Embers (The Wings of War Book 1) (22 page)

I tilted my head and listened.  It was faint, but there was a low rumble in the distance.  As we walked forward the sound grew.

“Yes.  Is that the falls?” I asked.

He nodded his head.  “We’re almost there.” 

Soon the noise was a deafening roar, vibrating in my ears.  When we stepped out of the cover of the trees, I was astonished. Raven Branch Falls was much larger than I expected.  The water dropped from nearly seventy feet into a dark pool.  Giant boulders jutted out below the pool to create smaller falls that led into a rapidly flowing rocky creek bed.

My gaze was drawn to a tree leaning out from the side of the falls where a large grey owl was partially hidden in the foliage.  There was something familiar about its eyes, and the way it was looking at me gave me the distinct feeling that I knew the bird. Could it be the same owl I saw racing through the air the day of my arrival?   

Ivan grasped my arm and tugged me closer to the falls.  He held my arm tightly as we stepped onto the boulders beside the deep water hole.  Spots on the enormous rocks were wet and slippery from the spray of the falls and I was grateful for his help.  He led me out to the farthest point we could go, where a carpet of soft moss blanketed the surface of a particularly large boulder.  Ivan gestured for me to sit, which I did, and then he bounded off, climbing along the boulders until he was a little ways downstream.

I watched him go, thinking what a nice boy, or wolf, he was. 

Without looking, I knew Sawyer was behind me.  The movements of my stomach and heart gave him away.   He sat down very close. 

“Where did you come from?” he coaxed softly.     

He was close enough that his warm breath tickled my skin.  For a second I saw the boy from my dream.

The breath caught in my throat.  I gazed at him.   

He doesn’t seem evil to me. 

It was funny the way he’d asked the question, as if I was from another planet. He lifted an eyebrow at my smile, and at that moment, he
was
the boy from my dream.

Somehow I found my voice, but I could only manage a whisper.  “I’m from Oleander, Ohio.”

His laughter drowned out the falls and shook me to my core.  I had seriously amused him, for some reason that I couldn’t imagine.  Sawyer’s face brightened.  “What a small world.  I’m from Maysville, in northern Kentucky.  It’s a town east of Oleander, along the Ohio River.  Have you heard of it?”

“I’ve been there. It was a few years back.  I went antiquing with my parent’s one Saturday afternoon.  We stopped in Maysville and had lunch at a quaint little soup and sandwich café.  We walked down main street, did some shopping.  It was a pretty town.”

He was genuinely pleased with my answer.  The faraway look on his face was hopeful in a way.  All too soon, his eyes were probing again.  I turned away unable to think straight when he stared at me with such intensity. 

“So why did you move here, to the wilderness?” he asked in a velvety voice.

I made sure to keep my eyes locked on the water foaming at the bottom of the falls as I talked.  I didn’t want him to see the tears in my eyes, which had suddenly emerged from nowhere. 

“My parents were killed in a car wreck a few months ago.  It was in their Will that I was to come live here with my Aunt Ila.”  I paused searching for the owl again, but it was gone.  “So here I am.”

I sniffed and wiped away the moistness from the corners of my eyes.  When I gathered the courage to glance back at Sawyer, he was lost in thought, his fingers cupping his jaw.   His face was unreadable, void of anything.

“That’s too bad, about your folks and all.  Do you enjoy living with your aunt?  Is she good to you?”

“Ila—I mean Aunt Ila is wonderful.  She’s been very kind to me and she even let me bring my horse and dog.” 

“You have a horse?” 

“Her name is Cricket.  She’s a black Thoroughbred.  Back in Ohio, I used to trail ride and show her sometimes.”  I was right at home talking about my horse.

“I had a horse.  It was a long time ago, but I’ll never forget her. She was my best friend at the time,” he said.

The information shocked me.  Sawyer was not fitting into my preconceived notion of what a Demon would be like.  How could I dislike a guy—or Demon—who had loved a horse?  Again, the memory of the sad eyes from my dream tickled in.  I started to wonder if maybe I’d dreamed about this Demon, because he needed my help in some way, instead of the other way around.

