Caged Fire

By LM Preston

EmVee refused to believe in monsters, until she became one. They say you can't run away from your problems. EmVee knew from experience it was true. She and her father tried to run, until the truth came and got them. Now with nothing to lose, she must confront the monster that changed her life forever. Unfortunately, she has to work with his best friend, Kayson who she is almost sure, isn't quite as nice as he seems. Kayson revealed not just why her father disappeared, but a new world of magicals that wanted the debt he left behind to be paid.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LM Preston
• Release date: Oct 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781737947608

LM Preston

LM. Preston was born and raised in Washington, DC. An avid reader, she loved to create poetry and short-stories as a young girl. With a thirst for knowledge she attended college at Bowie State University, and worked in the IT field as a Techie and Educator for over sixteen years. She started writing science fiction under the encouragement of her husband who was a Sci-Fi buff and her four kids. Her first published novel, Explorer X - Alpha was the beginning of her obsessive desire to write and create stories of young people who overcome unbelievable odds. She loves to write while on the porch watching her kids play or when she is traveling, which is another passion that encouraged her writing.

Book preview

It was cold, and the room was dank with a hint of musk. EmVee observed her father’s moves as he warmed up in a dingy corner of the MMA fighting cage in front of the pool table where she leaned. His dark eyes did a quick scan of the room until they found her. Watching his fists move in rhythm called to her desire to join him in the ring, but she fisted her hands instead. The abandoned warehouse was nicer than the other places they’d gone for him to compete. It had a tall ceiling with scattered holes in it, which allowed the cigarette and vapor smoke to spread upward and away from her sensitive nose.

She smelled everything much more acutely than most, and the colliding of scents made her feel ill. Tonight, she combatted the sensory overload by chewing on some gum. It would help the nausea caused by the multitude of unwashed bodies. She stuck the gum out slightly to tease her bottom lip so her nose could latch on to the scent. Appearances of people often belied their body’s odor. EmVee observed the woman ahead of her. The barely dressed female was draped over a shorter man. EmVee could tell by taking a sniff, that the woman hadn’t washed since her last encounter with some john. The shorter man had his hand on her back, introducing her to an older guy who flashed money for a bet, likely he was her pimp.

EmVee didn’t allow her curiosity to linger on the odd couple. Instead, she directed her attention back to her father. He would win tonight. He always did, unless he got paid not to. Popping her gum, she put her hand out as someone waved money in front her. Not bothering to look them in the eye, she pursed her lips.

Put your name on the ticket, and fold it in the money.

That was her job. To place the bets. She’d worked the room. It was an easy money night tonight since most of the audience consisted of betting foreigners visiting the states.

EmVee flipped up her skateboard with a tap of her foot and caught it in one hand. Trying to keep a light air of indifference, she pursed her lip and took the money. It was part of the game and it worked to get the overzealous gamblers to give up more funds.

She smiled at the short stocky man in front of her. I want on the list for the next girl fight. EmVee flashed the cash at the guy.

No can do, kid. The list is booked. And Max-Gold told me to make sure you weren’t on the fight roster or he’d kick my ass.

EmVee rolled her eyes. Her father always blocked her from competing. She’d win, and he knew it. It didn’t stop her from trying though. Years of training felt like they were going down the drain lately. Her father was supposed to be retired, but he was fighting for them now.

Sighing, she stuffed her skateboard between the stretchable cords on her black backpack then pushed past the guy. Ahead, a mass of brown waves and glimmering hazel gold rimmed eyes caught hers. The bell rang. In a flash, the person disappeared in a crush of men pushing their way toward the cage. A bubble of fear tickled the back of her throat. The guy…she knew him. He had some hair on his face that he hadn’t before, but the resemblance was there; the scent was there. Her heart raced, and it hadn’t done that in a long time, except during the nightmares. She pushed through the thickness of bodies and waving hands of cash, not stopping even though the public bets started to take place. She’d lose a lot of money by not picking the cash from hands along the path of her pursuit, but she didn’t care. EmVee had to make sure she’d made a mistake.

Kayson Whalen…it couldn’t be him, EmVee muttered, her face hitting a shoulder here, an arm there. She jerked side to side, pushing through the crowd. She’d have to warn her father. They had to leave before their past found them. Escaping had to mean something. It meant that at least they were alive; they survived when the rest of her family didn’t.

The crowd roared. The announcer built up the momentum. EmVee stumbled back against a broad-shouldered man whose blue eyes shot daggers at her.

