In Embers (The Ember Series Book 3) (4 page)

~ Only Happy When It Rains: Garbage
~

Asia:

The facilities warning sirens were deafening. The earlier explosion was far enough away to not do much damage to my holding room, but it did exactly what I intended it to; distract Avery and his goons just long enough for me to show them the real me. From the corner of my new glass cage I crossed my arms and smiled. “Nice job, Sam.”

I imagined her behind the wheel of my hulking SUV, and spinning its wheels all the way to the airport and my waiting private jet. She would be safe soon. She would be on her way home. Back to her daughter, Madi. And finally, Sam would be on her way to…him. I pictured Max’s burning brown eyes in my mind and my hands began to shake with nervous electricity.

With a growl, Avery stole me away from my daydream. “You won’t get away with this!”

“What do you mean?” I asked, still chasing after Max’s beautiful smile in my memory.

“Don’t play stupid with me, Ms. Michaels. You have no idea what you have just set in motion here. What this little invasion will cost you…what it will cost your family!” Avery scolded, as he directed his emergency crews back and forth. Guards scrambled out the door to help with the mess Sam had initiated for me with my booby trapped cell phone.

“What family? I have no one,” I laughed. In my mind I saw Max reaching for me.

“You know exactly what I am talking about. You know exactl
y
wh
o
I am talking about!” he shouted. I glared at him intensely. He returned my hate. “Does Max know about…him?”

“Shut your mouth!” I cursed.

“Ah, I guess he doesn’t know about your long lost brother…Asher.”

Oh my God, he knows about my younger brother, but how?
No one knows that info. Not a soul. Avery had eyes everywhere though. There was nowhere to hide from someone so powerful
.
Stay focused, you can handle this new wrinkle later.

“Avery, I’m warning you. Don’t cross this line,” I closed my eyes, trying with all my might not to let go of my true power. It pushed at my fingertips ready to come alive. “He’s lost for a reason. Leave my family history alone, I’m warning you.”

“Warning me? Ha! Funny, coming from the girl in the glass cell!” he laughed. “You have no power here, Ms. Michaels. You have no say in what comes next. You did this. You earned this.”

“Shut up!” I huffed, with tight fists at my sides.

“What’s that old saying…karma’s a bitch,” he chuckled, and turned from me to walk out the door. I dug my feet into the floor and flexed the muscles along my legs and stomach. My arms began to tremble and sweat beaded all over my body.

“Huh, karma…” I mumbled.

“What did you say?” he tried to ask as he turned back toward me, but it was too late. I was alive.

“Do you believe in God, Avery?” I asked, shaking uncontrollably. His eyes widened at the sight of me. Electric fire rippled along my body, dancing around the floor and walls. My hair pulled into the air like I was floating under water. It swayed with the intense energy escaping my body.

“What?” he gulped. Thunder hit the building with the force of an earthquake, shaking everything. The facilities power cut off leaving us in the dark for a few seconds just before the emergency lighting kicked on. With another grumble from the sky it too fell away, leaving only the storm and my wrath.

“God. Do you thin
k
sh
e
exists?” I called to him as a blinding arc of light ripped open the ceiling of my cell, spinning like a cyclone behind me. I stepped forward and a pulse of energy shredded the roof open even wider. Rain fell inside the room like a tidal wave, covering everything in a matter of seconds.

With eyes bulging out of his head, Avery fell backwards against the vibrating wall. “This isn’t possible…it’s not…”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” I smiled, and let my body go. A moment of silence split the air like a razor just before a surge of power exploded from me. It shattered the thick wall of glass in front of me. It sent glass and fire into the surrounding monitors and computers. Fire erupted everywhere and Avery turned to run down the hallway in a shocked fit.

“What have I unleashed?” he screamed down the hallway.

I ran forward catching up with him in an instant. A thick ribbon of white fire danced behind me like a brilliant shadow of death, destroying everything in its path.

As my hand caught the back of his neck, I said, “You never answered my question. Do you believe i
n
he
r
? Do you believe in God?”

“I do now!” he screamed in terror.

I laughed and threw him across the hallway. “Good answer,” I smiled. I waited for his security to try and stop me, but they all seemed to have disappeared. I pushed a wave of wind and rain down the corridors of the facility, trying my best to cleanse this hellhole. Ignoring Avery I made my way out of the building, but just before I did, my eyes caught something written on the door of one of the last remaining rooms that hadn’t been devastated by my touch.

