Phoenix Rising [Eternal Flames 7]

CHAPTER 1 "You do know that when my dad and pop find me you're going to so have your ass handed to you? Do you know Morgan Barrett? He is third in command in Illan Sutherlan's clutch. He is not a dragon to piss off. Then there's my other dad, Angelo Carbone. He may not be as large as my other dad, but mess with me and he is far deadlier," Manny yelled as he pounded on the door to the room he had been brought to three nights ago. Manny had been walking home from his job when out of nowhere a green man appeared, grabbed him by the arm and poofed him to who knew where. Manny was absolutely confused about what was going on. He was nineteen and had nothing to offer any kidnapper. However, it was his holding area that really had him shaking his head. His room was huge. This one room had to be the entire square footage of his home with his two dads. The man that took him was only a couple of inches taller than his own five-seven and he wasn't all muscles like Manny's pop, Morgan. This guy was taut and firm, kind of like a swimmer or a runner. However, the man's looks were completely deceiving when it came to strength. Banging on the door, once more, Manny screamed, "Let me the f**k out of here! I want to go home!" "Are your accommodations not to your liking, young one?" Manny turned around sharply, gasping when he saw the green man holding a tray of food. "What the f**k? Where did you come from? Who are you? What do you want with me?" The man set the food on the small table near the window, then gave Manny a pointed look. "I do not believe that the word f**k is one you should be using. You've lived with the humans too long Errynn. We must work on your manners." "Who the f**k is Errynn? My name is Manny──Manny Carbone-Barrett. I am the son of my dad Angelo and my pop Morgan and you have no idea what hell you are about to be put through when they find me," Manny snapped, trying to hide his fear. Shaking his head, the man replied, "No. Your name is Errynn Bidi, son of Yvnia and me, Rune Bidi. I have brought you to the old pixie realm to give us time to talk and come to an understanding." Manny drew back. "You have got to be a few cards short of a full deck. I'm telling you, my name is Manny. My mother's name was Cindy Martinez, I never even knew my dad. Mom told me he was killed in a great battle before I was even born." Sighing heavily Rune sat in a cushioned high back chair, "Errynn──" "Manny! My name is Manny!" Manny snapped in frustration. Rune closed his eyes. Manny knew that look, he saw it often on his Uncle Ethan and Day's faces when they would come over and his Dad would start on one of his rants. Rune slowly opened his eyes, and calmly said, "Fine, I will call you Manny if that makes you happy──for now. All I want is to speak to you and have a chance to know my son. I promise no harm will come to you, Manny. Just please sit with me and have a meal. We will talk and I will explain everything." "Seriously? I am not your son, asshole, and you have majorly lost what little mind you have if you expect me to just sit, eat with you, and talk as if you have not kidnapped me and taken me from all my family and friends." Manny snapped incredulously. Rune pursed his lips. "I do not like your tone, nor your language, Manny." "And I suggest you tell someone that gives a s**t about what you like," Manny sneered sarcastically. Rune tilted his head up towards the ceiling, letting out a slow breath he lowered his head once more until his eyes met Manny's. "I just want to talk, Manny. I'm willing to meet you halfway by calling you by another name. What is it going to hurt for you to just hear me out? After you hear what I have to say, if you want to return to Crystal, I will take you back." Manny was skeptical about this guy, but if there was a chance to get out of this place, Manny was all for it. "Fine. I'll listen to you, but when you're done, I want to go home." Sadness crept into the green man's eyes, but he nodded his assent. "My word is my honor, and I honor my word." Raising a brow Manny muttered, "Yeah, okay. Whatever." Shaking his head, Rune replied, "Honor, truth, and respect is very important when going into manhood, Manny. Some people don't have much, but so long as you have those three things, you are a rich man. I would have hoped Angelo and Morgan would have taught you that by now." "They have taught me plenty, and you forgot family," Manny murmured. With a small nod, Rune replied, "I concede to your point." Manny looked at the man confused. "You talk funny." Rune smiled. "That's funny. I was thinking the same about you." Manny was kind of at odds. He knew that he should be fearful or angry because Rune took him from his home, but he had not been mistreated and Rune actually seemed kind of nice. However, he could be pretending so that Manny would get comfortable and then swoop in and hurt or kill him. "Manny, I have no intention of harming you. Had I wished to do so I would have already done it," Rune replied. Manny's eyes went wide. "You read minds?" Shaking his head, Rune said, "You are still young and every emotion and thought is written all over your face." "Oh." Was all Manny could say as he sat, looked at Rune, and said, "So, what is it you wish to talk about?" "You," Rune said mater-of-factly. Sighing heavily, Manny said, "Fine, then talk, but I have to warn you, my story is not any different than many other young kids out there. Sperm donor swoops in, gets mom pregnant, sperm donor leaves, mom raises