Hey! Can I get in on that private bet? A short, bald man tugged on her sleeve.

Irritated, EmVee snatched it from him. The bets are closed. She searched around one last time and hoped she’d mistaken the guy she’d seen for Kayson. Kayson was trouble she didn’t need. Instead of missing the fight, she’d slipped to the front of the action and stood outside the cage. The sooner her father finished this one, the safer they’d be. Her father didn’t know Kayson, but she did. He spelled trouble.

Sweat teased the side of her brow. With a trembling hand, she wiped it away. She’d never get used to the errant sensations in her body since the attack. Taking a moment to swallow the gum, she popped in another to get her through the fight. Rubbing her arms, willing herself to take deep breaths, calmed her.

The attack flashed like an insistent memory from her worst nightmare. She’d started to shiver against the taunting of it. It made her harder, angrier, and still plagued her when she felt the desire to run. Now was one of those times. EmVee was afraid, and it was because of the assault from the one moment in her life she couldn’t defend herself. Thinking she’d seen Kayson made her feel out of control and scared all over again. Being a trained fighter, then getting your butt handed to you within a moment of dying, messed with her confidence more than she wanted to admit. That one stupid moment of trusting someone she thought loved her made her battle with this new and foreign emotion of fear and self-loathing so intense she barely held it at bay. Raising her fist, she tried to get her father’s attention. He needed to end the fight and end it now.

She jumped at a slap on her back then quickly recovered to feign being relaxed.

He’s earning his money today, baby! Fenom, the contact her father used to get him in exclusive fights, chuckled and tapped her arm with his elbow. She didn’t mind; he was her current best friend’s dad, who’d offered them a place to stay more than once. He’d been there since they got out of that place that scorched a trail of fear into her soul.

She forced a smile. Yes, he is. He will to win this one. EmVee knew better than anyone. She smelled the success on her father. His odor, the sweat, the adrenaline within him, pumped stronger than his opponent. EmVee stared past the fight and gulped at the realization that the crud had hit the fan.

Taking several deep breaths, she willed herself to calm down. Maybe she hadn’t seen Kayson from her old school. Oh well. He was the least of her worries now.

The guy staring at the fight outside the gate was real. He was a worse possibility over anything the figment of her imagination of Kayson could be. This man was dangerous, whereas Kayson was a nosey wannabe detective who could cause them trouble just by his curiosity and sharing of their whereabouts. This man was a killer.

There was no way she could get her father’s attention; he wasn’t paying attention to her signal. They had to go. The guy standing rigid—eyes never leaving her father’s form—was tall, thinner than she remembered, and had bags under his eyes as though he was haunted by something that robbed him of sleep. EmVee stepped further into the cage and flipped on her hoody to cover her auburn ponytail.

The menace was still there, his lips pressed thin, eyes narrowed as he watched the fight. EmVee studied him with her fists tight.

The winner is, Max-Gold! The referee lifted EmVee’s father’s arm.

EmVee stepped forward, and her father pivoted around with a huge smile on his face that dropped when he saw her.

Thank you! Thanks. Her father quickly shook hands with his opponent being held up by his manager then rushed toward her.

Dad. Somebody from The Void is here. EmVee pressed his cell phone into his hand.

I can’t leave my stuff in the locker. Go wait for me out back.

But… EmVee grasped his arm. The guy from the club is here.

Doesn’t matter. Wait for me. The crowed enveloped her father.

EmVee blew a stream of air from her lips, dropped her shoulders, and pushed her way through in the opposite direction of her father.

The alley was damp from a mist of rain. It only worsened the smell of urine and sour garbage. EmVee didn’t bother with the gum. She was running low and just wanted to leave. Her father wasn’t coming out fast enough.

She’d texted him one more time.

No answer.

Kayson. She could’ve sworn she saw the boy even though she hadn’t laid eyes on him since the car accident. He had been there and pulled her to safety. Then gave her an imagined kiss. She had to be dreaming when it happened. Even so, her lips tingled at the memory. His tanned hand caressing her face, his serious light brown eyes with an auburn glint.

Her cell phone buzzed. It wasn’t her dad, but her friend Demi, asking how the fight went and if she got a chance to show her stuff. EmVee didn’t bother answering. She slid the message aside and put the phone in her jacket pocket.

As hard as she tried, EmVee couldn’t stop the jumping of her leg. It was a nervous tick acquired after her accident that wouldn’t go away. Biting her lip, she glanced down at her cell phone, waiting for a text, anything from her father. The next fight had started, and she leaned close to the door to peer through the hole in it.

