Tempest

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  “When I changed for the first time, my mamma guided me through the process…I never knew my poppa,” Lutz’s loud voice boomed in the small clearing.

  The trees bent with the wind and ashes from the pit where Ila had taught me to use my fire scattered into the air. I wished Ila was here to tell us what to do.

  “Surely, one of you remembers something that your mothers told you or did to get you to change. The entire procedure can’t be a mystery to all the male Growlers in the world,” I said.

  Ivan glanced over. His ball cap was low on his head and I only caught glimpses of his golden eyes when he talked. “It was different for me and Lutz. We were born animals and changed into humans when we were small children. We didn’t change back again until we were teenagers.”

  “What was that—a year ago?” Insepth teased. I glared at him and he stopped smiling.

  “It just happens.” Ivan shook his head. “Can you remember the first time you took a step or spoke a full sentence?” I frowned and he surged on, “Of course not. Those were monumental milestones in your life, but you don’t recall exactly the moment you grasped the idea of how to do them.”

  “It’s learned gradually over time,” Lutz added. “What we are asking of this young woman is to understand something that our kind learns—” he tapped his chest “—in here, by being around other Growlers.”

  “Something could have gone wrong with your magic. Maybe I can’t change at all.” Cricket looked at me with her arms crossed. I imagined her tail flicking back and forth in agitation.

  “Maybe we’re going about this all wrong,” I suggested. “Lutz, you don’t remember the first time you changed from an animal into a human, right?” He shook his head. “And you don’t think you had special lessons to teach you how to change back into a bear when you became a teenager. You just did it.” He nodded and so did Ivan. “Do you remember seeing your mother or brother changing back and forth?”

  “Yes, I saw them transform many times.”

  “Maybe that’s what Cricket needs—to see you guys changing back and forth. Hopefully, some inner instinct will kick in and she’ll grasp the idea,” I said.

  “Besides exhausting them, it can’t hurt to try,” Insepth agreed.

  Ivan pushed off the log and went to the center of the clearing to stand beside Cricket. He mumbled a few words to her and then in an explosion of colors became a wolf. She jumped back, but she was ready when Lutz changed into a bear.

  Insepth took Ivan’s place beside me on the log and dipped his head. “It will work, just give her a little more time.”

  “How can you be so sure? You’ve never created a species of Growler or whatever we’re supposed to call her.”

  Insepth chuckled. “It’s all part of the grand scheme.” When my brows arched, he smiled. “Don’t you see, everything that has happened to you up to this point has propelled our story forward? The battles and deaths all had purpose, just as Ila telling you that it was imperative for you to change your horse into a human, the Fates have planned it all.”

  “Eae seemed to think the Fates were trouble makers.” I glanced between Ivan and Lutz, who continued changing back and forth in front of Cricket.

  “It gives me comfort to know I haven’t lived my entire life by chance.”

  “But if there are beings out there pulling all the strings, then why do we have to go through all this?” I demanded.

  “They aren’t making us do anything. They’re simply guiding us through the days.”

  I brought my leg up and rested my chin on my hand. “What if the apocalypse is destined to happen and there isn’t anything we can do to stop it?”

  Insepth’s eyes lifted to the billowing clouds. The air smelled wet and I expected it to rain within minutes.

  “I’ve always thought scripture and prophesies were made to be rewritten.” The corners of his mouth rose. “I might be wrong; we’ll just have to wait to see.”

  Cricket bellowed out a raucous laugh that was eerily reminiscent of when she used to neigh and my head jerked her way. Ivan threw a mock punch at Lutz, who flipped the boy over his arm in a quick swipe. Ivan groaned on the ground while Lutz’s body shook with mirth. He reached down and pulled Ivan back into a standing position.

  Their play put a smile on my face. “I wish it would all go back to normal—” I glanced at Insepth “—not all the way back before I knew that I had powers and that Growlers existed, just to that brief time in between when the world wasn’t falling apart.”

  “What would you do if you didn’t have to battle the forces of evil on a daily basis?” Insepth asked.

  I didn’t have to think about it. “I’d visit my brother and his wife. They’re expecting a baby. Then I’d settle down in Ila’s valley, maybe even write a book.”

  “I’m sure it would an entertaining read.” His eyes drifted over me. “I guess you and Sawyer will get married and have children someday.”

  My cheeks burned. Although thoughts like that had crept into my mind, to hear them spoken out loud, especially by someone else, made my cheeks burn.

  “I don’t really know about all that. It doesn’t seem as though family life is possible for people like me and Sawyer.” I met his gaze. “Even if things weren’t so desperate, he’s still a Demon and I’m a Watcher.”

  A spark lit up Insepth’s eyes, and I regretted what I’d said. I didn’t want to give him hope that he and I had a chance—as long as Sawyer was alive, it wasn’t possible. He’d always have my heart, even if I didn’t want him to.

  The screech made us bolt to our feet. Cricket was writhing on the ground. I ran to her and dropped to my knees, attempting to grab her arms.

  “Get back, Ember—she’s going to change!” Ivan cried out.

