Embers

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  Now that our identities were settled, the urge to feel her lips against mine was too great. With supernatural speed, I kissed her. She responded willingly, opening up the warmth of her mouth to me.

  Never in my life had my insides throbbed with such desire. Ember had somehow eased the torment I’d felt for so long.

  Alive. I finally was alive.

  My fingers worked their way into her long hair and I pressed against her, memorizing all of her soft curves in an instant. She was mine, my sweet Ember.

  When my hand dropped to her breast, something changed in the air around us. She pulled back and suddenly the heat was too much. Burning pain shot through my fingertips and I let go.

  When I held up my hands for examination, they were bright red.

  “Why’d you do that?” I demanded, blowing onto my palms.

  She jumped up. “I did not invite you to molest me!”

  Ember’s face was flushed and her hair seemed to have a life of its own. It framed her face in a tangled, but oh, so appealing mess. Looking up at the girl in all her fury, I couldn’t help but be amused and I chuckled loudly.

  Laughing only angered her more.

  “What is wrong with you?” she asked, frowning.

  With a quick movement, I rose to a standing position in front of her. Now she was gazing up at me. She took a step back, too close to the slippery edge, and I caught her waist before she lost her balance. She let me pull her forward, knowing that she was about to fall.

  For a glorious instant she was encased in my arms, but it didn’t last long. She pushed against my chest, and this time, I quickly released her. She steadied herself and then dropped back onto the moss, pouting.

  I fought to control the smile that tickled the edges of my mouth as I sat down beside her once more. I couldn’t explain why I enjoyed getting Ember all fired up. I just did.

  “Do you want to talk?” I asked.

  “Yes. I think that’s a good idea,” she said facing straight ahead. Her lips were still puffed out, but the heat coming off of her had diminished to a point that I thought I could touch her again without getting burned. I behaved myself, though.

  Ember remained silent for a moment and I carefully ventured, “So you called me here to tell me that you figured everything out and to let me know you’re a Watcher, right?” She nodded. “I was suspicious that you might be a one. When I heard your voice in my head, I knew it was true. And then I thought you were in trouble. That’s why I came so quickly.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that. I mean I wasn’t sure that it would even work,” she shrugged.

  “What kind of Watcher are you then? I surmise that you’re fire from what I saw a little while ago, and of course, your incredibly hot body.”

  Teasing Ember came all too easily.

  Her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red and she quickly glanced away before she answered. “You’re right, I have fire, but I also have earth and Ila suspects that I might have air also.”

  She peeked back at me from under her long eyelashes.

  I had to chew on her words for a moment. I’d read that only the most powerful Watchers controlled more than one element and three or four elements were almost unheard of. Could she really be that strong?

  “Where does Ila fit into all this? Is she really your aunt?”

  “No, she’s not my aunt, she’s actually my great grandmother about twelve times removed. We live incredibly long lives, same as you. Ila is more than four hundred years old. She just started to age normally about fifty years ago,” she explained, still avoiding my gaze.

  “That actually makes sense. I wondered why I’d never wandered into Ila’s valley before. She must have it bewitched.”

  She nodded, and this time, she met my gaze. “The reason I called you here was because I have a proposition for you.” She must have seen the desire on my face because she quickly said, “No, not that kind.”

  Ember began chewing on her bottom lip. She was incredibly nervous about whatever she was going to say and it dawned on me how young and inexperienced she was. I needed to go slower with her. The fact that she was aging as slowly as me, gave us more than enough time to become well acquainted. But I still couldn’t find the strength to completely resist her.

  When I went to touch her, I did it gently, cupping her chin with my hand and turning her to face me. I smelled her warm breath in my face, sweet and delicious. Unthinkingly, I inched closer to her, inhaling deeply. Her scent was melting cinnamon on summer daisies.

  I didn’t want to frighten her this time, so I closed my eyes for a second, taking a calming breath. Slow and gentle, I instructed myself. Tentatively, I brushed my lips against hers, and it soon became the sweetest kiss that I’d ever experienced.

  If I’d been more aware, I would have interpreted the meaning of the escalating heat beneath me.

  A shock of hot air smashed into me, throwing me sideways. I hit the boulder with such force that the wind was knocked out of me.

  I laid there for a moment catching my breath while she glared at me. I didn’t need to worry about this girl’s safety—she could take care of herself. It would be quite a challenge to make her mine.

  I closed my eyes and was savoring the thought when she asked sarcastically, “Did I hurt you?”

  I looked up to see her frowning slightly.

  I controlled the urge to smile and took a quivering sigh, and then stared back at her with what I hoped was a convincingly pained expression. She rewarded me with an annoyed roll of her eyes before she finally snorted, knelt down, and placed her fingers on my forehead. The touch was feathery soft and lasted only a second.

  “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you.” In a fluid motion, she was standing again. She was flushed and irritated and her hands stiffly gripped her slim hips.

  Obviously, she wasn’t in a compassionate mood.

  I sat up, rubbing the side of my head. “I’ve survived worse blows, but that really was uncalled for.”

  “I don’t know why you can’t keep your hands to yourself. I’m trying to talk to you!”

