by H G Lynch
“Oh yeah, definitely. Whichever of Lucifer’s pets granted this girl power over fire must’ve been high at the time,” Reid chuckled.
Raz just looked at him, sense of humour apparently gone as fast as it came around.
Reid shook his head. “Come on, we’ll introduce you to the others. I’m sure Kee’s going to be thrilled to meet an angel. I wonder if we ever wagered over the existence of you guys?…” he added as an afterthought, then shrugged. He clapped Raphael on the back easily as he passed him.
The angel-man looked surprised by the gesture for a moment. Ember got off her swing, her anxiety dimmed by Reid’s nonchalance.
“The others? Ricky Sanders and Sherry Anderson,” Raphael stated smartly.
Ember’s brows shot up and a chill went down her spine.
Reid didn’t seem impressed though; He rolled his eyes and muttered, “Damn all-knowing angels.”
***
It took nearly twenty minutes to explain who and what Raphael was, and convince Ricky it was the truth, before they all settled down on the sofas in the living room — Except Raz of course, who insisted solemnly on standing. So formal.
Once Ricky and Sherry were up to speed, Raphael waited patiently for the shock to settle. Ember couldn’t help but feel like laughing at how oddly out of place the angel-man looked, standing stunning and shirtless in the centre of the quaint, cosy living room. He looked around expressionlessly at all the knick-knacks and cushions, and something about the way his eyes moved made Ember sure he was curious. It was hard to tell though, seeing as the man had all the facial movement of stone.
“Okay, so, what precisely are you here to warn us about?” Ricky asked Raz, who looked at him steadily with those dark, velvety eyes.
“The prophecy,” Raphael answered shortly, as if it were obvious.
Ember exchanged a glance with both Reid and Sherry, but they appeared to have no more clue what Raz meant than she did.
“What prophecy?” Ember enquired.
Raz blinked, frowned —or at least, she thought he frowned — and then made a sound almost like a sigh.
“I forget how little knowledge the Earth children have,” he said, and Ember wasn’t sure whether or not to take it as an insult.
Apparently, Reid, though, did.
“Well, sorry if our seventeen short years haven’t been spent ceaselessly reading Enochian rites and rituals,” Reid snapped sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
Ember felt her lips twitch, but forced herself not to smile. She really didn’t want to end up smoked by angel-fire.
“Reid!” Ricky hissed disapprovingly, looking appalled. Sherry, meanwhile, was discreetly eyeing the angel with quiet consternation, as if he might smite her for just looking at him the wrong way.
Raphael, though, didn’t look offended by Reid’s contemptuous tone. He may have looked mildly surprised at Ricky’s chastisement of Reid…or it could’ve been a trick of the light. He waited for everyone to return their attention to him before he spoke again.
“The prophecy is a prediction that was written seventeen years ago, on the 23rd of December, declaring that the child born on that day, with blood of two of the shadow world’s dark creatures, would be in danger from her seventeenth birthday onward. If the child were to leave her home country before the 26th, three days after her seventeenth birthday, she would avoid death, and avert the certain destruction of the human race. As it is now the 26th, and you remain in your home land, Ember, I am here to warn you to leave before it is too late. And, if you should decide against the strong suggestion of an archangel such as myself, I shall remain to protect you as best I can.” Raphael, who hadn’t blinked throughout his whole speech, but had stared so intently at Ember that she’d felt the urge to cower under the sofa, finally blinked. As if he were coming back to himself.
There was silence, heavy and thick enough to smother, in the room. Ember slumped in her seat. “Oh, is that all?” she quipped weakly, her voice an echo to her own ears. Her mind seemed to have stalled in shock, and she could barely think. Was Raphael really serious? The human race depended on her leaving Scotland, today. For how long? Could she ever come back or would it be permanent? No. She couldn’t stand that thought. To never return to Scotland, to never see her home or riding school or the places she knew ever again would be torture. Sometimes, her chest ached just to be away from it, when she was at Acorn Hills.
And she couldn’t leave now, not yet. She hadn’t been back to Red’s, or seen her other friends, or shown Reid where she’d played as a child, or where she’d learned to skateboard on the ramps by the bay.
