Chapter Eight: Ashes to Ashes
Augustine – The Following Morning
The morning sun bathed the fields surrounding Augustine in gold.
It should have been beautiful.
Instead, something felt wrong.
Orion couldn't explain it.
There was no storm on the horizon.
No strange sound from the woods.
No reason for the unease crawling beneath his skin.
Still, the farm seemed quieter than usual.
He stepped outside and found Cyrus already standing beside the wagon.
"Morning, old man."
Cyrus didn't answer immediately.
Orion stopped.
"Cy?"
The older man finally looked toward him.
"Morning, Orion."
Orion frowned.
"You alright?"
Cyrus looked toward the road.
His eyes narrowed.
"Something feels..."
He paused.
"...wrong today."
Orion stared.
"That's comforting."
Cyrus gave him a faint smile.
"Probably nothing."
"Since when are you the paranoid one?"
"Since I got old."
Orion grinned.
"Finally admitting it."
"Load the wagon."
"Moment's gone."
They worked through their normal routine.
Crates were loaded.
Ropes tightened.
Produce checked.
Orion's father briefly stepped outside to remind him about a broken section of fence.
His mother shouted from inside that breakfast would be waiting when they returned.
Someone laughed through an open window.
Normal.
Everyday.
Orion climbed onto the wagon.
Cyrus tied down the final crate.
Then stopped.
His hand remained against the rope.
Slowly, he raised his head.
Orion noticed.
"What?"
Cyrus stared toward one of the buildings near the road.
Nothing moved.
"Cy?"
Cyrus's expression hardened.
"Get down."
Orion blinked.
"What?"
"Get down."
Then a voice drifted across the farm.
"Well, well..."
Cyrus froze.
"...it's been a while."
A man stepped from behind the building.
Long coat.
Star Badge.
A revolver rested comfortably at his hip.
His smile carried no warmth.
Orion had never seen him before.
Cyrus clearly had.
The stranger leaned casually against the wall.
"Cyrus."
Cyrus stepped in front of Orion.
The stranger's smile widened.
"Or should I say..."
His eyes sharpened.
"Cyrus the Eternal Flame?"
Orion stared at Cyrus.
Eternal Flame?
Cyrus's hands slowly curled into fists.
"Malden."
The stranger pushed away from the wall.
"So you do remember me."
"Sheriff Malden," Cyrus said.
Orion looked between them.
Sheriff?
Five Points?
"What the hell is going on?"
Cyrus didn't turn.
"Orion."
His voice was different.
"Get inside."
"No."
"Now."
Malden laughed.
"Still doing that?"
Cyrus's eyes narrowed.
"Doing what?"
"Playing protector."
Malden looked toward the farmhouse.
"New family?"
Cyrus went still.
That frightened Orion more than anything else.
Malden smiled.
"That's sweet."
"Leave them out of this."
"Why?"
"They've done nothing."
Malden tilted his head.
"They harbored a wanted outlaw."
"They didn't know."
"Doesn't matter."
Cyrus stepped forward.
"Malden."
For the first time, Orion heard genuine danger in the old man's voice.
"Walk away."
The sheriff laughed.
"You disappeared for twenty years and suddenly think you get to give me orders?"
Cyrus didn't respond.
Malden's hand drifted toward his side.
Not toward his revolver.
Toward his Star Badge.
Orion felt the air change.
Something dark gathered around the sheriff.
Cyrus's eyes widened.
"ORION!"
Malden's arm moved in a motion almost like a quick draw.
Darkness erupted.
Black tendrils tore through the air like serpents.
Cyrus shoved Orion aside.
One tendril slammed into the ground.
The earth exploded.
Orion hit the dirt.
His ears rang.
"What the—"
Another tendril struck the farmhouse.
The wall cracked.
"NO!"
Orion scrambled to his feet.
Inside, voices screamed.
His family was awake now.
His father appeared at the doorway.
"Orion?!"
Cyrus charged toward Malden.
The sheriff flicked two fingers.
