Ember (The Ember Series)

by Carol Oates

  “We have company,” Draven stated sourly while still cupping her cheek with his curved fingers.

  A split second later, the door at the end of the room where Candra had come in burst open, smashing into the walls on both sides and ricocheting back to be caught by Sebastian’s outstretched arms. His face was hard, as if his features had been carved in a warm-toned marble. He was too far away for her to read the emotion in his eyes…if there was any. His entire body strained with so much tension that Candra had a fleeting moment of panic that he would snap if he tried to move a muscle.

  “Get your hands off her, right now.”

  Candra’s eyes darted back to Draven who was grinning smugly. He winked and traced his thumb across her skin again before he pulled his hand away, at the same time rolling his shoulders backward, shooting a wave of onyx-colored mist along his spine. His blue-black wings uncurled behind him. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

  Draven extended his wings out wide, blocking Candra’s view of the room. All she could see was the sleekness of the feathers gleaming like glass. They stretched and shuddered once more, creating a soft breeze that fanned the flames of the fire, enveloping her in the faint aroma of burning wood. Draven, who was already turned slightly, leaned his head a little so he could look over his shoulder with a dangerous taunting glare. Candra knew he was using her, or more pointedly, what he perceived as his possession of her, to prod at Sebastian.

  There was a sudden whoosh of noise in the distance, and Draven’s wings erupted with a crack as loud as thunder at his back. The force lifted him away from Candra, allowing her to witness the scene.

  Sebastian was running toward them…toward Draven at lightning speed, his wings moving so rapidly they seemed to blur in a golden light. His feet barely touched the ground, and Candra was struck silent by the magnificence of him. Draven stood his ground solidly, now several yards away from her, his wings out wide and his fists clenched.

  In a flash, Sebastian was right in front of him, his wings curved in as he lifted from the ground, flying feet first at Draven and hitting him square in the chest with the flat of one foot. He twisted his body one hundred and eighty degrees, catching Draven’s jaw with a violent kick and knocking his face to the side.

  The glass fell from Candra’s hand and rolled off her knee, spilling its contents over her clothes, shattering on the ground and sending splintered crystal cascading across the floor.

  Draven whirled with the force of the blow, but instead of falling, he did a full circle and in the process went down bent on one knee, straightening his other leg to catch Sebastian at his ankles as he landed. Sebastian somersaulted backward to a graceful crouch, his body tilted forward to accommodate his wings, still fluttering behind him. Draven stood in a flash, followed by Sebastian who instantly directed a blow to Draven’s face. Draven blocked the hit, forcing Sebastian’s arm away and opening him up to the body blow fierce enough to send Sebastian sliding backward across the floor.

  “Had enough yet?” Draven sneered ferociously.

  “Not nearly,” Sebastian panted. To Candra’s horror, he flew at Draven again, only this time, missing him completely.

  Draven shot into the air and flipped upside down over Sebastian’s shoulders, hitting the ground behind him with a quiet thump. In a split second, he had his arms twisted around Sebastian’s wings, as if he was about to rip them away his body. Sebastian’s face contorted in pain, and Candra wanted to scream at them to stop, but when she opened her mouth, not one sound escaped. Her head filled with sounds of their grunts and her own heart beating rapidly as adrenaline coursed through her system. Sebastian let out a loud groan when Draven’s force increased. Candra was sure she heard something snap.

  She was frozen, unable to stop them. Draven’s grip narrowed again, forcing Sebastian into submission.

  “You come into my home and threaten me?” Draven growled incredulously. “What are you thinking?”

  Sebastian winced again. His face was flushed and covered in a thin sheen of sweat while Draven appeared calm and unaffected.

  “I’m thinking that I’m going to finish the job I should have done millennia ago.” Sebastian reached over his head and bent forward slightly.

