Garret pulled the envelope from his jacket and opened it. It had amazed him. Vicious, as much as he said he hated the old ways new that a sole ruler of the red dragons would never work. It needed stability as well as strength.
He pulled the certificate from the envelope and laid it flat on the oven in the hotels' small utility kitchen. She should know. She deserved to know, didn't she? But what would it matter now? Garret thought to himself. Vicious was dead, the Red Dragons were destroyed. There would be no future for them or for her. He stared at the certificates names printed in stark ink. Vicious and Kahni, it would have been an interesting marriage to say the least he thought with a slight grin.
He heard Kahni coughing in the other room and his smile faded. He flicked on a lighter and held the certificate above its flame. The lighter ate up the yellowed and bloodstained paper hungrily. And when nearly nothing was left he threw it into the stanless steel sink, turned on the water and ran the black ashes down the drain. He threw the envelope out and walked into the living room.
Kahni sat on the couch and she held her head. Stretching, she banged her knee on the small coffee table in front of her. "Damn.." Grogily she fumbled on the table and found a box of matches, struck one and lit a candle. She blew out the match and laid it on the growing pile by the candles' base. She reached for a bottle of whiskey that was on the table but it disappeared. Still in an alcoholic fog, she loked up and shook her head. Garret stood on the other side of the table. He placed a glass of OJ in front of her.
"Lets try some real breakfast today."
Kahni looked at the juice and thought she'd be sick. She groaned and leaned back into the couch. Garret sighed and sat on the edge of the coffee table.
"You can't keep going like this. What good can come of it?"
"I was robbed of everything Garret. My revenge, my love,…my life. OUR life our future…" Kahni stretched her arm out and clucked her tongue. A bird with snow white feathers squawked and flew to sit on her hand , its talons digging into her flesh.
Garret watched her stroke the bird's head and back. She seemed oblivious to the pain it was causing her. Just like before, just like Vicious. She only saw it's beauty and not its danger. Only when the bird bit her did she jerk and curse and the bird flew away squawking. It sat on its perch and regarded her with cold silent eyes. Garrett sighed and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and sat next to Kahni on the couch.
"Let me see that." Kahni reluctantly pulle dher hand from her mouth and Garret, wiping her hand clean, examined the wound.. "I think he's getting meaner." Garret said with a bit of a laugh. Kahni didn't respond in kind.
Garret cleaned the bite which wasn't that bad and sighed a little more. He stood and looked down at Kahni.
"Yeah…."Kahni said to him expecting something from his movements. "What is it?"
"I…..well."
Kahni leaned forward, hoping to hear something good. "What?"
"I …got something for you." Garret managed to say.
Kahni looked at him puzzled. "Huh?"
He went into the kitchen and came out with a small box and handed it to Kahni. Still skeptically Kahni looked at him but took the box. "What is it?"
"Open it." he said.
Kahni opened the box and pulled out a glass figurine of a phoenix bird coming out of red glass flames.
"It's a phoenix." Garret told her.
"I gathered that" she replied.
"Kahni, all the time you spent with Vicious, all that time all you ever wanted was for him to forget the past and live for the future. Well, it's time for you to forget your past and look forward. You can start over now."
"We can start over."
"HUH?" Garret said backing up a little.
"The Red Dragons shall rise from the ashes. We will come again, a new generation, the Phoenix clan shall rule. We will become all and more than the Red Dragons ever were." Kahni explained.
Garret was wary of the glint in her eye but when she turned to look directly at him it was gone. She was smiling. Smiling. Something he hadn't seen on Miss Kahni in way too long.
"Will you stand with me, Garret?"
Garret grinned and closed his eyes. "Yes."
THE END FINIS.
Just a note to all my reviewers and loyal supporters thanks so much and I am sorry this has taken me sooo long to finish. Thankyou all sooo sooo sooo much. Happy reading….Please don't shoot me. Thank you.