Phoenix Rising

By Elena Malkova

Saffron is the definition of chaos. When her powers run out of control and there are fatalities, she's transported to a top-secret institution. She soon meets Makhel DunBroch, a doctor trapped in a wheelchair. The United States government wants to use her or to kill her. Together, they become fugitives, fleeing the fate that awaits them, while a plan arises to overthrow the secret agency that hunts them. Saffron and Makhel are caught off guard in a passion that consumes them into burning flames.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mandy Publishing
• Release date: Aug 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463401866

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PHOENIX RISING

Elena Malkova

By Elena Malkova

Copyright 2019 Elena Makova

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author

"Love is like a flame

Consuming and when

you think it’s burning out

It reborn from ashes,

Just a gentle blow

And all magic is revealed."

- Mary Jun

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Sometimes the characters speak louder than our own thoughts, and as an author, it keeps happening to me. Having an outline of a story in your head is one thing, but having the characters themselves shouting to be heard is another. Phoenix Rising should not even be written yet, as I was intending to write it in the future, but Saffron and Makhel were such a strong presence in my mind that I had to anticipate my plans. I hope you love them as much as I do.

PATIENT X

CONFIDENTIAL

Name: Saffron

Codename: Rebekah Anderson

Surname: Unknown

Date of Birth: xx / xx / 1989

Blood Type: Confidential

Marital Status: Unknown

Parents: James, father (Unknown whereabouts), Maura, mother (Deceased).

PROLOGUE

England, London, 10am

Heavy rain fell against the window of Dr. Makhel DunBroch's office, distracting him from the patient’s records he studied for hours. Sighing, he closed his eyes and brought his fingers to his temples, massaging them. A knock on the door made him raise his head.

Yes? His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't used it for a long while.

He frowned when the Hospital’s owner himself, but also his great friend, Vincent Cosgrove, revealed himself as he opened the door. The gray-haired old man's expression was serious, the most serious one Makhel had ever seen.

What an honor to see you, Vincent. How can I help you?

The old man didn't even dare to step inside the office, didn’t even take his hand off the doorknob. Looking straight into Makhel’s face, Vincent waited a few seconds until he could find his voice.

There's something you need to see, he said, suddenly looking a decade older. Follow me, please, Makhel. Turning his back, Vincent left the door open, but stood next to it, waiting for his most trusted employee.

Makhel's hands found the metal of his wheelchair, which slowly led him to the doorway. They immediately moved through the hallway together.

I know you are annoyed to be on that chair, Makhel, Vincent said. Your accident was a real misfortune, but your recovery is better than all of us in this hospital could hope for.

I hate it when you people gossip about me, Makhel muttered roughly, putting more force into his arms and making his wheels move faster, putting him ahead of his boss. Sighing, he stopped, because he didn’t know where Vincent was taking him.

Shaking his head, but with a smile on his face, Vincent walked passed him. Together they went to the third floor, the most restrict floor inside the hospital. After going through a deserted corridor, they entered a dark room, where they found a young man sitting at a table that contained various computers. Also, large monitors were fixed on the wall. No words were exchanged between them, only a small nod happened between the young man and Vincent. Makhel didn’t feel good about what was going on.

The young man turned one of the large screens on, and within seconds a white room come into view. Only a bed appeared in the corner of the room, and nothing else was visible. Frowning, Makhel turned his fingers to his temples as his stress seemed to be getting stronger by the minute, while his irritation was almost constant.

What am I looking at, Vincent? There's nothing there. He spat the words.

Vincent, seeming not to have noticed his friend's tone, just bent down and leaned against the wheelchair.

Look closely, he whispered, as if telling him a very important secret.

In the blink of an eye, when Makhel turned his head to the monitor again, all his restrained anger suddenly vanished without reason. Bracing his elbows on his knees, he leaned over and looked closer. The mystery suddenly shook his body, and the silence inside the dark room, including the silence on the monitor, was terrifying.

What could catch Vincent Cosgrove's attention? His friend only paid attention to important cases.

And then it happened.

A movement in the corner of the screen.

A dark spot that Makhel thought was a piece of furniture, maybe even an object, was actually a person's hair. At first, he could not believe that little dot was a person, because her body merged completely with the white wall of the room as much as the apron she wore. Her skin was fair, so fair that Makhel thought she could not be real. The person was sitting, fully huddled in a corner of the room. The girl hugged her legs and her long red hair covered her face and much of her body, which was leaning against the wall.

