Ashes of eden

From Heartbroken to Heartless:

Rise of the Blood Phoenix

 

Eden was left sitting at her dining table, staring down at her clasped hands as Zeke left. The temperature continued to drop in the house as her heart started to crack and break. She had started falling for him, even wrote a love note to confess her honest feelings. And then he left her there alone with warring feelings she thought would drown her. She could feel his absence down to her bones.

 

This was the exact reason she had never been in any serious relationships since she came to the City. She had been through heartbreak before and searched for the one that had vanished without a word from her life more than a century ago, the one she had loved more than herself and had fought against her own father for. The one she thought she had felt in the City, which is what had originally brought her there in the first place.

Then Zeke had come into her life and made her feel alive. He made her feel things that she hadn’t felt in so long that at first it was a shock to her. Now he had walked out of her life, leaving her hurt and confused when things had seemed to be going so well. Her heart was breaking and on its way to shattering into pieces. But she didn’t want to give in to that sorrow that was attempting to swallow her. She didn’t want to give in to that despair. She didn’t want to feel any of the things that she knew was coming to whisk her into madness. So she let anger rise inside of her to hold the rest at bay, the temperature now spiking greatly as rage seeped through every cell.

 

Better to burn in rage than drown in sorrow.

She went out into the City, her entire demeanor changed and her appearance changing as well as her horns appeared. She hit the Tavern and then Hell to drink as she thought about what she wanted to do. Waves of searing heat emanated from her, caused by the rage burning through her body. Thoughts upon thoughts swirled around in her mind, ideas coming and going. Eventually she left Hell and went on a hunt through the streets, enchanting and rounding up the three human males that had insulted her the night before. After all, she needed sacrifices; so why not these three? She carted them off with her as she returned to her Estate with a plan in place.

 

She would go into the snowy forest and the mountains, seclude herself away for a while to enact her plan. And so she took the humans and set out in the dark of the night. Being that she was quite familiar with the forest and some sections of the mountains, Eden already knew of the perfect place to go and needed no light to guide her way as she went with the three sacrifices in tow.

 

Large hunks of stone surrounded a snowy clearing by the river. The humans sat shivering in the cold and failing light and watched her as she built a fire beside a low stone that looked like a large basin. She then prepared the space, the rituals, and the items she had brought with her for she had for what she had in mind. It took a while to get it just the way she wanted and needed, everything set up just so, and the stars twinkled in the night sky like diamonds.

 

What a beautiful night for sacrifice and summoning.

 

Once ready she drew one of the men up to his feet and over towards the fire. She gave him a charming smile and got a dazed one in return. Slender fingers petted lightly at his face as she moved closer to him, brushing a kiss across his lips. They were nothing like Zeke’s.

A growl built up in her throat as the man pushed his lips eagerly against hers, though it wasn’t a sound of arousal. Not that he would know the difference. Her right hand slipped down between them to her left forearm. The demonic dagger that rested there as a tattoo was drawn from her skin and from her arm, clutched tightly in her grasp. She let the Magick dazed man kiss her and allowed his hands to venture along her body as a bulge grew in his pants. That was perfect. She needed him aroused and wanting.

 

He was entirely unaware of the dagger she gripped, which was soon plunged hilt deep into his chest. The look of absolute shock on his face as he stumbled back from her was priceless. She reveled in that, a cruel smirk twisting her scarred features. The other two men watched in silence, unable to speak as their friend hit the snowy, rocky ground. He looked up at her with wide eyes she moved to stand over him, watching as he struggled to draw air into his lungs. Blood welled and spread around the dagger embedded in his chest and she licked her lips. She knelt down beside him and swiped a single digit through the crimson that was beginning to stain the snow beneath his body as it poured out of him. She put the bloody digit into her mouth and sucked it clean as he watched her helplessly.

“Your sacrifice is appreciated. Perhaps in your next life you will treat strangers more kindly,” she whispered into his ear before she sunk fangs into the side of his neck. She drank from him until his heartbeat began to slow considerably and then pulled away, her mouth and chin painted red and her good eye taking on a deep red color. Jerking his limp body up from the ground she yanked the blade from his chest and then laid him over the basin-like stone to let the rest of his blood drip into it as his life slipped away.

