He too had thought her odd upon their earlier associations. But even he was smart enough to realize the girl was growing on him. She was a human, it was true, but she seemed quite different from the humans he had encountered in the past. She had a gentle spirit and was genuinely kind, which was a rare quality in any creature, much less humans. Even her southern twang was growing on him. And when she had exited the bathroom wearing those ridiculous unicorn pajamas, her quirky charm was hard to deny. But it was when she fell from her bed and into his arms that he realized he was in trouble. The touch of her slight body so close to his and that natural sweet scent that belonged to her alone had stirred something within him, something he had to keep at bay for both of their sakes.
It also surprised him at how much enjoyment he received from their chess matches. He had never cared for the game in the past but playing with her helped him see it in a new light. He actually had fun. This thought should have pleased him, but instead he felt a heavy dread. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down. Too much was at stake. He couldn’t protect her if he was weak in any way. He had learned that the hard way, and he would not fail again.
* * * * * *
It was getting late. Emerald, deciding it was best to quit while Ren was winning, began packing away the game. “Ren, can I ask you something?” She had so many questions but knew he wouldn’t answer them all at once.
“I guess so.”
“Why do you hate humans?”
“Who said I hated humans?”
“Riggs and Ricky both.”
“Hmmm.”
“So, you don’t hate humans?”
“I guess I’m not particularly fond of them, but I don’t hate them.”
“Oh. Well, can I ask you something else?” He nodded. “Why do you carry around a sword and all those weapons? Couldn’t you just turn into a werewolf and use your jaws and claws to tear your enemies apart?”
“You think I’m a werewolf?” His eyebrows were arched in question.
This caught her off guard. “Umm, aren’t you?”
He opened his mouth to answer just as Beta sat up, a low growl rumbling in his throat. Ren glanced up, listening to something she couldn’t begin to hear.
He clenched his jaw, squeezing his eyes shut. “Daingead!”
She was pretty sure that was a curse word in some other language. “What is it?” she asked, feeling panic growing within her.
“They’re on the roof. We need to go.”
In a blur, Ren sprang up and jerked her to her feet. He spun her around and grabbed her backpack, securing it to her back. Ren snatched his bag, took hold of her arm, and hauled her into the tight hallway. Beta led the way as if he knew exactly what to do. They made their way through the train as quickly as possible without drawing too much attention to themselves. Thankfully most of the passengers were in their sleeping cars for the night.
Ren stopped them at the back of the last car, glancing around to make sure no one was there before opening the back door and ushering them into the chilly night air.
“What now?” Emerald whispered, peering out into the dark beyond them. She could barely make out the forest surrounding them. She swallowed the lump in her throat at the realization of what Ren was thinking.
And just like that, he scooped up Beta with his left arm and snatched Emerald up in his right…and then he jumped.
~10~
“We need to stop!” Emerald called out to Ren. After Ren had jumped off the train carrying her and Beta, he had set them on their feet, and they’d been running nonstop since. Emerald didn’t think she could go another step.
She collapsed to the ground in a sitting position, tucking her head between her knees.
Ren backtracked to her side. “We have to keep moving. It won’t take them long to figure out what happened to us. Then they’ll come looking for us.”
Emerald spoke through short gasps. “And how did they find us anyway?”
She studied Ren who appeared deep in thought at her question. “I’m not sure. The reason I chose the train was because it’s not a common way to travel. They wouldn’t expect it.”
“And who are they exactly? Are we talkin’ vampires or werewolves?”
“These were vampires. Now come, girl. We need to keep moving.” He hauled her to her feet, but she didn’t move. “What?”
“I’m not going anywhere until you stop calling me girl. I am not a girl. I am a woman. And don’t start calling me woman either.”
He stood staring down at her and she could make out his amber eyes even in the dark. “And what would you have me call you then?”
“My name is Emerald.”
“Fine. Emerald, can we go now?”
She recognized the sarcasm but couldn’t deny how nice it felt to hear him say her name. “We can go now.” She began following him and was relieved that he’d slowed to a quick-paced walk. “My friends call me Em,” she blurted out to his back.
“Oh, you have friends, do ya?”
“Yes!” she snapped. And then she calmed. “Though I haven’t seen much of them since we graduated last summer. I guess I won’t be seeing them again.”
He stopped abruptly and she plowed into his back and bounced off.
“Hey!”
He peered down at her as if not noticing. “You never know, little one. You may see them yet.”
“Are you from Scotland?” she blurted.
“Yes and no. I wasn’t born there, but I was raised there for a time while I trained. It’s a beautiful country.”
“I imagine so. Sometimes I hear an accent in your voice.”
“Probably. It’s hard to live there and not pick up on some of the accent. I do speak Gaelic.”
That explained things, she instantly thought.
It had to have been close to two a.m. when Emerald finally collapsed for good. She was exhausted. “I can’t go any further. I’m sorry.”
Ren finally conceded and dropped his bag against a tree. “I guess we can rest here a bit. He laid down, relaxing his head against his bag.
