Embers (The Wings of War Book 1) (30 page)

I held my breath as he took a much larger swig of his wine.  “Now when I discovered what my mistress had done, I was enraged. I met her at our house, and we fought. It is impressive how strong our females are, but in the end, I was the victor.  I’d killed my mistress to avenge my lover.”  When he finished, he downed the contents of his glass.  He was as still as stone, his eyes far, far away.

Did he know about my relationship with Ember?

Maybe the story was mere coincidence, although past experience had taught me there were few true coincidences in life.  As his words sunk in and the surprise of his girl being killed lessoned, a kind of jittery excitement began to rise in me.  Horas had managed to be with his human without harming her, maybe I could do the same.  It gave me some hope.  

When I was about to comment, I heard a soft voice whisper in my mind, joined by an image springing before my eyes.  Horas must have seen shock on my face because that’s what I felt. 

It was Ember and she was at the falls.

For a second I’d seen her perfectly, as if the picture was a snap-shot photograph.  She sat on a moss covered rock beside the waterfall.  My mind processed what I’d seen and heard.  She was waiting for me.  She wanted me to be there with her. 

She was asking me to go to her. 

I bolted up, compelled to leave right then.

“Was my story that upsetting?”  Horas asked as I grabbed my jacket off the chair, heading for the door.

“No, Horas.  I’m glad you told it to me and I understand the lesson.”

I was out the door too fast to hear a reply if he had one.  I would go on foot so the others wouldn’t notice I was gone. I vaulted the fence, stretching my legs when I hit the ground on the other side.  It took a few strides to reach peek speed. 

How had she called me?  Why had she called me?  Was she in danger?  Was she a Watcher after all?  The questions fired away in my mind as I leaped over boulders and sprinted up hillsides.

I was barely aware of the trees blurring by, except for an occasional branch smacking me on the face or arm.   

Besides all the questions I had, I was also inexplicably excited to see the beautiful girl again.  The fact that Ember had the same clear blue eyes of Horas’ girl was not lost on me.  I wouldn’t make the same mistake Horas had.  I would take Ember far away from the compound, the others,
and
Kimberly. 

I reached the trailhead and saw Ember’s truck parked well into the trees.  The sight of it solidified the fact that she’d somehow communicated to me with her mind.  That meant she was a Watcher.  From what I’d read about the heat coming from her, she was a fire type. Still I doubted that she could shoot flames from her body. 

I covered the trail in a fraction of the time it took to hike it the other day with Ember.  I only slowed right before the opening in the trees at the falls. Winded, I stopped, catching my breath and pushing the sweaty hair from my face.  I certainly didn’t want to frighten her away.   

I saw Ember at once.  She sat cross-legged on the same boulder that we had been on before. The sight stopped me dead in my tracks.  Between her hands was a small flame.  She was pushing the fire back and forth between her hands as if she was playing with a ball.

Her head jerked up and the flame vanished when she saw me.

I walked cautiously towards her, not knowing what would happen next and a little worried about not knowing.  When she smiled shyly, my heart melted.

I breathed easier as I closed the distance.  I sat down beside her, careful not to touch her too quickly. 

“You came,” she said in awe.

“I see you’ve found a loophole around the poor cell phone reception on the mountain,” I laughed.  I couldn’t help being happy.  Ember was no ordinary human girl
.

I might actually have a chance with her. 

“I didn’t know if it would work, but you came so quickly.” 

“I ran very fast.” 

Her long hair was blowing across her face.  I couldn’t resist reaching out and brushing the few strands away, repositioning them behind her ear ever so carefully.  She didn’t flinch from my touch, so I let my finger linger, tracing her jaw, down to the point of her chin ever so softly.  She stiffened a little then, pulling back slightly, but I ignored her movement.   

At that moment, I didn’t care if she was a Watcher who could singe me with her fire. 

“I know what you are,” her voice was barely a whisper.   “You’re a Demon…Ivan’s a Growler…and I’m a Watcher,” she spoke slowly and extra clearly, never taking her eyes off me.

I sucked in a deep breath and looked away, watching the water falling from the cliff. 

It took a moment to gather my wits and then I faced her again.  She stared back thoughtfully and I decided to be honest with her.

What the hell, there was no going back now.

Matthew 4:5-6

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge concerning you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

Ember ~ Twenty-Seven

“G
arrett, our leader, awakened my true nature almost a hundred and fifty years ago.  I’ve been a Demon ever since.”

Hearing him admit it caused a knot to form in my throat.  I swallowed it down.  “Do you know that we are both descended from angels?” he asked in a low voice.

I nodded my head. “It’s kind of hard to believe.”

“What, that we’re related?” he huffed out the words.

I shrugged.  “Yeah that, and the fact that the angels are real, that they came down to earth to hook up with women.  It’s kind of sick, if you ask me.”

He laughed and the hearty sound of it chased away the freaked out chill that I was experiencing. 

“This isn’t funny.  You’re a Demon, you eat human souls,” I said.

Sawyer sobered quickly.  The obvious hurt on his face made me regret my words.  

“You’re right.  I’m a monster.  I won’t argue on that account.  But your kind isn’t squeaky clean either.  Just because your ancestors were arch angels doesn’t give you the right to police the world.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you know how many humans have died from wars that Watchers caused?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied. 

I was already suspicious about Watchers. Ila scared the crap out of me sometimes with her demeanor and righteous words.

