Tales of the Firewing: Guardians of Gaea (Book I)

Tales of the Firewing: Guardians of Gaea

Ezra Zydan

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Copyright 2015 Ezra Zydan

This is for that special someone that will forever have a place in my heart. Though our time as family in this lifetime was short, I know that you’re watching over us. Thank you for showing me the path.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

About Ezra Zydan

Acknowledgements

Firstly, I would like to thank Jennifer Mason, Ryne Nichols, and Jacob Castillo for staying up late with me most nights while I worked my way through this story. You all kept me on the straight and narrow with this project from the very beginning and I don’t know if I would have gotten through it without you.

I’d also like to thank Tiffany Garay for being the model for the cover.

Prologue

Sunday morning, 16 September. Histlane, Carnasis. The call came at 7 AM. Linx Spencer had just finished up an overnight shift at the Scowling Coyote bar, and was settling in for a good morning’s rest. It was the last thing he expected to hear after being away from home for so long. He groaned loudly, rubbing his eyes as he reached for his telephone. Who in the hell could be calling me at this hour? he thought as he pressed the phone to his ear.

"Yes, hello sir. May I speak to Mr. Linx Spencer?" a familiar voice on the line asked.

"Yes, this is he. May I ask who is calling?" Politeness. One of the few things his mother always taught him when he was younger was that kindness would serve a person better than rudeness. He kept that within himself for his entire life. No matter how rude someone was to him, he would always treat them with respect.

"This is Jack Rendon, Ms. Spencer's lawyer. I’m not sure if you remember me or not? It’s been quite a few years, you know." You know that feeling of dread that creeps up on you when you know that there's going to be something terrible coming? That was just what Linx had begun to experience. He took a deep breath to brace himself, though his voice still shook a bit when he spoke.

"Y-yes, Mr. Rendon. How have you been?" Jack Rendon was the name of the lawyer that Linx’s mother had hired over twenty years ago. He’d been working in Indigo City for nearly forty years, and even though he was the eldest lawyer in the city, he was still one of the very best. Out of three hundred and ten cases he’d only ever lost three, and those were on the head of his clients. There was something about Jack that kept a person honest, no matter what the consequences of that honesty were.

"I'm fine, Mr. Spencer. Life has been good... He paused a moment, the creaking of his chair and the shuffling of papers sounding over the phone. Linx thought that he heard the lawyer coughing beneath the sound of the shuffling paper. When he spoke again, his voice had become noticeably rough with emotion. Linx, I have some... some terrible news."

The chill of fear crept down Linx’s spine and caused him to shift uncomfortably in place. He sighed and took a seat down at his small kitchen table. He closed his eyes tight, hoping it wasn’t what he thought it would be. Can we drop the formalities, Jack? You've known me since I was seven years old.

The lawyer’s chuckle was deep and hearty. Sure. Sure. Linx could hear Jack shuffling his papers around again. It felt like he was trying to stall, and after a few moments more of silence, Linx was positive that was what he was doing.

"Jack…" Just before he lost his cool, he could hear Jack taking in a deep breath.

"Linx, it's about your mother."

Chapter One

Linx’s drive back to his hometown of Indigo City was a pretty daunting prospect for him. He was leaving behind an entire lifestyle and a new found family in Histlane. It made things a lot more difficult than he had imagined it would. He believed that he had been in love, but the guy had been blind to his emotions, so he made the decision that it would be best for him to get his own life on track. Love could wait. Sounds good, right? Sadly, life doesn’t always work that way. The eight hundred and fifty mile drive was lonely and sometimes cold, but Linx had a ton of music, both new and old, to keep him company. All of his friends were too busy with their work or family to keep him company for the twelve hour trip. Making the drive in the winter made things that much more depressing for him. All of the trees were bare, and the snows made depth perception a bit more difficult to maintain if you didn’t pay attention to the roads.

He’d finally made it to Indigo City, which was just outside the eastern border of Darington in the state of Sanus just after dawn. The house that he had inherited from his mother’s passing was still the same massive marvel that it was when he left it ten years ago. The house was two stories tall, set in solid red brick that echoed the early morning sunrise on the outside, along with the still sturdy foundation that it had been built upon fifty years ago. The surrounding area was two acres of grassland, fenced in with solid oak around the perimeter. There were few windows, an odd structural design that his mother had insisted on for a reason unknown to him even after all of these years. The few that were there would need to be cleaned and replaced, because even in her old age she’d been the type of person to never stay home. When he’d first arrived, he saw that even the patio was a mess. He knew that he had his work cut out for him. Luckily, the house was out in the woods, so it was difficult for most people to see from the main road. It would give him some time to do a bit of do-it-yourself home repair, and make the place presentable for any future company.

Linx had originally turned down the idea of leaving Carnasis. He didn’t want to leave behind the friends he’d made because he knew how much he would miss them if he did. Eventually, he moved back home, but only because he’d come into an inheritance from his mother’s death. She had never once mentioned anything about money, so it was something that had hit him hard when the family lawyer called him. He had attended the closed casket funeral, and cried like a little baby. No one ever thinks that they’ll lose those near and dear to them, until the day comes when it actually happens. Both he and his sister both had assumed that their mother would be giving everything she owned to Leona, especially the house, but the lawyers came to Leona with this version of their mother’s Will that neither of them had ever known about.