  “You seemed to be enjoying the kiss as much as I was,” I pointed out.

  She exhaled sharply and walked across the boulder and back again. When she had regained her composure, she said, “The proposition I was talking about earlier, before you ambushed me, was that I want to help you.”

  “How?” I was suspicious now.

  “Ila explained to me how your kind, well you know, needs human souls to survive.”

  She might as well have pushed me into the ice-cold water of the mountain stream. My desire quieted and in its place was only the raw feeling of nothingness. Our romance was over before it even began. Ember knew my true nature and would never want me now.

  There was silence for a while, and when I risked glancing at her, she wore a pensive look that surprised me.

  She kneeled swiftly in front of me and looked me straight in the eyes.

  “You don’t have to kill anymore. I can give you what you need.”

  Her words hung in the air between us, and I tried to understand them. Did she know something that I didn’t?

  She must have seen my answer coming, because she quickly went on to say, “Wait, before you say no, you need to understand that it won’t hurt me. There was someone who did it a long time ago…and it worked. My soul will heal itself, grow back the same as before, you could say. You can live a normal life, and for me, it would be similar to going to the Red Cross to donate blood. I’ve done it before.”

  Going to the Red Cross—was she insane? I looked away, too caught up in emotion to make eye contact with her. What she offered was a miracle. Something I never thought possible—a chance to be strong and healthy and not have to kill humans to do so. Was it possible that her soul could rejuvenate? Images of Patrick cradling Charity’s limp body flicked into my mind.

  She continued, “I can’t help the others in your compound. That would weaken me too much, but on
e person is okay. And I want that to be you, Sawyer.”

  The thought of another feeding on my Ember raised my hackles, causing a low growl to escape my lips. She swayed back from the sound and I immediately regretted losing control. She didn’t understand Demon nature at all.

  She looked at me expectantly and I didn’t want to crush her hopes.

  “Thank you very much for the offer. It’s an interesting idea for sure, but before I make a decision, I’ll have to think on it some more and do my own research.”

  “You can talk to Ila about it. Well, once I’ve told her myself.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You made this offer to me without the old Watcher knowing? She may not allow you to do it.”

  “Ila lets me to make my own decisions.” She glanced away and I felt the air around her change, becoming more static. When she began plucking little chunks of moss off of the boulder, I began to worry. What now?

  “There’s something else you probably should know.” Her eyes flicked up for an instant and then back down. “The day that we first met at the high school, do you remember?”

  I nodded.

  “Uh, that’s not the first time I’ve seen you,” she said in a low voice.

  The statement hung there for some seconds while I digested it.

  “What do you mean?” I said, my gut tightening.

  She took a breath, and as if she’d finally come to terms with whatever was on her mind, she blurted the words out. “You were in my dreams. That very first night I spent with Ila, after I’d learned that I had special powers, I was dreaming that I was walking in a misty wood at twilight or dawn, I’m not sure. There were things among the trees, scary sounds and strange animal faces. I was afraid at first, but then you showed up. You were there and you followed me, kind of like my protector or something. As long as you were nearby, the monsters stayed far away.”

  I’d heard Mary and Sarah talking from time to time about dream walkers, but I knew very little about them. Could Ember possibly be one? How could she have dreamed about me before our meeting and what was the significance of such a dream?

  Before I had a chance to think very hard about her proclamation, she spoke again, this time with excitement. “That’s why I’m doing this. I think that’s the reason I saw you in my dreams. I’m supposed to help you.”

  My thoughts became heavy. She might be right, but I doubted it. There must be a deeper reason for me to turn up in a Watcher’s dreams before we’d ever even seen each other. Why, I didn’t have a clue, but I filed the information away in my head, admitting that it was probably important.

  Before I had the opportunity to question her more about her dreams, she glanced at her watch, and said, “It’s getting late. I need to pack my bag for tomorrow night.”

  The remembrance that she was spending the night with her girlfriends in town hit me the same as a slap to my face. She had another life, and I could never be a part of it.

  Before I saw him, I smelled wolf.

  Ivan appeared stealthily from the trees in his human form. He was out of breath, which was unusual for him. I quickly jumped down from the rocks to meet him at the edge of the woods.

  “What’s happened?” I asked urgently.

  Ivan peered around me to look at Ember. Ignoring my question, he asked her, “Are you all right, Ember?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” She crossed the rocks carefully, hopping to the ground.

  Ivan looked back and forth between the two of us before he replied. “I picked up your scent, Sawyer, from the compound and followed it. Then I saw Ember’s truck. I was a worried about her, that’s all,” he said, averting his eyes.

  “Ember knows what we are. She figured it all out on her own,” I told him.

  The kid looked at Ember with his mouth agape. “Is this true?”

  “I know Sawyer is a Demon and you’re a Growler.” She paused, and said, “I’m a Watcher, so I guess that makes us all a bunch of freaks.”

  Ivan was so pleased with Ember’s comment that he began to laugh in earnest.

  At Ember’s prompting, we headed back down the trail. Ember and Ivan chattered on incessantly about Watchers and different types of Growlers. Obviously, they were both very happy to get the truth into the open. Ember behaved completely differently with Ivan than she did around me. With the pup, she was carefree and open, whereas with me, she was guarded and serious. Maybe if he tried to kiss her, she wouldn’t be so friendly.