There was a twig poking her in the back. She grabbed up her bag and took a few moments to pick out her new spot.
She turned to see Ren watching her. “Is there a problem?” he asked her.
“Nope. When it comes to sleeping whether in a bed or in the woods, I’m not persnickety.”
He shook his head. “Are you even speaking English, girl?”
“Hey, I’m speaking Southern English and the sooner you learn it the better off you’ll be,” she half-teased.
“Well, I’m working on it,” he mumbled under his breath.
She finally had her bag tucked under her head with Beta snuggled against her to keep her warm. Seconds later she was sound asleep, and it only felt like moments later when Ren was shaking her.
“Wake up, sleepy. We need to get going.”
“Go away,” she moaned, shooing him with her hand.
She continued to ignore him, falling back into a deep sleep at once, until he scooped her up and sat her on her feet. She stumbled, grabbing fists full of his dark shirt in her hands to steady her.
“Okay?” he asked, seeming slightly concerned, his hands on her shoulders.
“Umm, yes. I’m fine now, thanks.” She released him and stepped back, yawning and cracking her neck. “I’m starving.”
Ren reached into his bag, pulling out a banana and handing it to her.
She smiled. “You’re my hero,” she blurted, ripping the peel as quickly as she could manage and taking a huge bite.
When she glanced up, Ren was staring at her. “What?” she asked, her mouth full.
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“No, what?”
“It’s just that you called me your hero.”
“And?”
“And…I liked it.” He said the words but was still stone faced.
Touched by the thought, she approached him, placing her hand to his large chest, and spoke and even she reco
gnized the banana smacking sound her mouth was making.
“Please finish your bite first.”
“Oh, sorry.” She covered her mouth with her hand, quickly chewing the bite, and swallowed. She gazed up at him then. “You are my hero, Ren. You truly are. I mean you could be more communicable and slightly more pleasant. I mean let’s face it, your people skills are truly lacking, but on the flip side, you are nice to look at.” She smiled up at him, pleased with her humor, but his expression remained blank. “But seriously, thank you for risking your life to protect me.” She meant every word. He had already exceeded her expectations of what a protector should be. He took his job very seriously and that was all she could hope for.
“You’re welcome,” was his simple reply.
He snatched up his bag and began walking.
“I’m glad we had this little chat,” she mumbled sarcastically.
Emerald grabbed her backpack, slung it over her shoulders, and quickened her pace to catch up. She tore off a piece of banana and tossed it to Beta.
After a few minutes, she was struggling to keep up. “You do realize your legs are much longer than mine, right?” she panted.
“Your point?”
This time it was Emerald who growled in response.
It was a beautiful, brisk day as the sun began peeking above the forest. They had been walking for several hours already. Emerald was thrilled when they came upon a creek and took a rest.
She jerked off her Converse and socks and rolled up her jeans. She slipped her feet into the icy water and moaned, throwing her head back in relief. “Oh, my stars, that feels good. These shoes are not made for hiking.”
Ren took a cantina from his bag and submerged it into the fresh water, taking a few sips and refilling it. He handed it to Emerald, and she drank thoroughly.
“Oh, that’s so good.”
Beta stepped into the creek and began lapping up the water. Without warning, the dog dove his face underwater. Seconds later he emerged with a decent size fish protruding from his mouth. It tried to wiggle free, but Beta had a tight grip.
Emerald felt her mouth fall open and she peered up at Ren whose expression mimicked her own.
“Iongnadh,” he said, his eyes bulging, with wonderment in his tone.
The dog trotted to the bank and dropped the fish onto the grass beside Emerald. She hopped up faster than she thought possible as the fish kicked and jumped.
Ren rushed over and snatched the fish in his huge hands before it flopped back into the creek. “Hungry?” he asked her, his lips stretched into a grin.
As it turned out, Beta caught himself another fish and ate it raw while Ren made up a small fire and cooked theirs. She couldn’t bring herself to watch him skin the thing though, but she had no problem eating it when it was ready.
Afterwards, Ren put the fire out and they packed up to continue their arduous journey through the forest. Ren had said their goal was to make it out of the forest and find a town where they could get a car. They had no way of knowing how close their enemy may be behind them. They had to keep moving. This was especially hard for Emerald who had long exhausted her energy and fervor.
A few more hours passed in a blur and Emerald thought she was going to pass out if she didn’t rest soon. Ren stopped abruptly and turned to her, his face registering alarm. Uh oh, she recognized that look.
“I hear them.”
“Vampires?” she squealed.
He was listening intently. “No, not vampires. Werewolves,” he said, appearing confused.
Emerald’s heart jumped at his words.
“Vampires,” he continued, “would not be able to track us in the daylight. They have evolved over the years and the sunlight no longer kills them quickly. They can tolerate it for short periods of time like back at your home, but they wouldn’t risk tracking us here during the day.” Then some unknown realization hit him. “Very clever,” he mused.
“What?” What is it?”
“These vampires have teamed up with werewolves. That way they can track us during the daylight hours.”
She suddenly felt nauseous. “Has that ever happened before?”
