and opened one eye. It was morning already. It felt like I’d just fucking blinked, and all of a sudden it was morning.

As I sat myself up and stretched out my arms and shoulders, it felt like someone had replaced my muscles with tightly-packed bricks, but my gorgeous phoenix handed me a tin mug filled with steaming black liquid. It smelled bitter and tasted like shit, but after a couple of minutes, I felt a rush of energy.

I looked around our little camp, and Jurek was stirring what looked like a small cauldron balanced over the fire. Inside was more of this black liquid energy. Darya and Rumi wore matching wired grins, and Lyra crouched down beside Baz to wake him up the same way as Chantara had woken me. Meanwhile, Joe was chatting away to Jurek like they were old friends, and I smiled at my team.

The morning was beautiful, too. The sun was only just above the horizon, but already there was a warmth to the air and not a single cloud in the sky.

I walked over to the shoreline and gazed out into the Black Sea.

Last night it was a tar-colored horror show, but this morning it looked totally different. It was still dark, but it was more of a deep sapphire blue, and it glittered in the sunlight in a way that made it seem inviting.

An image of a merman getting snapped in half by a giant fucking tentacle flashed into my mind, and any fleeting thoughts of a quick dip vanished for good.

Once everyone was awake and buzzing off the bitter energy drink, I gathered everyone together to plan for the day.

“According to Narelle, the colony is quite close to the shore,” I said to my crew. “We should be there before midday, and I’m hoping for an easy discussion. We all want the same things, so it’ll just be about building trust and showing we’re on their side. Chantara will go a long way to helping our cause, and Darya, I’m going to need you front and center, too. They need to see that phoenixes are well respected in our team if there’s any hope that they’ll want to join a war on a different island.”

“What do you want me to do, boss?” Joe asked once I’d finished speaking.

“I need you to keep your eyes on everything,” I said to the young Rabbit. “I trust you with a gun better than anyone, but it’s a last resort. I don’t want this to end in violence, but we’re not dumb. We stay ready, so we don’t have to get ready, right?”

“Damn right, boss.” Joe nodded.

“Jurek, Jurinda, and Nate,” I said calmly. “Thank you for getting us here safely, we wouldn’t have made it without you, especially your guidance, Jurinda. But for this part of the mission, I need you guys to stay here with the boat. This part is a delicate operation, and I don’t want the phoenixes to feel like they’re being ambushed by ogres. I hope you understand.”

“Of course,” Jurinda said with a polite smile. “We’re not diplomats, we’re transporters. We’ll keep a fire burning and the boat ready for when you return.”

“Thank you.” I returned her smile. “I appreciate your support on this.”

I was ready to have to lay down the law with Jurinda and her men, but I was glad I didn’t have to. Keeping the ogres on my side had been going so well, and I still needed them to get us back to Pyregate after this meeting.

I rounded up my crew, and the seven of us set off up the beach and into this unknown land. It didn’t look much different to the scenery back on Pyregate, except there were more birds and some trees that looked kind of like palm trees. But instead of coconuts, they had bright yellow fruit that looked like melon-sized banana-colored kiwi fruit.

The birds flew overhead in chaotic patterns, and I watched as their feathers changed colors. They were almost like mood birds, which was pretty fucking cool.

We walked inland and headed toward a large rocky ridge in the distance. Narelle told me the colony was rumored to have built the entrance to their home into the rock for protection, and it had held for decades. She’d told me the first mass of rock I would see as we walked from the beach would be the phoenix colony.

I knew I’d placed a lot of trust into a woman I barely knew, but everything in her body language matched her words, and I needed to take a chance to get the army we needed to win the war against the witches.

As we walked, Joe stayed silent. I’d been used to him chatting away with everyone, but I could tell he’d taken my words to heart, and he was already on guard duty, and although he was young, Joe was as fierce as an angry rottweiler when it was needed. I trusted that kid with my life.

As the rocky ridge got closer, I noticed some regimented line work cut into the flat face of it. They looked like rows of thin windows, and for some reason it made me feel a little tense.

Everywhere else around us was flat, just grass and low bushes, so there was nowhere to hide if this meeting went south. I knew Joe was an excellent marksman and would die before he disappointed me, but it still felt like this was extremely risky on our end.

We were about one hundred yards away from the entrance when I could make out what those little windows were. They were battlements for arrows I assumed, so we still had the upper hand with our firepower, and Chantara’s literal firepower, but I didn’t want it to go down that way.

“Joe, remember, it’s a last resort, but keep your eyes open,” I muttered to my number one guy on this planet.

“Don’t worry, boss, I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t.” I gave him a quick smile and then turned to the rest of the team. “This place is a fortress, so stay on the lookout for anyone pointing a weapon at you. There’s not much in the way of protection out here, so stay sharp. Chantara, how are you feeling about this? I need you to show them what kind of positive changes can happen when phoenixes trust others.”

“I feel good,” Chantara said with a warm smile that made my insides feel like they’d been in the sun. “I think this is going to go well.”

I really hoped that was the case.

We took another few steps forward, and then a voice boomed out from one of the slit windows.

“Stop where you are!”

Joe’s hand moved to his weapon, and I could tell he was just waiting for my signal.

Time to test my diplomacy skills.

Chapter Thirteen

I took a step toward the fortress in the rock, and the masculine voice shouted again.

“Stay where you are!”

He sounded like he was trying to be authoritative, but I picked up on the slightest quiver. He clearly didn’t want to fight, so I held my hands up and took one more step.

“We’re not here to fight you!” I called back calmly. “We need to talk to you about a shared interest.”

“I said stay there!” the voice yelled. “Archers, nock!”

I stopped moving forward, but I refused to move back. I couldn’t see where the voice was coming from, but the sun glinted off a handful of arrowheads that pointed out of a few of the battlements.

I figured if they wanted to put on a show of strength, they’d have more than just a few archers, so the fortress probably wasn’t very full. I’d pretty much decided that these guys were scared now, but a scared animal was still dangerous. If they had nothing to lose, they’d fight with everything they had.

Chantara placed her warm hand on my shoulder, and I turned to see her with a caring smile on her pretty face.

“Let me try and talk to them,” she said gently. “They’re my people, I know the pain they’ve suffered, and I can show them what you’ve done for me.”

“I don’t know,” I muttered. “We don’t know what this colony is like, I don’t want you to go alone.”

“She won’t be alone,” Darya said with conviction as she also stepped forward. “I’ll go, too. We’re the before and after phoenixes, maybe we can show them how well it’s worked so far and convince them a blended team is best for all of us.”

“We don’t know how many fighters they have in there, but it’s definitely more than two,” I argued.

“Yes.” Chantara smirked. “They definitely have more than two, but how many of them can do what I can do?”

“That’s an excellent point,” I chuckled.

I still wasn’t too happy about them wanting to venture into unknown territory alone, but it did seem like the best potential for a peaceful first encounter.

“Okay,” I finally relented. “But be careful. If you get even the slightest hint they’re no good, you hit them with everything you’ve got and get back to us. Deal?”

Chantara leaned in and kissed me on the lips as her way of agreeing to the deal. Darya just nodded and bit her lip, but this was the second time she’d looked as though she wanted to kiss me.

“Be safe,” I said to them both, and then I stepped back and let them take the lead.

I loved seeing Chantara strut forward, her confidence had grown so much in the short time I’d known her, and it seemed to continue to grow day by day. She still managed to keep her sweet side, though. I wondered how many of the other phoenixes would be able to wield so much power and still stay grounded, but that was an issue for a later time.

“We just want to talk!” Chantara called up to the fortress. “We’re all phoenixes, can we have a conversation together?”

There was silence from within the colony that lasted for a long couple of minutes. Darya and Chantara looked at each other and back at me with a shrug, but then the voice returned.

“Just you two?” That slightly worried wobble was back in the man’s tone.

“Just us,” Chantara replied.

Another moment of silence seemed to drag on for eternity, but then a creaking of old metal hinges broke the silence, and the large wooden door swung open.

The two phoenixes walked inside, and the door closed behind them. My guts tightened, and I hoped I’d done the right thing by letting them do this alone.

I rarely questioned my decisions, but this time my mind spiraled the longer they stayed inside. Were they okay? Had they been ambushed as soon as they got inside? Did I send the woman I loved into an execution?

“Boss…” Joe broke through my thoughts and gave me a determined nod. “You did the right thing. They’ll be okay.”

“Am I that obvious?” I scoffed.

“I’ve known you a long time, I know how much you care for your team.” The young Rabbit was wise beyond his years, and he’d known me longer than anyone else. “Chantara’s an absolute badass, I couldn’t imagine anyone trying to take her on. They’d be dumber than John the Mallet after too much whiskey.”

We both laughed and then winced at the bittersweet memories.

“You’re a good man, Joe,” I said. “John was, too.”

“Yeah, hardy old fucker ‘til the end.” Joe paused for a minute and then gave me a strange, resigned look. “That’s how I want to go out, defending my family right until the Reaper calls my name. That’s a man’s death. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

“You’ll outlive us all, Joey-boy,” I said and slapped his shoulder. “One look at you, and the Reaper will quit.”

We both laughed, but something inside me knew that wouldn’t be the case. I couldn’t explain the feeling, and I knew better than to trust a fleeting unease in my gut. Maybe it was the fairy’s prophecy that had played on my mind constantly. Who did she mean when she said I’d lose people along the way? Was it Joe? Or was I just letting myself get spooked because I felt a little helpless out here while Chantara and Darya were in there?

I shook off the pointless worries and decided to focus on what I could control, since letting my thoughts run away with me wasn’t productive at all.

“Joe, keep your wits about you,” I said to the young Rabbit. “If you see any movement in the battlements, let me know.”

“Got it, boss,” he replied with a nod.

“Baz, Rumi, Lyra.” I gathered the others who were just chatting quietly. “I don’t know what kind of scene we might get when Chantara and Darya come back out, but I need you to be prepared for anything. If we have to fight, we have to fight. But I’m still keeping some hope that our phoenixes will find a way to get us in there calmly. If they do, I need you three to be friendly, but still on alert. Look out for any shady body language or anything that seems like a trap. Until we know what we’re dealing with, we should assume they could turn on us at any moment.”

“Oh, I’ll be ready, sugar.” Rumi flexed her claws and raised one eyebrow, and I could tell a part of her wanted a fight.

Meanwhile, Baz and Lyra just nodded in agreement and turned their attention to the fortress.

Soon, the heavy wooden front door creaked again, so we all prepared ourselves for a potential fight, but Chantara and Darya strolled out casually on either side of a tall male phoenix.

He had the same black and red hair I’d seen on phoenixes, but his was cut short and spiky on the back and sides. His features were slim and narrow, and he had the appearance of someone who’d been on a diet for years. But his eyes crinkled with crow’s feet, and his smile lines were deep. I got the impression he’d spent a lot of time laughing and trying to make others happy. It was an admirable trait, although it might be a little misplaced in the leader of a people who’d been downtrodden for generations.

I immediately wondered what the rest of his people thought of him, since I’d gotten push-over vibes, and I hadn’t even heard a word out of his mouth yet. That could mean the colony inside was an unruly bunch, and perhaps there could be pockets of discontent.

But I put a pin in my analysis of the man and decided to gather more information before I made any more judgments.

“Ryan.” Chantara beckoned me over. “This is Ignis, he’s the leader here.”

“Ignis,” I repeated and stepped forward with a warm smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, thank you for coming out to meet us.”

“Chantara has said some very nice things about you, Ryan,” the slim leader said as he studied me. “She told me you helped her regain her powers. What a wonderful thing that is. Please know you’re welcome here. All of you, I’ve heard how much all of you have done, and I’m grateful on her behalf.”

Ignis greeted everyone individually and made an effort to remember everyone’s names and welcome them. Then he led us toward the fortress door.

“We will have rooms made up for you all, you must stay as long as you like,” Ignis said proudly. “Chantara tells me you have a lot to discuss with us, and there will be time for that, but first I want you to feel at home here. Are you hungry? Or thirsty? Do you need somewhere to wash and rest now?”

“You’re very kind, Ignis,” I said. “But we’re fine at the moment. I’d like to talk to you if you don’t mind.”

I appreciated his hospitality, but we weren’t here for a vacation. I wanted to stay focused on the task at hand. I knew I’d have to let his colony get used to us, maybe overnight, but I didn’t want to waste too much time here while the witches and the elves were plotting back on Pyregate.

“Ah, a man of business,” the smiling leader said with a nod. “I can respect that. I don’t suppose you managed to get our lovely Chantara her powers back by relaxing by the fire. Have it your way, we can tour and feast later. But you will stay for the feast tonight, won’t you? I have already sent word to the chefs to prepare something special for our guests.”

Baz nudged me in the ribs, and before I even looked at him, I could tell what his expression would be. Sure enough, his eyes were wide, and he was almost drooling at the thought of a feast.

“It would be an honor,” I said politely, and I could see Baz’s grin out of the corner of my eye.

Ignis led us through the entrance, and it opened out into a large hall. The roof was open but had what looked like wooden shutters that were folded in a concertina style along both of the longer sides. The open roof let in lots of natural light, and around the hall potted plants and vines curled up around pillars.

It made what could have been quite a cold, barren hall into a lush inside garden. The scents of hundreds of flowers filled the air with a summery haze, and a few buzzing kinkajous bobbed around from flower to flower.

“This place is amazing,” I said to our host.

“Thank you, Ryan.” Ignis’ perpetual smile turned proud. “We have worked hard to create a safe environment where we can also feel free.”

The happy host took us to the middle of the huge open room and sat us all at a round wooden table. The table was its own impressive feature, with a live edge and countless rings, and it seemed like it was just one slice of a tree that would make a redwood look like a bonsai.

I noticed a few other phoenixes dotted around the edge of the room, but there didn’t seem to be many, and I wondered where the rest were. This huge hall seemed like the ideal place to relax during the day, but I supposed there must still be jobs for them to do. A place like this doesn’t maintain itself.

Once we were all sitting down, Ignis rubbed his hands together excitedly, and his ember-colored eyes darted between Chantara and me.

“So, tell me, please, how did you get your powers back, my dear?” He gazed at me with a smile that oozed respect. “Chantara tells me it was quite the journey, and you saved her life. I need to know everything, we’ve only heard theories and rumors up until now.”

“It’s quite a long story,” I said. “But the main part was the cleansing fire. It took a lot of effort to gather all the items we needed, but we’ve got a good, strong, dedicated team here. Which is really why we’re here. We want to add to our team.”

“Ah, the cleansing fire…” Ignis gazed off into the distance and scratched his chin. It seemed like everything after those words was lost to him. “I’d heard about the fire for so many moons. A lot of us didn’t believe in it, but I always did. I told them all we were made from the flames, and we could become the flames once more. Some said I was a loon, but plenty here believed me.”

“Ignis,” I said as I cocked my head curiously. “Your name, it doesn’t sound like it means water, I’m sure it actually means fire. Have you always had that name?”

“Oh, you are perceptive!” Ignis clapped his branded hands together, and his eyes sparkled. “I can see why your team follows you. No, I was given another name at birth, but I chose Ignis for myself. Once my parents had been killed by the witches, there was no one left who knew my original name. I didn’t think it suited me, and I fell in with a wonderful mentor who knew of our true heritage, so that’s when I decided to name myself.”

I nodded and felt a little more respect for this guy. He’d clearly led quite a life and knew more than a lot of the phoenixes did about their history.

“It suits you.” I smiled.

“Perceptive, and he has taste!” Ignis laughed. “Okay, okay, you can tell me about the cleansing fire later. I can see you’re a man with much on his mind, so tell me, what do you want from us?”

“We want to take out the Ministry,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone. “The witches are done. We’ve already attacked them twice, and killed some, but this time we want to tear them out of their home, like they did to the phoenixes. They don’t belong in Pyregate anymore, and we’re not alone in thinking that.”

“No, you’re not alone.” Ignis looked around at my team with an impressed smile. “I haven’t seen a combined group like this in… well, ever. Do you have more?”

I didn’t want to give away everything in this first meeting, but I knew I needed to convince this colony that if they joined us, they’d be joining the winning side. So, I needed to stress our strength.

“We do.” I nodded. “The last two times we’ve attacked the Ministry, it was only four of us. We are an effective team already, but as you can see, there are more than four of us here. And back on Pyregate we have the ogre clans on our side. They’ve wanted to break free of the witches’ tyranny as well, and we’ve gone a long way in mending the hurt between the phoenixes and the ogres. There are more, too, but I’d prefer to discuss that at a later time.”

“Yes, of course,” Ignis said. “So, I assume you want us to join you?”

“Yes,” I replied. “We have weapons, and we can train any fighters, if they need it. I assume you’ve had to do your fair share of fighting to stay safe here.”

“We haven’t fought for a while now,” Ignis said with a hint of sadness. “There is a large witch presence on the mainland, but we’ve kept the walls of our colony defended for a long time, and they have mostly left us alone here.”

“And that’s good enough for you?” Darya suddenly butted in. “You’re content to just hide away like rodents, while the witches get to decimate the rest of our people?”

Ignis stared at the young phoenix as a mix of shock, horror, and shame swirled around his features. He was clearly lost for words as they both stared at each other, and Darya’s expression showcased the raised eyebrows and tense jaw of someone who wanted to fight.

“Darya is new to our team,” I said after a moment of awkward silence. “I’m sure you can understand her pain and her drive for change.”

“Y-Yes,” Ignis faltered but quickly returned to gracious host mode. “Yes, of course I can, I apologize, my dear. I understand how this must look to you. No, we do not want to live like rodents, as you say.”

I appreciated Ignis for his ability to keep the peace. And I also respected Darya for her passion and fury. It might not have been the ideal place to let it out, but the Rabbit in me could get behind her need for revenge.

And she’d get it.

“Can you tell me more about life here on the mainland?” I asked and tried to bring the mood in the room back to genial.

I wanted him to feel like I respected him and his people.

“We lost a lot of good fighters, and non-fighters, to get this place secure. It was a long time ago now, but there’s always the threat the witches will return. I’ve tried hard to keep morale lifted and keep our group cohesive. But there are some who think peace is a weakness.” Ignis shot a lightning-fast glance to the corner of the room, and I followed his gaze and saw a young male phoenix lurking in the shadows.

He turned and vanished as soon as Ignis looked, but I’d caught the tension.

“The witches have claimed the mainland for themselves and see us as vermin,” Ignis continued as he returned his gaze to me. “The numbers of us here have dwindled to a few pockets along the coastline and one larger colony deep in the desert. They took a sleeping fire giant as their home, and the witches haven’t dared to try and take it from them. Their official line is that anyone in the fire giant is dead, and the witches killed them, but I know better than that. I know one day the fire giant will wake, and on that day all of our people will fly through the top with the molten flames.”

It sounded like he was talking about a colony inside a dormant volcano. It intrigued me a lot, but they weren’t who I was here for. I could talk to Ignis about his theories on phoenix colonies at some other time.

But before I could direct the topic back to the war to come, he continued with his tales and directed his attention to Chantara.

“My dear…” The chatty leader took Chantara’s hand in his own and inspected her palm. “The curse was lifted completely. This is marvelous, just marvelous. I am so happy for you, my dear sweet goddess.”

“Oh, I’m not a godde--” Chantara tried to protest but was cut off.

“Nonsense, just look at you! You’re radiant. And you must be the chosen one. Don’t look so surprised, I can see it all over you. You are the embodiment of the prophecy.”

