Ember

by Tess Williams

  Ember

  Tess Williams

  _

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright 2012 Tess Williams

  License Notes: Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Shashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter 1

  Stupid

  “FOLLOW ME child, and stay quiet . . . I think we've had enough surprises for one day.”

  Although the man spoke sternly to me, I could hear the weakness in his voice.

  A small smile crossed my face. I had only just met Cornelius and I already felt close to him. My mother used to say that life-threatening situations bonded people quickly and if you ask me, today qualified.

  But I can't think about today right now, I need to wait till I'm alone.

  I followed Cornelius briskly down a long hall. So long in fact that, thinking back to when I was outside, I would not have believed it could fit in this building. Yesterday this thought might have held my attention, but in comparison with the rest of the house was utterly unremarkable, therefore quickly forgotten.

  After passing a seemingly countless number of doors Cornelius pointed to one on my right. I turned the handle and entered a rather spacious, yet cozy, room. From floor to ceiling on most of the walls were row upon row of books. Old books. Brightly colored books. Some that seemed to even glow faintly.

  “This is my personal study,” he said. “Most know better that to bother me here so you should go unnoticed.”

  I nodded slightly. Since I was a young girl I had been obsessed with books and always dreamed of having a small library of my own. Now it seemed I would be staying in one, at least for a while.

  As I ran my finger along the edge of one of the dusty tomes, an orange glow in the corner of the room caught my eye. It wasn't a flame so much as a small fire, but burning on, well, on nothing, on . . . air.

  When I went to question Cornelius I found I couldn’t speak, in fact I couldn’t even remove my eyes from the flickering light. I stood there, enthralled by its elegant and unpredictable movements. The flame glowed brighter and I moved closer. It was crackling louder now. I could almost touch it.

  “Jaden! That will be quite enough.”

  In an instant the fire returned to its original state and I almost toppled onto the floor.

  Regaining my senses, I looked around the room to see a boy leaning against the wall in the corner. The amused smirk on his face told me he was at least in some way responsible for the hypnotic flames. For a moment his gaze had the same effect, but unlike before I quickly regained composure, slightly irritated that I was allowing myself to be toyed with so easily.

  Cornelius broke the silence.

  “How many times have I told you to stay out of here?”

  Jaden ignored him. “So this is the girl Ikovos has been spouting about? And here I thought he was letting his imagination get the better of him again.”

  I thought back to Ikovos fondly. He had been very friendly towards me . . . quite the opposite of this boy.

  “Are you even listening to me, Jaden? You know how uneasy it makes me when you use your powers in here. Do you know what could happen if you lit one of these books?”

  He moved his eyes off me to Cornelius. I couldn't help but let out a breath.

  “Oh Corni, you know I would never let anything like that happen to your study. I love this place.”

  “Well, love it or not, you are to stay out of here until I can find a proper space for the girl.”

  He stood up straight. “Yeah, yeah. I figured you were gonna say that. I gotta go anyways. Master Thoran has me and Vos scouting early tomorrow. I think I have you two to thank for that.” He let his eyes rest on me again.

  “Heh, still on that wild goose chase is he? Pfft. Mad man.” Cornelius’s head shook with a sigh. “Before you go could you dampen the fire?”

  With glance from the boy the flame dimmed to a deep maroon. He then gave me a patronizing bow and headed for the door.

  “Wait,” called Cornelius. “I must speak with you a moment.”

  Jaden nodded and they both moved towards the edge of the room, conveniently out of my earshot.

  They spoke in hushed tones. After a while Jaden glanced up at me, back down, then nodded once to Cornelius before slipping out into the dark hallway.

  One look at my face must have told Cornelius what I was thinking.

  “He's really sweeter than he seems.”

  “I get that a lot,” I muttered under my breath.

  “What?” he allowed.

  “Nothing.”

  “Alright then. Let’s get you to bed. You've had a long day.”

  On this point, at least, I agreed, and after Cornelius laid a blanket and pillow out on the doughy couch I sunk down into it.

  As he headed for the door I called after him. “Cornelius . . . ?” He looked back at me. “Thank you for . . . for giving me a chance.”

  He smiled. “You're welcome, my dear. Now get some rest.”

  And with that I was left alone in the small library.

  God, what a day. Now that I have a while alone I should reprocess all that has happened.

  Well, today started like any other day. I woke up only to wish that I could fall asleep again, maybe fall asleep forever. It wasn't that my life was bad, in fact there wasn't even anything I could consistently complain about. I just didn't belong in my world, and it didn't belong to me.

  I mostly tried to pass the time, dreaming of an adventure I knew I'd never have. Sometimes I hated myself for it, not really understanding why everyone else was so content with life, while I was left wanting by it.

  Still, every day I pushed myself forward trying to make the best of things.

