Phoenix Falling (Phoenix Series Book 1) Read online

  Phoenix Falling

  Phoenix Series: Book One

  Copyright © 2020 by Melody Anne

  Original Series © 2012 as Midnight Fire

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This is a work of romantic fiction, and for dramatic purposes, some liberties have been taken with procedures of the FBI, federal prosecution, and the United States Federal Witness Protection Program.

  Printed and published in the United States of America.

  Editing done by Karen Lawson and Janet Hitchcock

  Melody Anne’s Titles

  Click on any title to go directly to the books Amazon page

  Romance

  BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS

  *The Billionaire Wins the Game

  *The Billionaire’s Dance

  *The Billionaire Falls

  *The Billionaire’s Marriage Proposal

  *Blackmailing the Billionaire

  *Runaway Heiress

  *The Billionaire’s Final Stand

  *Unexpected Treasure

  *Hidden Treasure

  *Holiday Treasure

  *Priceless Treasure

  *The Ultimate Treasure

  BABY FOR THE BILLIONAIRE

  *The Tycoon’s Revenge

  *The Tycoon’s Vacation

  *The Tycoon’s Proposal

  *The Tycoon’s Secret

  *The Lost Tycoon

  *Rescue Me

  THE BILLIONAIRE ANDERSONS

  *Finn – Book One

  *Noah – Book Two

  *Brandon – Book Three

  *TBA – Book Four

  *TBA – Book Five

  BECOMING ELENA

  *Stolen Innocence – Book One

  *Forever Lost – Book Two

  *New Desires – Book Three

  FINDING FOREVER SERIES

  *Finding Forever

  TAKEN BY THE TRILLIONAIRE

  #1 Xander – Ruth Cardello

  #2 Bryan – J.S. Scott

  #3 Chris – Melody Anne

  #4 Virgin for the Trillionaire – Ruth Cardello

  #5 Virgin for the Prince – J.S. Scott

  #6 Virgin to Conquer – Melody Anne

  SURRENDER SERIES

  *Surrender – Book One

  *Submit – Book Two

  *Seduced – Book Three

  *Scorched – Book Four

  UNDERCOVER BILLIONAIRES

  *Kian – Book One

  *Arden – Book Two

  *Owen – Book Three

  *Declan – Book Four

  FORBIDDEN SERIES

  *Bound – Book One

  *Broken – Book Two

  *Betrayed – Book Three

  *Burned – Book Four

  HEROES SERIES

  *Safe in his arms – Novella

  *Baby it’s Cold Outside

  *Her Unexpected Hero – Book One

  *Who I am with you – Book Two – Novella

  *Her Hometown Hero – Book Three

  *Following Her – Book Four – Novella

  *Her Forever Hero – Book Five

  BILLIONAIRE AVIATORS

  *Turbulent Intentions – Book One (Cooper)

  *Turbulent Desires – Book Two (Maverick)

  *Turbulent Waters – Book Three (Nick)

  *Turbulent Intrigue – Book Four (Ace)

  TORN SERIES

  *Torn – Book One

  *Tattered – Book Two

  7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS

  #1 Luke – Barbara Freethy

  #2 Gabe – Ruth Cardello

  #3 Hunter – Melody Anne

  #4 Knox – Christie Ridgway

  #5 Max – Lynn Raye Harris

  #6 James – Roxanne St. Clair

  #7 Finn – JoAnn Ross

  Thrillers

  CONFESSIONS

  *Dance in the Dark – Book One

  *TBA – Next Book in the Series

  Young Adult / Fantasy

  PHOENIX SERIES

  *Phoenix Falling – Book One

  *Phoenix Burning – Book Two

  *Phoenix Ashes – Book Three

  *Phoenix Rising – Book Four

  **All links are part of Amazon Affiliate program

  DEDICATION

  This is dedicated to my Dad, Daniel Beecher. I love you always. Thanks for being the best dad a girl could ever hope to have, and for giving me the freedom to live my dreams and the power to know I can do anything I want to do. You’ll always be my hero.

  The original version of this book was written and published in 2012. Now, it’s 2019 and my dad has been gone for two years. When I jumped into this book to rewrite it, this dedication showed and I instantly burst into tears. It’s still dedicated to my father, who is still the best dad a girl could ever hope to have, and whom I miss every single day I don’t get to see him. You truly will always be my hero.

