Forgotten Fires

by Sara C. Roethle

Lucy huddled a little closer to me as I looked up at Chase. “What is he doing?” I asked nervously.

  Chase looked angry, but not at all scared. “You remember how I told you that my mother was a Naga and my father was a Necro-demon?”

  I nodded nervously as I turned my attention back to Sam's perfectly still form.

  “I take after our mother, and Sam takes after our father,” Chase explained. “The dead give him information, among other things.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. Whenever I began to think that I understood what demons were and what they could do, they'd go and throw me a curve ball. The shadows swirled around Sam, leaning what seemed to be their faces toward his head.

  Suddenly Sam's eyes shot open, and the shadowy shapes disappeared. “I'm not going to tell you what information your father was looking for,” he announced dramatically, “but I can tell you where he is now.”

  “So cut the show-boating and tell me,” I demanded.

  Sam rolled his eyes at me. “I can see why you and my brother spend so much time together, you're both a couple of party poopers. Your father is above-ground.”

  I sighed. “We went through all of this to find that out?”

  Sam snickered as he lifted a hand up to his mouth coyly. “He's above-ground because he was summoned.”

  My breath caught in my throat. Who would want to summon my dad, and what did it have to do with what happened to Dorrie?

  “How do we find him?” Chase asked while I was too busy being confused.

  “Another question equals another favor,” Sam said playfully.

  “If something happens to Alexondre because you wasted too much of our time . . . ” Chase began menacingly.

  Sam rolled his eyes again. “Fine, fine. He was summoned by a witch in your pathetic little town, and that's all I know. There was a protection circle involved, so he went off the radar as soon as he was summoned.”

  I shook my head as I thought things over, then turned to Chase. “They can't hurt him, right? When a demon is summoned, it's only in incorporeal form.”

  Chase still looked worried. “That's true, but they may have summoned him to keep him busy. The only reason for hurting Dorrie was to keep her from telling you what's going on.”

  “But why?” I pressed, still not understanding.

  “Our dear, departed Bartimus wasn't the only one who knew about your portals,” Sam chimed in. “Perhaps someone still wants to use you.”

  “Now you decide to be helpful?” Chase snapped.

  Sam shrugged. “I'll never get my favor if something happens to her.”

  “We need to talk to Cynthia,” I stated. When Chase and Lucy both looked at me in confusion, I clarified, “Claire's mom. If it's Sasha's coven that summoned my dad, Cynthia will be our way in.”

  “How do you know?” Lucy asked.

  I shook my head, I was mainly going on instinct, but her pleading expression from the night before kept flashing through my mind. “She had something to tell me about Claire's death, but her husband stopped her. Something fishy is going on, and Cynthia is the weakest link.”

  “But what does that have to do with your dad?” Lucy asked.

  Sam was looking back and forth between the three of us, seemingly delighted by our conversation.

  I smiled bitterly. “They're not telling us everything about Claire's death, and now they've summoned my dad. The two things are connected in some way.”

  “I just had a terrible thought,” Chase said suddenly. “If your dad's summoning is a ploy to leave you unprotected, your pack and Devin could be in danger too.”

  I inhaled sharply at the thought. “We sent Devin to meet with Sasha alone.”

  Sam stepped forward. “If you destroy my home with one of your portals right now, I'm going to be seriously ticked off.”

  “Do you have any better suggestions?” I asked impatiently.

  “Learn to be a proper demon?” he suggested.

  I glared at him in response.

  He shrugged. “Worth a shot. You could also just go and destroy one of the many abandoned buildings on this lot.”

  I gestured toward the door we'd come in through. “Lead the way.”

  Sam sighed. “Must I do everything?”

  “Yes,” Chase answered.

  With another sigh, Sam led us back into the alleyway, then took his sweet time walking past several more shady looking doors until finally stopping by a doorway that only had half a door left to it.

