Embers (The Wings of War Book 1) (36 page)

When she did emerge, she was being pulled along by the same human male I saw touching her the night before. I stopped breathing as I watched him holding her hand and tugging her towards the lake. 

My head warred with my instincts.  I was close, so close to running down the hill and tearing the human apart.  I had to keep repeating the words in my mind that I wasn’t like the other Demons.  I could control my primitive urges.  But my true nature was winning.  I shifted my weight onto the balls of my feet and was about to spring when they suddenly stopped moving. 

The male put his hand against her forehead.  I realized then what was happening and a low laugh escaped my lips.  Ember was not enjoying the forced treatment and her body was responding with fire.  The human didn’t know what he was in for.  I would
almost
feel sorry for him when she burnt him to a crisp.   

What I really wanted to do was to go to her and feel that heat for myself, pull her against me and drown in it. I fantasized about doing just that as I waited for her to unleash her anger on the young human. 

But to my surprise, it didn’t happen.  The pair began walking again, only this time they were side by side, and she moved willingly with him. 

“She belongs with me,” I whispered harshly.             

It was agonizing to watch the scene below, yet I couldn’t tear my gaze away either.  I strained to listen, but even with my sensitive hearing, the sound was too muted to be intelligible. They were too far away.

I hesitated, curious to see what Ember would do. I worried that if I reacted too soon, I might upset her and she’d hate me.  But the gentle side of my soul was being slowly pushed aside by my predatory spirit, the part that was always lurking just beneath my consciousness.     

Soon they stopped at the duck house.  There was another human male there and he was holding a small animal.  It was a puppy.  I watched raptly as Ember held the pup near her face, while the humans stood close by.

My control was ebbing.    

I was on the brink of going to her.  My blood pulsated fiercely through my veins and my muscles were flexed and ready.  Not blinking, my gaze followed the three as they returned to the pavilion and disappeared once again under its roof. 

I lost track of time.  The world was hazy while Ember was absent, but when she stepped out from under the cover, everything came sharply back into focus.  She was being guided by the blonde human to a silver pickup truck as she carried the pup. 

I would have to make my move now before they drove away.  It would be too late after that.  The human might claim her physically.  I couldn’t let that happen
.
  But a small voice, deep down inside of me, suggested that maybe it was better for the girl to be with a human instead of me.  What could I offer her except the theft of her soul?
 

This voice was quiet compared to the screaming of my body to make her mine.  I wouldn’t allow the human to take her from me.  Even if she destroyed me in the process, it would be worth it to not live with the knowledge that she was being touched and loved by another.

I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. I didn’t want it to come down to a showdown with her.  The most important thing was to get her away from the lake before nightfall when the hunters came.  That was the only thing that mattered and I had to focus on that task. My relationship with her would have to wait
.

Somehow, I had to remain sane.

When I opened my eyes, relief flooded me.  The silver truck was still parked in the lot. Ember had not left with the human male. 

The scent of hot dogs grilling over the fire wafted up the hillside and thankfully, the pleasant smells distracted me.  Momentarily, I was taken back to a lifetime ago, when I had sat around a campfire with my friends enjoying food and company. I was another person then, not who I am now. 

I let the memory slip from my mind and I continued to watch the humans gather wood, piling it high. They were such slow things, taking forever to do what I could accomplish in mere seconds. 

How ironic that the fire Watcher hadn’t set the wood ablaze herself.  She couldn’t share her secret with the humans.  She would be taken away and studied like a lab rat, the fear that my own kind had of the modern day humans.  We’d hidden away in the shadows watching for many decades as the human’s hunger for scientific knowledge grew.  Nothing was sacred to them when it came to making a new discovery.  They would trample anyone in their path to advance.  Of course, these were still young ones and they didn’t have such thoughts on their minds.  But that would change as they aged, at least for some of them. 

Groups of them were spreading out, enjoying the early fall evening.  Some played games in the grassy field and a couple near a truck were entwined in a passionate kiss.  In their youthful exuberance, they were harmless and even endearing in a way. 

The pieces were falling perfectly into place.  The hunters would be pleased when they arrived.  The evil blackness that had been a part of my world for over a hundred years was very close to spreading outward, ensnaring the innocents.  And there was nothing I could do to stop it.  Some of those kids were going to die tonight.  The only thing that kept me from feeling the pain of guilt was my need to protect Ember. 

When my eyes settled on her again, she was standing close to the fire.  The sparks were springing from the flames, wanting to touch the Watcher, to join with her.  Just like me.  I had something in common with the fire—we both wanted Ember.

The football player stood beside her and my eyes narrowed. 

The sun dipped down below the dark tree line and in its absence, the sky suddenly changed to the pale gray of dusk.

It was time to act.

I went down the hill as if I was a wisp of smoke.  None of the humans saw or heard me.  I was able to steal silently up behind her until I was close enough to feel her heat and smell her scent. 

“May I speak with you, Ember?”

She whirled around and stared at me with her mouth slightly agape.  Her scent suddenly changed.  There was fear there and I was glad for it.  I would have an easier time accomplishing my task if she wasn’t belligerent with confidence. 

I looked at the human male with sympathy.  It might be him that Kimberly’s or Renna’s sharp eyes pinpointed on.  He may not see the sun rising above the mountain on the morrow. 

I decided to show him mercy.  Using my power I held him in my gaze for an instant.  He was in the trance, unable to speak or move.

I turned back to Ember, who was still emitting the scent of fear.  She was unusually cool.  Where were the waves of heat that I had come to love?  I was beginning to worry when she finally spoke.

“What do you want?”  Her voice quivered and she swallowed hard.