“Subjects 1 through 7,” I read aloud. I looked down at the wristband that had been tightly strapped to me just before they locked me up and it had the number 5 pasted on it. I reached down and tore it from my flesh. Hate began to choke me as I pushed open the door. I let my power settle a bit, not wanting to startle any of the possible prisoners locked inside. The storm above me followed my lead. Inside the large room were just over a half-dozen glass holding cells with all but three occupied. Suddenly, a small pasty face popped from under a blanket inside the first cell. A little girl with fear and anger painted across her features. She could not have been more than seven or eight years old. Quickly, another head jolted up in the next cell room. And then another, and another, until four small faces were staring at me with wide, terrified stares. All four of the prisoners were girls. All close to the same age. My heart tightened.

“Don’t be afraid,” I said, trying not to choke on my surprise.

“Are you here to save us?” the first girl asked. I looked deep in her round sapphire eyes. They were so bright that they gave off a silver sheen. She had flushed cheeks that were cradled by white-blonde curls. “Are you the lady Two told us would come?”

“Two?” I stepped forward in shock. “I guess so.”

“She was right,” girl number three said through a tight frown. She had short black hair with a purple tint, and light green eyes, coated in the same silvery sheen.

“About what?” I asked, and looked away from girl number three. I placed my hand along the glass barrier of the scared little girl in cell number two. Reddish-blonde hair cut just above her shoulders, crowned her oval face and matching silver-blue eyes as girl number one. Those two girls looked so much alike that they could be sisters. She placed her hand against the glass too, and closed her eyes tightly. In my head I could hear her voice, soft and sweet.

“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” she said, with no words. Her paranormal talent shocked me for a quiet moment. My eyes focused on her serene face and it became clear that she had to be the twin sister of the first girl. Quickly, her eyes opened back up, greeting mine with a new hope.

“I see you have a gift too,” I whispered. She nodded yes. From behind me the last prisoner chimed in.

“We all have gifts.”

Turning to the new face, I said, “Is that so?”

Brown pigtails dangled along her cheeks, bookending her haunting yellow eyes. And yes, they also shined like diamonds. She looked to be the youngest of the four girls, but calmer than the others. She smiled up at me and I felt connected to them all for some weird reason.

With a flip of my hair I searched the giant room and found along the back wall a massive control panel and desk. With a wink, a sharp lightning bolt ripped from my hand and slammed into the panel sending sparks and flashes everywhere. Seconds later the glass doors retreated, leaving only surprised cheers and giggles of joy.

“She did it!”

“We’re free!”

“Thank you!”

I turned to scoop up as many of their hands as I could, but they had already started to run out of the room. Girl number three snatched up my hand, not afraid of the rippling energy in my palms in the least.

“Come on!” she said, with freezing hands.

Raging through the corridors of the damaged building was the wind from my surrounding storm. It pushed all the debris and wreckage from our paths, directing me and four scared little prisoners toward our freedom. As we all rounded the last bend in the hallway I could sense we were almost outside again. I also could tell we were no longer alone. Avery and the last handful of security guards waited for us at the giant hole that had been blown into the frame of the facility from my surprise bomb. Weapons were pointed directly at us and when Avery saw that I had freed his precious experiments, he lost his final thread of sanity.

“Kill them all!” he screamed, with a long shaking finger scratching our way.

“But, Sir…if we lose all the specimens…what will we do?” one of the guards asked.

“We’ll start from scratch. I’ll make more! Now, kill them! Now!”

Start from scratch? He must have meant Max. He was the key to this. With Max’s fire-starting ability, and healing touch, he was easily the most powerful of us elemental freaks. Mother Nature’s forbidden children. With a quick look around me at the terrified eyes of the girls, I felt something snap inside of me. I was meant to come here. I was meant to save these little miracles. I was meant to end this.

“No!” I shouted. I slammed a fist into the ground and the pooling water around us exploded upward. The force of the water smashed into the guns just as they began to spit their deadly shards of metal. I pushed again and a wall of wind crushed the men in front of us. They hit the watery floor with such a force that their torsos bounced into the air at least three-feet off the ground. Avery turned and ran, just escaping my barrage of wind and water.

“Follow me!” I ordered the girls, and pulled them into the desert air. They followed hand in hand, locked together tightly. With a flip of my wrist a dozen strikes of lightning rained down behind us, setting fire to everything in an instant.