“What prophecy?” Chantara asked. Her eyebrows had knitted themselves into a confused knot, and her lips curled into a wonky disbelieving smile.

“Oh! You don’t know! I’m sorry, it was very rude of me to assume you would, sometimes I get carried away with my thoughts and just feel that everyone knows what’s rattling around in my silly head. Please let me explain.” Ignis readjusted his wooden seat and had the expression of a camp counselor about to tell his favorite story around the fire. “Since the curse was placed on us long ago, there have been whispers of the one who would save us all. It was to be a beautiful phoenix, reborn in a magical fire, who would one day free us all from the curse with her fierce power and gentle heart. I’ve known of three who thought themselves to be the chosen one, but I always thought anyone who proclaimed themselves to be chosen was not worthy of the title. They never broke the curse either, they each were burned by their own greed and self-interest. But you, oh, Chantara, can’t you see, it has to be you.”

The way Ignis gazed at her, it seemed like he was completely in love. But it didn’t seem like a passionate kind of love, more like complete and utter devotion.

I could use that.

We talked for a little while longer about the history of this place, and Ignis gushed over Chantara while everyone else just sat around politely. But when Baz yawned, it set off Darya, and Ignis jolted as if he’d been slapped.

“I’m so sorry,” he said as he got to his feet. “I’ve been so consumed with the lovely Chantara, I’ve neglected you all. What an awful host I’ve been. Come, let me show you all around and find you some rooms where you can feel settled. You must be exhausted from the ride over here.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Baz muttered to me as we got up. “Sorry if I made things weird.”

“Don’t worry,” I chuckled. “You’ve probably done us all a favor.”

We followed Ignis though the huge, plant-filled dining hall and toward the back left where it split off into a narrower corridor. This place was massive and all lit from above with natural light. The corridor had a glass roof that was painted in all different colors, which gave it a stained-glass effect.

As we walked along, Ignis pointed out different plants and ornaments and chatted at rapid fire about each piece. It felt like he was desperate not to seem boring and to keep his guests entertained. But there were only so many times I could nod along and seem interested before I wanted to tell him to shut up for a second.

Eventually, we reached the end of the long stone corridor, and we were taken up a flight of stone steps. They led to a wooden walled corridor, which had doors along the far wall.

“These rooms might be a little dusty,” Ignis said with a slight flush of embarrassment. “But they’ll be very comfortable. No one has stayed in them for a little while. Our numbers have dwindled in recent times, but they are still lovely rooms. I think you’ll like them. Do any of you share? Or would you like one each?”

I thought quickly. We had uneven numbers, and everyone would probably appreciate a little bit of time alone to relax. But as nice as Ignis was, I didn’t know who else was here and what their intentions were. That one shady-looking phoenix in the dining hall might not be the only one with questionable motives.

“We can share,” I said. “Baz and Lyra, Joe and Darya, and Chantara, Rumi, and me. If that’s okay, Ignis?”

“Perfect, that’s perfect.” Ignis smiled. “All of the rooms in this wing are empty, so if you do decide you want some more space, please help yourselves. You’re more than welcome. If there’s anything you need, I’ll be in the dining hall, and any of our other family here will be happy to help you feel at home.”

It felt more like we were celebrities checking into a hotel, rather than total strangers who’d just turned up uninvited. I thought Ignis seemed like a genuine and decent guy, but I couldn’t imagine everyone else being as pleased that he was treating strangers so kindly.

Once the cheerful leader had left us alone, I beckoned everyone to come into my room. It was a spacious and airy place with a glass roof and a four-poster bed with red silk curtains, and there was a sitting area filled with plump cushions that sighed a small cloud of dust when we sat down.

“I want us all to stick in pairs at minimum,” I said to my team. “Ignis seems lovely, but I noticed an odd-looking guy in the corner of the hall when we were talking. I don’t know if he was just a strange-looking dude, or whether we’ve walked into some kind of power struggle, but keep your guard up. Darya, I’ve put you with Joe because I trust him with my life. I’m sure you can handle yourself, but Joe is a good guy and a lethal fighter.”

Joe sat a little straighter after I complimented him, and Darya just shrugged as if she didn’t care either way.

“Okay, does anyone want to relax for a bit before we head back down?” I directed my question mostly to Baz since he was the one yawning before.

“I could do with a quick doze,” the sleepy ogre replied with a sheepish smile. “Just a quick one.”

“Sure,” I chuckled.

Baz and Lyra left and went to the room next to mine, and I heard a couple of flirty giggles. I rolled my eyes and smirked, and Rumi bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.

“Say what you like about the little guy,” she snickered. “But he’s clearly got something irresistible going for him.”

We all burst out laughing, and then Joe and Darya left to go freshen up before dinner. That left just Chantara, Rumi, and I in our room, and we all stretched out on the large bed.

We chatted for a while about this colony, and my two lovers agreed with me that there had to be more than meets the eye. Chantara felt a little uncomfortable with being the center of attention, but it didn’t seem like that was going to change much, while we stayed here.

After we’d all relaxed for a little while, the smell of food wafted up to our rooms. It was the smoky scent of barbecued meat, and my mouth filled with saliva instantly.

Seconds after I smelled it, Baz barged into our room without even knocking.

“Can you smell that?” he practically yelled. “I’m starving!”

“Yeah, come on in, Baz, we don’t mind.” I laughed.

“Sorry,” he said, and his broad face contorted into an awkward apologetic grimace. “But, I mean, come on, you can smell it, can’t you? I need to get me some of that!”

Lyra shrugged behind him, but her face was a mellow picture of contentment. Whatever Baz had done to make her giggle like that, he was clearly doing the right thing.

“Come on then, stud,” I said as I got off the bed and clapped him on the back. “I’ll get the other two, and we can head down.”

I knocked on the door next to Baz’s room, and Joe opened the door almost instantly.

“You need me, boss?” he asked, and he was standing ramrod straight like he was a soldier waiting for orders.

“We’re going down to the dining hall for some food, you two hungry?”

“It smells incredible down there.” Darya sauntered over with a flirty wiggle of her hips and smiled. “Let’s go.”

The seven of us walked back the way Ignis had brought us and arrived in the huge hall minutes later. It felt like a different room now as it buzzed with life, and phoenixes flitted from place to place. They lit candles and torches and brought plate after plate filled with food, and I watched with an impressed smile as the table filled with what looked like roasted hogs, pixie meat skewers, some kind of bird stuffed with something, and easily twenty plates of roasted vegetables.

It was like Thanksgiving meets Christmas times ten.

A moment later, Ignis appeared from the crowded room and let out a little excited cheer.

“Oh, you’re here!” he said and rushed over. “I thought the smell might bring you down. The chefs really do such a wonderful job, I couldn’t be prouder of them. As soon as I’d spoken to the lovely Chantara, I just knew we had to celebrate. Please, take a seat, Chantara, my dear, this one is for you.”

He led the awkward-looking phoenix to what I assumed was the head of the table. It was hard to know since it was just one giant circle, but her place setting was a little fancier than the rest of them.

Ignis grabbed a small bell from the table and rang it until everyone else stopped to look.

“My family,” the excited host said and puffed his chest out. “This is Chantara, our guest of honor.”

All the other phoenixes put down their plates, bowls, and candles and burst into a round of applause. Chantara blushed a deep scarlet and looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

Once the applause ended, Ignis instructed everyone to sit and eat as much as they wanted. The food was incredible, so fresh and flavorful. Everything had a different herb or spice to it, and each dish seemed to complement the others perfectly.

We ate and chatted for what felt like hours, and almost everyone seemed to be thrilled to meet Chantara, the prophetic chosen one. My sweet phoenix made a real effort to try and give everyone a piece of her time when they came to talk to her, and I felt like I was sitting next to Marilyn Monroe with the way nearly everyone seemed to fawn over her.

But like I said, almost everyone.

There was a small group of maybe five or six phoenixes who kept to themselves. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be an issue since some people were more sociable than others, but the shifty looks they kept giving each other, and the muttered words hidden by hands coupled with glances at Chantara, convinced me those fuckers were up to something.

After the meal and post meal drinks, Ignis finally allowed us to go back to our rooms. I said goodnight to the others and retired to the room with Chantara and Rumi. I didn’t want to worry Baz or Joe, since I knew they were the best men for looking after Lyra and Darya and didn’t want them to be distracted. I knew the women could most likely handle themselves, but this time I just wanted a covert mission with just a small group.

“There’s something going on here,” I said once the three of us were alone.

“Those crafty-looking fools who were at the back of the room?” Rumi asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Exactly.” I nodded.

“I didn’t notice anyone,” Chantara said with a scrunch of her brow.

“Of course, you didn’t, sugar,” Rumi teased. “You’re the guest of honor, you had your loving subjects to talk to all night.”

“Hey!” The phoenix pouted but then giggled. “I’m glad that’s over, it was so… ugh. I hate being the center of attention.”

“So ‘ugh?’” I laughed. “I think you might have to get used to it, Your Majesty, you’re kind of a big deal around here.”

“Well, I don’t like it.”

“Then let’s get back to what you’re good at.” I smirked. “Let’s give it a little while until the party is dead, and then I say we go and find those dodgy-looking characters and find out what they’re up to.”

“I love the way you think,” Rumi purred and flexed her powerful claws.

Once the fortress fell silent, we set off on our stealth mission.

Chapter Fourteen

Chantara, Rumi, and I crept back down the stone steps and through the deserted corridor. The light of the moons filtered through the stained-glass roof and cast a patchwork of faded colors all over the floor, and the candles on all the walls had nearly burned out and left small pools of wax on the ground.

We went back into the dining hall and found it empty. The shutters had been pulled across the open roof, and the only light was from the dwindling torches on the walls and one large bowl in the middle of the huge table. The bowl was filled with floating candles that seemed to have been freshly lit, so they were either magical candles, or someone was still awake.

I directed Rumi and Chantara to stick to the shadows and stay ready, and we moved like ghosts through the vast hall and almost got to the entrance when I heard some muttering coming from a room off to the far right side.

“Over there,” I breathed and pointed toward the sounds.

The women nodded, and we all converged on the open doorway.

I peered around the corner and saw a small group of phoenixes standing around a bubbling pan of liquid. I recognized a couple of them as the group who were muttering and plotting during the feast.

“They’re up to something,” I whispered. “They’ve got some kind of potion going in there, I can’t imagine it’s just a late night soup session.”

“Let me check,” Rumi said with narrowed suspicious eyes. “Maybe I can smell what they’re brewing.”

The vixen dropped to all fours and inched herself around the corner, and I watched as her nostrils flared while her ears twitched. Then she sprang up onto the walls and used her sharp claws as grappling hooks to creep across the ceiling.

It always impressed me when she did that, and I looked on with a smirk as she hung above the conspirators’ bent heads. I knew that one look upward from the group of shifty phoenixes would blow her cover, but they all seemed far too absorbed in whatever they were cooking.

Rumi watched for a few seconds, and her husky blue eyes glittered dangerously. Then her brow furrowed into a scowl, and she crept back over to us with a shake of her head.

“Widow’s Breath,” the angry vixen whispered when she landed back at my side.

Chantara stifled a gasp with the palm of her hand, and then an intense fury burned behind her fiery eyes.

“What’s Widow’s Breath?” I asked.

I assumed it was a type of poison, but I didn’t know the details.

“It’s a brutal poison,” Rumi muttered and confirmed my suspicions. “Rare too, those fuckers must have been planning it for years. Maybe our visit has just tipped them over the edge.”

“I assume it kills, but how?” I knew we had to put a stop to this, but I was always curious about new weapons.

“It essentially liquifies your insides,” Rumi replied. “It’s an awful, painful way to go. You feel a coldness wash over you, like Death has wrapped its frozen fingers around your throat and turned your breath to icy daggers. Then you breathe your blood and end up drowning in it. I’ve seen it work, and even I wouldn’t wish that on someone.”

I was both disgusted and a little impressed at the power of this poison. I wondered if it was worth taking some as an additional weapon against the witches, but it seemed like even Rumi thought that was a step too far.

Before I could say anything, though, Chantara suddenly walked into the kitchen with her fists clenched.

I guessed we were past being stealthy now.

“Wh-- what are you doing here?” one of the phoenixes cried out.

Chantara said nothing, but I could tell from her tense shoulders and shaking fists that she was more angry than I’d ever seen her.

“Just back off,” another one said aggressively. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“Doesn’t concern me?” Chantara roared.

All five of the phoenixes jumped and backed away from her. One tried to grab hold of the pan of poison, but Chantara lunged forward.

“You ungrateful, uncaring, evil bastards!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “You have everything here! Everything! Phoenixes on Pyregate live their whole lives without an ounce of what you have here, and this is how you repay Ignis?”

Chantara placed her hands on either side of the middle-aged phoenix who’d tried to grab the pan. The floor shook, and a guttural growl rumbled up through Chantara’s slim body. All at once, the phoenix’s skull disintegrated into a cloud of blood particles, and the headless body dropped to the floor.

The other four screamed, and Rumi and I took our cues.

I ran forward and slammed my fist into the nearest phoenix’s face, and Rumi grabbed another by the throat and gave him a dangerous smile.

Then, behind us, a new scream rang out, and we all turned around to see a young girl standing at the doorway with both hands pressed to her face in horror. There were more people behind her, and seconds later Ignis ran into the kitchen with a robe wrapped around him.

“What is going--” His words died in his throat as he witnessed the scene, and then he turned to his people and raised his voice. “Leave us!”

The stunned group slowly left, but not before their terror-filled eyes flicked from us to the headless phoenix. I knew this wouldn’t be the best thing for public relations, but I hoped Ignis would understand and then help his people to see why it had to happen.

Once everyone else had left, it was just Chantara, Rumi, Ignis, and me, with the other four poison-brewing cunts.

Ignis stepped forward silently and looked into the pan. Then he closed his eyes, and a single tear leaked out and down his heartbroken face. When he opened his eyes again, there was nothing left of the cheerful, kind host. All I saw was betrayal.

“Why?” he asked through gritted teeth.

For a moment, there was no response from the four who were left.

“I said, why?” Ignis bellowed, and for the first time, I saw a leader in him.

“You’re not fit to run this fortress,” one of the men said without looking at Ignis. “You’re weak.”

“Weak, am I?” Ignis repeated flatly. Then he walked behind the man, and with an expertly fluid movement, Ignis snapped his neck. “The rest of you, get out now.”

The other three ran out of the room, and Ignis turned to face us.

“How did you find them here?” he asked.

“I suspected something was wrong during the feast,” I replied. “They looked like they were up to something, and we needed to find out what. I’m sorry your people had to see this. Especially the little girl.”

Ignis looked down at the ground for a beat, and when his eyes lifted to mine, they were filled with sorrow.

“I’ve given everything to make sure my people were safe,” he said slowly. “But, much like Darya, there are some who feel that by sheltering us from what’s outside these walls, I’ve betrayed the wider phoenix society. It is an impossible task to choose between safety and victory. One is not congruent with the other. Maybe I am weak, maybe I did choose poorly, but all I have done has been for the security of those I hold dear to me.”

“I don’t blame you for the choices you’ve made,” I said. “I’m sure a lot of people would have made the same one you did. Either choice takes strength, and either choice is going to upset some people. But what that group was about to do is something you can’t just let slide.”

“What would you have me do?” Ignis blinked rapidly, and I could tell he knew what I was saying, but he just didn’t want to have to make the call. “They’re family, they’ve acted poorly, and I have punished one for it, you have, too. Surely, the crime has been dealt with now.”

Unfortunately, I knew having people like that in a team was like a cancer. If it wasn’t cut out completely, it would spread through the others until there was nothing good left. I sighed and prepared myself to explain this to Ignis, but Chantara stepped forward first and put her hand gently on his forearm.

“Ignis,” she said in a soft caring voice. “You know, as well as we do, that they can’t be forgiven for this. I’m sorry for the way I executed your family member, but I couldn’t face the thought of these people you’ve saved using Widow’s Breath on you, or anyone here.”

“Widow’s Breath?” Ignis’ shoulders slumped. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Rumi said, and her lip curled into a sneer. “I’ve seen what it can do, no one deserves that.”

“I knew some had found this living situation hard, but I never for one moment thought it was this bad.” The miserable-looking leader sat down heavily on a stool. “I’ve feared for some time that we had dissenters in our midst. Maybe I just didn’t want to admit it to myself. Maybe I thought it would go away if I could provide everyone with a safe and comfortable place to live out their days. But of course, I should have expected this. The phoenix was meant to fly, we were never meant for captivity. And that’s what this is, a pretty cage for us to die in.”

“You’ve created a wonderful thing here,” Chantara soothed. “This place will still be yours and theirs, but it can be so much more, too. It doesn’t have to be a fortress forever. Together, we can bring about a better place for our children and our children’s children to come and go freely, as they please. Isn’t that worth fighting for?”

“Of course, you’re right, my dear.” Ignis nodded and gazed adoringly at his goddess of the flames. “I fear some here have so much rage. Perhaps we all do, the rage is in our blood after all we’ve been through. But whereas some here direct their rage at the witches, others have turned it inward and let it poison their souls. Those you found in here, they have been angry and hurt all their lives, but I hoped that with love and kindness, I could bring them back from the darkness within. I suppose I’ve failed them.”

“You haven’t failed anyone,” I said. “It’s just a fact that some people will always choose to act against their own best interests. It might have been easier for them to turn against you, because you’re the only consistency they’ve had. It’s not your fault, but unfortunately it is your responsibility.”

“You’re right.” Ignis sighed deeply and nodded again. “Will this wait until morning?”

I thought quickly. It was the middle of the night, and everyone should be sleeping. In a normal situation, it would seem a little dramatic to wake everyone up, but a lot of the phoenixes had just seen Chantara turn the skull of someone they knew into dust. If we left it until morning, who knew what rumors could have been started and spread.

We needed to get out ahead of this thing, now.

“No, it won’t,” I said firmly. “Can you please get everyone together in the hall as quickly as possible, we need to explain the situation and explain what we’re here for before we have any more turning away from us.”

“Yes,” Ignis agreed, and resolve replaced some of the sadness in his ember eyes. “Yes, that does make sense. I’ll gather everyone now, we won’t be long. What do you want to do about the other three who were in here?”

“Do you have somewhere secure to hold them?” I asked.

“Yes, I have a small storeroom with a lock, will that do?” Ignis twisted his hands together nervously.

“It will, thank you.” I turned to Rumi. “Will you guard the door once they’re inside?”

“With pleasure, sugar.” The vixen winked.

“Thanks,” I said and then paused. “Do you know how we can dispose of this safely?”

Rumi thought for a moment before she turned her ice-blue eyes to Chantara.

“It can be cooked down to a powder and then burned away,” she replied. “But maybe our powerful little phoenix here could take care of that a little faster?”

Chantara nodded, and we all stepped back. Then she focused and made a fireball with her hands that she projected into the pan, and it let out a loud hiss and began to bubble and reduce. After about a minute, the pan cracked and shattered into pieces, with nothing left inside.

“Thank you, my dear,” Ignis said with a somber tone.

Then he led Rumi off to gather the prisoners, and Chantara and I went back to our rooms to let the others know what had happened.

Baz’s chainsaw snoring could be heard halfway up the steps, and I rolled my eyes as Chantara scoffed. Then she went to his room, and I went to Joe and Darya’s.

