Smoke & Ash (Wardens Series Book 2)

by Heather D Glidewell

  “Well, in that case, impressive,” she said, putting her thumbs up.

  “Thanks,” I replied dryly. “Anyway, be good to her,” I reminded Adam, gesturing at my beloved car.

  “No problem. Just realize that if I drive her off an embankment into the river, the car made me do it.”

  “I hope I’m going to be safe in the hands of your girlfriend,” I said, grimacing.

  “She means well,” he replied, returning my expression.

  “Everything you need is in the trunk,” I told him as Nadine started pulling me toward her Civic. “Pray for me!” I yelled as she pushed me in and shut the door.

  I watched the two of them in the mirror as they said their goodbyes. Nadine got on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Adam’s neck, then kissed him three times on the lips before walking away with a smile on her face. Adam shook his head and headed for my car. This was what relationships in high school were supposed to be like. Good while they lasted, but not something that would cause the end of the world.

  I wanted that kind of relationship. I didn’t have to fall in love; all I had to do was love spending time with someone. We don’t find our soul mates in high school, or at least we’re not supposed to. It was good Wesley was gone, but yet it was bad that I had to save him. I missed my blue-eyed boy with every fiber in me; however, my body might object; I could never be with him. We were different beings now. He knew what I was. No boy in their right mind would be with a girl who they knew had demon blood in her veins. Notice that I mention “in their right mind.”

  “You ready for today?” Nadine asked as she started the Civic.

  Her happy bubble-gum pop started to play loudly through the speakers. She immediately started to sing along. The sad thing was that I knew the song. It had been one of my favorites when I lived with my father. I would put the CD on repeat, grab my brush, and Mitch and I would run around the house like it was a video shoot. Well, mostly me. Mitch just sort of followed behind and picked up the mess that I left. I shook off the memory and looked at Nadine. This could have been me, bright, bubbly, and full of life. Instead, I’d turned out dark, mysterious, and invisible. It’s amazing what four years can do to a person’s appearance and personality.

  “You know I really don’t want to go to this prom,” I said, reaching out and turning down the volume, thankful for the relative quiet before she turned it back up.

  “Yes, you do,” she countered. “If I’m going to be at a Midvale event, I want my best girlfriend there with me.”

  When had I become her best girlfriend? I mean, she lived in Branson, about an hour away. Surely the girl had friends at her school? I looked across at her.

  “Don’t you have friends at your high school?” I asked, blinking.

  “Of course, silly, but none of them are like you.” She reached over and patted my leg. “You are a diamond in the rough, Dawn. I knew that when I met you the first time. We are lifelong friends, no matter how different we are.” She laughed.

  I felt like I wanted to drive my head into the windshield and knock myself out.

  “Oh, my gawd!” she squealed without warning. “This is my song!” She turned up the radio to a pitch that made me want to rip the ears off my head.

  Nadine drove me crazy all the way into the city. The singing, the car dancing, the waving at “cute” guys in other cars... she was a menace! Finally, right before the exit for the mall, she turned the music down. I swear I didn’t know she was speaking until I looked over and saw her lips were moving.

  “So, we’ll hit up the dress shops in the mall first. If for some reason we can’t find you anything there we’ll start on the boutiques. My mom told me about one that you would probably just love. It’s all New Age and smells of incense.”

  I loved how she had stereotyped me so quickly. It was just like El Paso all over again. Certain people there quickly got it into their heads the kind of girl I was. My unusual personality led to label me as different from everyone else. I blamed such people for turning me into the troubled, dark being I was now. Still, New Age shops were often filled with mysterious magic ingredients, and I found that to be kind of cool.

  “You really have this day all planned out, don’t you?” I said.

  “By the time this day is over, you’ll feel like a new woman.” She giggled.

  So, I was nothing more than a Barbie doll to her. I sighed and looked back out the window. I had been dreading this day before I left, and now, I fancied my fears were about to be realized.

  “Tell me something, Nadine,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “Do you wake up this perky or do you have to snort something to get there?”

  She looked at me, appalled. So that answered that. This was a natural perk, not synthetic. I really needed to take the time to think before I spoke. I was getting better, but I still tended to blurt things out and then feel like a dumbass afterward.

  “I have never done drugs in my life!” Nadine huffed, turning on her blinker. Then she shot me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take things that way. I’ve always been a naturally happy person. Maybe that’s not something you’re used to.”

  Well, she was right about that. It certainly wasn’t something that I was used to. However, I enjoyed Nadine’s company. It was nice having a girlfriend to go around with, even one this perky.

  She parked the car, and we got out. Looping her arm with mine, Nadine bounced along beside me, telling me stories of proms past. All I could do was look at her and shake my head. This was going to be a long day.

  Chapter 2

  Dresses & Secrets

  “You look stunning!” Nadine gasped as she gaped at me in a red prom dress she had picked out.

  It was the fifth dress I had tried in the last twenty minutes. Each one had got more and more colorful and more closely plastered to my body. I was already tired and wanted to call it a day. I didn’t see any issue in just purchasing this last one and going home. Nadine had other ideas though. We weren’t leaving the mall until I had found the perfect dress.

