Embers

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  For several minutes I held my head between my knees. I was both dizzy and nauseous. It was awful. I dropped to the ground and rolled into a fetal position. Angus’ furry body curled around me and he rested his head on my shoulder. I was vaguely aware of the sunflower seeds in the dirt near my face and the birds pecking at them. Angus didn’t like the birds doing that one bit and he nearly snatched one from the air before I found the strength to tell him no with my mind.

  “Serves you right, young lady—staying in the crow all that time to fly down and spy on your boyfriend,” Ila spat angrily.

  She might have been right about staying in the Crow too long, but the part about the boyfriend made my body temperature spike.

  Honey warmth spread through me and I began to feel much better.

  A light switched on in my head. As my body heated, the belly ache disappeared. I was healing myself.

  Feeling in fighting form, I glared at Ila. “He’s not my boyfriend. I just wanted to see what the compound looked like. That’s all.”

  “You don’t need to know what the compound looks like. What is it you hoped to see? Something that might give you nightmares that my tea won’t chase away? Some things are better left unknown. Besides, you used way too much power for a novice.” Ila was still upset, but better composed as she went on, “What do you think is going on with your body when you’re gone?”

  When I shrugged, she barked, “Nothing! That’s what’s going on—nothing. You’re lucky I was here to make sure no harm came to you. Don’t be a fool thinking you can go off into the minds of birds and animals and be safe leaving your body alone and vulnerable. Many a Watcher has died young making that mistake.”

  Ila was more upset than I’d ever seen her. Her emerald eyes flashed and her face was puffy red.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I guess I got carried away at the freedom of it all. And the crow was willing to take me anywhere I wanted to go.”

  Ila was right. I had been stupid and reckless. I was turning out to be the worst Watcher ever. I wanted to be Ila’s star pupil, not a dreaded troublemaker.

  I looked at her from under my eyelashes, forcing the fake tears to trickle down my cheeks. I’d learned long ago how to avoid punishment from my parents by using the exact same sniffle show. I wasn’t so sure if it would work with Ila though. She had strong emotional defenses built in.

  Ila sighed and shook her head in disgust. “You’re going to be the death of me if you don’t start practicing a little more caution.”

  Trying to make a clean break from my wrong-doing, I changed the subject. “If Crows and Ravens are the easiest birds to work with, why even try to use others?”

  “Just because something is easy, doesn’t always make it best.” Ila extended her hand, which I took. She pulled me to my feet. We started up the path toward the barn, with Angus, Riley and the Siamese in tow. Ila continued. “As I said, predatory birds are more difficult to enter, but if you have a relationship built up with one, it will let you in. They are very dependable and intelligent. I once found a young injured owl in the forest. It had gotten into a scrape with a larger hawk and lost. I used the power to heal him. After that, he visited the cabin regularly and I gave him scraps from the table. Eventually, I felt comfortable entering his mind.”

  While Ila told the story I watched Cricket attempting to buck off a pesky fly. Finally, she dropped into the soft grass to smash the annoyance. At the moment the mare hit the ground, realization struck me the same as a tidal wave crashing into a sandy beach.

  “You were spying on me! Yesterday at the falls, you were with that owl that was watching us. I bet it was the same owl that was showing off above the truck, when I drove up the mountain for the first time,” I practically shouted, but I felt justified for the pitch level.

  “Hmmm, impressive,” she nodded to herself. “That’s very good, my dear. You are perceptive, especially considering you were distracted by the Demon.”

  She’d actually said it in a mocking tone.

  I was so angry I couldn’t even speak. We just stood there staring at each other for a long moment, me fuming and Ila as cool as a cucumber.

  Ila was the one to break the silence.

