The Heart-Shaped Emblor (The Ewlishash Series)

by Ewing, Alaina

  “There is one by Hope’s house.” I shrugged. “Before Hope knew who I was, we went there. I passed out,” I admitted, a bit embarrassed.

  He flashed a look of horror. “Hope took you to a vortex?”

  “Yes. The trees growing in a circular manner were quite the sight. Kiera came with. Why?”

  “What the hell were they thinking?” he snarled, slapping the dash.

  “Hey, careful there.” I gave him a stern look. “Why does that matter? It’s not like they knew who I was yet.”

  He looked at me, rolling his eyes. “Aislinn, Hope may not have known, but Kiera has known since her birth. They should never have taken you there. If you had changed while you were there, you would have been lost forever.” There was an edge to his voice, and I could tell the rage could come back easily. But this time, he focused his anger toward Kiera and Hope.

  I shrugged again, trying to brush it off. “Nothing happened, and now I know to stay away from there. No harm done. Let’s get back to Yasmine. I want to know what you think happened to her.”

  Alexander’s shoulders fell forward. “I think someone took her. Who or why, I’m not sure… But for a few weeks leading up to her death Yasmine had said she was hearing voices, and that sometimes it seemed like someone was following her. She was frightened.

  “I followed her myself, just to be sure, and never saw anyone. I felt sure that if she had been hearing voices, I would have heard them as well. I wrote off her worry to the fact that our wedding was fast approaching and thought that maybe she was getting cold feet. I even got a little irritated by her behavior. We knew we were perfect for each other, and I couldn’t understand her concerns.

  “I should have listened rather than overreacted. Maybe, had I listened to her, she would still be here.” His face contorted, wrinkles of pain obscuring his normally strong appearance. “So, you see, her death was partly my fault. I got so caught up in my assigned tasks that I didn’t help the one person who was right in front of me. I can’t ever forgive myself for that, or the Jarwin for not telling me what they know. Even if I respect their authority, that doesn’t mean I always agree. Everything I now understand only seems to add to my guilt for not being able help Yasmine.”

  Suddenly, Alexander’s outbursts had a reason; I understood his anger and why it wouldn’t go away. He needed a resolution. Something the Jarwin might be able to give him, but refused to. Would they do that to me if I asked about Relina? Might I become just as angry and bitter? I hoped not.

  “That makes sense. Thank you for sharing.” I looked at him solemnly. “But the fact that I understand doesn’t mean I agree with you ‘aiming your arrows’ at me either. Maybe we can find an outlet for you. So when you start to feel the rage, you can let me know and back away. Or dissipate and come back… something—anything—to keep that side of you from me. I don’t want to see that darkness anymore. Do you think we can work something out?”

  “I suppose so,” he surrendered. His eyes filled with mist as he met mine. “But I don’t know what. Let me think about that. Okay?”

  “Okay,” I agreed. “Alexander?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I have something to tell you,” I hesitated. “I planned to before you got so mad outside, but then I panicked.” Guilt filled me instantly. Here I was making him promise not to take things out on me, and yet, I’d broken my promise to him. I hadn’t tried to shift, but I knew Alexander would still be angry with me for looking for Jaden alone.

  “What is it?” He took a deep breath, appearing to brace himself.

  “The reason I was lost, was because I drove out to the place where I thought Jaden was. Please don’t be angry.”

  Alexander turned away from me, clenching his fists, but then relaxed them. When he faced me again, he kept taking deep breaths. “I understand.”

  “So you’re not angry?”

  “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be? Then again, your promise didn’t include driving. I wish you understood the gravity of what’s happening here. Let me guess, you weren’t able to find her?”

  “No,” I admitted.

  “This isn’t going to be easy, Aislinn. These people are smart, and highly skilled in the art of deception. As much as I want to scream at you right now, I won’t. But this behavior needs to stop. We’ll find her together. Safely. Alright?”

  I nodded. “I’m sorry.”

  “Me too.”

