Burning Rose (A Cinder Fall Story)

Chapter 8

"This area is for authorized personal only! If you do not leave the facility, we will have no choice but to take lethal action!" one of the guards said.

I smiled. "You can try. But I doubt you'll have the chance!"

As soon as the guards were about to fire, I froze them in place. I looked around to see if there was a passageway that went deeper into the facility. There was a long corridor leading into darkness.

I summoned som fire on my palm to give me a little more light as I started walking down the hallway.

"Felice? Are you in here? I have an urgent message for you," I called out.

There was no answer.

I continued to walk deeper until I found a large metal door. It was locked with one of those high tech digital locks.

I banged on the door a few times.

"Who is it?" I heard a female voice ask. 

"I am an Atlesian guard, ma'am," I lied. "I've come to check on you."

I heard a metallic click before the door slowly opened. And there, standing in front of me, was Felice herself.

"Found you," I said, smirking.

Felice looked shocked. "What? You're not a guard! Why are you—"

Before she could finish her sentence, I sent a blast of fire. Felice levitated quickly to dodge it and countered by sending shards of ice towards me. I melted them easily with my fire. Felice glared at me before she flew past me and out of the locked room.

I quickly flew after her and tried to freeze her midair, but she flew left and I missed.

I growled and tried again. But she melted them with her own fire.

"Using my method? Clever..." I said, as I flew closer.

Felice turned around to face me.
"Who are you? What do you want?!"

"It doesn't matter who I am," I smiled cruelly. "Your power will be mine. And I'll become stronger!"

We had flown out the window at this point. I saw Roman and Neo below, fighting off the guards.

Felice was continuing to fly further and further from my reach. I couldn't let her get away. I needed that power...

With all of my strength, I summoned a large ball of fire towards her. Felice quickly turned towards me quickly and shot out a beam of ice. I didn't have time to dodge or react to the attack before the ice froze me. I couldn't do anything but fall towards the ground as Felice flew farther and farther away...

As soon as my body hit the ground, the ice shattered, sharp and cold ice crystals pierced my skin and I cried out in pain. I heard someone yell my name before everything went dark.

When my eyes opened again, I saw that I was no longer near the facility. I was lying in a bed. My bed at the house. I sat up to get to my feet, but I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I heard Roman say.

I looked over to him.
"What happened? Where's the maiden?!"

Roman sighed and shook his head. "I don't know where she is. Neo and I were busy fighting those guards. Then I heard the sound of shattering and your scream. Neo and I had to get you out of there. I did my best to bandage you up."

I looked down at my arms. They were covered in gauze. As were my legs.

"So... you're saying that I failed then?" I asked.

Roman shrugged. "I wouldn't give up just yet. You'll have other chances."

Neo walked in a few minutes later, she greeted me with a smile.

"Hello, Neo. Looks like you handled those guards well," I told her.

Neo grinned and nodded.

"I think Neo had a bit too much fun," Roman said.

Neo walked towards Roman and poked him with her parasol.

"Ouch! You're never going to stop with that, are you?!"

Neo smiled and covered her mouth.

"Stop it you two," I snapped. "I need to call Watts. Could you give me some privacy?"

Roman nodded and walked out of the room, Neo followed behind him.

I sighed and grabbed my scroll that was laying on the table near by bed. I quickly called Watts and waited for him to answer.

"Ah, Cinder," I finally heard him say. "How was your mission on getting the maiden powers?"

"I... I failed. Felice was more clever and powerful than I thought. Which is why I wanted to ask for that operation. Having a new eye would be helpful. Can you do the operation today?"

There was a brief science before he spoke again.
"I'll have to work out some things. But yes, I'm sure we can do it today."

"Excellent. I've also been mildly injured during my battle with Felice. Roman bandaged me up, but I want to be sure that there are no other injuries."

"Stop by my office later tonight. I'll have the details of your operation. And I'll also heal your wounds."

"Fine. See you then," I said, hanging up the call.

I slowly got to my feet shakily and walked into the living room.

"Feeling better now?" Roman asked. "You seem shaky."

"I am," I told him. "But I need to meet Watts later tonight."

"Whatever for?" he asked.

"An operation that will replace my eye," I told him. "I think it'll help me with fighting the maidens."

"Okay. I'm not going to argue. What do you want us to do?"

"Just stay here. I'll be back by tomorrow."

Roman lounged around on the couch, taking a closer look at the Atlesian military base. Neo was sharpening her weapon. And I was at the table, angry that my battle with Felice had failed.

This went on for hours until I noticed the sun had set and it was nearly dark outside. I got up to my feet slowly and made my way to the front door.

"I'll be back. Don't do anything stupid," I said to Roman and Neo.