“Joe!” I called after I knocked twice. “Darya, I’m coming in.”

I let myself into their room and saw Darya sleeping on the bed wearing a tiny cropped top. Her perky breasts threatened to spill out, and the curve of her hips looked so inviting. As I closed the door, she stirred, arched her back, and thrust those beautiful tits in my direction, and when I tore my eyes away from them, she had a filthy smile on her lips and gave me a naughty wink.

“Boss?” Joe mumbled sleepily from his position on the floor on top of a mountain of pillows. “What’s going on? What do you need?”

“We all need to get downstairs,” I said to them both. “There’s been an incident, and we have to discuss it with everyone.”

“Right.” Joe jumped to his feet and threw on his t-shirt, and he was ready in seconds.

Darya took a little longer and seemed to put on a flirty show of crawling over the bed to fetch her clothes. But maybe I was just being hopeful. There was something about the sassy new phoenix that made me want to taste her.

Once Darya was dressed, we met Chantara, Lyra, and Baz back out in the corridor, and the six of us walked to the dining hall together to put on a united front. We were the first ones back there, and it took around fifteen minutes before the colony started to filter into the large room with confused and tired looks on their faces.

I spotted the little girl who’d witnessed what Chantara had done and gave her a smile, but she just hid behind her mother’s legs and peeked out periodically with the wide, scared eyes of a deer caught in headlights.

Eventually, everyone seemed to be here, apart from the prisoners and Rumi. Ignis pulled a small bell out of his pocket and rang it, and everyone turned their attention to him as the hushed chatter fell silent.

“Some of you may have heard the commotion,” Ignis began in an authoritative but caring voice. “Our new guests discovered an assassination plot by some of our own family. It has forced us to wake you all up during the moons’ dance of dreams, and I’m afraid we need to discuss the matter and the future for our colony.”

A ripple of mutters spread throughout the group, and they exchanged frowns of disgust and disbelief.

“How do we know we can trust the new people?” one phoenix called from behind another’s back.

A small chorus of ‘yeah’ echoed around, and I could feel the tension mounting.

“Have any of you heard of Widow’s Breath?” Ignis asked bluntly. “If you haven’t, allow me to describe this evil poison. One drop, just one drop, will freeze you to the spot and turn your insides to the liquid of death. You will try to breathe and find you cannot. You will force the air from inside you and with it will come a river of blood. You will die gasping for air and finding nothing but a sea of blood that drowns you from within.”

I had to hand it to Ignis, he could have been a Shakespearean actor. Everyone was staring at him with open mouths and waiting for him to continue.

“All that from one single drop. And your brothers and sisters had made enough to kill us all twenty times over. Our guests found them cooking it and put a stop to it. They saved you all while you slept in your beds. Now we owe them a debt that cannot be repaid, and you will all listen to what they have to say, or you can leave here at once and never return.”

I waited for the whispers to die down and then stepped forward.

“I know this isn’t what you all wanted to hear,” I said calmly. “But unfortunately, it’s what’s happened. I know at least some of you saw what Chantara had to do to someone you know. But she did that for you. There’s been enough betrayal and enough hurt among the phoenixes, and we want to change that. But we need your help to do it.”

“I’m not sorry for what I did,” Chantara added with a shrug of her shoulders. “I would do it again. I don’t want to do it again, but I won’t stand for another innocent phoenix being attacked, especially by one of their own. What they wanted was a massacre, and that’s what we stopped. Ryan has helped me since the first day he met me, he didn’t have to, none of my friends had to. But they did, and they continue to do so. Together, we’ve united the ogre clans and the phoenixes they once hunted. We were brought here by a transporter clan who have been working against the witches for a long time. Can’t you see the tide is changing? Can’t you see our time is now? If we stand together and fight, there is nothing the witches can do to us. They stole our powers, but this human, this ogre, and the vixen who’s guarding the betrayers, put their own lives on the line to give me mine back. Let us do the same for you. Let us free you. Real and permanent freedom. All we ask is you stand with us and fight for what you deserve. Will you do that?”

As Chantara spoke more and more passionately, her wings emerged in their full glory and lifted her onto the table. I was stunned and so fucking proud that I just watched her own the room, and by the end of her speech, every phoenix in the crowd was staring at her with open mouths.

Then Ignis dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together as if he was praying, and one by one the others followed his lead until the only ones standing were Darya, Lyra, Baz, and me.

“In the morning, we need you to decide where you stand,” I said. “Please, think carefully about your decision. We have weapons, and we can train fighters. If you’re with us, we will be with you until the end. All we need from you is loyalty.”

“Go back to your rooms,” Ignis instructed. “Choose your side wisely.”

I watched as the phoenixes filed out, and the majority of them still had expressions of utter awe and devotion as they walked past Chantara. But there were still a small number who stuck to the back of the group and flashed angry side glances our way when they thought we weren’t looking.

Once everyone had left, I pulled Ignis over to one side.

“Not everyone is ready to fight alongside us,” I muttered.

“Some nursing women and the young children?” he asked.

“No.” I shook my head solemnly. “I’ve no problem with the young staying here with some guardians. But there are others who will stab us in the back if we give them the chance. I remember their faces.”

“How many?” Ignis scratched his chin and frowned. “I don’t know how we’ll keep them locked away if all the fighters have left.”

“Ignis,” I said gently but firmly. “They can’t be left alive.”

“What?” His ember eyes widened. “But a man can change, can’t he?”

“Do you really want to risk the lives of the young and the weak for the chance they might change?” I shook my head. “You’re a kind leader, but we’re going to war, Ignis. They already know too much, if any of them escape tonight, they could inform the witches. You said it yourself, some of them have misplaced their anger. What would stop them from giving away our plans?”

“I can have men I trust guard the door, it’s the only way out.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll have Joe stand with them, too. He’s an excellent fighter. And in the morning, we’ll need to put an end to anyone who could betray us.”

Ignis sighed and slowly rubbed his hand over the nape of his neck.

“You’re sure about them?” he asked. “You’re really sure there’s no coming back for them?”

“I can’t know completely,” I said honestly. “But I’ve been reading people for a long time, and I trust my judgment. I’ve watched their behavior, their expressions, their attitudes, and I’m confident it would be a grave mistake to let them go free.”

After another long pause, Ignis nodded.

“Okay, Ryan,” he said. “I believe you. Do what needs to be done, and I’ll stand by your side. Will you grant us freedom from our curses when you have a team you can trust?”

“I’d love to,” I replied. “But how would we do that without the cleansing fire?”

“Oh!” Ignis clapped his hands together dramatically. “I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned it. In all the chaos and confusion, I forgot the most important part. Chantara, my dear, my goddess of fire, you can free us.”

“What?” Chantara asked breathlessly. “How?”

“With another fire.” Ignis reached for Chantara’s hands and held them as gently as if he was holding a butterfly. “You stand in the middle of a fire that you create and welcome each phoenix into your healing flames. Once they are touched by your light, the curse will be broken. I’ve waited my whole life for you, my angel of light. Please bless us with your kindness.”

“I-- I’ve never healed anyone before.” Chantara’s eyebrows pulled up into a worried furrow. “What if I hurt them?”

“Intent, my dear.” Ignis smiled serenely. “Your will can bring healing light or instant death, it is all in your power.”

Chantara shot me a shocked glance, and her lips pulled down into the universal ‘huh’ face.

“You can do this,” I encouraged. “Just think, you’ve had two little flights now, and that had to be down to what you were feeling at the time. I’m sure if you focus your thoughts, you can do so much more.”

The slightly worried-looking phoenix nodded.

“How about we go and get some rest, you’ve got a lot to do tomorrow.” I smirked and then turned to Joe. “I need you to stand guard with a couple of Ignis’ men, don’t let anyone leave, okay?”

“You got it, boss.” Joe checked his gun and followed Ignis to his post.

“Are you going to be okay on your own?” I asked as I turned to Darya next.

“Oh, no, sweetie,” Lyra interjected with a friendly smile. “My little Dee isn’t staying alone, she’s bunking with us tonight. Well, maybe just me, Baz will be a sweet little thing and take the floor, right, honey pie?”

“Of course,” Baz agreed instantly, and we all began to walk back to the rooms.

“Thanks, honey pie,” I whispered to the ogre.

“Shut up, you dick,” Baz chuckled.

Thankfully, the rest of the night was uneventful, although it took Chantara and I a while to drop off to sleep. I knew she would be concerned about wielding so much power over the others, and I wanted to analyze all the encounters I’d had to make sure the right people were getting killed in the morning.

Hours later, I watched the sun rise through the skylight. I didn’t get much sleep, but I felt ready to tackle what we needed to do. After waiting for a reasonable time to wake Baz up, I went next door and asked him to go back to the beach and bring Jurek, Jurinda, and Nate back. I wanted everyone to be here when we finalized the army.

Lyra jumped at the opportunity to help and said she could make it there much faster than Baz could. That seemed fair, and she was such a likable woman that I couldn’t see any problem with the ogres not trusting her.

Then we all went to the door together and relieved Joe of his guard duties. Lyra kissed Baz goodbye before she dropped to all fours and bounded off back to the beach.

“She’s so hot,” Baz muttered as he watched her sprint away.

“Did you mean to say that out loud?” I laughed.

Baz shrugged and stifled a laugh, and then we went back to the dining hall to wait for everyone to arrive. When Ignis turned up, I told him we were waiting for Lyra and the ogres to return before we got started.

“That’s absolutely fine,” he replied, but his expression was tired and solemn. “I will have my archers bring the prisoners to us. They’re bound so they can’t escape. I’m just sorry it’s come to this. And I’m sorry I didn’t want to admit to myself that I had let something like this grow in my own family.”

“It’s done now,” I said. “Don’t beat yourself up, your only crime was hope. That’s not the worst thing, we need hope to keep a society alive. It just can’t only be hope. But you’ve done your best, and your people have been safe all this time because of you.”

“Your words mean so much to me, Ryan.” Ignis looked at me with a respectful smile. “I can see a true and just leader in you. And with Chantara by your side, you’ll make an unstoppable force. I just hope you keep hold of your kindness, too. Don’t lose that in the bloodshed to come.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Will you all have some breakfast before we have to handle business?” Ignis asked, and I could see the pain in his eyes.

He wanted to put off the next part for as long as possible, but before I could answer, there was a cry from somewhere in the rafters.

“Ogres, and a vixen!”

“Yes, yes!” Ignis called back. “Open the door, we’re expecting them.”

“Actually,” I said. “I think it might be better to do this outside. We don’t want to get the fire going in here.”

“Quite right,” Ignis agreed and then rang his little bell to get everyone’s attention. “Everyone, outside. Archers, keep hold of the prisoners.”

As we all filed outside, Rumi skulked behind the traitors from last night and released a low growl every time one of them looked anywhere but straight forward.

Soon, we were all standing outside the fortress. I didn’t count everyone, but it seemed like there were about sixty of us all together, and I wondered how many we’d be left with after I asked for everyone’s decisions.

Even with just the team we had, we’d given the witches a run for their money, so if we left here with even ten more phoenixes, we would have a strong side. I hoped for much more than that, though, and as I inspected the colony, I spotted at least fifteen or twenty strong-looking fighters.

“Let’s begin,” Ignis said, and everyone fell silent. “Ryan, please, take the lead.”

I nodded and stepped forward. I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, but it had to be done.

Some of these phoenixes weren’t going to see tomorrow.

Chapter Fifteen

“Last night, we offered you all a choice,” I said with calm confidence. “I hope you all thought about it. The young children and the guardians of them won’t be asked to fight, but we still need you to make the same choice. Do you stand with us against the witches, or not?”

I paused to give everyone one last chance to consider their options, since none of them knew those who were against us would die today. I took the opportunity to scan the group and look into each of their eyes. Some seemed scared, some calm, and a small group scattered among the rest had the slightly curled lip of poorly-disguised contempt.

Contempt was the cancer we were about to cut out.

“Everyone who is on our side, please stand to my left.” I gestured over to where Lyra, Darya, Baz, and our three transporter ogres were standing. “We welcome any one of you with open arms, and we’ll fight beside you as if we were family. Anyone who doesn’t want to fight with us, please stand to my right. Please make your decision now.”

I stood with my hands behind my back and waited for each of the phoenixes to choose.

The first ones to join us walked slowly and threw worried, nervous glances at the team of vixens, ogres, and only one of their own. Gradually, more and more filtered from the middle to my left.

One or two glared pointedly at me, and I could tell they wanted me to know they weren’t on our side. Another couple put their heads down and moved to the right, and I got the impression they were just following orders. It was a shame, but I had to respect their decisions.

Eventually, all the phoenixes chose a side. The majority stood with us. I didn’t have time to count everyone, but it seemed like about fifty were on our side and only ten had been in on the poison plot and unknowingly chosen to die.

“Bring the firewood!” Ignis barked.

Five men sprinted back to the fortress and returned minutes later with a bundle of wood each. They quickly arranged the wood into a small pyre and then encircled it with stones.

Ignis nodded to me and then to Chantara and took a step backward. Chantara took a deep breath and kept her gaze low as she walked over the stones, and she rearranged some of the wood so she was standing in the middle of the pyre. I could tell by her slightly rounded shoulders and the way she barely lifted her eyes that she was highly focused on what was about to happen. Once she was settled, she turned her beautiful blazing eyes to me and gave me the slightest nod.

“Thank you,” I said to the large group of phoenixes. “I can’t thank you enough for choosing to fight with us. We know it’s a difficult thing we asked you to do, and your bravery deserves a reward. Chantara will give you that reward. Your intelligent leader, Ignis, told us of a way we can break the curse the witches put on you. So, please, step forward one at a time, and Chantara will make you whole again.”

A flutter of excited mumbles spread through the group as they turned to each other with wide eyes and open mouths. Nobody moved for a moment, and then Ignis took the first tentative steps. His eyes glistened with tears, and I could see how much this meant to him. It was only right he went first.

“My goddess,” he said as he got closer to Chantara. “You are the one I’ve waited my whole life for. You are the one who was promised to us. I will die happy just knowing you’re in this world, creating a better one. It would be my greatest privilege to be the first one you bless with freedom.”

“Ignis,” Chantara breathed. “You don’t need to flatter me, I respect you so much for what you’ve done here. I hope I make you proud in the war to come.”

The leader of the fortress dropped to one knee and gazed up at his fire goddess with the most respect and awe I’d ever seen in a man’s face. I smiled at the seismic shift Chantara’s reputation and life had taken in such a short time, and I felt proud that I’d been such a major part of that transformation.

The beautiful phoenix bowed her head low and wrapped her arms around her body like she was giving herself a hug. She began to shake and curl in on herself as we watched, and then her feet began to glow. Slowly, the intense sun-bright yellow glow moved up her body, and her posture straightened as the light engulfed her.

Once it reached her shoulders, her wings burst free and shone brighter than they ever had before. Everyone shielded their eyes for a moment, but we couldn’t stop ourselves from watching the rest of the powerful display.

Soon, Chantara floated above the wood, and her hair seemed to float around her head like a fiery halo. She threw her arms out to each side with a cry of power before she slammed back into the ground, and the wood exploded into flames.

The glowing phoenix beckoned Ignis forward, and a broad excited smile stretched across his face and crinkled his eyes. Then he walked forward without hesitation and embraced Chantara in the flames.

Chantara placed both her hands on either side of his face, like she’d done to explode the skull of the poison-brewing betrayer, but instead of a shower of blood, Ignis’ face had the serene, contented expression of a monk receiving enlightenment.

Moments later, new wings began to emerge from Ignis’ shoulders, and tears of joy streamed from his eyes. Chantara smiled sweetly at him and kissed him on the cheek before she gestured for him to leave the fire.

“I am reborn!” Ignis cried out and then laughed as he walked back to his group. “Who’s next to be blessed?”

A few of the group jostled each other, and it looked like there might be some competition over who would go next, but then all the muttering stopped, and the group split apart as a small girl limped forward.

This tiny, skinny little phoenix had one arm in a sling with no hand attached, and she walked with one foot turned inward. She might have been physically weak, but the look of determination in her little face was one of pure power.

Chantara got down onto one knee and held her hand out to the little girl, who took it with her one hand and shuffled fearlessly into the flames. Instead of putting her hands on the girl’s face, Chantara lifted her up and wrapped her arms and wings around her.

Seconds later, I had to take a step back as they suddenly began to glow brighter than the sun. Then a small girlish giggle erupted from the blinding light, and the little girl flew into the air.

“Talia!” a young female phoenix cried out and ran forward with her arms outstretched.

The little girl flapped her new wings and soared over the whole group as we watched with gaping mouths. This was the longest flight I’d ever seen, and she made it seem so easy.

“Talia, come back!” the woman called, and the tiny powerful kid whooshed back to her mother and landed in her arms with a huge grin.

“Mommy! Look!” Talia yelled and brandished two perfectly formed hands.

After that, everyone was clamoring to go next, and one by one Chantara released each of them from the curse. It was only Talia who had the strength to fly, though. Or maybe it wasn’t strength, maybe it was just the pure steadfast belief that only a child could hold.

Either way, the look on Chantara’s face as she watched little Talia take flight was one I’d remember forever. She seemed prouder than I’d ever seen her, and there was a tiny hint of something else. Not jealousy, but maybe a little bit of competitiveness, and I knew she’d be doing everything in her power to fly like Talia had.

It took over an hour for Chantara to heal every one of the phoenixes on our side, and the last one to take their turn was Darya. She smiled at Chantara like a long-lost friend and stepped into the flames with her head held high.

Chantara gave Darya a long embrace and held her face delicately. Then my beautiful phoenix dipped her head and kissed Darya tenderly on the lips, and I watched as they both closed their eyes. The kiss lingered, and from my perspective, it seemed as though Chantara was welcoming her into the inner circle where only her, Rumi, and I had played before.

But perhaps I was just being hopeful.

Darya’s wings exploded out of her back in a passionate deep red, the only ones so far that had smoldered like that, and I wondered what it meant. Maybe Chantara’s kiss stirred something in her, or maybe Darya was filled with more passion and desire than I’d realized. Whatever the reason, she looked even more stunning than before, and I had to refocus my mind since it had gone from business to pure filth in seconds.

Then the only ones left were the ten who’d chosen not to stand with us.

I walked over to Ignis, who was happily inspecting his now scar-free hands, and tapped him gently on the shoulder.

“Ignis, I think it’s time for the healed to go back inside and have breakfast.” I gestured to the others. “It’s time for us to deal with them.”

“Yes, quite right,” Ignis replied and began to hurry his people back inside with cheerful words about eating to get their strength up and needing good food in order to fly.

Once everyone was back inside except for my original team and the ten prisoners, Ignis’ tone changed.

“You chose to try and poison our colony.” He walked up to each one of them and stared deeply into their eyes. “You chose to dishonor your people. You chose to stand against our fight for freedom. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?”

One spat on the ground by Ignis’ feet, and another sneered defiantly.

“You’re weak, Ignis,” a third snarled. “It doesn’t matter what power you have now, you’ll always be a weak and pitiful excuse for a phoenix.”

“I’ve heard enough,” Ignis muttered coldly. “On behalf of all the phoenix population, for your betrayal of your kind and cowardice in abstaining from the war, I sentence you to die.”