child on her own. End of story." Rune looked at Manny with great sadness. "That isn't your story, Manny. It was never my intention to leave your mother to raise you on her own. There were circumstances that you are unaware of." Shaking his head, Manny replied, "My mom and I didn't have secrets, Rune." "You did this one because I made sure of it," Rune replied regretfully. "What? You threatened her life or something? Is that what you did? You threatened to kill my mom!" Manny snarled getting angrier with each word he spoke. Rune rolled his eyes. "Oh, for the love of──I did not, nor would I ever, threaten your mother. I did, however, use a mind-altering potion that changed it so she would have no memory of me." "You f****d with my mother's head! What the f**k? Are you like those asshats, Levi, Jinx, and his d**k head brother? Are you a f*****g snake?" Manny gasped in horror. Rune growled, "No, I am a fairy. Now, please stop interrupting me so I might explain." However, Manny felt terror encompass his entire body. A fairy had taken him prisoner. Manny's dad and pop had warned him to be aware of the dangers the fairies and elves were bringing to Crystal. He had been there when Angelo almost died when Kerrick, leader of the elves, had taken over the man's body and spoke through Angelo. The fights in the park and the constant threats that had the blaze and clutch continuously risking their lives. Now one of them had taken him prisoner. Manny was in such a panic, he didn't know that Rune had come to him until he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder pushing him forward so his head was past his knees, his voice whispering, "Manny, breath. I swear on my soul I am not going to harm you. Please, breathe or you are going to pass out." "I'm gonna die." Manny rasped fearfully. Rune sighed, "Not for many, many centuries to come, as long as I am around. Now sit up and listen." Manny slowly did as Rune ordered and when Rune was satisfied with Manny's demeanor, he started speaking, "I was a genetic scientist for my troupe." "Troupe?" Nodding Rune replied, "That is what you call a group of fairies. Similar to how a group of phoenix is a blaze and dragons have a clutch, we have a troupe." "Oh, okay." Manny replied, feeling much calmer than moments ago. "I was a very important person to my people. I worked side by side with the leaders to make our troupe strong and highly respected by all paranormals and shifters. However, it seemed that the more powerful we became, the more Fallon wanted." "Who's Fallon?" "He is the King of all fairies. Once, a very long time ago, we were friends. That is until his need for power took over. Anyway, Fallon didn't like the fact that most of the paranormal and shifter world looked to the dragons, phoenix, and pixies with such high regard and tended to brush us to the side. Somehow Fallon got the idea that if he were to destroy them all, then the others would have no choice but to see us for who Fallon thought we were." Manny snorted, "What? Gods?" Rune shrugged, "Maybe. Understand, my people did not agree with Fallon, but first one and then another of our kings was murdered. We were told the pixies had done it, but still my people did not believe. It wasn't until Kerrick's father, the leader of the elves, was found dead, that we started to believe. We were told that it was the pixies trying to take over the magical world. That they had plans to rule over all the magical, paranormal, and shifter kingdoms and that they had to be stopped. Fallon and Kerrick formed a science team together. We were working on a way to capture the shimmer and I did exactly as he asked. We had to do something that could stop them from succeeding in their task. I gave my potion to Fallon.” Rune stopped speaking as he turned to look out the window. He seemed to be staring off as his mind must have gone back to that time. Slowly Rune looked back at Manny with regret, "One day, I was working on a potion and noticed that some of the ingredients I needed were missing. I feared that someone might have taken them to use on Fallon, like they had the kings before him. I went to talk with Fallon. The things that were taken were highly deadly and he needed to be warned. I didn't want to lose another king. When I got to his door, Fallon was speaking to Uriel." "Who is he?" Manny asked with interest. Rune scoffed, "Uriel is Fallon's right hand man. He is the one that if Fallon wants something done, he sends Uriel to do it. Fallon yelled that the pixies were not suffering as they should. He didn't like that they could walk around even if it was to serve the Fae. He wanted to torture and terrorize them as he had done to the kings before him. Hundreds of pixies had already died at his and other Fae hands, but he wanted them all to die. Fallon complained he didn't like the way Kerrick was treating him. Had it not been for him, Kerrick wouldn't even be the leader of the elves." "Holy s**t! He killed all those people?" Manny gasped. Rune nodded and Manny could see the man trying to swallow, but he was having difficulty. When next he spoke, his voice was hoarse, "He had been the one behind all those deaths and I had assisted in creating a prison. So many lives lost. So many tormented and made to suffer, and all because of me." "But you didn't know, Rune. Fallon lied and tricked you all." Manny defended. Shaking his head, Rune sounded bereft and desolate, "No, Manny. One must take responsibility when they make mistakes and this one was the gravest mistake a person