The Majors, Cold Fury (Book 2)

Chapter 44: Fwhip POV

 A couple of months later...

I was just chilling peacefully in my mansion when I heard a shout.

"INTRUDER!" I heard from a floor beneath me. That's what made me panic because that's where we kept our inventions, blueprints, and plans.

I sprinted from the room, and into the camera room a few halls down. "SHOW ME THE LIVE FOOTAGE!" I shouted and skidded to a halt in front of a monitor.

It was of a hall, on one of the lowest basement floors. Someone in a black cloak sped down the hall the monitor was showing. The operator changed the footage as the figure ran. Something red flew from under their sleeve and wrapped around the guard's body. I heard their scream from here as they tensed and crumpled to the ground, very obviously dead.

My hands clenched on the edge of the table. I knew who this was. "GET ALL THE GUARDS DOWN THERE, NOW!" I ordered and continued to watch the monitor. She slammed everyone in her way into the walls to either side of her with red magic. Why was she here!?

The screen switched, showing a room I definitely recognized. It was filled with special weapons and trophies I had acquired over the years...and in the center of the room on a pedestal were Phoenix's daggers. I liked to display them. And they're obviously what she was here for.

There were already six guards in the room. "HEY, STOP RIGHT THERE-" They started, but Phoenix grabbed a knife from the wall and launched it at them, hitting them in the forehead and sinking it handle deep.

Then she dove for the pedestal. One of the guards tackled her just as her fingertips brushed the handles of her daggers and slammed her to the floor. Phoenix pressed her hands to the sides of the man's head, and snapped his neck, before red magic exploded from her hands, blasting his body off of her and all the other soldiers into the walls.

Then she sprinted to the pedestal and jumped onto it, pushing off the edge with one foot and spinning around, ripping the camera we were watching through off the wall. The camera shook on her hand as she landed, and she stared into it for a second.

Her hood cast a shadow over her face, but her appearance shocked me. She looked older, obviously. Her cheeks were hollow, and her skin was so pale it gave the illusion that her face was a skull. But her eyes... the whites were black, just like Xornoth's. Her irises gave off an evil red glow.

As If she knew I was watching, her chapped and bloody lips curled into a smile before she dropped the camera and stomped on it. The screen cracked, then she stomped on it again and the footage died.

So, I sprinted out of the room to the shoot that led down to those floors. "COUNT FWHIP!?" One of the operators shouted after me, but I ignored them. I opened the hidden door and slid down the tube before running in the direction of the arsenal, grabbing my crossbow from a hook hanging up as I went.

I rushed into the arsenal. All the guards lay dead on the ground, pools of blood spilt on the smooth marble floor and smeared across the walls. The door on the side opposite of me was swinging.

I heard people behind me, and I turned around to see more of my guards running down the hall. "COME ON!" I shouted and ran out the door Phoenix had left from. I saw a black cloak whip around the corner before I sprinted after her.

I darted around the corner and saw her hood had fallen off, and a white braid trailed behind her. She was surprisingly fast considering her size.

I put on a burst of speed and grabbed the edge of her cloak, ripping it from around her neck. She turned around and blasted me backwards with a look of rage, her wings flared behind her. But I stared at her arms in shock. What I thought were black gloves before when I was watching her through the camera, was actually her skin. From her fingertips to her elbows, her skin was blackened, just like Xornoth's. But then she drew her daggers.

I pointed my crossbow at her and shot at her neck, but she dropped to the ground, and it went right over her head. Then, she scrambled to her feet like a wild animal and dove at me. One of my guards swung his sword at her, and it slid through her arm leaving a long bloody gash, the force sending Phoenix rolling across the ground.

She got to her knees panting and glanced at the cut which was now gushing blood. Then she looked up at the guard before making a growling sound in her throat. Then she lunged, slamming them both to the ground, stabbing one of her daggers into their torso, and ripping one of their ears off as she scratched at their face.

The guard screamed but then Phoenix drove her dagger straight through their throat.

She pulled herself away from the body, breathing heavily, then turned to me. I scrambled up against the wall and pointed my crossbow at her again. But right when I thought she was going to attack me, she darted back down the hallway, and out of sight.

It only took me a moment to get over the shock, before I got back up, jumping over the pool of blood Phoenix had left, and continued to follow her. I know, it was stupid, chasing the girl who had just torn a man apart with her hands. But she was a danger, not only to the Grimlands at this point, but all the empires.

I went back up the shoot to the ground floor of the mansion, and out to the runway where my plane was. I could see the small black dot, which was Phoenix in the distance, heading south...strange because there was nothing important south of the Grimlands...just deadly wilderness and mountain ranges.

I started up my plane as quick as I could, fumbling with the straps as I buckled myself in, and lowered the windshield, pulling on my goggles. I shot down the runway a couple hundred feet before launching into the air and following Phoenix. I would overtake her in no time.

But the longer I flew, the more nervous I got. I had been in this plane for half an hour following her. I had been gaining the entire time, but five minutes ago, I lost sight of her...I looked in every direction, but she was nowhere to be found.

Then, to my horror, I heard a grinding coming from underneath me. She was underneath me. I heard clanking, and her hands appear at the edge of the glass shield over the top of the plane. She pulled herself up, and glared at me, before driving one of her daggers into the glass.

I let go of the controls and covered my head as glass shattered over me and the plane started to plummet. I slammed a button with my fist on the dashboard and I was ejected from the plane, still buckled to the seat which was now floating in the air with a parachute.

Phoenix leaped from the plane as it fell and flew straight towards me. I began frantically unbuckling the seat, but not before she flew right above me and shredded my parachute.

I screamed as I began to plummet. But I managed to grab what was strapped to the back of the seat. I had been working on a prototype. What an amazing time to test it while I was falling to my death.

I pushed myself away from the seat, propelling myself with my feet, now I was freefalling. Somehow, I managed to strap the device to my back and pull a string. Two structured wings unfolded from the pack; red fabric stretched in between. I had actually based them off of Phoenix's wings, but we don't talk about that part.

I did slow down...a little bit. But I was still heading towards the ground way to fast, and I closed my eyes as I crashed. Stars exploded in front of my eyes, and I felt sharp pains up my arm, along with a crunching noise. I definitely broke something.

I blinked. I was laying on the pieces of my invention. It had saved my life, even if I was pretty banged up. I looked up as much as I could, and saw Phoenix stationary in the air, looking down at me. Then she started flying South again, leaving me here.