Suddenly, Makhel's heart began to race for no apparent reason.

Why are you showing me this, Vincent? Who’s the lass?

Now standing, Vincent slowly began to explain the situation.

Her name is Saffron. She was hospitalized a few days ago after a devastating accident. Do you remember that blast in Ohio?

Without taking his eyes off Saffron's image on the screen, he shook his head.

The one that killed a dozen people?

Yes

What does she have to do with it? Makhel asked, his voice returning to a rude tone.

Let me finish, Vincent said, approaching the screen and pointing to what was about to happen in that video that seemed so important. The explosion was not caused by a bomb.

Makhel was about to open his mouth. Not a bomb? What else could have been? But Vincent interrupted him.

Shhhh, just watch.

Makhel's heart, which had momentarily returned to its normal speed, began to hammer against his chest in full force. Three men entered the woman's room without warning, heading straight for her with needles in their hands. Obviously frightened, the girl stood up, revealing how small she really was. She tried to get away, but with no success.

You’ll die! Get away! She shouted, her face still hidden by her red hair, but her voice revealed all that Makhel needed to know.

She was scared.

Totally and completely scared.

Her shouts and warnings were in vain. The men surrounded her and as they touched her, Saffron began to scream. Makhel's heart felt like it would burst in his chest, such was his desperation to help her. She struggled as they tried to inject something into her arm, and then there was a bright flash.

The screen went black for a few seconds, then the image flickered and the video returned. The once-white room was extinguished and in its place only darkness remained. Only a white circle was now seen, where a pale, naked girl was lying in a fetal position.

Small and vulnerable, she shivered.

With his heart now in his hand, Makhel watched as Saffron slowly sat on the white spot that remained on the floor. Her long red hair fell and covered her full breasts, and then he finally saw the face of that angel of death. Because the quality was not that great, he could not make out the color of her eyes, but they were clear. Her face was so beautiful that he thought she was a mere fantasy.

How could someone so majestic be real?

She was young, beautiful in every sense of the word, but frightened. Afraid of everyone around her, terrified of the planet, and most of all, afraid of herself. The room had burned almost completely, and she was the source of all that chaos and destruction. The men had, literally, become piles of ashes.

Makhel's breathing seemed to stop for a few seconds as the girl had sat and looked straight into the camera. To him. As if looking deep into his soul as she begged for help. His help. Only his. To Makhel it sounded crazy, because obviously it was a recording and she wasn't really looking at him. That didn't make him think otherwise, though.

Where is she? Makhel muttered, clearing his throat.

The boy next to them froze the picture.

Alaska. In the United States.

Makhel rubbed his eyes. Alaska? He said gruffly, unable to believe it. He knew what Alaska meant. He knew about the clinic there and what they did to his patients. The patients who were different from the rest of humanity and who were considered freaks. I want her here. Now! He almost shouted, his patience now fading.

I knew you would want her, Makhel. You are the expert in these cases, which is why I showed you this video. For all the people in Alaska...hell, everyone in the United States, think she's a murderer. Alaska doesn’t know what to do with her. Whether they want to control her, turn her into a weapon or simply kill her.

Makhel's fists clenched, his fury taking over his body.

Obviously, he said, a non-genuine laugh escaping his lips. Did you see the same thing I did, Vincent? He asked, looking at his friend while the other man agreed. The lass knows she’s dangerous. That she can kill. She doesn’t like it, she hates it actually, to be touched. Yet they sent men with syringes inside that room. His anger was apparent now.

They were just trying to move her from that room, Makhel. How do you think they will send her to the other side of the world? Here?

It’s so fucking hard to dope her while she sleeps? He asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

That would indeed be wise, my friend, but she does not sleep.

Taking a deep breath, Makhel tried to control his menacing tone.

How’s that possible? She’s human.

You have no way of knowing that, Makhel. No one can, Vincent said, raising his arms in the air as if he was losing his patience as well. People like this girl. He pointed to the frozen image of Saffron. They are different! Sure, they may look like us, but they clearly aren't.

Frustrated, Makhel turned his wheelchair over and headed for the door.

I want her here tonight!

And how do you think they’ll manage that?

The door opened.

"Tell them to spread some gas