Forgotten Fires

by Sara C. Roethle

  “What?” I prompted, as I considered too late that maybe whatever he had to say, he didn't want to say in front of Chase.

  He glanced at me again, then back to the road. “I imagine that you'll be going back underground if we find no other leads on the witches?”

  I shrugged. “It's the only option I see. It would probably be wise for us to go as soon as possible while the wolves look for leads, really.”

  “Us?” Jason asked casually as he picked imaginary lint off the sleeve of his flannel shirt.

  “Chase and I,” I clarified.

  Everyone in the car went silent as I realized I had somehow put my foot in my mouth again. I mean, I knew that things were awkward, but I was just being practical.

  “You know,” I began, “because we're both demons, and we'd be going to the demon underground? Plus, we're going to see his brother.”

  Chase stayed silent while Jason nodded, but there was still a tension to his face that made me uncomfortable. “You're right,” he said finally. “Your plan make sense.” After a moment more he glanced back at Chase and added, “I didn't know you had a brother.”

  “We don't exactly get along,” Chase explained.

  Jason nodded again as he pulled the car into Allison's driveway. The sky was already growing dark, and I wasn't surprised that the entire day had gone by. It had felt like ten different days jumping from one emergency to the next. I didn't like the idea of re-visiting Sam during the night, his run-down abode was creepy enough when the underground was lit up with artificial daylight. I didn't want to see those eerie shapes again in the dark. Still, I couldn't just go to sleep while my dad was still missing.

  We blocked in a silver car I'd never seen before that was parked behind Allison's car, and next to Lela's. It looked like we were having a party.

  We exited the car and went inside to find Max, Allison, Lucy, Lela, Devin, Abel, and several people I didn't know all gathered into the living room, which had been rearranged to look more like a conference room with extra chairs all gathered together.

  Abel and Devin were deep in conversation, with Lela and the strangers standing around them. They barely even acknowledged us as we entered the room. I went to stand by Allison, who stood in the corner with her arms crossed, looking irritated.

  “Are you sure it's okay to have all of these people in your house?” I whispered.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “It's not like I invited them.” I was about to apologize, but suddenly she smiled. “It would be fun though if my parents actually came home early to find a house full of adults waiting for them.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “Fun?”

  Allison smiled a little wider as she looked at her unwelcome guests. “Yes, fun,” she repeated.

  I shook my head as Chase approached. “Should we get going?” he asked as he reached us.

  “Get going?” Allison questioned before I could answer him.

  Lucy and Max approached to see what we were talking about.

  “Back underground,” I explained as our group came together. “We think there's another demon involved in all of this, and we want to try and get more information.”

  Jason joined our group last, coming to stand between me and Allison.

  “And what are the rest of us supposed to do?” Max asked, sounding slightly annoyed himself, though I wasn't sure why.

  “What's got your fur all ruffled?” I asked instead of answering him.

  Max sighed. “We've just been stuck here all day with Devin while he makes a million phone calls, when we could actually be helping.”

  I took a deep breath to steady my own sudden annoyance, but wasn't entirely successful. “Well I'm sorry that my dad is missing and my friend was murdered, and I didn't quite have the time to consider the fact that you didn't want to sit inside all day.”

  Allison wrinkled her forehead at my bad attitude, but didn't say anything.

  Max looked suddenly embarrassed as he said, “I'm sorry, Xoe. I only wanted to help.”

  Jason put his hand at the small of my back and began rubbing it in small circles. It was what he usually did when my temper reared its ugly head, but for the first time it made me feel worse. It wasn't fair for him to be cold one moment, then affectionate the next. I had enough confusion to deal with without him adding to it.

  As an excuse to pull away, I turned to see if Abel and Devin had finished their conversation. They hadn't, but I was tired of waiting. I left my group and marched up to Abel, who was dressed more normally than I had ever seen him, in jeans and a hunter green sweater. His long, dark hair, pulled back into a braid, accentuated his strong, amber features.

  “Alexondra, I see you've gotten us into a pickle once again,” he said as he turned to face me.

  Devin's shoulders relaxed as Abel's attention was taken from him, making me think they'd been discussing something that Devin was uncomfortable with.

  I raised my hands in defense. “I don't think I started this one. I was just hanging out in the underground, minding my own business.”

  Abel gave me a scrutinizing look. “If you didn't start it, then who?”

  I told him the scenarios that Chase and I had come up with in the car, and what we'd learned from following Cynthia.

  He looked weary as I finished. “The rogue wolves must be our primary objective,” he announced. “Without them, the witches will no longer be a problem.”

  “Uh,” I began, surprised by his attitude. “There's also a murderous demon on the loose, and let's not forget that my dad is missing.”

  Abel looked at me like I was being silly. “I'm sure Alexondre is quite capable of taking care of himself.”

  I shook my head. “There is an unknown demon involved. We have no idea what he or she might be capable of.”

  Abel thought for a moment, then nodded. “Well then you can take care of that while the rest of us see to the wolves.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but realized he'd suggested exactly what I'd been thinking. “Well then okay,” I replied, jumbling my words.