  Authors Notes

  I love writing. I mean, I could write all day and all night for weeks, months, and years on end, and still have more to write. Maybe that’s because I also love talking. But there’s so much power and magic within a story, and it’s so fun for me to find that magic when I begin to type. I also love writing in multiple genres. So far I have Romance, Young Adult, and Thrillers to my name. I eventually want to do a children’s book, as well. I’ve had the story in my head for a very long time, and I can’t wait for the day I get it on paper.

  This story is extra special to me because I wrote the original version at the beginning of my career in 2011. I loved the story then, and I used my kids, and my nieces and nephews, and the kid’s friends as the character names. My daughter’s name is Phoenix. My son’s name is Johnathan. Now in real life Phoenix is 2 years older than John. But I’ve always loved a protective older brother thing, so I, of course, used my imagination. In real life also, Phoenix’s best friend is Sadie. Another twist, though, is Jessica is her other best friend. But I decided to make this Jessica one of the antagonists of the story. And don’t worry, we’ll be seeing a lot more of her. Janet is one of my favorite aunts, and Larry is her ex-husband, but still my uncle forever. Brian is just a crush Phoenix had at one time in her life. Now what’s funny about Jayden is he was just a made up name when I originally wrote this story. But fate has a funny way of working out. Because as those who follow my social media know, I’m engaged!! Woohoo!! And my amazing fiancé, just happens to have an oldest son named Jaedan. Now, his name is spelled differently than my hero’s name, but that’s a good thing, considering him and Phoenix are going to be brother and sister. And while a lot of the world love’s the step-brother romances, that’s a tough one for me to swallow

  In the original version of the book, I had Josiah and Vyco as gods. I didn’t like how that turned out. For one, I do believe in heaven and hell, and for two, it wasn’t allowing me to take this story where I truly wanted it to go. The amazing thing about being a writer, is I get to come back 10 years later, and rewrite the story. So I took out the elements I didn’t love, and I got to add a lot more to it. I decided to go with magic. It’s like witch magic, but different and more powerful. It will all be explained more in t he rest of the series. It took me a while, and a lot of collaborating to work it all out.

  I never write a book alone. And I want to give a special shout out to my 14 year old niece, Ava, who took the original book written as Midnight Fire, and went through the entire thing, chapter by chapter, telling me what worked, and what would work better. I wanted a teenagers perspective, and I think we have a future writer with this one because she did very well. I also got some great advice from my future son, my fiancé’s youngest boy, Chance, who’s been reminding me often to get him a copy of the finished version of Phoenix Falling. He was reading over the old version and also giving suggestions. My daughter, Phoenix, was a huge part of the original version of the book, as well.

  I truly love YA/Fantasy books, and I definitely see myself writing more series in this genre. There’s just so much you can do with it, and I always love to take a break from reality and stretch my imagination. I hope you love Phoenix Falling, and I can’t wait to hear what you have to say. Welcome to a whole new world.

  With Love,

  Melody Anne

  This was previously released in 2012 as Midnight Fire; Rise of the Dark Angel. Significant changes were made in deleting and adding material and changing the storyline.

  Prologue

  We all have a vision in our head of what the world is like. We have that same vision of our country down to our community. We even have a vision of what our family is supposed to be. But the reality is that we know nothing.

  That might seem a little harsh, but it’s so true. We only know what we see or research. We only know what we’re taught. Some might reach beyond what they’re supposed to know, but still, we can’t figure it all out until we’re truly put to the test.

  When all is peaceful and right in the world, we go about our days without a thought of what tomorrow might be like. Sure, we dream of the future. We dream of getting older, of getting our driver’s license or our first kiss. We dream of having children, or traveling the world. We have a vision in our head of what we see as our own kind of utopia. But our vision isn’t the same as the vision of the person next to us.

  So who’s vision will come true? Is it truly the meek who will inherit the earth, or is it the strong? Is strength brutal force, or a whisper in the ear? How are we supposed to ever learn these answers if they aren’t taught to us. We can look at history and try to right wrongs. We can say we weren’t happy with the way we were raised and decide to raise our own children differently. We can damn the government and run for office to do it how we see fit. But what makes my ideas better than yours? What makes my vision of the world the correct one?

  We can say all we want is peace. The world would be a better place if we all just held hands and bound off into the sunset together. Or if we all bowed our heads and prayed as one. But then which religion do we choose? No matter how much we might want a certain thing, no matter how right that thing is for us, it might be very wrong for another.

  I think we can all agree that the basic principles in religion and life hold true for most. Don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t covet. But even as I write this down, I smile. Because is it always best to not lie, steal, or covet? If my daughter is hungry and I have nothing, will I not try to take it? If I’m in pain, but my best friend has just gone through a great loss of her own, won’t I lie and tell her I’m okay so I might comfort her? If I’m freezing and my neighbor has a blanket, won’t I envy her warmth even the slightest?

