Descent Into Darkness

Hey guys! I have started on book two of the Born Of Fire series, and here it is! If this is your first time reading any of my work, I suggest reading book one of this series, simply titled Born Of Fire.

For those of you returning from book one, I hope you enjoy. This book is going to be full of dark themes, broken love, dangerous action, and murderous heroes. I think you will enjoy this ride with me, so kick back, steal a piece of the floor/carpet/back or passenger seat/bed and read! And for the love of God, don't forget to vote!!!!

Descent Into Darkness

Chapter One

“Tell me where they are hidden, and I will let you live,” Phoenix growled, causing the fire enveloping his body to grow hotter, and the ambient temperature in the room skyrocketed.

“Please!” the man screamed, dropping to his knees before Phoenix. “If I knew, I would tell you!”

“There is no way for you to prove yourself, so you must die.”

The man inched forward, his long sweat soaked hair dragging along the rough stone floor of the house. “My lord, please. I left the employ of Demetrius months ago; I know nothing of the current troop movements!”

 “Did you leave his army out of the fear and cowardice you display now? Or was it because you heard I was coming for his head?” Phoenix asked, taking a small step closer to the slowly dying ex-general.

“My family was threatened by my failure to capture you, and there was risk of Demetrius killing them to punish me, so I took them in the dead of night and escaped!”

“So I have heard,” Phoenix said. Gesturing out the now broken window of the house, he pointed at the still smoking bodies of an old woman and young boy lying still on the cold ground. “And since I arrived tonight, you no longer have a family, so you should not fear Demetrius. Tell me where I can find more of the stones!”

“You have killed my son and my wife,” the man screamed, anguish filling his words. “If I knew I would tell you, and then beg you to kill me!”

“Oh, do not worry,” Phoenix sneered, letting the fire leave his hands and grasping the man’s sweat soaked collar. “You will die soon enough. I just need to make sure that you are not lying.”

He lifted him into the air, watching the fight leave the man’s eyes. “Whether you die painfully or peacefully depends on you and your answers.”

The birds left the trees around the small stone cabin a moment later with the sound of many wings, when a hellish scream of pain reverberated through the woods.

Ember squinted when the light reflected off of the stream and into her eyes, blinding her momentarily. The rapidly forming tears in her eyes did nothing to help her already impeded vision, and she raised a hand to remove the moisture before it ran down her cheek. Spedro’s horse neighed, catching her attention and she turned her tear soaked eyes on him, taking in the look of despair on his face. It shocked her to see still wet tear tracks upon his cheeks and her heart constricted in her chest, anxiety flaring up in her core. What had come over Phoenix?

She knew the stone was powerful, had felt its effects herself, but she had never dreamt that her brother would leave her alone, much less strike her. Her cheek tingled and she rubbed it with a cold hand, her mind flying back to the scene directly after Phoenix left. Lindani screamed, falling to her knees in the dirt, while she herself had stood frozen, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Phoenix had stormed out of his tent, spouting madness, a crazed look in his dark blue eyes. She had tried to rip the stone from his grasp and he had struck her, causing a bruise to form almost immediately on her cheek. Spedro had started after him, but hesitated. Turning to her, he had to repeat what he had said three times before she even heard him.

“If I start after him, he may kill me. With the stone’s power, I do not doubt he has the ability.”

Coming to her senses, Ember looked for Lindani to spy her lifting herself onto her horse, water skin on her hip. Starting forward, she grasped the horses reigns. “Lindani, do not follow him. He is not himself.”