Embers

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  The girl’s face flickered in my mind and an unreasonable protectiveness washed over me.

  I realized that I couldn’t change Garrett’s mind. I needed time to think and talk to those who felt the way I did. It would be dangerous for us to openly defy Garrett and the others. They had the numbers. Garrett would command his followers to kill anyone who didn’t go along with his mad ideas of dominating the world.

  He must have been planning this for a long time. I had no choice except to go along with it for now. Just play the game a little while longer and wait for the right opportunity to act. I took a calming breath and pushed aside the feeling of apprehension that chilled every inch of my body.

  “Thank you for explaining that to me. I knew there must be more to it than just entertainment. If you feel strongly that this is what the world is coming to then I won’t stand in your way,” I said.

  “I’m glad you understand. I would like nothing more than for you to be by my side when our kind rises.” Garrett smiled a wicked grin that raised goose bumps on my arms. I could only imagine what the look would do to mere humans.

  The scraping of the main door against the hard wood floor streamed to my sensitive ears. Garrett rose from his chair and gave me a nod. I walked out of the library with him, but a step behind, silently preparing for the game.

  When we entered the main room, I quickly assessed that there were nine others sitting or standing around the couches. They were all winded and sweating, obviously fresh from a hard workout in the forest. I caught Horas’ gaze and he winked at me before he put his arm around Gabrielle. He’d been spending a lot of time lately with the curvy Spanish beauty.

  Next to them on the couch sat Sarah and Mary. Mary’s auburn hair clashed with Sarah’s wispy blonde strands. Charles stood behind Mary with the usual smirk on his face. The obnoxious twist to his lips was a permanent fixture for him. He stared at me looking thoroughly amused. The man considered himself to be second in command to Garrett, but he always appeared insecure of the position around me. As if I’d actually want the job.

  On the other couch was the handsome and totally full of himself Peter and the warrior Renna. Renna didn’t speak any English, but she understood it just fine. Sometimes, she would mutter her native tongue to herself, but other than that, she’d been silent since we ran across her in Africa at the turn of the twentieth century.

  The last two in the room were Donnelly and Kimberly. I glanced at them and then quickly away. Donnelly was huge and built the same as a truck. He wasn’t the smartest one in the family, but he could fight. Garrett had discovered him in a boxing ring in Chicago in the forties. Donnelly was dangerous, but the creature that worried me the most, was the golden goddess sitting next to him.

  Kimberly was by far the most alluring of all the females in the room. She’d worked her charms on me many times since the nineteen sixties when she’d joined the family, but beneath the violet eyes and ivory skin was pure evil. I couldn’t help shivering when I remembered her blood smeared face stretched back in a snarl. She had attacked the local men as if she were a wild animal, tearing into their flesh with the same zeal that the lion had.

  I never had the desire to bond to her even though she’d fixated on me, but after the attack on the locals, I not only despised the sight of her, I was also afraid. Never in all my years had I seen others of my kind act with such merciless violence while feeding. Soul taking didn’t involve the drinking of blood or eating of flesh. It was completely unnecessary and beyond barbaric.

  When I had realized that there was nothing I could do to stop the blood frenzy, I ran deep into the forest, leaving the tearing noises and the smell of fresh blood far behind me. I’d emptied my stomach on the ground several times as I made my way higher and higher up the mountainside, until I reached the stone ledge.

  The place provided a view of dozens of tree covered hills stretching out for miles below it. The dark greens of the pines and the softer shades of the hardwoods intermingled with the browns and grays of rock formations to show the wilderness in all its glory. The lookout had always been an escape of peace and relaxation for me in the past, but on that day, it was where I had reached into my own soul. I had remained on the ledge for several days while the touch of madness caressed me.

