Embers (The Wings of War Book 1) (44 page)

I wondered what the Demons would do about it.  Their numbers had shrunk by four in a period of a few days and that would have Garrett up in arms.  I was thankful that Ila had her own protection around the valley.  Ember was safe here, and Ivan, too. 

When I glanced around and saw Ember slicing apples alongside Ila, I felt an ache in my heart.  I didn’t want to leave her, even for a brief time.  But I had to. 

I rose, grabbing my jacket off the chair.  “Ember, did you leave your truck parked on the falls trail?”

“Oh, my God, I forgot all about it.”

Her reaction was humorous.  Her hands were on her temples and her eyes were bugging out. 

“Why don’t you give me your keys, and I’ll go get it for you.”

Her face turned quickly to suspicion. “I’ll go with you.”

“No.  I’ll run the whole way and you won’t be able to keep up, unless I carried you, which might distract me from my purpose,” I said in a smooth voice. 

It worked.
 
Her face reddened, and to hide the fact, she went into the bedroom to retrieve the keys. 

“Can’t you wait until later, after breakfast?” she asked in a pleading way when she returned.  I didn’t want to refuse her, but I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on breakfast with my mind elsewhere.  The two Watchers would definitely know something was up.  Better just to be done with it.

“I’m worried someone will find it and questions will be raised.  The last thing we need is the local yahoos harassing us.”  I crossed the room and quickly kissed her forehead.  She pouted up at me, but didn’t say anything.  Ila gave me a curious look before I left the cabin. I hated lying to them, but it was for a good cause.  I needed answers and hanging out here in paradise wasn’t getting me any. 

I picked up speed quickly and was out of the valley in no time.  The morning was crisp, perfect weather for an early run through the trees. Too bad I wasn’t doing it for leisure.  At least the hot weather seemed to have finally passed.  As I ran, I imagined what it would be like to have Ember’s heat keeping me warm during the winter months.  That put a smile on my face as I made my way to the compound.  The further I got from Ember, the bigger the ache in my heart grew.  I could physically feel the separation, and I hated it.  I almost turned back twice, but I knew I’d have to do this eventually, and it would probably be even harder the more time I spent with her.

Not knowing what kind of reception I’d receive, I became increasingly more cautious, slowing to a walk when I entered Garrett’s territory.   Fear pricked me, but too late when I spun around.   The huge mountain lion was crouched a few yards away. Its tail flicked back and forth, its eyes were hungry.  Fighting such a creature would be difficult indeed, but not impossible for me.  I decided to try diplomacy first.

“What’s going on, Cray?  Cat got your tongue?”

An explosion of color and the feline man was standing before me.  “I’m the one who should be asking you what’s going on—everyone’s been out looking for you,” he said quietly with a twist to his mouth that told me that he was extremely satisfied. Everything the cat did was sneaky.  Even the tone of his speech could not be trusted.

“I’ve been spending some time in the woods alone.  No one ever missed me on my other excursions.”                       

“That was before two of ours were put to the fire.” He waited for me to reply, and then asked, “Don’t you want to know who they were?  Or maybe you already do.”

There was a hint of accusation in his words.  I’d have to play along.  “Who was it and what the hell happened?”

“It was Donnelly, and your plaything, Kimberly.  I’m not sure if they’ve discovered what exactly happened to them yet.  I’ve been out here searching for you all night, and I’ve found
interesting
scents in the forest,” he said the last part in a long hiss.   

I had no time for the cat.  I turned and headed for the compound.  To my chagrin, Cray followed close behind me.  I still had a chance to get away with just the cat shadowing me, but once inside the compound, there would be too many to fight. 

My muscles coiled.  I was about to make my move on the cat when Gabrielle and Renna appeared from behind a cluster of Hemlocks.  No chance now.  I resigned myself to trying to talk my way through it.

“You have found Sawyer.  Good work, Cray.” Gabrielle purred. The thought occurred to me that Gabrielle was very cat-like herself. 

