by L. L. Wright
20
Emmeline
She stared up at Leo, standing in the warm glow of the fire looking even more handsome than the first day they'd met. How does he do that, she thought to herself, taking in every detail. He had clearly cleaned up and changed after the game. He no longer wore a football uniform, but close-fitting jeans and a snug collared sweatshirt with two open buttons at the neck. His short hair casually pushed to one side.
“Do you mind if I sit?” he asked, gesturing to the empty space next to her.
“No, go ahead,” she replied, a wave of relief rushed over her at the thought of having company. His company, she mentally corrected.
“Have you been drinking?” he asked, seeming to know the answer already.
“No,” Emmie said, looking down at her full cup before looking him in the eye. “I honestly just bought this because my friends thought it was a good way to fit in,” she paused. “It's stupid, I know,” her words trailed off as she stared off into the fire.
“It's not stupid,” Leo said, following her gaze towards the fire. “We're all in uncharted territory,” he began. “Me, you, your friends. A new school, a lot of new people... I think it takes everyone some time to figure out how they fit in, and where they want to fit in.”
Emmie smiled as his words sank in, resonating in her mind.
“You're right,” she said, nodding her head, finding comfort in his words for the second time in their short friendship. “So, where do you want to fit in,” she asked, feeling a rush of confidence.
Leo turned his full attention toward her and smiled.
“Right now, I'm exactly where I want to be,” he said.
Emmie smiled. She could feel a surge of heat in her cheeks as her pulse quickened, but hoped the glow of the fire would mask her embarrassment as she stared into his sapphire eyes for the first time in too many days. Maybe I can do this, she thought, reminding herself that this week had been her most normal in years. If my powers stay dormant, what's stopping me from leading a completely normal life?
“Let’s walk,” Leo said after a few moments of silence.
Emmie nodded, her heart pounding with excitement.
He leaned over and grabbed her full cup, pouring it into the grass and tossing the plastic cup into the fire. He reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet without hesitation, lacing his fingers between hers and smiling before leading her away from the crowd.
They walked hand in hand around the edge of the clearing, occasionally stepping into the woods to avoid party goers.
“What did you think of the game?” Leo asked once they had been walking in silence for a while.
“I liked it, I didn't understand anything except for when the team's score, but it was still really fun,” she laughed. Looking down at their intertwined fingers and enjoying the warmth of his skin against her own.
“Sometimes I go to other school’s games when they're on a different night than ours. If you want to go with me next time I can explain some of the basics,” he offered. “We could get dinner beforehand and make it a real date.”
Emmie felt the familiar feeling of blood rushing to her face as she took a deep breath and swallowed hard. Oh. My. God. Did he just ask me out? He did, he definitely just asked me out on an actual date! Relax, she told herself, don't embarrass yourself.
“I would like that,” she told him, unable to hold back her smile.
Leo stopped walking, and let go of her hand. He wrapped his arms around her waist, placing his hands on her lower back as he gazed into her eyes with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat. Emmie’s heart raced in her chest as the moment she hadn’t dared to imagine all week fell into place, he’s going to kiss me. She followed her instincts, placing her hands on his hips, pushing herself onto her toes to meet his lips. Their mouths barely brushed against one another, but she felt a strange heat on his lips. A warmth against her own that sent a shiver through her body, stealing the breath from her lungs as it went. Leo pulled back suddenly. His eyes followed the sound of screams, finding a commotion across the clearing.
From where they stood Emmie could see that the fire at the center of the clearing had gotten out of control. Some of the logs that had been pulled up for seating had caught fire and the flames were spreading, connecting the smaller pyres and creating a wall of fire. Emmie watched, frozen in fear as people ran screaming in different directions to escape the rogue flames.
“We should go,” Leo said, grabbing Emmie’s hand again, and breaking her free of the trance she was in.
“Leo, people are trapped on the other side and the fire is spreading,” she said, pulling her hand away and running toward the chaos.
“Emmie!” he shouted, rushing after her.
She stopped just before the barrier of fire and looked around hopelessly. Think Emmie, think.
“Emmie, don’t do anything stupid,” Leo whispered at her side. She looked into his eyes, her brow furrowed in confusion at his words, he can’t possibly mean what I think he means.
The screams of her classmates pulled her attention back to the scene unfolding in front of her as the wall of fire made contact with the treeline, effectively trapping the students still stuck on the other side. Emmie sighed, pressing her eyes shut, I’ve never tapped into my powers for something this big before. If I do this it could reawaken the demon blood that has been dormant since my trip to the hall of truth. I’ll be inviting the lingering darkness within me to regain its hold. Maybe even worse than before. But is that really worth letting innocent people get hurt? Emmie shook her head, it’s not. She took a step closer, felt the heat of the growing flames against her cheek, and prepared herself for what she knew came next. A rough hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her around, and the warmth on her skin faded into the fall breeze. Until Leo’s lips crashed into hers with an intensity she was sure was out of the norm for a first kiss. His free hand caressed the back of her head, fingers threading their way through her curls. Emmie felt her breath catch as his grip on her arm tightened and he pulled her against his body. For a moment the chaos that surrounded them disappeared, quietness engulfed her. All Emmie could hear was her own heavy heartbeat. All she felt were Leo’s hands on her skin, his fingers coiled in her hair. All she could taste was his tongue as it swiped against her own. When Leo finally broke away, his breathing was heavy, each breath more ragged than the last. He stared down intently, his crisp blue eyes were hooded and dangerous, mixed with emotions Emmie didn’t recognize. He let go of her wrist and nodded his head reluctantly.
