Embers

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  Garrett stopped within a foot of me and lowered his voice. His eyes were blazing. “Kimberly came to me the other night and told me something very interesting.” He turned from me and patrolled slowly through the gathering of Demons, looking at each one as he passed. Lutz and Cray stood off to the side, and Garrett even paused on them.

  His voice rose in crescendo as he said, “Do you all want to know what Kimberly told me?” Most of the heads nodded affirmatively. “Kimberly and Donnelly came upon Sawyer in the woods making love with a human girl.” There were a few gasps from the audience. Kimberly took some liberties with the story, I thought dryly.

  “Our beautiful Kimberly said, with Donnelly confirming her every word, that the girl had a glow to her. And that Sawyer was being extremely tender, unusually controlled, for a Demon with a human soul exposed to him.”

  Garrett paused for effect, running his hand through his hair as if the information distressed him immensely. I glanced around at the others; most looked hungry, as if just talking about it was bringing on their blood lust. Colten and Charlotte were uncomfortable with the topic of conversation, keeping their faces pointed at the floor. Patrick frowned deeply, the subject probably stirring memories of Charity’s last hours alive. He still might be with me, I thought, perhaps wishfully. The only one to look me straight in the eye was Horas, and he seemed amused by it all.

  Garrett’s voice pierced the air again. “Do you know how it was possible for Sawyer to do such a thing with a human?” He surveyed the faces as I’d done, making use of a perfect dramatic pause, and then he roared even louder, “Because she wasn’t a human girl. She was a Watcher, a witch, a temptress from the ancient world!

  “She came to seduce our hapless Sawyer,” he looked back at me for an instant with feigned sympathy, “and we can hardly blame him for falling at the feet of such a creature. These beings are sensual and beautiful. They appear meek and mild, and they use their charms to trick unsuspecting males of all species to do their bidding.”

  He lowered his tone and charged on, knowing his audience was enthralled with his words. “When the Watcher was discovered, she knew she had to kill Kimberly and Donnelly so that they would not spread word of her existence. And that is just what she did—here in our very own territory. She came in full daylight and called them out with her magic, and then she annihilated them.” Garrett’s eyes swept the room, before he shouted at the top of his lungs. “She will come back and do the same to each of us, if we don’t kill her first!”

  Garrett took a deep breath and stopped in front of me again. A smiled toyed at the corner of his mouth for a couple of seconds, to be replaced with a fatherly look that didn’t fool me in the least.

  “Sawyer, you must tell us everything about this Watcher who has deceived you and murdered your friends. You must take us to her, so we can prevent her from destroying us, for she will not stop until we are all dead. I know this from the old country.” He placed his hands on my shoulders. “You are like a son to me, my first changeling—the one who started it all. I know she has bewitched you. None of us would have been able to resist her allure, but you must do what is right now… and give her to us.”

  Fury raced through me until I could hardly see straight. I spoke with bitterness when I finally found my voice.

  “You talk about doing what’s right, Garrett? Look at what you’ve let our community become—a bunch of bloodthirsty barbarians. We can’t help it that we need human souls to live, but we used to be more civilized about it, only taking what we needed and keeping the humans from pain in the process. But now we’re hunting the town’s people.” I turned to the others and implored to them, “Do you think you can go on snatching the human youngsters for your enjoyment? The humans will figure it out, and they will come with great numbers, with weaponry that can kill us, especially the type of humans that live in these mountains. We will end up having to run, starting all over again somewhere else. Do you all want that?”

  I steadied myself and turned to look at Garrett with narrowed eyes before I faced the crowd again. “Another thing that you all should be aware of…you aren’t what you think you are. We are abominations, the spawn of the mating between the Devil and human women.”

  I certainly wasn’t as eloquent or dramatic as Garrett, but I’d gotten my side of it out, and it felt good to have it off my chest. Now I’d to wait to see where the chips fell.

