It was dark, the thunder rolled off in the distance and the threat of rain was real. The wind gusted at times; showing flashes of true might. Despite the fact that the weather was threatening, it didn't matter.
Tonight was the night.
Jason Cameron was fifteen years old. There were three things he really cared about in life: his Fender Stratocaster, rock and roll and the badass motorcycle that sat in the garage awaiting a sixteenth birthday that was only two weeks away.
But, tonight, there was a mission. His entire universe had been rocked with the death of his favourite rock star, Jimmy Kist. He was the lead guitarist of the Steel Wings.
There had been a lot of great rock and roll bands to come down the pipes in the past seventy years, but none had ever captured his imagination like the Steel Wings. It was because of Jimmy Kist.
And, now he was dead.
There were many ways to pay tribute to his fallen hero. There had been many discussions and debates how to honour the man that had invented rock and roll guitar. Of course, he had not truly invented rock and roll guitar. There had been dozens before Jimmy Kist arrived on the scene, but to Jason he was the greatest.
Jason, Izzy and Gator had decided to pay tribute to their hero in a special way. It was daring just like Jimmy Kist, rebellious and something that no one would ever do. That was the Jimmy Kist story in a nutshell.
Jason slipped out of the window and shimmied down the tree. He carried a backpack and an acoustic guitar. Just the act of getting caught was one thing; but to commit the ultimate act was super awesome. It was something Jimmy Kist would think was great.
He arrived at the end of the street and looked around. There was no sign of Izzy or Gator.
?Hey, where are you?? He whispered in the darkness.
There was thunder in the far distance.
?There could be a tornado or the worst storm ever recorded in history, but I'm still going to pay tribute to the man.?
There was a tap on his shoulder.
He almost screamed.
It was Izzy. He had long, curly dark hair that tumbled past his shoulders. He was tall, thin and had the greatest smirk in the world.
?Nervous??
?No, just don't do that again.?
?Where's Gator??
?I don't know.?
Gator dropped from the tree that they were standing next to and made Jason scream again.
Gator was shorter and thicker than his two cohorts. He had the smile of a reptile.
?What is wrong with you two??
?You seem a little nervous, tonight.?
?Come on and quit being jerks.?
Izzy and Gator looked at each other ready to burst out laughing and walked away.
They moved on.
II
It was really dark walking down the dark path that was across the park. The street lights were not working and the few that flickered on and off proved that the city fathers were truly lame. Someone had forgotten to pay the electricity bill.
The storm danced far away and seemed to be teasing them.
?Did you two bring everything you were asked to bring??
?I did,? said Izzy as he sipped on a beer. He looked over at Gator.
?I got everything chief,? he said flashing that alligator smile that had managed him to be turned down by scores of girls.
?Good. This is going to be so cool.?
?It is.?
?I can't believe he's gone,? said Izzy
?I don't want to talk about it,? said Jason.
?That's kind of weird since like we are going to-
?I said I don't want to talk about it.?
They walked in silence.
?Mary sent me a text today,? said Izzy
The other two stopped and eyed him.
?Seriously,? they said in unison.
?You owe me a beer, slug bug,? said Gator as he punched Jason on the shoulder.
?You're drinking it. Okay, Izzy spill it.?
?I am not sure if I want to divulge that information.? Izzy tried to be dignified.
Izzy stopped and waved them off.
?No tickling allowed. After all, we are on a mission.?
?You aren't going to like it.?
There was silence as the thunder all of a sudden seemed closer.
?Nice try, Izzy, but no you aren't going to wiggle your way out of this one.?
?No, seriously, I heard something.?
?I didn't know the Red Spiders were going to be out tonight? I thought they were in jail??
?Well, it looks like they aren't all in jail. Run!?
The three of them ran off and Spice gave chase.
?What do you want to do besides keep running??
Jason and his two buddies were up quickly.
?Who said you could be in our territory?? Spice didn't look real impressed.
?It's the shortest way to the wall.?
?The wall?? The gang members looked at each other.
?Yeah, the wall that runs along Dominion Avenue.?
?You probably heard that Jimmy Kist passed away??
Spice looked away.
?I was all broken up about it.?
?So was I. We are in a band and decided that we had to pay tribute and we are going to it on the wall along Dominion Street.?
?That is really nice, but that doesn't give you any excuse to be in our territory.?
?Maybe you didn't hear me right, but we are going to-
?I heard you right, punk.?
There were about a dozen gang members and they all carried machetes.
?Maybe we cut their heads off and splatter their blood and guts on the wall. That would be a tribute nobody would forget.? Red Dog laughed. He was a great big tall geezer with a huge crop of orange carrot hair.
Spice shrugged his shoulders.