  Devin squinted at me from behind Abel's back. There was something else going on there, but I didn't have time to worry about it. With a final nod, I returned to my friends and explained the plan to them.

  “I'm coming with you,” Jason said immediately.

  “We're not supposed to take non-demons into the underground,” I countered. “We'd be putting you in danger for no reason.”

  “You took Lucy,” he countered.

  “Lucy was a stowaway,” I argued. “She jumped a ride and I didn't have time to stop her.”

  Lucy blushed at that, but didn't argue.

  “Whoever is doing this took your father, and murdered your friend,” Jason stated. “You shouldn't go back down there without backup.”

  I hated to say it, but he was right. I just didn't like the idea of endangering him to protect me, especially since he'd made me feel so miserable about doing it in the past.

  “Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “Let's go.”

  As the three of us went for the front door, leaving my tired and cranky friends behind, my stomach growled. It had been several hours since I'd last eaten, but it would have to wait.

  The night air that hit me as we walked through the door was much colder than usual, making me wish I'd grabbed a jacket. I run extremely warm because of my demon bloodline, but the air was chilly enough that goosebumps erupted across my bare arms as I walked slightly ahead of the two boys.

  I had a feeling that if the three of us stayed together much longer, a confrontation was bound to happen. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife.

  We reached the area where Chase and I had departed from previously, and I stopped and held out a hand to each of the boys. The trees surrounding the area looked like they had been hit with giant baseball bats, and many of them had been reduced to splintered stumps. Anyone who happened upon the area would likely be monumentally confused. As for me, I just felt a little sick.
<
br />   I paused for a moment as each of the boys interlaced their fingers with mine. Though their hands felt solid, the moment felt incredibly surreal with the three of us standing in the dark forest together. I shook away the odd feeling. The important thing was finding my dad. My own feelings would have to wait.

  11

  We landed in the middle of Sam's barren dwelling with barely a sound. If only my departures could be so in-obtrusive. I looked around the dark building, but didn't see Sam anywhere.

  “Of course he chooses now to go somewhere,” Chase commented.

  “Where do you think he went?” I asked as I paced around the small space.

  There was a desk in the corner that I hadn't seen before, and I went to it, hoping that maybe it held whatever information my dad had been looking for. If I could find it, we wouldn't need to wait for Sam at all.

  “I wouldn't do that,” Chase remarked before my hand could touch the desk.

  I paused mid-motion to glance at him. “Why not?”

  Chase took a few steps forward and ushered me away from the desk. “He wouldn't just leave his records unattended. My guess is that desk holds some very unpleasant surprises for any would-be information thieves.”

  I glared at the desk, frustrated that the information I needed was so near, but not within my reach.

  “I know of a few places he might be,” Chase explained, answering my earlier question, “but someone should stay here in case he comes back.”

  “Splitting up doesn't seem like a good idea,” Jason cut in. “Especially if one person will be on their own.”

  “We don't have time to argue about it,” I stated. “Chase and I will go, and Jason, you wait here.”

  Jason opened his mouth to argue, but Chase beat him too it. “Xoe, you should be the one to stay here.”

  I shook my head, feeling somehow betrayed. “Why?”

  “We don't know what demon is behind this, and they already hurt Dorrie. We can't risk that there might be someone waiting to hurt you,” he explained. “You shouldn't be seen down here. Plus, Sam knows you. He doesn't know Jason.”

  “If they're waiting to hurt me,” I countered, “they would do the same to you.”

  “I agree with Chase,” Jason chimed in, making me feel even more betrayed. “You should stay out of sight.”

  “But by that logic, so should Chase,” I argued.

  Chase shook his head. “The only reason to hurt me would be if I had information that you didn't know, and I don't. Attacking me would only make things more obvious to you.”

  I shook my head in return. I was out of arguments. I could have said that as a vampire, Jason shouldn't be seen in the underground either, but I didn't want Chase running around in the dark alone.

  “Fine,” I said finally, “but you guys better not keep me waiting here all night. I'll call you if Sam shows up.”

  With a final nod, they both left me in the creepy dark room by myself. Feeling useless as the door shut behind them, I slumped to the ground and sat with my knees pulled up to my chest.

  “I thought they'd never leave,” came a voice from out of the darkness.

  I hopped to my feet and looked around the room. At first I saw nothing out of the ordinary, then the shadowy shapes I'd seen before shimmered into being and began darting along the walls from a central point. As the last of the shapes left the center, Sam appeared.

  “They were hiding you,” I breathed as I tried to calm my pulse. “Why?”

  “Because I'm going to help you find your father,” he explained, “and your two escorts would have stood in the way.”

  “Why would you help me now and not before?” I asked sharply.

  Sam smiled sadly. “Some new information recently came to light.”

  “That doesn't explain anything,” I replied.

  “It doesn't have to.”

  I didn't understand the morose look on Sam's face, but I knew I didn't like it. Still, I wanted to find my dad.

  “What did you have in mind?” I asked finally.

  Sam glanced nervously at the door, as if someone might burst in at any moment. “The witches are trying to summon another demon,” he explained. “I could help you to jump in and get summoned as well.”

