by Kristie Cook
Tension-filled silence fogged up the room. Eli and Cooper stood only inches away from each other, neither one willing to back away from the challenge.
Cole yelled. “Okay, enough, both of you. Cooper, this is not the time or place. We need to focus on the fact Lorcan and the others have disappeared. They are obviously going out on their own, taking things into their own hands, which means they will come back for her. We need to be on guard.”
“I already know who’s with him.” Eli turned to Cole. “I could smell them out there. Dax purposely led me away so Lorcan could get to her.”
“Cooper, I will have you and Gabby set up watch.” Cole sighed. “Have Jared join you. It’ll be a good learning experience for him.”
Cooper dipped his head in acknowledgment of the order and left the room.
“A war is brewing. Not only between Dark and Light, but between us as well.” Cole sighed and sauntered toward Eli, his hand pushing back his shoulder-length, dark hair. The soles of his boots scuffed against the wood floor. “But, you know, Eli, he’s not entirely wrong. It has become apparent to all of us she captivates you. Not that I don’t understand why, but you must remember what she is to us. This is far too important to allow your feelings to get the upper hand.”
“As I told Owen earlier, I know my priorities.”
“I hope so, Eli, because there is too much riding on this,” Cole said. “But what I promised you earlier, I still stand by. You have my word.”
Eli clasped Cole on the shoulder. “That’s all I ask.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
I awoke with a jolt.
Looking around, I was unsure of where I was, even though something about the room felt familiar. My dreams had been so vivid; I could almost feel Torin’s lips on mine. I longed to go back there, but instead I tried to recall how I got here. The night, up until Eli kissed some girl at the party, was clear. Everything after was hazy and distant.
Memories skimmed the surface, but darted away the second I tried to snatch one. Obscured recollections buzzed around my head like angry bees. I couldn’t hold on to any one of them long enough. But I knew they weren’t good.
I didn’t know what I was afraid of, and somehow, this made everything worse. I was extremely exhausted and sick to my stomach. Spasms shot up my leg, returning me to one uncomplicated thought—pain.
When the spasms finally eased, I pushed myself up into a seated position, so I could get a better look around the room. I was in a one-room cabin, which had been turned into an infirmary. There were six beds total, three on each side of the room. Each one was neatly made up with white sheets, except for the bed I was in. My covers were hanging off the bed in twisted jumbles. Damp streaks of pink soiled the sheets underneath my legs.
A muddled memory of three guys arguing in this room was tangled with the present. Had it been real or a dream?
A voice popped into my head from the memory. “Cole, this went more than a little bad. She nearly died. Now how useful would she have been to us dead, huh?”
My world was sliding. Things I had no control over were about to tear my life apart. I just wanted to go home. I felt scared and alone, and I needed my dad. I sank into the pillows. Exhausted, I drifted off to sleep again.
As soon as I woke up, I realized I had one priority that had to be dealt with. I had to pee. I slipped off the blankets, my bare feet timidly touching the cold floor. My legs cramped and twitched as I stood. It took me a few tries before I was able to stand fully upright, but as I did, I slowly moved toward what looked like a bathroom.
“That’s the closet,” a voice said from behind me.
“Holy shit!” I spun around, my leg muscles protesting.
“Sorry, I should have warned you I was here.” A man stood up from the chair in a darkened corner. His slacks and buttoned-up shirt were rumpled, as if he’d been wearing them for several days. “How are you feeling?”
“Uh … okay, I think,” I replied, stepping away from him warily.
“I’m Doctor Owen Donavan. Owen is fine. I guess you could say I’m the house physician. I operated on your legs.” He nodded toward my calves, looking slightly surprised as I stood before him.
“Thank you.” Under his analytical stare, I was keenly aware I was only wearing a guy’s old t-shirt, which barely came to the top of my thighs. By the familiar, comforting smell, I knew it had to be Eli’s.
Where was I? What had happened to me last night? How did I end up in some makeshift hospital wearing Eli’s t-shirt with my legs bandaged up? The memories of the night before were slowly coming back. I remembered Eli had me pinned against a tree as we argued. I also knew I had been attacked, but by what? I had no idea. I was groggy and my memory struggled to pinpoint the details of the actual attack.