  “Do you remember when you asked me if it bothered me to have Demons living down the road, and I told you it didn’t? I wasn’t entirely honest with you. I should have said that it never used to bother me. But now that you’re with me, it is a worry, especially with that young one pining after you. Originally, I went out with the owl searching for you when you were late. When I came upon your truck and Sawyer’s black vehicle parked in the woods, I followed the trail. I guessed where you were going and got there ahead of you. When I saw you were safe, I left.” She said it convincingly enough that I believed her.

  I blushed. She’d seen me on the rocks with Sawyer?

  “Why did you call Sawyer my boyfriend?” I was dreading her answer.

  “I’ve been around a long time and being an earth Watcher I have a strong intuition about matters of attraction between people. There is no doubt that you both are seriously infatuated with one another. You will have to make a decision soon about what type of life you wish to live. There are issues that come along with a Demon that are not pleasant. You may have strong feelings for him, but it would be a difficult road to follow. And in the process you would lose much of yourself.”

  She said it kindly, as if she really did understand. My anger disappeared and was replaced with denial. “I admit Sawyer is good looking and all, but his arrogance irritates me. I don’t want to be with a Demon. It’s ridiculous.” When she lifted her eyebrows, I quickly said, “No really, there’s even a boy at school who I’ve taken a liking to. Don’t worry about anything going on between me and Sawyer.”

  I thought I sounded indisputable, but Ila only shook her head. She obviously didn’t believe me. She walked away, leaving me standing on the path beside Angus. She stopped only briefly to call over her shoulder that dinner would be ready in a short while. Riley was with her when she disappeared around the corner of the barn.

  I patted Angus’ head. Somewhere between the time when I was explaining myself to Ila and she’d walked away, an idea had sprouted. It was probably insane—no, it definitely was insane, but the thought was growing and taking life with each second that passed.

  I would follow through and deal with the consequences later.

  Tomorrow, I’d go to the falls after school and see if I could use the power to summon Sawyer there. I had an offer for him.

  One I didn’t think he could refuse.

  Luke 1:26

  Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth.

  Sawyer ~ Twenty-Four

  Darkness had fallen by the time we arrived at the compound. Ivan went quickly to the house he shared with Lutz and Cray. The kid was often there alone as the two shape shifters spent much of the time in their animal forms prowling the woods beyond the fence. After seeing his exuberance at the social interplay with the strange humans that evening, I felt sorry for him. He was a pack animal and he spent too much time alone.

  Walking along the pathway, I noticed that most of the houses’ lights were off. There usually was a bustle of activity on the nights when the searchers brought humans in, but at the moment at least, all was quiet.

  I waved to Patrick, Pricilla, Charlotte and Colton, who were gathered on Patrick’s porch as usual, but I didn’t stop to chat. My destination was the library and I hurried to get there. The walkway was dark, except for the shards of light that shined in through the tree tops from the full moon. My kind could see in the darkness as well as any nocturnal animal. We only lit our homes out of habit more than need.

  Before I reached the main lodge, I passed Charles and Mary. I wanted to avoid conversation, but Charles motioned me to come over. It would have been a red flag if I had ignored them. Charles studied me with his pale, sharp features, while Mary stared off into the distance seem
ingly without interest.

  “Good evening, Sawyer. I noticed of late you have been absent frequently.”

  The man’s British accent was thick and snotty. Even though he’d been away

  from his homeland for two centuries, he still spoke with a tone of superiority.

  I ignored it, answering, “I’ve been helping Ivan settle in. You know it’s been difficult for him, under the circumstances in which he came to be here.”

  “I would think a forest would be the same anywhere for a wolf,” Charles replied coldly. “I do hope he’ll be able to do his job properly and that the high price of purchasing him was well worth it.”

  “I’m sure it will be. Now if you will excuse me, I have some things I have to do before the hunt.”

  Charles still looked at me suspiciously, but my answer seemed to satisfy him enough to let me pass. He nodded his head, moving away with Mary at his side.

  The lights were on in the lodge, but the place was as silent as a tomb when I entered. I quickly covered the floor to the library feeling uneasy, restless in my blood. The air was static with something.