“But…we can’t leave yet.” It was Sherry, saying as much as Ember had been thinking. The green-eyed girl met Ember’s gaze with a soulful, meaningful expression. She felt the same way Ember did, though, Scotland hadn’t been Sherry’s home for long, not since she’d left it eight years ago, and returned only a year ago.
“You must. If you are to prevent tragedy, you are to leave tonight. If you all stay, much harm and devastation shall fall upon you, and others. Others; not of your kind, but the mortals. The humans. They shall all be affected in the long term, and the affect shan’t be pleasant,” Raphael said solemnly.
“What kind of harm are you talking about? How could Ember staying in Scotland for a few more days cause devastation to the whole human race? That’s…it’s too…big. It’s too massive to rely on one girl,” Ricky said gingerly, his kind eyes turned in Ember’s direction.
“If Ember remains here, she will face certain death. There are people who wish to use her blood —unique, even among her own kind, even for an Elemental — for power and control, to destroy much of humanity and replace it with a higher order of being,” Raphael explained calmly, as if he were discussing music choices rather than Ember’s life and the end of the human race.
“Wait, back up a minute. Who is she in danger from? That’s what I want to know. Who’s going to try to kill her?” Reid looked pale as the snow outside, his eyes very bright with fury.
Raphael didn’t seem inclined to answer that one, so Reid stood up, fists clenched, and spoke through his teeth. “Who is going to try to kill her?” he demanded, enunciating clearly as if he were speaking to a child —only, his tone would’ve given any child nightmares. His fangs glinted menacingly as he set his jaw.
There was another thick silence, in which it appeared Raphael was considering how much to tell them. Reid was taut as a bow string, ready to snap at the slightest provocation. Ember wanted to reach out and touch him, soothe him, but she couldn’t seem to make her arm move. She could only stare hopelessly at Raphael, heart pounding.
Eventually, after what felt like a century, Raphael lifted his chin and met Reid’s glare directly. “The Society. They are a group of human’s who know about vampires, werewolves and the like. They have experimented on and tortured many supernatural creatures already, and somehow they have gotten word of Ember’s existence. Of what she can do and what blood runs in her veins. They wish to use her blood.”
Oh. Well. That’s just lovely, she thought sarcastically.
“…Humans? You think humans can kill Ember?…” Reid said quietly.
“Humans with more knowledge of the supernatural than any others I’ve ever seen. Humans that will kill Ember. It has been foreseen,” Raz sounded almost sympathetic. Almost.
There was a pause, and then Reid started laughing. Raphael frowned slightly.
“You…you have no idea…how ridiculous that sounds! You even admitted yourself, Ember has unique power. She’s killed witches, burned them to ashes. Destroyed a ghost. And she’s got two full-blooded vampires, and a faery to protect her. You really think some pathetic, wand-wielding humans are going to be able to get to her?” Apparently, Reid had a lot more confidence in Ember’s abilities than she had in herself. Oh, she didn’t doubt she was capable of killing humans —that would be no match for her flames — but morally, she wasn’t so sure. Killing evil warlocks and banishing ghosts to the
netherworld were very different from murdering a human, even if the human meant her harm.
“I hate to say it, but I agree with Reid. I mean, Reid and I are never far away, and if Ember gets into any trouble when we’re not there, I’m positive she can handle it…I’ve seen what she can do. It’s incredible,” Ricky offered, shooting Ember a reassuring smile, even if it was a bit weak.
“There’s no way anything’s getting at Ember. It’ll have to deal with all of us first,” Sherry chimed in encouragingly.
Why was Ember the only one who felt like there was a hole yawning open inside her? It was that pit-of-the-stomach yucky feeling she’d gotten when the footballer murders had started at Acorn Hills. It was not a good sign.
“We’re not going anywhere, so you can take your wings and flutter back to the clouds. We can take care of Ember just fine ourselves,” Reid had stopped laughing and sounded utterly stubborn, like nothing could shake his confidence in his ability to look out for her. It might’ve brought a smile to Ember’s lips at another time, if she weren’t so…shaken. She saw Raphael’s expression darken, his brows lowering over those churning, brown eyes, his mouth tightening. Suddenly, he looked much older, and much scarier than before. Ember started to open her mouth to say something —what exactly, she wasn’t sure — but Raphael spoke first, in a nerve-wracking voice.
