Rising From The Ashes [Eternal Flames 2]

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

Angelo slowly made his way to the fire station. He had spent the past couple of hours writing the reports on the fires Levi had set and he was still unnerved. How could a man that he had known all his life want to kill them all, and no one have a clue? However, he needed a little more information for the final report, so he figured he would stop by there to talk with Nash before heading home.

Looking up, Angelo watched as bright fire lights zipped across the sky. He wished he was up there with his Blaze and his dragon man, Morgan, but that was impossible. Carver Jinx made sure of that so damn long ago.

Thinking about the six foot four, two hundred fifty pound, tall piece of chocolate, had Angelo feeling his body tingle for the first time in centuries. Morgan Barrett was by far the most handsome man Angelo could remember ever seeing. The fact that his c**k got hard just thinking about Morgan, always seemed to shock and scare the s**t out of Angelo.

Angelo actually fantasized about what it would be like to make love to Morgan. He often

wondered if his c**k would taste like a fudgesicle. He sure would like to find out.

The laugh, smell, and sexiness of the man, turned Angelo on. Hell, even Morgan's smart ass attitude that he brought to the table had Angelo licking his lips in desire. Morgan's deep purple eyes, and how the sun would hit Morgan's bald head, gave Angelo an image he could j******f to at night.

That's where the terror came to life.

Angelo never thought about s*x. To him, s*x was pain and suffering, not something to be

enjoyed or to yearn for. Angelo was scared, confused, and anxious. He just didn't know what his future would bring, and he was afraid to look further.

"Marco, would you stop your damn primping and help us move some of this s**t!" Nash snapped

"But, Captain, I just had my nails done and this uniform is freshly cleaned. Why can't we let the dragons do this? It's their fault it happened in the first place," Marco replied in his typical snobbish way.

Angelo made his way further into the building as Nash rounded on Marco. "Look you

pretentious snot. I am not going to tell you again. The dragons are not responsible for this s**t.

Levi is. He's the one that plotted and planned multiple fires and then put those plans into action.

He is the one that killed Nina, Henry, and the others. He is the one that was sick in the f*****g head and wanted not just the dragons dead, but all our Blaze as well. So stop your primping and bitching and help Pauly, Viktor, and I find the d**k head’s body, so we can burn the bastard’s shell, and get back to our lives, or I will have you on cross guard duty for the next six months."

Marco looked almost ready to argue, but seeing the fire in Nash's eyes, he must have thought better of it. "Fine, but I still don't understand why we had to do this and not the dragons. We're

cops. They're firemen. It just pisses me off that I had a date tonight at the fire shower and had to cancel to look for a dead body."

Marco DeLaney was a conceited, self-centered ass that thought he was God's gift to men.

However, he was also loyal to the Blaze and would do what he could for the people of this town.

Angelo didn't necessarily like the man, but he also knew Marco and Levi had been best friends.

The two had hung out together often. Levi's betrayal must have been a hard blow to Marco's ego.

After all, when your best friend really wants you dead, it has to cause all kinds of emotion, and Angelo could hear hurt in Marco's tone, as well as guilt. Marco just used his attitude to disguise his real feelings.

"Hey, Nash, how's it going? Is there anything I can do to help?" Angelo asked, taking some attention off Marco.

Nash made his way to Angelo, saying, "Hi, Angelo. No, we've got this. It's just a lot of rubble to get through."

Angelo leaned into Nash, softly saying, "Nash, you really should take it easy on Marco. He and Levi have been best friends for as long as I can remember, and now you want him to try and find the man's body. Betrayer or not, Levi was still his buddy. This can't be easy on Marco."

Nash's eyes went wide. "s**t! I never thought about his relationship with Levi. I just want to find the man so we can get on with our lives."

Turning back in Marco's direction, Nash must have seen the same sadness Angelo did, because he took that moment to yell out, "Marco, I changed my mind. Go find your date, we got this."

Marco looked up, his relief evident, and hastily made his way out of the building, yelling,

"Thanks, Captain!"

Nash sighed as he rubbed his face. The man looked exhausted. "Nash, when's the last time you got some rest?"

Snorting humorously, Nash replied, "I could ask the same of you. Now, what brings you here?"

"I was trying to write out the reports and I needed the coroner results for Levi. I want to get this mess behind me just as much as you do, but I heard what you said to Marco. I guess you still haven't found him," Angelo said as he dropped his shoulders, then hitched them up again.

Nash closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, he said, "Angelo, we have been all over this place and we have found no sign of Levi anywhere."

Angelo's brow rose. "Nash, that makes no sense. Morgan and I found them in the back room when we rushed in to help.”

Pursing his lips, Nash replied, "I know, Angelo. Ethan said Levi had him back there trying to−"

Nash stopped speaking, and Angelo knew why. Day had walked in on Levi trying to r**e Ethan, just as Angelo had been r***d so many years ago, but there was no one there to save him from his nightmare.

He wasn't resentful of Ethan, he was thankful to fate for saving Ethan from an action that might take him years, if ever, to get past. Angelo still struggled from time to time.

Viktor and Ethan were always there for him. If not for them, Angelo didn't know what he might have done. Carver took more than just his virginity that night. He took his phoenix.

Nash must have noticed the pain in Angelo's expression, because he was quickly saying,

"Angelo, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Giving his friend a sad smile, Angelo replied, "Nash, that time was already in my mind tonight.

You didn't say anything wrong. How about we try and figure out what is going on with Levi's body."