“Back up,” Emmie said. Her gaze was harsh and she could feel the darkness stirring within her as she reached out to pull at her power. Leo’s eyes widened slightly and he took a few steps backward.
She ran both hands through her loose waves and took a grounding breath before she repeated the same magic she had done with Lisa in her kitchen using candy dozens of times over the years, but this time focusing her mind on the ground. Emmie felt her legs shake beneath her as she pulled up as much soil as her magic could handle and raised it up over the flames. Her vision blurred, and spots danced across her eyes as she pushed her powers to their limit, past any lines she had ever crossed before. She released the magic slowly, raining dry soil over the wall of fire, suffocating the flames and then the embers until only the heat and scorch marks were left. The world around her spun, and Emmie felt her legs give way beneath her. She was sure she would hit the ground any second. Then Leo was above her, his blue eyes intense with worry. Her eyes fluttered, but she strained to pull them open, staring into Leo's face again. She felt his arm behind her back, and then his other slid behind her legs as he lifted her off the ground.
“I can explain,” Emmie whispered as her eyes fluttered closed again. Her mind felt heavy with haze and she shivered against the sudden chill that enveloped her.
“Shh, I know, Emmie,” Leo said quietly, as he carried her out of the clearing, and away from the commotion.
Resting her head agai
nst Leo's chest, Emmie couldn’t understand how he could be so completely unaffected by the chaos of the fire and magic she had just displayed in front of half of their school. She tried to pull her eyes open again, desperate to see his face and to read the emotion in his eyes, but her mind and body were spent from the power she had tapped into and she felt herself drifting off with every step he took. Before she lost consciousness Emmie heard a second set of footsteps thudding through the brush and then Collin’s voice, “Is she ok?” he asked.
“She will be, she’s just exhausted from tapping into that much power,” Leo said, and Emmie noticed a hint of anger in his tone. “I can't believe she did that. How many witnesses are there, we need to tell the Elders what happened.”
“I already sent them a message. They’ll take care of it, they always do,” Collin said, and Emmie could practically hear him shrugging it off as she slipped away.
21
Leo
This isn’t going to end well, Leo thought to himself, as he paced up and down the hallway. He rubbed his eyes with one hand and brushed his hair back with the other. His thoughts traveled back to the warm and easy feeling he had earlier. In the low light at the edge of the clearing, with his hands resting on Emmie’s lower back, everything had seemed so simple. Their kiss had been so brief, but the moment their lips touched he felt an unmistakable connection. A connection I’ve only felt with one other, he reminded himself. His chest tightened as Hailey crossed his mind, and he didn’t fight the memories the way he usually did, instead, letting them wash over him.
Hailey had been an extension of himself. His angelic soulmate. They were created together, like all angels. A perfect pair, evenly matched in every way. Being with Hailey had been easy, every day as perfect as the one before, down to their last day together. They left faction tower together, and stopped on the street before parting ways, just as they’d done a thousand times before. Leo leaned in for a kiss as Hailey looked up from her phone, distracted by her new assignment. It was the kind of kiss you take for granted. Something so familiar you know it will happen again and again, but it didn't. That was the last time. Loving Hailey felt as essential as waking up in the morning. It wasn't a choice I ever had to make, it wasn’t something I could help. She was a part of me that I didn’t know I could survive without.
With Emmie things were different. There were so many things he didn’t know about her, but the connection he felt on his lips and in his soul, the moment they kissed, was enough to confirm the suspicion he’d had since Chamille revealed the impossible truth about Emmie. It’s Hailey’s angelic blood that flows through her veins, outweighing the darkness of her demonic side. There’s no other way to explain it. Leo could feel the pull and knew he needed to fight for the chance to know everything there was to know about Emmeline Clark. The same magnetic connection he felt every day with Hailey was there. It was hidden, buried deep beneath the surface, but it was there all the same.
When Leo finally stopped pacing and opened the door to Emmie's room he instantly felt a wave of relief. She was still sound asleep, the way she had been since he and Collin had brought her back to Faction towers the night before. But having her there, out of danger, and just down the hall gave him peace of mind. He left the door ajar, and crossed the room to sit in the chair beside her bed, reaching out to hold her hand. He smiled as he slid his fingers between hers, and leaned over to kiss the back of her hand gently. Emmie stirred in her sleep as his lips brushed her skin, “Emmie, I’m here, just rest,” Leo said as he leaned back in his chair and drifted off to sleep.
