Accidental Ashes: or that time I found out I was a demon, and all my friends were vampires and werewolves (Xoe Meyers Young Adult Fantasy/Horror Series)

by Sara C. Roethle

  “I met him a few weeks ago in California, while I was on my way back here,” Lela went on. “He’s basically in the same situation as the rest of us: no pack, easy picking for any rogue wolf trying to recruit underlings.”

  “This all sounds great,” Lucy announced with a smile, surprising me. “Ever since the Dan incident, I’ve been constantly looking over my shoulder for the next rogue wolf to come and try to take Max and me away.”

  Max was nodding excitedly. “I agree. I’m in.”

  Lela smiled from ear to ear, but there was something I still wasn’t getting, and I had a feeling I didn’t want to know the answer. “So why did you want to talk to me?”

  Lela’s smile faltered slightly. “Well . . . we need an alpha.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “And?”

  “And we need you to be that alpha,” she said quickly, still fearing my reaction. Hit someone in the head with a fireplace poker one time and they never get over it.

  I closed my eyes in frustration. I had enough problems to deal with, demonic and otherwise. I did not need wolf ones. “Why can’t one of you be the alpha?”

  Before Lela could answer, the oven timer went off. I held up a finger to belay her answer further so I could get up and get the pizzas out of the oven. I left them on top of the stove and went back to sit in the living room again. As I sat, I twirled my hand to end palm up in Lela’s direction, sarcastically signaling her to answer my question.

  Lela shifted in her seat, looking slightly embarrassed. “We don’t qualify as alphas. None of us is strong enough.”

  I huffed out my breath in confusion. “And I am? I’m not even a wolf!”

  I was up and standing in front of Lela before I even realized it. I made myself stop and take a deep breath to keep myself from losing control. My temper was beginning to get ridiculous. Just another wonderful thing I could thank my dad for.

  Lela waited a moment for me to calm down before she continued in the soft type of voice that’s perfect for talking to crazy people. I’d been hearing that voice a lot lately. “You killed Dan,” she began, “who was technically a pack leader, even though he was rogue. It qualifies you.”

  “Max helped,” I said weakly as I let myself drop back down onto the couch. Max had thrown a can of gasoline on Dan to prevent the fire I had started from going out.

  Lela shook her head. “Abel credits the killing to you. He’s the one that has to approve our alpha. He approved you.”

  “What about Nick?” I asked snarkily, causing his annoying smile to falter.

  “Doesn’t qualify,” Lela answered matter-of-factly, ignoring Nick’s annoyed expression. I had a feeling Nick didn’t enjoy admitting that a girl might be more powerful than him.

  Lucy and Max turned to me expectantly.

  I took a deep breath. Best not to think it over too much. I’d only talk myself out of it, and if Max and Lucy thought this would make them safe, then I wanted it. “I’ll do it.”

  Lela squealed and leapt off the loveseat onto the couch to hug me awkwardly. “Thank you,” she whispered, and I realized she had started to cry. I couldn’t blame her; she’d had a rough year.

  I patted her back awkwardly, not really sure what to do. Finally, she pulled herself together and climbed off of me. She stood slowly, wiping at her eyes with the lavender sleeve of her sweater. “Mind if I use your bathroom?”

  I forced a smile that was probably more of a grimace. “Sure. Down the hall, first door on the left.” I pointed to show her the way.

  As Lela started towards the bathroom, Lucy leaned across Max’s lap to pull me into a hug, which pretty much forced Max to join the hugging too.

  Lucy ended the hug and settled back into her seat and smiled. “I feel so much better. No more worrying.” Lucy paused for a minute, then went on, “and thanks Xoe. I know you don’t want to do this.”

  I felt the fake smile fall from my lips. No, I did not want to do this. “Let’s not get too excited yet. We still have to find out what forming a pack actually entails.”

  Nick sat silently, taking it all in with a slightly bemused smile on his face. He obviously didn’t know me very well to be so at ease. I met his smile with one of my own. “I’m not in the business of trusting people these days,” I began. “and just so you know, if you betray me, I’ll kill you.”