“You arrogant little vampires. You think you can handle anything, that humans are no threat because of your superior abilities—”
Reid cut in with an appalling show of petulance, “Yeah, that’s about right.” One side of his mouth curled into that haughty smirk Ember had hated the first time she’d met him.
Raphael’s expression darkened further, like a thunder cloud.
“Reid…maybe…we should leave. We should just go back to Acorn Hills,” Ricky proposed, possibly smartly. Certainly logically.
Only, Ember couldn’t quite see it that way. Leaving now would be running away. And she’d never run from a fight in her life. She barely knew what she was doing when she opened her mouth.
“No,” she said, her voice shaky. Ashamed, she cleared her throat and straightened her spine. She looked directly into Raphael’s deep eyes. “No. I’m not going anywhere,” her voice was stronger this time, full of determination and stubbornness. She cast a glance at Reid. He was grinning like he was proud of her.
“That’s my girl,” he wound his fingers through hers.
Hiro popped into existence, the way Ember was beginning to learn was his usual way of entering a room, and made a gagging noise as though he’d been listening the whole time. Raphael startled at the sudden sight of the Kitsune boy lounging in an armchair.
“W-who...” Raz stuttered, losing his immaculate cool for just a moment. Then his brow furrowed. “A Kitsune.” He spat the word like a curse.
Hiro just grinned and waved a hand carelessly. “Well spotted, Spaceman.”
Ember frowned at Raz. “I thought you knew everyone who—”
Raz cut her off. “Kitsunes possess a kind of magic that angels are all but blind to. They are the children of demonic forces.”
Hiro rolled his eyes, about to say something, but Ricky held up a hand to stop him. “Let’s not get into a theological discussion. Focus.”
Ember threw up her hands. “Well, like I said, I’m staying. End of discussion.”
“If you stay, I cannot guarantee your safety —any of you. The prophecy states that—” Raz looked almost flustered, bewildered. Well, she could hardly blame him; they were all most likely insane.
“I don’t care what your prophecy states. I’ve never taken orders before, and I’m not starting now. And I’m definitely not going down without a fight.” Ember felt a new kind of courage forming in her chest, making her stronger. Suddenly, she wasn’t so scared anymore.
To her surprise, Sherry stepped up beside her. “This time, if there’s a fight, I’m in on it. I’m tired of being the weakling on the side-lines.” Sherry’s green eyes glittered as she held her chin up bravely.
“Well, I’m in. If I don’t stay, you’ll all get yourselves killed in two days.” Ricky grinned, slinging an arm around Sherry, his eyes twinkling with admiration as he looked at his girlfriend.
Ember smiled, yet again astounded that she’d found such amazing friends. She had to wonder how on earth she deserved them.
“So. Raphael, I guess if you want to help us out, you can stick around. Or, you can leave us. But either way, we’re not going back to Acorn Hills. We won’t run away from a fight, no matter the odds or what’s at stake.” Ember could almost feel how clear and strong her voice was, heard the power in her own words.
Raphael, after a long moment of looking utterly blank, sighed. “I shall remain, and do what I can to protect you all. But I must insist, if, Ember, you are put in lethal danger, I shall remove you myself.” With those chilling words, Raz, abruptly, vanished. Leaving the two vampires, the surprised faery, and the bewildered Ember to contend with everything they’d just learned.
“Well,” Hiro said cheerfully. “That was ominous. I thought angels were meant to be all smiles and singing cherubs.”
Reid snorted. “Obviously this one missed the memo.”
***
It was after six o’clock before they had dug up any real information on this Society, and Ember had had to tell Cris three times that there was no need for him to rush out and hop on a plane to Scotland. She’d emailed him about what was going on, hoping he could dig up some info about Kitsunes and angels and, if possible, The Society. After having convincing him that they were all okay —for now anyway —Cris had agreed to find out as much as he could about The Society, and he’d ask a few friends in the faery world if they knew anything about Hiro or Raz. He doubted he’d have much luck getting dirt on the angel, but he’d said he’d try anyway.