“Run!” I called out, with my hand pointing the girls up the sandy hill in front of us. The girls ran as hard and as fast as they could, crying as they pushed themselves. Looking over my shoulder, I smiled.

“Karma is a bitch, Avery…” I whispered, to the wind. “And so am I.”

Just as I made my way to all the girls, the ground rumbled and the unmistakable sound of a truck engine crawled up behind us. The little ones all screamed, reaching for me. When the dust finally settled, a familiar voice greeted us.

“Get in,” Sam said, panicking. I was happy to see her, but I’d never tell her that.

“Come on, girls…” I started nudging them through the doors of the SUV.

“Asia, you’ve brought some friends. Are they all going to fit?” Sam asked, nervously.

I shrugged. “We’ll make them fit.” Sam glared at me as I waited for the last two girls to squeeze into the back of the truck.

“And these little ladies are?” Sam playfully inquired. I rolled my eyes and attempted to climb in, but found my body wouldn’t move.

“They…are…” I tried to say, as my hands clutched at the warm pain along both sides of my stomach. “…my…friends.”

“Asia?” Sam jumped from the driver’s seat. Blood was pouring from just below my bellybutton and along the inner side of my left hip. I had been shot at least twice. I never even felt it.

“Don’t worry…about me…” I coughed.

“Damn it! What do I do? I don’t know what to do?” Sam cried out. The thunder disappeared above us, and the sun filled the sky again. Warm rays of light washed over me as I reached for Sam’s hands.

“Only…one person…” I choked down a thick patch of blood.

“What?” Sam begged. The world started to fade.

“Only…he…can…save…”

“Who?” she grabbed at my face.

“You…know…”

As I let the darkness finally wrestle me from the light, I could hear the cries of the young refugee’s in the distance, and Sam’s last painful word.

“Max.”

~ I Don’t Care: Apocalyptica ~

Maui Community Correctional Center: Wailuku, Hawaii

Friday morning - 7:01 a.m. - December 31
st

Max:

“Valentine!” the eager officer grunted. If I still had my fires I would have cooked him right then and there. I wasn’t in the mood this morning. His voice fell on me again, “It’s time.”

“For what?” I gagged on my morning breath. Another long night. Another never-ending nightmare. The usual.

“You don’t remember?” Officer Fitzgerald asked, worried. And with the power of a locomotive, it hit me
.
Oh no, not toda
y
.

“Uncle Frank,” I whispered, to my cell. His funeral.

“Time to say goodbye,” Officer Fitzgerald frowned. He slowly unlatched the cell door and held out his hands for me to place my wrists in his. I swallowed hard, barely able to move, let alone stand anymore. Just as my legs gave out, he caught me.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I whimpered.

“You have to, Max. For him.”

“But…” I staggered.

From the back of my cell came a whisper. A familiar whisper…

“Remember your light.”

Searching behind me, and then over each shoulder, I found no one. “Did you hear that?” I asked Officer Fitzgerald.

He looked down at me worried, “Umm…no.”

“Are you sure? You didn’t hear anything? Anyone?” I asked, blankly.

“No. Now, come on. We don’t want to be late.”

With a quick snap he had placed my wrists in cold steel handcuffs. Moments later we were driving down the road with the island air rushing through the windows. I loved the smell, but it was missing something…someone.

“Asia,” I mumbled, and leaned back in my seat. I hadn’t seen her since that horrible day when I lost control and hurt so many people. Though my fires were no longer there, I missed her down to my bones. Maybe our bond had grown past our elemental desires. Maybe not.

The last thing I had heard was she had found my mother and entrusted her with the well-being of my daughter, Madison. I missed her sweet face completely. My magical baby girl with the big green eyes just like her mother, Samantha. My possible soulmate. Last time I had seen Sam she was protecting Madi from the same kidnappers that I was in jail for killing. Unfortunately, I was arrested and she disappeared.

“Sam…” I sighed.

Officer Fitzgerald looked over the front seat when I did, and shook his head. He had spent the last few weeks hearing nothing but Asia and Sam…Sam and Asia…

“We’re almost there.” H
e winked at me.

I took a giant breath and rubbed my hands together. I pushed at them with my mind trying to will my absent flames to come back. Nothing. Not even any heat in my hands.

“Okay,” I said, defeated. Minutes passed and I found myself walking like a zombie past a giant sign intertwined with big iron gates that read
,
Makawao Cemeter
y
. My stomach rolled over and I started to shiver. It was close to 80 degrees outside and I was freezing. I never used to get cold.

