Burning Ashes

Shia glanced discreetly behind her. She had known something was off when she felt eyes watching her roam around. Whether it was magic or just her gut instinct she didn’t know. But she was sick and tired of going around in loops and in random directions just to get the two men following her for the last four hours off her tail.

They wore crisps suits, with Bluetooth earphones. Probably some kind of government agency wanting to use her again. Not that she would accept. Her fees usually ranged in the millions. A few years back, the government had apparently decided that they could no longer afford her. So she had been “let go” and they had gone hunting for some fresher blood who would charge them lesser.

Fresh blood my arse. She was one of a kind and she bet all her 316 pairs of Louboutins that they had not found a single person to replace her.

How were they still following her? Damn it, she should have stayed at home and eaten her last bag of chips rather than venturing out to get Taco Bell. Although, in all seriousness, tacos were one hundred percent worth the trouble.

Enough was enough. They were getting on her nerves. She was crossing into the Southern Isles now, nearly two hours away from home. She crossed her arms. Bloody hell, if she had to teleport them to Antarctica, then she would do it. Not that she had that type of magic to do it. But she could probably sell them in Credence though, the black market for all things magic. The women there did have a thing for sexy, hot men in suits.

Nah, I think I will keep them for myself.

With a plan settled in her head, she strolled into a dark alleyway. She hid behind one of the trash bins, that smelled absolutely foul and then waited, for her prey to walk right into the trap that she had set up. She grinned that malicious smirk of hers. She would leave them hanging naked on the drying ropes that were strung between the two buildings which formed the alleyway. Oh, the faces of the officers when they found their colleagues would entertain her for years to come.

As expected, the men followed behind her like the adventurous little creatures they were. Shia sniffed the air. One smelled like a shapeshifter. Some kind of feline. But her nose wasn’t sharp enough to pinpoint which one exactly. The other was a weather witch. He could control any elements related to the weather. Personally, she liked to call them Zeus 2.0 but the actual divine out there just might get offended and throw a lightning bolt at her.

The more muscular one was so cute. He made her want to just pout her lips and press them against his succulent ones. He would probably taste delicious. The other one was not so bad. Leaner and slimmer. He was probably a runner. Meh. Not her type.

“Ahhh!” one of the men screamed as the lava spiderweb sprung into his face. He clutched his face and staggered back right into his partner. His partner struggled to catch him, as both fell from the weight of the one on top. See, spiderman works all the fucking time. She stood up and brushed the non-existent dust from the white jacket. It was the same one that Meghan Markle had worn when she had announced her engagement to the infamous minotaur prince Harry and Shia had gotten it for an absolute steal.

She blasted a hot air of molten lava onto her prey. The lava quartz in her fire would not harm them – well, at least not permanently – but would put them into a deep sleep for nearly three days. She pushed up her sleeves to her elbows and grabbed one of the man’s hands to haul him to the side. She did have to strip them naked first. Oh lah lah, her favourite past time.

You sound like a pervert Shia. Stop saying those things! She shook her head.

But just as she was about to turn and haul the man up, something cold clicked onto her wrist. She froze, her breathing completely still. She turned around and to her utter horror. Both men were soon up and standing, while she stood there paralysed like an idiot.

“What the fuck? Why aren’t you guys asleep?” Shia blurted out.

“Shia Osbourne, you are under arrest.” The other one said. The bulkier one, with more muscles. “You have the right to remain to remain silent as you are taken to the Federal Bureau of Magical Investigation.”

“What did I do now?” Shia asked. Had she somehow sleepwalked and set a governor on fire? She wouldn’t be surprised. Politicians irritated her. However, she was sure she had her sleepwalking tendencies under control.

The one handcuffing her gave her a cold look. “You know what you have done.”

“I didn’t kill the president or something, did I?” Her native Irish accent came out strong alongside her panic. She tried to activate her magic. Nothing. “FML! Bloody bollocks, where did you guys get such strong magical dampening handcuffs? I can’t even feel a sprinkle of my magic.”