  “Should we go to Hope’s house now?” I asked.

  “Yes.” Alexander still carried an edge of irritation, but I let it go.

  “Can you call Hope for me? She should be back from Whistler, but I want to make sure it’s okay to go over there.”

  “Sure,” Alexander mumbled and pulled out his cell.

  “Hope?” He spoke low. “When will you be home?” He waited for a response. “Okay, we’ll head over now, then. See you soon.”

  Alexander turned back to me. “She says she’ll be home within half an hour. We can head over now. By the time we find our way out of this no-man’s land, she should be there.”

  “On my way.”

  As we drove, I realized Alexander kept playing with a ring on his finger. I never noticed that he wore a ring. He twisted it in circles while his eyes fixed on the haze outside.

  “Is that from her?”

  He nodded. “Yes, the last thing she gave me. This was supposed to be my wedding band. Yasmine had a strange sense of humor.” He chuckled.

  “Can I see it?” The moment I asked, my stomach lurched. “Unless that’s a problem. I just wanted to know why you laughed.”

  He looked at me serenely. “I’ve never taken it off. This is a first, but I’m doing it to show you that I’m serious about resolving my past so that we can make way for us.” He gently twisted the ring until it slid off his finger.

  When I had it in my hand, I could feel his warmth still radiating from it. I turned on the overhead light and understood why he had laughed. The ring was a perfect replica of the ring from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Why she had chosen such a ring for him was beyond me. I looked at him, puzzled.

  He shrugged, grinning. “She was a fan of the books, then the first movie. She never saw the others. On our first official date, we went to the movie. The ring represented the first day of her truest happiness. It may seem kind of silly, as the ring describes the complete opposite from how I am, but she meant the ring to be symbolic of a specific time period.”

  “Interesting.” I turned the light back off.

  “What?”

  “It’s just…” I tried to share my ideas without provoking him. “In the movie you saw together, it’s Frodo who ends up with the ring. He’s innocent in what’s happening, but carries a heavy burden nonetheless. It’s curious that she would pick that ring for you. You wouldn’t have represented the evil one, but the innocent one with great sorrow. If she wasn’t human, do you think it’s possible that she knew her death was fast approaching? And you would end up carrying the burden of that?”

  Alexander was completely silent.

  I tried to hand the ring back to him, but the headlights began to fade. Or was it I who was fading? My head slumped forward, and Alexander shouted. “Aislinn? What’s wrong?” I felt his hand grab the wheel, and then I was out.

  I could see Yasmine. She was in a collectables store, purchasing the ring for Alexander.

  “Are you sure you want that ring for your fiancé?” the storekeeper asked, shaking his head.

  “Yes,” she replied confidently.

  “Okay. The customer is always right, I guess.” The man took the ring to the back room. I followed.

  He put the ring on a machine. It looked like something to assist in the enlarging process, a feat that would be almost impossible with the writing on it. He toiled with the ring, seeming frustrated. Then he got up and went to retrieve something else. Another man appeared out of thin air and touched the ring. As if by magic, it began to grow in size. The words remained intact. When the employee r
eturned, the ring sat on the size chart, fitted perfectly. The worker shook his head in confusion, shrugged, and took the ring back to Yasmine.

  “I didn’t think this would work, but it seems that you are destined to give this ring to your future husband. It reached the desired size without much help from me.” Yasmine showed no sign of suspicion as she looked at the shopkeeper. She probably assumed he meant the ring didn’t give him trouble.

  “Thank you.” She paid, and left the store. The strange man who changed the ring followed her.

  As if Yasmine sensed his presence, she kept turning to see who was following. At one point, he got so close that he brushed up against her hair. Yasmine jumped and shouted.

  “Who’s there? What do you want?”

  “You.” The stranger’s voice dragged out long and slow. He had a hideous voice, sounding like something dead for many centuries. Like time had deteriorated the sound of him.

  Yasmine turned to run, the man floating effortlessly behind her. She had no escape. The stranger’s smile revealed jagged, sharp teeth and his eyes held lust.

