The Last Phoenix- Book 1 of the Legends of Henge Series

Chapter 21

Asteria Glass

I rested my head against the stone wall, breathing heavily. I had to get out of here.

No, I had to know what was going on. I had to know what had happened last week.

You won't find out unless you ask.

"So, tell me!" I screamed into the black, feeling delirium creep up behind me.

Maybe I should be a bit clearer, he whispered. Ask politely.

I blew out a breath. "Fine. What happened last week?" The ropes around my wrists tightened, cutting off circulation and causing me to gasp in pain. "Please," my voice strained.

"That's better," he chuckled, as if it were a little game they were playing. "Games aren't always meant to be fun." His voice had hardened, sounding harsher to my ears.

"Please," I cried out. The ropes were cutting into my wrist now, excruciatingly painful.

"Well, since you've begged," he sighed, letting the ropes slacken a bit. I sighed in relief.

"What happened?"

"You've been a very naughty phoenix," he clicked his tongue in disapproval. "You've attacked your own home. Your own people." He grinned. "Though I can't say the Foxfire Council didn't deserve it."

I gasped. "You burned down the Nocturnal Section at Vale, and you wouldn't have stopped there if you hadn't been stopped by none other than a Kitsune," the cruel man laughed.

"Aurum?"

"No."

"But I didn't!" I shouted desperately. "I would never hurt innocent people."

"No, you would, and you did. You just had to have the rage unlocked from deep within you. I just happened to have the key."

"But- but I would've remembered!" I stuttered, but even as I said this, I could feel a fire filling up inside me, flashing screaming people and burning houses past my eyes.

"You will with time," he assured me. He turned to leave.

"Wait, tell me what's going to happen with me," I begged. "Why are you keeping me alive?"

"With time, Asteria, with time," he repeated. "And if you get impatient, I may just have to take something of importance away. Ari would be so disappointed to know that you couldn't hold you tongue for her sake."

My heart sped up and my breaths came in short gasps. I could feel myself panicking as I kept thinking over and over again: How could he know? How could he know about Ari?

Haven't you learned anything? I'm inside your head now...

And so he left me with my thoughts, but not alone. I knew he was listening to every single one. As time went on, my memories unfolded, but never once did I remember any Kitsune stopping me. And if it wasn't Aurum, that must've meant that another had been there.

What time of year was it? Was it already time for the Foxfire Council to meet? That didn't happen until the Winter and Summer Solstices and it usually took place at Faunus Academy.

How long had I been here? Had I really been here long enough that Winter Solstice had come and gone? Or worse, the Summer Solstice? He'd said I'd be dead within a year. If it was summer, my time was coming. Something was planned and my part could be coming at any time.

A thought occurred to me. What if he was using me to kill the Foxfire Council? Maybe another Kitsune had been visiting and I just didn't remember yet. Maybe he was keeping me alive until the next Solstice, so when they all got together, I would kill them all.

The sick pleasure that awakened within me from my past life scared me. The Foxfire Council had raised me. I couldn't kill them.

I attempted to remember who had stopped me but no matter how hard I tried, I could only remember one person and I'd never seen her before.

Hope all you remember this girl! It's been a while since the last time we saw her but she's making a comeback.

Anywho...

Question of the Chapter: I haven't given a formal description of the odd captor in these chapters yet so what do you imagine when he's mentioned?

My answer: again no comment. I know exactly what he looks like. Fun fact, the first thing I write of a book is the climax scene so I already have his description planned out perfectly.

I reverse hate you all and if I write more (like three chapters more and I'm in the safe zone) then I'll update one more time tonight.