Ignis nodded at me and stepped aside. I locked eyes with Rumi and raised my eyebrows in a silent instruction, and she stepped forward. Baz, Joe, and Lyra followed her lead, but Darya seemed to be lost in her own world as she stared into her palms and created tiny puffs of smoke and little flickers of flames.

The rest of us lined up in front of the ten prisoners, and Jurinda, Jurek, and Nate stood behind them acting like bouncers in case any of them tried to flee.

Then Chantara walked into the middle of the line and shook her head with disappointment.

“It didn’t have to be this way,” she said softly.

“I’d never follow an ogre loving cunt like you into battle,” one of them sneered.

“So be it.” Chantara shrugged and put her hands onto the chests of the two closest phoenixes. They both let out a terrible scream as smoke erupted from her palms, and her hands bored into their torsos like a hot knife through butter.

When Chantara pulled her hands away, the holes in the phoenixes’ chests went through to their spines. I watched with gruesome fascination as their half-charred hearts squeezed their last feeble pump around their hollow bodies, and then their lifeless corpses collapsed onto the ground.

The prisoner opposite Rumi opened his mouth to say something, but the vixen snarled before she shoved her claws deep inside and ripped out his tongue. Then, with a lightning-fast flick of her wrist, she tore out his esophagus and pushed him to the floor.

Meanwhile, Joe and I pulled out our guns and fired one clean shot through the skulls of two prisoners each. Then Lyra and Rumi used their claws on another one each, while Baz finished off the last one with a knife to the heart.

Once they were all dead, Ignis looked over their bodies with a pained frown.

“I had so much hope for us all,” he whispered sadly. “It should never have come to this. But it had to end this way, I know that.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder and told him to go inside and be with his people. As he walked back to the fortress, I turned around and saw Darya staring at me with wide doe-like eyes.

“I-- I’m sorry,” she stuttered. “I got so lost in myself that I didn’t help you. I didn’t know it was going to be so… brutal.”

“Hey, come here,” I said and bundled the slim but curvy phoenix up in my arms. I was surprised to see her so shaken up by this, she’d seemed so bloodthirsty before. “It’s okay, there’s plenty of time for you to help. I don’t blame you for getting excited about your powers. You’re shaking, are you alright?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled into my chest but held me a little tighter. “I just thought I was more prepared for all of this.”

“Shh,” I soothed. “You’re a fierce woman, who’s the daughter of an even fiercer woman. You’ll get there. I have no doubt whatsoever.”

I placed a comforting kiss on her forehead, and she gazed up at me with a sweet innocent expression on her face that I’d never seen before.

“Thank you, Ryan,” she said, and then her eyes flickered with something else. “I’ll have to find a way to make it up to you.”

I smiled since I didn’t know what to say. Darya was an intoxicating mix of sweet and dangerous, innocent and sexy. I didn’t know for sure what she meant by making it up to me, but my dick sure hoped it was one thing.

I gave the alluring phoenix a quick squeeze and then turned back to the group.

“We should dispose of these bodies,” I said to Chantara. “Do you have enough strength to burn them?”

“Yeah,” she replied breezily. “I actually feel refreshed. I don’t know whether it was that fire, or maybe it was being around so many other phoenixes, but I feel better than ever.”

She looked better than ever, too. Her complexion was glowing, her eyes were brighter, and her wings seemed to be even bigger than before. Maybe healing the others had healed her as well.

Chantara swirled a fireball around between her hands until it was the size of a large beach ball. Then she shoved it toward the line of bodies, and I watched as it turned each of them to ash almost instantly, before it disappeared into a puff of black smoke at the end of the last body.

It seemed like she’d gained stronger control over her powers, and that strength was reflected in the confident smile on her face.

When she was done, the three transporter ogres moved forward in unison.

“We can bury the ashes,” Jurinda offered. “The others won’t want to see that.”

“Thank you, Jurinda.” I smiled. “What did you think of the show?”

“Necessary.” The shipwright nodded. “We needed to see it, and now we know the witches’ days are numbered. You can count on us, and when we’re back in the north forest, we’ll make sure the other clans know what happened here. There’s a new dawn on the horizon, and we want to be a part of it with you.”

“We wouldn’t have been able to do this without you and your crew,” Chantara said. “I’ll always owe you for your support.”

“Call it even, for our past?” Jurinda let out an awkward half laugh.

“Even, then.” The phoenix returned the ogre’s laugh.

“I’m sure I heard some talk about breakfast,” Baz playfully grumbled. “C’mon, we’ve worked up an appetite!”

We all chuckled and rolled our eyes, and the three other ogres worked quickly to shuffle handfuls of sand and dirt over the line of ash until nothing was left of the scene. Then we returned to the fortress for some much-needed breakfast.

The atmosphere inside was electric, everyone was chatting excitedly and buzzing about. It was like walking into a celebration. As soon as they saw us walk in, phoenixes ran hurriedly around us and ushered us into seats, fetched us food and drinks, and fussed over us like we were royalty. Even the ogres got the special treatment and seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves.

No one seemed to care about the execution of ten of their members, well, twelve if we count the ones from yesterday. I guessed that was probably due to the bad apple rule. One bad apple can spoil the whole barrel, and this particular barrel had twelve of them, so it must have felt like a fresh start for everyone else.

After I’d eaten my fill, I tracked down Ignis and asked for a quiet word. He was happy to oblige and led me to a beautifully carved dark wood bench that sat in a lush garden in the middle of the huge fortress. All the sides of the garden were walled off with vines and flowers creeping up to the open roof, and the sun beamed down and sparkled off the babbling water feature and created an idyllic slice of calm.

“This is beautiful,” I marveled.

“Thank you, Ryan.” Ignis smiled proudly. “I’ve worked on this garden for years. It’s my favorite place to come and think.”

“I can see why.” I paused just to take in the array of different flowers and plants. “I wanted to thank you for your understanding earlier. I know it can’t have been easy to have your people killed like that. But I’m glad you could see how necessary it was.”

“Yes, it was.” Ignis nodded slowly.

“I also wanted to ask you about the mainland,” I continued. “I’ve been told it’s a vast place, did you say there were more phoenix colonies here?”

“Oh, yes, many more.” Ignis scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I have some contact with three of them. But they’re quite far from here, and the road to them is quite treacherous, filled with witch strongholds and other unpleasantness.”

“That’s okay,” I said and was already formulating a plan. “I need you to play a major role in the war. Not the battle for Pyregate, but the larger war.”

“What do you mean?” Ignis frowned slightly.

“Taking Pyregate is just the first step.” I smiled. “It’s just one tiny spoke in the wheel. I need you to help spread the word of what happened here. Tell them the time of the phoenix is rising again. Tell them they’re not alone. Tell them ogres, vixens, and phoenixes are standing together, shoulder to shoulder, and the witches don’t stand a chance. Can you do that for me?”

“Oh, Ryan.” Ignis straightened up and puffed his chest out. “It would be my honor and my privilege.”

“I knew I could count on you,” I said and clapped him on the shoulder. “I want you to be my envoy on the mainland. I need someone I can trust, and you’re it. I’m sure you’re still a strong fighter, but your real strength is your leadership. With your help, the war will be half won by the time we return.”

I knew stroking Ignis’ ego would boost his confidence in his own abilities. He didn’t look like he was ever a particularly fierce fighter, but he’d managed to keep his people safe and keep most of them respecting him for this long, so I knew his name had gravitas in this part of the world.

“I will be singing yours and Chantara’s praises until the day I die, you can trust that.” Ignis bowed his head respectfully.

“You’re a good man,” I said. “I’m going to ask Chantara to try and train your people and help them use their powers. We can also offer weapons as a backup. I know Chantara found using her powers quite draining at first, so it’s always good to have options. We’ll start training later today.”

“Excellent.” Ignis clapped his hands together. “That is just excellent. What a blessing it has been to have you find us.”

We chatted for a little while longer about how Narelle had sent us and Ignis’ history with her. He had a lot of respect for her and said he could understand where Darya got her fiery side from.

Later on in the day, we decided it was time to get to work training the new recruits, and Baz, Lyra, and Rumi offered to help patch up a few boats Ignis had stashed away for an emergency. The boats were basic, but they would work for what we needed them for. Some had a few little holes in the hulls that Jurinda said they could patch up with no problem, so they got to work on that, while I joined Chantara and Darya for phoenix training.

The whole rest of the day, Chantara stood in the middle of a circle of phoenixes and showed them the different things she could do. She first showed them how to extend their wings, and Talia was the star of that lesson. Some had some real difficulties with it and struggled for hours before finally getting a grasp of it and celebrating wildly at their newfound control.

The next lesson was creating fire. Chantara demonstrated how she did it and then took her time with each phoenix, well, around half of them. By the time she’d gotten through half, it was nighttime, and Ignis asked everyone to call it a day and have some food.

The evening went by in a blur of food, drink, and celebration. Everyone was in high spirits, and fire wings lit up the dining hall. Baz and Lyra looked closer than ever, and it was quite sweet to watch them be in their own little world and just cocooned into each other chatting quietly.

Joe also had a blast. He’d really ingratiated himself with some of the phoenixes and was getting on brilliantly with them. He even showed them some of his knife tricks and got a few impressed ‘ooooh’ sounds from some of the women.

But Chantara was the center of attention, and everyone wanted to thank her or ask her questions or just tell her how amazing she was. A couple of times in the evening, she asked me if I was comfortable with her getting all the attention, and I had to laugh, since seeing her happy and celebrated was absolutely awesome for me. I loved the knowledge that the best woman here was going to end up in my bed.

Darya seemed a little standoffish at the beginning of the evening, so after we’d eaten, I went to sit with her for a little while and see if she was okay.

“You look like you don’t want to be here,” I said as I sat down beside her.

“I just feel a little out of place,” she replied with a shrug.

“These are your people, surely you should feel more at home here?” I asked.

“I guess,” Darya muttered as she looked around at everyone. “Maybe I just don’t belong.”

“Is it the fortress?” I pressed.

“Maybe.” The pretty young phoenix suddenly blushed. “I’ve never been anywhere with stone walls.”

“You deserve to see the world.” I smiled at her sweet, vulnerable confession. “Soon, you’ll feel comfortable anywhere. You’re a beautiful, powerful phoenix. Hopefully, one day soon, you’ll see that, too.”

Darya’s head whipped around, and she stared into my eyes as a soft smile played on her lips.

“You… think I’m beautiful?” she asked in a barely audible voice.

She suddenly looked shy and innocent, and I understood then that her sassiness and her bravado was her armor. What I could see in her now, and her reaction to the execution, was the real her. I knew there was still a warrior in her, but now I knew there was also a soft gentle woman who just wanted to be loved.

“I do,” I said with a smile.

Darya bit her lip and kept her eyes locked onto mine, and I felt like we were about to have a real moment before Baz stumbled over with a full glass of something and sloshed it all over my back.

“Ahssshit!” Baz slurred. “I’m really sssorry, lemme clean it up f’you.”

“It’s fine.” I laughed.

The moment had passed, and the rest of the evening blew past quickly.

The next morning, Baz woke up a little groggier than the rest of us, but Lyra had a very satisfied smile on her pretty face. I didn’t know how he’d managed it, but I was happy for the rosewood fella.

We all went down to the dining hall as a group, and Ignis was already up and organizing another amazing breakfast feast. I wondered how he managed to keep so much food on the go, but we hadn’t really seen half of the place, so maybe they had some farmland and animals around somewhere.

The morning and most of the afternoon was focused on training again. Chantara was an excellent teacher, she was patient, understanding, and encouraging. By mid-afternoon, every one of the phoenixes managed to make a fireball, and I figured that it was good enough.

I took over training for a little while and showed a small group how to shoot, and Joe helped me to show everyone how to wield a knife and a taser.

We could have spent weeks training them and making sure everyone could do everything perfectly, but it could have all been for nothing if we ended up drastically outnumbered by the witches and the elves.

My plan was to get back to Pyregate, gather the ogres and the vixens, and take the fight to the witches before they had time to fully prepare.

I checked with Jurinda about the new boats, and she was happy to say that they were seaworthy. She said they weren’t going to be the prettiest things on the water, but they should last the trip, as long as the sea god allowed it.

That last part sent a chill throughout my insides. But we needed to get back.

Ignis had organized some food for us to take back, and Baz acted like they were brothers. I guessed if you fed an ogre, you’d have a friend for life.

“Ignis, thank you for everything, and thank you for the trust more than anything,” I said to the gracious leader.

“We should be thanking you,” he replied with a grateful smile. “You’ve done more to help the phoenixes than anyone has in generations. Whatever you need, you can always count on me. This colony is free because of you, Chantara, and your wonderful team. I will do everything I can to unite the other colonies for when you return.”

“I trust you, Ignis. I know you’ll do a stellar job.” I shook the proud phoenix’s hand and then led everyone to the boats.

Once we were on the beaches and beside the boats, I handed control over to Jurinda.

“It is a risky journey,” she said in her stern captain voice. “You must all row in unison, I’ve done what I can to teach you, but now it’s up to you. Keep each other safe and follow where our boat goes. If you see any merfolk, shout for us, and we’ll do what we can to protect you. It’s hard work, but if you stay focused, we can all get there safely.”

With that, we filed into the four boats. There was our original Viking style longboat with the ten of us, then another three from Ignis, with two boats of sixteen and one of eighteen. I was impressed we’d ended up coming away from this with a full fifty fighters.

There were a lot of nervous faces among them, but more looked determined and excited for the next part.

I asked Chantara to give one last motivational speech to her people, and by the end of it, everyone, including ogres and vixens, were pumped and raring to go.

So, we launched the boats into the Black Sea and began to row.

The water was calm at first, and it seemed the sea god was willing to grant us safe passage. I didn’t really believe whatever that thing was truly was a sea god, but I didn’t have a better way of describing an impossibly large and terrifying sea creature.

After about an hour of rowing, we’d made a good dent in the journey, and it seemed like this was going to be a much easier voyage than we’d had the first time.

But then Jurinda pointed out a slick black tail that vanished below the waves just as I looked at it.

“Merfolk!” I shouted to the other boats, and my word was echoed by the others who began to search the water.

I’d only spotted one at first, but then I noticed more and more of them. Those fishy fucks were circling us.

“Prepare your fireballs!” I called above the rising wind.

Chapter Sixteen

“Keep rowing!” Jurinda bellowed over the sound of the rushing wind.

It seemed like all at once the elements had teamed up with the merfolk and turned against us. Swirling dark clouds began to blot out the sky, and the Black Sea lived up to its name. I tried not to look into the water for long, since it just seemed like a bottomless pit of darkness with endless space for giant monsters to lurk.

Half of the phoenixes were busy creating fireballs, while the other half rowed with every ounce of strength they had. I didn’t know for sure, but it felt like we were past the halfway point. Instead of that filling me with hope, it felt like we’d come too far to turn back, but not far enough to feel safe.

A huge crash of thunder sounded from the ominous clouds, and the sky flickered brightly with lightning. The brief flash of bright light lit up the water, and I clenched my jaw as I saw an army of merfolk beneath us.

“Keep your eyes on the water!” I shouted. “There are more of them than there are of us, but we’re stronger. As soon as they stick their ugly fucking heads out of that water, blast them with everything you’ve got.”

A cheer went up from my team, and they all seemed hungry for battle. But people always wanted what they hadn’t tasted before. I just hoped that when shit hit the fan, they were still prepared to do what had to be done.

We managed to get another fifteen minutes of rowing in before the clouds burst, and raindrops the size of quarters lashed down on us. The sea felt choppier after that, and it made spotting unusual breaks in the water impossible.

“Stay focused!” I called to everyone.

The waves began to rock the boats wildly, and the rain hammered down on us. I saw one of the boats wobble dangerously over to one side, and all the phoenixes inside hunkered down into the hull.

That’s when the merfolk decided to attack.

All at once, about twenty tails slammed against the side of their boat, and I watched on in horror as it almost capsized.

“Joe, now!” I shouted to my best marksman, and the two of us began to fire at the smug seal-nosed faces of the merfolk.

We hit six of them before the rest dove below the surface and disappeared for a moment. The phoenixes in the boat that got attacked looked terrified, but they shakily got back to their positions and rowed faster than before.

“Shore!” Jurinda yelled at the top of her lungs.

I turned around to try and see, but I couldn’t spot anything through the heavy downpour. She hadn’t lied to us yet, though, so I had to hope she’d really seen it.

We continued to row, and it seemed like the merfolk had been put off by a few of their crew getting shot in the face. But minutes later, a strange sideways wave approached us on our left side.

I couldn’t understand it for a second, but then I saw a telltale flipper break the surface, and I knew it was an organized attack.

“Fireballs! Now!” I pointed toward the unnatural wave.

Within seconds, about fifteen fireballs exploded into the water, and a few stunned merfolk floated to the surface. The rest dipped deep under the boats, and then they began a coordinated attack. A few at a time would bash into the bottom of our boats and rock us. It wasn’t enough to tip us over, but it was enough to make rowing nearly impossible, and aiming went out the window.

Even with the merfolk’s best efforts, we were still managing to kill them off slowly. Joe, Baz, and I shot at least eight of the fuckers, while Rumi and Lyra sliced any of them who got close enough to our boat. Chantara and Darya made a great team and ensured that they burned any of the merfolk we missed to a fishy crisp.

Soon, the merfolk stopped attacking our boat altogether and concentrated on the other three boats since their fighters weren’t as accomplished. I regretted not splitting us up over the four boats now, but Joe, Baz, Darya, Chantara, and I could still attack from our position. Rumi, Lyra, and the three ogres focused on rowing us to shore, and when I spared a quick glance that way, I could see the first hint of the cliffs.

Then a chorus of screams erupted from the farthest boat, and I saw all of the phoenixes’ grip onto the sides as the hull dipped all the way over to one side.

“They’re going over!” Chantara screamed.

She fired off two massive fireballs, one on either side of the boat, and they stayed burning even through the water. Pained wails followed the long hiss of steam, and a few merfolk propelled themselves out of the water with huge sizzling burns all along their bodies.

A strange gurgling sound came from below our boat and moved quickly toward the farthest one. I didn’t know what it was at first, but then it dawned on me that it must have been underwater battle cries.

Suddenly, the gargled yelling broke through the surface of the water, and about thirty merfolk lunged at the far boat. The phoenixes yelped in surprise but quickly began attacking back. I saw the flash as a few of them pulled out their tasers, and an electric current ran through the circle of merfolk. Others grabbed their knives and stabbed wildly, and spurts of oil-slick blood cascaded into the sea.

In the next boat over, all the phoenixes were firing fireballs to help out their friends. It seemed the merfolk had chosen that one boat to sink, and they were doing a decent job. I watched as it began to take on water, and one merman pulled himself up on the side with a disgusting sneer on his face. A slender woman bashed the fucker on the head with her oar, and the merman fell back into the water.

We continued to attack from our boat, but it looked as though the phoenixes were going to sink. If they ended up in the water with all those merfolk, they were done for.

“Get to that boat!” I demanded, and the other three boats began to row back to the sinking one.

We were so close and managed to get about four feet away when more of the merfolk bastards pulled themselves up onto the right side and dipped it below the surface. The vessel took on enough water to sink, and all of the phoenixes plunged into the inky depths.

But just as I was about to lose hope for them, all the merfolk began to swim away.

I watched the fuckers swim past our boat with wide eyes full of fear. This was their playground, and they were winning, so what were they scared of?

