Blaze (Phoenix in Flames Book 2) Read online

  “Holy shit!” A male voice said. The guards had come back to pick up the trays.

  “Is it safe to go in to get him out?” Davis asked.

  “Safe?” Blaze asked. The look he shot Davis said it all. He pulled out his radio calling in the situation. “Better safe than sorry. Why would he go in there alone?” No one answered.

  Felicity could have told him the attendant was sadistic as well as being an over confident fool. He’d not realized people could be pushed passed the point of sanity. The female in that cell had reverted to being an animal. She’d used the basic weapons of her ancestors, claws and teeth. It had been very effective too. Felicity only hoped that wouldn’t happen to her or any of the other residents. Their life sucked, but it beat not being alive at all.

  More guards poured into the hall cussing as they saw what had happened to the attendant. “He was a damn fool.” Captain said with disgust. She knew they called him captain, but wasn’t sure if it was his name or rank. He was the male in charge of security. It was probably his concern that he’d somehow get docked for this death.

  She’d never got the feeling he cared much about his men, only that he knew if someone died, he’d be blamed. Captain was the biggest asshole in this place. Hard on his males, he was harder on the residents. At least he didn’t mess with them sexually, that was his only good point.

  “Shoot her then remove the body.” He ordered.

  “What?” Brad and David said simultaneously.

  “You have stunners, use them.” He growled, his voice low and threatening.

  “Yes, Sir.” The other guys yelled as they pulled their guns. Only one actually shot. They waited until she fell clearly unconscious before entering the cell.

  “Newbies, you take the body.” One of the guards instructed. “Gunderson, grab the bitch.”

  Felicity watched as did all the other residents as the body covered in blood and gore was removed first. The female, little more than a skeleton was carried out next. Only a barely noticeable lifting of her chest showed she was breathing. She was alive now, but for how much longer? She’d heard those who were punished were used for spare parts or more testing.

  How pitiful was that? A vibrant being turned into a cache of body parts. That female had lived here all her life in abject misery only to die like this. Would that be what happened to all of them eventually? Oh, she’d heard whispers among the guards. Some of the labs had been liberated. The workers feared those who had done it. They feared becoming prisoners like those they currently subjugated.

  Felicity prayed to the gods every night that those people would come here. She knew it wasn’t likely. Only a dreamer would expect to be freed after years of being kept here. Hope was a fragile thing that she had little of. It had eroded over time, a little bit here and there.

  Captain and the other guards followed after the male carrying the poor female out. It wasn’t long before Brad and David came back. Brad went in the cell that was now empty. “Anyone want to finish her food?” Brad asked looking at her. She shook her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t realize it would help to have more food, it was that she just couldn’t. Not after seeing the hell that female had gone through.

  Several of the others yelled to get his attention. He divided the food among them. After that, they went to the furthest point away from there to start gathering trays. The leftover food was gone by the time he got back to those who had been given it. She knew they were just being practical, but she was too sentimental. Some people could survive better than others in a place like this. The sad thing was that anyone had to live this way.

  She watched as the two guards got the last tray, loaded it, and wheeled the cart out of her section. It was obvious they were new by the way they had reacted to the attack and to the captain’s orders. Newbies, the others had called them. They would harden up or die. Felicity had seen it happen so many times before.

  Chapter 3

  Space Station Eta

  Blaze sat with David still trying to get used to being called Brad. As hard as that was, it might be the easiest part of this mission. They’d just removed a body from a cell that looked like it had been mauled by a wild animal. It hurt to think what that female had been through before she had finally fallen apart reverting to purely animal instincts.

  She’d looked so tiny and defenseless as they removed her from her cell. If only this hadn’t happened for just a little while longer. He worried about what Captain might do to her. That male hadn’t an ounce of kindness in him. Some of the guards weren’t as hardened as they seemed. They struggled to hide their horror at what had happened. Captain wasn’t one of those.

  Nothing in his demeanor showed he felt bad about a male dying or a female being pushed over the edge. Blaze felt a hint of evil whenever he was around the guy. It didn’t scare him, it just made him cautious. Being cautious was always a good thing. He’d just sent a report so it would be a few days before he sent another one. That was too bad since he thought what had just happened might instill a sense of urgency in the hunters. This place needed to fall possibly even more so than past labs had. These people were on the edge, pushed to their limit and one had gone over that edge.

  If they wanted anyone left to save, they’d best be quick about it. This place made shivers run down his back. It was unsettling. Even if all the guards weren’t completely bad, those that were truly evil, were black hearted. The lack of care on the station allowed those bad seeds to grow unchecked by the ones in power. It seemed they were divided pretty much in half. There were those just waiting until they could leave. Those only did what they had to do.

  There were others that enjoyed it here so much, they might never leave. Their evil souls sucked up the pain and misery thriving on it. They were beyond just sadistic, their hearts were cold as ice. The black souls inside them begged to inflict pain on others, the worse the better.

  Those guards stood out easily distinguished from the others. Their eyes were cold, holding no joy other than pain. Smiles only came to their faces when someone was hurt or died. They’d reveled in the chaos in the female’s cell loving the blood that coated the floor and part of the wall. Where he’d seen a horrible scene, they’d loved every minute they’d spent there.