"Angelo, go home. I promise if we find anything, I will call you myself," Nash replied sympathetically.

Nodding, Angelo turned to leave, then stopped and turned back. "Nash, you don't think Levi might have somehow survived, do you?"

"Honestly, Angelo, I have no idea how he could. You all said that Morgan broke his neck. I'm sure we will come across him," Nash said, his exhaustion evident in his tone.

Angelo looked towards the back room, where Levi was last seen, saying, "I really hope you're right, Nash, but I keep thinking about all those horror movies Vik and I watch. The saying is simple. You can't kill the boogie man."

Angelo left and slowly made his way to his home. He could see the fire streaks in the air, and thought about how his long time friends and new ones were up there feeling the exhilaration of flight. He was saddened and amazed at how his visions had come to fruition.

Dragon and phoenix together once more. When Angelo had first had his vision of the reunion come to him, he was shocked. The two had not been together for centuries

Long ago, they were allies and friends and many times, mates. They fought the enemy side by side, until the leader of the Phoenix was approached about a planned takeover by the dragon leader, when his daughter mated with the Dragon King's son.

Immediately the leader of his Blaze refused to allow the mating to occur. However, the two lovers refused to be parted and had secreted away, only to be found dead days later.

The phoenix blamed the dragons and the dragons blamed the phoenix, causing the Great War of the Shuites. Many died on both sides, and after almost a hundred-year battle and the death of both leaders, the war fizzled out, and both beasts went their own ways.

All phoenix were given a gift when they became sexually active. Angelo's had been brought on at a much earlier age than normal, because of―well, the point is, his gift of seeing things in his mind, was something he considered both a blessing and a curse. This time, it had to be a

blessing.

The situation first came to him in dreams. He tried to brush them off as just that, dreams. Yet, a few weeks ago he was doing his annual inspection at the shelter, where he was checking the fuse box, and the vision came to him strong and clear. Evil was coming and the dragons were going to be there fighting, by their side, once again. However, the image of his friend Ethan mating with the Fire Captain was completely unexpected.

Angelo had been confused at what he should do. Ethan was not only his friend, but also the son of the phoenix leader, Mayor Justice Abruzzo.

After talking things over with Vik, he had come to the conclusion their leader needed to know everything.

Angelo had gone to talk to the Mayor when another vision hit. He saw the shelter completely engulfed in flames. They had rushed to the scene, only to see Daytona, in his dragon form, break free from the building, with the Mayor's wife, Nina Abruzzo, in his arms.

They had tried everything to save her, but the damage was too much for her phoenix, and in the end they had to set her phoenix free. The saddest part is that she was not the only casualty that night. The entire Crystal fire department had been killed, and it set the beginning of a nightmare for Crystal, Colorado.

The shelter fire was determined to be an arson and then the Town Hall was set on fire. The towns people blamed Daytona. Some even looked at Angelo. However, in the end, it was discovered that Levi Anderson, cafe owner, and long time resident of Crystal, was behind all the fires and death that had come to their small town. He had blamed both the phoenix and dragon for his family’s death, and set out to destroy both the Blaze and Clutch at the same time.

When he attacked them all at the fire station, Daytona had fought with the man and Angelo had stabbed him. However, he was still alive and ready to kill them all, until Morgan snapped his neck. Now, they only had to find the body. Angelo didn't want to think about what it meant if Levi wasn't found.

Angelo walked into his small two-bedroom home. Dropped his keys in the bowl on the small

table, next to the door. Angelo turned on the light and breathed a relieved sigh. He loved his little sanctuary. The native decor always seemed to bring a peace to him that nothing else did. Well, except for Morgan. For some reason, Angelo always felt safer when his dragon man was around.

Scoffing, Angelo said, "He is not your dragon man, Angelo."

Shaking his head, Angelo decided that a good night's sleep is what he needed.

Walking into his bedroom, Angelo removed his shirt, shoes, pants, and socks, not bothering to put his clothing in the bin, he pulled back the covers and climbed into bed.

Angelo didn't know how long he had been asleep before he found himself walking the streets of Crystal. It took a moment before he realized he was at the shelter.

Confused at first, Angelo could have sworn he heard voices inside.

"No one should be in there, it isn't safe!" Angelo gasped as he made his way inside.

"You're an annoying little b***h! Everyone thinks you're not just ugly, but a f*****g weirdo. I might agree, but I think you'd be great to play with. Now, are you going to suck it, or am I going to hurt you."

"Ouch! Keith, please let me go. I won't tell. I promise I won't tell, just let me go."

"Oh, I know you won't tell. You talk and I will do more than beat your ass. Now do what I told you to do!"

Angelo rushed into the room, yelling, "What's going on in here!"

A young man that looked to be about eighteen or nineteen stood over another young boy. The older boy held the younger one by the hair and was shoving the kids face towards his exposed p***s.

My God, the young kid couldn't be more than fifteen, maybe sixteen.

A flash back hit Angelo. He was the one on the floor as he was being forced towards Jinx's d**k.

Suddenly he could feel every touch, smell every scent of sweat and rancid body odor. Next, Angelo was on his hands and knees begging for it to stop as he felt and smelled his own blood sliding down his legs and onto the floor. Then a burning liquid was poured onto his back. He knew he was going to die. The pain was too much. He hoped for death, until there was nothing but blackness. Levi was then holding the young man and looked at Angelo, laughing. "You're going to be too late. He took mine and now I will take his. Soon, I will take from everyone in this town."