  Insepth grasped me under the arms and dragged me away from Cricket. I watched her writhing in pain. “It’s not supposed to hurt!” I shouted.

  “The first time does.” Lutz waved at us to get further back. “Give her room.”

  She opened her mouth and screamed again, only this time, the sound changed into a true whinny. Colors exploded just as the first rain drops struck my head and a spray of leaves took flight. Where a tall, black haired woman had been, was now a twelve hundred pound black horse. Her legs struck the air and she rolled into a standing position. She tossed her head and whinnied again, then charged up the pathway back to the valley. Leaves shot into the air from her pounding hooves.

  When she disappeared from sight, I placed my hands on my hips and shook my head.

  “We’ll never get her to change back.”

  Chapter 26

  And the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

  Genesis 3:4-5

  “She’ll change back when the time comes—don’t stress over it.” Sawyer squeezed my hand, and then let go.

  I ignored the cat’s claws kneading my belly and the squeaking of the rocking chair. My eyes were fixed on Cricket as she grazed in the pasture.

  “She might not even remember being human,” I muttered.

  “Oh, she will,” Ivan spoke up. He leaned over the railing, following my gaze. “When I first made the change back into wolf, I sometimes missed my human body.”

  Lutz, in bear form, looked up from the lawn and groaned.

  “I don’t think he shared the same experience,” Horas commented from his rocking chair.

  “It isn’t something you can turn off. Once you’ve changed, the memories remain and thoughts become human, not animal.” Ivan looked over his shoulder at me.

  “Something could have gone wrong with the spell or the particles, who knows. She might be just an ordinary horse again and our trip to Purgatory was in vain.” I scowled.

  “No—she’s a changeling.
I’m sure of it,” Ivan said firmly.

  “What do you think the Watchers are secretly discussing?” Sawyer changed the subject, jutting his chin toward the barn.

  “It’s not secret—Insepth already told us they’re planning to build an extra perimeter of protection beyond Ila’s warding for protection,” I replied.

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Horas said. “If Gabriel is searching for us, we’re going to need it.”

  “I’d put my money on Ila’s invisible fencing to keep any Angel out—even an arch.” Sawyer took a sip of the lemonade I’d made. “They could be up to something else.”

  The back of my neck tingled and it was difficult to force air out of my lungs. It wasn’t Sawyer’s words that bothered me, more the way he said them.

  I looked around and lowered my voice before turning back to him. “You still don’t trust Insepth?”

  “Hell no, never have. And I thought you’d learned your lesson with what happened to Piper when they forced Eae out of her.” He shifted his eyes away. “In essence, he killed your friend. I don’t understand how easily you’ve recovered from that.”

  My eyes widened and Ivan turned around with his mouth gaping.

  Horas narrowed his eyes at Sawyer. “We’ve moved past those unfortunate events—Insepth has proven himself to be honorable, and in Ember’s service since then. We need him, and Sir Austin and Youmi.”

  “Do we? Seems to me Watchers keep getting us into trouble, starting with Ila.” Sawyer’s eyes flashed. “It wouldn’t be such a bad thing if Cricket stayed a horse. The Angels would leave us alone and we could enjoy whatever time we have left in the valley.”

  The sun dipped behind the hilltops surrounding the valley, changing the sky from blue to hazy gray. The breeze cooled and several sparrows took flight from the maple tree in the yard. Chickens pecked around Lutz, but he didn’t pay attention to them. He stared at us.

  “I’m a Watcher, Sawyer. Don’t ever forget it.” I disengaged the tabby’s claws from my sweater and deposited her beside the rocker. “My heart breaks every time I think about Piper, and I’ll always miss her, but Horas is right. We do need Insepth—I need him. The Angels are the ones we’re fighting, not each other.”

  “You’ve chosen sides then?”

  “Besides Eae and my forefather, Uriel, the other Angels we’ve met have all wanted to kill us. It’s not a difficult choice to make.”

  Sawyer rose and took a step forward. “That’s the scary part—it should be a difficult one for you.”

  My fire sprang to life and my mouth twisted. Before I could speak, the rumble of a truck’s engine snapped my attention away from Sawyer.

  “Lutz, behind the cabin,” I called out.

  He leaped from his resting position and turned the corner.

  My jaw clenched as I jogged down the porch steps. The dually pickup truck rolled up under the maple tree and parked. When the passenger door flung open, I froze.

  “I knew you were back!” Maddie squealed, jumping from the truck and racing up. She flung her arms around me in a breast-flattening hug, only letting go long enough to yell back to the truck, “See, I told you so!”

  Preston stepped out of the truck. He looked up and grinned. “It’s good to see you, Ember.”

  “Who are those guys back there anyway?” Maddie whispered loudly, her hip bumping into my side.

  I glanced at Cricket, who walked beside us, just on the other side of the rock wall. I was suspicious of her reasoning for following along. Usually, she ignored me unless I was taking her for a ride. The setting sun was hidden by thick cloud cover and the wind was downright cold. The on and off again splattering of rain made me shiver. I zipped my hoodie up higher and sat on the marble bench, patting the spot beside me for Maddie.