  I would be lying if I said this didn't cause me to acquire an . . . unusual personality. I had a family. When I saw them they called me by Evelyn Avest, my unfortunate name. I had always preferred Eve and, when given the chance, would pass it off as my full title.

  My family was usually wrapped up in the happenings of the small town we lived in. Tiver. I on the other hand counted the moments until I could sneak away into quiet solitude. Inevitably this separated me from my family and as I grew older it was not uncommon for me to go whole days without seeing them.

  “I wonder if they even know I'm gone,” I whispered, snapped back into the present. The flame still burned strong, but had become such a dark shade of red that it barely lit the room. “Wait a minute,” I considered, as I recalled a previous thought. “I guess today did start a little different than most.”

  This morning I awoke outside, at the top of a hill where I spent most of my time. A giant, almost mountainous, rock that slanted up sharply to a flat plateau at its peak. A wonder in itself, but that is not what I loved about. It was the view that you see from the top of the ridge that made it irresistible for me to return. Below was the most brilliantly blue lake you could ever imagine. It reflected the sky above in a way that made you forget what was up and what was down. The cliff hung over it thirty feet above the water, and beyond the lake laid a misty forest called Sharadeen.

  This morning it was especially murky which only contrasted the lake further, making it shine as bright as ever. It might have been painful even to look at if not for the morning mist that still lingered across the water, peacefully following the winds chosen direction.

  “Well,” I said to myself as I let out a big yawn. “I might as well test the water.” And with a bit of a sprint I propelled myself off the cliff into the cool lake.

  “Okay, test
complete, much to cold.” I squealed, then swam quickly back to the shore before ringing out my hair and glancing down at myself disapprovingly.

  I realized now it wasn't such a good idea to jump in the water, considering what I was wearing.

  My pants consisted mainly of two scraps of leather on each leg with string going down either side holding the pieces together. I had a plain blue shirt on that had suctioned itself to my skin and gone somewhat see-through, sleeves hanging well past my hands as usual.

  I sighed.

  You see I was always the person that girls pointed at giggling, asking their friends how I could possibly stand to look like that in public. It wasn't that I didn't care, it just seemed no matter what I did I never looked pulled together anyways. Every once in a while my sister would dress me up in her clothes and do my hair. I had to admit at these times I got my fair share of the good kind of attention. But for the most part I was the walking fashion faux pas of Tiver.

  Spending the morning asleep in the sun hadn't darkened my unalterably pale skin a bit. I attempted to run a hand through my un-tamable hair, no such luck. I spun to look at it in the waters reflection. It was that exactly awkward color that couldn't be called brown, but didn't qualify as blonde either. I called it caramel to make myself feel better. As wavy, curly, and frizzy as ever, I quickly arranged it into a loose braid, tucking the leftover strands behind my ears.

  “You come here often?” came a voice behind me.

  I jumped.

  “I'm sorry,” chimed the voice again as I turned towards it. “I didn't mean to frighten you.”

  It was a man, a very tall and, honestly quite handsome man.

  “No, that's alright. Yes. I do come here often.” I said it confidently. Something about the way he was looking at me made me uneasy. Something in his eyes.

  “Well now, why haven't I noticed a young beauty such as you running around my lake?” he asked with a witty smile.

  “Your lake?”

  “Why yes, I am a wizard,” he boasted. “Shaper and controller of all things liquid.” He proceeded to juggle small balls of water playfully from hand to hand.

  I looked on trying as best as I could to hide my fascination. “I've heard rumors of people like you, but I never believed they might be true.”

  Still fumbling the water between his hands he spoke in a big voice: “Well then you shall come to see my home so that you will be the one with the stories.”

  Not a good idea, said a little voice inside me. But there was something about him . . . like he was some dark mystery that I had to follow if I wanted to get anywhere, ever.

  “How far away is it?” I asked. Why was I going along with this? I wanted to say no and run away.

  “Just a short trek away from here that-a-way.” He pointed with his hand and the destination made my stomach squirm.

  “The forest?” I exclaimed.

  “Why yes,” he responded charismatically. “It's really a beautiful place once you get inside. You just have to come.”

  Again the longing to say no was overpowered inexplicably . . . though maybe not as much as I credited. Finally something new and unexpected had happened to me. I knew I would never forgive myself if I backed down now.

  “Alright,” I said, subconsciously ignoring the fact that I was agreeing to follow a complete stranger into a dark forest.

  He let out a wide grin. “I knew you would warm up to me. This way.”

  I followed in step, wondering even as I worried about my fate what other great powers this man possessed.

  *

  It took less time than I thought it would to reach the forest. Now, when it comes to practical things, I'm not easily frightened, but there was something about this place. Something eerie, yet beautiful.

  Magical.

  I could hear all types of creatures scampering around us. The branches and vines were so thick that the sun was barely shining through the canopy, dropping rays of light here and there. Soon they disappeared altogether.