  In a swish of swirling color and feathers, Draven was wrenched over Sebastian’s head. This time Sebastian didn’t give him a chance to retaliate: he immediately pounced to crush Draven’s throat by standing on it. Before he found purchase, grunting with the strain, Draven locked onto Sebastian’s ankle and twisted it, spinning Sebastian into the air. He came back to the ground once more in a crouch, ready to spring again.

  They were clearly evenly matched, and neither one would find it an easy job to finish the other. Sebastian stood in front of Candra, as if he was protecting her or shielding her from Draven.

  “Did he touch you?”

  “What?” Candra gasped, shocked by what was happening and the anxiety in his tone.

  Draven laughed blackly.

  “Did he touch you?” Sebastian roared without turning to her.

  “She came of her own free will, Sebastian,” Draven informed him, placing emphasis on “free will” as if the words were a blade he could use to cut through Sebastian’s skin.

  They were as bad as each other, Candra thought, both using her to goad, bait, and taunt. She wasn’t about to just sit there and let them.

  “Stop it,” she shouted, standing up. “Stop it right now, both of you.”

  Neither of them looked at her. Instead they glared angrily at each other. So she moved to stand between them, which was difficult when Sebastian’s wings juddered in front of her, clearly telling her she shouldn’t. She shook it off and moved past, noticing how he flinched when she brushed the silken feathers. His eyes were narrowed and black with rage, his chest rising and falling with each heavy breath. Draven, on the other hand, was composed and smirking, as if he knew something she and Sebastian didn’t…but he was wrong. Candra was well aware they were on his territory and he could probably have any number of Watchers in here to tackle Sebastian to the ground at any time. But she also strongly suspected Draven wanted to come out of this as the good guy and that meant dealing with Sebastian man to man…so to speak.

  “I am so sick of this,” Candra told them both furiously. “You both treat me like I’m a commodity to be owned, and both of you need to back off.” She pursed her lips and inhaled deeply, filling her head with an array of fragrances that reminded her of both of them. “You have kept your shit together for this long. What the hell has changed? This can’t be all about me. What are you still not telling me?”

  “You belong with us—”

  “You actually believe that’s true, don’t you?” Draven broke Sebastian off, clearly in disbelief.

  “Tell me,” Candra demanded, “or so help me, I’m leaving and—”

  “We can’t have children,” Sebastian finally spat out. She looked to him, and his eyes closed briefly and then snapped open again, as if he’d forgotten he couldn’t take his eyes off Draven.

  “I beg to differ,” she argued since she was standing there between them.

  “He doesn’t mean can’t as in not able to,” Draven explained, and Candra watched as his wings rolled back in again, clearing sensing Sebastian’s defeat as much as she did. “He means can’t as in, it would break the covenant. If the Tenebras can’t bear children, then neither can the Nuhra. If the covenant is broken, then those that remain are no longer tied to it.”

  She got a sick dizzy feeling suddenly and honestly couldn’t tell if it was the liquor or if what Draven was saying was sinking in. Both hands came up to rub her temples, and she felt a headache begin to tingle inside her skull. She was the weapon her father used to break the only thing stopping these Watchers from unleashing Armageddon on the world. Why would he do that?

  “What can I do to stop it?” she asked quietly, feeling the weight of the responsibility pressing down on her already as she thought about Lofi’s description of th
e vicious, soulless creatures.

  “You come to us,” Draven said. “We say Payne became a rogue before he died and was punished for it. You were kept hidden because of Sebastian…that part wouldn’t be a lie.”

  She sensed Sebastian shift and raised both her hands to halt them before they moved, darting her eyes back to Sebastian.

  “Then what?” she pushed, turning her face back to Draven but keeping her hands raised as a warning to them both not to move.

  “If…” Draven spoke enticingly while casually running both of his hands through his hair.

  As if anything about this could be deemed casual, Candra thought. She was standing in an ornate ballroom between two angels, both of whom apparently had a thing for her, despite the fact her very existence could unleash a plague of monstrous, evil creatures on the world.

  “If,” Draven continued, “it was a rogue that bore a child, well, then the covenant would be intact.”