  He nodded at the door as if satisfied. “This should do.” He turned to face me, “I'll be in touch,” he stated, then turned and walked back toward his own dilapidated door.

  “Sam!” I called out before he could disappear into his little cave.

  He turned back and looked at me with an odd smile.

  He'd already stated that he wasn't going to tell me everything I needed to know, but I couldn't let him go without asking, “What information was my father looking for?”

  He stood motionless for a moment, then his creepy little smile crept back onto his face. “He wanted information on you,” he called back.

  Sam finished the walk to his door and disappeared inside while I stood staring after him with my jaw agape like an idiot. He wanted information on . . . me? I was his daughter, what information was left to know?

  I shook my head in confusion as Chase set to prying the remaining half of the door away. Lucy stood close to my side, looking up at me with a worried expression. Before she could inevitably ask what Sam had meant, the remainder of the door came loose and we walked inside. The interior had obviously hosted many squatters, as was evident by the heaps of fabric, newspaper, and empty food cans.

  “Do you smell anyone else here?” I asked Lucy, worried that I would end up killing some unsuspecting hobo demon.

  Lucy shook her head. “I smell a lot of things, but I don't think any of them are living.”

  I took a deep breath and reached out one hand to Chase and one to Lucy, preparing for takeoff. As soon as their fingers were safely intertwined with mine, I thought of Allison's living room, glad that I would only destroy the place I was leaving, and not the place I was going to.

  Moments later we stood before a stunned Allison and Max as Lucy stumbled off to the bathroom.

  “What the heck!” Allison shouted as soon as she regained her composure.

  “Where's Devin?” I asked, ignoring the infuriated look on Allison's face. “Did he already meet with Sasha?”

  “Oh he won't be meeting with her anytime soon,” she said with dramatic flair.

  It was only then that I realized how freaked out Max and Allison looked, way more freaked out than our sudden appearance merited.

  Devin walked in from the kitchen with his cell phone in hand. I breathed a sigh of relief to see him. I would have never forgiven myself if he walked into a trap because of me.

  “Sasha is dead,” he stated. “I went to the coffee shop, but when she didn't show, I came back here, only to find your vampire here as well. Apparently you had schemed for him to investigate her house. Well, he found more than he bargained for, in the form of Sasha's body, mutilated just like the girl's.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. I had been so sure that Sasha was behind whatever was going on. “Where's Jason?” I asked numbly.

  “He went to search for the dead girl's father,” Devin replied like it didn't really matter.

  I clenched my fists in frustration. “He was supposed to wait so I could talk to Cynthia.”

  “Well he had to notify someone that the head of their coven is dead, and I think we can all agree now that this is most definitely witch business and not our business.”

  In that moment, it was very difficult for me to not light Devin on fire. Funny, since just a moment before I was overwhelmed with joy to see him alive.

  “Someone summoned my dad, and . . . killed my friend,” I explained, choking up as my thoughts returned to Dorrie.

  Devin sighed. “It just couldn't be eas
y, could it? Not with you involved.” He turned to go back into the kitchen. “I have some calls to make, don't go running out of here all half-cocked again.”

  I was tempted to do just that, but instead followed Lucy and Chase's lead as we went to sit in the living area with Allison and Max. I pulled out my cell phone and looked through my recent calls for Jason's number. It wasn't hard to find, since I'd called it a hundred times while he was missing. Pushing back the uncomfortable feelings of that thought, I put the phone to my ear and let it ring.

  I let out a sigh of relief when I heard his voice on the other end of the line. He couldn't find Claire's parents, or any of the other witches for that matter. I told him everything that had happened on my end, and he hung up with a promise that he was on his way.

  I leaned against Lucy and put my head on her shoulder as my adrenaline subsided. We all sat in silence and waited, because there was nothing else we could do.

  9

  My phone buzzed while we waited, and I was so shocked by the caller ID that I almost forgot to answer it. Putting down the cold piece of pizza I was eating, I fumbled into action as I pushed the green button and held the phone up to my ear. “Mom?” I questioned.

