The Phoenix Pharaoh: Rise from the Ashes

VIII

The six dark-eyed men charged forward, arms extended to snag Keira.

Furrowing her brows, Keira glanced around for anything to stall her newfound foes. Smirking, she kicked the bar stool to her left. It toppled to the floor, tripping the four customers over into a heap of groaning bodies. It was only a small victory though. The bartender and Caleb grabbed for Keira, their eyes locked onto her. She dropped to the ground, diving from their grasp. As the bartender pulled back his leg to smack into her, she dug the shard into his inner thigh. Thin lines of dark blood spewed from it, splattering Keira's rigid face. Her eyes widened at the spurting stream of blood, jaw tightening.

Black blood?

A rough hand snatched a handful of her hair.

"Caleb, let go!" she yelped.

Caleb ignored her words, dragging her across the floor towards the stranger.

"Well, that was easy," the suited man said, sighing. "I was hoping for a better fight, Zahra."

Keira thrashed against Caleb's grip, clawing at his enclosed hand. It was useless. As he pulled her across the floor, adrenaline began to pump furiously into her veins. Her instinct for survival overwhelmed her mind, pushing back the memories sparking in her psyche. Although fading images flickered in her head, she sharpened her focus on every movement of her strange enemies. She stopped resisting against her former friend's grasp, scanning the room for anything to help her. The four customers, now standing, walked besides her and Caleb. The bartender limped far behind them due to his leaking wound.

Is this some sort of nightmare? she wondered.

As Keira searched the bar for any sort of makeshift weapon, the pit in her stomach grew deeper from the sudden realization that there was nothing to aid her. Not another beer bottle, her unconscious mother nor whatever remained of Caleb.

Zahra, you have to use it!

It was the unknown man's firm tone, his words seeping of pure panic.

She sealed her eyes, wincing in pain. The memories swelled to the edge of her mind, overflowing with flashing faces and muffled words. With every second, they became clearer. She was lost within the depths of her psyche, unaware of how close she was to being in the suited man's clutches. He watched on, head tilted while he pondered what was happening to the young woman. She was now motionless against Caleb's firm grip, twitching every few moments.

"How odd," he commented.

Keira succumbed to the influx of memories, absorbing them. Relaxing her once tense muscles, she let the man speak to her. As the seconds ticked by, the blurriness on the edge of his face faded away into clear lines. Soon, Keira made out a mop of messy chestnut hair on the top of his head, grains of sand spilling from it. A long scar ran across his cheek, a dark line against his bronze skin. His emerald eyes gazed at her, and upon seeing their familiar color, she knew who they belonged to.

I am with you as always...

"Brother?"

Keira's eyes flashed open, softly glowing.

Caleb continued to drag her across the floor, unaware of the stark change in Keira's demeanor. Keira turned her head slightly, reaching for his forearm. She snatched it, then pulled it towards her chest. Caleb fell backwards, arm dangling in front of Keira's face. Biting down on his exposed arm, Caleb yelped as he let go of her.

"Get her!" the suited man exclaimed.

The five other men lunged towards her, listening to the stranger's command. Keira staggered to her feet, a plan already buzzing inside of her head. On top of a nearby table, she snagged a stein and smashed it into the bartender's face before he reached her. He fell to the ground, vanishing into a thick cloud of smog from the shards stuck in his cranium.