She stalked over to the other two men, dagger in hand, and pulled another one up to his feet before her. She put the flat of the bloody blade against his cheek and slowly dragged it downward, smearing his friend’s life essence over his cheek and jaw. The sharp point was then pressed to the soft spot beneath his chin. “You boys were not very nice to me. You probably thought that you would never see me again and you would be safe. But I remembered your scents and it was that much easier to find you. Now here you are, giving your lives for my purposes. How does that feel?” she asked, half gaze intense as she stared at him unblinking.

Naturally the male wasn’t able to speak. But he opened his mouth as if to speak and the only thing to come from him was a strange, strangled croak. But she could read the fear in his eyes and it excited her. Yes, she needed that fear. She needed to taste it. She led him over to his now dead friend and shoved the body off the basin with a booted foot, most unceremonious. She then pushed the other to his knees in front of the basin. Moving around behind him, she teased the blade at his flesh. Then, without warning, she brought her dagger across his throat, effortlessly slicing it open. Blood gushed and spurted out; spattering over the stone he was knelt in front of. She held her free hand out to let some of the red coat her palm. The blood was licked away and she shuddered at the taste of the fear that flavored it.

 

Yes. Arousal. Fear. Two down and one more left before she could complete her end of things. An especially frigid wind whipped up around them suddenly, an eerie howl traveling with it. The symbols she had drawn in a circle around the entire area began to glow a faint red. The symbols darkened as more blood escaped the second man and filled the stone basin as he slumped over it. A low laugh left her as the fire suddenly blazed larger and brighter, casting its furious flickering light around to illuminate the night as the man’s life came to an end.

 

Eden busied herself with a few things, leaving the third man waiting, as she waited for the last drop of blood to escape her second victim and join the growing pool of crimson. Once it had she shoved his body to the opposite side of the basin from his fallen friend. Her blood stained lips moved as she murmured, giving voice in a foreign language to a spell. Both bloody hands rose to the dark sky, dagger still gripped in her right, as her voice grew louder and began to take on a demonic tone. The wind with its eerie howl rose again, whipping blue strands of hair around her face and shoulders. The crimson glow of the symbols grew until their illumination rivaled that of the raging fire.

 

The blood bubbled in the basin moments before a demonic voice rose from it.

 

“Who dares summon me?” it spoke angrily, voice booming.

“One who wishes to make a deal with you,” she called back without hesitation.

 

“My deals are given when gifted with three sacrifices and blood. You have only given two sacrifices and not nearly enough blood. Your blood must also join that of the sacrifices,” the voice informed her.

 

“I am aware, my lord. I have one more sacrifice to present. And my blood will join the rest once his life is gone,” she answered.

 

A thoughtful hum echoed from the bubbling crimson. Several moments passed before the disembodied voice spoke again. “Very well. What favor do you seek from me, half blood?” the voice asked.

 

“I ask that you gift me the power to bind certain memories and emotions. Lock them away so that I suffer them no more,” she answered.

 

“So your pathetic breaking heart brings you to me does it, little one?” it queried. “For such power, an additional sacrifice is required.”

 

“Anything,” she said without hesitation.

 

The voice was silent for a moment before it came again. “Give me the last sacrifice. Cut his heart out and put it in the blood. Once you’ve done that I will instruct you further.” With that the voice went silent again to leave her to her task.

 

Eden gave a nod and turned to face the last man that huddled against a snow covered rock. “Your turn,” is all she said to him, a grim mask of determination settling over her face as she made her way over to him. He tried to scream when she snatched him by his jacket but his mouth opened and only silence reigned. She dragged him over the basin and kicked him down to lay flat on his back.

 

Like with the first one, she plunged her dagger into the middle of his chest. It sliced downward like a hot knife through softened butter and she split his flesh open. She slid the blade out and used the tip to hold one half of the skin open as she stuck her other hand in and groped for the male’s fearful, frantically beating heart. Slender fingers curled around the organ and with a snarl and a considerable amount of force she ripped it free. It was brought to her mouth and she snaked her tongue out to lick away some blood. With that taste she placed the heart into the bubbling blood in the basin.