could make. The shimmer had suffered for hundreds of years because of me. I had to make this right. I immediately started on a serum to return strength to the pixies. I couldn't get much of what I needed or I might bring attention to myself and would be killed. So, I made enough for about ten. However, I also knew something I had never revealed to anyone. I don't know why I didn't tell Fallon or the other scientists, but I had discovered the closer pixies were to one another the stronger they became. I was the one that suggested that to make them suffer we should spread them out. So now I had to find a way to get my serum to some and get them all in one room." "That couldn't have been easy." Manny muttered. Rune gave a small smile, "Actually, it was Fallon's lover, Cavall, that unknowingly came up with the answer. He wanted to throw a birthday party for Fallon. Destrain was the son of the pixie king. I knew he had been looking for a way to escape. He was one of the few that had never given up hope for their freedom. He and some of the others always ate in the slaves’ quarters so I slipped the serum into their meal. Then I let the party happen. They got away and joined with the dragons and phoenix." "Fallon had to be pissed beyond belief." Manny said in amazement. Nodding, Rune said, "He had Cavall killed for high treason against the crown." "f**k me!" Manny gasped. Ignoring Manny's outburst, Rune continued, "It was sometime later that Fallon came to me, demanding that I create a shifter that could destroy the dragons and the phoenix. Knowing what I did I had no desire to do as he asked. However, I also knew to deny him would mean my death, and he would just get someone else to create the beasts and they would not hold back and might succeed. I didn't want to end the dragons or the phoenix. There was a small hope that one day one might kill Fallon and release my people from his clutches." "Why didn't you kill him yourself?" Manny asked. "Because contrary to some people’s belief, not all fairies enjoy the act of killing. I had to make it look as if I was attempting to do as Fallon asked. Fallon is a peculiar man. If something doesn't work the first time, he gives up and moves on. So, if I could make something that couldn't shift but still be lethal, he would hate the creation, and move onto another idea. This is how the vampire came to be." Manny did a quick intake of breath, "Vampires are real? Holy s**t!" Rune laughed, "You sound like some men I just spoke to earlier. Fallon hated them on sight. They could not shift therefore, they were not better than what the pixies created and hence a failure. He walked away, leaving them in their cells to die. When I had created the vampire, I knew some would die, but in the end, many would live and begin a new life. To survive, they had to be able to procreate. So, I made sure to add a little something extra in my blood that would make it so a mate could fight and win against my own kind. So, when the time came, I helped Volak, their leader, out of his cave and gave him the keys to the others. I couldn't stay or Fallon would know what I had done before they could escape. What I didn't count on was Fallon returning soon after they gained their freedom." Rune's skin bunched against his eyes and a pained look appeared when he opened them once more. He fisted his hands and began hitting his leg lightly, trying to get his feelings under control, but that anguish was so strong, Manny could literally smell it, "Rune, are you alright?" Moments later, Rune drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Yes, my son, I am fine. Let's just say that Fallon discovered my treason and did his best to kill me. I was found by a great doctor and he healed me as best he could. I spent hundreds of years running, until one day I came across one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Her kindness and love was something I never had felt before.” "Was she your mate?" Manny asked. "No, Manny, but I had always wished she had been. We married and you were conceived. One day I was at the store and saw one of my troupe. I barely got away with my life and knew there was no way I could return to you or your mother without risking your deaths. I never wanted to leave, but it was the only thing I could do." "Then why come to me now? Why is it okay to risk my life today? You make no sense." Manny insisted. "Because you are about to come into your Caduta." Rune stated firmly. Manny frowned as his brows scrunched together, "A Cadwhat?" "Caduta." Rune repeated, then explained, "That is when a fae becomes one with its human side. There are going to be several changes that will start happening on your twenty first birthday. I needed to get to you, because some of these changes can be painful as well as terrifying." Shaking his head, Manny rasped, "You're lying. I am a phoenix. I shift into a phoenix. I know because I've done so since I was sixteen." "Manny, you are fae. You can change into any animal you wish with a thought. However, this is different. I swear to you I am not lying. You must listen to me. Your birthday is coming up quick and you need to be prepared." Rune urged. Standing up quickly, Manny shouted, "You're lying to me. You need to go." "Manny, listen to me." Rune begged. Manny thrust his chin up, gritted his teeth and began breathing rapidly, hissing, "Get the f**k out of here." Rune stood, moving his hand in a circle, a large bright light appeared and he stepped through it. Leaving Manny alone and scared.