  Lutz had been the one who’d found me and brought me back to the compound. As his thick arms had encircled me, I’d regretted not having made the jump already. The distance to the gorge below was enough that even I wouldn’t have survived the fall. My head would have been smashed to pieces and that’s what was needed to destroy a monster like me. I was within minutes of ending the nightmare I’d been living since the day that Garrett had found me on the edge of the battlefield. So close to finally being free from the constant cravings for human souls and the guilty, sleepless nights of knowing that others died so that I could continue living.

  The only thing that kept me on the rock during those torturous days was the fear of the unknown. What would be waiting for me? I was raised in the church and I knew the place that God reserved for murderers. The fear of the reckoning is what saved me.

  Lutz had carried me through the storm while the rain drops pelted my skin and the wind pounded my face. While I’d been held snuggly in the bear’s arms, my mind began to clear. The haziness of self-hatred and despair had been washed away from my spirit. When I’d opened my eyes, I saw a streak of lightening zigzagging through the sky, followed by the booming thunder that shook the trees around us.

  That’s the moment when I vowed that I would never witness such horrible deeds ever again. I would do whatever I could to prevent the slaughter from happening—even if it killed me.

  The memory strengthened my will to succeed. I blinked and pulled myself together. I would have to be a convincing actor to fool the others.

  Lutz and Cray were sitting at the table while Pricilla spooned helpings onto their plates. The two Growlers were a mess. Their hair was disheveled and their clothes torn. I could smell the animals from where I stood. Cray was excited about the hunt, the musky oils on his skin stronger than ever. The scent rising from Lutz was from the sweat of his exhausted body. He wasn’t interested in hunting the humans, but he had no choice in the matter. Garrett would demand it.

  The door slid open a fraction and Ivan slid through it, moving silently with downcast eyes to the table where Lutz and Cray sat. When he took the seat beside Lutz, the big bear man swatted him on the head playfully as if he was batting a bear cub around. Ivan took the rough treatment with a slight smile, knowing full well that the bear liked him. When Pricilla handed him a plate, he began shoveling the food into his mouth. He must be getting ready for a growth spurt judging by the way he ate. I went to join him and the other Growlers.

  I listened to everyone as they talked in hushed tones about the upcoming hunt, planning their ambushes and strategies. I took a plate from Pricilla who seemed pleased that I was eating her food. Sometimes the others gave her a hard time about her cooking. The animals sitting next to me would eat just about anything. Their enormous appetites didn’t please her the way it did when one of us enjoyed her preparations.

  I chewed the food distractedly. I should be thinking of a plan to deal with Garrett, but instead, my mind kept drifting to the girl. I wondered what she was doing at that moment. The workings of my body slowed to the point of discomfort when I pictured her crystal blue eyes and plump, pink lips. How I longed to touch her skin, to hold her softness in my arms.

  Smack.

  The girl vanished from my mind when a dinner roll hit me in the face. With an aggravated sigh, I threw it back at Lutz who was laughing so hard the table was shaking.

  “Wherever you were brother, looked mighty niiice,” the big bear hollered before he gulped down his milk. The bear man couldn’t help but talk loudly. He was a giant, taller than Donnelly by several inches. Garrett had to have special clothes made for him when he first came to us a few years back.

  I smiled thinking about the day the big bl
ack bear had approached me in the woods and shifted right before my eyes. He said in his booming voice that he’d been observing us for some time and thought we might be interested in hiring him on.

  Garrett and Charles had brought Cray back from California with them a decade earlier. It took a long while for the two animals to behave civilly toward one another. They were always wrestling and testing one another’s strength. The bear had more shear power than the cat, but Cray could dance around the bear. And his claws were deadly.

  I glanced over at Cray who was sitting with his back to the wall watching everyone in the room. The cat never let his guard down. He was a sneaky one for sure. His tan hair and light brown skin blended into the pine boards behind him giving him natural camouflage even in his human form. I didn’t trust him—at least not the way I trusted Lutz. The bear would side with me, but he didn’t have a vote. I knew that Cray was all for the hunt. He hated humans and would enjoy eating any remains leftover. Lutz would never eat human meat. He always lectured the cat, “That just ain’t right, kitty cat!”

