The Last Fire Phoenix - completed

This Chapter is beta by Kylee.


Chapter Twenty-seven:


Everyone was tired, and they fell asleep before the sun had even begun to set. Marcus and Alistair were the only ones still awake. They sat across from each other in front of the fire pit. Marcus bit into the apple in his hand as Alistair added more twigs to the fire. “Why are you always eating apples?” Alistair asked suddenly. “Never mind don't answer, it’s a silly question,” he said when he saw the surprised look that came over Marcus’ face.

Marcus answered the man anyway, “I just happen to love them. They don't just taste great, they are also good for you,” said Marcus.

Alistair threw his head back and laughed. “Boy, you remind me of Dan when you answer me like that. Dan loves bananas more than anything. I once asked him why he likes bananas so much and he gave me the same answer as you,” Alistair recalled with a smile.

“You really love Maya’s dad don't you?” Marcus asked Alistair. “The way you look when you say his name, and the way your eyes glow when you think of him, tell me that you really love him from the bottom of your heart.”

“Yes I do,” replied Alistair. “He means the world to me. That is why I won't allow anyone else to have him.”

Marcus picked up a few twigs from the ground and tossed them into the fire, “I met Maya’s dad once. He is a very kind man, he helped me when I was in trouble. I remember him to be quite a handsome man.” Marcus recalled the first time he met Maya and his dad. Then he turned to look at the sleeping Maya. "When I met Maya and his dad, I could not help but feel a little jealous of Maya for having such a wonderful dad by his side.”

“What happened to your parents?” Alistair asked, seeing the sad look in the boy’s eyes.

“I was an abandoned child. I never knew my parents . I don't think I even have parents. Even if I do, they are either dead or they did not want me,” Marcus answered with a sad expression. He glanced at his baby sleeping soundly next to Maya and his son.

Alistair suddenly felt sorry for the boy. “You don't really think that they didn't want you, do you? They surely must have had a reason for abandoning you when you were only a baby. Surely you don't believe your parents were that heartless?”

Alistair could not imagine any parent abandoning their own flesh and blood. He might be cruel and cold to his enemies, but he certainly would never abandon his own child, no matter what the circumstances were. He stood up and walked over to the boy across from him. He sat down next to him and without hesitation he gave the boy a hug which was out of character for him. There was something about Marcus that seemed to draw Alistair to him, maybe because the boy reminded him of Dan. Suddenly he regretted taking Marcus and his baby as hostages. He promised himself to make it up to the boy somehow after he rescued Dan from Ramsey.

Maya had been awake for a while now, but he had remained quiet with his eyes closed, listening to Alistair and Marcus’s conversation. He opened his eyes and smiled at the sight before him. His dad would be surprised once he heard of this, he thought to himself. Who knew that Alistair, the coldblooded killer could show this side of himself to someone other than his dad? As he watched the two, Maya couldn’t help but think that Alistair looked like a father comforting his son.

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The sun shone brightly the next morning, as the demon king slid off his horse and went to check the marking on the tree trunk that he came upon. The demon king’s mouth slowly turned into a smile as he examined the tree marking that Maya had left behind for him to find. He turned away from the marking and got back on his horse. Cain and several of his men waited patiently for him. “They went this way,” He pointed out the direction then he urged his horse forward, ahead of the rest of his men. Cain was right by his side in no time.

“Why do you think Alistair took them Your Highness?” Cain asked.

“Do you really think that I care about his reasons Cain? He took what belongs to me and for that he must pay with his life,” said the demon king. “Instead of worrying about what Alistair’s reason was for his action, you should worry more about your family Cain.” With that said, he rode ahead of Cain.

Cain was worried about Marcus and their son, but he chose to believe that Alistair would not harm them. He did not know why, but he could feel that Marcus and that baby were still alive. If Alistair hurt them, then he too would not hesitate to kill Alistair and avenge their death. He pulled himself out of his thoughts and caught up to his king’s side.

They came upon the camping site and knew right away that Alistair and their loved ones had just been there. The fire had not been completely extinguished. “They were here. Judging by what we saw, they could not have been gone for that long. If we ride without stopping, we should catch up with them by nightfall,” said the demon king.

The sound of horses coming from their right got the demon king’s attention. He reached for his sword at the same time as Cain. They were expecting enemies. Instead, they were surprised to see Jarrett, just as Jarrett was surprised to see them. Saria was surprised to see them as well. He hid his face behind Jarrett’s back but not before the demon king and Cain noticed him.

“Your Highness, what are you doing away from the castle? Are you going into battle?” Jarrett asked.

“I'm hunting Alistair,” was the only answer the demon king gave to Jarrett before he rode ahead again, leaving Cain to explain everything.

“Alistair kidnapped Maya and his son and he also took Marcus and my son as well. We are chasing after him right now,” Cain explained to Jarrett.

“He must have had a damn good reason for betraying our king like that,” Jarrett commented.

