Darkness of Light (30 page)

Bodies were lumped in piles across the burnt meadow. Ash and smoke hung heavy in the air. Blood soaked into the grass, dying it a rich shade of burgundy. The sight of carnage and the smell of charred flesh bore down on my stomach, making me retch. A stabbing pain sank into my heart. I was certain, without knowing why, I was responsible for the destruction in front of me.

“Ember?” Torin’s voice spoke softly next to me.

“I did this.” I fixed my gaze straight ahead as I spoke. “Didn’t I?”

“Yes.” He looked down on me, his eyes full of sadness. “You are capable of much worse. When the time comes, you must try to break free, Ember. Your life and everyone else’s depends on it.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Turning his body he pressed closer to me. “Things are about to change.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I’m going to do everything I can to protect you. There is so much I wish I could tell you. Just know there is a spy and traitor amongst you.”

“A spy? Who?”

Instead of answering me, Torin brought his lips down onto mine and kissed me deeply. Eventually he pulled back. “I’m trying to show you.” He kissed me quickly again before adding, “Don’t trust them . . . nothing and nobody are what they seem . . . including you, my dear Ember.” He turned away, fading into the trees.

“Torin, wait, don’t leave me.” 

His form shimmered and then completely disappeared. I felt myself dissipating and being pulled deeper into oblivion.

***

I drifted in and out of consciousness, but one thing I knew for certain in my gut was that Torin was real. Not even in my wildest fantasies could I have come up with someone like him. I had to deal with the fact some person could get inside my head and control my dreams. But I had bigger things to worry about. My body was still too heavy to move. I was about to come up for air but my dreams grabbed me and pulled me back under. 

***

My eyes blinked open to what looked like a makeshift clinic. It reminded me of movies I saw when the Red Cross used homes as hospitals for wounded men in war or disaster. It had several unoccupied metal-framed beds across from me, a large, standing screen that divided the room, and what looked like an operating table on the other side of the divider. The floor was covered with blood, discarded bandages, and an IV bag. What pulled my attention the most were the three men standing near me, their voices raging. One of them I recognized instantly— Eli. I didn’t move, somehow knowing I shouldn’t draw attention to myself. 

A guy with long, surfer-blond hair, hanging loosely around his beautiful face, was yelling at Eli. “Why in the hell didn’t you tell us what Lorcan was doing? You knew he was after her, and you know what Lorcan is capable of. You always protect him, but it only hurts us.”

“I thought I could handle it. Lorcan has his issues, but he wouldn’t do anything to hurt this family.” Eli’s voice was curled with certainty.

“Is that what you got from tonight? He went directly against both your orders!” the blond guy bellowed. 

“Cooper, let’s calm down. This went bad, but we have to deal with what’s at hand,” said the third man with a deep, rugged voice.

“Cole, this went more than a little bad. She nearly died. Now how useful would she have been to us dead, huh?” The guy named Cooper paused. “Because Eli can’t step up to the plate, Lorcan almost killed our only way out of here.”

Eli moved quicker than my eye could follow, slamming Cooper into the door. “Watch yourself. I won’t tolerate your insubordination either.”

“Is it my insubordination that bothers you, or the fact my words hit too close to home? It’s not a secret you have feelings for her.”

“What?” Eli backed away from Cooper. “I don’t have feelings for her. What I’ve done has been for us.”

“Oh please, I know you, and that girl has you completely undone.”

“Enough!” Eli’s voice rang with such ferociousness it shook the room. “If you have a problem with my leadership decisions, then challenge me.” 

Tension-filled silence fogged up the room. Eli and Cooper stood only inches away from each other, neither one willing to back away from the challenge.

Cole yelled. “Okay, enough, both of you. Cooper, this is not the time or place. We need to focus on the fact that Lorcan and the others have disappeared. They are obviously going out on their own, taking things into their own hands, which means they will come back for her. We need to be on guard.”

“I already know who is with him.” Eli turned to Cole. “I could smell them out there. Dax purposely led me away, so Lorcan could get to her.”