  So it was an empty threat, but wiping that smile off his face brightened my mood considerably. And who really knew how empty it was? These days I was never sure of much, especially in concerns to myself.

  Lela came back out of the bathroom as I was smiling sweetly at Nick. She sat back down on the loveseat. After taking in Nick’s sick expression, she slowly turned to me. “I, um, have all of the paperwork for us to fill out. Then all we have to do is go to the next Coalition meeting. Normally only Xoe would need to go, but Abel wants us all there for the first time.”

  I hadn’t had a chance to think about the Coalition meetings. “Where are the meetings held?”

  Lela shrugged. “The Coalition chooses a different state for each meeting, so that some pack leaders don’t have to travel more than others. The next one will be in Utah with Abel’s pack.”

  I cringed. “So I have to travel to these meetings three times a year?”

  Lela shook her head. “You can send a member of your pack as your proxy to two of them. You’re only required to physically attend one meeting per year.”

  “But I’m not eighteen, can I even buy a plane ticket?”

  “I’ve already started looking for a job. I’m willing to foot the bill for travel, and for pack dues. I’ll buy the ticket for you. It’s worth it for me.”

  Good to know. “When is the Utah meeting?”

  “The end of January. I’m not sure of the exact date.”

  Okay, once a year I could handle. I had the travel money from Abel’s payment, but I’d keep that to myself for now. I wanted as little involvement in all this as possible. Plus, going to a pack meeting was worse enough without having to pay for it. The only remaining problem was what to tell my mom so that she’d let me go. Lucy would have even more trouble than I would. I turned and raised my eyebrows at her.

  Her eyes were pinched with worry. “I’ll figure it out,” she said, understanding my silent question.

  I let it drop. I didn’t think it likely that she’d ‘figure it out,’ but I couldn’t stop her from trying. My thoughts were interrupted by another knock on the door.

  I sighed heavily and got up to answer it, wondering who it could be now. I opened the door, then slammed it closed again. My dad was outside. A quick, loud knock sounded at the door again. I considered just walking away, but grudgingly re-opened it. I took in my dad for the second time in the day and in my life, waiting patiently in his pale green sweater and dark gray slacks. It had gotten dark, and the sweater was a little thin for how cold it was outside, but he seemed unfazed by it. I raised my eyebrows in question and waited for him to explain his presence.

  “We need to talk,” he said simply.

  I sighed loudly, making sure he took in my exasperation. “Kinda busy right now . . . ”

  “This cannot wait,” he replied sharply, brushing a strand of his blond hair out of his face in agitation. “You may be in danger.”

  I squared my body to face his defensively. “Are you threatening me?”

  My dad sighed. “Not in the least, but we need to talk. Now.”

  I knew I was going to regret it, but I stood aside and gestured for him to come in. He gave a startled nod, as if he hadn’t expected the invitation, then stepped into my house, leaving the door open behind him. He looked around my living room, as if he were taking in every little detail. His eyes stopped on Lucy, Max, Nick, and Lela. “These are your wolves?” he asked.

  My eyes widened. “How did you know?”

  He shrugged and said simply, “Abel is a friend.”

  I was becoming very tired of Abel. The wolves in my living room stayed where they were sitting and waited with ide
ntical expressions on their faces: mild curiosity, with an edge of tension in response to the possible danger. It still creeped me out to see Lucy this way.

  I turned back to my dad. “What did you mean about me being in danger?” There, that sounded nice and steady. Xoe, large and in charge.

  “Abel contacted me this morning to tell me of the possibility of you becoming a pack leader,” he began. “He also informed me that several wolves throughout California have gone missing. One has been found dead. I did some research and found three other missing persons cases; two in California, and one in Oregon. Upon further investigation, I realized that all three were alleged supernaturals: two witches and a merperson.”

  “Well aren’t you a regular Nancy Drew,” I said snarkily.

