Authors: Jessica Burnett
“Please, Ember. Don’t do this.” He begs quietly. “I never meant you any harm. I planned on releasing you as soon as Alfonzo left. I would never hurt you. I love you!”
“But you did hurt us!” Ember screeches at him, her fury fueling our body, while my sadness and compassion wracked our brain. “We still have a sting on our cheek to prove it. You deserve to die like the dog you are!” She clutches him by the neck and throws him across the room. He lands in the crib, breaking it. Something I would have treasured and wanted to keep safe, Queen Ember has now broken to pieces in her fury to be rid of this man I call friend. It doesn’t even occur to her that this crib should have meant something to the both of us.
“Ember, please! I beg of you. Don’t do this. You will surely regret it.”
“Ember is no longer here, you mongrel.” The Queen growled.
“What do you mean she is no longer here?” A worried voice came from the door.
Our head whips around to see who is speaking to us. Derek is standing there, bewildered by what he saw.
“Derek.” The Queen says cunningly, “My sweet. My love. My fiancé.”
“What’s going on?” Derek questions nervously, looking from us to Lachlan and back again. “Ember?”
“Ember’s not here dear. She left the building. I’m her better half, The Queen. Although personally, I prefer the name Passion.”
“I’m confused.” Derek states as Queen Ember goes to stand in front of him.
“Don’t worry dear. You’ll like me better. I’m here to stay now. I’ll make you the happiest man alive, as long as you never cross me. I’ll love you like she never could.” She says so sweetly as she caresses his face.
Anger and jealousy rolls through me setting our veins on fire. Queen Ember must have noticed because our face scrunched up in a look of discomfort. I am not so gone after all. I still have the chance to take back what is mine.
“I want Ember.” Derek says slowly. “Only Ember, the real Ember.”
Anger rolls through the Queen then; our emotions colliding and making us stronger.
“That’s too bad, dear. You’ll have to die too.”
DIE? What? Let me out!
I scream at her with all my might.
You can’t kill him! He’s mine! Only mine!
“Oh but that is where you’re wrong dear Ember. This body now belongs to me. You no longer exist.” The Queen answered me out loud.
“Ember?” Derek asks. “Are you speaking with her?” His eyes grow wide as he ponders this.
Queen Ember glares at him as she flings her hand in the air sending Derek flying through the air, landing directly on top of Lachlan and crushing the crib even further. My anger and fear now rock our brain.
Derek coughs profusely as he tries to sit up. Lachlan is unconscious from the blow of Derek’s body on him.
“Ember. Please. What about Kai? You’re not going to leave Kai are you? Fight
harder
!” Derek pleads in between splutters of blood rushing out of his mouth.
“Who? That little twit she calls a son? I will get rid of him soon enough. Then she will have nothing left to fight for.” Queen Ember hisses out as she tries to shake me from her thoughts.
“NO!!!” I scream out loud, gaining control of my body for a moment. Derek’s head jerks up to stare at us.
The Queen throws me back in, grasping her chest as if it hurt her to do so.
I will not let you hurt those I love!
I screech at her from inside our mind. I connect to the DNA she doesn’t have access to. The DNA that isn’t natural, that doesn’t belong, that makes the human stronger than the elf.
Our body becomes encompassed by my blue flames, swallowing us whole. The Queen shrieks as I force it to enclose around her soul that resides in my midsection. I push harder to force tentacles of flames from our arms and plunge them deep into our center. I grasp her shiny white light and set it on fire with all that I have got.
The Queen screams and carries on, throwing our body against the walls and windows trying to force me to stop, trying to shut me down. She quivers and jumps, rolls and plunges. She tries to dig the tentacles out and when failing, tries to rid herself of the flames that go wherever I go. All the while, Derek stares in utter amazement… unsure of how to respond to my inner yet very physical battle.
The flames are a part of me. You can’t get rid of them. Wherever I go they go and I am not going anywhere.
I whisper sweetly inside our head.
I tug one last time and pull the soul outside of our body, slumping to the ground. I stare at it momentarily. A darker side of my human half surfaces as I crush her into a million pieces. I draw back my arm and send her flying out the now shattered window.
Queen Ember or Queen Passion, whoever she was, is gone completely. All that is left is me, myself, and I.
I look up to find Lachlan gone but Derek hovering above me, clutching his ribs.
“Ember?” Derek asks unnervingly.
“The one and only” I reply with a smile and a wink. “Let’s go get my father.” I say as I stand to move. Because while humans may be weaker physically than any supernatural being; we are stronger in the heart and soul. It is our love for others that help us conquer all.
“Life’s a mysterious thing isn’t it?
For all the mistakes we make
And the harm we take
There’s a life less wonderful than this
We should be thankful for what we’ve got
For if not, we’ll never feel that gentle kiss
That gentle kiss of true life
Life’s a precarious thing
We must hold onto it
For if we don’t
It could slip away with not a trace left…”
Thirteenth Chapter: Lachlan’s Story
George Robert Emery was the name given to me at birth. Over the years I found it didn’t really suit me so when I became a witch I decided it was time for a change. Lachlan was the name given to me by Alfonzo, my master. I was born April 7, 1989. Alfonzo found me, alone and deserted, in the year 2000. I had nothing left at that point in my life. My mother had killed herself, my father soon followed, and my younger brother ran away. I still haven’t been able to find him.