Oh, fuck.

Ktulu.

“Get to the shore!” I barked at the other two boats. “Now!”

“But what about the others?” one of the phoenixes called back.

“We’re on it!” I shouted. “Just get to land, now!”

The other two boats began to row quickly toward the shore, and my crew moved the opposite way. The current had pushed us farther away from the floundering phoenixes, but we’d started to close the distance.

That’s when Ktulu decided to make his appearance.

The tip of a giant tentacle loomed out of the water as if it was searching for something. It swayed from one side to the other, and then its huge suckers latched onto the body of a dead merman and dragged him under the water for the last time.

“Shore! Now! No arguments, just row!” Jurinda demanded fiercely.

“We can’t leave them,” I argued. Then I shouted to the others in the water. “You have to swim! You don’t have much time!”

A few of the phoenixes swam quickly and reached our boat. It was going to be a tight fit, but I felt confident we could just about squeeze everyone in for the last leg of the journey without sinking.

As the first six reached our boat, we yanked them inside. The others were frantically swimming toward us, but Jurinda and the other two ogres had started to row hard back to shore.

Another several managed to get to us, and we just pulled them inside when the waves surged us forward, and the last few bobbed helplessly out of reach.

“Swim!” I shouted, but a part of me knew it was too late for them.

The dramatic surge wasn’t a rogue wave, it was much worse. I thought it was a tidal wave, but the water gave way to an enormous bulbous head. When I say enormous, I mean it was probably the size of a house, and it just continued to rise up into the sky. It looked like the head of the biggest octopus that anyone could ever imagine, but then its eyes appeared, and it was clear this wasn’t an octopus.

Huge red eyes, that were easily the size of a car, broke through the waterline and glowed with evil intensity. The black pupils roamed across the scene and then focused on the panicked phoenixes in the water.

“We have to get out of here, now!” Jurinda screamed in a high-pitched voice that was pure horror.

I knew she was right, even if I didn’t want to leave them behind. But it was a choice between those few and the twenty of us in this barely floating boat.

“Row!” I shouted at the team, and anyone with an oar moved with all their energy.

Some of the phoenixes were wailing and asking for a little more time, until Ktulu raised up even more and revealed its full head and shoulders.

I could barely conceptualize the size of it. The tentacles curled around its head and weaved themselves in and out of the waves at a seemingly never-ending length, and everyone in our boat fell silent as we tried to save ourselves.

This fucking sea god also looked to have humanoid arms. Well, there were two of them, and although they were coated in scaly, slimy seaweed textured skin, the fucker had the powerful trapezius and delt muscles of a humongous bodybuilder.

I didn’t want to see the rest of its body.

We kept rowing and watched as Ktulu claimed its sacrifice. One tentacle wrapped itself around all of the phoenixes and began to crush them. They all fired off fireballs that looked tiny next to this beast, but the monster just regarded the little creatures with its demonic red eyes before it crushed them all into nothing.

As Ktulu moved its tentacle underneath all the others and in toward what I could only assume would be its mouth, Chantara let out a furious cry. We were so close to the shore now, and I wished she could have just kept her composure until we were safely away from the creature that could kill us all just as easily as it could breathe.

Her scream caught the sea god’s attention, and its glowing eyes locked onto us. It began to glide forward in the deep water, and my guts tightened at the thought of how huge it could be to fucking walk along the seabed with its shoulders above the surface.

Just then, our boat hit the sand, and Jurinda, Jurek, and Nate sprang into action. Jurek and Jurinda moved to the front and began to drag the bow, and Nate shoved the back end. The rest of us quickly scrambled out, and we all abandoned the well-crafted longship as Ktulu moved closer.

“Nate!” Jurinda squealed. “Leave it, it doesn’t matter!”

The ugly ogre grimaced with effort and kept on pushing the boat.

“Nate, run!” she called again.

The wonky-eared ogre finally looked up and noticed us all on the beach beckoning him over. Joe and I emptied our mags at the monstrous beast, but they seemed to have the same effect as a spitball hitting a raging bull.

Nate’s eyes widened as the beach trembled, and in his last few moments of life, a tiny spark of recognition flickered across his face, and his chin wobbled. Then he turned to face his fate just as a huge tentacle latched onto him.

“No!” Chantara screamed and ran forward.

“Chantara, stop!” I raced after her and grabbed her around the waist.

She let me hold her in place, but I felt her entire body heat up like an oven. I let go once I felt sure she wouldn’t run back into the water and watched as her arms spread all the way outward. A bright white ball engulfed her completely, and then she let out an ear-splitting cry and stomped forward.

This person-sized ball turned blood red the second it left her and barreled toward Ktulu. The sea god gave it a cursory glance as he lifted Nate into the air and crushed his spine, and the fireball slammed into the side of its huge bulbous head.

Immediately, it smelled like seared seafood, and the sizzle of wet flesh being burned was only drowned out by a deep guttural moan from the beast. It took a clumsy step back and dropped Nate into the shallow water as all of its tentacles recoiled in pain.

Ktulu made one final grumble that sounded like a low chorus of whale songs, and then it plunged back into the Black Sea and disappeared.

Nate’s lifeless, contorted body washed up onto the beach, and Jurinda ran over to him. She dropped to her knees and sobbed, and Jurek stood behind her and stroked her back.

“Are you okay?” I asked Chantara since it was the biggest fireball I’d ever seen her make.

“Yeah,” she replied with a sad sigh. “But we lost some fighters today, and I can’t help but feel that their deaths are on my hands.”

“You can’t think like that.” I pulled her into my arms and held her close. “They’ve chosen to fight with us, they believed in the cause, and they want this as much as you do. You’ve liberated them from the curse and given them their powers back. No one else in the world could have done what you did for them. We lost fighters today, not you. We all stand together now, and there will be more deaths, but we’ll get through it. We can’t quit now, or they will have given up their lives for nothing.”

Chantara nodded into my chest and squeezed me tightly. I kissed her on the forehead, and when she exhaled deeply, we went to join the rest of the team.

“He was a good man.” Jurinda sniffed and then slowly pushed herself back to her feet.

“I’m truly sorry for your loss, Jurinda,” I said to the miserable-looking ogre.

“Thank you,” she replied and then cleared her throat and turned around to speak to everyone. “He was a good man, but not a bright one. He never listened when he thought he could make a good show of something. He didn’t deserve to die, though. Learn from this. Listen to orders, please.”

A murmur of soft whispers fluttered around the phoenixes, and I knew I had to say something to them all.

“I wish we could have saved your friends,” I said as I raised my voice. “We did our best to get to them, and I only wish we could have done more. I’m sorry you’ve started your time on Pyregate like this.”

The phoenixes nodded somberly, and then a young male voice spoke up from the crowd.

“You did more than we did. They were our people, and we left them.”

More quiet mumbles rippled around the group before another stepped forward.

“You saved most of us,” a middle-aged female said. “None of us would still be breathing without you and your team.”

A subdued chorus of ‘yeah’ echoed around me, and I knew I still had all of them on my side.

Then Rumi walked up to me and led me by the hand away from the group.

“What’s up?” I asked her.

“Do you have a plan for where to take everyone?” She responded to my question with one of her own, and I realized I hadn’t discussed that part with anyone yet.

I opened my mouth to speak, but she bulldozed ahead like she’d been thinking about it for a while.

“The vixens have room for everyone,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Not all of them want to join the fight, but all of them have agreed to help in other ways. I told them they would need to help hide anyone we needed hiding, and they had no issues with it.”

“That’s perfect,” I said.

I had hoped to discuss that possibility with her, since it seemed impractical to house everyone in the ogres’ treehouses, but I was glad she’d offered it first.

“Good, that’s what I thought.” Rumi gave me a cheeky wink. “Now, how about we get all these poor souls somewhere they can relax and get over all this drama.”

“You read my mind.” I slapped her playfully on her glorious curvy ass as she walked away, and she gave me a little sexy growl.

I rounded the forty plus new phoenixes and the nine of the original boat crew and got their attention.

“The vixens have offered us all safe housing, so we’ll head back there now. It’s a bit of a walk, but when we get there, you’ll all have a secure comfortable place to rest up. We appreciate every single one of you for joining the fight, and we will remember the fallen and fight harder in their memory. Now, let’s get somewhere safe for the night.”

I realized I didn’t even know the names of the phoenixes we’d lost and made a promise to myself that I’d try to get to know as many of my fighters as I could.

Just before we set off, Jurinda and Jurek asked me for a quick word.

“We would like to go home tonight, if that’s okay?” Jurek asked politely.

“Of course.” I nodded. “Look after each other and let me know if you need anything for Nate’s burial.”

“Oh, no.” Jurinda shook her head. “He wanted a proper water burial. We’ll launch him on a flaming boat when you’re gone and say our last goodbyes. But thank you. We’ll make sure the northern clans know what’s going on, and by the time you return, we’ll all be with you… well… almost all of us.”

“Deckard?” I asked with a sneer.

“Yeah, that one.” Jurinda mirrored my expression, and I knew Deckard’s rule was almost at an end.

“Thank you for everything, Jurinda. We wouldn’t have made it across there without you.”

“No, you’re probably right,” the hardy ogre chuckled. “Go, we have a sendoff to take care of.”

I nodded and left them to give the broken body of Nate a Viking burial.

The rest of us left the beach and made our way into the forest with Rumi and Lyra leading the way. I took the rear position with Joe to make sure everyone stayed with us and that no one could attack my team from behind.

Thankfully, the woodland walk was largely uneventful. A few of the phoenixes tripped over twisted roots and seemed stunned by the night flowers as they began to bloom, but there were no sneaky witch attacks.

Once we finally arrived at Rumi and Lyra’s magical tree, the phoenixes all frowned and gazed upward as they searched for some kind of housing. Rumi smirked and flicked the tree bark with her claw, and seconds later, the door swung open to reveal the impossible corridor.

“Whoa!”

That word spread throughout the group like a wave, and each one of the phoenixes gasped as they stepped inside.

Lyra took the lead once we were inside, and she knocked on every door, greeted the vixen inside with her characteristic warm chocolaty kindness, and ushered two or three phoenixes inside. The sweet vixen was able to make everyone feel like this was just a casual slumber party between best friends, instead of a bunch of strangers encroaching on the vixens’ homes.

Finally, once everyone was inside their rooms, Lyra pulled Baz away from us and whispered something into his ear.

“Gotta go, guys… I’m, uh… really tired, yeah, so tired.” He then did the worst fake yawn I’d ever seen, and Rumi, Darya, Chantara, and I cracked up.

Lyra just smiled and then paused.

“Oh, sweetie,” she said to Darya. “I got you your own room, honey, it’s just this one here. Here’s the key, and I made sure there’s everything you need inside there.”

“Thanks, Lyra.” Darya smiled and took the key from her friend. “Goodnight, everyone.”

We all said goodnight to each other and then split up, and once the three of us were back in Rumi’s apartment, she pounced on the bed and let out a playful growl.

“Come here, handsome,” she purred.

I strolled forward and felt so glad to be alone with my two women as Chantara curled her hands around my back and unzipped my hoodie.

“You won’t be needing this,” she said as she threw it to the ground.

I turned to kiss her and savored the feel of her soft warm lips on mine, and then Rumi slipped her hand into my hair and pulled me backward onto the bed before kissing me roughly.

My cock ached in my pants, and it felt like an eternity since we’d last had some alone time.

But just before any of us could take any more clothes off, there was a knock on the door.

I grumbled as I walked over and opened it, but my slight frown turned into a smile when I saw who it was.

Darya gazed up at me with pure lust in her fiery eyes and just a small strappy top covering her perfect curvy breasts along with a tiny pair of shorts.

Chapter Seventeen

“Darya, what are you doing here?” I asked as my lips curled into a smile.

“Isn’t it obvious, sugar?” Rumi purred and hopped off the bed to walk toward us.

“I… just wanted to thank you, for everything you’ve done for me-- for us,” Darya stammered but kept her sensual fiery eyes firmly fixed on mine.

“I bet she’s got a lot more thanking to do.” Rumi giggled and winked at Darya. “What do you think, Chantara?”

“Oh, I think what she has to say is quite private,” Chantara said as she curled her arm around me and placed a tender kiss on my cheek. “Maybe you two should have a little time to… talk, and Rumi and I can go relax in the other room.”

“You read my mind, sweet thing.” Rumi gave Chantara a little squeeze and then led her out of the door. “You two make yourselves comfortable, this seems like the kind of talk that could last all night.”

I smirked at their lack of subtlety, but I was still excited by this new situation. I couldn’t say I hadn’t been wondering what it would be like to kiss Darya or run my tongue over those perfectly pert tits, and it seemed she had been wondering the same thing.

“See you in the morning, ladies,” I said to my two crafty women.

Once they’d left, I closed the door behind them and turned to see Darya leaning up against the bed with a slightly nervous smile.

“Are you okay?” I asked. “You look a little nervous.”

“I’ve just been thinking about this for a while,” she admitted and stared up at me through her thick eyelashes. “Since the moment I met you…”

She looked beautiful.

“I have, too,” I said.

Then I gently lifted her chin up and kissed her softly on her full pouty lips, and the phoenix let out a barely audible moan and pressed her breasts into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her waist and began to kiss her with more passion, and her toned slender arms wrapped around my shoulders.

Her tongue darted into my mouth for a moment, and she let out tiny gasps as if this was the sexiest moment of her life.

A sudden moment of realization hit me. The nervous smile, the little gasps, and moans… was this her first time?

“Darya,” I said as I gently pulled back. “Have you done this before?”

“Um…” She paused and looked away as a flush of red kissed her cheeks.

“It’s okay if you haven’t.” I lifted her chin again, so she was looking at me. “Are you sure you want your first time to be with me?”

“I’m sure.” Darya nodded, and that sweet, nervous smile returned.

I offered her my hand and led her round to the head of Rumi’s luxurious bed. Then I picked her up and sat her on top of the comforter.

“We’ll take this slow,” I said to the virgin phoenix. “I want your first time to be perfect.”

“It will be,” she breathed. “I’ve wanted it to be you since the moment you walked into our camp and talked about killing witches. I’m ready, Ryan.”

Hearing her say my name in this context made my dick swell. I wanted to fuck her so badly, but this time, we were going to make love.

I took off my shirt and then peeled off her strappy top. Darya giggled slightly as her small boobs popped out on full display, and I finally got to see them.

“You’re so beautiful,” I murmured as I leaned in to kiss her.

I kissed her sensually for a few minutes, and her gentle moans became more urgent, so I moved slowly down and began to kiss her neck, then her collarbone, and inched my way closer and closer to her rock-hard nipples.

“Oh, Ryan,” she whispered. “That feels so good.”

I gave her a wink as I looked up at her, and I continued to tease her nipple with my tongue while I massaged her other breast with my hand.

My cock ached to be inside her, but I wanted to take my time with Darya. I wanted her to be as aroused as possible and enjoy every second.

After I’d spent some more time kissing and sucking on her perfect tits, I eased the phoenix onto her back and made my way down her toned torso.

I kissed around the sensitive skin on her lower stomach and hips while my hand began to rub on her mound through her shorts. Darya’s back arched, and she groaned with pleasure, and I knew the time was right to get her naked.

Slowly, I untied her shorts and eased them off to reveal she wasn’t wearing any panties, and I smiled and raised one eyebrow.

She really did want this.

Her pussy was a picture of perfection, and just knowing I was going to be the first one to taste her made me harder than ever. I dropped to my knees on the side of the bed and placed her legs over my shoulders, and Darya propped herself up onto her elbows and gazed down at me through her ample cleavage.

“Are you going to kiss me there?” she asked in a breathless voice.

“I would love to, if you want me to?” I smiled up at her and kissed the silky soft skin of her inner thigh.

“Oooh,” she moaned and then giggled. “If it feels like that, yes!”

“Oh, I think it’ll feel a little better than that,” I said confidently.

“Mmmm…” Darya threw her head back as my lips moved ever so slowly from her thigh to her dripping wet pussy.

There was nothing quite like how aroused a virgin could get, and I used my tongue to separate her pussy lips before I began to lick and play with her engorged clitoris.

“Oh… wow,” Darya sighed, and her legs trembled around my ears.

I took my time and used slow firm tongue movements to tease her to the edge of orgasm before I backed away and went back to kissing her thigh and stomach. Each time I went back to her clit and built her up to the brink, I could feel every muscle in her body begin to tighten.

“What is that?” she panted after I moved away and back up to her full breasts. “This sensation… I feel like I’m going to explode.”

“That’s your orgasm,” I mumbled between her boobs. “Do you want to feel what it’s like when you explode?”

“Yes!” Darya nodded emphatically.

This was exactly the response I was hoping to achieve. I wanted to drive her wild and make her know for certain I was the man to give her what she needed.

I felt a new possessiveness over this beautiful phoenix, and I wanted to be the man to make her come every single time.

“Then let me do my thing,” I said with a smirk, and I kissed her lips before I moved back down to kneeling beside the bed.

I built her up slowly again with my tongue, flicking and sucking on her clit until her muscles began to tense up, and her back started to arch. Then I slipped my middle finger into her tight wet hole and began to beckon her to orgasm while still teasing her with my mouth.

Darya’s breath grew shallow and ragged, and her thighs shook like an earthquake was running through her body.

“I-I think it’s happening!” she cried out, and then all at once her whole body convulsed, and I felt her already tight pussy pulsate around my finger as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her for the first time.

The phoenix screamed in ecstasy as she curled around where my head was buried between her legs, and her wings exploded out from her shoulders.

After she had stopped shaking, I lifted my head and looked up at her.

“Wow.” Her blazing eyes were almost blacked out by how dilated her pupils were, and a soft sheen of sweat made her skin glisten.

“So, that was your first orgasm?” I asked.

I already knew the answer, but my pride just wanted to hear it from her lips.

“Yeah,” she sighed, and she leaned forward, grabbed my face, and kissed me hard. “That was amazing!”

“It’s only just begun.” I smiled and then took off my pants.

Darya’s eyes widened as she stared at my throbbing cock, but then she smiled and licked her lips seductively.

I still wanted to take my time, since a part of me wanted to see how many times I could make her come tonight. So, I positioned myself on top of her and teased her with the tip of my dick while I kissed her neck again.

Darya practically vibrated with pleasure and anticipation as I slowly entered her, but she was so tight around the first couple of inches of me that I decided to play with her a little more.

I pulled my dick back out, buried my face in her amazing tits, and slipped two fingers inside her. After a few minutes, her hips began to buck into my fingers, and I pressed the heel of my hand down onto her clit and rubbed it rhythmically as she continued to gyrate her hips.

Seconds later, she was quivering, and I could feel another orgasm building. Then she pulled my face up to hers and kissed me before her second body-shaking climax rolled through her.

Darya panted and gripped onto me as the aftershocks pulsed, and she looked at me with a hot passionate lust.

“I want you inside me,” she said, and it was my turn to let out a little moan.

I held the sexy phoenix in my arms as I slowly slipped inside her again. It was an incredibly tight fit, but she was so wet from her second orgasm that it felt absolutely phenomenal.

“Am I hurting you?” I asked as I eased myself deep inside her virgin pussy.

“No,” she breathed and wrapped her legs tightly around my waist.

I took it slow at first, and each stroke was gentle but firm. She felt so good, like she was made to fit snugly around my thick cock, and I bit her neck as I pushed deeper and deeper.