  “Hey . . . honey,” she said hesitantly. “A woman named Cynthia is here to see you. She says you and her . . . daughter were classmates. She seems upset.”

  The way that she hesitated before saying daughter let me know that my mom knew about the murder. Of course, it was a small town. Everyone knew about the murder. The warring emotions that suddenly overtook me were a little too much. My mom had finally made contact . . . but only because Cynthia was there. At the same time, holy crap, we'd found Cynthia.

  “Is it okay if I come there?” I asked awkwardly.

  “S-sure,” she stammered. “We'll see you soon.”

  “Okay,” I answered as I tried not to cry. “See you soon.”

  I ended the call and stared blankly ahead. After weeks of not speaking, I was finally going to see my mom.

  “Xoe?” Lucy questioned. “Xoe?” she said again when I didn't answer. “If Cynthia is there, we should go,” she said finally.

  I startled back into reality. Of course Lucy had heard everything my mom said, which meant she had heard everything my mom didn't say. I felt almost embarrassed for some reason, like there should have been some great, heartfelt reunion for my friends to listen in on.

  I shook my head. “You guys should call Lela and wait here together. If this is about me, then I'm not going to drag you all into it.”

  “But-” Lucy began.

  “No,” I snapped. “If anything happens, I'll make a portal and escape with my mom, but I can only bring along so many people. It's safer for me to go alone.”

  Chase put a hand on mine. “You're not going alone,” he stated.

  “This is my problem,” I argued. “I get to choose how I deal with it.”

  “Your father is my friend,” he stated defensively, “and so was Dorrie. I'm coming with you. Deal with it.”

  “Fine,” I snapped as I stood.

  Devin walked back into the living room, looking frustrated. “You are not leaving again.”

  I turned to fully face him. My dad was missing, Dorrie was dead, and now my mom could very well be in danger. I'd had enough. I stared Devin down. “You can try stopping me, but I don't advise it,” I said calmly.

  Devin huffed in annoyance, and turned to look at Lucy, Allison, and Max. “I assume you will all back up the story that I did everything in my power to stop her?”

  “Sir, yes sir,” Max said weakly, as Allison and Lucy nodded.

  Now that things were settled, I stormed up to the front door. Tears stung at my eyes, but I wouldn't let them win. I flung open the door only to find Jason waiting on the other side.

  “Cynthia is with my mother,” I stated. “Don't you dare try and stop me.”

  Jason took one look at my tear-stained face and nodded. “Let's go.”

  I didn't argue about him coming. I knew it was in my power to make the others stay, but with Chase and Jason, it would have just been a waste of precious time.

  I left the doorway and was glad to see Jason's car parked out front. With the emotional stress on my brain, I hadn't even thought about how Chase and I would get to my mom's. We could have walked, but it would have taken too much time.

  We piled into the car without another word. I took the passenger seat while Jason drove, and Chase sat in the back. In any other situation, being alone with the two boys would have made me feel incredibly awkward, but at that moment, all I could think about were my parents.

  “Where is your father?” Jason asked as we drove.

  I glanced at his stony expression, but he kept his eyes on the road. “How much did Devin tell you?”

  “He said you got a call from someone, and rushed off to the underground.”

  Devin would make it sound that simple. “He's missing. Someone summoned him, and . . . hurt Dorrie.”

  Jason shook his head. “Just once I had hoped that things wouldn't be about you, but you really are always in danger.”

  “She's one of only two demons in existence that can make portals,” Chase cut in. “Rare things are always in danger.”

  Anger crept across Jason's face. “If she wouldn't have gotten involved with the wolves, no one would even know about her.”

  I looked at him in surprise, because what he said was just plain untrue. “Bart sent Nick and the witches after me based on the fact that my grandmother could make portals, and he hoped I could too. There was nothing I could have done to stop that.”