Come on, Dad, she mumbled.

EmVee turned at the muffled cry behind her.

The crush between the buildings was narrow with a few scattered yellowed lights that cast a glow on the walkway between dilapidated buildings.

The hoarse call came from a man who was bumping on the wall every so often. His broken stride nearly stumbled, but he pressed on in her direction.

Wait! EmVee reached behind her and tugged at her skateboard. She flipped it forward and jumped on it, riding it toward him. He hadn’t made it under the light. She’d meet him there.

The man collapsed below it.

Her nose twitched; she smelled blood. EmVee tilted the board back and forth, riding it faster. A wet gurgled cough expelled from the man. EmVee rushed beside him then froze. Same coat, same gold chain and charm as him. The guy from The Void who was never supposed to find them. She couldn’t leave him there even though, to be honest, it would be safer for her and her father if she did.

His arm reached for her. She remembered him as Rocky. He grabbed her jeaned calf with a strength that belied his fallen state.

Are you all right? EmVee asked softly and squatted beside him.

Rocky no longer appeared to be in any shape to be a formidable enemy, but still, his being there meant he could’ve been followed.

You are Max’s daughter? His blue eyes were clear and alert. He had his hand in his jacket but pushed himself up to nail her retreating form with his eyes.

Why do you need to know? EmVee dropped back, balancing herself on the balls of her feet, ready to run if she had to.

Your father’s in danger. He— Rocky coughed. —I came to give him information. It’s not good.

Rocky? Right? Nothing from you ever was, EmVee mumbled.

My name, my real name is Ceochan. It means…mist. Not many people know that about me. I figure I may was well share it before…it’s forever forgotten. Rocky tried to smile, but it appeared more like a grimace. How old are you now, kid? You are the oldest, right?

EmVee pressed her jaw shut and stared at him.

Nineteen. Rocky nodded. You were just seventeen when we met at the club. Same age as my daughter Sabina, even though that night, I thought you were older—much older.

She narrowed her eyes at him, sniffed, and wondered at the odor he carried. A poison smell mixed with blood.

Your siblings? They didn’t make it out, did they?

EmVee continued to stare. Forcing her jaw to relax, she swallowed.

Look, kid, your father’s time is running cold. They are on to us, too many lives are at stake if either of you gets caught. Rocky handed her a thumb drive. It’s a matter of your life and his death. He owes me, and I owe another a favor.

You give it to him, EmVee replied evenly, checking her emotions and desire to punch the guy and run.

No, this is where my road ends. Remember. Remember the name to nowhere, and the code is your father’s real name. If you are his daughter. He would have told it to you; it’s a safe-word of sorts. I’m tired of running, and they made sure I don’t have anything to run to. My son, he’s out there somewhere, and I’ll die taking the name of his safe-place with me. He’ll be free of them, both of them. Max and you have a chance. Don’t forget my name. It’ll mean something someday, I hope. Run. Run now. Rocky grasped her wrist, yanked it toward him, closing her hand over the thumb drive.

EmVee looked at the drive, squeezing it in her palm.

Rocky tossed something in his mouth and pushed her back. Look away, kid. His body started convulsing. He groaned and collapsed, eyes open and staring toward the moon teased by dark clouds.

Sweat slid from under her drawn hoodie. Why’d he do it? They could’ve taken him to a hospital.

She glanced around quickly then went for Rocky’s pockets. She reached in his jacket; flesh and entrails had spilled from his waist and into his coat. EmVee jerked back, shaking her head as a sigh escaped her lips. She bit down on her lip and did what she had to do. In his jacket, she found his cell phone and put it in her back pocket. His wallet she stuffed in the side pocket of her backpack. There was nothing else.

Putting her hand over her nose, and swallowing back the tangy taste of vomit, she reached over and closed Rocky’s blue eyes. She’d never forget them.

EmVee burst through the doors of the fight building. No one noticed her as they were cheering and pressing forward, watching one of the big-name MMA fighters and the guy he was pounding into the floor. The smell of blood, sweat, and money filled the air. A comfort she’d become used to over the last year of hiding, fighting, and moving her father had forced on them.

It wasn’t difficult to push through the pressed bodies of bidders and betters that were out of shape, rounded, or held putrid body stink. The men and scantily clad women with them stood mesmerized by the carnage in front of them. Usually, so was she before her father moved them to The Void, enticed by a fake dream of success and safety. He never told her why they’d moved there or even what made them run from the explosion at the hospital that killed her mother, brothers, and sister. Her chest still pounded with the rawness of it all even though it was nearly a year behind them.