I have experienced so many unbearable events in my life; my younger sister’s death, my father’s death, my death, but nothing seemed to hit me like the sight of my Uncle Frank’s coffin. There were so many people here to say goodbye. Half the island seemed to be here in this little cemetery plot. His strong spirit touched so many in his lifetime. Too many people. Too many faces. All of them watched me as I was escorted down the thin pathway by Officer Fitzgerald. Most of them with sad stares hidden behind dark glasses. Some of the mourners shook their head in disappointment as if I had personally wronged them or their families. I had done no such thing though. My captivity was because of the
judgment I brought down on the dozen or so men who would have hurt their families. I actually made this island safer when I went supernova.

My sorrow began to turn into anger as I tried to ignore the disapproving stares. From the crowd came a familiar voice.

“Be strong, Brother.”

Snapping my head in his direction,
I said, “Kai.”

Kai Kadooka, my best friend, my partner in musical mayhem, my fun loving, free-spirited, island brother. With a new shorter hairstyle, he smiled back at me. Once his head was covered with messy dreadlocks
, but now, it was closely shaven. It made him look more mature. It was good to see him.

Kai had bore the weight of most of my mistakes since I moved to Maui. He was there to help me find my music when I had given up on it. He had supported me through the tragedy of dying and coming back to life. He forgave me for leaving him and everyone else when I needed to mutiny and flee Maui to find myself. He protected Sam when I couldn’t. He was there for my uncle when I was locked in my prison cell. Needless to say, he was my rock, my brother, but sadly, he was also my competition.

“Hey, Max, we’re so glad you made it,” Kai smiled, and walked from the crowd with Samantha’s parent’s behind him. They were not my biggest fans. They blamed me for Sam’s kidnapping. They were right, it was my fault. They hated that I had gotten Sam pregnant her Senior year of high school, and left her alone. I didn’t know at the time that she was carrying our child, but that didn’t matter to them. I changed their baby girl’s life forever. They would never forgive me for that. That’s where Kai came into play…my competition. While I was away, he and Sam had fallen in love. He had taken care of my daughter, he had kept Sam safe, and he did it as honestly and nobly as a man could. Kai was easily a better man than me.

Pulling him in for a light hug, I mumbled, “Any word from Asia on Sam’s whereabouts?”

He nodded no, and directed my eyes back toward the end of the walkway. Gently, he said, “Not yet.” He placed a concerned hand on my shoulder, ignoring his own pain.

I knew he still loved Sam, even though she had moved on from him to be with me again.

“Oh,” I sighed.

“But Madison’s doing well.”

Instantly, a smile appeared across my lips, numbing the awkward pain I was in. “Where is she?” I asked, searching Sam’s parents, and then the crowd. “I’ve missed her sweet face…” And just then, I found her. My smile faded.

“She’s there…” Kai pointed to just before my uncle’s shiny black coffin. “She’s with your mom.”

My mother. The woman who abandoned me when I was ten. The woman who blamed me for my little sister’s death. The woman who left my father and broke his heart in the process. The woman who changed her last name so she wouldn’t have to be a Valentine anymore. The woman that Samantha had said I needed back in my life. The woman that Asia apparently located when all hell broke loose last month. The woman who was holding my daughter, her granddaughter, in her arms, too nervous to look me in the eyes.

Mommy Valentin
e
.

Kai walked me up to her slowly, and scooped up Madi in his arms. He kissed her head and looked at Officer Fitzgerald for permission to hand her to me. Officer Fitzgerald nodded yes, and then excused himself before shrinking into the crowd just far enough to give me a moment. Ignoring my mother’s stare, I reached for Madi with my hands shaking a little. I hadn’t held her in over a month. I hadn’t seen her since my mother had returned to the island with her. From what I had been told, she was splitting the duties of taking care of her with Kai and Samantha’s parents.

As little Madi slid into my arms my world made sense again. She felt twice as heavy as I remembered, and she smelled as amazing as she did in my dreams. Her ten months on this planet had been surrounded by people who loved her, and she seemed happy and content. Her hands reached for my face, filling my pores with soothing heat as she squeezed me. Madison Lee Valentine was special. She shared my elemental gift of healing. Well, the gift I used to have. My ability to heal someone by just a touch seemed to be gone now. She, on the other hand, seemed to have it tenfold.

