Ancient Fire

by Judi Calhoun

It was nearly noon when I woke from a deep sleep still dreaming about the Cemetery battle. I couldn’t get that shocked look on Ian’s face out of my head… out of my dreams.

  It wasn’t until I got out of bed that I noticed something tapped to my closet mirror. It was a note from Gauge, wanting to see me today. I thought we had said everything there was to say, apparently, he wanted to tell me more.

  Mom had been home from work for three days’ her doctor had ordered her to rest for a week. She had suffered a minor neck injury…was given pain killers, but Mom didn’t listen to the doctor, she went back to work a few days ago, her partner Rick, was driving her, so I had the use of the Jeep.

  I dressed carelessly, not really giving much thought to what I’d wear. Mostly because I was in a slump, feeling down ever since my break up with Jake, I was miserable.

  When I stepped outside the front door, I faltered. Jake. He was leaning against the white Mustang’s driver’s side door, dressed in black jeans and a sleek leather jacket over a white t-shirt. I moved toward him slowly making sure, I didn’t look as shocked as I was feeling.

  Jake straightened up.

  “I’ll drive you,” he said, coming around to open the passenger door for me.

  “Okay.” I said forcing my feet to move. Although I was happy to see him, I started wondering why he was here. Had he been waiting for me to wake up all morning long?

  I slid into the red bucket seat, like I’d done so many times before, feeling sort of uncomfortable, like I was headed for an intervention or something just as awkward.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “I’m just driving you,” he said. “That’s all.”

  “I mean, why are you even here Jake? I can drive myself.”

  Sure, I was surprised to see him in my driveway. I hadn’t heard from Jake, not a word since the Cemetery battle. I figured we had broken up. I wondered why I was giving him snarky comments. I should be happy to see him. Smiling, being nice.

  “Gauge asked me to pick you up.” He was all business. “I’ll leave if you’d like.”

  “No. I…I am just surprised to see you. I mean, I thought… Look, Jake, I need to tell you something …”

  “You don’t have to explain anything,” he interrupted as he shifted into reverse and backed the Mustang down the driveway. “You don’t feel the same way I do, enough said.”

  “No, I really do need to explain,” I said. “I panicked. I thought you’d stop me, you know, before I’d risk my life to save mom. I just knew that I had to be the one. I had to do it alone.”

  “Go on,” said Jake, guessing that there was more I had to say.

  “I’m such a idiot,” I said. “I should have known you wouldn’t stop me. It’s not you…”

  I shifted uncomfortable in my seat starting to feel kind of ill, because I didn’t think I could go on talking to him, not without actually seeing his face, seeing his eyes looking into mine, seeing his smile and not this grim expression on his face. I knew he loved me. It was the core to his behavior. Because of that, all I ever had to do was gaze at his face and he gave me strength, just as he had when we were in the Labyrinth and I was about to die. “Jake.” I said rubbing my forehead. “Please stop the car.”

  He glanced at me frowning, and then slowly pulled the Mustang over to the curb, underneath a leafless maple tree.

  “Look at me,” I begged. “Please!”

  He turned, the glum expression was gone from his face, and I could not read him. I didn’t know how he was feeling. I guess that really didn’t matter now, I wanted to tell him the truth.

  “I wish we could start over. I wish you didn’t hate me for hurting you. I wish I had told you the truth when you said that you…”

  I glanced away, afraid to go on. There was this long weird pause. The vinyl seat made a slight squeaking sound as I shifted my body to look at him.

  “And what is the truth?” he asked softly.

  I leaned closer. “Well, you scared me Jake,” I said. “You remember that night at the café when you told me you didn’t approach me because you were afraid of the pain, having just suffered your mom’s death.”

  Jake nodded.

  “Well, this is why I couldn’t tell you that I loved you, even though I do love you. It was because, well what if I had told you the truth and what if I had died, I could not stop thinking about how I had caused you more pain. Oh man, how stupid…I really messed things up. I am sorry Jake; you must hate me for making you suffer like that. ”

  “Shhh!” He said. “You did nothing wrong.” His fingers reached slowly for my face as if he were afraid to touch me. He ran his thumb gently over my jawline. “How could you ever think that I hated you?” he said. “I told you how I felt, it hasn’t changed. I love you.”

  He drew me closer; we embraced, holding onto each other. His lips closed over mine and I was floating somewhere in his breath, adrift in his kisses.

  Just being in his arms… so simple and yet complex…impossible to define, but it was everything, my happiness, my living, my dying, and even my future survival in life’s unpredictable tempests.

  Jake and I did not go to Brian’s garage right away. We spent some time together wanting to define our love, our relationship. It was nearly one-thirty when Jake finally dropped me off. I sat across from Brian watching the grey sky through the window behind his chair. Winter was moving in fast. The sky was turning gloomy much too often for my liking.

  There was something different about Brian Waters. He looked happier. Perhaps he had finally made peace with his soul concerning dad’s death. Or maybe it was his new love life. I wasn’t really sure.

  “Did you go out with my mom?” I asked him straight away.

  He cleared his throat and gave me a sideways smile. “I have something for you,” he said, ignoring my question. He placed a folded piece of paper in front of me on his desk. “It’s from Rick Steel.”

  I drew in a breath. “You saw Rick?” I acted surprised, yet maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. Hadn’t I seen his bike that day I had come to talk with Gauge? Back then he had also been there to Brian’s shop getting a tune up on his bike or at least I thought it was.

  “Yeah. I was surprised too. He was the last person I thought I would see standing on my doorstep in the middle of the night. He told me, they were going to kill him.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  Gauge took a deep breath. “Rick was a member of the satanic church. He was in line to be the next High Priest. His final assignment was to sacrifice you.” He studied me, trying to read my reaction. “Do you have any idea what they would’ve done to you?”

  “I guess it would probably have involved my death,” I said, sarcastically. “Do they really kill people?”

  When Gauge gave no reply I picked up the letter. My hand shook as I opened it.

  Shonna:

  By now, you’ve probably figured out, that I gave you that drug. It was my job to hold you until they came. I can’t tell you how much I hated doing that, to you. That night I just couldn’t, I couldn’t do what they wanted. Not to you. I called Gabby. I knew it would be the safest place to take you, since they had no idea who she was. I’m sorry for everything that happened. I only hope that maybe one day you can forgive

  P.S. You were right to tell me you don’t like me. I deserved that.

  “Rick swore an oath when he became a member of that lair,” said Gauge. “He broke that oath when he violated their trust. That generally means his death. You don’t cross these guys. Rick did the only thing he could, he ran.”

  My thoughts returned to that horrid night. I was stunned to think that I could have died. Jake was right. I was far too trusting.

  Poor Rick…I closed my eyes, desperately wishing I could remember the last words I had said to him. Did I really tell him I didn’t like him? That doesn’t sound like anything I would say. My memory was foggy... impossible to recall. In spite of all that had happened, I still believed Rick was a good guy. I fo
lded the note and shoved it in my pocket.

  “He says he wants to get out of the dark arts,” said Gauge. “I gave him the name of a friend of mine. I hope he can help him.” He was studying me with great interest.

  I began to wonder, was he thinking the same thing I was? Could Rick perhaps, become a Slayer, like us? Of course, anything was possible.

  I pulled my cell phone out and stood up. Gauge did too.

  “Yes. I went out with your mom,” he said, finally answering my question. “I’m going to see her again tomorrow night.”

  He waited for me to respond. Did he want my approval?

  I smiled. “Well, okay. I guess I’ll be seeing a lot of you around the house.”

  Gauge’s smile was very warm. “I guess you will.”

  Life was perfect again, well, for now anyway.

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