  When Cray’s gaze landed on me, I turned away. The last thing I needed was for the cat to become suspicious.

  Ivan was playing with the last of his food, carefully keeping his head down. From what Garrett had told me, the kid was kidnapped from the mountains in Russia and sold by an old acquaintance of Garrett’s. Originally, I hadn’t understood why Garrett would bring the wolf here—now it all made sense. If he really intended to go out into the open, he’d need all the protection he could get.

  Another thing that occurred to me was that maybe the reason Garrett had insisted on the wolf going to the school in town was to insure that he hated humans, the way that Cray did. Ivan had admitted to me about how the other young humans treated him. Garrett had anticipated it. A Growler wasn’t much good for guarding against humans if his human side became attached to them. The girl had already wormed her way into the wolf’s affections.

  The girl again—a tremor rippled through me. Garrett must never know about her.

  A breeze stirred in the room as Charlotte, Colton and Patrick came through the door. They all looked my way. I subtly shook my head no. I hoped they understood to let the matter rest until we could talk about it later. I was sure the cat and the wolf saw me, but the others were preoccupied. Their superior attitudes made them less vigilant. Maybe that could be used against them later on.

  When Garrett had everyone present, he stood, hushing the crowd with his palms. “You all know that the searchers will be here on Wednesday with fresh humans. Today we are going to have a vote on the matter of having another hunt with the new arrivals. I know some of you have voiced concerns about it, but I feel that it is time that we embrace our true spirits and feed the way we were intended to. Alas, times are changing, and we need to be strong and well trained to survive.”

  He looked around to see that he had everyone’s full attention. Then he continued,

  “The searchers; Jason, John and Bethany, placed their ballot before they left on their quest. They all voted for the hunts to continue. So that is three in favor. All those in favor of the same, raise your hand.

  Most of the hands shot up quickly. When my friends’ eyes questioned me, I guided them by raising my own hand. Slowly, their hands went up. Pricilla and Horas followed suit. I hated the way they all looked at me though, as if I had betrayed them.

  “It’s unanimous then, very good. A united family is much better than a divided one.”

  I caught Horas roll his eyes at Garrett’s choice of words. The others stood and applauded at that point. I rose only for the sake of appearances.

  I hoped I could trust Horas. We’d need him if we were going to succeed. Having the Roman commander on our side would be an incredible asset.

  I glanced down at Ivan. He looked thoroughly miserable. “Hey kid, you better go get some sleep. You have school tomorrow,” I said a little too briskly, knowing that I would be up most of the night myself. Luckily, I didn’t need much sleep.

  Beneath the worry and agitation about the changes in the compound and what I was going to do, my heart raced with excitement.

  For the first time in too many decades to count, I was looking forward to something, and that was seeing Ember again.

  Mark 1:13

  And Jesus was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

  Ember ~ Twenty-One

  I sat at the kitchen table toying with my pancakes. I was so tired. For the longest time the night before, I’d lain awake in bed thinking about Ivan and Sawyer, and what they were. Trying to reconcile my mind to the fact that I’d met a Growler and a Demon that day had been too much for my brain to handle. Adding on Ila’s stories and I wasn’t able to fall asleep until the early hours of the morning.

  When sleep finally did come, I was tormented with worse nightmares than the day of my arrival. Only this time, Sawyer was not the guardian of my dreams. Instead, images of blood and gore surrounded him. But these dreams were not the same as the ones before. They didn’t have the magical quality the others had.

  I took a deliberate breath and began cutting the pancakes. I can do this. Plus, I have special powers. It will be okay. Yeah, right.

  “Ila, would you please make some tea that will help me sleep better?” I yawned.