  Standing in the dressing room of Dillard’s, looking at myself in the mirror, I was not happy with what stared back at me. Two big black eyes, pale features, and this strapless red dress that made me look like a drag queen. I turned from side to side, examining myself in the mirror. The way the dress pulled my ribcage in and perked my breasts to a new height was amazing. It was unfortunate that I could hardly breathe!

  Wasn’t that the custom for prom though? Girls commonly purchased dresses that were incredibly uncomfortable and wore heels so high they were impossible to walk far in. Not to mention spending ridiculous amounts of money on hair, makeup, and nails. All of this just to make some boy swoon over them for one night.

  “I’m not sure,” I told Nadine as I continued my inspection of the dress. I thought it was a bit too full in the skirt and that it made my hips look wider.

  “Aaron’s going to love it!” Nadine argued, straightening out the skirt. There was so much enthusiasm in her voice; it made my stomach turn.

  Yes, she had to bring up Aaron, my accidental claim. In fact, I had grown quite fond of my blond-haired, blue-eyed skater boy. He did have a certain something that made him attractive to me. However, he wasn’t Wesley.

  Even though I had pretty much convinced myself that anything and everything that had to do with Wesley was over, I still couldn’t stop comparing Aaron with him. Now, don’t get me wrong, I was enjoying spending time with Aaron, but sooner or later he would break the contract. Amazingly he hadn’t done it yet, somewhat to my surprise.

  “I showed Adam my dress last week, and he looked at it all confused like I was asking him to wear it.” Nadine sighed. “Sometimes I just want to know what is going on inside that boy’s head.” There was a rare moment of silence before she carried on. “Why doesn’t he love me?”

  “What?” I asked, startled. I took her hands and made her sit down. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Dawn to the rescue.

  “I tell him
I love him all the time and all he does is smile and change the subject,” she complained, her green eyes glistening with tears.

  “Adam is a rare breed of male,” I assured her, hoping that what I was about to say was not going to come out wrong. “He’s scared of love. He turns green at the idea of it.” I took a deep breath. “He watched his mom and dad fall apart, so I really don’t blame him. He cares so deeply for you. You have been his first everything.”

  She looked at me in surprise. “Are you telling me you don’t know?”

  Now it was my turn to be stunned.

  “I’m not his first girlfriend. Adam used to have a wild side, a few years back. Got himself in some pretty big trouble, if I remember correctly.” She sighed. “Anyway, he told me about this girl that brought him back from the dead. He said he was lost, doing all the wrong things. She gave him back his faith, and that is where he has stayed ever since. He won’t budge on anything."

  I blinked. “Okay… so is this some huge secret?”

  “Well, they didn’t do anything taboo, but he went further with her than he’s ever tried to do with me.” She was sulking now.

  Why had Adam never told me this?

  “Hmm. Okay.” I shrugged. What else could I say?

  My mind was going a thousand thoughts a second. Why would my best friend leave out the fact that he had someone save him from a life of sin, returning him back to his faith at a time when he needed it most?

  I tried to think of something witty to say to change the subject but found inspiration somewhat lacking.

  “Alright… so, this one then?” I asked.

  I was more than ready to get out of the mall. I hated department stores. My reason for this was a good one, I think. It wasn’t the fact that there are lots of people in a mall. It had more to do with the shopping experience itself. I had the money; that wasn’t the problem. It was the searching, finding, trying on, looking in the mirror, and realizing that you had picked out a pair of jeans two sizes too small or two sizes too big. It was the effort required to find that perfect outfit, which was far more than seemed justifiable to me when you considered what it was all for.

  “Yeah, that’s the one,” Nadine said, managing to smile as I retreated into the changing cubicle. “You know, you’re probably right,” she called to me as I shut the cubicle door.

  “Right about what?” I asked as I tried to reach the zipper and failed.

  How the heck had I got the damned thing up?

  “That he’s probably just scared,” she sniffed.

  “Just give him time. He’ll come around,” I said, hoping that in some way I was correct.

  I purchased the dress, a pair of new heels, and a strapless bra the same shade as my outfit. I thought I was now set, but apparently, I was wrong. Nadine dragged me down the walkway to a beauty salon to reserve a tandem appointment for some pampering on the day of prom. From seven in the morning till five in the evening I was going to be waxed, plucked, scrubbed, poked, prodded, and turned into a runway model. I had to admit, despite my reservations, the excitement was beginning to infect me.

  I wondered if I could contract the plague between now and the wondrous day. If I was dead or dying, surely they couldn’t make me go?

  ****

  Later that afternoon I was sitting on Adam’s bed, reading, when he came in covered in oil. He gave me a nod and motioned for me to put the book down. I dog-eared my page and tossed the book onto the nightstand.

  “You will be glad to know your car will survive another three thousand miles without needing oil.” He smiled at me and took a bow.

  I applauded enthusiastically. “Awesome!”

  Part of our agreement had been that if I went shopping with Nadine, he would change the oil in my car. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend time with his girlfriend. I just really didn’t like shopping, as mentioned before. Even my mother had to bribe me to get me out of the house to purchase new clothes. I was one of those see-it-online-order-it-and-pray-it-fits types of girls. If it doesn’t, I just toss it in the back of my closet, always sure I can find something to turn it into later.

