Warning: this is the worst chapter gore-wise in Part One. If you make it through this one, you’re probably good for the book.

(Year 0)

I fell from the sky, silent. Falcondar City spread beneath me, shining with yellow light from the streetlamps. People moved about on foot or by the occasional car, ignorant to my flight above them. As I shot downward, the wind buffeting against me, I glanced at what was directly below me: a tall concrete building surrounded by thick walls, with guards patrolling inside. A "prison".

I dropped down directly behind a pair of patrolling guards, hitting the ground with a loud thud. They spun around, comically confused as I strode forward. What an excellent training run this will be, if nothing else.

There's always room to grow stronger.

The guards fumbled for their guns, and I let them, closing my eyes and continuing to move forward. The night air brushed through my hair and across my skin, cool and refreshing. I could hear the sounds of city life faintly in the distance, muted by the prison's outer walls. As usual, Ember's weight sat comfortably against my back, its sheath cool despite the weapon's heat.

The sound of a gun cocking drew my attention. I waited a second, almost smiling. Then I opened my eyes.

The pressure in the air dropped.

The guard fired his pistol, and I raised my hand with a blur of speed, catching the bullet. It pierced into my skin, but didn't go all the way through. I opened my hand in front of me and dropped the bullet to the ground, accompanied by droplets of blood. The guard who had fired stared openly, but the other raised her own gun to fire.

I didn't even step forward. I just let an explosion of power envelop me, flashing forward, and a second later my hand was wrapped around her gun. I sent a shockwave of energy through the metal and into her body, and she dropped to the ground, spasming.

Then I was next to the other guard. He froze as I grabbed his arm, my hand wet from my own blood. I held his gaze with a level stare... and crushed his arm in my fist before snapping it at the elbow.

He screamed in horror, jerking what was left of his arm away. It was a bloodied mess, bent the wrong way, his forearm mutilated and crushed. I nodded to him once as he stumbled back, then turned and entered the building, setting off a series of irritating alarms.

It was dimly lit, with sparse ceiling lights above the tall concrete walls on either side of the wide corridor. My footsteps echoed loudly in the space, joining the alarms and the rustling from guards up ahead who raised their weapons. "Excellent," I said aloud, my voice echoing along the hallway.

Like the previous guards, they were armed only with pistols. It was funny how the Falcondars had powerful artifacts and advanced weapon technology, but didn't give them to their own prison guards, much less the people under their rule. I suppose that's how they've kept their power for a thousand years. I can respect that.

"Hey," I said, waving. "Do any of you know where you're keeping my sister Kessiel?"

They paused, looking at each other in confusion. "Who are you?" One of them called back.

I balled my fists, frustrated. "She's eight. No... she's seven years younger than me. So ten. Blonde hair." I pointed to my own hair in demonstration. "She's also got a tail. Tell me where she is!"

"Are you authorized to be in here?"

"What kind of question is that?" I exploded, feeling a few tendrils of electricity snap out of my eyes.

The guards stepped back, looking wary. "Sir, you're not allowed to visit the prisoners without-"

I reached back with my uninjured hand and pulled Ember from its sheath in a smooth stroke. Then I shot forward, sticking its blade through one of the guards' shoulders and making him drop his weapon. A second later, two guns were aimed at my head, and a second after that, they had been dropped from the guards' grips as their hands were shocked with electricity.

"Tell me where my sister is," I snarled to the guard Ember had stabbed.

"I haven't heard of anyone-"

"Ember." The blade flashed, and he screamed as its heat seared into his shoulder.

"No. No, really... I-"

"Ember," I growled again, louder, and he writhed in pain as the blade blazed on cue.

The other guards closed in warily, picking their guns back up. I glanced at the portion of red blade sticking out above the guard's shoulder. It looked hungry. "Do you want to do the honors?" I inquired.

The guards raised their guns at me again.

I screamed Ember's name, and an explosion of heat and force ripped outward. I watched, fascinated for what must have been the hundredth time, as their skin blistered, cracked, and split. The shoulder of the guard beneath me seemed to wilt, pulling away from the blade as the skin withered and peeled. His face lit with silent agony before he crumpled to the ground, his body failing in the face of Ember's power.

I was fine, of course, only a bit warm. I grinned, remembering how I would have been destroyed just like them not two years before -- before I'd started working with the full potential of my abilities. Even Ember's power is no match for mine.