 

A pleased hum cut through the silence and the bubbling red liquid devoured the heart.

 

“With this accepted sacrifice, I give you the power to obtain what you seek. Listen closely, half-blood, for I will instruct you only once. You must cut your heart from your chest with that dagger you wield. I recognize its properties and that it has the power to do what is required. Once the heart is removed, you will squeeze every drop of blood from it and into the rest of the blood to mix it. I know the source of your pain. This… Zeke, yes? His blood has mingled with your own. So he will not be needed here. Once the blood has joined the rest, our deal will be complete. I have no use for your heart, given that you have already presented one to me. So do as you will with your own. I care not. Lastly, you will remember this deal but not what brought you to it. Proceed so that I may return to more important affairs.”

 

With that, the voice went silent though the blood in the basin continued to bubble. He would wait for her to continue and seal the deal in its entirety before departing.

 

Eden gave a bow of her head and glanced around at the bloody scene around her. The bodies lying motionless and cold in the snow. The raging fire and glowing circle of symbols. Her resolve was as strong as demon steel that made the blade of her dagger. Without another moment of stillness she lifted the bloody dagger to press the sharp tip to the center of her own chest. A single tear slid down from her good eye and down her cheek as she closed her eyes and shoved the demon steel deep, her last thought before breathtaking pain overwhelmed her body and mind being of Zeke.

 

Teeth and fangs ground together and her lips pulled back in a snarl as she moved the dagger to cut herself open. She sunk her other hand into the now open cavity, black blood weeping out as she gripped her heart and cut it free with the dagger. She pulled it out with a wet sucking sound, holding the beating organ in her hand, panting hard as she stared at it. Then she felt the power from the deal seep into her body and mind, slithering through her and gathering every moment, emotion, and memory regarding Zeke as it went. As it collected everything, her hands gripped hard – one around the hilt of her dagger and the other around her heart. She released an anguished and wordless scream as she squeezed the blood out to join the bubbling crimson in the stone basin and a chilling laugh filled the air around her. The fire grew larger and hotter before it practically exploded outward, a ring of fire surrounding her after the wave of hellish heat subsided.

 

The power given to her locked everything away deep inside, taking up guarded residence in the empty space in her chest where her heart used to be. Everything Zeke faded from her mind as the deal was fully sealed. She sank to her knees in the bloody slush of snow as her Demon side rose swiftly to take over. Two extra horns grew to crown her head, her good eye had turned black with silver flecks, and her hands up past her wrists turned black as long black claws grew to tip her fingers. The open flesh between her breasts began to knit back together slowly and eventually healed back, leaving a scar behind.

 

The Demoness let out a sound between a snarl and a cry and sank the dagger into the heart. The fire grew and crackled angrily as both the heart and dagger dissolved and reappeared on her right forearm, looking like a tattoo as her dagger previously had on her other arm. It gave a new meaning to one wearing their heart on their sleeve… The Demoness could have a twisted sense of humor sometimes.

 

“Sad little half-blood… Enjoy…” the voice said before the blood in the basin stopped bubbling and then disappeared, leaving her there in the middle of the carnage she had wrought. The disembodied voice hadn’t even bothered telling her that it could all be undone or how. It’s not like she needed that knowledge anyway.

 

The Demoness eventually rose as all of the fire sputtered and went out, another cold and howling wind rising and stirring her blue hair. She didn’t seem to be bothered by the cold at all. She felt a brief rush of confusion as she glanced around, remembering how she came to be in this place and what happened there, but not why. There wasn’t a trace of Zeke left in her mind, or the hurt, and she had no idea of the reason why she was standing there covered in blood and surrounded by bodies, blood, and fire. With a shrug, she left to clean herself up and feed, needing to replace some of the blood she lost.

 

In the early hours of the next morning she went to bed and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, Zeke no longer on her mind or in her head. He was now a total stranger to her and it was as if, to her, that they had never met…

 

 

So rises the Blood Phoenix.

 

 

 

Happened: 2/18/2021 – 2/19/2021

Written: 2/21/2021