VENGEANCE RISES

Ashes of the past

Immediately they arrived at the camp. Kadmiel had a sip of water and discussed a bit with

his subordinates.

He had to go see his family house before anything would happen because he knew that

somehow, the four great families still had allies.

He also needed to go into the town so he could meet Leah as soon as possible.

Everything seemed to be happening to him at once but he was determined to survive

through everything.

“Kelita, we are going home immediately, freshen up as fast as you can…. Phoenix, come

here”

Phoenix immediately walked towards him and saluted.

“I need you to come with me, get a few of the guys and tell them. But also alert other

troops to be ready, we might need their services, okay?” Kadmiel ended authoritatively.

“Sir, yes sir…” Phoenix replied immediately.

She called five of their most trusted personnel, they all got into the back of the car.

Realizing they would not all fit. Kadmiel ordered them to get one more person and use

another car. Driving directly behind him.

Kadmiel drove, heading towards his family estate.

The road stretched before Kadmiel like an endless ribbon of asphalt, winding through the

lifeless trail, the road seemed longer than he remembered.

Well he had been away for five years, that had to be why. He barely recognized his town

because a lot had changed since he was last there.

The gentle hum of the car’s engine seemed distant to him, he was drowned by the storm of

thoughts whirling in his head.

Kelita sat beside him, her face pale but calm.

Phoenix, his loyal and beautiful subordinate, followed in the car behind them, her focus

sharp, her presence reassuring.

The military escort trailed them, a faint symbol of the authority and security that Kadmiel no

longer felt within.

He kept remembering Kelita’s words regarding Leah, he pitied her greatly. The shock had

slammed into him like a sledgehammer, cracking the carefully constructed shell of

composure he had maintained since rescuing Kelita from those monsters.

The details Kelita shared were quite vague, but enough for his mind to spin into fury and

guilt.

It was like reopening old wounds, the pain of his parents’ murder by the four great families

now a dull throb compared to the fresh rage burning in him for Leah.

The car rumbled up the hill, the Watson family estate coming into view. The beautiful

mansion, once a symbol of power and affluence, was now barely a shell of its former self.

Deserted.

Smoke curled lazily into the air as flames licked at the edges of the garden, consuming the

Watson legacy.

His heart pounded, sensing that the nightmare from which he had tried to escape was still

unfolding.

Bartholomew, the loyal butler, was kneeling at the entrance to the estate. His hands joined

together, shaking with age and fear as he begged Lincoln to stop the destruction.

The man’s tall figure was silhouetted against the growing blaze, his greedy eyes glinting as

he surveyed the estate like a vulture circling its prey.

“Please, sir!” Bartholomew’s voice cracked with desperation and pain. “Mr. Paul Watson

and his family…they gave you everything!

You should not be doing this!”Lincoln glanced down at the butler, his lip curled in disdain.

"Old man, there"s no Watson family anymore. They"re dead. All of them." His voice was

harsh, dripping with malice. “This place is worthless now.”

“But it’s their home!” Bartholomew insisted, trembling. Several of Lincoln’s men hesitated,

watching the exchange, unsure of whether they should set the other parts of the house on

fire too.

One of them, a young man with an uncertain expression, glanced at Lincoln. “Maybe it’s too

much, boss. The family’s gone, but does the estate really need to go too?”

Lincoln turned to him with a sneer. “Too much? Do you have any idea what kind of fortune

they have left behind? We are burning it because there is no one left to claim it.

It is mine now! And I do what I please! He kicked at the dirt, dust rising in a symbolic

gesture of disdain.

“Now light it up.”Suddenly, the growl of a car engine pulling up interrupted the scene.

Kadmiel stepped out, his face a mask of anger and determination.

The moment Lincoln saw him, a wicked grin spread across his face.

“Look who’s here,” Lincoln spat. “Kadmiel, the hero. Or should I say… the r****t?”Kadmiel

froze, his jaw clenched.

