Embers (The Wings of War Book 1) (3 page)

“Us?  I am one of us,” I said sharply, turning away. “You’re nuts.”

The vague impression of a soft light glowing around the priest, and his awestruck voice didn’t put me at ease. Fear pumped madly through my veins.

“Wait…the message.  You must hear this,” he begged.

I stopped, hesitating for a moment.

“Trust Fate, she is on your side.” There was silence and I was about to leave when he I heard him take a deep breath.  He added, “You are not alone. There are others like you.”

“What does that even mean?” I finally turned around.

Father Palano shrugged.  “I don’t know.”

“That’s it?”

“I’m sorry, Child.”

The craziness of the conversation was too much to bear after already enduring Mom and Dad’s funeral.  I tried to ignore the sudden trembling in my stomach. 

I reluctantly met his gaze once more before I walked away. 

Besides the patter of rain on the leaves, there was no sound, just an eerie silence that kept me holding my breath.  I reached the pinkish marble monument for my parents when the Father called after me again. 

“You are good, there is light inside of you. You have a choice.”

I continued walking, trying to put distance between us quickly. A million random thoughts raced through my mind at once, but I didn’t want to think.  All I desperately wanted was for life to return to normal, or at least the way it had been before the accident. 

Was that even possible?

The rain stopped and a splash of light shot through the clouds warming my face.  The golden sunbeam streaming through the dark edges of the clouds suddenly lifted the paralyzing gloominess from my shoulders.

Instantly, I had a dozen questions

I stopped and called over my shoulder, “Hey, how can I reach you…?”

But there was no one there.

If I hadn’t seen the back of the black sedan for an instant before it disappeared around the bend in the narrow roadway, I would have thought I had completely lost my mind. 

The priest’s proclamation on that day had seriously messed with my mind, but believe it or not, I had other demented stuff going on in my life that I had to deal with at that time, too. 

Like Marshall.

Who is Marshall, you ask?

I guess this is as good a place as any to begin my story…and ultimately yours as well.

It all began a few months after I’d lost my parents in the wreck, at a point in my life when things appeared to be normalizing, at least to everyone else. 

It was a cool, late summer morning, and there were dark, billowing storm clouds on the horizon…

Dead Sea Scrolls, Song of Sage 4Q510, fragment 1

"And I, the Instructor, proclaim His glorious splendor so as to frighten and to [terrify] all the spirits of the destroying angels, spirits of the bastards, demons, Lilith, howlers, and [desert dwellers…] and those which fall upon men without warning to lead them astray from a spirit of understanding and to make their heart and their […] desolate during the present dominion

of wickedness and predetermined time of humiliations for the sons of light, by the guilt of the ages of [those] smitten by iniquity – not for eternal destruction, but for

an era of humiliation for transgression.”

Ember ~ Two

I
squeezed Cricket tighter with my legs and leaned into her flying mane, ignoring the wind biting at my cheeks and the gray clouds gathering in the sky.  I wasn’t paying attention to the distant tree line or even my horse’s head bobbing in front of me. The scent of rain was thick in the air and static electricity was all around, raising the hair on the back of my neck.  The rumbling roar in the sky sounded similar to an approaching train.  

The thunder is what finally woke me from the trance I was in.  I twisted in the saddle just as the first heavy drops began falling.     

“Whoa, girl,” I spoke to Cricket, leaning back in the Western saddle and tugging on the reins. 

Settling into the squeaky leather seat, I murmured calming words to my horse.  I also stiffened and braced for the arrival of the wall of rain.   When it hit, I ducked my head to protect my face from the stinging of a million cold raindrops all at once. 

Even with nature’s onslaught, Cricket continued to toss her head from side to side, still arguing with me about the reduction of speed.  But her obstinate nature was the least of my worries. 

The next clap of lightening was way too close.  A tingle of electricity rushed

through my rain soaked body right before the crackling explosion boomed overhead.   Cricket swerved away from the air splitting sound.  The sudden and hard movement unseated me, and I found myself grasping at the saddle awkwardly as I fought to regain my balance.   My attempts were futile and I tumbled forward.  

The ground rushed up to meet me and since I hadn’t bothered with a helmet when I’d left the barn, I silently prayed that my head wouldn’t crack open on impact. 

It was my left arm and hip that hit the freshly cut grass covering the hard ground.  I skidded several feet before I finally came to a complete stop.   

I remained absolutely still, keeping my eyes closed and lifting my face to the rain.  It wasn’t coming down as hard as before and the cleansing wetness almost felt good.  Taking a shaky breath, I tried to picture happier times.  With some effort, images of fishing at Lake Weaver with Dad and baking brownies in the kitchen with Mom trickled in and I began to relax.  The beating of my heart slowed and my breathing steadied. 

A couple more minutes passed and the rain turned to a reluctant sprinkle.  I took a peek and the storm clouds were racing off to the east as quickly as they had arrived.  When I finally sat up, the gusting wind had lessened to a stiff breeze and I turned into it to dry my face. 

From past experience, I knew that the wobbly, weak-kneed feeling from falling off a horse would pass soon enough.  I focused my attention on wiggling each of my fingers and then my toes in turn.  Slowly I flexed my arms and legs until I knew for sure that nothing was broken. 

The warm breath on the back of my neck was Cricket’s way of telling me she was sorry.  I scooted around and put my hands on her wet cheeks.  She allowed me to stroke her for a moment until she grew bored of it.  She snorted, sending a spray of saliva and mucous into my face.   

“Thanks a lot, Cricket,” I grunted, wiping the stickiness away.   