A tendril changed direction in midair.
It punched through Cyrus's side.
His body jerked.
Blood sprayed across the dirt.
"Cyrus!"
The old man staggered.
But didn't fall.
Malden's smile disappeared slightly.
"Still tough."
Cyrus grabbed the tendril.
Heat erupted from his hands.
For a moment, Orion saw it.
Fire.
Not ordinary fire.
Something deeper.
Wild.
Wrong.
The black tendril burned away.
Cyrus looked toward the farmhouse.
"GET OUT!"
Orion's father grabbed the doorway.
His mother appeared behind him.
Then Malden raised his hand.
Cyrus turned.
"No."
Malden smiled.
"Should've stayed gone."
Darkness struck the house.
The world exploded.
"NO!"
The blast threw Orion backward.
Flames erupted through the roof.
Wood splintered.
Stone collapsed.
The entire front section of the farmhouse folded inward.
Orion hit the ground.
For several seconds, he heard nothing.
Then—
"Mom?"
Smoke filled the air.
Orion stumbled upright.
"Dad?"
Fire consumed what remained of his home.
"Mom!"
He ran.
Cyrus caught him.
"LET GO!"
"Orion!"
"They're in there!"
"I know!"
Orion fought him.
"LET ME GO!"
Another section of roof collapsed.
Sparks exploded into the sky.
Orion stopped.
There had been screaming.
Now there wasn't.
His body went still.
Everything he'd known was inside that house.
Breakfast waiting for him.
His father complaining about the fence.
His mother's voice.
His family.
Gone.
Malden laughed behind them.
"Guess I overdid it."
Orion slowly turned.
The sheriff looked almost bored.
"But harboring a wanted man?"
He shrugged.
"That's a crime equal to the outlaw in question."
Cyrus stared at him.
Something began burning beneath the old man's skin.
Malden noticed.
His expression changed.
"Don't."
Cyrus took one step.
Fire flickered around his fingers.
Then he coughed.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
The flame disappeared.
Malden smiled again.
"There he is."
Cyrus looked toward Orion.
Then the carriage.
He made his decision.
"Run."
Orion stared at him.
"What?"
"RUN!"
Cyrus grabbed him.
They climbed onto the wagon.
Cyrus struck the reins.
The horses bolted.
Malden didn't immediately follow.
He simply watched.
Orion looked back.
The sheriff stood against the burning remains of his home.
Watching them leave.
Smiling.
The Road from Augustine
The carriage tore down the road.
Orion barely saw it.
He kept looking backward.
Smoke rose into the sky.
His home grew smaller.
Then disappeared.
"Turn around."
Cyrus didn't answer.
"Turn around!"
"Orion—"
"My family is back there!"
"They're gone."
"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!"
Cyrus looked toward him.
The pain in his eyes gave Orion his answer.
Orion grabbed the reins.
Cyrus shoved his hand away.
"Stop!"
"We have to go back!"
"We can't."
"Why?!"
Cyrus coughed.
Blood struck the front of his shirt.
Orion froze.
The wound in Cyrus's side was worse than he'd realized.
Much worse.
Blood soaked through his clothes.
"Cy..."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
"I've had worse."
"You're bleeding everywhere!"
Cyrus swayed.
Orion grabbed him.
"Cyrus!"
The older man struggled to breathe.
"Keep the horses moving."
"You're dying."
Cyrus didn't answer.
Orion's voice cracked.
"No."
"Orion."
"No."
"Listen to me."
"You're not dying."
"Listen."
Cyrus grabbed the boy's arm.
His grip was still frighteningly strong.
"There are things you don't know about me."
Orion stared at him.
"No shit."
Despite everything, Cyrus almost smiled.
It disappeared quickly.
"The Eternal Flame wasn't just a name."
Orion remembered the fire.
"What are you?"
Cyrus looked toward the distant smoke.
"An outlaw."
Orion said nothing.
"Wanted by Five Points for longer than you've been alive."
"Why?"
"No time."
"Make time!"