“Cooper, I will have you and Gabby set up watch.” Cole sighed. “Have Jared join you. It’ll be a good learning experience for him.” 

Cooper dipped his head in acknowledgment of the order and left the room.

“A war is brewing. Not just between Dark and Light, but between us as well.” Cole sighed and sauntered towards Eli, his hand pushing back his shoulder-length, dark hair. The soles of his boots scuffed against the wood floor. “But, you know Eli, he’s not entirely wrong. It has become apparent to all of us that she captivates you. Not that I don’t understand why, but you must remember what she is to us. This is far too important to allow your feelings to get the upper hand.”

“As I told Owen earlier, I know my priorities.”

“I hope so, Eli, because there is too much riding on this,” Cole said. “But what I promised you earlier, I still stand by. You have my word.”

Eli clasped Cole on the shoulder. “That’s all I ask.”

Twenty-eight

I awoke with a jolt. 

Looking around, I was unsure of where I was, even though something about the room felt familiar. My dreams had been all so vivid; I almost could still feel Torin’s lips on mine. I longed to go back there, but instead I tried to recall how I got here. The night, up until Eli kissed some girl at the party, was clear. Everything after that was hazy and distant. 

Memories skimmed the surface, but darted away the second I tried to snatch one. Obscured recollections buzzed around my head like angry bees. I couldn’t hold on to any one of them long enough. But I knew they weren’t good. I didn’t know what I was afraid of, and somehow, that made everything worse. Spasms shot up my leg, returning me to one uncomplicated thought—pain. I was extremely exhausted and sick to my stomach. 

When the spasms finally eased, I pushed myself up into a seated position, so I could get a better look around the room. I was in a one-room cabin, which had been turned into an infirmary. There were six beds total, three on each side of the room. Each one was neatly made up with white sheets, except for the bed I was in. My covers were hanging off the bed in twisted jumbles. Damp streaks of pink soiled the sheets underneath my legs.

A muddled memory of three guys arguing in this room was tangled with the present. Had that been real or a dream?

A voice popped into my head from the memory.
“Cole, this went more than a little bad. She nearly died. Now how useful would she have been to us dead, huh?”

My world was sliding. Things I had no control over were about to tear my life apart. I just wanted to go home. I felt scared and alone. I needed my dad. I sank into the pillows. Exhausted, I drifted off to sleep again. 

As soon as I woke up, I realized I had one priority that had to be dealt with. I had to pee. I slipped off the blankets, my bare feet timidly touching the cold floor. My legs cramped and twitched as I stood. It took me a few tries before I was able to stand fully upright, but as I did, I slowly moved towards what looked like a bathroom.

“That’s the closet,” a voice said from behind me. 

“Holy shit!” I spun around, my leg muscles protesting.

“Sorry, I should have warned you I was here.” A man stood up from the chair in a darkened corner. His slacks and buttoned-up shirt were rumpled, as if he’d been wearing them for several days. “How are you feeling?” 

“Uh . . . okay I think,” I replied, stepping away from him warily.

“I’m Doctor Owen Donavan. Owen is fine. I guess you could say I’m the house physician. I operated on your legs.” He nodded towards my calves, looking slightly surprised as I stood before him.

“Thank you.” Under his analytical stare, I was keenly aware I was only wearing a guy’s old t-shirt, which barely came to the top of my thighs. By the familiar, comforting smell, I knew it had to be Eli’s. 

Where was I? What had happened to me last night? How did I end up in some makeshift hospital wearing Eli’s t-shirt with my legs bandaged up? The memories of the night before were slowly coming back. I remembered Eli had me pinned against a tree as we argued. I also knew I had been attacked, but by what? I had no idea. I was groggy and my memory struggled with pinpointing the details of the actual attack. 

“I’d like to check your vitals and see how your legs are healing.”

“Umm . . . sure.” 

“I’m sorry. You wanted to use the restroom first.” He straightened his glasses.

I hadn’t realized I was doing the pee-pee dance. “Uhh . . . yeah that would be great.” 