  Days later, Yasmine was asleep, alone in bed. The stranger hovered over her.

  While Yasmine slept, the stranger floated inside her. There was a tug-of-war for her body. Or at least it seemed that way at first. When the stranger left Yasmine’s body, he pulled her soul right out with him.

  If she had a voice, she would have screamed in terror. But no sound came, only a horrified expression on her face. The stranger stuck his finger into the air and began to twirl it, making a spiral of darkness, and floated through the spiral. Yasmine’s soul was still clenched in his arms.

  Only a lifeless body remained in her bed. The one Alexander must have found the next day.

  No sooner had I entered the semi-trance than I pulled out. Alexander was struggling with the wheel. I half-consciously hit the brakes.

  “Aislinn? What happened? Are you okay?”

  “Is the car stopped?” I muttered.

  “Yes,” he breathed relief. “It is now. I thought we were going to crash. What happened?”

  “I’m not sure. I think it was your ring.” I had difficulty speaking.

  “What do you mean?” Alexander sounded defensive.

  “I saw Yasmine.” I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. “I had a vision, but one of the past. Where she bought that ring, and who touched it. I saw her pursuer, and what happened to her.” I trailed off and tried my hardest to look up at him.

  Alexander’s mouth fell open. “How? How can you have seen all this?”

  “I have visions.” I tried to regain composure. “When I touch things that have been imprinted with something, I see what’s been imprinted. Or I get an energy connection, I think. I’m able to pull from that time. Does that sound crazy?”

  “No,” he muttered, scooting to the edge of his seat.

  I carefully pulled the car over to the side of the road. I needed to recover before continuing on to Hope’s house. Alexander remained silent.

  “Should I not have said anything?”

  “No, I’m glad you did.” He took a deep breath. “But I wasn’t expecting this, especially not tonight. I want to know every detail, but not now. Tonight is about you, and we must keep it that way.” His voice sounded so serious that I wondered if it was all he could do to sit there and talk calmly with me. Something in him had changed. I sensed a relief, and at the same time, a focus. One that entailed all of Alexander’s rage balled up in one tiny but deadly package.

  “Should we leave this topic alone, then, and head to Hope’s?”

  “Please.” The word came out eerily calm.

  When we pulled up, Hope had made it home and was waiting in her usual cross-armed position for us on the deck. This time, she hopped around a bit, probably due to the cold.

  “Hurry up, guys.” She shivered as she spoke, teeth clattering.

  We emerged grimly from the car.

  “Guys,” Hope frowned. “What is it?”

  I shook my head quickly to cut off her questioning. Hope was smart. She immediately dropped the inquiries and helped get my stuff inside. Alexander wandered ahead, staring blankly at the ground. Hope grabbed my sleeping bag and pillow for me while I took my bag.

  Alexander glided into the house, completely unaware of Hope’s family staring at him as he walked past them. Kiera stopped in front of him in the hallway, momentarily meeting his gaze. They stared at one another, having a silent conversation. Her face blanched.

  “I may have something for you.” Kiera spoke aloud, but we all knew her statement had been for Alexander alone.

  “Thanks,” Alexander said softly, his mouth a thin line.

  Hope looked at me, confused. I shook my head and pulled my hand over my throat in a cutting motion. She nodded and tried to lead us upstairs, but Alexander seemed to know the location of her room.

  To my surprise, no one even introduced themselves to Alexander, or asked why I’d brought a stranger into their home. Tellah and Samara backed into the kitchen and began making some hot cocoa. Samara carried some up for us.

  “Hope?” I asked. “Did your family expect Alexander to come here tonight?”

  “Kiera…” Hope looked at me expectantly.

  “Kiera? How did she know?” I felt my eyebrows crease.

  Hope looked at Alexander to make sure he wasn’t watching us, then leaned in to whisper to me. “The Jarwin asked Kiera to stay after Alexander left. They told her that he would learn something tonight that was going to upset him greatly. So they gave her something to give him.”