Cyrus's expression hardened.
"Malden will come after you."
Orion froze.
"Why?"
"Because you were with me."
"That's it?"
"No."
Cyrus hesitated.
"Because of what I carry."
His hand moved toward his chest.
Something beneath his skin pulsed.
Orion stared.
"What is that?"
"A Chaos Shard."
Orion's blood ran cold.
Everyone knew that name.
Chaos Shards.
Fragments that turned people into outlaws the moment they were discovered.
Things parents warned children never to touch.
Things newspapers blamed for massacres.
Things Five Points hunted relentlessly.
"You have one?"
"For a long time."
Orion looked toward the fire still faintly visible behind them.
"That's why Malden wanted you."
"Partly."
Cyrus suddenly doubled over.
"Cy!"
Orion caught him.
The older man's breathing became shallow.
"Listen carefully."
"I'm getting you a doctor."
"No."
"We'll find a town."
"No doctor can fix this."
"You don't know that."
"I do."
Orion shook his head.
Cyrus grabbed his shirt.
"Listen to me!"
Orion stopped.
"When I die..."
"Don't."
"...the shard can't stay with me."
Orion stared.
Cyrus's voice weakened.
"I can pass it on."
"No."
"It needs someone strong enough to carry it."
"No."
"And I'm choosing you."
Orion recoiled.
"I don't want it."
"I know."
"Then don't give it to me!"
"I don't have another choice."
"Give it to Malden!"
Cyrus laughed weakly.
"Definitely not."
"Cy..."
"Go to Constellion."
Orion's eyes burned.
"What?"
"Constellion."
Cyrus struggled for another breath.
"Find my old crew."
"The Eternal Flame?"
Cyrus nodded.
"They'll know what to do."
"Come with me."
"I can't."
"Yes, you can."
"Orion."
"You can tell them yourself."
Cyrus looked at him.
For the first time, Orion didn't see Old Man Cy.
Not the mysterious farmer.
Not the man who carried crates into Augustine.
Just someone who was tired.
So incredibly tired.
"I'm sorry."
Orion shook his head.
"No."
"For all of this."
"Stop."
"You deserved better."
"Stop talking like that."
Cyrus smiled faintly.
"You were a good kid."
"Were?"
Orion's voice broke.
"I'm still a good kid, you asshole."
Cyrus laughed.
Then coughed.
Blood ran down his chin.
"Yeah."
His eyes began to close.
"You are."
"Cyrus."
"Constellion."
"Cyrus."
"Find Jace."
His grip weakened.
"He'll pretend he doesn't care."
Orion shook him.
"Cy."
"Don't believe him."
"Cyrus!"
The old man's eyes closed.
His body went still.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Orion stared.
"Cy?"
No response.
"Old man?"
Nothing.
Orion's face crumpled.
"Come on."
He shook him.
"Come on, you stubborn bastard."
Nothing.
Then Cyrus's body became hot.
Orion pulled back.
A glow appeared beneath the dead man's skin.
Not the warm orange of ordinary flame.
It shifted.
Twisted.
Like something alive was moving beneath him.
Orion remembered Cyrus's words.
I'm choosing you.
"No."
The light moved toward Cyrus's hand.
"Wait."
Orion tried pulling away.
Too late.
Cyrus's fingers were still wrapped around his wrist.
The Chaos Shard crossed between them.
Pain exploded through Orion's body.
He screamed.
Fire tore through his veins.
Not burning him.
Changing him.
Something ancient entered his mind.
No words.
No voice.
Just—
Chaos.
Emotion without reason.
Power without restraint.
Rage.
Grief.
Hunger.
Orion saw his home burning.
His mother's face.
His father at the doorway.
Malden smiling.
Then—
Silence.
Orion opened his eyes.
He was lying in the back of the wagon.
Cyrus's body rested beside him.
Orion looked at his hands.
They trembled.
Something was inside him now.
Hot.
Ancient.
Restless.
Cyrus was gone.
His family was gone.