I turned to ask him about his horse—big mistake.  His eyes smoldered, his breathing was shallow and his face flushed.  He leaned in towards me.  The clouds were thick and dark above us.  The kinetic energy in the air surrounding the falls seemed to multiply, then settle over where we sat.  The sparks were tangible, pulsating.  I could have stroked the air between us.  My body warmed deliciously and for the first time in my life I felt truly alive.  I was definitely feeling the pull, but I didn’t think it was a Demon trick.  I wanted to be closer to him, really wanted it.  I breathed in, catching his scent, swaying into him.

Closing my eyes, I waited for the brush of his lips on mine. 

Ivan reappeared in front of us at that very ill-timed moment, breaking the spell.  I sprang back to where I’d been sitting. Guiltily, I stared at the moss on the rock. 

“See anything interesting?”  Sawyer asked Ivan harshly.  I guess he was as affected as I was. 

“No, it is quiet in the woods today, just a couple of does waiting for us to leave so they can come in for a drink.”

I pulled myself together, focusing on the direction Ivan was pointing at.  For the first time, even with my eyes wide open, I was able to cloud my sight and
feel
the location of the deer.  Ivan was right.  They did appear to be waiting.

“The deer have reminded me of the time,” I surged straight up, feeling instantly dizzy.  Sawyer was by my side in a blink of an eye, his hands on my arms to steady me.  The touch was electric, flipping my stomach.  His thumbs pressing into my flesh sent a tingling outward that enflamed my entire body.  If I didn’t get away from him, I’d likely explode into a fireball.

I jerked from Sawyer’s hold, and smartly, he didn’t try to hold on.  I’m sure
he’d felt the heat, the way he rubbed his fingers together, purposely.     He stared at me with penetrating eyes and a twitch at the corner of his lips.

“I really need to get back to my aunt’s, but thanks for bringing me here.  This place is awesome,” I said with feigned cheerfulness as I carefully stepped over the rocks.  I could feel Sawyer’s presence close behind me.  I knew that if I fell, he’d catch me. 

Ivan crossed the rocks effortlessly ahead of us.  Soon we were on our way back down the path with the sound of the falls growing fainter behind us.

An idea was developing in my mind while we hiked to the vehicles.  Ila had told me to trust my instincts, and I was trying, too.  My instincts were telling me that Ivan and Sawyer could be my friends, although, Sawyer was in a different kind of friend category.  I needed Ila’s help, and I hoped she wouldn’t be upset at what I was about to do.

“Hey, do you guys want to come over to my Aunt’s cabin for dinner tonight?”  I asked in a light voice. 

Then it started to rain.

Hebrews 1:7

And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire.”

Sawyer ~ Twenty- Two

D
id Ember just ask me to her house for dinner?
 

This was out of my realm of experience.  I glanced at Ivan.  Seeing the longing on his face, I knew immediately what he wanted to do.  Before I could say anything the rain began to fall, feather soft at first, then gaining momentum to a hard downpour in seconds.   

“Come on!”  I signaled them to run.

The rain pelted us as we sped over the trail toward the vehicles.  The attack from the sky wasn’t a big deal for me or Ivan, but I worried about Ember.  I looked back over my shoulder and saw that she was keeping up well for a human girl.  Her hair was soaking wet and plastered to her face.  She was focused on the ground beneath her as she agilely dodged roots and branches. 

I was no stranger to women, my kind at least, but I’d never experienced what I was feeling right now.  My body had a mind of its own when I was around Ember and when she wasn’t in sight, she occupied my thoughts constantly. 

Was this what bonding was like?  I’d seen others become obsessed to the point where they wouldn’t even feed.  Most of the time the bonding was reciprocal, and once they were joined, they’d stay together for the rest of their lives.   They were soul mates, and together they were fulfilled.  Sometimes only one Demon felt the attraction, and if he or she were rejected, they’d usually go mad.  That situation typically had a tragic ending—Shakespearian all the way.