22
Emmeline
Emmie felt the warmth of the sun against her face. She kept her eyes shut against the brightness for another moment, absorbing her surroundings through her other senses. She felt the cool sand beneath her outstretched fingers and breathed in the salty ocean air.
“Are you happy?” Leo asked. His voice was only inches from her ear.
Emmie smiled, opening one eye and turning her head in his direction.
“Mmm, almost,” she said playfully, rolling onto her side and looking up at his serious profile. Leo sat beside her in the sand, his body faced the ocean, but his attention was all hers. Emmie noticed how his body relaxed slightly as soon as she placed her hand on top of his in the sand.
"What is it that you want," he asked, and a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.
Emmie sat up, moving closer until she sat beside him in the sand.
"You," she said.
"You have me, I'm right here," Leo said. He turned to face her and she saw a reflection in his RayBans, beautiful blonde hair, long and flowing in the breeze, but her face was out of focus. He reached out and grabbed her hand.
She shook her head slowly.
"I want all of you, forever," she explained as she leaned in, resting her head against his chest.
Leo wrapped his arms around her, and holding her tightly he whispered into her hair,
"I'm yours, always."
Emmie gasped. She sat up quickly and watched as Leo and the beach faded away, replaced by a dimly lit room. She ran her hand along the bedspread, and shivered, wrapping her hands around her bare arms.
“I’m here, Emmie, you’re safe,” Leo said from beside her, and she turned to see him sitting in a chair beside the bed.
“Where am I?” she asked as she looked around the unfamiliar room.
“This is Faction Towers,” he said, stretching his back as he sat up in the chair. “It’s where all of The Faction angels live while we’re on earth.”
“Wait. Rewind. We? You’re one of them, an angel?” Emmie asked, shaking her head in confusion. Then she remembered the events that had led to this moment. The fire in the clearing, the major magic she had used and Leo's words as he carried her through the woods, ‘she’s just exhausted from tapping into so much power.’
“How long have you known about me?” she asked before he could answer her last question.
“I know you're upset, and I know how this must look,” Leo said. He leaned forward to take her hand, but Emmie pulled it away quickly.
“How long?”
“I knew you weren’t completely human the day we met. I felt something at the school, and then that night at your house I saw your eyes.”
“What about my eyes?” Emmie asked.
“They were glowing. I wasn’t sure what you were then, but I knew you weren’t human,” Leo said.
Emmie groaned. This is great, she thought sarcastically, I didn’t even know glowing eyes was a thing. I hope no one else has noticed it.
“Where are my clothes?” she said as she threw the blankets back and noticed she was wearing cotton pants and a white tank top that wasn’t hers.
“When we brought you in the doctor wanted to make sure you were ok, and your clothes were covered with smoke and dirt from the clearing so the nurses cleaned you up,” Leo said. “There's something else you should know.”
Emmie raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to go on, what else could there be? Apparently everyone knew I was a demon, except for me, and now I’m in some secret angel tower in someone else's clothes.
“You used a lot of demonic magic putting out that fire, and you weren't doing so good when we got here. The doctor was afraid that your demon half would take over completely if they didn’t do something, so they injected you with a sedative.”
“Ok. That’s not awesome, but I get it,” Emmie said, relieved that her act of magic wouldn’t be the end of her humanity.
“That was three days ago,” Leo said, taking a deep breath.
“Three days?”
“You're the first hybrid we’ve encountered. No one knows how your body will react to different aspects of our world. That sedative would have rendered a full-blooded demon unconscious for weeks. We were hoping it wouldn’t put you under at all, just your demonic attributes, but now we know that it's not as easy as we had hoped to treat part of you without affecting the rest.”
Emmie r
an her hands through her hair, stopping halfway.
“Where does my mother think I am?” she asked, hoping her mother hadn’t been worried sick.
“Lisa took care of everything, she told your mom you were staying at her house this week. She even brought you some clothes and a bag of snacks. She seemed really concerned that our hi-tech, supernatural facility wouldn’t have any junk food.”
That’s why I love her, Emmie smiled. “Lisa has been here?”
“Every day. She spotted me carrying you out of the clearing and I had to tell her the truth or she would have caused a huge scene. She was very clear that she doesn’t trust any of us, but she knew that you needed to be here,” Leo said.
Yep, that’s Lisa, alright. Emmie climbed out of bed and walked toward the dark curtains that lined the wall opposite the door, she pulled them all the way open and gasped at the gorgeous view. She recognized Hartford immediately. The tower was close to the harbor, and the reflection of the lights on its still surface was picture perfect. The tower was angled so that the city lights could be seen to one side. The sky was dark but the city streets still looked busy.
“What time is it?” Emmie asked, unsure if it even mattered after everything that had happened.
“It’s almost eight,” Leo said as he moved to stand behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist, he traced his fingers up and down her forearm, sending a chill through her spine. Emmie closed her eyes, silently wishing all of her problems would slide away so she could melt into the boy who wanted to steal her heart despite everything else. But that isn’t going to happen. She pulled away from Leo’s warm hands, and turned around to look into his eyes.