  Garrett had been silent, letting me have my say, but he wasn’t going to give the others much time to chew on it. He spoke with controlled indignation. “Yes, you are right, Sawyer. Lucifer is our father.” He looked around the room, spreading his arms wide in question, “What of it? The Watchers are the ones who will tear this world apart. Not us.”

  He searched my eyes, and still seeing defiance there, he made his decision.

  Turning to the crowd, he boomed, “Sawyer has an allegiance to a Watcher! He will stand by and witness her murder us all. He has become a danger to our survival. Justice must be done. What say you, do we execute this traitor?” He pointed at me.

  I inwardly cringed, so much for the right to a fair trial.

  I wasn’t at all surprised by Garrett’s display, I expected as much, but the reaction of the other others was disturbing. “Kill him. Kill him,” rang out in unison. There were a few voices missing from the crazed chorus, but not enough to be helpful.

  When the frenzy quieted, another voice, which had been silent up until then, spoke loud and clear, “Even if we kill Sawyer, how will that action help protect us from the Watcher?” It was Horas, and Garrett snapped his head to look at him. Dammit. Horas may be trying to help me out, but the last thing I wanted was for him to be reminding the mob about Ember.

  “I’m glad you asked. That’s a good question. We will not kill Sawyer right away.” Garrett’s eyes settled on me with contempt. “We will inflict so much pain on Sawyer that his Watcher will feel it. She will be compelled to come for him. And then my friends, we will be ready for her, and we’ll kill them both.”

  Garrett glanced at me one last time before he asked quietly, “Are you sure that she is worth it to you? She will die whether you lead us to her or not. Why not save yourself and move on from this unfortunate situation you’ve gotten yourself into?” His voice was soft and full of persuasion once again.

  I realized then what his motive was. It was written on Garrett’s face. He wanted nothing more than to pull me back into his service, for me to loose whatever salvation I might have achieved when I’d turned away. He wanted to ruin what little soul I had left.

  I wasn’t falling for it, and I would never betray Ember, even if it killed me. Let them see what she can do. I already had. They should be screaming, running away in fear before she came for them.

  “You can kill me, Garrett, I don’t care. I’ve been dead a long time already.”

  “All right, then it begins.” Garrett walked to the nearest chair and sat down. He nodded to Charles, Peter and John, and motioned Cray over.

  I tried to fight, but the three of them were too much, and then some of the females got in on it. I was punched, thrown, scratched, and ripped. By the time it was all over, the furniture in the room was demolished and my blood was everywhere. Throughout the attack, I kept some focus on what was going on, until the end, when my brain began to swell.

  Horas moved to the other side of the room and watched silently, never taking his eyes from me, but he didn’t intervene. Patrick had left the building early on, and Charlotte and Colten stood near the door with regret on their faces. Lutz had also snuck out, saying he was going to search for the wolf.

  And these were the friends I came back to? Ember and Ivan would have helped me. Hell, even Ila would have done something.

  Whatever Ember did to them, they deserved. But I still feared that she would be taken unawares, that they might somehow sneak up on her, discover where the valley was; figure it all out. But Ivan was with her, and that big dog of hers. And Ila probably had a little something left in
her arsenal.

  The thing that worried me the most was that when Ember learned I was dead, she would unleash so much of the power it would destroy her. It certainly wasn’t a proper prayer, but I asked anyway, “Oh God, please don’t let that happen.”

  I could feel her, far away in the barn. She was with the goats and I could sense that she could feel me, feel my pain. She was alarmed. No, no, Ember don’t come here, use some sense, don’t rush over here to save me. I pleaded with here in my mind, which was growing increasingly more clouded. Blood dripped into my mouth from the place where my forehead was split. I could feel the broken bones in my arms and legs when I barely shifted my weight. There was a crack in my skull at the back where Cray had smashed my head on the floor. The physical pain was nothing compared to the mental anguish of knowing Ember would come to rescue me, and I’d already be dead. And that she’d probably get herself killed in the process of destroying the Demons.