But Sawyer didn’t need to know that I questioned the Watchers myself. His opinion didn’t count.

When I turned back to him, ready to change the subject, I wasn’t prepared for the darkening of his already almost black eyes.  He leaned in closer and our breaths mingled.  In and out I breathed, allowing his familiar woodsy scent to fill my nose.  I know Sawyer.  Oh, I know him.

Don’t do it, Ember.

But I couldn’t stop.

When he kissed me, my lips parted automatically. 

Deep down, I wanted him, desired him madly, and had from the first time I’d seen him in my dreams. 

                 And in that instant, I didn’t care that he was a Demon.

Psalms 35:6

Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.

Sawyer ~ Twenty- Eight

S
he had just tied up all my worries in a neat little bundle and threw them into the creek.  She knew what I was and I knew what she was, making a relationship much easier.  She wasn’t a delicate human.  She was a Watcher and far better off than Horas’ poor girl.

Now that our identities were settled, the urge to feel her lips against mine was too great.  With supernatural speed, I kissed her.  She responded willingly, opening up the warmth of her mouth to me. 

Never in my life had my insides throbbed with such desire.  Ember had somehow eased the torment I’d felt for so long.

Alive.
  I finally was alive.   

My fingers worked their way into her long hair and I pressed against her, memorizing all of her soft curves in an instant.  She was mine, my sweet Ember.

When my hand dropped to her breast, something changed in the air around us.  She pulled back and suddenly the heat was too much.  Burning pain shot through my fingertips and I let go. 

When I held up my hands for examination, they were bright red.

“Why’d you do that?”  I demanded, blowing onto my palms.

She jumped up.  “I did not invite you to molest me!”

Ember’s face was flushed and her hair seemed to have a life of its own.  It framed her face in a tangled, but oh, so appealing mess. Looking up at the girl in all her fury, I couldn’t help but be amused and I chuckled loudly.     

Laughing only angered her more. 

“What is wrong with you?” she asked, frowning.

With a quick movement, I rose to a standing position in front of her.  Now she was gazing up at me.  She took a step back, too close to the slippery edge, and I caught her waist before she lost her balance.  She let me pull her forward, knowing that she was about to fall. 

For a glorious instant she was encased in my arms, but it didn’t last long.  She pushed against my chest, and this time, I quickly released her.  She steadied herself and then dropped back onto the moss, pouting.   

I fought to control the smile that tickled the edges of my mouth as I sat down beside her once more.  I couldn’t explain why I enjoyed getting Ember all fired up.  I just did. 

“Do you want to talk?” I asked.

“Yes.  I think that’s a good idea,” she said facing straight ahead.  Her lips were still puffed out, but the heat coming off of her had diminished to a point that I thought I could touch her again without getting burned.  I behaved myself, though. 

Ember remained silent for a moment and I carefully ventured, “So you called me here to tell me that you figured everything out and to let me know you’re a Watcher, right?”  She nodded.  “I was suspicious that you might be a one.  When I heard your voice in my head, I knew it was true.  And then I thought you were in trouble.  That’s why I came so quickly.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that. I mean I wasn’t sure that it would even work,” she shrugged.

“What kind of Watcher are you then?  I surmise that you’re fire from what I saw a little while ago, and of course, your incredibly hot body.” 

Teasing Ember came all too easily.

Her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red and she quickly glanced away before she answered.  “You’re right, I have fire, but I also have earth and Ila suspects that I might have air also.” 

She peeked back at me from under her long eyelashes. 

I had to chew on her words for a moment.  I’d read that only the most powerful Watchers controlled more than one element and three or four elements were almost unheard of.  Could she really be that strong? 

“Where does Ila fit into all this?  Is she really your aunt?”

“No, she’s not my aunt, she’s actually my great grandmother about twelve times removed.  We live incredibly long lives, same as you.  Ila is more than four hundred years old.  She just started to age normally about fifty years ago,” she explained, still avoiding my gaze.

“That actually makes sense.  I wondered why I’d never wandered into Ila’s valley before.  She must have it bewitched.”

She nodded, and this time, she met my gaze.  “The reason I called you here was because I have a proposition for you.”  She must have seen the desire on my face because she quickly said, “No, not that kind.”

Ember began chewing on her bottom lip. She was incredibly nervous about whatever she was going to say and it dawned on me how young and inexperienced she was.  I needed to go slower with her. The fact that she was aging as slowly as me, gave us more than enough time to become well acquainted.  But I still couldn’t find the strength to completely resist her.

When I went to touch her, I did it gently, cupping her chin with my hand and turning her to face me.  I smelled her warm breath in my face, sweet and delicious.  Unthinkingly, I inched closer to her, inhaling deeply.  Her scent was melting cinnamon on summer daisies.

I didn’t want to frighten her this time, so I closed my eyes for a second, taking a calming breath. 
Slow and gentle,
I instructed myself.  Tentatively, I brushed my lips against hers, and it soon became the sweetest kiss that I’d ever experienced. 

If I’d been more aware, I would have interpreted the meaning of the escalating heat beneath me. 

A shock of hot air smashed into me, throwing me sideways.  I hit the boulder with such force that the wind was knocked out of me. 

I laid there for a moment catching my breath while she glared at me.  I didn’t need to worry about this girl’s safety—she could take care of herself.  It would be quite a challenge to make her mine.