  I only half listened to them as we stepped over the plants and dodged the branches. My mind was busy with the possibilities. I might actually be able to live without the killing.

  Just as Ember’s red truck glared out from the foliage, she stopped and began to demonstrate how she could create a flame. In exchange for this secret, Ivan promised to show her his wolf change.

  Ember drew a flame to her fingertip easily. She held it there for Ivan’s curious eyes, letting the flame go up higher, before pulling it back to her skin.

  Now it was Ivan’s turn. Ember watched with rapt interest as Ivan’s body and his clothes shifted from a dressed human to a grey wolf in a blast of sparkling colors. I had seen the display dozens of times, but it was always incredible to witness.

  Ember murmured, “Oh, wow.”

  She ran over to the wolf and began rubbing her hands into the fur on his large, smoky head.

  She didn’t seem to understand the principle that even though he appeared to be a cute, furry wolf, he was still Ivan. The kid was okay with it though, not biting her hand off the way he would have any other being that touched him in such a familiar manner. Ivan was probably better than okay, come to think of it.

  By the time we reached the truck I was thoroughly tired of listening to discussions about animals. There were so many more important things going on, like an uprising in the compound or that I was in a Watcher’s dreams before we even met. And most importantly, Ember’s offer, an arrangement that would cement a permanent bond between us.

  Ember gave Ivan a quick hug before she got into the truck. When she glanced my way, she looked confused.

  “Do you guys need a ride?” she asked.

  “No, we’ll go through the woods. We don’t want anyone to see you dropping us off. It’s safer that no one in the compound knows you exist,” I said the words more harshly than I really meant to.

  But they must never know about her.

  She continued to sit there as if she was waiting for something. The invisible pull was too much. I walked over and rested my arms in the open window. And miracles of miracles, she didn’t back away.

  “Be careful tomorrow,” I said softly.

  She swallowed. “I will be.”

  Before she could react, I quickly leaned further in and planted a kiss on her nose. I was out of the truck and walking to the road before she could even protest.

  Ivan caught up, staring wide-eyed at me.

  The sound of Ember’s truck engine came to life behind us, the tires crunching over the weeds. Glancing back at Ivan, I wondered how he’d enjoy a Friday night out on the town.

  Psalms 35:5

  Let them be as chaff before the wind, and let the angel of the Lord chase them.

  Ember ~ Twenty-Nine

  I swallowed. “Sawyer isn’t a real Demon?”

  “Oh, he is now. It was the worst kind of luck that Garrett Hammond found him and awakened his Black Hunger.”

  “I don’t understand how he can be so different from us. It makes no sense,” I complained. My headache was getting worse. Ila’s vague answers only created more questions.

  “It makes perfect sense. Lucifer and his followers left God…and then they lost their souls. The only way for them to survive was to steal the souls of humans. And their deeds made them into something entirely different.”

  “Are these fallen angels that you’re talking about still around?”

  “They’re like the angels. They’ve been hidden from our world for too long to remember.”

  I hesitated, no
t sure if I really wanted my next question answered. Curiosity won out and I asked tightly, “What about God?”

  A sad smile erupted on Ila’s lips. “I can’t answer that question. We’ve been searching for Him for thousands of years, but to no avail.”

  Something was wrong here. I was certain that the priest had been truthful about being visited by an angel. If the good angels were alive and kicking, then why weren’t the bad ones, or where was God?

  Perhaps, my original assumption was correct. Watchers might somehow be cut off from heaven. If so, then why?

  The question that pounded my head with the most force was Eae. Why did he give a damn about me anyway?

  I avoided Ila’s gaze. Something held me back from mentioning the angel to her. Trusting my instincts, I buried the secret deep inside me.

  The silence was growing uncomfortable.

  I wasn’t going to mention that I’d told Sawyer about his presence in my dreams. Somehow, that information felt too personal. Dreaming about a guy usually indicated a serious crush, especially if it was before I had even met him. And there was no need getting Ila all worked up about my offer to share my soul with him. He hadn’t agreed yet. So it might be a moot point anyway.

  She didn’t need to know how strong my feelings were for Sawyer. I had only known him for a short time, but it was as if he’d been on my mind forever. It was irrational, ridiculous and completely insane, but I couldn’t deny it. I wanted him badly.

  “The fact that you’ve made these two unusual friends is not surprising to me, but the speed of it is. It’s almost as if there are forces at work here, hurrying the pieces into place for some greater event.” She paused, deep in thought for moment and then went on, “My dear Ember, you should know that Watchers of our caliber usually have a guardian or sometimes even multiple ones to protect and care for them. Often the guardians become their lovers, so it’s not in the least bit alarming to see the direction your relationship is going with the Demon.”

  I began to protest and she silenced me with her long finger.

  “Don’t fool yourself young lady, you have feelings for Sawyer and you’re afraid of those feelings. Things are very different from the way they used to be. When I was your age, a healthy young Watcher would revel in the attraction you are experiencing and she would definitely act on it.”