  Being around Adam made me feel carefree and alive. It gave me a chance to breathe and helped me to heal after everything that had happened over the last few months. He made awful truths seem relatively unimportant. If I ever felt like the world was coming down on me, all I had to do was call him, and I would feel instantly calmer. He was my rock through all the emotional shit I had been through, and I loved him to death.

  “Alright, I’m going to go wash my hands. When I come back, I’m going to kick your ass in Halo!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands together before turning and leaving the room.

  “You can try and beat me, but you know I always win,” I called after him, observing the amused shake of his head.

  “Has anyone ever told you that you are a sore winner?”

  Five minutes later he was back in front of me, his wet hands stuffed in his pockets. He gave me a carefree smile and plopped down next to me on the bed.

  “Did you find your dress?” he asked, poking me on the arm.

  I swatted at his hand and grinned. “Yes, it’s hot pink with lime green trim,” I joked.

  “I don’t know if you can pass off hot pink,” he teased. “Can’t wait to see it though.” His eyes softened, and there was that look again like something was on his mind.

  He had been looking at me like that a lot lately. I was becoming concerned about what was going on in his head. He obviously needed to talk to me about something. But perhaps he didn’t think it important enough to bother me with, at least not yet. I sought to change the subject.

  “So, Nadine said something interesting today,” I told him as I grabbed a pillow and rolled over on my back.

  He positioned himself, so his head was on my stomach, allowing me to play with his hair. This had somehow become the norm over the last few months. We would spend hours like this, just talking away and not really caring if the world passed us by.

  “Nadine always says interesting things,” he responded dryly. “Problem is, they are often interesting only to her.”

  “No, I can honestly say this was interesting.” I started petting his head.

  “Oh, then do tell.”

  “She told me about a girl you used to date.” I felt him tense. “She said she wasn’t your first girlfriend.”

  He went rigid. A nervous giggle escaped his lips.

  “Do what?” he protested. “I… I haven’t a clue what she’s talking about.”

  “Tell me!” I exclaimed. “I tell you everything.”

  “Yes, but I don’t ask you about that part of your life. I just assume you and Aaron do stuff. That doesn’t mean that I want details.” He was really fidgeting now. I figured I must have hit a nerve if he was this jumpy.

  “You would be assuming wrong,” I said, slightly annoyed.

  Why do boys instantly jump to the conclusion that a girl must be putting out to be in a relationship with another boy? I mean really, it is just so annoying.

  “Really?” He seemed shocked. “I just thought… since he is always fawning over you.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s only happened once, and that was by accident,” I grumbled, noticing that he had somehow managed to change the subject.

  “Only once, huh? Was that about the time you found out Wesley was still seeing that redhead he ran off with?”

  I knew he didn't mean to hurt me, but what he had just said jabbed holes in my heart. I had to choke down the lump in my throat.

  “Yeah. The same day, in fact,” I admitted, with a sigh.

  I didn’t want to relive the day that I had taken another soul as mine. The pain of it all was slowly dulling now, but it had taken months to get there.

  “You ever hear from Wesley?” he asked.

  “Nope, not a word,” I replied. Emptiness threatened to overtake me, so I sought to get back to the original subject. “So, are you going to tell me?”

  He te
nsed again. We were back on track.

  “Why do you care so much?” he asked, shifting uncomfortably.

  “Because you are just so pure and sweet.” I shot him an expression of disgust. “The thought of you doing anything reckless is quite intriguing.”

  I ran my fingers together and smiled evilly at him. He broke out into laughter for a moment then adopted a serious expression once more. He hung his head and threw up his hands.

  “Pretty, please,” I said as sweetly as I could, to encourage him to speak.

  “Fine, I’ll tell you.” He caved.

  I waited, hugely interested.

  “I don’t know if you remember me talking about a girl I knew two years ago. The one who had eyes similar to yours? Except hers weren’t the result of vision impairment; her eyes actually changed.”

  He put his hands between his legs and a look of pain swept across his face. I wondered if this girl he was telling me about was his first love.

  I nodded. I remembered that conversation. It had taken place while we had lunch at the hospital after Wesley was attacked by the vampire coven. The girl had been on the scene for about a year and then she had disappeared. I had always believed there was more to the story. He had never been forward with a name, only information on her eyes.

  “There is more to her than just her eyes changing,” he said, avoiding my gaze. “It was right after my mother had left my father. I was lost, not only in my loyalty to my family but also to my faith. I couldn’t find my way back to salvation, no matter how hard I tried. I hated him for splitting my family, and I hated my mother for leaving. It wasn’t long after I started questioning my faith that I met her.” He paused.

  Question after question was forming in my mind, but I knew that it was too soon. The story had only just begun.

  “She came out of nowhere.” He smiled at me.

  “Nowhere?”

  “I mean, one second she wasn’t there and the next suddenly she was. It was like she came just for me. She had this way of making me feel important, of making me feel peace and not pain.” He stopped and took a long breath. “Her name was Helen Price, and she was a senior when I was a freshman.”