“Like I told Cray here, I’ve been roaming the woods as I always do.  How was I to know there’d been a fire?” I hoped I sounded convincing.

Gabrielle’s eyes narrowed and she said, “Garrett wants to talk to you right away.”

“Sure thing, let’s go,” I said walking past them.  Renna was silent as usual, but she was one to be leery of.  Unlike the other females, there was no reading her.

It was easy enough for me to spot the hidden door in the north facing fence line by looking for the very slight variation of the weathering on the boards.    Before I even cleared the doorway, Lutz came barreling over in his bear form.  He was a massive size, almost two thousand pounds, much bigger than the largest grizzly.  He slid to a stop, close enough that his breath blew my hair back. When he changed, the burst of colors was so great, I was temporarily blinded.

“Where’s Ivan?” he asked in a gruff voice.

The bear was the first one to ask about the wolf kid.  I had to think quickly.  I didn’t want to put Ivan into danger.  As long as he stayed in Ila’s valley, he’d be safe.

“I haven’t seen him,” I replied.

“The wolf wasn’t with you, Sawyer?” He wasn’t convinced, but I had to go with it.

“I saw him for a few minutes early yesterday before I left, but that was it.”

I strode past the bear and ignored him after that.  The animal people didn’t demand answers from us. 

When I passed Charles and Mary’s house, Charles came out the front door and met me at the path.  He fell in at my side as I continued toward the main lodge where I knew I’d find Garrett.

“We’ve had a bit of trouble here, Sawyer, do you know of it?” he asked, playing the good cop.

“The ladies filled me in.” I nodded back at Gabrielle and Renna, who were still following.  As I did, I noticed Mary, John, Peter and Pricilla had joined the parade. Patrick, Charlotte and Colten were coming down the porch steps from Patrick’s house too.  It looked as if we were going to have a proper shindig. 

But where was Horas? 

Pulling me back to my conversation with Charles was his threatening tone. “I hope you have a good explanation for your whereabouts.”

I didn’t say anything, striding in front of him to enter the building first.  Across the room, in the lounge area with overstuffed sofas, were Garrett and Sarah.  Sitting across from them was Horas.  They could have been talking about anything, but I couldn’t quell the sick feeling rising in my gut.  Had the Roman sold me out?
Glancing around the room, I saw that all of the inhabitants of the compound were accounted for.

I said loud enough to be heard by all. “With everyone here, we’ve got the makings for quite a party.”

“No.  Not everyone, Sawyer.  Two are absent, because they were burnt to ashes in the woods yesterday.”  Garrett’s voice was even and he remained seated.  That was what made him so dangerous.  He never lost his composure.  He was always calm and rational, unlike me.

“Are you sure they were burned? I mean if there were just ashes, it would be hard to tell,” I offered.

“Yes, we might not have realized as quickly as we did if we hadn’t found a piece of Kimberly’s jewelry in the dust.  It was melted, but the diamond was salvageable.”  He paused, looking around the room slowly before he said, “Can you imagine what circumstances would have occurred to burn two of our strongest to ashes at the same time?”

The image of it was still raw in my mind.  I tried to hide my face from any emotion.  Garrett’s eyes were fastened on me, ready to interpret any slight movement I made.

“I have lived a very long time and I have seen many things.  I know exactly what could have done such a thing to Kimberly and Donnelly,” his voice rose in excitement.  He thought he had solved a puzzle and felt good about it. He also had a certain Evangelical flamboyancy that I’d witnessed on numerous occasions.  Garrett was sure to use his speaking skills now.

Garrett shouted out, “A Watcher! A fire whore from the old country.”  His usual composure was still there, but he bellowed for the benefit of his audience, to incite them. “I have seen their destruction before. They unleash their powers for their own benefit, and usually in the name of everything good.  These beings spring from the earth as angels of death, delivering havoc to our kind.” 

Garrett stopped within a foot of me and lowered his voice.  His eyes were blazing. “Kimberly came to me the other night and told me something very interesting.”  He turned from me and patrolled slowly through the gathering of Demons, looking at each one as he passed.  Lutz and Cray stood off to the side, and Garrett even paused on them.