?We'll think about that one. Gimme your guitar.?
?Hey, no way, this is my guitar.?
Spice raised the machete.
?Do you want to live??
?Yeah.?
Izzy poked him and Gator looked terrified.
?Give him the guitar. Do you want my bass guitar too??
Spice smiled and nodded his head.
?Why don't you guys just dump whatever is in those backpacks on the ground??
Izzy nodded his head.
?Sure, right away, hang on a second.? He took the backpack off his shoulder and unzipped it looking like he was going to actually dump everything on the ground as Spice had commanded him to do. Instead, he reached for a can of mace and peppered sprayed the leader of the Red Spiders hard and fast.
?Run, boys!?
Izzy took off and Gator wasn't too far behind. Jason was a little slower and one of the Red Spiders reached out for him and there was a struggle.
?Get ?em,? screamed Spice.
Jason kicked the gang member who had a hold of him hard in the knee and then took off in a different direction.
They ran amok in the park hiding behind garbage cans and trees and bushes. The Red Spiders split up, but the three of them managed to avoid capture.
At one point, Izzy and Gator lost track of Jason. He had fled a different way.
Izzy and Gator made it to the wall. The threat of a storm had become a reality. The wind had picked up and the trees were dancing back and forth. The rain was only a few minutes away.
?Where did he go?? Izzy looked around.
?I don't know. Maybe they caught him??
?No way, why do you talk like that?? Izzy seemed disturbed.
?How long are we going to stay??
?Until he gets here.? Izzy leaned against the wall.
?I don't want to be negative, but what if he never shows up??
?He'll show up, Gator.?
?I sure hope so. He's the coolest guy we know.?
?Yeah, Jason is really cool.?
?Remember when we first met??
?Yeah, in kindergarten, and we were ready to fight.?
?And, he broke it up and we became friends.?
Suddenly, Jason appeared from behind the wall scaring the other two enough they screamed.
?I told you they didn't get him.? Izzy shook his head.
?No way, I said it first.?
?Ladies are we through here? Do I have to break up another fight??
They stopped and looked embarrassed.
?Let's do this.?
Jason jumped over the wall and they set up their instruments quickly.
?On three, boys,? and the three played ?Steal Wings Flying' the band's greatest hit.
When they finished the cans of spray paint rolled out.
?Let's go before someone shows up.?
For the next hour they worked the many different coloured cans of paint and when they finished stood back.
?It's beautiful,? said Gator. He had a tear in his eye.
The wall was adorned with guitars and stars and a very reasonable facsimile of Jimmy Kist. In bold black letters the words: ?JIMMY KIST IS DEAD' was spread across most of the wall.
The milky dew of the morning was trying to steal the last of the night intrusion. It had rained hard during their ?art work' but it didn't matter.
?We did it,? grinned Jason.
?We sure did.?
They walked away with all of the evidence tucked securely in their backpacks.
A car drove by and honked their horn.
Jason raised his fist and screamed: ?Jimmy Kist Forever!?
?Ally, don't worry. I heard what they did. I'm coming.' I heard his voice. ?Just stay alive.'
I hate it when that happens. Seven billion people in the world and fate chose to pair me up with him. Probably more like karma, to be honest. We're both fire-born witches. We're both connected telepathically. For some unknown reason, it's only the two of us. And yet, he's always had it easy. Part of me still hates him. Part of me will always hate him.
He was lucky enough to be born to a high family in a coven that accepted him. I was brought up in an anti-magic coven. No one even knew about my power until the day I just woke up with it.
I don't understand what I did. I was quiet. I did everything they told me, even if it hurt me, and now here I am, lying in this ditch, left to die. Jealousy. I know. It's stupid. I hate him because I'm jealous of him. But somehow, I love him for the exact same reason. Telling myself it's strange does me no good. Through all the misery, he's the one that kept me alive.
?Do you see anything? Any red-eyes?' His voice interrupted my thoughts. I had almost forgotten about them.
More frightened than ever, I looked around frantically for any sign of the red-eyed monsters that call these dirt tunnels home. Although I've never seen the beasts, I've heard of terrifying stories of what they do with the magic-borns - and it isn't pretty. ?No. Not yet. They're going to come looking. You know it.'
?Stop! Stay calm. I'll be there before you know it.'
A noise came from a far corner of the tunnel. My head jerked towards the direction of the noise immediately. My heart started pounding. This is it. Footsteps approached. ?Kyle, Hurry please.'
Scratching sounds soon followed, tormenting me. I struggled out of my seated position and onto my knees. I need to be ready to run. Still shivering from the cold, I kept shifting my gaze across all the openings in the tunnel. And then I saw it. A couple of glowing, red dots ahead of me. Frozen in my state, I gasped.