  Now he and David cleaned it up hiding every sign that it had even happened. The cell once more looked like it had before the event, but his mind would probably never forget it. The residents had taken it in in stride. How many similar events had they witnessed?

  “All done.” David whispered. Blaze just nodded at him. The guy was alright. After the raid went down, he’d see if he couldn’t get Razar to give the guy a job instead of locking him up. Maybe he’d try to help some of the other guys as well.

  He’d never given much thought to the bad guys or what made them do what they did. He knew Roar had tried to help others before with mixed results. It was easier to understand how he felt now. Being in this place could hurt a male’s soul. It tore up your heart to do what had to be done, but if you didn’t, they killed you. Then someone else stepped in to do it anyway.

  He followed David out to eat lunch. The food was okay, much better than the residents got. Even though all the food came from the same cafeteria. Blaze speculated that they used leftovers and substandard foods to feed the residents. No one cared if they complained. The guards, those who ran things preferred them to be happy.

  They even had a pleasure house that guards could go to so their needs were met. The hope was that they’d leave the residents alone. Not because they cared about the residents, but because they now had a shortage of subjects with no way to get more. That made them more valuable. The guards were not the ones they wanted impregnating the subjects, nor did they want them harmed in a way that made their biological material useless.

  “It was rough day. I wonder if we’ll have many like that.” Davis observed.

  “I hope not. That female was out of her mind.” Blaze mentioned.

  “What will they do to her?” />
  “Nothing good.” Blaze was the king of understatement.

  “You getting sweet on one of the residents?” David whispered.

  “She reminds me of my sister.” It wasn’t true, but it shut his partner up.

  They all had partners which made what happened to the attendant odd. No one was supposed to be in one of the resident halls without their partner. That prevented tragedies like this. He was sure there would be an investigation, at least there would be in most places. Here, they might just throw the male out in space forgetting he’d ever existed.

  Attendants were trained so they were harder to replace. Maybe they had been shorthanded. If so, he should have told them so they could help. The male wasn’t well liked. That much had been obvious by the fact no one seemed upset over his demise. No one seemed to care at all except Captain who only seemed pissed.

  Blaze took another bite of the chicken and dumplings. It was a meal he liked and theirs was actually tasty. That was his one bright spot in his day. He hoped that wouldn’t be a pattern while he was here. Somehow, he had to hold on until they pulled him out of here. That wouldn’t happen until they were ready to raid this lab.

  “Brad and David! Are you two done eating?” Captain asked. He’d slipped in unnoticed. The other males said sneaking up on people was a trademark of his which he was quite proud of.

  Blaze didn’t like being snuck up on. The problem was in the cafeteria people were coming or going all the time. If he worried about watching out for others when he ate, he wouldn’t be able to relax at all. This place kept his teeth grinding while the phoenix inside him lit up like a forest fire. It was hard to manage right now. He’d never really had to deal with a difficult phoenix before. A hint of a suspicion came to him. Maybe the girl, Felicity, was making his phoenix antsy.

  He knew she wasn’t really a girl, but she was so delicate it made her seem younger. Her innocence also was clear to see to anyone who looked. Blaze couldn’t deny she’d caught his eye in more ways than one. The strangest part was he couldn’t pinpoint why. She was beautiful, but she wasn’t the only beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Even here in this hellish place there were other lovely females, yet she was the only one that caught his attention.

  “Yeah, we’re done.” Blaze answered because David got tongue tied around Captain. It was probably a fear response.

  They both got up emptying their trays so they could stack them in the dirty pile. Captain stood impatiently waiting for them. “Let’s go.” He ordered. They fell in behind him as he led the way to the gym they’d only seen briefly on the tour they’d been given upon arrival. The room was full of every guard not on duty. It appeared they were about to get hazed. Blaze didn’t mind, he could use a good distraction right about now.

  “Who is first?” Captain asked.

  “I’ll go.”

  “Good Brad. I’ll enjoy teaching you a thing or two.” Captain jeered. “There are few rules. The main one besides not delivering a death blow, is to stay in the taped off area. If you step outside of it, it’s an automatic loss.”

  “Got it.”

  “You want to change or anything?” Captain asked with a smirk. The man’s personal radar wasn’t working if he didn’t recognize Blaze as an apex predator.

  “I’m ready.” Blaze offered as he stepped in the taped off area. It was the size of a standard boxing ring. Captain stepped inside too taking up a defensive position.

  “Show me what you got, Newbie.” Captain taunted.

  He did ask for it, didn’t he? Blaze stepped forward with his hands up, but not in fists. His preferred method of battle was martial arts. That didn’t mean he couldn’t box as good as anyone, it only meant when he could fight as he wished, boxing wasn’t his fist choice. He carelessly sent a chop toward Captain’s neck which was blocked easily. No surprise, he wasn’t even trying yet.

  A few more careless shots made Captain relax. “That all you got? What a pussy!” he jeered in disgust. The males surrounding them laughed.