One good thing to come from the fall was that my head was clearer than it had been in weeks.  My mind was made up.  I would talk to Timmy about Aunt Connie’s boyfriend as soon as possible.  If my brother wouldn’t take care of matters, then I would, even if it meant running away.   

Standing on shaky legs, but with a sense of resolve, I tentatively touched the blood on my arm.  Feeling no pain at all, I pressed more vigorously, searching for the cut that had made the red smear. 

I poked and prodded my arm for a break in the skin, anything at all that would have leaked blood.  The pounding of my heart gained momentum, until it seemed about to break through my ribcage. 

I forced myself to take a calming breath.  It made perfect sense that whatever the reason was for me not getting burned up in the fire probably had something to do with the fact that I lacked any cuts to produce the blood on my arm.   

Or, like Father Palano had insinuated, I wasn’t entirely human. 

I mentally slapped myself. 
Don’t be stupid, Ember.

Walking slowly towards Cricket, I paused when a wave of nausea rolled through me. I stopped and swallowed.  It was probably just a delayed reaction to the fall.  When the feeling passed, I continued to my horse with even more determination.  The last thing I wanted to do was to throw up.  Picking up the reins, I placed my left foot in the stirrup and pulled myself up onto her back.     

A shrill whistle from the hedgerow made me twist in the saddle.  There was only one person who was capable of making such a sharp sound—Piper. 

When she emerged from the bushes, a smile took up most of her face and she was as soaked as I was, causing me to mirror her grin.  Piper squeezed her chubby bay horse into a canter.  I waited, twirling a bit of Cricket’s mane between my fingers, grudgingly happy that I wasn’t alone anymore.

Remembering my arm, I quickly rubbed it to make the blood look similar to a dirt smudge.  Since Piper resembled a drowned rat herself, I was gambling that she wouldn’t even notice my arm.   

When she finally reached me, her horse was breathing hard, his sides puffing out in fast succession.   Before I had a chance to shorten my reins, Cricket whipped around in a snake-like movement and nipped Rhondo’s fat rump. 

Piper glared, reining Rhondo a few feet further away. 

“Darn it, Ember, you should teach that horse some manners.  Honestly, I don’t know why I put myself through your adventure rides.  The bruise on my thigh from the last time Cricket tried to eat Rhondo, and nabbed me instead, has finally turned back to a normal skin color.  I don’t want another one, and neither does my horse.  I could be sleeping in bed right now.  But no, here I am, completely soaked after dodging lightning bolts to go for a ride with you. ”

She was rambling, but she was also right, and I wasn’t about to argue with her about it.  Quickly I said, “I’m sorry.  It won’t happen again.  I promise.”

Piper shook her head, but the lift of a smile had returned to her face.  We were good again. 

Without discussion, we reined our horses up the field in the direction of our favorite trail.  There were no words between us and that suited me just fine.  The only sounds disturbing the silence were our saddles squeaking, a few birds chirping, and the breeze rustling the trees.  I breathed in the cooler air that the storm had brought, tilting my face toward the rays of sunshine.

Closing my eyes, I forgot about everything bad in my life for a moment and sighed deeply at the now perfect morning. 

“Are things getting any better?” Piper spoke quietly, yet her voice still cut the air as if it was a knife.   

She was the only person in the world that I
might
confide in about how I’d just taken a major tumble off my horse, only to pop up feeling perfectly fine.  Or that I knew of a priest who was visited by an angel who told him that the end of the world is near.  And that I’m something other than
us.

I trusted Piper, but I wasn’t going there.  Even she’d think that I was insane.

My eyes adjusted to the shade when we stepped onto the path under the leafy branches.  I still didn’t answer, stalling my friend and wondering what I should or shouldn’t say. After a subtle glance at her round face and the damp black curls on her shoulders, I decided avoidance was the best course of action at the moment.  Piper was the one person who made me feel solid again—as if the accident had never happened.  She was my connection to the real world and I didn’t want to do anything to mess that up. 

“You should start seeing a counselor again,” Piper told me. “Your aunt is only making matters worse.  I don’t know how you can stand to be in the same house with her and that creepy man.” 

She reached out and squeezed my shoulder.  I tensed in the saddle, fearing that Cricket might attack Rhondo again, but the two horses seemed to have called a temporary truce.

Piper softened her tone, “It isn’t right what you’re dealing with.  You should tell Timmy.  If he knew what was going on, he’d have them both kicked to the curb in a heartbeat.”  

If it was as easy as just telling my big brother the truth, I would have done it weeks ago.  But he had his own emotional issues to deal with.  Mom and Dad’s deaths, and my miraculous survival, had been incredibly tough on him.  I didn’t want to give him another problem, and possibly destroy a relationship with one of the few relatives we had left in the world. 

Piper’s face was anxious and I remained silent.  My stomach clenched at the thought of what Timmy would do when I told him. 

“Hey, do you want to spend the night?” I tried changing the subject, putting as much enthusiasm into the words as possible

Piper saw right through my intention and rolled her eyes, saying, “Okay, I know how it is.  Go ahead and blow me off as if I’m a speck of dust on the window sill.”

“I’d never do that to you.  I just don’t want to talk about it right now.  Can’t we enjoy the ride and talk later?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t today.  I’m going to Quinn’s to hang out.”  Piper’s face brightened considerably when she mentioned her boyfriend.  The name had the opposite effect on me. 

The fact that Quinn had stolen my best friend away after a few dates, holding Piper captive to his daily need to see her, talk to her—occupy all of her free time—was adding to my depression.   

“What are you thinking, Ember?  With that droopy frown on your face, I’d guess that you’re having evil thoughts about my man,” Piper said with one eyebrow raised high.