  “So Kiera knew he would be coming tonight and told your family?”

  “Something like that,” Hope said, but didn’t elaborate.

  If the Jarwin knew I was going to tell Alexander and they gave something to Kiera for him, maybe they weren’t what I thought. Secrets… That was the danger of keeping them. No one knew your intent.

  When we reached Hope’s room, we all sat on the bed. When her bed got too crowded, Alexander moved to the floor. His long legs stretched out, taking up a good portion of her room.

  Samara knocked on the door, bringing us all some hot cocoa. She even added little marshmallows. I would normally have drifted back to childhood at that point, reminiscing about the old days, but I had too much on my mind.

  “Thanks,” we all muttered, our moods not the best they could be.

  Samara grinned and left us to talk.

  “So,” Hope began. “Who wants to fill me in on what’s going on?” She sat back, her cheerful self blissfully unaware of the devastation both Alexander and I were feeling.

  “I guess I will,” I mumbled. Alexander stared at the wall. “I’m going to cut this down as much as possible. So much has happened today, I can’t tell you everything.”

  Hope sipped her cocoa and made herself more comfortable, waiting for me to continue. Alexander’s eyes still fixated on the wall.

  “I’m adopted. My exact birthday is unknown, and Jaden is missing because of me. I think that covers it.” I took a sip of cocoa. The chocolate swirled down my throat, soothing it. After fifteen minutes of filling them in on every detail, I finally finished.

  “Wow.” Hope looked down at Alexander. “And now you get to tell Aislinn all kinds of stuff too. Should I make some coffee? This is going to be a long night.”

  Alexander looked up at her, rolled his eyes, and replied, “Well, if you two need it. I’ll be just fine.” His mouth lifted into a grin, and I wondered how staring at the wall had helped his mood improve.

  I looked at him questioningly.

  Alexander met my gaze, then tilted his head to the side. “I’m listening,” he said.

  “Listening?”

  “Not just to you, Aislinn. I can hear you and my guides at the same time. I’ve been checking on Jaden, getting an update on what to tell you, and…” he hesitated, “checking my sources about what you revealed to me a bit ago. Apparently, there is more to what you said on the way here than what
the Jarwin admit. Although it doesn’t make any sense that they kept this a secret.”

  “You can do all that at once?”

  “Yup.” He spoke with assurance. “Don’t worry; you’ll be able to as well. It’s kind of like listening to me talk and listening to your thoughts at the same time. Not that difficult, if you practice.”

  “Ah.” I looked at Hope to see her reaction, but she had none. I took another drink. It was my turn to listen now.

  “Aislinn,” Hope piped up. “Before Alexander takes off in another direction, can I say something about your birthday?”

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  “Because of your dream, you being changed, and the Jarwin feeling the urge to nudge your parents into confession, I think your birthday may be soon. And I mean very soon. I don’t think the Jarwin would let Jaden stay captive for months. So if you are the one to rescue her, well… just be ready is all.” Hope almost withdrew from me as she finished sharing her opinion. As if saying it aloud would cause some spontaneous combustion of change right before her eyes.

  “I think you may be correct. But it hasn’t happened yet. So it may be wise to get all the information I can before I change.” I tried to suppress my nervousness, but I couldn’t hold it in.

  “Absolutely.” Alexander’s voice held confidence, and I almost jumped when he spoke. This was not the same Alexander from twenty minutes ago. How could he change his mood so quickly?

  “Well,” I sighed. “Let’s get to it, then.”

  14

  TOO MUCH, TOO SOON

  Alexander beamed a large smile. “It’s okay, Aislinn. You’ll be fine.”

  “I know.” My chest tightened. “So much has happened, though. Sometimes I wish things would just slow down a little. I initially wished to do things like Neo, but maybe I spoke a little too soon.”

  A soft chuckle escaped Alexander’s mouth. After all, he had warned me. He looked away, probably to keep from breaking into laughter.