“Madi…” I sighed, and let her warmth hide me from the world. “I missed you so much.” She cooed and kicked her feet in my grip. My heart skipped a beat, and for a moment I had forgotten where I was.

“Max, how are you, baby boy?” my delusional mother asked.

My temper flared. I hoped it would bring with it my familiar heat, my fires, but it didn’t. It only brought a bad taste to my mouth.

“Hey, Mom,” I said, as if it was a curse word. She reached for me but I took a small step backward. Holding Madi tighter to my chest, I warned, “Don’t.”

“Max…” she tried to say.

She looked like how I remembered her, just with a few more creases along her eyes and lips. Her hair was still deep brown, but obviously dyed to keep the grays at bay. If I squinted my eyes enough, she looked just like the last time I had seen her. The morning she walked out on me and my father. It was a Sunday.

“Please don’t hate me,” she continued.

Erupting with anger, I snapped, “Are you freakin’ kidding me? Here? You want to do this, here?”

“Calm down, Max,” Officer Fitzgerald said, rejoining our small family reunion. His hands locked onto my shoulders. I pulled from them in a fit. His eyes filled with concern, as I grew unmanageable. He solemnly reached for Madison in my clenched arms. It made me even angrier, there was no way I would ever physically hurt her.

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” I cursed, under my breath. He winced knowing that he may be returning me to my cage sooner than later, but I slowly settled a bit. With a quick look at my mother, and then another glance at Madi’s beautiful face, I stepped back. Just beyond our circle was Sam’s parents. They both stood worried, yet quiet. I stepped up to them and handed over Madi with a broken smile on my face. Sam’s mother, Rebecca, took her from my arms and tried to return my smile.

“Thank you for coming today, Mr. and Mrs. Summers. I’m so sorry for any pain I may have caused you. I’ll find Madison’s mother. I’ll get your daughter back. I’ll find Sam,” I said, in a desperate promise. Rebecca leaned into me and kissed me on my cheek, and said nothing. I nodded toward her before returning to my mother. Kai watched me carefully and then quickly joined the Summers’ at their side.

I tried my best to ignore him and walked up to my mom and sighed, “I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to see you. But, because of a promise I made to Sam, I will.” I looked back at Madi and Kai for strength, before turning back to her. “Just not now. Not here. This is Frank’s moment. You remember him?” I asked, as if it were some kind of threat.

“Of course I remember him…” she began.

“Frank was the only one who stayed. The only one who wanted me. The only one who understood!”

“Max…”

“Mia died. You left. Dad’s unexpected heart attack,” I almost coughed on the words. “I had no one.” I looked over her shoulder at Uncle Frank’s coffin. “Except you, Uncle.” With tears, I pushed past my mother who was also crying now, and placed my trembling hands along the edge of the case. As I spied his lifeless body, painted and still, I lost it.

“I’m sorry, Uncle. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. This is my fault. You’re dead because of me, and I hate myself for it. I’m a curse…a mistake. I should be in that casket, not you.” Tears rolled from my eyes and I fell against the casket. People gasped from behind me
, but I couldn’t hear them anymore. The world began to spin, and my eyes fell black. I squeezed my eyelids tightly together and held my breath. When I opened them, I was alone. Well, almost alone.

“Hello, Son,
”
Uncle Frank said, from in front of me.

“Uncle?” I whispered. Quickly, I wiped the tears away from my face.

“You okay?
”
he asked, with a smile. I stared at him, stunned. He looked fine.

“Am I dreaming? Am I going crazy?” I asked the phantom.

With a hearty laugh, he said
,
“Probably a little of both.”

“Uncle Frank…”

He placed a hand on my shoulder and looked me deep in my eyes
.
“You’ll get through this, Son. I know it.”

“How are you here? Are you some kind of ghost?” I asked, in a panic. I searched the cemetery to find only he and I standing
there.

“I don’t know. I suppose I’m here because you need me. You need some answers,
”
he said, softly.

“I do.”

“Well, first off, let me start by saying…you’ll be okay.”

“No, I won’t. I’m so lost,” I sulked.

“Why?
”
he inquired.

“Why? Because you
’re dead. Sam’s still missing, and Asia won’t talk to me,” I sighed, before continuing. “Oh, and I lost my special abilities. No more healing, no more fires.”

“Really, no more fire-starting? Hmm…I wonder why?
”
he said, to himself
.
“You still have Madison.”