Ember was breathing hard behind me. I slowed for her, not worried about what might be ahead of us.  Ivan was in the lead and I was sure that he was scouting for any danger.   

Even in the pouring rain, I could feel the heat coming from her.  That warmth wasn’t normal.  It emitted from her body as if she were indeed on fire.  I wondered if she even felt the cold, wet rain.   

I could run much faster if I didn’t have to set a pace with her.  What I really wanted to do was pick her up and carry her.  She would be so light and that heat pressed against my chest would be very pleasurable.  But I doubted she’d go along with my idea without pitching a fit.  The last thing I needed was to upset her again.  Before it had been a game, but now I actually wanted her to like me. 

What a crazy thought.  Why would this beautiful human girl like me?  

She did though.  The sparks between the two of us on the rocks were not one sided.  If the pup hadn’t interrupted us, I’m positive that I would already be well acquainted with the inside of her mouth.

The vehicles came into sight.  Ember must have seen them too.  She made the effort to sprint the short distance, pulling alongside me.  We reached the Hummer first.  I maneuvered to the passenger side, shoving her in. 

She exclaimed, “What?” as the door shut behind her.   Ivan jumped in the back seat as I sprang to the driver’s side. 

Our heavy breathing quickly fogged up the windows.  The damp air in the vehicle crackled with energy.  I reached behind my seat, grabbing my leather jacket and tossing it to Ember.

“Put this on or you might get sick,” I said. 

She wasn’t putting it on though.  She was glaring at me. 

I realized at that moment that if I wanted her to put the jacket on, I’d have to convince her in a nice way. It had been well over a century since I tried to coax someone to do what I wanted.  I sighed, thinking about the way to go about it. 

“Of course you don’t have to put the jacket on.  I was just trying to be helpful.”  I adjusted my voice to sound as amiable as possible
. 

Surprising me, she slid the jacket on.  It was way too big for her, covering her knees and making her hands invisible.  But it would do in a pinch.  I revved the engine, and cranked the heat up.

“Hey, where are we going?” she asked in a startled voice.

So, she wasn’t as sure of herself as she led on.

“Nowhere, for the moment, I’m just trying to warm you up.”

“I’m fine, really,” she said between clenched teeth. 

Couldn’t help it, I laughed. “Yeah, you look fine.”  I regretted saying it, seeing her brows scrunch tighter together.

Hurriedly, I said, “Ivan what do you think about going to Ember’s for dinner tonight?”  I already knew his answer, but I had to keep up the pretense. 

“I would like that.”  Short and sweet, that’s why I liked the kid.  No unnecessary conversation.

“Are you sure your aunt will be all right having company for dinner on such short notice?” I inquired while I shook the wetness from my hair.

“Aunt Ila loves to have company.  I’m sure she’ll be fine with it,” she quickly answered.   But she was lying.  She didn’t know what her aunt’s reaction would be.

“All right, lead the way.  We’ll follow you.”

She started to take the jacket off and I said, “Just keep it on until you get home.”  I thought about her fiery scent being absorbed into my jacket.  I had to admit, it was a benefit that I found pleasing. 

“I’ll see you guys up there,” Ember said.  She jumped out of the Hummer and ran to her own truck.  I watched her get in and back onto the road.     

“What do you think the others are going to think if we go back to the compound late?”  Ivan worried.

“Most of them won’t even notice.  They’ve been too wrapped up in their plans for the hunt.  Besides, Garrett knows that I always go off in the woods before a new shipment of humans arrive.  He’s aware that the feeding bothers me.  He’ll just assume I took you with me this time.” I paused, “It won’t be a problem.”

“I wonder what kind of food will be served.  I have never eaten at a true human’s home before.”  He took a breath and continued, saying about the most sentences I’d heard him string together since he came to the compound.  “In Russia, I lived with my grandparents.  They were Growlers also, but they were old and had picked the human form to remain in.  My parents had chosen to stay in wolf form.  I would run with their pack often.”