  I inhaled sharply in surprise. “But wouldn't that just leave me in the same position as my dad?”

  Sam glanced at the door again. “You're half-human. The witches will have taken precautions against demon blood, which is why they could hold your dad, but their precautions won't work as well on you.”

  I shook my head, thinking about the wardings at Sasha's house that hadn't worked as intended. Maybe the witches were actually learning from their mistakes this time, but if so, they should have taken precautions against angry half-demons as well, since one was about to come their way.

  “There isn't much time,” Sam said nervously. “You must decide now.”

  It was my turn to glance at the door, wishing that I hadn't let Chase and Jason leave. Then again, Sam was right, they would have tried to stop me.

  “You'll tell Chase and Jason where I went when they get back?” I asked hopefully.

  Sam nodded. “Don't worry, I'll babysit them for as long as you need.”

  I took a step toward Sam. “Do it.”

  Sam closed his eyes and lifted both of his arms above his head dramatically. The shadowy shapes that had settled into the dark crevices of the room suddenly surged forward. They flowed around Sam's still form and poured toward me. My instincts screamed at me to run, and it took everything I had to stand in place. I was overcome with an electric feeling as they hit me and started swirling around my body in a dizzying mass. It almost tickled where the some of the shapes touched me, but others made my skin burn.

  As the shapes closed in enough that I could no longer see Sam, I had a feeling of moving upward, almost like what I felt when I made a portal, but instead of simply popping into being somewhere else, it felt like I was dissolving. I screamed, thinking it had all been a horrible trick and Sam had betrayed me, but my scream was cut short as my body dissolved into nothing.

  There was a moment of blackness, where all I could think was that I was dead, then I could feel my face and my heartbeat. Ever so slowly, the feeling of having a torso and limbs returned to me.

  I was in a dark, stone room that felt oddly familiar. I sat up with a gasp as the bars across the front of the room came into view. What looked like candlelight flickered off the cool metal. I knew just where I was, and it was a place I had never hoped to return to. Memories of escaping that same room with Allison, Lela, and Brian came flooding back.

  The steel bars that looked slightly dingy now had been installed by the group of witches who had kidnapped us. I had assumed that my dad had gotten rid of the bars when he covered up all that happened, but I guess not. The cell was in one of the old-style crypts underneath Shelby's cemetery. The crypts had all been sealed, until the witches decided to take this one over.

  As I watched, several faces came into view as people peeked around the corner through the bars. I thought I recognized several of them, but upon seeing me they quickly withdrew.

  “It's the demon girl,” I heard one say. “It worked.”

  “What do you mean, it worked?” I asked, using annoyance to cover up my fear.

  “Our part in this is almost over,” another said, though they weren't speaking to me.

  Confused, I thought over what Sam had said. He'd claimed that they were trying to summon some other demon, but that I could hop in in that demon's place. Yet, the witches were expecting me.

  “What worked?” I asked again sharply, but all I could hear was the sound of retreating footsteps, leaving me alone in the near darkness.

  Panicking, I thought of my dad's house and tried to make a portal, but nothing happened. Next I tried to summon a flame into my hand. Nothing. If the witches were specifically trying to summon me, then Sam must have known. He betrayed me, but why? As far as I knew, they could summon me without
help, at least as far as traditional summonings were concerned. Then it dawned on me that the reason the witches were able to summon demons entirely wasn't because they had discovered some new magic, it was because they had help. Somehow Sam used his spectral henchmen to carry demons fully to the human world. Sam had been the last person my father talked to, right before being summoned himself.

  I punched the wall before I could think about it, and my knuckles came away bloody. Rage like I hadn't felt in what seemed like quite a while boiled in the pit of my stomach, and the small, stinging pain in my knuckles wasn't enough to dampen it. Normally that type of rage meant I would be blowing things up, but nothing was happening. My magic had somehow been nullified. With a cry of anger, I side-kicked at the bars, then nearly fell as the bars bent under my foot.

  I didn't take the time to be surprised. I knew I was capable of supernatural strength, but it had happened to me so rarely that I never really thought about it. With another cry of rage I threw my whole body against the bars. The impact rattled my bones, but the pain of the impact only spurred me on more.

  I threw my body against the bars over and over, until finally several of the bars broke loose from where they'd been cemented into the ground. Shaking violently, I wiggled the bars loose and slipped out of the cell.

  I knew that I'd made a lot of noise, and the witches would probably be rushing to contain me, so I had to be quick. I rushed toward the stairs, but was stopped by the sound of a single pair of high-heels clicking down the stone surface. Wanting to surprise whoever it was, I hid in the darkness beside the foot of the stairs, ready to pounce.

  First a pair of green, high-heeled boots came into view, followed by the edges of an emerald green trench coat.

  “You?” I said, so stunned that I forgot about the element of surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  My grandmother's smiling face came into view. “I'll need you to return to your cell, Alexondra.”

  Tears welled up in my eyes when I realized that not only was she not there to save me, she had been the one who wanted me captured.