  “Pay attention Alexondra,” he replied sharply. “We don’t know who’s doing this.”

  I cocked my head, thinking, but my brain wasn’t letting me put two and two together. “What does this have to do with me?”

  My dad rolled his eyes. “Someone is abducting, and likely killing, supernatural beings. They worked their way up California, and have now moved on to Oregon.”

  “And you don’t know who’s doing it?” I asked, trying to buy myself some time to think.

  “If I knew,” he said bluntly, “they would have already been stopped.”

  Before I could process what ‘stopping’ them implied, I was distracted by movement at the front door. “Alex?” a small voice questioned.

  My dad and I both spun, seeking the source of the voice. My mom was standing in the doorway, dressed in her khaki trench coat and dark brown, low-heeled boots. As soon as my dad fully faced her, she dropped her purse and shopping bags to the ground and stood flabbergasted, jaw agape.

  “Hello Libby,” my dad said calmly, slightly bowing his head in greeting.

  My mom stormed into the living room. “Get . . . out! Get out! Get out! Get out!”

  My dad just stood there for a moment, then walked right out the front door, not loosing a single iota of his calm. He shut the front door gently behind him. My mom stared at the door, stunned. Lucy, Max, Nick, and Lela were glued to their seats, looking more like frightened lambs than big bad wolves.

  My mom turned horrified eyes to me. “What was he doing here Xoe?”

  “I’ll explain in a minute,” I answered. “Would you please wait upstairs for me?”

  My mom nodded, acting more like a child than a mother, no arguing whatsoever. She must have been seriously freaked. I turned away as the sound of her boots clicked hurriedly up the stairs. The four wolves stood. Lucy came forward and gave me a quick hug. “We should go. We’ll talk more later.”

  I nodded numbly. “I’ll walk you out.”

  As we walked out of my house I saw that my dad was still waiting outside, haloed by my front porch light. With the light reflecting off his pale skin and hair, he looked like some sort of solemn angel, but I definitely knew better than that. The only car outside was my mom’s, so Lela, Nick, and Max had all apparently walked to my house, or maybe Max had a ride, he lived several miles away. Whatever. The four of them walked together down the street towards Lucy’s house, though where Max and Nick would go, I didn’t know. I realized that I didn’t know where Lela was staying either, then realized that, at the moment, I didn’t really care.

  My dad walked up to stand beside me while I watched them go. I stifled a shiver at the feeling of his presence beside me. Once again the only car outside was my mom’s, so my dad had apparently walked too. Or maybe he just went ‘poof’ and appeared at my door. I was betting on the latter. I just couldn’t picture him strolling down my quaint neighborhood street, plus his expensive loafers were definitely not meant for extended outdoor travel.

  Once my friends were out of sight, he turned to regard me. “You need protection,” he said.

  I kept my eyes focused on the now empty dark street. “Since when do you care?” I asked tiredly.

  Ignoring my question he spoke again. “You should refuse the Pack Leader position. You don’t understand how wolves can be, what the meetings will be like. It’s a very different type of society.”

  I shrugged in reply, not caring to have his opinion on the subject.

  He was silent for several minutes. “I’ll be sending someone to watch over you.” With that, he walked a few steps towards the street. He spoke without turning to face me. “I didn’t leave by choice you know.” Then he really did go ‘poof’, well it was more of a whoosh, leaving a cloud of smoke in his wake. I wasn’t even surprised. That tells you just how weird the past few months had been for me.

  Chapter Five

  I wasn’t looking forward to what I had to do next, but my mom was waiting patiently for me upstairs. I stood alone in my driveway and debated whether or not I could just follow in the direction Lucy, Max, Nick, and Lela had gone. With a sigh, I turned dutifully on my heel and marched back into my house, locking the door behind me. I kept my forward momentum and marched straight upstairs and down the hall to my mom’s room.