  As we journeyed deeper, following a worn path, I found that my escort was starting to change. First his eyes turned from the vibrant blue they once were to a cold, steely, silver. Then his skin started to darken, and his hair grew long and stringy.

  Part of me wanted to go desperately, but the further we went into the forest the more I was enthralled with the man. There was no doubt in my mind now that he truly was a wizard.

  “Well, my dear, it seems we have reached our destination.” His voice had changed as well, before charming and light, now cruel and slippery. Nonetheless I looked around for a building or entryway.

  “I don't see anything.”

  “Well, you must not be looking hard enough, hmm?” He knocked on a wall of stone beside him and it began to rumble, cracking down the middle and spreading until it had formed an entrance large enough to walk through.

  We did.

  As I followed the creature through the darkness, I began to regret my decision to follow him. I prayed under my breath that I was strong enough for whatever was coming.

  “What are you doing?” screeched what was left of the once charming man. I could tell he had begun to hunch over considerably, but could see little else in the darkness.

  “Nothing.” I said innocently. He had a pained look on his face.

  Suddenly I realized I had the freedom to run. No longer did I feel tied to the creature. No longer did I find him irresistible. This seemed to dawn on him only moments later, but it was too late.

  I ran, ran as fast as I could. I didn't know if I was going back towards the forest or deeper into the cavern, but that didn't stop me. I just kept going. I could hear the horrible creature off behind me. He was getting closer.

  “A light!” I almost screamed the word through gasps of air.

  I ran towards it, but as I got close I realized there was something wrong. For rather than any shade the sun might produce, the light shone an unnaturally bright red. When I turned the corner I realized why: there was nothing natural about the source. It almost looked like lightning had struck the air and, rather than vanish, had remained frozen in its position, growing wider along the seams until forming an elliptical shape. I stopped in front of it.

  “You don't want to do that.”

  I swung around. What I saw made me bring a hand up to my mouth with a gasp.

  Silver eyes and common sense told me that it was the same man I had followed through the forest, but that was the only thing recognizable. He now looked almost bat-like. With metallic, purple, skin, and long-pointed ears. He was taller as well and although his appearance was frightening, there was something beautiful about him still.

  “I said, you do not want to do that.” He repeated it slowly, sounding out each syllable.

  “Do what?” I asked, shivering.

  “Get any closer to that portal than you already are,” he hissed. “Now come back towards me.” He gestured, his voice becoming harsher with every word.

  I had not considered this . . . portal could do anything, and although I had no clue as to what, something told me that I should do the exact opposite of whatever the man was telling me.

  I took a step back.

  “Do not move one more inch!” He screeched, and leapt forward in my direction.

  This is your last chance, Evelyn.

  With that I spun in place and jumped into the red sphere.

  *

  “Remind me again why you needed me to come with you?” asked a stout man as he walked alongside his rather tall companion.

  They were moving through a rock archway. Ice below them and a deep purple sky above. It was cold enough so their breaths could be easily seen.

  “Because I need to see if Demian was bluffing about these new pack-beasts and it would be suicide to come here without a defense artisan.”

  “I understand that, but why didn't you just bring Ikovos like you normally do?”

  “Because, Ikovos is not old enough yet to come out this far. Besides he is not
my partner, you are,” growled the silver-haired man.

  “Yes, well . . . you know how much I hate being here. The smell alone is enough to make me faint.”

  The taller man laughed at this and responded: “A Meoden fighter that doesn't like being in a Meoden dimension?”

  The other replied unfazed. “Well isn't that the point of the whole thing?”

  The tall man considered this, only to begin laughing again. “Cornelius, you have once again shredded my logic with your quizzically inarguable point of view. Where would I be without you?”

  “Evidently not on a wild goose chase in the God-forsaken place,” grunted the other. “And I mean that literally.”

  “Of course you do.”

  Before Cornelius could protest, a muffled moan sounded to their right.

  “A keeper,” said the tall man. “I could recognize the sound anywhere.”

  “But why would he risk coming out into the open? He must have known we were near. . . .”

  There was a pause.

  “I don't know. Why don't we go ask him.”

  And with that, both men crept towards the direction of the moans.

  *

  “No!”

  I could hear the man screaming as I jumped into the rift.

  Then it was gone. So was the cave. And the red glow I had run through. With a jolt I was slammed down onto the ground: head thumping, heart racing, breaths coming in quick intervals, and my mind unsuccessfully attempting to wrap itself around what had just happened. I soon realized that there was no point to this and opened my eyes, determined to make the best of my situation, whatever that was.

  “What is that smell? I groaned, preparing to rise to my feet. It’s like something between lamp oil and my brother-in-law’s feet.

  After a few shaky attempts I managed to stand up, only to slip and fall back again.

  “Nice one, Evelyn.”

  When I planted my hands onto the ground, preparing to rise again, I felt an uncomfortable feeling on my fingertips.

  “It's cold,” I whispered.

  It was then that I realized the cause of my fall.