“Well he damn well better have a good reason because the demon king is determined to end his life for what he did,” said Cain. “I also will not hesitate to kill him if he harms Marcus and my son,” he added.

Jarrett turned around to face Saria. “What do you say Saria, should we join them?” he asked the boy with a grin.

Saria nodded his head, “We might as well since I can see in your eyes that you want to tag along with them Jarrett. I see no point in holding you back when you have that look in your eyes,” said Saria. “Besides I want to see Maya as well,” he added.

Jarrett smiled and turned to face Cain. “We are joining you and the demon king.” After his announcement, he and Cain rode after their king.

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They stopped to rest so Maya and Marcus could feed their babies. After the babies were fed and changed, Marcus and Maya plus Anthony went to bathe in the nearby river with Gareth standing guard in case trouble came calling. He had his back turned while they bathed, on Anthony’s orders of course.

Alistair and Vince watched the two babies who were left in their care. “Babies are amazing Alistair. They bring out kindness from people who never knew that they had it in them,” Vince commented as he tickled the baby in his arms. “By the way Alistair, do you know their names?” he asked looking up at Alistair.

“No, I never asked?” replied Alistair. It was the truth, he never did bother asking the fire phoenix boy or Marcus for their babies names. Alistair and Vince suddenly stood up. They had just heard a very suspicious noise. Not soon after that, Alistair and Vince found themselves under attack from the phoenix clan.

“Alistair, today is the day you die! We will have our revenge,” said the leader of the clan.

Alistair snorted. “Did Ramsey send you pathetic lot to kill me?” he asked.

“You can ask that to the devil himself when you are in hell you bastard!” the clan leader retorted, before he attacked Alistair. His underlings went after Vince.

Instead of fighting like they usually did, they avoided each and every attack that came at them. Alistair and Vince knew that this was not the right time to take their enemies on. They had to consider the babies’ safety first. Their enemies soon figured out what they were doing, and they went straight for the babies in their arms.

“Damn bastards!” Alistair muttered as he stopped a sword from piercing Marcus’ baby. His action left him open to receive a stab right through the chest from behind. Furious with his enemies, he ignored the excruciating pain that shot right through him, and with his bare hand, he broke the sword he was holding in two, and used the end of the sword that was in his now bloody hand to stab the enemy’s throat. He heard a scream from the man who had stabbed him and turned around to see Marcus with a bloody sword in his hand. Marcus had killed the man who hurt him. Alistair managed a weak smile and then he fell to the ground, but not before he gave Marcus’s baby back to him.

Maya had turned into his other self and killed the rest of the phoenix clan. He was furious with them for going after an innocent baby. He had expected them to be better than the demons, but they had shown him that they were not. He pressed his foot on the leader’s face and glared down furiously at him. “I thought that the phoenix clan were kind and merciful people, but I was wrong. You guys are no better than the demons for going after a innocent baby’s life just to get to your enemy. For that, you deserve to die like a demon.” Maya crushed the man’s skull with his foot and then walked away to take his baby from Vince. “Thank you for risking your life to protect my baby,” he said with gratitude.

Marcus held his baby in one arm and stroked Alistair’s hair. He had laid Alistair’s head on his thigh when Alistair crumbled to the ground. “Please don't die. If it wasn't for you, my baby would have been hurt so please for my sake don't die!” he pleaded with tears rolling down his cheek. They landed on Alistair’s face.

Alistair reached up with his bloody hand and brushed the tears away, staining Marcus’s cheek with his blood,.“If I die boy, you have to promise me that you will rescue Dan in my place and tell him that I love him very much. Although I doubt that I will die from a mere wounds like this,” he said with a weak smile. “I don't know why I did what I did. The only reason I can come up with is that you remind me of Dan.” Alistair added, his voice getting lower.

Maya came up to them and knelt down next to Alistair’s side. “There is no need for you to worry about that Alistair. I will rescue my dad like I promised you, even if I have to put my life on the line to do so”

Alistair smiled. “So tired, no energy, I should rest for a bit,” he said in a low voice that was almost a whisper. His eyes closed and his hand fell limply to his side. Marcus burst into tears and buried his face in Alistair’s chest.

“What the hell is going on?” they all turned their heads to see the demon king on his horse. The only one who didn't was Marcus. He didn't even look up when he heard Cain’s voice. Then he felt Cain’s arms around him.
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The glass that was on the table in front of Dan suddenly fell to the floor and shattered into pieces. Dan got up from the chair he was sitting on and went to clean it up. He pricked his finger on one of the broken shards of glass, and a sad feeling came over him. Then he realized that this was a bad omen telling him that something awful had happened to the one he cared about. He clasped his hands together and prayed for Maya and Alistair. “Please God, don't let anything happen to those two. They are very important to me,” he prayed. “Don't take them away from me. They are all I have in this world,” he added with tears rolling down his cheeks.