  Blaze shot off a well-aimed kick that landed. There was no more laughter now. The fight had taken a serious turn with Captain wanting blood. Blaze had no intention of letting him have it. He blocked each hit or kick easily so while Captain was soon showing signs of wear, Blaze wasn’t. Maybe it wasn’t smart to let the male know what he was capable of, but Blaze couldn’t help himself. This guy was everything Blaze detested, the worst of which was a bully.

  Now Blaze was the one throwing hits, only some of which Captain had blocked. The male’s face was the worse for wear since it was Blaze’s favorite target. A black eye and a torn lip, were bad enough, but the broken nose shot out a fountain of blood so Blaze backed off.

  “Never stop until your opponent is defeated.” Captain advised as he tried to land a blow.

  Fine. Blaze thought as he landed a perfect uppercut. Captain’s eyes rolled back in his head as he fell freely until he hit the floor. His noggin bounced causing all the males present to cringe. Yup, he’d have one hell of a headache. Two males, probably his top two as far as chain of command went, stepped up to grab him hauling him off to medical.

  His buddy David stepped up. “Was that wise? Even if I could beat him, I would have taken the blows. That man will come after you when you least expect it.”

  Blaze gave David a hard look. “Let’s hope for his sake he doesn’t try.”

  David now gave him an assessing look. “Maybe I underestimated you. Captain sure as hell did. So what now?”

  “We finish our shift.” Blaze suggested.

  As they left the gym, all eyes followed them. Blaze knew he’d be watched closer now, but not just by Captain. Every guard would be keeping an eye on him looking for signs of weakness. That old saying, pride goes before a fall had new meaning for him. He wasn’t sure he could have let Captain beat him up, but maybe he should have made it look like they were evenly matched instead of handing the guy his ass.

  They made it back to their section in five minutes. Once they got inside they took turns guarding the main entry and walking the halls until two guards came to relieve them. Both of the males gave him a suspicious look while dismissing David with barely a look. Blaze and David left their section walking to the residential area together.

  “Here’s where we part ways.” Blaze said. “See you tomorrow.”

  “If I don’t see you in the cafeteria at supper time.” David said.

  Blaze went to his room to shower. He was always cautious when entering just in case someone was waiting for him. No one was. Stripping, he stepped into the shower wishing he could make a call, but they’d agreed to keep those to the minimum to reduce the risk of being caught. It was a smart decision even if it made him feel cut off from everyone that meant anything to him. They’d told him it would be like this, but he hadn’t really understood how hard it would hit him.

  The hot water helped him relax easing his tight muscles. Calm started to come over him until he thought about his day. Damn Captain! Stupid show off wasn’t nearly as tough as he’d thought he was. A baby phoenix could take him out even though the male had obviously thought himself a badass.

  Closing his eyes, he thought of home as a lost feeling washed over him. They’d been so close to home when they’d sent him straight to his undercover assignment. Maybe that was what was making it so hard. Six months away without so much as a visit. Hell, he understood the importance of the work they were doing, but home called him.

  Home was a place, but it was the place his family was. They were what made it home for him. His little sister Glitter had a birthday soon making him pray that he’d be home in time to celebrate it with his family. She would be thirty, old enough to choose a mate if she found the right one for her. Blaze was double her age, not that he looked it. Phoenix didn’t show their age once they were mature. His little brother Snap would be old enough to join the Mazlan military soon if he chose to.

  All his younger relatives were coming of age soon. Time had passed so quickly. He could reme
mber when they were just little kids. It didn’t seem that long ago. Now he was away all the time and they were growing up without him. The thought hurt because he’d always been a big influence on his sister and brothers before.

  Glitter was the princess of the family, the only female child of eight siblings. She always said she would have been crazy if not for Amber, their young female cousin that she always hung out with. The two of them were inseparable.

  Snap was forty, the next in oldest after him. Phoenix trained for about ten years after they matured at thirty. At the point the training was completed, they could choose their own path. Simmer would be the next since he was only two years younger than Snap. Fury came next, he had a temper that matched his name. Flame and Torch were next because they were twins. Char was the baby. Poor guy, he’d never outgrow the title. Even when they all had offspring of their own, their mother would never let him forget he was her youngest.

  Blaze was close to his family loving each and every one of them. That was why he missed them so terribly right now. It also gave him a special sense of empathy to the residents here. They had been deprived of their families which he considered the best thing in life. He may feel like a schoolboy away from home for the first time with homesickness, yet he’d always believe his family was his biggest strength.

  Shutting the water off, he shook his head to knock off the excess water then stepped out onto the rug in front of the shower. Grabbing a towel he dried of vigorously then dressed in a T-shirt with work out pants. Going back to the gym crossed his mind, after all he needed to keep up his strength, but in the end he was unsure of his reception. Instead, he left his room to go exploring.

  The pleasure house was easy to find, but he didn’t visit those. If he got too antsy, he could burn off his energy. It was an ability all Phoenix had, although it was wise not to use it until mature. It would be easy to lose control burning down the whole space station. Since he was mature, it wouldn’t be an issue. Blaze was usually well in control of himself.