“What did you just say?”Lincoln took a step closer, his eyes narrowing. “You defiled Leah,

didn"t you young man? Took her dignity and now you think you are some sort of righteous

man? Please. You’re nothing.

Your parents are dead, and you’re just a shadow of what you used to be. You are nothing

but a pathetic excuse of a man, completely good for nothing..”

The words were like daggers to Kadmiel’s heart, but his face remained calm and

composed. His fists clenched at his sides, but he kept his hands to himself.

Not yet. He looked over at the Watson estate, the place where he had once found

friendship, solace, happiness and warmth. He had quick flashbacks of memories with his

parents. Now, it was going to be reduced to ash.

His chest tightened with the weight of guilt. He had come too late.

“You think you are above me?” Lincoln continued, his voice laced with venom. “You are

nothing, Kadmiel.

I have already taken everything of value from this place. You can have the ashes.

”The insults, the accusations, the scene of destruction, it all blended into a molten fury

inside Kadmiel. His vision blurred with rage.

He could hear Kelita calling his name from behind with tears in her voice, but he did not

register the words.Kadmiel moved.

With a single fluid motion, he crossed the distance between them and delivered a brutal

kick to Lincoln’s knee. There was a sickening c***k as Lincoln screamed, collapsing to the

ground.

The sneer was gone, replaced by great pain and shock.“I would love to get an apology,”

Kadmiel said through gritted teeth.

Lincoln stayed on the ground, clutching his shattered knee.

His face twisted with agony, but even in his pain, his eyes gleamed with greed and dare.

“You think this changes anything?”The tension snapped like a rubber band as Lincoln

barked an order to his men.

“Take him down!”The soldiers moved in, but they barely had time to raise their weapons

before Phoenix appeared. She moved like lightning, her body a blur of speed and precision.

Within moments, Lincoln’s men lay crumpled on the ground, groaning in pain.

Phoenix stood over them, her sharp eyes fixed on Lincoln. “Do you want to try that

again?” she asked coldly, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

Lincoln"s defiance faltered. He looked up at Kadmiel, his brave demeanor crumbling into

desperation and fear.

“Wait, wait! Mercy on me please! I— I did not mean it! It was a mistake! The devil made

me do it, please”

Kadmiel loomed over him, his eyes dark and unyielding. “You burned the Watson estate,

my family estate. You insulted my parents, my sister, Leah, and me.

You have taken everything you could from this place. And now, you think begging will save

you?”

Lincoln’s lip quivered, his voice shaking as he pleaded. “Please, I did not know. I do not

know what came over me, Kadmiel, please, Kelita, beg your brother please. Spare

me.”Kadmiel crouched down beside him, his voice dangerously low.

“Your hands have done too much damage to deserve mercy.” And with that, he crushed

Lincoln’s hands beneath his boot, leaving the man screaming in agony.

“Take him away,” Kadmiel ordered, his voice flat and emotionless. His soldiers, who had

been watching the entire exchange, moved in and dragged Lincoln’s broken form away.

His screams echoed through the air as he disappeared from sight. For a moment, there

was silence.

The fire crackled in the distance, casting flickering shadows over what remained of the

estate. Kadmiel stood there, staring at the devastation, the weight of everything pressing

down on him.

The guilt was unbearable. His parents had died. His family name and everything had been

destroyed. And now, their home was barely recognized. The fire had already engulfed and

changed the building colours.

Phoenix walked up beside him, her expression softening for a moment.

“You did what you had to do,” she said quietly.Kadmiel shook his head. “I was too late. I

should have been here a lot sooner.”

“Even if you had been, it would not have changed the past,” she said, her voice steady.

“But you are here now. And you stopped him.”

Kadmiel closed his eyes, the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. He felt Kelita’s hand

on his arm, her presence a small comfort in the midst of his turmoil. She was all he had left

at that moment.

“Let us go,” she whispered. “There’s nothing left here for us big bro.”He nodded, his heart

heavy.