Ben Burns Novels & Stories

she said flatly. I motioned to Keli to stand back, which he did, though keeping his eyes fixed on Merlin. She stepped closer, close enough now that I could clearly see the sharp features of her face. Her dirty blonde curls still cascaded down her shoulders, and her eyes — chestnut in color — burned with some strange mix of fury and desire. She wore a black uniform marked with the letter N and wide black trousers. Around her neck was a tattoo that unmistakably marked her as one of the Nortons: two intertwined N's.

Ben entered the room dressed in a black suit, white undershirt, and a single-flower brooch. “If you guys don’t stop hitting my head, I am going to have a dent over there! So violent!” he murmured rubbing his head. “If you don’t remember, we are in the business of violence, Ad.” Ben rolled his eyes. I said, “Stop bothering me, both of you.”

August flinched from the shattering sound. "That time our whole family was alive Steve! Do you even hear yourself!?," Adriel roared. "Have you forgotten what they did to us? It wasn't you who saw them bathed in blood, it was me. And our mother? Think about the pain she endured when her whole body was burned. Were her mighty husband and three children able to save her? No." August cried silently allowing his brother to let it out from his heart. Adriel snatched the unfinished bottle from the table chugging the contents down his throat. He gazed at the portrait of the beard man on the wall with resentment. August followed his gaze where their father's picture was hanged.

“He will locate us no matter wherein we pass.” Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Not if we are clever about it.” Jenny’s hands trembled as she reached into her pocket, feeling the flash force Ethan had given her. It held evidence of Noah’s crimes, evidence that might subsequently set her unfastened. But the usage of it would imply warfare. Her cell phone buzzed again. This time, she made the error of searching at the display. Noah: Come domestic now, or you will regret it. Her stomach twisted.

“Sabrina doesn’t like being found. That’ll cost you.” Yvonne smiled, blowing smoke in his direction. “Name your price.” They negotiated while I stood there, heart pounding. Yvonne was calm, confident, playing the game like she’d done it a hundred times. The guy eventually nodded. “Fine. I can track her burner locations. Give me twenty minutes.” While he worked, Yvonne smoked another cigarette, leaning against the counter like she owned the place. I stayed quiet, nerves eating at me. When the guy finally looked up from his screens, he had an address scribbled on a piece of paper. But then his eyes landed on me again. He stared for a long second, tilting his head.

“Are you okay?” Shit. I almost forgot. To her it's only been a day and half since we've seen each other. I nod, smiling to ease her worry. “Yeah. Everything is great.” A groan sounds behind me as Ben lifts his large body from the ground. “Warn me next time you try to shove my body through the floor,” he says to Tessa. He towers over her, which is not a hard thing to do being 6’5. Ben is one of our warriors, a gamma through and through.

“The Callahan’s eldest lady lost?” “Yeah. Benji had been in seclusion for more than an Epoch and was already a Terra Ancestral God. His cultivation rank far surpassed hers. I also heard Benji was trying to fight the second daughter now and has plans to take all her sisters on. Eventually, his last opponent will be Bria.

But there was some sick, cosmic irony in this world that kept letting me live, kept forcing me to move forward. I thought about Ben as I walked. About the man I had known before The Burning. He had been stationed out west, somewhere in California. Smart, quiet, the kind of guy who didn’t say much but somehow managed to make you feel safe just by being there. We hadn’t been close, not yet. But there had been something there, something unspoken, something that could have been… more. And then the bombs fell, and everything burned.

The moment he approached the door it suddenly opened before he even rings the bell. “Aaron Casey?” question the big man wearing a formal black suit. “I am looking for Benji,” he said quietly. “Please enter sir. You will find him in the greenhouse.” “Thank you.” Aaron enters without looking back to a worried Barnard. Benji sits in the middle of his greenhouse floor. The bottle of wine was nearly empty. He has decided to wear black makeup streak with white that represent his unshed tears. He was angry and heart broken but since he can’t seem to handle his emotions he chooses to drink.

His face turned dark, and he gritted his teeth. That damn Marvin! Trying to play games and get close to Aria? He can dream on! Still feeling a bit bitter, Kane started the car and drove toward ATTA. Once he dealt with Gabriella, he was sure Aria's opinion of him would change. Besides, Gabriella had gone too far this time. He wouldn't let her hurt Basia or Aria again. *** With Gabriella's help, Benjamin had become Burnell's top assistant over the past four years. But now, he was standing in front of Gabriella with his head bowed, looking like a scolded child.