Leona had called him in the middle of the night, just a day before he was about to leave the hotel to return to Carnasis. She was beyond livid, voice filled to bursting with anger and tears. "You weren’t even there! How could she leave everything to you, when you were the one that left all those years ago?! You get your ass back here, and you take this, or I swear to the Gods that I will. And when I do, I’ll make sure you never see anything of hers ever again!" She hadn’t left him any room to speak during that call, and it was infuriating enough that he showed up to her apartment without a second thought. They shouted at each other, their rage shoving against each other enough that the other tenants in the building had come close to calling the authorities for a domestic disturbance. He’d left before things really got out of hand, slamming the door hard enough that it was nearly ripped from its hinges.

So he stayed in Sanus at that hotel, sitting on that almost too small twin bed, staring angrily at the walls of the cracked hotel wallpaper almost all night long. He’d forgotten how badly he and his sister disliked each other. He caught himself chuckling, realising that he and his sister honestly hated one another. She believed that he was favourite child growing, always being pampered by their mother while she was given the scraps. Linx knew that that was far from the truth; yes, she always told him that he was special, but she still treated he and Leona both the same. It was too bad for Leona. She would never learn about the knowledge he’d gained while being away from the ‘family.’

When he got out on his own, he’d discovered things--things the likes of which the world had yet to see. The existence of witches, lycanthropes, vampires, the Fae, and the Elven; he had always imagined that vampires were real, so when they came out en masse a few years ago, he was probably the only one excited enough to know that his imagination was vivid enough to see what others had only regarded as myth. Linx had left his family home after an argument with his younger sister escalated to the point that his mother had had enough of them bickering back and forth over the same thing time and again. He’d thought that they were turning on him, and he didn’t want any of their flack. In the end, he found himself out in city of Histlane working with some old friends in construction. The job had been a change of course from what Linx was used to, as he only had worked in retail before. Along with the new job came meeting new people, and the new friends he made during his time in Histlane had taken his life from dull and menial to fun and adventurous.

Even with all of the danger surrounding the supernatural, Linx found himself enthralled by their presence. He’d wondered how the world had gone so long without knowing about the vampires and lycanthropes. Of course in Histlane, there were those that thought the supes (that’s what they call themselves) were an affront to their God. Many of Linx’s friends were cut from the supernatural cloth, and that made little to no difference to him. All of the adventures he had with them were great: The tempers and infighting he did mind, though. The supes that somehow managed to live for over a century happen to be very proud, and that usually was the largest problem, since Linx didn’t have super abilities to keep from dying from a stab would, or losing a limb that wouldn’t regenerate over time. He would almost always get hurt. I will admit it made life exciting… Linx thought. Yet he’d decided to leave that all behind.

He thought about them often as he cleaned most of the house in the span of a few hours. He shook off the feeling of nostalgia, trying to think of something that would make him happy. Sitting out under the stars, while his best friend hunted for food… How goofy his former roommate was… How great the job he had was. Yeah, all of those thoughts sent me right back to Histlane. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and turned on the satellite radio on the entertainment stand.

As the radio rocked its way through his house with the latest hit song of the moment, there came a heavy knock on the door. The oak of the door was solid enough that Linx could hear it echo over the radio. He leaned around the door opening to the kitchen and peered through one of the few windows near the front of the house. The black hair that flowed in the breeze looked extremely familiar, but he knew that he'd left behind his former roommate/boyfriend in Histlane . He tugged the over-sized yellow cleaning gloves off, turned down the music, and went to open the front door. Pulling the heavy old oak door back, the man turned around to Linx, whose jaw dropped. ...Dalton? he said, shocked by the man who he assumed to be his ex’s appearance.

The man stared at Linx for a moment, his steel blue eyes wide. Anyone would find themselves swimming in those blue eyes, no matter how hard they tried not to. He didn’t talk; he just tilted his head to the side, an eyebrow raised in confusion. Is that how you say hi everyone you meet?

You aren't… him. Oh. Linx did his best to hide his disappointment. It was too much to hope that Dalton would actually come visit him after one day. Actually, that’s just me being stupid. He shook his head quickly to dislodge the thought. I'm sorry. That was my mistake. He pushed the screen door open and held his hand out to him, smiling. Hi and, uh, thanks. This guy has the same face as the Dalton, Linx thought. Well, the difference between this guy and Dalton is that Dalton turned out to be a lycan. That was a definitely a twist on his dating life.

He crossed his arms as a scowl marked his features. That made him a lot more familiar to Linx, and he was feeling an odd sense of displacement looking at a replica of Dalton. No… I’m not this ‘Dalton’ person that you speak of. My name is John Eirig. I’m your neighbour from the other side of the wood, there. He pointed back and off to the right. Linx followed his finger, spotting the yellow house in the distance between the trees. I’d say next door, but you can tell that’s hardly true. John chuckled. We just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood.

Linx let his hand drop to his side with a frown on his face. This John was a doppelganger. He stared at John again for a second, looking him over before letting his polite smile fall back into place. He stared at John quietly for a few more seconds, before stepping back, admitting him entrance. Well, why don't you come in for a second? I haven't finished unpacking, but I can get you something to drink maybe? John stepped past him, pausing just beyond the doorway. Linx walked towards the kitchen, trying not to stare at John any more than he already was. Man, he even has a body like Dalton. Linx heard himself chuckling. I actually just got here a few hours ago. Did you want a drink? He grabbed a drink from the fridge, holding it up to John questioningly. John looked around at the dust covered living room, ignoring Linx’s question.

I thought as much. I didn’t think you’d live in a dust covered house… John shook his head slowly at