  Jason clenched his jaw, but didn't respond.

  “I think you just want this all to be my fault, because it makes it easier for you to deal with,” I accused.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Jason asked. “I don't want to be mad at you.”

  I snorted. “You may not want to be mad at me, but it's easier than being mad at fate or whatever else you want to call it. You're mad because I am what I am, and it makes life difficult. This whole time I've been feeling bad about how my life affects you and everyone else, but try living it.”

  Jason smacked his palm against the steering wheel in frustration. “It doesn't have to be this way.”

  “But it does!” I shouted. “There is nothing wrong with who I am, and if you can't deal with it, that's your problem.”

  Jason turned sharply into my mom's driveway and brought the car to a skidding halt. I got out and slammed the door shut, followed by Chase, who didn't slam his door. I half-expected Jason to drive away, but he got out and shut his door too.

  He took a deep breath and let it out before looking over at me. “You're right.”

  “I-I'm what?” I asked, confused.

  “You're right. Let's go talk to Cynthia.”

  He began walking toward the house before I could say anything. I gave Chase a worried look, then followed.

  It was strange to walk up to a house that had been my home for so many years, while feeling like I didn't belong there. My mom answered the door almost immediately, then stood aside for us to enter. It had only been a short time since I'd last seen her, but her curly, brown hair seemed longer to me, and she was wearing a casual, green dress that I had never seen. She seemed almost like a stranger, and the feeling was only increased by her closed-off stance.

  As I passed her she met my eyes, looking like she wanted to say a million different things, but what came out was, “I didn't expect you to get here so quickly.”

  I nodded. She'd probably assumed I was in the underground when she called. “We were at Allison's,” I explained.

  Cynthia was sitting on the couch, looking small and scared. She looked vastly different in jeans and a pale pink flannel shirt with her hair pushed back from her face, as opposed to her polished appearance the night before.

  “I'm sorry for coming here,” she said quietly. “I just didn't know where else to go. I don't know who I can trust.”

>   “Where's Ben?” I asked as I sat down beside her, trying my best to appear sympathetic.

  Cynthia shook her head over and over again as she began to cry. “We were only trying to protect Rose,” she sobbed.

  I looked back to where Chase and Jason stood. My mom stood awkwardly behind them and a little off to the side. She glanced down at Cynthia, then met my gaze. “I'm going to make some coffee,” she offered. She turned and hurried into the kitchen.

  I looked back to Cynthia. “Start from the beginning please.”

  She looked up at me with puffy eyes. “Promise me you'll help first. I know it was wrong, but we didn't know what would happen.”

  I bit my lip. I couldn't really promise to help if I didn't know what I was promising to help with, but I needed her to talk.

  “I promise,” I assured.

  “Even though you're a demon?” she asked hopefully.

  “I can't help if you don't tell me what's going on,” I replied, getting more than a little frustrated.

  “We've been summoning demons,” she admitted, then waited for my reaction.

  “I figured as much. Go on.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise at my reaction, but it seemed to give her the confidence to go on. “We weren't just summoning them though. Sasha found a way to actually bring a demon over entirely, not just in incorporeal form. I don't know how she did it. She wouldn't tell her secret to any of us.”

  My jaw dropped in surprise. “Why on earth would you want to do that? No offense, but I've met quite a few demons, and you would have to be a total idiot to want to hang out with them.”

  Cynthia began crying again. I waited for her to cry it out, not sure if offering comfort was the right thing to do. She might not want a demon to touch her. Eventually my mom walked in with several cups of coffee on a small tray. She handed each of us a mug in turn, and when she got to Cynthia she had to lift Cynthia's hand to put the mug in it. As soon as my mom's role as hostess was fulfilled, she hurried back into the kitchen. Feeling shaky, I took a steadying sip of my coffee and patted Cynthia's shoulder awkwardly.

  “Sasha thought she could control them,” she explained, referring to the demons. “We took so many precautions.”