My strokes became a little faster, and Darya’s breathing hitched. This time, I watched her as her body shook, and her eyes rolled backward. Then she bit down on her soft plump lip, cried out, and dug her nails into my back.

I could feel her third orgasm throb around my manhood, and it drove me fucking wild.

I built up the pace slowly, and Darya began to rock her hips with every stroke, so I could tell just how much she was enjoying it. We kissed passionately, and the gorgeous phoenix dragged her nails up and down my back, which sent shivers up my spine and made me growl.

I thrust into her a little harder, and she threw her head back. When she met my gaze again, there was an intense and wild glint in her fiery eyes. I dipped low to kiss her, but she pulled my head to one side and sank her teeth into my trapezius muscle.

“Uh… fuck,” I grunted and increased my pace.

“Oh… Oh, Ryan, yes… yes! Give me a baby! Ohhhh… fuuuuuuuckkkk…” Darya bit down again but on my neck this time, and as I felt her pussy tighten again, it tipped me over the edge.

“Fuck, Darya,” I growled, and we both came together as I shot pulse after pulse of sperm deep inside her.

I collapsed onto her chest, and we both laid there for a little while and basked in the afterglow of her first time.

Eventually, I rolled over, and she looked down at the small pool of fluid we’d created between her legs.

“Do you think we might have made a baby?” she asked me with pure innocence in her eyes. “There is so much of your seed inside of me…”

“I’m not sure,” I said truthfully since I didn’t even know if a human and a phoenix could do that. “Would you like that?”

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Darya sighed and snuggled into the crook of my arm. “I never thought it would be possible, since I didn’t want to bring a child into the world just for it to be used and abused by those damn witches. But now… Maybe not right before the war, but I want it to be with you… Oh… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

The sweet phoenix blushed deeply and buried her face in her hands.

“Why not?” I said as I moved her hands and kissed her on the head. “You’d be an amazing mom.”

“You really think so?” Darya smiled so warmly that it lit up her whole face in a beautiful new light.

“I know it. Any child of yours would be full of fire, both literally and metaphorically.”

“You really feel that way?” The gorgeous phoenix giggled and then shoved herself up and straddled me. I could feel the wetness from our first session leak out onto my crotch, but it kind of turned me on.

“Yeah,” I said.

“What about Rumi and Chantara?” she whispered in my ear. “Is it okay with them if you make a baby with me?”

“Well, I’m filling them up with my cum each time we make love,” I said. “So if we can have children, then it’s probably happening with them also.”

“Hmmm…” she purred into my neck as she reached down to play with my balls again. “The thought of us all having your babies is so comforting. Just a nice big family filled with love. It’s making me… excited again.”

“Oh, really?” I was all set to just doze off and cuddle her for the night, but it seemed like Darya was ready for round two.

“Our lovemaking was so amazing,” she said with a naughty smile. “Can we do it again? I want to do it in every way possible. I want to make sure I get pregnant.”

I laughed and pushed myself up, and Darya wrapped her legs around my waist and held me close, so we were both sitting up in the bed. Even though I was tired from our first session, and the long-ass day of rowing and fighting fucking sea monsters, as soon as she started kissing my neck, I began to rise to the occasion.

“You’re gonna be trouble,” I growled as she thrust her breasts into my face.

“If this is trouble, then yes, I definitely am going to be trouble.” Darya smirked and leaned back onto her hands giving me the perfect view of her whole body.

As Darya rocked back toward me, I slipped my cock back inside her.

“Ohhhhh, it feels different like this,” she said with a devilish smile. “I can feel you much deeper. I like it.”

“Then show me how much you like it,” I growled and wrapped my hands around her hips.

The feisty phoenix began to slowly rock back and forth, and when I bottomed out inside her pussy, she ground her hips down. I let her do her thing for a while and just watched her tits bounce lazily and almost hypnotically, and I trailed my hands over as much of her soft skin as I could reach.

Then I put my hands on her curvy hips again and guided her on how to get more stimulation to her clit. She moaned and shuddered, and suddenly her wings exploded from her shoulders once more.

Darya moved faster and faster, and her breaths became little more than just panting. My name seemed to be the only thing she could say between wordless cries and groans. Then she grabbed my face and pushed it into her breasts, and I sucked on her hard pink nipples until she cried out in delight.

That was five by my count, and the swell of pride got me even harder.

By this point, the naughty phoenix had begun to bounce up and down on my dick like she was riding a horse. It felt incredible as her tight wet walls slid up and down, and her tits danced with every movement.

I started to thrust my hips up in perfect rhythm with her until both of us were breathless.

Suddenly, I felt an electric current take over me as my second orgasm of the night combined with her sixth, and we both instinctively ground our hips together. She fell forward and pushed us both back onto the bed, and I finished us both off with some final thrusts from below her to make sure as much of my cum made it into her womb as possible.

“I… don’t think… I’ll ever… get tired of that,” Darya just about managed to say through heaving breaths.

After that time, we both fell asleep almost instantly. I heard the sexy phoenix doze off and stroked her back gently until I drifted off into the deepest sleep I’d had in a long time.

“Oh!”

That was the sound that woke me up in the morning. Closely followed by giggling, and before I could open my eyes, a blanket was draped over me.

“Huh?” I grumbled and rubbed my eyes.

“Looks like you two had a real good night, sugar,” Rumi giggled again, and I realized Darya and I had fallen asleep naked and uncovered.

“Shh, let them sleep a while longer,” Chantara called softly from somewhere near the foot of the bed.

“Mmm… It’s okay,” I yawned. “I’m up.”

“I bet you were,” Rumi teased. “How about a strong brew?”

“Sounds perfect,” I sighed and began to push myself up.

Darya stirred next to me and jumped when she saw Rumi and Chantara.

“O-Oh, I’m sorry, I’ll get out of your bed,” she mumbled sheepishly.

“Don’t be silly, darling.” Rumi smiled. “We knew what was going on last night, you two must have worked up quite an appetite. Are you hungry?”

“I could eat.” The naked phoenix sat up and gripped the light blanket tightly to her chest, but her cheeks were still bright red.

“Here, sweetheart,” Chantara said kindly and passed Darya her clothes from the floor.

“Thank you.” Darya giggled and quickly pulled her top on, but not before she gave the other woman an accidental flash of her perky tits.

“Oh, good for you!” Rumi gave her an impressed nod of her head. “You’re doing alright for yourself, aren’t you, bossman?”

“Yes, I am.” I laughed and planted a kiss on Darya’s cheek.

It didn’t seem like she was used to two women being so open to sharing, but I knew she’d fit in just fine into our growing relationship.

Rumi fixed us all a mug of steaming hot something and gave Darya a plate of berries and cured meat. Last night was such a perfect break from everything that was going on, but I knew it was time to get back to business, and what better way to do it than discussing it with my three favorite women.

“Okay, ladies,” I said. “Tonight’s the night. We’re going to hit them hard and take the Ministry.”

“I’ve been waiting for this!” Rumi’s ice-blue eyes sparkled dangerously.

“Me, too!” Darya agreed excitedly.

I was impressed by the eagerness of the younger phoenix, but I could see apprehension in Chantara’s eyes.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said with some hesitation. “I just know what this means. Sure, it could mean the start of something amazing, but nothing good comes easy, and nothing life changing comes without some casualties.”

“I’m not going to argue with that.” I nodded. “It’s a fact that lives will be lost tonight. We’ve already lost some, but just think about the few we’ve lost during the fight, compared to the ridiculous numbers of phoenixes who’ve been slaughtered by the witches. Do you think they cared?”

“No,” Chantara said as her expression darkened. “But we have to be better than the witches, or all this is for nothing. We can’t become them, and the first step down that road is thinking life is expendable.”

“You’re right.” I pulled Chantara onto my lap and cuddled her tightly.

It didn’t matter that I’d made my peace with the collateral damage, I still wanted to comfort her. I knew there would be lives lost, and in all honesty, as long as it wasn’t anyone I really cared about, it didn’t really matter to me. I knew what we were doing was for the overall greater good of Pyregate, and the greater good for me personally. But I also knew better than to tell the sensitive woman I loved about my less than caring thoughts.

“We’ll do everything we can to keep our people safe,” I said as I held Chantara and stroked her flaming hair. It felt like puffs of air and tickled as I touched it. “But we do need to go over the plan. I want all of us on the same page so we can disseminate the information to everyone involved.”

“I know,” Chantara murmured and nuzzled into me. “I’m okay, I know what has to happen, I won’t let any of you down.”

“Oh, sugar, you couldn’t let us down if you tried!” Rumi laughed.

“Yeah, are you kidding?” Darya joined in with a scoff. “You’re amazing! And you actually hurt that sea god, all of the phoenixes want to be you.”

Chantara blushed and looked down. I knew she felt a little uncomfortable with all the praise, so I thought I’d bring the topic back to tonight.

“Right,” I said with calm authority. “Later this afternoon, we need to get all the ogres to meet us here. I don’t know for sure how many there will be, but I’m guessing at least fifty, maybe more, so we might end up with an army of around a hundred. Oh, actually, hang on, I didn’t take into account the vixens. Rumi, how many do you think you have on board?”

“Easily thirty, possibly more.”

“Great.” I nodded. “So, potentially we have an army of around one hundred and thirty, at a low estimate. That’s a really decent number, especially as we have forty plus phoenixes with their powers back. You guys coupled with the vixens are an unstoppable force.”

The three women allowed confident smiles to creep into the corners of their mouths, and they each looked stunning in their own ways.

“So, when we all get together, we’ll march on the Ministry,” I continued. “I want us to circle the building so those fuckers have no way out. Rumi, I need you to send a couple of your best fighters down to the underground exit and tell them no witch leaves with their life.”

“Oh, my pleasure, sugar,” Rumi replied with a wink.

“Excellent. Once they’re surrounded, we need to make our presence known. I want all the phoenixes to fireball the walls, hit them hard, but don’t drain yourselves too much. I’m not expecting the walls to come down, in fact, I want the place left standing. I just need enough of a rumble so the witches think the Ministry is about to collapse around their ugly heads. That should drive them out, and that’s when we really hit them.”

“I’m kind of excited about this,” Darya said and glanced around for someone to agree with her.

Rumi gave her a quick smile and then looked back at me to continue.

“Those leather-clad dicks will have to come out either the back door or the front door. Either way, we’ll have them covered and have vixens, ogres, and phoenixes waiting for them. I’ll be waiting out the front with Joe, and we’ll be armed to the teeth with guns and ammo. We’ll aim to clear a path, and then I want a team of ogres, flanked by vixens, to get inside the Ministry.”

“I’m happy to go back in there, handsome,” Rumi offered as her tail flicked playfully behind her.

“Great, thank you,” I said. “Will your underground team be able to find the place without you?”

“Yeah, of course.” Rumi shrugged like it was obvious. “Vixens have been using tunnels for longer than anyone around here. We probably built them. Plus, my girls can sniff out the scent of a witch easily underground.”

“Good.” I smiled. This was going to really fuck up those Pfeiffer loving cunts’ day. “Well, the plan for inside is for the ogres to raid anything that looks like it’s worth anything. So, all the shit in the crazy staircase room, and whatever they can get their hands on in the armory. Especially the red case in the barbed wire, I have to know what’s inside that thing. The vixens will be there, too, mostly to just keep the ogres safe as they steal everything they can.”

“No problem, sugar.”

“All of us on the outside will be doing everything in our power to kill all of those fucking witches, and any of their elven friends they might have brought. Although, I’m hoping us hitting them early like this will mean there are less elves to worry about. Once everything of value has been taken from inside, the vixens can come out and help us finish off any stragglers. How does that sound? Does anyone have anything they want to add?”

The three women looked at each other and then back at me with a shake of their heads.

“It really sounds like you know what you’re doing,” Chantara said proudly.

“It’s not my first time.” I winked. “Well, it’s kind of my first time doing a fucking takeover with witches and phoenixes and vixens and ogres… but you get what I mean.”

The four of us laughed together, and then we got to work.

The vixens’ impossible home was filled with electric energy. All the doors were wedged open, and vixens and phoenixes flitted from room to room discussing the plan and preparing for battle. Everyone had the excited buzz of a group of teens getting ready for their first rave, not an army of magical creatures setting up for war.

At some point in the early afternoon, Baz, Lyra, and Joe left for the ogre forest to collect the weapons from Baz’s house. It only seemed like they were gone for seconds, but that was just due to the millions of questions I’d had to answer.

By the time Lyra bounded back inside, she said it was close to dusk. Baz and Joe followed shortly after with all the weapons, and I made sure everyone who could use a knife, pepper spray, or a taser had one. Then I dished out the guns and ammo between Rumi, Baz, Joe, and me.

I also kept the small bag of hand grenades over my shoulder and knew I didn’t want them in the hands of anyone except Joe or me.

Finally, it was time to leave Rumi’s home and move out.

I led everyone to the exit and was welcomed outside by all the ogres. I was a little shocked. There were at least seventy, maybe even a hundred of the stocky rosewood people, and each of them wore a determined smile and held either a bow with a quiver of arrows, or a heavy knobby bat. The bats looked similar to the Shillelagh used in Gangs of New York, and I knew my dad would be proud that the Rabbits Revenge were alive and well in a whole new world and bigger than ever.

I waited until everyone was present, and then I stood on top of a tree stump to address my army.

“Tonight is our night!” I called triumphantly into the crowd. “Tonight, we take back Pyregate from the bastards who took it from you. Tonight, we show those fuckers who really owns this town. Tonight, the witches’ blood will flow in the streets, and everyone will know their reign is over!”

A cheer erupted from my ever-growing team, and a sea of Shillelaghs shook in the air.

“It won’t be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is.” I looked around at everyone and smiled. “You have to take back what’s yours. No one else can do it for you, you are the heroes of Pyregate! Your bravery and courage will be remembered for eternity! Who’s ready?”

Another huge cheer sounded out, and I knew everyone here was willing to die for our cause.

“Half of you follow me, half follow Rumi. When you see Chantara send up a bright fireball, that’s when we hit them with everything we’ve got. None of those bastards will see the sun rise again. Now let’s move!”

Chapter Eighteen

The sun had only gone down about thirty minutes ago, but the sky was inky black. A blanket of clouds also blocked out the stars and the moons, so we were completely covered by darkness. It felt like even the elements were on our side tonight.

My army of close to two hundred fighters moved silently, but the atmosphere hummed with electricity. I could feel the mix of excitement, tension, and rage from everyone who’d been downtrodden and mistreated by the witches. Generations of pain and suffering boiled under the surface, and I could sense that everyone wanted this as much as I did.

As we walked from Rumi’s place in the forest down toward an unused bridge near Canal Street, I allowed myself a moment to really take the situation in. I’d escaped the FBI and jumped blindly into another world, a magical world with all sorts of creatures I wouldn’t have ever considered real. But here I was, about to lead an army into a battle to take over a town from its cruel and vicious rulers.

Was I the good guy?

I’d never really considered myself to be a ‘good guy,’ since I’d been born into mobster life and done some, let’s say, unsavory things in my life. For fuck’s sake, I only recently killed my ex-girlfriend. So, perhaps I wasn’t the stereotypical good guy, but everything I’d done since I landed in Pyregate was to help Chantara live free.

Sure, I wanted to take the power out of the hands of the witches and keep it for myself. But I also wanted to crush the system that had oppressed, not only the phoenixes, but the ogres who’d had to do the witches’ dirty work.

So, I guessed I was maybe a mix of good and ruthless, kind and cunning, caring and deadly.

And I liked that.

I gazed around at the dark grass and noticed even the night flowers hadn’t bloomed tonight. It really seemed like everything in this world was bowing down to let my warriors through.

The sound of rushing water told me we were close to the canal now. Moments later, the clouds parted slightly, and the torrent revealed itself and sloshed against the riverbank. It glistened like black ice, and for a brief second, it looked like blood in the moonlight.

Witches blood, I thought to myself. This was what the gutters around the Ministry would look like once we were finished with tonight.

As I waited for everyone to cross the bridge, I inhaled deeply and let the soft breeze glide over me. I wanted to feel everything, and I wanted to take in the scenery before the bloodshed, just like my dad and I used to do before a big job. I knelt down and ran my hands through the cool grass, I breathed in the scent of sleeping flowers and running water, and I bathed myself in the gentle glow of the moons.

“You’re so much like your old man,” Joe muttered beside me. “I know what you’re doing, he’d be real proud of you, boss.”

“Thanks, Joe.” I smiled as I stood back up. “He’d be proud of you, too. He always had a soft spot for you, I think you were his second son.”

“I was his project,” Joe said with a shrug. “But he was always so good to me. Better than my own family ever were, and much better than I deserved.”

“Fuck your family,” I said firmly. “You’re an O’Sullivan, you always have been. And you’ll always be my brother.”

Joe’s lips pulled in, and he scratched the back of his neck, the way he always did when he was feeling things he didn’t want to feel. Then he sniffed and cleared his throat before he turned back to me.

“Thanks, boss.” He nodded. “Let’s get these fuckers, right?”

“Right.”

We began the final march on Pyregate from the north. Once we got to the first rows of small houses near the Ministry, I gave Rumi a quick jerk of my head, and she split off from us with half the army. Her most murderous handful of vixens had already bounded off into the tunnel system to lay in wait for any witches who thought they could escape out the back, and everyone else moved like we’d practiced this plan for months.

My half of the army followed me around the west side of the houses and toward the front entrance to the Ministry. A few drunken satyrs were stumbling around, but they quickly sobered up and ran for cover when they saw us all marching forward with weapons in hand.

Chantara strode confidently by my right side, and Darya was on my left. The two powerful phoenixes looked so ready for this, and it made me feel even more sure we were going to dominate those leather-clad cunts.

Finally, the huge dark outline of the Ministry building loomed in front of us, so I led my team around the outside of the courtyard and directed fourteen of my phoenixes to split up and line both of the side walls. The remaining ten waited out front with the vixens, the ogres, Joe, and me.

I waited for the nod from the phoenixes that Rumi’s team was in position, and then I gestured to Chantara to send up the flare.

Let’s fucking do this.

Chantara created a brilliantly bright white ball of fire and shot it high into the air above the Ministry, and it bathed the whole building in a ghostly white light. As soon as it went up, a fearsome battle cry erupted from everywhere around the Ministry, and the ground shook as everyone stomped together.

It sounded like the end of days, which was exactly what I wanted for the witches, and seconds later the first wave of fireballs slammed into the heavy stone walls.

The next wave hit both sides almost in perfect synchronicity, and I watched as small fragments of brick and roof tiles began to rain down onto the cobbled ground.

Between the blasts of phoenix fire, I started to hear shouts and terrified screams from within the walls.

“It’s working!” I called to my fighters. “Hold your positions and get ready to fight with everything you’ve got. This night belongs to us! We are the victors! We are the champions of Pyregate! Now let’s fuck them up!”

A roar rumbled through the courtyard, and a percussion of Shillelaghs drumming the ground made it feel like we were in a Viking war.

Joe and I waited at the front of our team ready to lead from the front like real warriors, and he gave me a wild grin and raised his gun to the door. I returned it and did the same.

“This is it, Joey-boy, time to show these bastards how a Rabbit fights,” I said to my brother-in-arms.

“To hell and back, boss,” Joe responded with a proud jut of his chin.

“To hell and back,” I repeated. “Once more into the fray.”