Frantically, her eyes tracked the room. She didn’t see him, so she made her way to the changing rooms in the back. She’d never been allowed there. Her father didn’t want her to draw too much attention at these venues, so she didn’t assert the issue with him much. But now, she didn’t have a choice. EmVee squeezed through the hallway, pushing herself between the crush of managers and fighting groupies hanging out in the hallway.

Fenom, her father’s friend and manager, if that what you wanted to call him, appeared to be guarding the door. Her father called him brother from another mother. He acted like it even though he was extremely evasive and had a hard edge to him, except when it came to his daughter, her best friend.

Hi, Nom, have you seen Max-Gold? EmVee made sure to never call him Dad. Most people didn’t think they were related. With her fair skin, red hair, and his deep dark skin with prominent features, it made it easy for people to assume they weren’t—only if they’d never seen her mother. Her father made her promise to keep her distance from him in most crowds. For some reason, he didn’t want anyone to know they were related, and she never asked why since she was still dazed from the hell of the experience.

Fenom’s slanted blue eyes captured hers, and he closed them. Then he pivoted away. His short blond crew cut framed the long bangs over his left eye. He had a tattoo that pointed down to his neck. He ignored her with the exception of taking his hand and sliding it down the back of his head to the end of his neck where his arrow tattoo ended.

He didn’t, EmVee growled.

It was their signal. It was the one that told her to split up and go to her safe place. She wouldn’t do that. Leaving him, her only remaining family, wasn’t going to happen. If they were fighting to get away, EmVee would finally reveal to her father the secret she kept from him. The training he’d instilled in her from the moment she could walk was there, but now, she had something else that couldn’t be named. She’d never be the same, thanks to Silas, the one guy she’d entrusted her heart to, who’d unfortunately tried to kill her.

Allowing the crush of people to envelope her, she closed her eyes and inhaled the aromas around her. The scent of her father’s skin rose above the others, and she focused on it. Opening her eyes, she held the essence of him deep in her nose and mouth. It felt as though every hair on her body stood at a point in the direction he’d gone. He wouldn’t get away without taking her with him. Even though he thought he could save her, she would save him.

EmVee caught up to Max-Gold as he slipped through a broken window in the back of the room, away from the fight but where the gamblers were congregating to pay and make their bets. The window frame was devoid of glass. She hopped up on the ledge, steadied herself with one hand, and grasped his with the other.

Why are you leaving me? EmVee frowned, her voice hoarse and broken. Demanding answers was something she rarely did with her father.

Max Lewis, aka Max-Gold, shook his head at her. Baby girl, I wanted you safe. They don’t know you are with me.

I’m sorry, Dad, but they do. I don’t want to lose you too. Please don’t leave me. EmVee pouted, something she knew worked on him.

He gave her a sanguine smile. Okay, okay. Promise you will run if I tell you to. No matter what happens, you will leave.

EmVee couldn’t look him in the eyes. She skipped her gaze across the dark clear sky and the blooming leaves of the trees.

Whatever you say, Dad.

He cast a skeptical gaze on her, twisted his forearm out of her hand, and dropped several yards to the ground.

EmVee followed, her arms wide and legs flexed, ready for the impact of her landing. Her feet barely made a sound on the pavement. Her father stood and pounded a fist on the wall.

He handed her his leather pouch. It was black and silver with designs of a jagged symbol with a small stone encased in the middle.

Keep this. Stay close. Max searched the tight alley, walking ahead of her.

The fight house had a brick covered walkway between it and a dilapidated building on this side. They were in the back of the building and the adjacent side where EmVee met Rocky. It was overgrown with weeds and tall unmanaged trees that burst through the walls of the crumbling building across from them.

Dad, I’ve got something to tell you. She grasped his leather jacket to stop him.

Nothing I don’t already know, I’m sure.

It is. The guy, Rocky, from The Void, was watching your fight. He was outside when I got out there, but he was pretty beat up. Someone gutted him.

Her father’s jaw was rigid, and he rubbed his palm through his thick, tight black hair. It was fashioned into a mohawk that was tapered on the side into jagged lightning-like strikes toward his neck, like Fenom’s.

I told him never to contact me. Her father covered his mouth with a dark hand.

EmVee’s hand shook. She took out the thumb drive Rocky gave her. He died. I think he took something to finish himself. EmVee’s throat constricted, and her rough response