  My head throbbed against the hard, cold wood of the floor when at last, my tormentors backed away from me. I couldn’t move, and even under the best of circumstances, it would take weeks to heal from the injuries. And my circumstances wouldn’t be the best. I was powerless. I could do nothing to stop Ember from coming here, and when she arrived, I certainly wouldn’t be able to protect her.

  Some guardian I’d turned out to be.

  Garrett approached, going down on his knees near my face. I could barely see him, my eyes were swollen almost shut, blood seeping into the openings, blinding me more. But I could smell him. I knew he was there by his scent.

  “Is it worth it, Sawyer? Is all this pain worth that little whore?”

  “Hell, yes,” I managed to say before I slipped into darkness.

  Matthew 25:41

  Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

  Ember ~ Forty-Three

  It felt strange when Sawyer left, as if a part of me was walking out the door with him. He had only been gone a few minutes and I already missed him. I ate my pancakes in gloomy silence, thinking about Hannah, the Demons I incinerated, and the apocalypse. It was way too much to process. I gulped down my food, not tasting any of it, and proceeded to clean the kitchen.

  I watched as Ila gently washed the end of the dagger she’d used the night before in the sink. She lovingly dried it with a towel, and placed it in a carved box that was also decorated with wolves.

  “Did Montery give that to you?”

  She didn’t glance at me, but carried the box to the table and opened it up again. I peeked in and saw the knife sitting on what appeared to be wolf fur. I looked up questioningly at her.

  “It belonged to him. When he died, I took it, and cut some of his fur to keep,” she said with a heavy voice.

  “I thought he died as a human?” I questioned.

  “Oh he did, but the Growlers always change back to their original forms when they die. You can imagine what a stir that caused with the villagers,” she said with a sad smile.

  “What happened?” I would spend all day asking her questions if she’d allow it.

  “I had to cause a bit of a distraction to drive the people away. I wanted to be alone with my love.”

  “Since he was your guardian, was it more difficult for you to lose him than if he hadn’t been?”

  “Yes, dear, it nearly killed me, but I had vengeance on my mind, which kept me going for some time. After a while, the pain lessened, and I met another who helped me to live again.” She closed the box and placed it on the top shelf. An answer always led to more questions.

  “I can’t imagine loving two men,” I ventured carefully.

  She smiled faintly. “My dear, our hearts are very deep, and there is more room than you think in them. I found love again, so it can happen for anyone. Enough talk though. I have chores to do.”

  I jumped up, “I’ll help you.”

  “You’re supposed to be resting.”

  “Some fresh air will do me good, don’t you think?”

  “I suppose so.” She left the cabin with her garden hat on.

  I went into the bedroom and pulled out some jeans and a green sweatshirt from the drawer. The air had felt chilly, when Ila opened the door.

  I walked back into the kitchen and Ivan was there. He was busily eating everything in sight.

  “Leave a little for later,” I joked.

  I immediately felt bad when he looked at me as if he was a scolded puppy. “Just kidding, go ahead and eat as much as you want. Ila has a lot of food in the storeroom.”

  He grinned. “Thank you, Ember, and your grandmother, for allowing me to stay here. I do not want to go back to the compound. It is not my place.”

  “Where is your place, then?” I asked quietly.

  “Why it is here, protecting you and Ila of course. I will miss Lutz, though. He is an honorable bear, but not Cray.”

  “Who’s Cray?”

  “He is a mountain lion Growler and he has a bad way about him. Much the same as the eagle who sold me to Garrett, they have no honor.”

  “There’s a bear and a mountain lion guarding the compound?”

  “Yes, but they chose to do it, unlike me,” he said gravely.

  When Ivan finally had his fill of food, I led him into the garden where we worked with Ila for a while, picking the last of the summer tomatoes under the bright sunlight. It was nice having Ivan there to chat with. He was a different kid than the boy I’d first met, crouching in the hallway at school.