“I want you to come with me.  We have something important to talk about,” I said the words slowly and deliberately. “Your friend is in a trance and won’t even know that you’ve gone.  You can make this easy or difficult.  It’s up to you.” 

I quickly scanned the edge of the forest, growing ever more impatient.  The others would be arriving soon and I’d been very generous with the situation. Didn’t she understand what it had taken for me to stay within myself and not become enthralled by the blood lust?  No, she had no idea.  She was a mere babe as far as the supernatural world was concerned.  But enough was enough. 

“Preston will wonder where I’ve gone.  He’ll tell the others and they’ll come looking for me,” she said with wide eyes.

I looked at the human called Preston and using my mind, I instructed him to let Ember go with me and to feel at peace with it.  Not to follow us.  I glanced back at Ember.  “When I wake him, you will tell him you are going with me for a walk.  He’ll be fine with it, but he must hear you say it if he is going to act the part for your other human friends.” 

She nodded and I snapped his mind awake. 

“Ember, what’s going on?”  The human’s words were slurred. 

Ember took a deep breath and said, “I’m going for a walk with Sawyer.  It’s okay.  Please don’t follow us and tell the others everything is fine.” 

She played her part well.  For good measure, I sent the message for him to get into his truck, which might just save his life.
The other humans would think he was off being intimate with Ember and they wouldn’t go looking for them.  Briefly, I wondered if Ember was beginning to realize that I had worthy powers of my own.  I got the feeling that she’d be a hard girl to impress.

She solemnly watched the human walk to his truck and then turned to me, asking, “He won’t try to drive will he?” 

“No.”  I grabbed her wrist then, pressing my other hand into her back.  I propelled her to her own truck, inviting the cool, damp air rising from the lake to wrap around us.  None of the humans would see us cloaked in this way, and neither would the other Demons. 

When we reached the truck, I shoved her in the passenger side.  Her temperature felt the same as a normal human.  Taking her chin in my hand, I searched her eyes to detect any illness.  They were clear blue, wide with fright, but otherwise healthy looking.

“Where are your keys,” I whispered near her ear.

She motioned to the pocket of her jeans.  When I had the keys, I quickly moved to the driver’s seat and started the truck.  I backed out slowly.  I didn’t want any complications now.  So far, things were going smoothly.

When we were several miles up the road, I started to breathe easier.  I risked a glance at Ember.  She was staring straight ahead, uncharacteristically quiet and subdued.  I noticed for the first time that her skin was ashen white.  I reached over, turning on the truck’s heater.  I opened the vents, blowing the warm air in her direction.  On impulse, I lifted my finger to her cheek and she flinched away. 

Maybe she already loves the human male and I had lost her before she was ever mine.

The vision of Ember with the human stayed with me for another couple of miles, a seed planted, growing rapidly into a hurricane within me.  When I saw a narrow pull off beside a dense part of woods, I skidded off the road, hit the brakes, and parked the truck. Reaching under her arms I gently tugged her out the driver’s side door.

Our relationship had to be resolved.  I began pulling her into the forest, which finally woke her from her daze.  She struggled with me, some of the heat coming back to her skin.  I reveled in the feel of it.  It was hot summer sand in my hands. 

I didn’t have time to waste.  In an easy motion, I picked her up and ran under the canopy of leaves.  She was small and light, an easy treasure to carry through the trees.

“Put me down!  What are you doing? I’m not afraid of you! Put me down!” 

I ignored her rant, even though it went on until I reached a small clearing where the trees were older and the ground below them was free of underbrush.

By my reckoning, a perfect place for resolution.

Her body had heated up to the degree I was used to, but instead of being uncomfortable, it was wonderful.  I pressed her hot softness into my chest to feel more of her, continuing to hold her captive in my arms.

Her struggling tapered off until there was a change in her posture.  She slumped in my arms, surrendering herself to me.  The feeling was exquisite.  I lightly brushed my face against hers, inhaling her scent deeply.  The fear smell was gone.  It was replaced by the scent of sun touched wild flowers that I’d never forget.  My lips traced over her hair, her temple and down to her neck.  I moved slowly, savoring each second, wanting to draw it out as long as possible.

I might not be able to use the power on her, but I had other weapons, and her body was receptive to them.  This girl belonged with me, heart and soul.  She was mine.

Now I only had to convince her of it.  I’d waited a hundred and fifty years for her, and my patience was fast disappearing.  We could leave together, go someplace far away and everything would be all right.  I just had to get her to trust me.

A sigh escaped her lips and the sound began to chip away my self-control.  I brought my mouth to hers and softly blew.  Her lips parted and she kissed me back, grasping my hair with her hands and pulling me closer.  My tongue moved unrelenting in her mouth, tasting her, exploring her.  She responded hungrily, joining hers with mine and doing quite a bit of exploring of her own. 

She offered no resistance, she couldn’t.  She wanted me.  That knowledge made me arch into her.  Her breasts pressed into my chest and the heat of her felt so dammed good.  I wanted her more than anything I had ever experienced—even the hunger for souls.  But I tried to rein myself in, quell my passion. 

The problem was that she was being driven by her own desires as strongly as I was, making it nearly impossible to stop.  Rolling my tongue over her skin, I marveled that I had no interest in her soul.  My desires were far more primitive. And I was losing my mind to them.

“Ember…my beautiful, Ember,” I whispered into her ear. 

I was elated when she mumbled my name and I brought my mouth back to hers.  The sweet taste of her, the softness of her skin and her body pressing against mine were all combining to unleash a series of throbbing sparks deep within me.

The chuckle from the trees shattered the moment and I snapped my head up.  I set Ember to the ground in a swift movement, shoving her behind me.  I held her there with one arm.  She struggled for a split second, but I didn’t let go.