“I’d like to check your vitals and see how your legs are healing.”
“Umm … sure.”
“I’m sorry. You wanted to use the restroom first.” He straightened his glasses.
I hadn’t realized I was doing the pee-pee dance. “Uhh … yeah. That would be great.”
“It’s the door over there on your right.” He pointed in the opposite direction from where I had been going. Hell, right now I would pee in the closet.
I quickly altered directions and headed for the bathroom. It wasn’t until I was washing my hands did I finally look at myself in the mirror. I rubbed my eyes and blinked. Something was off—different. I turned my head to one side, then the other. Several red, scabbed lacerations lined my face, overlapping the older white scars from before. My heart skipped a beat. A glimpse of an image came back to me, and I knew the cuts and scrapes across my face had been extensive and deep. I remember feeling the blood gushing out of them as rocks, twigs, and other matter sliced my face as I skidded. Now the wounds were scabbed and disappearing. I healed fast, but this was too rapid, even for me.
I breathed deeply and attempted to smooth down my hair, pulling at some of the longer strands. My hair shimmered and glowed unnaturally under the bathroom lights. Trying to ignore the panic rising up, I continued with the inspection. I leaned toward the mirror. My eyes were their same odd colors, which was reassuring, but they appeared brighter than normal, making them much more unnerving.
At first glance, my skin seemed to be its normal pale complexion. But on closer inspection, it also had an illuminating glow. My fingertips slid along the healing cuts on my cheek. One of them, which I had just looked at, was now almost gone. Looking down at my heavily bandaged calves, I was nearly hyperventilating as the enormity of all this began sinking in.
It hadn’t hit me until then that I shouldn’t be able to walk. I started tearing at the bandages. The thick layers of dressings and tape made it a frustrating exercise. As I ripped the last bit of gauze off my leg, I gasped. Stitches lined the back of both my legs and were encrusted with dried blood. The sutured areas were red and tender, but from my recollection of the mess of veins and the shredded muscle and tissue torn from them only hours before, my legs should not look like this. They shouldn’t be this healed. I should be confined to a wheelchair and in a tremendous amount of pain. The damage had been so severe I should be looking at physical therapy for months, if not years. But here I was, a short time later, walking.
I fell back onto my butt, sitting on the hard floor. Trepidation turned my blood cold. I vomited into the toilet. This was all too much for my body and my mind to handle. As much as I had healed, I was still weak and nauseated. After throwing up twice more, I leaned against the wall, completely drained.
What was happening to me? Everything was becoming far too real. I could no longer assume everything I was hearing and seeing was simply my imagination.
Torin’s voice, from a far-off memory, warned me: “Nothing and no one are what they seem… including you, my dear Ember.”
I pulled myself off the floor, my legs shaking. I had to look again. Studying myself in the mirror, I tried to see who was really looking back at me. If I were not what I seemed, what was
I? I didn’t know exactly what he meant, but I had an overwhelming feeling what Torin had said was true.
I felt dizzy again and leaned against the sink to steady myself. Holding my face up to the light, I watched how my skin radiated incandescently. Why was this happening to me? What was different? Why now?
A memory from deep within my subconscious burst to the surface. I heard voices in my mind—Owen’s, then Eli’s.
“All I do know for certain is she needs blood and quickly.”
“Give her mine.”
My gut bottomed out, my subconscious understanding something way beyond what my conscious was willing to allow. That scene hadn’t been a dream. I had Eli’s blood in my system. Was this the difference? Why would his blood cause me to look like Tinkerbelle had exploded into fairy dust all over me? What was he?
“Don’t trust them … nothing and nobody are what they seem.”
Ohmygodohmygod …
“Ember?” A soft knock rapped on the bathroom door. “You okay?” Owen asked. I jumped, yelping, my heart slamming wildly against my chest. “Ember?”
“Y-yes, I’m fine,” I stammered. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
More hazy memories emerged. What I thought were dreams weren’t. Indistinct voices overlapped each other in my head.