And with a single morning, Orion's old life had burned to ash.
Constellion
Constellion was louder than Augustine.
Larger, too.
Crowded streets wound between brick buildings, factories, workshops, boarding houses, taverns, and warehouses.
Steam hissed from machinery.
Automobiles competed with carriages for space.
Telephone wires stretched overhead.
Orion barely noticed any of it.
He had buried Cyrus outside the city.
Not because Cyrus had asked.
Because Orion couldn't bring himself to leave him beside the road.
He had stacked stones over the grave.
No marker.
No real funeral.
Just one final goodbye to Old Man Cy.
Then he entered Constellion alone.
For hours, he asked the same question.
"Do you know the Eternal Flame?"
Blank looks.
Shrugs.
Occasional laughter.
One man told him the gang hadn't existed in twenty years.
Another told him they were all dead.
By nightfall, Orion was exhausted.
Hungry.
Angry.
And running out of hope.
Eventually, he entered a tavern.
Smoke hung beneath the ceiling.
Old ale stained the floor.
Orion approached the bar.
The barkeep looked at him.
"What?"
Orion swallowed.
"I'm looking for the Eternal Flame."
The barkeep stopped cleaning the glass in his hand.
"What did you say?"
"The gang."
Orion looked around.
"The Eternal Flame."
Several conversations stopped.
The barkeep's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"Cyrus sent me."
Silence.
Real silence.
Even the piano stopped.
Orion continued.
"I need answers."
The barkeep slowly placed the glass down.
"Cyrus..."
A voice came from the darkness behind Orion.
"...the Eternal Flame?"
Orion turned.
A tall man stepped from a booth.
Gray ran through his hair.
A scar crossed his face.
His eyes looked like they'd seen too many fights and survived all of them.
He looked Orion up and down.
Then scoffed.
"Typical."
Orion frowned.
"What?"
"Sends a kid to do his dirty work."
"You know him?"
The man approached.
"Knew."
"I need your help."
"Help?"
The stranger laughed.
"Boy, what you need is to leave my bar."
"I'm not leaving until you talk."
The man stopped directly in front of him.
"I wasn't asking."
Orion stared at him.
The old man stared back.
Orion's fists tightened.
Then he remembered Cyrus.
Sometimes not fighting takes more strength.
Orion looked away.
He turned toward the door.
Behind him, the man spoke.
"Tell Cyrus if he wants something from me, he can be a man and come himself next time."
Orion stopped.
His hand rested against the door.
"There won't be a next time."
The tavern went quiet again.
Orion looked over his shoulder.
"Cyrus is dead."
The man's expression disappeared.
"What?"
"Sheriff Malden killed him."
Orion turned fully.
"And my family."
The stranger didn't move.
"Dead?"
The word barely left his mouth.
Orion nodded.
"He told me to come here."
The man's jaw tightened.
"To find Jace."
Silence.
Then the stranger sighed.
"Of course he did."
Orion stared.
"You're Jace."
The man walked toward the bar.
"So that's how it ends."
He poured himself a drink.
"After all these years..."
His hand tightened around the glass.
"...the bastard couldn't outrun it."
Orion followed him.
"He said you'd help me."
Jace laughed bitterly.
"Did he?"
"Yes."
"Well, Cyrus had a habit of making decisions for other people."
"I don't have anywhere else to go."
"Not my problem."
"He said you would help."
"And I'm telling you he was wrong."
Orion stepped closer.
"Why?"
Jace slammed the glass down.
"Because that bastard abandoned us twenty years ago!"
Orion stopped.
Jace gestured around the tavern.
"You think you know Cyrus?"
"He raised me."
"You knew a farmer."
His voice hardened.
"I knew the Eternal Flame."
Orion said nothing.
"He left us."
Jace looked toward the other people in the tavern.
Old men.
Older women.
Scarred faces.
Weathered hands.
"He left all of this behind so he could disappear into the countryside and pretend none of it ever happened."
"He saved my life."
Jace looked back.