“It’s that door over there, on your right.” He pointed in the opposite direction from where I had been heading. Hell, right now I would pee in the closet.

I quickly altered directions and headed for the bathroom. It wasn’t until I was washing my hands did I finally look at myself in the mirror. I rubbed my eyes and blinked. Something was off—different. I turned my head to one side, then the other. Several red, scabbed lacerations lined my face, overlapping the older white scars from before. My heart skipped a beat. Another glimpse of an image and I knew the cuts and scrapes across my face had been extensive and deep. I had felt the blood gushing out of them as rocks, twigs, and other matter had sliced my face as I had skidded over them. Now they were scabbed up and disappearing. I healed fast, but this was too fast, even for me. 

I breathed deeply and attempted to smooth down my hair, pulling at some of the longer strands. My hair shimmered and glowed unnaturally under the bathroom  lights. Trying to ignore the panic rising up, I continued with the inspection. I leaned towards the mirror. My eyes were their same odd colors and that was reassuring, but they appeared brighter than normal, which made them that much more unnerving. 

At first glance, my skin seemed to be its normal pale complexion. But on closer inspection, it also had an illuminating glow. My fingertips slid along the healing cuts on my cheek. One of them, which I had just looked at, was now almost gone. Looking down at my heavily bandaged calves, I was nearly hyperventilating as the enormity of all this began sinking in.

It hadn’t hit me until right then that I shouldn’t have been able to walk. I started tearing at the bandages. The thick layers of dressings and tape made it a frustrating exercise. As I ripped the last bit of gauze off my leg, I gasped. Stitches lined the back of both my legs, and were encrusted with dried blood. 

The sutured areas were red and tender, but from my recollection of the mess of veins and the shredded muscle and tissue torn from them only hours before, my legs should not have looked like this. They shouldn’t have been this healed. I should’ve been confined to a wheelchair and in a tremendous amount of pain. Every nerve and tendon had been torn to shreds. The damage had been so severe I should have been looking at physical therapy for months, if not years. But here I was, a short time later, walking. 

I fell back onto my butt, sitting on the hard floor. Trepidation turned my blood cold. I vomited into the toilet. This was all too much for my body and my mind to handle. As much as I had healed, I was still weak and nauseated. After throwing up twice more, I leaned against the wall, completely drained. 

What was happening to me? Everything was becoming far too real. I could no longer assume everything I was hearing and seeing was just my imagination. 

Torin’s voice, from a far-off memory, warned me:
“Nothing and no one are what they seem. . . including you, my dear Ember.”

I pulled myself off the floor, my legs shaking. I had to look again. Studying myself in the mirror, I tried to see who was really looking back at me. If I was not what I seemed, what was I? I didn’t know exactly what he meant, but I had an overwhelming feeling what Torin had said was true. 

I felt dizzy again and leaned against the sink to steady myself. Holding my face up to the light, I watched how my skin radiated incandescently.
Why was this happening to me? What was different? Why now?

A memory from deep within my subconscious burst to the surface. I heard voices in my mind—Owen’s, then Eli’s. 

“All I do know for certain is she needs blood and quickly.”

“Give her mine.” 

My gut bottomed out, my subconscious understanding something way beyond what my conscious was willing to allow. That scene hadn’t been a dream. I had Eli’s blood in my system. Was that the difference? Why would his blood cause me to look like Tinkerbell had just exploded into fairy dust all over me? What was he?

“Don’t trust them . . . nothing and nobody are what they seem.”

Ohmygodohmygod . . . 

“Ember?” A soft knock rapped on the bathroom door. “You okay?” Owen asked. I jumped, yelping, my heart slamming wildly against my chest. “Ember?”

“Y-yes, I’m fine,” I stammered. “I’ll be out in a minute.” 

More hazy memories emerged. What I thought were dreams weren’t. Indistinct voices overlapped each other in my head. 

“Don’t trust them . . .” 

“She nearly died. Now how useful would she have been to us dead?”

“. . . but being what she is, you do understand this will not end well? She will eventually be destroyed.”