“Don’t trust them …”
“She nearly died. Now how useful would she have been to us dead?”
“… but being what she is, you do understand this will not end well? She will eventually be destroyed.”
“I knew that the moment I saw her tattoo, if not the moment I first saw her. I am prepared for how this will end.”
I swallowed nervously, why did I feel like I was “dead girl walking”? How well did I know Eli, really? There had been times I felt so much abhorrence from him, as if it took everything he had not to hurt me. But why? Did he really want to kill me? I knew I hadn’t done anything to deserve that amount of hatred, but it didn’t stop me from feeling a real threat there. I looked around the room, debating on what to do. A window over the toilet caught my attention.
I flushed the toilet and turned on the faucets to mask any sounds I might make. Daggers stabbed my still-mending legs as I climbed onto the toilet. I held my breath as I opened the window silently, listening for any signs of Owen or anyone else outside the door. Thankfully, it was a one-story house, so I slid through the open window and let myself drop to the ground. As I landed, I bit my lip and covered my mouth to stop myself from screaming in pain. Tears stung my eyes as I breathed in and out deeply, hoping the pain and dizziness would subside quickly. I shivered as cold air and light drizzle seeped quickly through the thin t-shirt. I had no idea where I was, but I didn’t care. I had to get out of there.
“Going somewhere?” A familiar voice came from behind me.
TWENTY-NINE
I whipped around to see Eli leaning against the side of the house. Rage emanated off him and from his eyes. He looked like he’d been waiting for me. How did he know I’d sneak out the window?
“How far did you think you’d get?”
No point in denying I was trying to escape—think that ship had sailed. Barefoot and half-naked, I stood there staring back at him, terrified. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, making me feel antsy and hyper-aware of him. It was like I could feel him without touching him.
He shook his head and scoffed. “So you think making a break for it … barefoot and hurt … was the wisest plan? Think I wouldn’t be able to find you?”
Icy dread consumed me as his words sunk in. True. I wouldn’t have gotten far, and it was even more frightening because he was right. “What do you want with me?”
A slow grin tugged at his lips as he looked me up and down. “I want many things.” Heat sliced through me. I became overly conscious of the thin t-shirt I barely covering me. I shut my brain down fast to all thoughts leading in that direction. He was trying to distract me, get me off kilter. I couldn’t let myself show weakness. I twitched with the desire to bolt, but running would have been pointless.
“Are you going to go quietly back into the house?” His expression was stony again. “You’ve got two options. Either you save my back and the tiny eardrums of the local squirrel population, or you go the other way, over my shoulder and most likely muzzled. You’re going inside either way.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me the truth.”
“The truth?”
“Stop. I’m done with your bullshit.” My anger flared. “What are you, Eli? Did you think I wouldn’t notice something about you isn’t right? That I look like a freakin’ fairy with your blood in my system?” Eli stared at me in silence. “Yeah, I know. Did you think I wouldn’t find out about your little blood donation?” I tried to keep my teeth from chattering as I railed into him.
His expression darkened, and fury rolled off him. I was walking a thin line and knew it. Instead of waiting for him to throw me over his shoulder, I turned and headed for the house entrance. He followed closely behind, ready for me to try to run again. I knew when something was a waste of time and energy. I had to save mine and come up with an actual plan.
I opened the front door and almost walked straight into Owen and another man. Someone who seemed very familiar to me. “Ah, our runaway has returned,” said the man I didn’t know. Power resonated off him. Instinctively, I knew he was the leader.
He looked to be in his mid-thirties and a few inches shorter than Eli, but he was as toned and muscular. His hazel eyes glowed. He had chin-length, shaggy, dark reddish-brown hair, and a hint of a beard around his jaw line. His t-shirt and jeans fitted snugly to the contours of his body. He was exceptionally good-looking. Of course, he had to be, right? It seemed you couldn’t be in this little group unless you had a rockin’ hard body and were unbelievably hot and rugged. His face showed evidence that he, too, had been in a few scuffles. Like Eli, it seemed to suit him and made him even sexier.