  I stood and took a deep breath before I pushed her bedroom door open and stepped into the dark red and purple themed interior. She was curled up on her burgundy bedspread with her back to me, still in her beige trench coat. Her face was hidden by waves of her brown hair. I sat beside her on the bed and waited for her to speak.

  “What’s going on Xoe?” she asked without looking at me.

  I paused before speaking. I had a feeling that it was a mistake to let her in on everything, but it would also make life a little less complicated. “There are some things you need to know, but I have one question first.”

  My mom rolled onto her other side and looked up at me with her honey brown eyes puffy from crying. She waited for the question, not saying anything.

  Here goes. “Why am I named after him? If dad left before I was born, why would you give me a name so similar to his?”

  My mom looked down at her bed and started tracing her finger across the subtle embroidery on her comforter. For a moment I thought she wasn’t going to answer, then she finally replied, “I’ll tell you the truth, then you’ll tell me everything?”

  I nodded, then realized my mom was so intent on her bedspread that she didn’t notice. “Yes.” I replied as I sat on the bed beside her.

  My mom took in a deep breath and let it out. “Your dad didn’t leave until shortly after your first birthday.”

  My jaw dropped. “What?”

  My mom finally met my eyes. “And it wasn’t his choice.”

  I crossed my arms and waited for her to elaborate.

  She grabbed my hand, forcing it back down by my side. “It was in the early spring,” she began. “I took you to the park, and your dad was going to meet us there. We were going to have a picnic. It was still pretty cold out, so we were the only ones there. I had you in your stroller and we were waiting near the parking lot for your dad to show up. There was a man and he . . . he ran up behind me and grabbed my purse.” She paused, eyes staring as if she was seeing the scene played before her eyes. “I should have just let him take it,” she said quickly. “But . . . I don’t know why, I held on. He pushed your stroller over to distract me.”

  When she stopped speaking I squeezed her hand a little tighter and waited for her to go on.

  After a shuddering breath, she continued, “Out of nowhere, your dad appeared. He hadn’t pulled up in his car, he was just there. He righted the stroller and made sure you were okay. You had started crying as soon as your stroller was pushed over. Yet you stopped the second your dad got there, even before he picked the stroller up. You had been connected to your dad like that since birth. You never cried around him.”

  “What happened after dad got there?” I prompted, noticing her subtle attempt to end the story.

  My mom was silent for a moment, her face completely blank. Finally she went on. “He went after the attacker. The man just stood gaping at your dad, probably wondering where he had come from. When the attacker r
ealized your dad’s intent, he turned to run, but your dad knocked him down and was just suddenly on him. I just watched. I didn’t know what to do. Your dad wrapped his hands around the man’s throat. I smelled this horrible burning smell.”

  Her voice had faded so that I could barely hear her. I had to lean my head right by her face to hear what she said next. “A few seconds later your dad stood and turned to face me. He told me not to look, but . . . the man’s neck was just gone, reduced to ash.”

  “Ash?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” she mumbled. “I know it sounds crazy, but that’s what I saw.”

  “What happened next?” I asked.

  “I grabbed you out of your stroller and ran. It was stupid of me, but I didn’t even put you in your car seat. I held you in my lap while I drove home, then I went inside and locked all of the doors, only to realize that your dad was already inside the house. He had somehow gotten there before me. I told him to get out, that I never wanted to see him again. He had killed a man. Your dad left, but he said he’d come back once I had calmed down. As soon as he was gone, I packed a few things, took you, and left.” She took another shuddering breath. “Today was the first time I’ve seen him since that day.”

  “So you left him because he killed a guy?” I prompted.

  She breathed in and seemed to mentally gather herself before she explained. “That was only part of it. I mean, I was of course horrified by that fact, but I also feared the consequences of your dad’s actions. What if there was an investigation? A dead man in a park with his throat burnt away would raise more than a few eyebrows. Plus, I had to wonder what else your dad had done that I didn’t know about. Maybe if it was just me I would have stayed to find out, but I felt I was protecting you.”

  Okay, I just had to ask. “What did the police think…you know, when they found the body?”