THE MAN NAMED AXEL KNOX

WAR BETWEEN PARENTS

Harrison dropped through the broken ceiling and landed on the dirt floor like a cat. His blue eyes swept the room. Behind him, two more figures climbed down not Vince or Leo. New men, which were much bigger, they looked harder, Their eyes also glowed faintly blue.

“You've been busy,” Mariette said, stepping in front of Axel. “Building an army of vessels.”

“Not an army.” Harrison brushed dust off his jacket. “A collection of some work. Most die, but your son? Our son?” He looked at Axel. “He's the first one who survived with his original mind intact. The others become… empty. Hollow shells. But Axel has this rare ability that allows him to keep himself with his mind intact. That's why he's special.”

“I'm not your experiment,” Axel said. His voice was low. The hum in his chest was slowly building again.

“You're my son and that makes you whatever I say you are.” Harrison took a step closer. “Come home, Axel. Your mother abandoned you, for fifteen years of your life she left you with strangers and disappeared for fifteen years. I never stopped watching over you. Every foster home? I paid them. Every meal? I made sure you ate. You just didn't know it.”

Axel froze. “What?”

“You think a nobody orphan survives fifteen years in the Bonneville system by accident? I protected you from the shadows because you were mine.” Harrison extended a hand. “Come with me now, and I'll give you everything. If it's power, money, fame a name to can yourself. You'll never be nothing again.”

Mariette grabbed Axel's arm. “Don't listen to him. He's lying. He only kept you alive because he needed your blood for his experiments.”

“Both of you shut up,” Axel said.

The hum in his chest exploded.

Blue fire erupted from his hands not in streams like Harrison's, but in wild, uncontrolled bursts. The fire hit the wall and blew a hole through it. Dirt and rock flew everywhere. One of Harrison's men screamed as a piece of debris caught him in the face.

“Whoa,” Axel whispered, staring at his burning palms.

Harrison smiled. “See? Magnificent.”

Mariette grabbed Axel's shirt and yanked him toward the new hole in the wall. “Run!”

They dove through the opening and landed outside in the cold forest. Mariette pulled him up and they ran. Behind them, Harrison's laughter echoed through the trees.

“You can't run forever, Mariette! The magic will call him home. It always does!”

Mariette stopped running and turned around to face him.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Axel grabbed her arm.

She gently pulled free. "Keep running, find the road and I'll catch up."

"No….."

"Go, Axel! Now!"

He hesitated for one agonizing second, then he took to his heels.

Harrison emerged from the trees, flanked by his two men. His blue eyes glowed in the darkness.

"She's buying time," Harrison said to his men. "Flank her. Don't let the boy escape."

The two men split off into the trees. Mariette moved before they could get far. She threw a burst of red energy at the first man….. it caught him in the chest and sent him flying backward into a tree trunk. He didn't get up.

The second man lunged at her with a knife. She ducked under his swing, grabbed his wrist, and twisted until the bone cracked. He screamed and dropped to his knees.

Harrison clapped slowly. "Still impressive after all these years."

"Shut up and fight me," Mariette said.

She launched herself at him. Her fist connecting with his jaw. He stumbled back but didn't fall. She followed with a kick to his ribs, then an elbow to his temple. He blocked the third strike and grabbed her arm.

"You're angry," he said calmly. "Good. Use it."

She broke free and drove her palm into his chest. A burst of red energy exploded from her hand. Harrison flew backward, crashing through a bush and rolling across the forest floor.

He came up on one knee, wiping blood from his lip. His blue glow flickered but steadied.

"You were always the better fighter," he said. "I'll give you that."

Mariette charged again. She was faster this time, her movements fueled by twenty years of rage. She struck his ribs, his throat, his face. He blocked most of them, but she broke through his guard and slammed her knee into his stomach.

He went down on one knee, gasping.

"That's for my family," she said.

She grabbed his collar and yanked him upright. Her red eyes burned inches from his face.

"That's for the nights I spent wondering if my son was alive or dead."

She slammed her forehead into his nose. Blood sprayed over his mouth. Harrison staggered backward, clutching his face.

"And that's for what you did to me," she whispered.

She raised her hand to deliver the final blow. Red energy crackled at her palm.

But Harrison moved faster.

He caught her wrist mid-swing and twisted. She cried out. He swept her legs from under her, and she crashed to the ground. His knee pressed into her chest, pinning her down.

"Fifteen years," he said, breathing heavily. "Fifteen years of watching you and you still don't know when to quit."

He raised his hand, blue fire gathering at his palm. He aimed it at her face.

But something flickered behind his eyes. An hesitation.

"I did love you," he whispered.

Mariette spit blood in his face. "Then let my son go."

Harrison closed his eyes, the blue fire in his hand died.

He got off her and stepped back. "Go. Run. Take him. It doesn't matter."

Mariette scrambled to her feet, confused. "What?"

"I said go. Before I change my mind." He wiped the blood from his face. "You want to protect him? Fine. But you won't be able to protect him forever. He has powers he can't control. He will call out to the magic, and the magic will answer. And when it does, I'll be there."

Mariette backed away slowly, her eyes still locked on him. She didn't turn her back. Not once.

"I will kill you next time," she said.

"I know," Harrison said. "That's what makes this interesting."

She turned and ran into the darkness.

Mariette found Axel at the edge of the forest. An old pickup truck was also by the edge of the forest. "Get in," she said.

They jumped in, Mariette started the engine and drove it.

Axel looked back, the forest was dark. He couldn't see Harrison anymore, but he could feel him, like a pull, tugging at him like there was a string tied to his chest, pulling him backward.

“The magic,” he said, gripping his chest. “It's… calling me. Like he said.”

Mariette's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel. “Fight it. You're stronger than him.”

As the truck sped down the road. The pull grew stronger. Axel's hands started to glow again but this time, the fire aimed itself toward the back of the truck, toward the direction they had come from.

“I can't……” Axel gasped. “It's not listening to me!”

The truck swerved, as a tree branch scraped the side. Mariette cursed under her breath.

Then the headlights caught something in the middle of the road. A figure, standing still. Arms crossed.

Harrison.

The truck was going sixty miles an hour. There was no time to stop.

Harrison raised one hand, and the truck stopped dead in the air being lifted off the ground, wheels spinning, engine roaring. He walked toward the driver's side window and smiled. “Did you really think you can outrun me?”