Just to elaborate, she tried to turn invisible. “Can you guys see me?”

The two men glared at her, conveying the words yes you idiot.

“Bloody motherfucking, hen-clacking bollocks. Just what have I done now?” Her paranoia reached an all-time high and her panic meter burst.

She burst out into a sprint. Alas, she did not realise the other end of the handcuff was attached to the fine gentleman arresting her and she was pulled back sharply. Her $3000 heels slipped in the wet snow, and she went down, hitting the pavement with a loud smack.

Fuck! Stupid Shia, were the last words that fluttered through her mind as darkness overtook her.

Shia jerked up from her lumber as she fell into the mouth of a giant sea urchin, that had somehow transformed into her mother in her dreams. With the dreams that she had, it was no surprise that she was sleepwalking and maybe sometimes even sleep killing. Although, that dream did confirm one thing: her mother was going to absolutely have her hide once she found out that Shia had gone and done something stupid, again. Ugh, family. They were sometimes a complete pain in your arse.

Shia placed her free hand on her chest and attempted to calm her heart down. Her hand was still cuffed with the magic blocking handcuffs, linking her to the table placed in front of her. Her surroundings came into sight, as the blurriness from the corners of her vision faded. She was sitting in an interrogation room. Probably at the FBMI.

Damn, they sure were daring enough to put her in a closed metal container with all her powers. She was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. But then, she looked down at her hand in the cuffs and flexed her fingers. With a shrug, she decided that unless there was a way for her to break her hand and escape out of the evil handcuffs, there was no way she was getting her powers back.

Worse still, with the headache looming at the back of her head, she probably had a concussion. With her still being physically weak, it might take her a while to gain back her magical strength. Then again, there was no way in hell she would ruin her new manicure by dislocating her fingers. Her powers can be damned to hell. She was as vicious as a human, as she was a magical creature; well, that is if you forgave her moments of stupidity.

There was a table and chair across from her, and a one-way mirror to her left. She smirked and raised her fingers and gave a naughty wave to the officers on the other side of the mirror. She may have added a wink. And perhaps a lip-bite as well.

“I would prefer if you did not distract my officers from their duty, Ms. Osbourne.” A voice came from behind her as the same officer – the bulkier one – walked into the room. The door shut close.

She ogled the man in front of him. Honestly, no one could blame her. That man was oozing sexiness. His curly hair was springy and bouncing all over his face. His blue eyes were invigorating. Like ice in your green matcha tea. Like water for a thirsty bitch that she was.

She coughed. She needed water. Not him. She needed literal water. The man sat down in the other seat and slid the glass of water towards her. She took in and gulped it down. And of course, continued to check him out.

The sleeves of his crisp white shirt were rolled back and his shirt was half-tucked into his black dress pants.

“You could sell for a good buck you know.” She glanced back at him, refusing to look below his waistline. “Have you ever stripped before?”

He looked shocked for a whole second before his glare from earlier returned. “We are not here to discuss me getting naked.”

“I’m just saying Mr. Pretty if you did strip, no woman on this continent. Scratch that, no woman on this planet would get married. Not if you were there on her bachelorette night.” She was sounding closer and closer to a female wolf in heat.

“Focus, Ms. Osbourne. I am sure you are aware of why you were brought here.” He slammed his hands on the metal table.

Her brows furrowed. “Actually, that’s the one thing I am unsure of. You guys had all but knocked me out when you arrested me.”

“We didn’t knock you out. You slipped and fell in those ridiculous shoes of yours.”

Shia pulled her heels out and held it in her hands. The fluorescent lights sparkled off the obscene amount of glitter on them.  “Do you like them? I got them for only $3000. What an amazing offer!” She squealed.

The man looked at her incredulously. “Ms. Osbourne!” He yanked her shoe out of her hands and threw it across the room. She gasped in blasphemy and looked at him with hurt eyes.