I was living in an old cemetery, creeping around the streets at night, and feeding myself by eating lone rats or any garbage I found lying around. This is when Alfonzo came upon me. Originally, he was going to eat me. That was the plan, he said. But, one bite of my neck and he could tell I wasn’t fit for food. He also said he could taste my latent powers, stronger than most humans. He offered me a deal: I serve him for eternity and he gives me the gift of magic. I agreed. I was desperate and had no other choices. What else was there to do with my life? Besides, magic sounded like an interesting prospect.
He brought me to a local witch, the most powerful witch in the country at the time. His name was Alberto. I soon surpassed him. In fact, by Alfonzo’s orders, I destroyed him. I had no issue with it really. I was given a good enough reason to do it. But for the life of me, I can’t remember what that reason was.
We soon moved to Europe after that in search of an even stronger teacher. After several months of searching we finally found her. Her name was Alexandria and she was the most beautiful woman in the world. I fell in love with her instantly. She was by far the most powerful witch anyone had ever come upon. Yet she was as humble as the dark blue sky. She was charismatic, adventurous, cunning, and charming.
It was because of her that I considered having a better life for myself. I told Alfonzo how I felt and that I wanted out of our deal. I promised I would do whatever he wanted as long as he released me to live a happy life with my beloved. He agreed. What I didn’t realize is he would never truly let me go. Not without a price.
I killed a man for him. A man I had never met and never heard of. I didn’t even know his name. Only that he lived in the outskirts of the city we were currently in.
I returned to my beloved, Alexandria, soon after the deed was done. I was overjoyed that I had gained my freedom and couldn’t wait to tell her the good news. I skipped into her house, singing at the top of my lungs, to find her balling her eyes out on the couch. I rushed over to see what was wrong. Seeing her upset was the worst thing in the world.
For the longest time I couldn’t get her to speak of it. I made her supper, helped her dress for bed, and sang her to sleep as I brushed her hair. All the while she said nothing.
In the morning, over breakfast, she told me what had happened.
I had killed her father.
She didn’t realize I had been the one to do it. She didn’t understand why it happened. He was such a good man, she said. He worked as a lifeguard at the local pool even though he was retired. He volunteered at the church, worked at local food banks, and donated blood often. He was currently awaiting the hospital’s call so he could donate his kidney to a complete stranger; a little girl who only had a few months to live.
Not only had I ruined one man’s life, I had ruined many. I knew at that moment I could never stay with her without telling the truth. But, I also knew I would never be strong enough to tell her what I had done. I was at a loss for words and she thought it was simply because I sympathized for her so much.
I immediately went to Alfonzo, knowing it was his fault this happened. He had to have planned it out perfectly. He had to have assumed I would come running back to him, ashamed of myself for what I had done and unable to go on living with the woman I loved. He was wrong.
I lashed out at him. Shook him like a dog, I did. Threw him around the room until all his bones were broken and then I threw him around some more. I figured he wouldn’t expect it, but he did.
When I returned to Alexandria’s home that night, satisfied with myself for having avenged her father’s death, I found her in a way I will never forget.
Alexandria’s face was pale, her hands had turned blue, and the rope tied around her neck had made her skin tear; dried blood ran down arms and legs.
A note hung off her right wrist.
The note read:
For all the things you have lost and all the things you have gained, I cannot let you go. If I must tear away everything you love in order to keep you by my side, I will do so; over and over and over again until the ends of time. I shall never let you go.
Yours Truly,
Alfonzo
I stopped fighting him after that. I knew it was an endless struggle. So, when he told me we were retaliating against the King of Elves and I needed to somehow kidnap his daughter, I did so without argument. I thought nothing of it. I shut off my senses and became a recluse. My soul purpose in life was to finish the job and finish it right.
It was easy at first. I cared not for her or her son, who was an unexpected plus. I knew I would have to get her away from Derek and Damien somehow but was still working out the kinks in that plan.
The day I took Ember to see the Djinn and she woke up asking why she couldn’t trust me, fear struck my heart. It was the first emotion I had felt in years. I kissed her unthinkingly. Only after did I remember I could swipe her memory this way.
Unfortunately for me, kissing her shot another emotion into my heart. Love.
Every day after that I watched her intently, praying silently she would never remember what I had done. I prayed silently that I would never have to harm her or her son. I couldn’t handle any more of my loved ones dying because of my reckless behavior and bad decisions.
It was an automatic response to want to protect her but until then I had to pretend that she meant nothing to me in front of Alfonzo. If he knew, he would only hurt her more.
I don’t know who I will be or where I go. But, I have made up my mind.
Ember and Kai will never die from my doing. They will never suffer from my mistakes.
“I see the world so clearly now.
With you by my side.. I can no longer hide.
Your existence has caused me to step out of my shell.