His voice rose in crescendo as he said, “Do you all want to know what Kimberly told me?” Most of the heads nodded affirmatively. “Kimberly and Donnelly came upon Sawyer in the woods
making love
with a human girl.”  There were a few gasps from the audience.  Kimberly took some liberties with the story, I thought dryly. 

“Our beautiful Kimberly said, with Donnelly confirming her every word, that the girl had a glow to her.  And that Sawyer was being extremely tender, unusually controlled, for a Demon with a human soul exposed to him.”

Garrett paused for effect, running his hand through his hair as if the information distressed him immensely.  I glanced around at the others; most looked hungry, as if just talking about it was bringing on their blood lust.  Colten and Charlotte were uncomfortable with the topic of conversation, keeping their faces pointed at the floor.  Patrick frowned deeply, the subject probably stirring memories of Charity’s last hours alive.  He still might be with me, I thought, perhaps wishfully.  The only one to look me straight in the eye was Horas, and he seemed amused by it all.   

Garrett’s voice pierced the air again. “Do you know how it was possible for Sawyer to do such a thing with a human?” He surveyed the faces as I’d done, making use of a perfect dramatic pause, and then he roared even louder, “Because she wasn’t a human girl. She was a Watcher, a witch, a temptress from the ancient world! 

“She came to seduce our hapless Sawyer,” he looked back at me for an instant with feigned sympathy, “and we can hardly blame him for falling at the feet of such a creature.  These beings are sensual and beautiful.  They appear meek and mild, and they use their charms to trick unsuspecting males of all species to do their bidding.”

He lowered his tone and charged on, knowing his audience was enthralled with his words. “When the Watcher was discovered, she knew she had to kill Kimberly and Donnelly so that they would not spread word of her existence.  And that is just what she did—here in our very own territory.  She came in full daylight and called them out with her magic, and then she annihilated them.” Garrett’s eyes swept the room, before he shouted at the top of his lungs.  “She will come back and do the same to each of us, if we don’t kill her first!”

Garrett took a deep breath and stopped in front of me again. A smiled toyed at the corner of his mouth for a couple of seconds, to be replaced with a fatherly look that didn’t fool me in the least. 

“Sawyer, you must tell us everything about this Watcher who has deceived you and murdered your friends.  You must take us to her, so we can prevent her from destroying us, for she will not stop until we are all dead.  I know this from the old country.” He placed his hands on my shoulders. “You are like a son to me, my first changeling—the one who started it all.  I know she has bewitched you.  None of us would have been able to resist her allure, but you must do what is right now… and give her to us.”

Fury raced through me until I could hardly see straight.  I spoke with bitterness when I finally found my voice.

“You talk about doing what’s right, Garrett? Look at what you’ve let our community become—a bunch of bloodthirsty barbarians.  We can’t help it that we need human souls to live, but we used to be more civilized about it, only taking what we needed and keeping the humans from pain in the process.  But now we’re hunting the town’s people.”  I turned to the others and implored to them, “Do you think you can go on snatching the human youngsters for your enjoyment?  The humans will figure it out, and they will come with great numbers, with weaponry that can kill us, especially the type of humans that live in these mountains.  We will end up having to run, starting all over again somewhere else.  Do you all want that?”

I steadied myself and turned to look at Garrett with narrowed eyes before I faced the crowd again.  “Another thing that you all should be aware of…you aren’t what you think you are.  We are abominations, the spawn of the mating between the Devil and human women.”

I certainly wasn’t as eloquent or dramatic as Garrett, but I’d gotten my side of it out, and it felt good to have it off my chest.  Now I’d to wait to see where the chips fell. 

Garrett had been silent, letting me have my say, but he wasn’t going to give the others much time to chew on it.  He spoke with controlled indignation.  “Yes, you are right, Sawyer.  Lucifer is our father.” He looked around the room, spreading his arms wide in question, “What of it? The Watchers are the ones who will tear this world apart. 
Not us
.”