  “What about me? Wouldn’t more break the covenant and risk having children because I didnt turn out bad like the others?” she asked, confused.

  “No, not at all,” Draven chortled. “They will watch you, waiting for you to change and become more like the other Nephilim until your dying breath. Do you think just being born would be enough to convince them you are good?”

  Yeah, I kind of actually did.

  “But—” Draven went on. She heard Sebastian’s sharp intake of breath, almost a hiss behind her. “—because of the very nature of your birth, you belong with us, not them.” His head nodded to behind her to Sebastian.

  “But it’s my choice, right?”

  Draven’s lips spread into a half-smile, and he nodded once. She glanced back to see Sebastian’s expression was guarded, giving away nothing.

  “And you’ll help us because…?”

  “Because I don’t want another war. Those of us left will one day die out. I don’t want that cut short and…” Draven paused and licked his lips to bide his time. Obviously tasting the blood on the corner of his lip, he lifted and dragged the back of his hand across his mouth to wipe it away.

  “And?” she prompted.

  “I think you know what I want.”

  “You would start a war to get a girlfriend? Boy, you really need to get laid,” Candra told him jokingly, feeling the nervous break in her voice and the warmth of the liquor in her system.

  “No. I would start a war to possess you,” he corrected her in a husky voice that was drenched in sexual innuendo and made heat blaze across her flesh.

  She blinked and looked away from him to the floor.

  “How in the Arch’s name is that free will? How can we trust her choice will be her own?” Sebastian raged.

  Candra push her hands out again and gave him a look that clearly shouted “do not move,” making sure he knew not to test her. She could see the tendons clearly straining in his forearms and his fist bunched up ready to hit something: Draven.

  “What’s he talking about?” she asked Draven as calmly as she could, given that the tingle in her brain was quickly becoming a hammer pounding behind her eyes.

  “A small trick.” He shrugged. “Something we used to help humans be more accommodating to us.” He lifted his hand to run his index finger over his chest. “Cross my heart, I’ll be good,” he finished with a toothy grin.

  “Excuse me?” Candra asked with raised eyebrows. She had no idea what they were talking about, but then, nothing new there.

  Sebastian snorted. “Heart? You don’t have a heart.”

  Draven scowled and made his way to the cabinet, holding the drinks. “Oh, come on, Sebastian,” he started as he poured a drink and waved a glass at Candra. She shook her head. “Don’t tell me you’ve never used a little persuasion?” With his freshly filled glass in hand, Draven turned and leaned his toned ass against the edge of the mahogany wood.

  “Persuasion?” she mumbled, more to herself than anyone else.

  “I have nev—” Sebastian cut himself short, and when Candra looked to him, his eyes were suddenly downcast.

  Persuasion…Oh, no. Candra shot Sebastian a look that could freeze water as her brain wrapped around what she was hearing now. It made sense; it explained her desire for Draven—not entirely, she was pretty sure some of that was her—but Sebastian…

  “Tut, tut,” Draven chided, jeering Sebastian.

  “The park,” she choked out.

  “It was an accident,” he started apologetically. “It just happened.”

  “You mind fucked me!” Candra exclaimed, her frustration boiling over. She combed her hair away from her face with both hands. That explained why she wanted to kiss him that day. So much for the angels being all about free will.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Sebastian tried to excuse with an edge of bitterness in his voice.

  “What was it then, Sebastian? Please feel free to share?” Draven baited him gleefully and finished with a quiet snicker that made it clear he was enjoying this.

  “You, be quiet,” Candra warned him, and then turned on Sebastian. “And you, tell me, what was it? You poked around inside my head and played with my synapses. What would you call it? Gah…I almost kissed you!” she exclaimed, cupping her face in her hands. “Okay, that is it…kill him, Draven. I really don’t care.”

  She heard the click of Draven’s glass on the counter, and the one quick movement was enough to bring her back to her senses.