All these boys were lethal. It really wasn’t fair.
***
Seeing him up close triggered a fuzzy memory. I had met him before …
“We have not officially met. I’m Cole,” he said. On hearing his name, my memory flooded back.
“Nice to meet you, Cole,” I said dryly as I moved around them, not responding to their reproachful glances.
To the right of the front door was the bed I had recently occupied. Not knowing where else to go, I went there. I wanted to keep standing. It made me feel more prepared for whatever was coming, but my calves were already aching and weak. I sat down on my bed. My escape attempt would have been very short.
Eli came in, silent fury clouded around him as he shut the door, giving Cole a pointed look. Owen, noticing this look, cleared his throat. “Let me look at her first.”
“First? First, before what?” The thought popped out of my mouth.
Owen came to my bedside. The resemblance between Cole and Owen was undeniable; no doubt they were brothers. Both had the same hazel eyes and reddish brown hair. Where Cole was rugged, powerful, and dangerous, Owen was clean-cut, reserved, and a tad nerdy. His hair was cut short and smoothed neatly back. Owen was good looking, but in a more unassuming way than the other two guys. He was also a lot less muscular, not that he didn’t have an attractive body. You could tell he spent more time inside working in a hospital somewhere. For some reason I had this suspicion he worked hard to be unassuming, so he wouldn’t stand out. But no matter how hard he’d try, he could never be plain or ordinary. I was sure he still sent plenty of patients’ and nurses’ hearts fluttering.
His eyebrows rose when he saw the torn and missing gauze on my legs. The room was unnervingly silent as Owen checked my legs, face, and vitals. He made strange grunts here and there as he conducted the examination, but it seemed Cole and Eli understood them, exchanging knowing looks between them.
“Well, Ms. Brycin, it seems you are healing nicely.”
“Yeah, no kidding. It doesn’t take a genius to notic
e I’m recovering exceptionally fast, even for me.” I was taking a leap here, and if this was all in my imagination, they could call me crazy. So be it. My gut told me I was right. “But since Eli has bestowed me with some of his blood, I’ve become a super-freak. I mean, look at me. My glowing skin, hair, and eyes kind of tipped me off something had changed. But I don’t think it’s only his blood causing this, huh? There’s something different about me.” All three went completely still as they looked at me. Tension grew so thick and volatile I had to force myself not to slink back in fear. “I want the truth.”
“Ember, you were attacked and you’re highly emotional right n—."
“Don’t.” I cut Cole off. “Please don’t act like you have no idea what I’m talking about or try to make me feel stupid or crazy. I now know I’m not. I’ve been trying to ignore things for too long.” I took in a breath. “Tell me, what am I?”
“Ms. Brycin, I think it’s best if you get some rest,” Owen said in a calm, doctor-like voice.
“Good luck with that,” Eli mumbled from across the room.
“I will not back down until I get some answers,” I said, my jaw clenched in stubborn determination. “Tell me, now!”
“Ember, you’ve been under some serious emotional distress and have been heavily medicated,” Cole exclaimed with a mix of forcefulness and calmness, as if he was trying to mollify me but really wanted to strangle me.
“Don’t you dare try to pacify me. And don’t you dare presume you can so easily distract, brush me off, or dismiss me as a foolish girl with delusions and an overactive imagination.” My knuckles were white as they tightly grasped the bedding. I wanted to tear it to shreds. “I’m not stupid. Don’t treat me as such.”
“We never meant to suggest you were stupid, Ember. I think you need to lie down and rest for a while.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice this?” I pulled at the ends of my glimmering hair. “Or this?” I pointed to the disappearing scrapes on my face. “And that I wouldn’t notice only hours after my legs were turned into shredded beef I can walk? Don’t you think I haven’t known deep down for a long time there’s something unusual about me? Things happen around me I can’t explain. I see things that shouldn’t be there or shouldn’t be real. I don’t fit into this world no matter how hard I try.” It felt good for my fears to finally find a voice. “I’ve always somehow known it, and I realize you guys don’t fit here either. So you might as well tell me what’s going on now.”