  Pushing the library door open slightly, I was surprised to see Horas standing beside one of the shelves with a large open book in his hands. Relief swept over me that it was the Roman in the room, rather than our lunatic leader, Garrett.

  “It is a little late for you to be reading, is it not?” Horas spoke with the long drawn out syllables of his Latin accent.

  “Actually, I’m doing some research,” I said on my way to the section where I thought I’d find what I needed.

  “Could I be of any assistance to you?” he asked with a raised brow.

  I glanced at Horas, wondering if I could trust him. He’d always appeared to me to be an honest fellow, just a little difficult to get close too. The man hid many secrets from his long life. I walked back to the door and looked out in both directions. All was clear. I decided to take the chance. What was life without a few risks?

  “Have you had any dealings with Watchers?” I asked carefully.

  That surprised him. His eyes widened. “I have come across a few in my wanderings over the centuries. There aren’t many true ones left.”

  “What do you mean true ones?”

  Horas closed his book and carefully placed it back on the shelf. He sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs, making himself thoroughly comfortable before responding.

  “The true Watchers are the ones who are descended from the arch angels. They are the highest beings, other than the angels themselves of course. Their powers come directly from their own bodies. My understanding is that they use the elements.”

  “You mean earth, air, so on?”

  “That is correct.”

  I hesitated, not sure how far I should go with the conversation.

  “How can you tell if someone is a Watcher?” I said as casually as possible.

  “I do not really know.” He scratched his head thinking before he replied. “The ones I crossed paths with were upfront about what they were…but come to think of it, they were different from the humans. They were brighter to look upon and very attractive. I do believe the most beautiful woman I have encountered was a Watcher.” A thoughtful smile crept onto his lips. It was obvious his mind was in another place—a very enjoyable place.

  “Why the questions about Watchers—do you think you have found one?” he asked with unrestrained interest.

  “I don’t know really, but none of the others need to know about this. Do you hear me?” I threatened.

  “Why would I say anything so ridiculous to them? Watchers are mere legends now.” He winked and rose from the chair, stretching his arms. “If you need anything, just ask. Good night.”

  He sauntered out of the room leisurely.

  After Horas had left, I worried that I might have said too much. But my instincts were usually right. I’d have to have some faith in him. He had never given me reason to not trust him.

  I turned to the books on the shelves and found what I was looking for. There were several about Watchers, but one of the titles jumped out at me, Watcher Lore in the Sixteenth Century. I pulled the book off the shelf and sat down at the table.

  About an hour later I pushed the book away and stared at the opposite wall, processing what I’d read. Garrett was right about the Watchers being dangerous. The feuds between them sometimes destroyed entire villages or leveled mountaintops. Perhaps some of the natural disasters of ancient history were not so natural after all.

  One of the more interesting things that I’d read was that Watchers had the ability to self-heal, especially the earth ones. They could also use their minds to talk to animals and make them do their bidding. But the last paragraph is what had sent a shiver through me as I’d read, ‘Watchers of the fire element are the most dangerous of all. They have irrational tempers and are easily angered. They are simple to detect, because of the hot feel of their skin. When threatened, they will let fire explode from their bodies to destroy anything in their path.’

  Ember had unusually hot skin, but the thought that she could shoot fire from her body was laughable.

  Before I could get another book off the shelf, I heard the rumble of an engine and a chill crawled over my skin. The searchers had returned. I took a deep breath and headed for the door.

  When I reached the parking area, a crowd was already gathering around the back doors of the van. The new arrivals would be housed in the donor building until they were hunted down as if they were animals and butchered. There was no chance of escaping, either. The cells were fortified, strong enough to detain a Growler.

  Garrett was the last to arrive, meeting the searchers at the front of the van. They spoke in hushed voices, but I could still hear them quite well. The whispering was just one of the human habits that we still carried with us.