  “Of course my dear, I’d be glad too. But I fear that you’re being too hard on yourself. After all, you’ve had a lot of strange things thrown at you in a very short amount of time.” Ila sipped her coffee at the table. “In my day, you would have been raised up from a baby in a Watcher’s house. Everything you are now learning would have been taught to you at its proper time. To say this is a crash course is an understatement.”

  I was thoughtful for a minute. “As much as I appreciate all that you’ve taught me so far, I never would have traded my life with my parents.”

  “I know, but it has made your path much more difficult than it should be. Really, I think you’re doing a marvelous job under the circumstances,” she said gently.

  “Thanks.” I breathed deeply as I stood, trying to fill my head with more oxygen in order to wake up.

  Ila motioned for me to sit again. “One more thing before you go, you need to have faith in your instincts. You have strong powers of intuition and you must trust them. They will tell you if you’re in danger. Your instincts will show you the way.”

  “I’m not sure if my instincts are working as well as you may think they are,” I muttered.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I wasn’t that afraid of the Demon. I already told you, he made me angry. That wasn’t the right reaction was it?”

  “He must not have been a real danger to you—at least not in the literal sense,” she said with a slight frown.

  “How can that be? He’s a Demon. He kills people for their souls!” I exclaimed.

  “Things are not always black and white, my dear. Not even with Demons.”

  “You don’t think I should be afraid of him?” I asked incredulously.

  “I said to trust your instincts. Remember, he can’t harm you. You’re much more incredibly strong than he is. You also have an advantage in that he doesn’t know what you are.”

  “You’re telling me that if I were to run into him again, I should never let him know that I’m a Watcher?” I said, fidgeting with the strings on my backpack.

  “Never is a long time,” Ila said. She began clearing the dishes off the table. “But again, you should trust your instincts. If it’s not in your best interest to tell him what you are, then don’t.”

  I put the plate with my uneaten pancakes on the floor for Angus and stood up.

  “Doesn’t it bother you that there are Demons living nearby, at least a little bit?”

  Ila laughed. “No, it doesn’t bother me. Their numbers are relatively small. They keep to themselves.”

  If I didn’t leave soon, I was going to be late, but I couldn’
t help blurting out, “But who are they killing?”

  “I would imagine that they send some of their own kind out to find victims from faraway places. They wouldn’t hunt around here. That would be too dangerous for them. They would try to go unnoticed by the locals for as long as possible,” she said convincingly.

  “That’s awful. How can you be okay with them killing anyone?”

  “People kill animals all the time don’t they? People kill people in wars and for much lesser things. Believe me when I say that humans have done more killing on this planet than anyone or anything else. I learned a long time ago that the human race can take care of itself.” Ila didn’t meet my gaze. She busied herself at the sink.

  I suddenly had the impression of a dark haze swirling around Ila. The vision disappeared quickly, but the tightness in my gut remained. Ila wasn’t completely human, and neither was I. Her harsh views had been formulated from hundreds of years living as a Watcher. I, on the other hand, felt more like a human than a Watcher and saw the world very differently than my mentor.

  I hurried out of the cabin knowing that Ila wasn’t in the mood for any more questions. It was better that way. If we stayed on the subject, I was afraid of what she’d say next.

  *

  I reached my first class just as the bell rang. The rest of the day I was in a rushed state. Maddie and Lindsey continued to walk me to my rooms even though I knew where I was going. Seeing Preston waiting at my locker in between classes tied my belly in knots. He was friendly and helpful, as if he were trying to make up for his bad behavior of the day before, but his overly familiar attitude was annoying.

  I saw Ivan several times during the day, but he kept managing to avoid me. I thought he was doing it on purpose. Was he intimidated by my questions? Was he embarrassed by his Demon friend’s actions? Or was he trying to protect me by not getting involved?

  I was heavy with thoughts when I entered the cafeteria. I immediately searched the crowded room for Ivan. I found him in the same place as the day before. I purposely strode over to him and sat down. Maddie looked at me questioningly when she walked by. I motioned to her that I’d be a minute.