"He gave me a family."
That landed.
Orion's voice weakened.
"And now they're all dead."
Jace studied him.
"I've got nothing."
Orion's eyes burned.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
Something flickered beneath Orion's skin.
Heat.
Jace noticed.
His expression changed.
"You've got it."
Orion froze.
"What?"
"The shard."
Jace stepped closer.
"That son of a bitch."
Orion instinctively backed away.
"He gave it to you."
"I didn't ask for it."
"No."
Jace looked into his eyes.
"You wouldn't."
He turned toward the others.
"What do you all think?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Then one woman stood.
She nodded.
Another man followed.
Then another.
Jace stared at them.
"You've got to be kidding me."
More stood.
Jace rubbed his temples.
"You're all sentimental idiots."
Someone laughed.
Jace sighed.
Then looked at Orion.
"Fine."
Orion straightened.
"Fine?"
"One week."
"What happens in a week?"
"We find out whether Cyrus doomed you."
Orion frowned.
Jace stepped closer.
"You've got a Chaos Shard inside you."
His expression became deadly serious.
"That doesn't make you strong."
He tapped Orion's chest.
"It makes you dangerous."
Another tap.
"Especially to yourself."
Jace stepped back.
"We're going to train you."
"To fight Malden?"
Jace laughed.
"No."
Orion's expression hardened.
"Then what's the point?"
"The point is finding out whether you can survive your own power."
Jace turned away.
"If you can't..."
He glanced over his shoulder.
"...you'll be out on your ass faster than you can blink."
The Training
The next seven days were hell.
Orion learned very quickly that working on a farm and knowing how to fight were completely different things.
Jace knocked him down within seconds of their first spar.
Then again.
Then again.
By the fifth time, Orion stopped counting.
"Get up."
Orion spat blood.
"Go to hell."
Jace kicked dirt toward him.
"Get up."
They taught him how to stand.
How to fall.
How to protect his head.
How to recognize when someone was reaching for a weapon.
How to move through unfamiliar terrain.
How to sleep lightly.
How to tell when he was being followed.
How to lie.
How to know when someone else was lying.
How to survive when food ran low.
How to treat a wound when no doctor was coming.
And most importantly—
how not to lose himself.
The shard reacted to everything.
Anger made it hotter.
Fear made it restless.
Pain made it hungry.
Sometimes Orion could feel something pushing against his thoughts.
Not another person.
Not exactly.
More like an instinct that wasn't his.
More.
Whenever he struck something—
More.
Whenever someone hurt him—
More.
Whenever he remembered Malden—
More.
Jace noticed.
"Control it."
Orion's hands burned.
"I'm trying!"
"Try harder."
Heat erupted around him.
Jace stepped back.
"Orion!"
The boy screamed.
Then remembered Cyrus.
Standing in the tavern.
Taking punch after punch.
Never retaliating.
Sometimes not fighting takes more strength than throwing a punch ever could.
Orion closed his eyes.
The heat slowly faded.
When he opened them, Jace was watching.
Not smiling.
But satisfied.
"Again."
So Orion did it again.
And again.
And again.
One week didn't make him a master.
It didn't make him ready to fight Five Points.
It didn't make him Cyrus.
But it proved something.
Orion could learn.
And, more importantly—
he could endure.
Seven Days Later
Jace stood across from Orion.
The others gathered behind him.
Orion was covered in bruises.
His lip was split.
His ribs hurt.
His hands were wrapped.
But he was standing.
Jace folded his arms.
"You're not ready for Five Points."
Orion's expression hardened.
"Then why waste my time?"
Jace smirked.
"Because you're asking the wrong question."
"What question should I be asking?"
"Whether you're ready to become something."
Orion frowned.
Jace reached toward his hand.
A gold ring sat on one finger.
He removed it.
Then tossed it.
Orion caught it.
He looked down.
"What is this?"
"Mine."
One of the older women stepped forward.
She removed a similar ring.
Then another member.
Then another.
One by one, they placed the rings into Orion's hands.