  We know the principles we should live by, but those values get diminished when we have nothing left to lose. The question is what have we done to protect ourselves? What have we done to be worthy of an arm around us, of a blanket draped across our shoulders, of a kind word?

  Many would be horrified by that question. Their answer would be their birth into the world is their worthiness, that all deserve equality. But is that true?

  I remember when I came home from school one day and was talking to my mother about how unjust the world was. I was only in the third grade at the time and thought I was so brilliant to be talking on an adult level. I told her everyone was created equal and therefore everyone should share it all.

  My mother was so wise. She smiled at me and my best friend, Sadie, who sat next to me. Then she pulled out two crisp twenty-dollar bills. Our eyes widened. That was a lot of candy money and we knew it. Both of us had to do chores every day for a week to earn up to five dollars. That money was cherished, and we were careful how we spent it.

  She said, of course we’re all created equal as she smiled. We didn’t interrupt. We both knew my mother well at that point and knew there was more coming. She kept speaking. “Mr. Thomas asked if you girls could come mow his lawn this weekend. He said if you mowed and cleared up all the weeds, he’d pay you each twenty dollars.”

  “Yea!” Sadie and I chimed together. Twenty dollars each for mowing and weed-eating was a breeze. Sure, Mr. Thomas had a massive yard, but it was flat. It would take us hours, but Mrs. Thomas would give us lemonade and fresh baked cookies while we worked so it was worth it.

  Mom kept smiling. “Now, one of you girls gets to sit on the back porch drinking all the lemonade and eating as many cookies as you want while the other one does the entire yard. It will take one of you twice as long, but that’s okay. At the end of the day Mr. Thomas will give you each twenty dollars and you’ll be on your way.”

  Sadie and I looked at each other deeply confused before Sadie was the one to speak up. “Why is one of us sitting there watching the other one work?” she finally asked.

  “That’s just how Mr. Thomas wants it,” Mother said.

  “Then why do we both get twenty dollars?” I finally asked.

  “Because we’re all created equal,” Mother said.

  That was my first lesson in equality. Of course Sadie and I both did the work, and we proudly took our money. But that opened my eyes to the world. Yes, there were some who did more than others, but it was everyone working together to the best ability of their skills that made a society run like a well-oiled machine.

  When many, many people began disagreeing on how things should run, that’s when it all began to fall apart. I learned there are worlds within worlds. There are galaxies beyond what we can ever imagine. I have no idea how it all came to be. I don’t know how for so long there was order within chaos. But I do know that order can’t last forever if there are those unwilling to cooperate.

  Our universe can be kind and giving, or it can be harsh and cruel. Where there is light, darkness weighs heavily. Where there is good, evil anticipates its next victim. How long will it be until darkness extinguishes light?

  Can one choice ultimately be the end of all mankind? Can we survive an apocalypse? I know we can because I’ve lived through it. Or at least I’ve lived so far. I’ve learned more in the last few years than any one person should. I’ve seen real terror, but I’ve also seen pure light. I’m scared. I’m so afraid for the people I love. I’m even more frightened for the world that once was.

  The darkness is so overwhelming. It pulses with an unbearable evil I wish I didn’t know existed. How could something so horrible happen? How could mankind turn against itself? Are we that susceptible to the whispering in our ears? Please don't forget me. I beg you to find the courage to remember that we can survive, but only if we band together, only if we overcome the darkness.

  —Phoenix Light

  Chapter One

  “How do you still have faith in this country, in these people’s humanity? Look at them. Look at how corrupt this world has become, especially in this so-called land of the free. These citizens think they are so high and mighty and have the power to do whatever they please, but they can’t survive on their own. There are factions within factions in every city, county, and state. None of them join together. It’s nothing but chaos. You say, at the heart and soul, people are good, but I don’t think even you believe your own words,” Vyco snarled.

  Josiah smiled at this being who’d once been his frie nd — a very long time ago. Even though Vyco’s words were piercing him, he refused to give Vyco the satisfaction of knowing it.

  “You won’t get me to fight you, Vyco. You wouldn’t win, anyway,” Josiah told him.

  “I might’ve believed that at one time, but you’re growing weaker the farther your kingdom falls. You aren’t as strong in your ruling or your convictions. If you were, you wouldn’t allow to happen what’s happened,” Vyco said, taunting Josiah.