Joe turned his head from the door and gave me a knowing smile. His blue eyes were filled with a strange mix of adrenaline and nostalgia, and I knew he remembered the same warrior poem.

“Live and die on this day,” he said the final words of the poem.

In this moment, I’d never been more glad that he was by my side. No one else in this world would have been able to echo those words that played inside my head, and I felt myself be filled with the intensity and fury of every Rabbit who’d gone before me.

Suddenly, the huge wooden doors creaked open, and witches began to pour out into the courtyard.

They came out swinging and launching energy balls right off the bat.

I ducked around one, fired my first shot, and hit the fucker in the chest. As he fell, I fired again and hit the one next to him in the face, and I heard the witches scream as Joe fired round after round into the group. He was an excellent marksman, and it never took him more than two shots to drop the bastards.

The witches had nowhere to go and began to frantically fire out green energy balls at all angles. They also balled themselves up into a circle, and the outer ones continued to fire.

Then the phoenixes from the sides ran back around with their wings blazing and fired off their own fireballs. The smell of burning leather filled the air, and the witches scattered.

One witch, who was in the middle of the circle, emerged with a smug look on his ugly face and did some kind of campy Wonderwoman type twirl. His whole body turned green in the process, and his eyes locked onto Joe, who was busy shooting the witches as they tried to flee.

This glowing green witch twisted his hands around and then pointed at Joe, and a thick beam of poison-colored energy shot toward him.

“Joe! Move!” I shouted and ran to save my friend.

An ogre spotted what was happening, abruptly threw himself into Joe’s body, and knocked the kid to the ground.

Unfortunately, that brave ogre took the full energy blast to the side of his body, and I watched in horror as he disintegrated. From his shoulder to his hip just disappeared, and blood and guts spurted out of him.

Joe threw off his hoodie and pressed it into the ogre on the ground.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” I growled and fired one shot into the witch’s gut.

His power seemed to drain out of him, and I pulled out my knife. I knew it was reckless, but I didn’t fucking care. He’d almost killed a Rabbit, and that warrants a special kind of revenge.

I rushed toward the witch who was now holding the gunshot wound in his lower abdomen. When I reached him, I plunged my knife deep into his stomach and smiled.

“The Rabbits’ Revenge is always final,” I snarled and twisted the blade all the way around.

I watched the terror in his eyes and then dragged my knife all the way to the other side of his torso before I yanked it out. His intestines spilled out onto the cobbles with a sickening plop sound before I stabbed him in the diaphragm to sever it and let him die, unable to breath and cradling his own insides.

When I turned around, Joe was holding onto the lifeless body of the ogre who’d saved his life.

“He’s gone,” I said and pulled him away from the dead ogre. “We need to keep fighting.”

“Yes, boss!” Joe barked and snapped back into fight mode.

By this point, even more witches had piled out of the Ministry, but these ones were smart enough to bring shields. The ogres didn’t give a fuck, they just threw themselves into the shields and knocked a few of the witches to the ground. Then they smashed their skulls with the Shillelaghs and laughed maniacally.

I was glad to have the ogres on my side, they really were some capable fighters.

Suddenly, I saw the raiding group of ogres and vixens run inside the doors with empty bags hanging from their thick rosewood shoulders.

Then another bright green blast of light tore through a cluster of ogres, and it must have disintegrated at least three of them.

Instead of that striking fear in the rest of the ogres, it seemed to power them even more, and another roar of a battle cry rang out. The ogres surged on the witches like a plague of locusts, and they beat the leather-clad fuckers mercilessly.

At one point, I was only slightly startled to see an ogre woman bite down on the throat of a dazed witch and then laugh as she spat out a chunk of flesh. Blood flowed down her chin and drenched her clothes as a rain of spurting arterial blood splashed down around her.

Joe and I were a fearsome force ourselves. We had the accuracy of snipers but were right up in their fucking faces. I heard Joe laugh a few times, and soon his face was soaked in blood. All I could see when he turned to look at me were his bright blue eyes and his pearly-white teeth as he grinned with the love of war.

Minutes or eons later, I looked up from the body of one witch to see a line of ogres with sacks full of stolen goods, and the vixens followed them like the sexiest guard dogs around.

Each of the vixens’ claws were soaked in blood, and most of them had smears of blood around their mouths, too.

More ogres piled out, and it seemed like the team from the backdoor had followed the others out the front. My theory was confirmed when Rumi came bounding out of the doors with her ears pricked up and a devilish smirk on her beautiful blood-splattered face.

She saw me and began to run in my direction, but then her ears twitched, and her brilliant blue eyes shot to one side.

I followed her gaze and saw around five of the ogres had been attacked by witches. Our allies were on the ground, and they swung their Shillelaghs wildly to try and protect themselves from a further onslaught.

Every one of the vixens who’d come out with them froze for a split second, and I watched the hair running down the back of their heads stand on end. Every bushy tail stood straight up, and a chorus of low growls told me they’d become quite protective of their ogre companions.

Suddenly, the vixens pounced, and it looked like they all shared one consciousness. I continued to fight, but it was impossible not to be drawn to the absolute bloodbath that was unfolding on the west corner of the Ministry courtyard.

Claws sliced, razor-sharp canine teeth glinted in the moonlight, and the deafening screams of dying witches rang out into the cool night air. At one point, a whole leather-clad arm flew into the sky and landed with a wet thud. Then one witch managed to crawl out of the chaotic scramble of tails and claws, but Lyra exploded out of the pack and pounced onto his spine.

I’d never seen this side of Lyra, but I could tell by the pure hatred in her snarling face that she didn’t take kindly to people fucking with her extended rosewood family. She slammed the witch’s head into the stone floor and lifted it back up. His nose had been completely flattened, and his front teeth were shattered, jagged stumps. Then I watched as Lyra reached over his forehead and jammed her claws underneath his hairline. The witch’s dazed eyes flashed back to life, and he screamed the most awful, agonized wail as Lyra ripped her hand back and scalped him. She finished him off by punching her claws through his spinal column and discarded the scalp on the floor like it was a used napkin.

Once again, I was reminded of how glad I was that the vixens were on our side.

The remaining witches fell back toward the Ministry walls and used their shields to protect themselves from knives or bats, but our bullets could still get through, and Baz joined Joe and I in picking off the witches one by one.

The phoenixes had also managed to bring down the roof on the east side of the building, and they shot fireballs at the witches’ shields. Their fire seemed less effective now, though, and I wondered if maybe these newly freed phoenixes were running out of steam.

Then a strange hum filled the air. It sounded kind of like a meditation call, and it was coming from the group of witches behind the shields. As I watched, a bright green glow enveloped the group and swelled into a dome that covered them completely.

I fired again, but the bullet got stuck in the dome and dropped to the floor. The witches inside smirked with smug triumph and fired an energy ball out. Their weapons easily penetrated the forcefield, but nothing of ours could get through.

They slowly began to inch their way forward into the courtyard and shot more and more energy balls out into our army. I watched an ogre and two phoenixes get wounded by the witches, and I knew I had to act.

“Fall back!” I shouted to my team.

Everyone backed away from the green dome, and I tried to think how we could break through. I knew there had to be a way, but if I didn’t think of it soon, more of my army were going to end up wounded or killed.

“Phoenixes! With me!” Chantara suddenly shouted with the most authority I’d ever heard in her voice.

She waved her hands and plowed a huge fireball into the front of the dome, and it shuddered. Inside, all the witches shot each other worried looks and began to bicker with each other.

The rest of the phoenix fighters joined in and hit the dome with as many fireballs as they could muster, and soon the dome began to flicker.

I felt a swell of pride in my chest as I watched my fearless fire goddess lead her people and scare the witches.

“When the dome comes down, shoot every one of those fuckers,” I said to Joe and Baz.

“You got it, boss.” Joe nodded.

“Can’t fucking wait,” Baz growled and changed out his mag for a fresh one.

The witches inside the dome had started to jostle each other around and looked to be fighting over what to do next. Then, all of a sudden, one of the witches ran through the dome and fired off a fast energy ball into the group of phoenixes.

I heard a cry of pain and recognized that voice.

Darya.

I was moving before I even processed it, and I jumped over dozens of bodies as I ran to her side.

“Darya, you’re hurt!” I threw myself to the ground next to her and scooped her up into my arms.

“I-- I’m okay,” she stuttered weakly.

I quickly inspected her and saw she had a minor singe to her elbow, but mostly she just looked a little dazed.

“I’m okay,” she said again before her fiery eyes drifted to her left, and she sprang back to life. “Lyra!”

I followed her gaze and saw the sweet and fearsome vixen had clearly taken the brunt of the blast, and a deep charred burn covered her shoulder and part of her neck. I ran to Lyra and knelt beside her, and Darya appeared at my side and gasped when she saw the injury.

“Give her to me,” the phoenix said. “You need to fight.”

I kissed Darya and promised the witches would pay. Then I scooped Lyra up and passed her on to the phoenix, who ran away from the courtyard.

When I turned around, a red mist descended on my vision. The rage I felt was intense and all-consuming. Never in my life had I been so blinded by white-hot fury, and my jaw clenched as I ran toward the witch who’d tried to hurt my woman.

As I got closer, the witch saw me and fired off an energy ball, but I dropped into a sliding tackle and kicked the cunt’s legs out from underneath him. I was vaguely aware of my army surging against the witches, but all I could see was the soon-to-be dead bastard who tried to kill my Darya.

I mounted the witch, pinned his arms to his side with my legs, and then rained heavy punches down on his disgusting face. My fists slammed into his cheeks and jaw until one right hook sent his entire lower jaw crunching off to the left. When I pulled my fist back, his mouth hung open at a horrific unnatural angle, and I smirked.

But I wasn’t done with him yet.

A left hook to his broken jaw sent it flying back to the right, and three teeth scattered across the ground. The fucker tried to say something, and that pissed me off even more, so I pulled out my knife and thrust it into his chest, over and over and over, until his eyes rolled back in his head.

Once that bastard paid for what he’d done to Darya and Lyra, I got back to my feet and looked for my next victim.

The rest of my army had turned the tide on the witches, and the courtyard was littered with bodies. Then something caught my eye, and I looked up to see an ogre running out of the Ministry with his arms wrapped around the red barbed wire covered case. Rumi bounded out of there again seconds later with a confident smile, pounced onto two nearby witches, and ripped out their throats.

“The Ministry is clear!” she shouted to me over the grunts and screams of battle.

Before I could respond, Rumi’s head snapped to my right, and she ran at full speed. I followed her gaze again and saw a witch was about to sneak up on Chantara’s turned back. I pulled out my gun, but Rumi was already on top of the guy, and I didn’t want to hit her.

Chantara whipped around and stumbled back in shock as she saw her friend decapitate the witch who might have killed her. The phoenix’s ember eyes filled with relief, and she took a step toward Rumi like she was going to say thank you.

“Rumi, get down!” I bellowed and fired three shots at a witch who’d burst through a crowd and fired a green ball at the vixen.

I killed the witch, but not before he managed to hit Rumi in the leg, and she yelped as a huge burn spread from her ass to her knee.

Chantara’s wings suddenly exploded from her shoulder blades, and her fiery hair stood on end. Everyone dropped to their knees and covered their ears as the phoenix screamed, and the deafening screech of an injured bird shook the cobblestones and made the Ministry’s roof tiles crash to the ground.

While the world shook to the foundations around us, I ran to Rumi’s side and found she was unconscious and pale. It looked like she was in shock.

In my peripherals, I could see Chantara kneel down, and her whole body vibrated with energy. Then she thrust herself up, but instead of just standing, she shot into the air. Her whole body was on fire now, and her wings powered her high above us all.

The fighting stopped momentarily as everyone gaped up at this incredible sight.

Instinctively, I knew what was about to happen and knew I needed to get our fighters to safety.

“Ogres, vixens, help the wounded!” I shouted, and immediately Baz and another ogre appeared at my side and carried Rumi to the outer edge of the courtyard. “Phoenixes, you’re with us!”

As the phoenixes gathered and waited for their instructions, I saw Baz carry Rumi to where Darya was comforting an injured Lyra, and then he delicately placed the vixen on the ground and covered her with his cloak. His eyes widened when he saw his lover injured, but he shook his head, and I knew he’d realized he needed to stay in the moment. He turned and began to bark out orders to the other ogres. He’d really stepped up his confidence and leadership and had proven himself to be an excellent fighter.

Meanwhile, Joe and I guided the remaining phoenixes, and we created a barrier between the wounded and the witches. Then we fired bullets and fireballs into the middle of the courtyard while the witches attempted to hit back.

A few of their green balls hit the ground close to us, but it seemed like their panic at Chantara’s flight had rendered them almost useless. I took a step toward them as I loaded another mag, and the phoenixes followed.

We had them trapped, and they fucking knew it.

The phoenixes, Joe, and I managed to kill the majority of the fuckers who were left since it was like shooting fish in a barrel at this point. I thought I saw a couple of them run back inside the Ministry, but I didn’t have time to worry about that right now.

Another ear-splitting scream sounded out from high above us, and we all watched as Chantara shoved her hands toward the dwindling group of witches.

A lake of lava flowed from her hands and rained down onto the last of the Pfeiffer fan club. All they could do was cover their heads pointlessly as liquid fire melted their flesh and turned their bones to ash.

Once Chantara turned the witches into a bubbling puddle of remains, she flew over the top of the Ministry and began to rain fire down onto the building that had been the base for everything wrong with Pyregate.

I could tell Rumi’s injury had been the catalyst to Chantara’s transformation and knew the vixen would be proud that Chantara did all this for her.

A wail sounded from somewhere inside the Ministry, and moments later three witches stumbled out of the doors and down the stone steps. Their faces were half melted and made them look like Harvey Two-Face cosplayers, and I watched with some enjoyment as one of their eyeballs popped and then leaked down the blistered and burned remains of their face.

I couldn’t even tell if these three witches were male or female since their bodies had been warped beyond recognition by what looked like stone that Chantara turned to liquid. It hardened in the chilly night air, and the witches collapsed with heavy clunks onto the steps of their former sanctuary.

Chantara continued to decimate the Ministry, and soon there was a huge crash as the roof completely collapsed. Dust and debris huffed out of the doorway and completely covered the stone witches on the steps.

Then Chantara began to fly in circles around the rest of the building, and her hands were still shooting a stream of lava, as if the sky had created its own volcano. I just watched in awe of my Valkyrie, my warrior, my goddess of fire, as she consumed the Ministry with her power.

Seconds later, the rest of my army who’d been fighting at the rear exit returned to the courtyard. There were fewer of them, and some carried wounded fighters in their arms, but each of them had a triumphant glint in their eyes.

“She killed them all!” one phoenix shouted as she ran toward me, but she stopped when she saw the smoldering puddle of ex-witches and clapped her hands together. “Yes! Like that! She’s amazing!”

“Yeah, she is,” I said. “Now help everyone move out of the way of the building, it’s coming down.”

A chorus of ‘get back,’ rang around the courtyard, and everyone who was able covered the wounded and shielded them from any potential stone shrapnel.

Within minutes, the ground shook again, and a rumble that gave me flashbacks of the avalanche filled the air. We all watched, and some began to cheer, as the Ministry first shook and then began to implode.

Chantara returned to the middle of the Ministry and pulled her arms and legs inward into the fetal position. She was engulfed in orange flames that then turned white and then blue. The color changes slowly spread through her huge, beautiful wings, and when the very tips turned blue, she thrust her limbs out.

With one final war cry, Chantara seemed to light up the sky, and for a moment it seemed like an eerie blue daylight had fallen over us. Then she angled her body to the Ministry, and a body-shaped fireball released from her. It was like she’d released her spirit, and it only grew larger and larger as it raced toward the building.

The spirit-like fireball hit the Ministry like an atom bomb, and a mushroom cloud of dust and smoke shot out of the top and momentarily blocked my view of Chantara.

But like the phoenix she was, she rose gracefully from the chaos and watched along with us as the Ministry collapsed into a pile of rubble.

Once the dust had settled, Chantara flew straight to Rumi. We all ran to her side, and everyone began to congratulate her on winning the battle. I kept my mouth shut since I could see the heartbreak in her eyes and knew she didn’t think this was the time for celebrating. Not with her friend gravely wounded and more of her people injured.

Chantara’s body released a small puff of white smoke, and the flames that had covered her vanished. She scooped Rumi into her arms without saying a word to anyone and then propelled herself back into the sky.

Everyone stood back and gasped as the phoenix who’d ended the battle flew away with her vixen friend.

“Where are they going?”

“Is that vixen going to live?”

“Is it over?”

The atmosphere buzzed with questions, but I stepped onto a bench and watched as Chantara flew Rumi away.

As the beautiful phoenix turned to the right, I knew exactly where she was going.

Chapter Nineteen

“Joe, Baz, round up anyone who’s injured,” I said to my men as I moved through the Ministry courtyard, which was littered with the bodies of witches.

A large part of me wanted to just blindly follow Chantara and make sure she and Rumi were okay. But if I just disappeared from the battlefield, my army might start to panic. I needed to reassure everyone that we had won and take a general tally of our losses. That was what a leader did, and for better or worse, I was this ragtag army’s leader.

I just had to trust that Rumi would be okay.

As I walked through the carnage, I noticed some of the witches had their skulls bashed into a bloody pulp, and I knew the ogres had taken care of those ones with their Shillelaghs. Others were burned beyond recognition, and I smiled at the phoenixes’ handiwork. There were also so many gunshot wounds, and I was impressed at our aim since a few witches looked untouched apart from a single bullet hole through their eye sockets. And I definitely recognized the vixens’ work, those witches were shredded like pulled pork at a barbecue.

The cobblestones looked like they were grouted in blood, and my gaze followed a rogue finger as it floated along a red river toward the gutter.

We’d definitely succeeded in what we’d come here to do.

The battle wasn’t without its casualties, though. My army had definitely fared better than the witches, but among the leather-clad bodies were some ogres, a few phoenixes, and one vixen. I didn’t count them all, but if I had to guess, it looked like we’d lost about twenty fighters, most of them ogres.

More were injured, but the vast majority of my injured warriors smiled at me as I walked past and thanked them all for what they’d done here.

I picked my way through the rubble of the Ministry toward the back entrance and found more witch bodies. There were fewer of them, so it seemed the majority of them tried to escape from the front. I wondered how many had tried to escape through the underground passage, and I smiled at the thought of how fucked they would have been to be greeted by the vixens.

Most of the rear entrance fighters had made it back to the courtyard, but there were a couple of ogres who were frantically throwing chunks of stone over their shoulders.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I jogged over to help them.

“It’s Synthel,” one ogre panted without stopping. “He’s stuck!”

I immediately began to help throw big lumps of stone out of the way until we saw a chunky rosewood hand pop out of a gap. He waved it around and then pointed up, so I moved the direction he’d pointed, and with the help of one of the other ogres, we lifted a huge boulder off the trapped Synthel.

“Uh! Thanks!” the ogre said cheerfully and then coughed up a load of dust. “Nearly ran out of air.”

The stocky lad wriggled around and managed to shove the rest of the rubble off him, and he quickly dusted himself off. Synthel was nearly a foot taller than all the other ogres and had such a bodybuilder physique, I was stunned.

“Are you injured?” I asked.

“Oh, nah, I’m fine,” he replied and jerked his arm around until a sickening popping sound lifted his shoulder back into place. “I just wanted to say thank you, you’ve really done something great here.”

