Phyre

I stared up to the industrial ceiling as I lay awkwardly one leg over the arm of the over-stuffed chair, the only other piece of furniture in my studio apartment besides my bed. I didn’t really need sleep to survive but most nights I found myself drifting off out of pure boredom. In Iowa there wasn’t much to do past midnight, on a weeknight any way.

My feet hit the cold hard wood floor and I padded to the bathroom. I turned on the water and let run for a few minutes as I stared at the patterns the water made on the side of the porcelain sink. I splashed my face, the cold water bringing me from my sleep state fully. After toweling off I caught my reflection in the mirror. Five hundred eighty-four years of the same face, but I didn’t really mind. My bright green eyes glinted back at me making my raven colored waist length hair seem other worldly in the dim light.

I turned away and walked to my closet, putting on tight fitting leggings and a top to train. I began with Yoga; it wasn’t my favorite but it kept me loose and flexible while helping to clear my head. Next I transitioned to Jujitsu, and finished with sword handling. Sword handling was my favorite; it was easy to get lost in the rhythmic swing, dip, and slice of the sword. I danced around with each movement slicing at my invisible enemies. After hours of practice and only a bead of sweat trickling off my forehead it was time to quit for a few hours.

 I tipped back the shade of the large floor to ceiling window to peer outside. The sun was just peeking over the horizon. This was my favorite time of the day when the small city began to wake. The colors outside ranged from pinks and oranges to blues and grays. During the fall the colors really came to life with the changing of the trees. Right now though, it was May and the trees were a little delayed with their bloom due to the late season snowing. It was just starting to warm though and soon the trees would be filled with blossoms.

 It was Tuesday and I was due to meet my clan by ten this morning to discuss what the Oracles had seen yesterday. I hated going to the Estate. I had only been out of their grasp for the last one hundred years. Every time I entered the compound I felt the burning desire to flee, but I assured myself it wasn’t time. As long as I wasn’t in danger I wouldn’t be forced back there under lock and key. I felt suffocated even thinking about the possibility.

The shade dropped from my fingers and I peered around. My studio apartment was on the fourth floor of a downtown refurbished building that my clan, the Deus, owned. Only two other clan members lived here, most chose to live on the Estate outside of town to keep their low profiles as the Elders suggested. There was a collection of males that lived around the world, they were known as Watchers; I had met only a hand full of them however. The females were to remain close to the Estate, for training.

My apartment was almost entirely a training room with only one large chair in the corner by my bed which was adjacent to the bathroom and across from the kitchen. The exposed brick, tall windows in steel frames and industrial feeling made it the total opposite of the Estate and that made me love it even more. I liked my space and was glad to be away from the others. 

I was the youngest of my clan, and it was believed I was the Key to fulfilling a prophecy made over 10,000 years ago. The prophecy promised a hero. Someone who was capable of bringing an end to a darkness, an evil that was still unknown. The Oracles were limited in their visions which made it difficult to understand the true threat of what was to come. We had waited many years patiently, training in every way we knew how in order to eliminate the evil that lurked in our shadows. Hoping that when the day came we would be prepared to end the threat before it was able to fester and destroy.

I pushed the thoughts aside. Feeling claustrophobic about the danger that lurked just out of reach, I changed into my running shoes and grabbed my keys, phone and arm band. I set my phone to a random music station then shoved it into my arm band and strapped it around my bicep pushing my key into the hidden slot on the band. I ran across the nearest street and then east onto Court Avenue. I made my way around the downtown area before heading back across MLK to my apartment building making a full 5 mile loop. It was half what I would do on any other day, when I wasn’t pressed for time. 

Iowa was different than where we had lived previously. I had been born in Cairo, but we traveled to Russia, China, and England before coming to the United States. Our clan always lived in heavily populated areas once the human race became a larger part of Earth. This helped to keep us in tune with the news of the world while attempting to blend into society. Modern humans were more curious which prompted the Elders to create the group we call the Watchers. They filled these positions with strong capable warriors who reported back any immediate threats and at times eliminated the threat all together.

When we arrived in America there were thirteen states and the government was young. Iowa was not yet a recognized state and wasn’t for many years after our arrival. We were able to adapt with the community and blend in more easily as our kind appeared to be many different races. America was the perfect place for us to land and call home once the immigrants began flocking here in the thousands. 

There were cornfields and farmers here but also businesses and very intelligent humans, it was a strange mix that worked well together. Des Moines in particular was a place I had grown to love as I watched it evolve into the bustling city it was today. We chose the area originally because it was isolated but once it became the capitol humans flocked to the area and the city grew rapidly. 

I stopped outside of my building. It was a short building compared to the backdrop of downtown. The outside still had the painted on words of the original business that once took up residency here. I walked around to the back entrance, the spring air chilling the sweat on my neck and back. I typed in the code and walked up the four flights. I opened the door and headed straight for the shower, peeling off my sweat drenched clothes as I went. After a long hot shower I dressed in skinny jeans, black biker boots and a tight black t-shirt. I was feeling like a bad ass this morning and even donned my black leather jacket as I headed out the door with a bagel in my hand. Climbing into my black Avalanche I took the short drive at a slow pace to the Estate in the country.

The truck pulled into the drive and stopped at the twelve foot iron gate, I rolled down my window and the guard buzzed me in without question. The drive was about a hundred feet long it split left and right. One side went up to the front door of the Estate where visitors would be expected to go and the other went to the underground garage. Our grounds had many security measures and none of them included high tech equipment. Everyone in our clan was capable. Our true threat was the humans. If they found out what we were, the government would converge on us in a heartbeat. 

The Estate sprawled out on the grounds but appeared to only be a slightly large mansion for the area. The truth was most of the home was underground. It spanned almost the entire ten acres and went down three stories into the ground. Many lived in the Estate and even more came to stay from all over the world. The Estate was our base and therefore had medical facilities, training grounds, a community kitchen, apartments, guest rooms, bathrooms, pools, recreational areas, conference rooms, display rooms, a weapons facility, and of course the auditorium.

 I drove to the underground garage parking in an open space and stepping out of my truck. The short walk to the door was halted, stopped at the entrance to the house by Osiris.

“Phyre, you have graced us with your presence,” his wide smile was contradicted by the sarcasm in his voice, “How wonderful!”

I resisted an eye roll and replied through clenched teeth, “Of course Osiris, I never miss a meeting.” I attempted to slip past before a lecture began about my safety and importance to the world began again, the main reason why I no longer lived with the others. 

Osiris caught my shoulder loosely but it was enough to stop me. He had Blessings of paralysis and persuasion, although the persuasion rarely worked on me. I seemed to be able to resist his persuasive techniques. The few times he had been able to penetrate my resolve was when he forced his entire being on mine. His gift was quite strong when need be, “Phyre, I had hoped you would rethink your living situation,” I felt the push of persuasion in his words but brushed it off. It was easier to shake now than it had been when I was a child. I think this irritated him more than he let on, however.

I looked at his large hand still resting on my shoulder then back to his eyes, “No I hadn’t,” I shrugged off his hand and carried on down the hall. His heavy sigh resonated through the empty hall as I made my way to the entrance. I pulled the heavy door open and stepped through before I heard his movements behind me. It thudded loudly and I felt satisfaction radiate through me with the boom of the door.