“No. Never. They hate each other. They’re still a ways off yet and in their human forms, but once they get a lock on our scent, they’ll shift and catch up to us quickly. They really want you dead. Let’s go.” He snatched her hand, pulling and urging her to run with all her might.
Ren was practically carrying her when they finally emerged from the forest and spotted a road, and across the road… a gas station.
“Ohmigah! Is that what I think it is?” Emerald squealed.
Ren spun her to face him and began smoothing her hair, even tugging a small twig from it and tossing it aside. She enjoyed the way it felt to have him touching her.
He pulled some cash from his front pocket and handed it to her. “Okay, I need you to go inside that gas station and buy us some food while I commandeer us a vehicle.”
“Who talks like that?” she criticized.
He glared at her. “Now that’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
She got his meaning right away and grinned to herself. Now that was a southern saying if she’d ever heard one. The man just continued to surprise her. “Touché, Mr. Callaway, touché.”
He took hold of her arm and escorted her across the street.
~11~
“You can’t bring that wolf in here,” the clerk snapped, pointing in alarm at Beta. He was a young man Emerald estimated was in his late teens.
“He’s not a wolf,” she snapped back. “He’s a husky, and I have a certificate that says I can.” She would never have talked to the guy in such a way just a few days ago, but she was exhausted, sleep deprived and hungry. That seemed like a good enough excuse in her mind.
Without delay, she snatched up a few bags of chips, some candy bars, two packages of honey buns, some granola bars, and several bags of nuts. She unloaded her arms at the checkout and then went back for bottles of water. On her way back to the checkout, she spotted a small bag of dog food and grabbed it.
The clerk was eyeballing her as he rang up her items. She couldn’t decide what he was thinking. Was he flirting? Did he have something in his eye? Was he about to be sick? She had no idea. She finally just turned, ignoring him while he stuffed her items into bags.
“Here you go, ma’am,” the clerk said.
She paid him, then spun, took the bags, and darted quickly through the doors and into the parking lot. She immediately spotted Ren in the driver’s seat of a grey truck just as it pulled up in front of her. It wasn’t anything special, but she could care less.
“Hurry. Get in,” Ren called to her.
She opened the door, ushering Beta inside and leaped in, sitting the bags on the floor and grabbing the door. The truck was moving before she even got the door shut fully.
“So, what did you get us?” Ren asked, snatching up one of the bags and peering inside. He glanced up at her. “I said get us some food.”
“Hey! It’s a gas station, give me a break.”
“Hmm.” he growled. He finally decided on a granola bar and ripped the paper off, and in two large bites, it was gone.
“I’m guessing the clerk was attracted to you?” Ren spoke, holding up a piece of paper with a phone number on it.
Her mouth fell open. “Where did you get that?”
“It was inside the bag.”
Her expression must have amused Ren because he chuckled slightly.
“Why Ren Callaway, was that a laugh?”
He stopped immediately, his face turning to stone once again. “No. Not even close.”
It was her that laughed this time, a long and hard laugh that left her in tears. She collected herself and grabbed a candy bar from the bag.
“So, Ren, I’ve been meaning to ask you. If you’re not a werewolf, then what are you exactly?” she asked, taking a bite of her Snickers bar.
Without hesitation, he answered, “I’m a
fae.”
Surprised, she almost choked on her chocolate. It was the last thing she expected him to say. “You mean like a fairy?”
“No!” he snapped. “Tinker Bell is a fairy.”
Emerald actually jumped at his sharp tone. He really hated being compared to fairies, she assumed. “Oh wow, I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers. I had no idea that was offensive.”
He calmed immediately “No, it’s okay. You didn’t know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”
“Forgiven.”
He gazed at her then and his expression appeared gentle.
“Please tell me about the fae.”
“Well,” he began, “the fae live in a parallel realm to earth. There are not many of us here. It’s actually forbidden in my world to cross over to the earthly realm.”
“Then why did you?”
“My grandmother had prophetic visions. On the day that I was born, she saw that I would be the one to guard you through this journey. My father and uncles began my training when I was just a wee lad. When our leaders got wind of what they were doing, they were forbidden to continue my training. Knowing how vital my training was to aid me in my task, my family saw no other choice but to send me through the portal into the earthly realm. My father had friends in Scotland and that’s where I was sent to continue my training.”
“Why in tarnation did your family care about what happens here in our world?”
“There are many of my kind that believe that our worlds should coexist, that we could learn a lot from each other, help each other.”
“If it is forbidden to come here then how did your father have friends here?”
“My father was a rebellious young lad. His curiosity for this world got the best of him, and one day he found his way here. He came through the portal into Scotland.”
“Why Scotland?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe because Scotland is the country that has the closest resemblance to our world. Anyway, he quickly made a friend named Breac MacTavish. He actually lived with Breac’s family for a time and learned their ways. When he returned to our world, he was discovered and thus forbidden from ever returning to earth. He often spoke about his friend and how much he missed him and his family. He trusted them so much that he actually revealed his true nature to them.”
Emerald Moon Page 5