  Preston kneeled beside Angus, rubbing the dog’s neck vigorously. Angus groaned happily. He leaned into the blond football player, exposing his belly for more scratching. It used to bother me that Angus preferred Preston over Sawyer. Now, I understood better. Preston was genuinely a nice guy.

  “They’re mostly relatives who’ve come to the Smokies for a weekend getaway,” I lied.

  Preston grunted. “That guy Sawyer isn’t a relative. Are you dating or something?”

  I let out a quick breath, debating how honest I should be with my human friends. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

  Preston glanced away and I was thankful that I couldn’t see his face. He’d had a crush on me when I’d attended the local high school. I’m sure the news that I was dating someone, especially Sawyer, bothered him somewhat. Maddie leaned in, eyeing the barn where Ivan was balancing on a ladder. He was nailing boards that Sir Austin handed him over a window opening. “Ivan’s grown.” She smirked, and then giggled. “Does he live here?”

  I followed her gaze and couldn’t stop the small smile from creeping up on my lips. Maddie was a flirty southern girl, who made straight A’s. When I first met her, I’d never dreamed we’d actually become friends. But we had. Having her here now, sitting next to me, lifted the shroud of gloom I’d existed under for so long.

  “He’s been kind of displaced. The people he was living with at the compound up and left one day—” I caught myself “—before it was destroyed. He needed a place to stay. He helps me with the farm work in exchange for room and board.”

  Preston abandoned Angus to squeeze onto the bench next to me. He lowered his voice before tilting his head my way. “The military was all over this mountain after the compound went up in flames.” He leaned in closer. “They say there’s a football field sized crater up there and no one has any idea where it came from. There’s no residual sign of an asteroid strike, but they did find the remains of more than a dozen bodies.” He rubbed his forehead. “Today was the first day the road’s been opened up since it happened.”

  “Which was good luck for us,” Maddie chimed in.

  “How exactly did you know I was back in town?” I asked with purposeful slowness.

  “It was a dream.” She tossed back her shoulder length black hair from her face. “I know it sounds crazy, but it wasn’t an ordinary dream.”

  My jaw clenched. “Go on…”

  “Last night, someone visited me in a dream. He told me you were home on the mountain and that I should visit you as soon as possible—that you needed me.” She snorted out a laugh. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

  “No, I believe you.”

  “Really?” She jerked her head at Preston. “When I asked him this morning to drive up here with me, he rolled his eyes and said I was completely bent.”

  Preston shrugged. “I didn’t think you were ever coming back.”

  I placed my hand over Maddie’s. “What did this dream guy look like?”

  She blushed and her gaze wandered. “He was really tall—like taller than anyone I’d ever met before. He had gorgeous, wavy black hair, and his eyes were the darkest brown.”

  “Did he tell you his name?”

  She shook her head. “No, but there is something else.”

  “What?” I held my breath.

  “He had wings—like an Angel.”

  Chapter 27

  Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So he drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

  Genesis 3:22-24

  “You have to leave—now!” Sawyer stepped out from the forest behind us.

  Preston jumped off the bench. “Were you spying on us?” He flashed me an angry look. “What do you see in this guy?”

  Sawyer growled
under his breath and I stood, stepping in front of Preston. “Wait.” I held up my hands. “They just got here.”

  “You heard what she just said—sure sounds like Gabriel to me.” He dropped his voice, staring hard at me. “We need to prepare for an attack.”

  “Gabriel—the arch Angel?”

  I looked at Maddie, surprised and impressed at the same time. “You know about Angels?”

  She snorted and tossed her head. “My papaw’s a Baptist minister. I know all about Angels.”

  “You never told me that.” I stepped closer, glancing between Maddie and Preston. Amazingly, neither of them was smirking. Their faces were overly serious for a change. “Think really hard, Maddie—this is important. Do you remember anything else this Angel said or did that might be important?”

  Her mouth dropped open, then snapped closed and lifted to the side. Her brown eyes flicked upwards like she was doing exactly as I’d asked—thinking hard.

  “There was something else. After he spoke, he looked back over his shoulder into the shadows and said, ‘It will work.’ It was as if he was talking to someone else.”

  I chewed on my lower lip.

  “Come on,” Sawyer urged. “Send them on their way before it’s too late.”

  “It’s already too late,” a voice boomed. There was a flash of light and a strong gust of wind.

  I heard the flapping of large wings before I saw him.

  Maddie gasped and jumped behind Preston, who reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me backward. Sawyer held his ground, turning around with deliberate slowness.

  The Angel’s hair was even redder than I remembered—and his face even more grim. But it wasn’t his handsome face, nor the long, ornate bow strapped to his back that caught my attention. It was the person he carried in his arms.

  I pulled away from Preston’s grip and ran to Uriel.

  “Is he alive?” I touched Eae’s forehead and it was clammy.

  “Sleeping—I already healed him, but the damage was great.” He eased Eae to the ground and I dropped to my knees with him. “Gabriel showed no mercy,” he snarled.