Symbols of something that had existed long before him.
Orion looked around.
"I don't understand."
"We're done."
Jace's voice was quieter now.
"We've been done for years."
"You could come with me."
Jace laughed.
"And do what?"
"Fight."
"We did."
Jace looked toward the others.
"For years."
His smile faded.
"We buried enough friends."
Orion looked down at the rings.
"So you're giving this to me?"
"No."
Jace shook his head.
"We're giving you the right to decide what it becomes."
Orion stared at him.
"The Eternal Flame was never one man."
Jace pointed toward the rings.
"We were strong because we stood together."
He looked directly into Orion's eyes.
"You want vengeance?"
Orion thought of Malden.
"Yes."
"Then you'll die."
Orion's expression changed.
Jace stepped closer.
"If vengeance is all you've got, Malden already killed you."
Orion said nothing.
"Build something."
Jace tapped the rings.
"Find people who believe in something."
He tapped Orion's chest.
"Then give them a reason to believe in you."
Orion looked at the rings again.
"I don't know if I can."
"You can't."
Orion looked up.
"Not yet."
Jace smiled.
"But you will."
He stepped backward.
"Assuming you survive this."
Orion frowned.
"What?"
Jace cracked his knuckles.
"One last test."
He lunged.
Orion reacted.
A week earlier, the strike would have flattened him.
This time, Orion moved.
He raised his arm.
Blocked.
Pivoted.
Countered.
The shard surged.
Orion stopped it from taking control.
Then drove his shoulder into Jace.
The older man stumbled backward and hit the ground.
Silence.
Orion stared at him.
Jace stared back.
Then laughed.
"Heh."
He climbed to his feet.
"You'll do."
Orion exhaled.
Jace brushed dirt from his coat.
"Now listen carefully."
His expression became serious.
"If you're going to carry our name, you're carrying our rules."
Orion nodded.
"We don't target children."
Another nod.
"We don't prey on women."
Jace stepped closer.
"And we don't hunt people weaker than us just because we can."
"Why?"
"Because there's no glory in picking a fight you already know you're going to win."
Jace pointed toward him.
"But don't mistake honor for stupidity."
Orion listened.
"Once you make a name for yourself, people will come looking."
"Bounty hunters."
"Some."
"Five Points."
"Definitely."
Jace smiled faintly.
"And every idiot who thinks beating you will make their name bigger."
He placed a hand on Orion's shoulder.
"So don't start a fight you don't know how to finish."
Orion looked down at the rings.
A week ago, he had been a farm boy.
Now his family was dead.
Cyrus was dead.
A fragment of Chaos lived inside him.
Five Points would call him an outlaw the moment they discovered it.
And somewhere in Augustine—
Malden was still alive.
Orion closed his fist around the rings.
He finally had a direction.
Not a plan.
Not yet.
But a path.
He turned toward the tavern door.
Jace called after him.
"Orion."
He stopped.
Jace poured himself a drink.
"If you're going to do this..."
Orion waited.
"...don't become Cyrus."
Orion frowned.
"I thought you respected him."
"I did."
Jace lifted the glass.
"That's why I'm telling you."
Orion considered that.
Then opened the door.
Cool night air struck his face.
He stepped outside.
One name burned through his thoughts.
Malden.
Someday, Orion would return to Augustine.
Someday, Malden would answer for what he'd done.
And if Five Points stood between them...
Orion's fist tightened.
...then Five Points could burn with him.
Behind him, Jace poured another shot.
One of the former Eternal Flame members sat beside him.
"You think the kid's got a chance?"
Jace stared into his glass.
"No."
The other man laughed.
"Then why help him?"
Jace looked toward the open doorway.
Orion was already disappearing into the streets of Constellion.
"Because Cyrus saw something in him."
Jace took the shot.
"And that stubborn bastard was usually right about people."
He leaned back.
His eyes settled on the empty doorway.
"If the kid survives long enough..."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"...maybe he'll be the one who finally fixes this broken world."