“You guys did a lot of the work, too.” I smiled. “We wouldn’t have succeeded without everyone here.”

“Mom told us you were worth fighting for,” one of the other two ogres chimed in.

“Who’s your mom?” I asked.

“Juli,” the third one said proudly.

“Oh, you must be her ‘three strong boys’ she was telling me about.” I nodded. “She wasn’t lying about you three, thank you. Your mom’s a great woman, she really helped us out earlier.”

“Yeah, she’ll do that,” Synthel chuckled.

“Come on, let’s get back to the courtyard,” I said and led the three burly ogres back to the rest of the army.

Once we were back with everyone, I climbed the three stone steps of the Ministry and rested my foot on the hardened body of one of the witches who’d been smothered in molten rock.

“You fought bravely and fiercely tonight!” I shouted to the crowd. “What we’ve done here will send ripples through this world. Pyregate belongs to the people of Pyregate once more! Never again will the witches tell you what to do. Never again will the witches tell you what you’re worth. Every one of you standing here tonight is a free person. Every single one of you paid for your freedom with your own courage, and no one will ever take it from you again!”

A huge cheer exploded through my army, and on the outside edges of the courtyard, I saw satyrs and dwarves peeking from behind hiding spots.

“We’ve lost some incredible warriors tonight,” I continued. “But we will never forget them. Their memory will live on through the stories we tell our children and our children’s children. They will live forever as the heroes of Pyregate. And so will all of you! I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done here tonight, you’ve shown this world that creatures of all kinds can band together and fight side by side. The ogres helped to liberate the phoenixes from their curse. The vixens joined the fight to defend ogres and phoenixes alike. We’ve changed the world here… You’ve changed the world!”

Another deafening roar tore through the night and filled it with euphoric energy. More and more dwarves and satyrs and vampires came to see what was happening, and they clapped politely at a distance.

I knew then my rule here had been solidified. I’d led the battle and forged my place as the one who freed Pyregate and reconciled warring communities.

But I knew it wasn’t over.

“You’ve all earned a rest, a celebration, and time to grieve for the fallen. But know that this is not the end. We cannot stop until everyone is free, and that means your brothers and sisters on the mainland. I wouldn’t ask you to do something beyond your means, and I know you are the strongest warriors this world has ever known. So, I ask you now, in front of the wreckage of the Ministry and surrounded by the blood of your enemies… Will you fight with me for a better world?”

A sea of Shillelaghs swung in the air, and fireballs lit up the night sky as every single one of my fighters screamed ‘yes’ with one voice.

Once the cheering had died down, I addressed my army once more.

“Anyone who’s been injured, come with me. Chantara has taken Rumi to a brilliant healer we know.” I moved toward the nearest wounded soldier and helped him to his feet. “It’s not far from here. Anyone who’s uninjured, please feel free to do whatever you want, go home to your families, celebrate on Canal Street, you’ve earned your freedom, so enjoy it!”

As I led the injured toward Thondir’s, everyone slapped me on the back and congratulated me on the battle.

“You’re amazing!”

“We’re with you for life, Ryan!”

“Whatever you need, you can count on us.”

“Just wait until the mainland sees us!”

“Thank you for giving us our lives back.”

I was filled with an overwhelming mix of pride, relief, and excitement for the future. I thanked everyone I passed, and eventually it was just the relatively small group of injured fighters remaining.

Baz lumbered up to me with Lyra in his arms and a worried look on his face.

“She’s in a bad way, Ry,” he muttered, and I could tell he didn’t want Lyra to hear how scared he was.

“She’s tougher than you, buddy,” I said and tried to raise his mood a little. “Thondir is brilliant, you know the shit he can do. We just need to get her there, and she’ll be back to thinking you’re the sexiest ogre in the world in no time.”

“Well, that’s just cos it’s true,” Baz said with a slightly forced chuckle.

We hurried to Thondir’s, and Darya caught up with us. She was helping a limping ogre woman who kept giving the phoenix grateful smiles and kind words.

It really made me feel so proud of everyone here, that even just a couple of weeks ago, there would have been zero chance of an ogre and a phoenix helping each other like this. But now, they’d fought side by side and been bonded in blood. I knew when I first saw Chantara that I wanted to help her, but to know I’d helped multiple races heal generational wounds made me feel like I really deserved to be their leader.

When we got to Thondir’s, the candles burned brightly, and I saw a figure pacing up and down in the window. I opened the door and held it open for Baz to take Lyra inside.

“Oh, I’m so glad you knew where I was going!” Chantara cried out, flung her arms around my neck, and peppered me with kisses. “I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything, I was so overwhelmed with everything, I just didn’t know what to do, I had to get out of there, I had to get Rumi out… I had to… I had to…”

“Shhh,” I said softly. I guided the ogre I’d helped here to a chair and then hugged Chantara tightly. “It’s okay, you did the right thing. I spotted where you were going straight away. I can’t imagine how crazy all that must have been for you. But it’s okay now, we’re all safe, and it’s in large part thanks to you.”

Chantara burst into tears, and I held her shivering body as she wept all her emotions out. After a few minutes, she sniffed, wiped her tears away, and gave me a shaky smile.

“Thank you, my love, I really needed that.” The beautiful phoenix kissed me again and then seemed to snap right back into business mode.

I’d always appreciated the fortitude of strong women, they could go through so much shit and look like they’re about to snap, but then cry for a little while, and everything gets reset. The only way anyone would know there had been an issue was with the pink rim around her eyes.

“How’s Rumi?” I asked.

“Come and see,” Chantara replied and led me by the hand into the backroom.

Thondir looked up as soon as I walked in and greeted me with a quick nod before getting back to what he was doing. It looked like he was painting a black tar substance onto Rumi’s upper leg. As I got closer, the vixen’s eyes flickered open, and she smiled sweetly at me.

“Hey, handsome,” she said weakly.

“Hey yourself,” I said and kissed her on the forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“Never better.” Rumi laughed and then winced at the pain.

“Take it easy, beautiful, you’ve been through a lot tonight,” I said as I stroked her hair.

“She’ll be back to her best when the ointment dries,” Thondir said with a smile. “I’ve heard ya did a good thing tonight. When ya all healed up, I reckon Pepper will be glad to know ya safe.”

“Will he still be up?” I asked the dwarven doctor.

“Oh, yup, works all night. But I sent a raven that’ll wake up silly old Petals and have Pepper grumbling, but when he reads the message, I know he’ll be preparing more food and drinks for ya. I’m sure the party will be in full swing before ya get there.” Thondir grinned to himself. “Yup, he really has taken a shine to ya. All of ya.”

“You’re a good man, Thondir,” I said. “I’ll see you get well compensated for everything you’ve done for us.”

“I’m sure ya will, ya seem to be running this town now, aye?” The old ogre winked.

I just smiled in response and went back to stroking Rumi’s hair.

Soon enough, the vixen climbed off Thondir’s table, and he handed her a cloth to wipe off the ointment. When she did, there wasn’t even a hint of the brutal wound.

“Oh, sugar!” Rumi cried happily and kissed the stunned-looking dwarf. “I could just eat you up! Thank you, darling!”

“Er… ya… ya quite welcome,” Thondir stuttered and blushed deeply.

“We’ll leave you to it, Thondir,” I said as I led my two women out of the door. “Thank you, just let me know what I owe you when you’re done.”

“Happy to help ya, Ryan,” the healer replied, and then he shouted into the front room. “Next!”

Darya ran over to Rumi when she saw her and hugged her tightly as Baz carried Lyra into the back.

“Are you okay?” the younger phoenix almost wept.

“Better than ever, sugar,” the vixen replied. She then turned to address everyone else in the room. “Thondir is a wonderful healer, just be patient and you’ll all be good as new in no time. And thank you, all of you, we couldn’t have done this without you.”

I saw proud smiles light up the room as ogres, vixens, and phoenixes nursed their various wounds and comforted each other.

“Does everyone know of Pepper in the market square?” I asked the room.

There were enough nods and mumbled yesses that I knew everyone would find their way there.

“Once you’re all healed, you’re welcome to come and join us at Pepper’s for a celebration.” I paused for a moment. “Of course, if you would prefer to go home to your families and rest, that’s your call. You’ve fought for the right to do what you want, so do it.”

After Lyra was all patched up and back to her best, the seven of us went to Pepper’s night café. I hadn’t realized the hardworking dwarf worked pretty much around the clock, and I wondered when that little green monk ever slept.

Did dwarves need sleep? They must, unless their happy little brains worked like sharks… I shook myself out of my weird little tangent, it wasn’t the time for that. I promised myself I’d learn more about the dwarven ways at a later date, but the rest of tonight was for celebrating our victory.

As I walked through the town with my mismatched mob, I felt like the place had changed. It all looked the same, and smelled the same, but the air felt lighter, and I felt taller. It was a similar feeling to walking through an old high school, everything looked the same, but at the same time, everything felt smaller and more controllable.

It was a good feeling to know my two phoenix partners could walk through these streets with their hair uncovered and their heads held high. I knew I’d done some bad shit in my time, but it really felt like I’d started to wipe out some of the red in my ledger. I was sure I’d add to it at some point along the way, but what I’d done here, and what I wanted to create for this world, had surely moved the scales of justice in my favor.

“Your parents would have been so fucking proud of you, Ry,” Joe said from out of nowhere and startled me with his ability to seemingly read my mind.

“They’d be proud of you too, Joey-boy.” I smiled. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Sure, you could,” the young Rabbit chuckled. “But we made a badass team out there.”

“We all did,” I said proudly.

Soon, we heard the music from Pepper’s café from the corner of the market square. Every now and then, ogres and phoenixes spilled out into the street arm in arm and sloshed their drinks. Just before we got to the door, it opened, and Pepper came rushing out.

“My boy!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “Chantara, Baz, Rumi, oh my boy, my good strong boy! Look at ya! Ya brought everyone back safely! I’ve been waiting for ya! Come in, come in, I’ve got something special brewing!”

We all laughed as the good-natured dwarf rushed us into his shop and then climbed up onto the countertop. He clapped his hands twice, and the music fell silent.

“All my lovely guests, the champions have arrived!” Pepper jumped up and down on the counter with the excitement of a kid at Disney, and I was immediately glad we’d decided to come here.

He was the tonic we all needed after a dramatic and bloody night.

The packed café felt like it was going to burst with all the cheers, and everyone buzzed with joy. Pepper jumped down from his counter and rushed into the back for a moment before returning slowly with a cauldron nearly the same size as him.

“Fuck me!” Baz clapped his hands together. “Don’t tell me that’s winogrono?”

“It is!” Pepper nodded with an excited sparkle in his eyes. “As soon as Thondir’s stupid raven landed, I got this brewing. Poor Petals was sleeping! It took me ages to get her settled again. I bet he had a good old laugh at poor old Petals.”

“What’s winogrono?” I asked and smirked at the dwarf’s temporary annoyance with his friend.

“Ah, yes, the grapes of joy,” Pepper replied. “Only for the best of times.”

“You’re the real hero, Peps.” Baz laughed and clapped the emerald fella on the back. “Let’s get on it then!”

We were all given a mug, and Pepper ladled the bubbling liquid up to the top. It smelled a bit like wine and had the color of champagne, and I smiled at the rare similarities between Earth and Pyregate.

Once everyone had been served a mug, Pepper climbed back on top of his counter and asked for everyone’s attention.

“From this point on, ya all drink free!” he cried out and was met with a deafening cheer. “Everyone, please, hold ya drinks up high and join me in leading the cheer for ya champions of Pyregate, we are all better for knowing ya!”

“The champions!” was the roar that threatened to tear the roof off Pepper’s café.

I nodded in appreciation and took a swig from my mug. It tasted almost exactly like champagne, except for a refreshing fruity aftertaste.

I got onto the counter and put my arm around Pepper.

“We all need to raise our drinks to Pepper, too,” I said to the happy mob. “He’s done more to help our cause than you know, he’s a true friend and a fantastic ally. Please show your gratitude to the dwarf who helped me from the very beginning.”

Another huge cheer rumbled through the café, and Pepper’s eyes glistened with tears.

“Ya didn’t have to do that,” he said quietly once we’d both got down.

“Of course, I did.” I laughed. “You’ve been there for me since day one, Pepper, I owe you a lot. Anything you need, just say the word, and it’s yours.”

“I don’t need anything but your friendship.”

“You’ll always have that.” I hugged the kind dwarf and then led him to the group. “Pepper, this is Joe, he’s another foreign straggler that I pulled in to join us. This is Lyra, she’s taken a liking to Baz, so we should have asked Thondir to check her for a head wound. And this is Darya, she’s very special to me.”

Baz rolled his eyes and laughed at my jibe, and Pepper flung his arms around each of my inner circle.

Then we all relaxed in some comfortable chairs that Pepper had kept roped off for us and enjoyed the chatty atmosphere.

Every now and then, I caught snippets of conversations and glanced over to see new faces. Dwarves, satyrs, a couple of vampires, and a changer dipped in and out of the café and seemed really impressed by the chats they had with others. I could tell word of our victory was starting to spread, and everyone wanted to come and talk to the warriors who’d slaughtered the witches.

I wondered about the changer since I’d never seen one anywhere but on the doors at a club on Canal Street. Baz told me never to fuck with them but hadn’t said much else. What if they could be encouraged to join us in the future?

I stashed that thought away in my mind for a later time and got back to enjoying the celebration.

After a few hours, the crowd began to fizzle out, and everyone came to say goodbye and reiterated their support for the war to come. I made sure to thank everyone and really made sure they felt appreciated for their part. These beings had been ruled by fear for too long, so I had to show them I was different.

Soon, it was just the seven of us and Pepper, who was busy collecting mugs and humming happily to himself.

“Well done again, to all of you,” I said, and my chest swelled with pride. “You’re all fierce fighters, and I’m grateful to have you by my side.”

“Always, boss.” Joe nodded.

“What he said.” Baz grinned drunkenly.

“You can count on us, sugar,” Rumi purred.

“Honey, y’all are family now, can’t get rid of me,” Lyra said and curled herself around Baz.

“You’ve given me everything I ever wanted,” Darya murmured softly. “I’m with you until the end.”

“You really are something, Ryan,” Chantara said with a tenderness that warmed me from the inside.

We raised our drinks to each other and basked in the comfortable silence. But I had one more thing I needed to say.

“What we did here tonight was nothing short of lifechanging,” I said. “And we could just rebuild Pyregate as a safe haven for the phoenixes. But I think we can do better than that. The word is going to spread quickly about our victory, and I think we should plan to hit the mainland as soon as we can.”

My inner circle nodded in agreement and waited for me to continue.

“Something else that’s been playing on my mind is the suspicious lack of elves, did anyone else notice that?”

“Gotta admit, boss, I have no fucking clue what an elf looks like.” Joe laughed, and I joined in.

“I noticed, sugar,” Rumi said with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t trust those shady bastards. They’re trickier than the witches, and they have their own magic. We need to deal with them.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” I smirked. “I know a little bit about gang warfare, and now that the witches have been knocked off their throne here, it’s like an open invitation for other cunts to roll in and try and take over. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen and make an example out of any of them who try it.”

“Good thinking, darlin’,” Lyra said in her smooth chocolaty voice.

“We’re with you, my love,” Chantara said.

“I think word of what we’ve done should encourage more folks to join our cause, and we should be able to hit the mainland with double the force we had tonight.” I paused and looked at all the tired faces in front of me. “It’s something we need to think about, but not tonight, and not tomorrow. Fuck knows you’ve all earned a long overdue rest. So, how about we head back to the vixens’ home and get some fucking sleep?”

My fearsome, fearless, and fucking phenomenal fighters all smiled. We thanked Pepper for his constant support and brilliant hosting skills, and then we made the walk back to Rumi’s place.

We all strolled in an easy and comfortable silence since everything had been said, and we were a solid and bonded unit. I smiled at the thought that if my dad could see me now, he’d be proud of the man I’d become and what I’d created here.

The air was fresh, and dew glistened like tiny diamonds in the grass. As we walked, the sun began to slowly rise on a brand-new day in Pyregate, and a brand-new Pyregate altogether.

My Pyregate.

End of book 3

Cast of Characters from Book 3:

Deckard: Ogre. One of the leaders of the northern forest clans. Golden dreadlocks. Brown eyes. Arrogant and mean, he has belittled Baz and the southern clans for years.

Merathy: Ogre. Siri’s childhood friend. Golden dreadlocks. Brown eyes. Has an ally in one of the northern clans and keen to help, wears gold rings on every finger.

Juli: Ogre. Another friend of Siri. Golden dreadlocks. Brown eyes. Slimmer and taller than the other ogres, and has three sons she is willing to recruit into the war to come.

Cintalia: Ogre. Baz’s great-auntie. Golden dreadlocks. Brown eyes. Has gray hair mixed into her gold dreads, can be sassy but very loyal.

Darya: Phoenix. New love interest. Red and black hair. Fiery eyes. Has more of an attitude than Chantara and is determined to see the witches get what’s coming to them.

Joe: Human. One of Ryan’s Rabbits. Blue eyes. Dark hair. He’s a loyal and fierce fighter, has a good sense of humor and in a generally likable character, takes to the new world like a fish to water.

Jurek: Ogre. One of the transporter ogres from the north forest. Golden dreadlocks. Brown eyes. His clan dislike Deckard as much as the others do, and he’s been helping the phoenixes for a while to make up for the ogres’ part in the phoenix enslavement.

Jurinda: Ogre. Jurek’s sister. Golden dreadlocks. Brown eyes. Known as one of the best shipwrights there is and doesn’t take any shit on the water.

Nate: Ogre. Helps Jurek and Jurinda. Golden dreadlocks. Brown eyes. One of the ugliest ogres, hard-working but not that bright.

Ignis: Phoenix. Leader of a colony on the mainland. Short red and black hair. Fiery eyes. He has been waiting for a phoenix to fulfill the prophecy and save the phoenixes, and he’s ready to join the fight even though he’s been a defender of peace in his colony.

End Notes

Thanks for reading Fantasy World Mob Boss 3! I’ll start writing the next book when this gets 100 reviews, so please leave a review right here. Thank you!

Do you know I have a Patreon? It’s true, and it’s amazing. When you join, you’ll get advanced chapters of my books to read and listen to BEFORE they come out. You’ll also get advanced sketches of covers, super sexy versions of my covers, and I even have an audiobook tier where you get 3-4 audiobooks a month at a steep discount. Everyone is joining, so you should too. Click on this link right here, or search for my name on Patreon.com

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2023 by Logan Jacobs

--

Patreon

Do you know I have a Patreon? It’s true, and it’s amazing. When you join, you’ll get advanced chapters of my books to read and listen to BEFORE they come out. You’ll also get advanced sketches of covers, super sexy versions of my covers, and I even have an audiobook tier where you get 3-4 audiobooks a month at a steep discount. Everyone is joining, so you should too. Click on this link right here, or search for my name on Patreon.com

So here is the deal: Amazon doesn’t update readers when an author comes out with a new book… UNLESS you follow that author on the store. Click here to go to my author page, and then click on the “FOLLOW” button on the left side.

You should also join my Facebook Fan page or follow my Facebook Author page. If you don’t follow me on Amazon or join my Facebook page, you’ll never get alerted when my next book is out. So do it now!

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2023 by Logan Jacobs

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