  The banging and shouts erupting from the interior of the van made it obvious that the searchers had brought the humans back fully awake, rather than in the usual comma-like trance. Those sounds were exciting the members of the crowd. I could smell the musky oils rising on the hunters’ skin, lubricating their muscles and readying them for action.

  Listening carefully, I caught that there were fifteen humans crammed into the back of the van, instead of the expected number of ten. I cringed, thinking of the show that was about to begin. The same shock of pity jolted my senses each time humans were brought in. Only now, it was much worse knowing that they would suffer before their eyes closed forever.

  As a boy growing up in northern Kentucky, I’d always been uncomfortable when Pa would butcher a cow or pig that we’d raised. Ma said I had a gentle spirit, but Pa and my older brothers thought I was just squirmy about the blood.

  They were all wrong. I felt pity for the creatures because I saw the fear in their eyes in those final moments. They were more intelligent and understanding than my family gave them credit for. They didn’t deserve to feel any pain for our benefit. When Pa would raise the rifle to his shoulder, I would shut my eyes until the echoing of the blast was gone from the air. Then I’d look upon the carnage and feel ill inside. I was forced to eat the bounty along with the others, but the meat had no taste to me.

  It had been the same with the humans since the first time I’d fed on their souls. The feeling of injustice that I was taking a life in order to keep my own going left me empty inside. The only thing that made any of it bearable for all these years was the fact that the humans were unconscious when they died—that they didn’t suffer through the experience.

  Those days were apparently gone.

  When Jason, the hard eyed, brown haired searcher opened the van’s door, it took a full minute before the first human gathered the courage to step out. My heart stilled. It was a large, muscled young male. He narrowed his gaze to see into the darkness. The others who followed him off the van had the same type of physique. That the men were burly and strong looking was unusual, and the fact that there were only two females among the group was surpri
sing. The searchers would normally bring back more females than males. Their souls seemed sweeter.

  It dawned on me looking at this group of humans that the searchers had specifically targeted powerful, athletic males. We were going to have a hunt with a little challenge.

  All at once, the first human who came off the van began cussing. He specifically aimed the vile words at Donnelly, who reacted by back handing the large human twelve feet into the air. The human hit the side of a building, dropping to the ground in a crumpled heap.

  The scent of his leaking blood reached my nostrils and I breathed it in deeply. Renna and Peter began to prowl towards the downed human, but Charles fluidly moved in between them holding his hand out. He pointed his finger, flicking it back and forth, at the same time he clucked his tongue.

  “No, no, weaklings. No food tonight,” he chastised in a mocking tone.

  Not surprisingly, after witnessing the scene, the other humans moved closer together. A few were crying. The sound pinched my stomach and I looked away. I was ashamed at my inability to do anything to stop what was to come. The humans’ cries that were tearing at my insides, affected the others very differently. Glancing at Gabrielle and Mary who were to my right, their mouths were gaped open and their eyes had sheened over with desire. The hunger lust was upon them.

  I wasn’t completely immune to the scents in the air. My stomach tensed and my mouth watered. It was the same sensation that I assumed a human felt when smelling a steak grilling on the barbeque, only multiplied a thousand times. Even with the temptation, I had complete control over myself. While my peers were drunk from the sounds and smells emitting from the humans, I was still very much sober.

  In the past, when the humans were brought into the compound in an unconscious state, the madness didn’t take hold of anyone. The feeding had always been a quiet and subdued affair.

  Other than Garrett, I’d been the least affected of everyone when dealing with the humans, at least on the outside. My insides were always in a state of war. My mind would attempt to justify what I was doing, but my heart told me in no uncertain terms that it was very, very wrong. Many times I had thought of going into the forest to starve myself. I’d imagined how it would feel to allow the sickness take me, to finally be free of the curse that Garrett had brought out of me. But in the end, I was no better than the others who now surrounded me with their glazed eyes. I wasn’t strong enough to walk away. A part of me wanted to live too much to do the right thing.