The stench of death and decay made my nose crinkle up. I couldn't see clearly, but what I saw was enough. As they got closer, I could see the tainted flesh and worn pieces of cloth that hung off their crackling bones. They moved slowly, in jerking movements, as if to scare me further. The sight of these demons disgusted yet frightened me out of my wits.
?Hello, sweetheart.? A screechy, squeaky voice spoke. ?What are you doing in a place like this? Not that we're complaining. We always welcome company.?
One step after the other, I started running towards another tunnel opening. I wasn't sure where I was heading, but I was certain that anywhere was better than there. I looked back. They were chasing me down. Hunting me.
?You have nowhere to run, my love. You won't get very far.?
Well, running is better than dying. My legs were giving out because of the cold, but I knew I couldn't give in. I continued running, choosing arbitrary paths through the tunnels. The problem with running in panic is you never know where you're going. I'm scared so I keep running. I'm lost so I know no one's going to find me. And I can't keep running. I was already starting to cramp up from the cold. But what's worse is that I was approaching a dead end.
?It's no use. I don't know where I am.' A tear escaped my eye. I turned around, backing away against the end of the passage. I took a deep breath. ?They're not going to let you through. And it will be a while before you find me.'
Kyle said, adamantly, ?I will find you' I could almost hear the intensity of his voice. We may only be connected by mind, but I could feel him. ?Whatever it takes.'
?There's no time.'
?Please don't leave me.' Kyle desperately replied. ?I love -'
His voice cut off. My eyes widened as I felt a slight blush settle on my cheeks. It didn't take Einstein to know what he was going to say. At least, I hope he said what I thought he was going to say.
It wasn't long before I was surrounded by demons chasing me. ?Don't worry, little lady. We'll make it quick.? One of them said, leaning over and sniffing in deeply. They got closer and closer. If anyone's going to save me, now's the time.
I felt a cold, slimy touch against my hand. Shuddering, I felt it slide up my arm and near my neck. ?Just relax. Fright doesn't taste as good.? The demon whispered. He was close. I could feel his breath against my face. I don't want to die like this.
?Help.'
?Stop!? A strong voice called out. The demon let me go and they cleared a path. A tall demon walked towards me. ?Do you idiots not know who she is??
?Your Grace. I apologize for them.? He said. ?It's only the elders who waiting for the King and Queen to return to their rightful places. We welcome you, your Grace. Let us take you to throne.?
King and Queen? My throne? Confused as ever, I simply stared with horror. ?Um, I-I-?
?I correct that you are a fire-born?? I remained silent. ?Fire-born mages come from hell. Although very few stay.? Hell?! Is he trying to say I'm from hell? I was overcome by panic.
?Ally? Are you still with me?' Kyle's voice instantly brought some relief.
Tantor continued, ?The Elementals destroy the fire-born race. All of them, including our royals - your parents.? I gulped. Is that true? I haven't met many fire-born people, but I don't think the Elementals would have anything to do with it. They're supposed to be just and kind. Getting rid of an entire race of magic. It just doesn't seem like them.
?There are a few pretending to be fire-born to keep all quiet.? He snorted. ?But after the massacre, there were only two true fire-born mages. One is you, your Grace. The other is the King We find him after you.?
Kyle? Kyle is the only other fire-born I know. His power confirmed it, unlike a few of the others I've met. ?You and king must reclaim power of the realm and help us get back our old forms before they find out and start more war.? War? Is he talking about the war of the demons? It took place not long after I was born. The more he talks, the more I'm starting to believe him. Am I crazy?
"You and king will bring back light for us and free us from chains. We wait eighteen years for you. You must help us."
?Masters are waiting. They wait for you in hell. We going there now.? He caught my hand, trying to pull me. I met him with an equal force, trying to stay back. I understand I have nowhere to go, but if this is a trap, I -
I looked at him. ?Stop.? Kyle looked at me, surprised.
He slowly walked towards me. ?Are you okay? I thought you -? He trailed off, looking elsewhere. The flames from his palms dissipated as he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. Looking back at me, he said with urgency, ?We have to get out of here.?
?No, I-?
?All hail the king!? Tantor yelled. Kyle turned to them and we both stared. Tantor gently gave a bow and the rest followed, some even getting on their knees.
The two of us peered in. A bright flame almost blinded us. But we could now see everything. The skies burned a fiery red and the flames below roared. A brick red castle stood tall in the distance, among a few neighbouring huts. It was like nothing I've ever seen before.
Tantor looked at Kyle. ?My king.? Then, looking at me, he said, ?My queen.? The demons behind him started walking through the portal. ?Welcome home.?
?I have an insane story to tell you.?
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