  “Wait.” She held her hands up again, keeping her eyes on the floor. She really didn’t want to look at either of them right now. “You did it too, Draven. So just go ahead and kill each other.” Candra took a single step before she halted again. She knew she couldn’t really stand there and watch them kill each other. Right in that moment, she wanted to, but she couldn’t.

  “Wait.” Candra dipped her head forward again and rubbed her face with her hands, moving them upward to massage her scalp. “As much as I would like the idea now, it won’t solve anything for me. I need to sleep. I need to think, and I need to sleep.” She sighed wearily. Being a weapon of mass destruction sure takes it out of a person.

  “I’ll take you home.” Candra felt Sebastian’s soft hands over hers, pulling them away from her face, and she looked up to him.

  His wings were gone, and he looked at her with such beautiful sadness in his eyes that she found it hard to breathe. His jaw was tense, the muscles twitching when he swallowed. She had an intense desire to embrace him, not only to comfort him, but to seek her own comfort. This whole situation might be messed up, but it didn’t change the fact that she was, at least, part human and still needed the comfort of a hug when it felt like the entire world was resting on her shoulders. But she was afraid. She was afraid he would reject her afterward like he did the night of the party, and it would feel worse later if he held her now. She wasn’t sure her already battered heart could take it.

  Candra presumed her confusion must have been written on her face, because he released her hands. They fell slack by her side, and she already missed his touch. She was sure that it was no angelic persuasion or her imagination.

  “Let’s go,” he said softly, forcing a weak smile for her benefit.

  Candra wondered when she had allowed Sebastian to slip under her skin. She was so angry at him for not telling the truth, for following her, for rejecting her. Why should she care if he continually turned from her? It wasn’t like the prospect of being with Draven was abhorrent to her. There was no denying he was charming, attractive, witty. He would be well-read, and he clearly cared for the people he was responsible for. As far as limited choices went, he wasn’t a bad option. But the idea of not being with Sebastian, of never being with him, of knowing without doubt that it could never be…it gave her the strangest feeling in her chest—an ache and emptiness. Not like the one she’d felt with Draven earlier. This was different, and she didn’t know how or why.

  She turned slowly, keeping her eyes trained on the parquet floor, and followed Sebastian.

 
“I’ll see you soon, Candra,” Draven said assuredly, and when Candra peeked up at him, he raised his glass with a sexy smile. He knew she would be back, and somehow she knew it too.

  “Goodbye, Draven,” she whispered.

  Sebastian said no farewell.

  He guided Candra silently through the sumptuous corridor of a clearly high-end apartment building. There were several heavy wooden doors like the one in the ballroom, carved wooden moldings, and tapestries on the walls like the ones Candra had seen earlier, only this time the images weren’t blurred. She realized then that Draven, or maybe Ananchel, had been keeping her from seeing them, and she understood why.

  There were scenes of battles, winged creatures flinging themselves unto death—all bare-chested and beautiful, brandishing swords. One showed a child lying wasted on the ground, blood seeping from an angry gaping wound to its chest, its plump heart exposed through mangled bone. One of the winged creatures stood over it, a sword in one hand and the other hand held aloft, triumphantly. The creature wore a long skirt of some white, blood-stained fabric that clung to her curves like liquid silk and only long black hair covered her breasts. Candra looked closer and felt the bile gurgle in her stomach. It was Brie. She didn’t look at anymore after that.

  Candra’s head pounded as if a sledgehammer was trying to break into her brain through her skull, and her throat itched. Eventually, after a seemingly endless elevator journey, they came out into the late evening, to a street where traffic buzzed up and down, the people completely unaware they were in the presence of angels. She looked up to the building to see that her hypothesis was correct and it was indeed an apartment building that looked just like every other apartment building on the long, chaotically busy street. Candra winced at the sound of a horn screeching as it passed. She was already beginning to feel the full force of the liquor.

  “Do you have to shout?” She grimaced when Sebastian called for a cab that didn’t stop.

  “You shouldn’t drink,” Sebastian reprimanded her as she rubbed her temples, ineffectively attempting to sooth the spreading pain.