Still grinning, I continued into the prison, turning into another corridor. Ember glowed fiercely in my hand, as ready for a challenge as I was.

Cells lined the hallway, two of them full that I could see. Both of the occupants had moved to the edge of their cells, probably curious about the commotion. I stopped in front of the cell of a boy who also looked to be in his late teens. "Have you seen a blonde ten-year-old with cat ears and a tail?" I asked.

He crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Are you here to get us out?"

A middle-aged man had walked to the corner of his cell and was watching me warily. "And the chances of that are..." he remarked to the boy.

"Why else would he be here?" the boy asked crossly. He turned back to me. "So, you here to get us out or not?"

I thought for a moment, glancing at Ember. It still seemed ready for a challenge. "Yes. Ember."

I swung the glowing sword twice, cutting through the bars to make an opening. He whistled as he stepped out. "That's neat," he said, glancing at Ember.

"Neat?" I snarled, rounding on him. "Ember just saved your life, and all you can say is that it's neat?"

"Sorry," he said quickly, looking taken-aback. "Um... thanks," he said to the sword.

My breath hissed between my teeth before I nodded at his response. I moved to the other man's cell, slicing it open while Ember still burned. "Let's go find my sister," I ordered.

"There's more guards that way," the man warned as I turned to continue down the hallway.

I waved my bloody hand to show that I would be fine. He glanced at my hand, eyes narrowing as he took in the drying blood, and then at Ember in my other hand. "You know... you can probably handle yourself. I'm going to get out while I can." He turned to leave.

He stopped when his throat ran into Ember's blade as I appeared in front of him in a burst of light. I bared my teeth and sliced his throat with a quick motion. His eyes widened in shock, and he choked as blood flowed into his windpipe, suffocating him. After a few seconds, he collapsed to the floor, continuing to clutch at his throat as more liquid seeped out to coat the floor and in to coat his lungs.

I glanced up at the other boy, excited to see his response. If you thought opening the cells was neat, look at this. But to my surprise, he looked impassive or even sickened. I sheathed Ember and motioned for the boy to follow me deeper into the prison, rounding the next corner.

The next set of guards was significantly larger: maybe fifteen people. My new companion raised his fists, but I rolled my eyes and waved him back as bullets began to fly toward us. He jumped back behind the wall, and I dashed forward, feeling a few bullets impact me but ignoring the swells of pain they brought.

It was almost like they thought shooting me was going to slow me down.

I reached the first guard and moved to the side before driving my fist into her hand. I snatched the gun that sailed from her grip, then smashed it down on her head. Her skull caved from the force and she crashed to the ground.

I can do better. I turned to the next guard, jumping up and kicking him. He flew backward into the guards behind them, knocking several back. I was next to them in a flash, and this time when my palm connected to the guard in front, a blast of energy connected through the entire group that had been knocked back. I turned to the rest. "Tell me where my sister is," I ordered.

The surviving guards took the chance to back up and regroup. "What does your sister look like?" one of them asked.

That's better. "Blonde hair, green eyes, cat ears and a tail."

He turned to glance at the other guards, looking worried. "I don't think I've seen someone like that. You said cat ears?"

I stared at him for a second, slowly processing. No. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. They're supposed to tell me when I scare them enough. They're supposed to know where she is!

The boy peaked out from the corner behind me. "Are you sure she's here at all?" he asked cautiously.

They really don't know, I realized with horror. She's really not here. I haven't found her. Two years and I still haven't found her.

I screamed, falling to my knees. Lightning exploded away from me, into the walls, the ceiling, the guards. Chunks of concrete were blasted apart and rained down around me, crashing to the floor with deafening sound.

Sound. Sound. Sound. I reached back for Ember, but then paused. Just this once, I wanted to do it on my own.

I held my power, letting it build as I stood. The boy scurried close to me, ducking down and covering his head. Some of the guards were trying to crawl away, groaning, and I heard more footsteps running from behind us.

I pushed the power out. A wave of energy ripped out of me, smashing into everything around me. The walls exploded outward, causing the ceiling to fall toward me in pieces. One came down toward my head and I reached up and slapped it away, the boulder-sized chunk of concrete slamming into the ground with the rest of the ceiling.

The boy raised his head, glancing around and then staring at me. "How in the name of the gods did you do that?" he asked. "Lightning doesn't even work that way."

I narrowed my eyes, cocking my head as I looked down at him. "Welcome to the world, little one," I said softly. I grinned slowly, then clenched my fist and shot back into the sky.