  After the gardening, Ila reluctantly allowed Ivan to help me with the goats, while she went to can the tomatoes. She did warn me to use my mind to calm the goats before they smelled the wolf. I got the feeling that she learned the hard way about that. I used my hand to hide the smile that tugged at my lips.

  It was the first time I’d been in the barn in several days. I couldn’t resist breathing in the wonderful smell of dried timothy hay and wood shavings. The barn felt familiar to all of my senses. I reveled in the sensation as I whistled to the goats from the doorway leading to the pasture.

  It took several tries before Ivan was able to extract any milk from Maple’s udder. When he finally did get the hang of it, he managed all right, and soon he had a quart of milk in his metal bucket.

  He was proudly showing me the contents of his bucket when the first spasm of pain hit me. It was not direct pain, like it was in my own body, but more an idea of pain. It didn’t let up, only intensifying with force.

  My head became muddled and disoriented, purple blotches spotted my vision. It got to the point that the pain had me doubled over in the straw, curled up in a fetal position. Ivan didn’t notice. He’d already gone back to his milking. A goat nosed my face, but I ignored it. I couldn’t even speak. I only vaguely heard Ivan ask me if he could drink some of the milk. The pains came again in a sudden wave and I cried out.

  Ivan was beside me in a heartbeat.

  “What is wrong?” Ivan asked, bringing his face only inches from mine.

  I waited until the tremors quieted, and then I rushed the words out breathlessly. “I’m not sure, but it must be Sawyer. I think he’s being hurt by someone,” I said in a raspy voice that I didn’t even recognize.

  An image sprang to mind of Sawyer’s face. It was too terrible to hold onto, and I blinked it out.

  I gazed into Ivan’s eyes with what I’m sure was terror on my face.

  “What? What is it?” he begged.

  “Those monsters have brutalized Sawyer. He looks as if he’s almost dead, lying on the floor in a large wooden room with no windows. Ivan, he might be dead, I don’t know.” Anguish ripped through me as I fought to hold the tears in.

  “No, he cannot be dead. You would know that for sure,” he said uneasily, staring ahead.

  “Why would the Demons do that to him? I’m the one who killed their friends, not Sawyer,” I asked in a whisper.

  “Sawyer has always been different
than the others. I sensed it, and so did Lutz. Not only did he not enjoy feeding on the humans, he questioned whether it was right. I believe that he was close to the point of allowing the death to take him.” Seeing my widened eyes, and my mouth begin to open, he went on, “It’s when they stop feeding. They die a long, slow death. No amount of human food will cure them. Without fresh souls, they starve just the same as if they had nothing to nourish their bodies.”

  I saw Sawyer’s face from my dreams, and a jolt of happiness surged through me. The Demon that I was falling for really was the same gentle person who’d touched my heart that first night that I’d arrived on the mountain.

  My mind was still drifting when Ivan said, “He has gone against our leader in matters of how they treat their victims. I think, but he did not tell me, that he might have killed two during a hunt.

  “In the woods, I saw the human man shooting at the Demons, but his use of the gun was poor. I knew what was about to happen, so I left. I do not like to watch them feed. Afterwards, Lutz told me the human shot the two Demons. I did not believe, but I said nothing. When I went to the place, I found Sawyer’s scent on the hill above the scene, and it seemed odd to me.”

  He gave me a long, hard look and said, “The Demons might know about you and Sawyer and are punishing him, or far worse, attempting to bring you to them.”

  The suffering of my mind and body seemed to be over, scaring me all the more. Did that mean that Sawyer was dead?

  No, Ivan was right, I’d know that for sure, at least it made sense that I would. Maybe he was sleeping or unconscious?

  I sat in the straw and thought about what Ivan had told me. He was more observant than I’d originally thought. He could be a helpful ally. I looked at him again and saw that even though he was my height, he appeared strong, his arms long and muscled. His eyes were bright and inquisitive, and his features were sharp and intelligent.