“Okay, so, we don’t know who the members of The Society are, where The Society is based, or what precisely they want with Ember’s blood —aside from power. Power to do what exactly?” Ricky sighed, put his head in his hands. He was just as stressed as the rest of them; Well, with exception of Hiro, who didn’t seem stressed in the least. He was lounging on the floor by the fireplace, on his back with his hands behind his head. Ember wanted to throw a plant pot at him. But she had the feeling Reid would take too much pleasure in seeing that, so she restrained herself.
“Well…Basically. Yeah. But we do know they’re a group of human scientists, handpicked by…whoever’s in charge of The Society, and somehow they know a hell of a lot about the supernatural. They torture supernatural creatures, both for information about other supernatural beings, and to document everything they can, as scientists do. We know they’re researching something top secret right now, probably related to my blood. We just don’t have all the details yet. Give Cris some time, and I’m sure he can hack into some private files. What did Brandon and Perry dig up?” Ember looked at Reid. She knew he’d called them after the tiff in the kitchen.
Reid shrugged. “Not much of anything really. The Society is too new; it’s not documented in the Covenant archives. But, they did find out some fun facts about Kitsunes.” He grinned toward the boy lying on the floor.
Hiro, who hadn’t appeared to be listening up until now, cracked one eyelid open and glanced at them all. “Hmm? Really? Do enlighten us.” He closed his eye and returned to looking bored. His skin was almost bronze in the firelight, his nose slightly upturned, his lashes forming crescents on his sharp cheekbones. His hair looked like spilled blood swimming around his head on the carpet.
Reid rolled his eyes. “Well, listen up, kiddies, ‘cause Mr. Ashton has a story to tell.”
Ember shook her head at him. “You’d be a crap teacher, Reid,” she announced with a smirk.
He winked at her. “Be quiet or I’ll give you detention. And my detention doesn’t involve writing lines fifty times.” He flashed that glinting, sexy smile, cleared his throat, and turned to face the rest of the room, indeed like a teacher ab
out to start a lecture.
“There are two common classifications of Kitsune. The zenko, literally good foxes are benevolent foxes associated with the god Inari; they are sometimes simply called Inari foxes. On the other hand, the yako tend to be mischievous or even malicious. Physically, Kitsune are noted for having as many as nine tails. Generally, a greater number of tails indicates an older and more powerful fox. In some stories, Kitsune have difficulty hiding their tails when they take human form; looking for the tail, perhaps when the fox gets drunk or careless, is a common method of discerning the creature's true nature. Supernatural abilities commonly attributed to the Kitsune include possession, mouths or tails that generate fire or lightning known as Kitsune-bi; literally, fox-fire, wilful manifestation in the dreams of others, flight, invisibility, and the creation of illusions so elaborate as to be almost indistinguishable from reality. Other Kitsune have characteristics reminiscent of succubi and feed on the life or spirit of human beings, generally through intimate, skin-to-skin contact.” Reid curled his lip in Hiro’s direction.
But Hiro just lay there, eyes still closed, and smiled faintly. “To each their own, Pretty Boy. You have your tastes, I have mine,” he said casually.
Ember could feel another argument coming on, and decided to defuse it before it got started. “So, are you a Zenko or a Yako? A good fox or a bad fox?” she asked Hiro quickly, hoping to distract him.
Hiro hesitated, then pushed himself into a sitting position, leaning on his elbows. He seemed to be considering, his cat-like eyes serious for the first time. Then, he shrugged and lay back.
“Depends how you see it. I like to think I’m a bit of both,” he answered calmly, but there was tension running like a current under his words that made Ember wonder.
“So, what powers do you have? Do you really feed on peoples’ spirits?” Sherry asked, shuddered at the thought. She’d gone a bit pale, and Ricky must’ve noticed too, because he shifted closer to her on the sofa and put an arm around her. She visibly relaxed into him, but her shoulders were still tense.