Before she could say anything, he pulled out an entire stack of photos and slammed it in front of her. Shia’s attention diverted from her shoe. She pulled the photos closer to her. They were just pictures of incinerated buildings.

She recalled her memories. She shook her head. “I am one hundred percent sure, I didn’t do this, whatever this hot mess is.”

Pretty boy leaned towards her and said, “this hot mess is three whole cities burning down to ashes.”

Shia’s jaw dropped open. Three different cities. She pulled back the photos and furtively glanced between them and the officer in front of her with a bewildered expression. Oh god, how many people were part of the ashes that she was seeing.

She chocked. “And you believe somehow, I did this?”

He scoffed. “We know you are the one who did this. You are the only cindercorn in the United States of America.”

“I am unicorn that can somehow shapeshift and breathe fire. Big fucking deal! There are thousands of other creatures that dabble in fire magic as well. Dragons. Phoenix. Several divines - ”

He cut her off, but she could say anything further. “Wild cindercorns are rare and only found in the forests of Scotland and Ireland. No one has seen a dragon since the second wave of magical flooding. All the phoenix feathers found are still in hibernation mode, safely enclosed in an incubator, watched over by their guardians.”

“A divine for sure then.” That’s it.  Zeus had come to chew her arse out for sure.

“Most vessels holding divines are infants. Or children no older than ten years old. The oldest divine in the USA is the reincarnation of Buddha who has been living peacefully for the last three decades in the mountains of Wyoming. All other divines are either not on this plane or on a different continent.”

Shia’s mouth dropped open again. There was a vessel containing Buddha? How had she not heard about this?

She shook her head to bring her back from her distractive mind. “Well then, there’s got to be some other plausible explanation. Because I didn’t do this. My mum hasn’t shapeshifted in fifty years, but if she did, she’s the only other person who could have done this.” Sorry mum, had to throw you under the bus.

The officer looked up from his sheet of papers. “Your mother is not responsible.”

“Why the bloody hell not?”

“She has an alibi for all three times. She was with the Chief of Police of New York, Dean Wichester.”

“What was she doing with him? Boinking?”

The officer glared at her again. She didn’t know why. It seemed like a pretty legit question for her to ask.

She flexed her fingers in her handcuffs. And to her surprise, some magical feeling was starting to return there. Those cuffs weren’t as strong as they look.

I just need to distract him for a few more minutes. Then, I can make my great escape.

He came around her, talking to her. Probably asking another question. But her mind was too busy trying to figure out what to do to distract him.

Well when nothing works, go with your first gut instinct.

She grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and strangely, he did nothing to stop her from pulling him towards her. Without thinking, she pressed her mouth against his. His large lips enveloped her smaller ones completely. And boy was she right; they were soft, smooth, and delicious. She used her tongue to trace the silhouette of his lips. He was seriously a dream come through.

She pulled him down on top of the table pressing her entire lower body against his. His groan raced shivers down her spine.

She smirked against his lips and pulled back. Letting out a little giggle, she showed both of her free hands to him.

His eyes widened in disbelief. And he raced to catch her, only to stop short where he realised that he was the one cuffed to the table now.

“Your cuffs aren’t as powerful as you think.”

His steely glare returned full one. “There is no way you can escape.”

Shia laughed. “Isn’t there though?” She pointed towards the brick wall and in one wave of her fire magic, burned down the entire thing.

The wall opened to the sight of high-rise buildings and open skies. She glanced down and smiled when she saw that they too were pretty high up.

Pretty boy was just looking and her and the burned wall with a devastated look. She reached behind him to pull out his gun and checked it for bullets, before stuffing it into her pants.

She patted his head. And with a small peck, she said, “I am the only cindercorn in the USA. Did you honestly think I wasn’t alive when they built this building? I know this place inside out.”

She walked over to the new entrance that she had created and looked back at him one more time.

“Catch me if you can pretty boy. “ She said and flung herself out into the clear sky. For now, she had a fire-breather to find.