by H G Lynch
“I know, I know. Tell Dad and Munch Monster I said ‘Hi’,” Ember smiled at using the nickname she’d given her younger brother. Carol smiled and nodded, before turning and getting in her car. Ember watched her drive off and once she was safely out of sight… “YES! Finally!” Ember punched the air and almost fell to her knees in the parking lot, despite the wet ground. Sherry laughed and shook her head disapprovingly.
“You should miss her, you know?” she muttered.
Ember grinned helplessly, “Yeah? Well, I can’t miss her when she’s here, can I?” she quipped. Sherry just rolled her eyes and they made their way back to the dorms.
The rest of Sunday was uneventful. Ember had thought Reid would be dying to get back to her side, seeing as they had no reason to fear getting caught, but he apparently had other things to attend to.
Monday and Tuesday were painfully slow and boring, being back at school. When it came to the middle of the week, Ember was almost relieved. Just two more days until the weekend! She thought longingly. Two more days and she could sleep past 7am. If only she had something to do this weekend. She sighed, unhappily. She had the feeling Reid might be avoiding her; three days and hardly anything more than a few five-minute drop-bys. It was strange, considering usually he couldn’t stay away from her. Maybe she was getting clingy? Oh Dear God, no! She grimaced and Sherry nudged her.
“What’s up? You look horrified,” she giggled. Ember just shook her head mutely, glaring down at her scribble-filled English jotter. Sherry shrugged. “Well, it looks like you’re being signalled,” she murmured, jerking her head toward the left and a few rows down. Ember followed her glance and saw Reid grinning up at her. She tried to force a smile in return but it must not have been convincing because Reid’s smile fell and he looked a little hurt. Aw. How cute.
What’s wrong? Reid’s voice came to her mind and she bristled at having him in her head again. She threw up her mental blocks and glared at him for a moment, before scribbling a note. It was more dangerous than telepathic notes but at least she could lie on paper.
Nothing’s wrong. I’m just bored to death here.
She folded the paper and tossed it to Reid. He caught it nimbly in his long fingers and gave her a look before turning to read the note.
A minute later, the note landed back on her desk.
OK, if that’s all it is.
Ember scowled at the note. The words seemed, somehow, almost sharp, uncaring. She could imagine the way he might say them, with a shrug and a cold smirk. She’d expected a joke or witty comment or something, but no. Damn it. I’m over-analysing again, she thought, frustrated. The bell rang, effectively ending her worrying for the moment. She had Biology next. Great.
Reid
Damn it. He couldn’t stand this. Three days and it was already killing him; four days technically. He’d been busy on Saturday and he’d gotten into a little trouble, and since then, he’d been trying to stay away from Ember. For her own good.
***
He’d been out in the woods, feeding on a blood bag - he preferred fresh blood from the source but he couldn’t bring himself to feed on any girl but Ember. Though he wasn’t feeding on her either. What was a guy to do? When he’d been interrupted by a cold female voice.
“You’re awfully brave to be out here alone, vampire,” the woman speaking looked vaguely familiar, with cropped hair and sharp, grey eyes.
“Oh, of course. Because I’m terribly afraid of the random women running around,” he sneered, tossing the blood bag to the ground carelessly and scuffing pine needles over it. The woman’s face glowed with hatred.
“You don’t even know who I am, do you?” she spat. Reid shrugged,
“I’m guessing I screwed you and never called afterwards?” He shrugged nonchalantly. The woman’s face twisted in disgust and horror - and more rage.
“NO! I’d never sleep with a blood-sucking monster! I’m one of those witches you attacked, you disgusting freak! And I swear you’re going to regret that!” Oh. Now he remembered her. He hadn’t really been paying attention to her that night. He’d sensed Ember up in the tree and he’d been more focused on finding a way to get her out safely.
“Right… wait, how do you even remember that night? We blanked your memories!” Reid hadn’t considered that before. Even when he’d heard from Joseph that he’d been working for the witches. Nobody had wondered about how the witches had remembered anything. Smart Reid, He thought, real smart.
“Trade secret. We have ways to prevent compulsion. Too bad for you and your friends. You’ll regret messing with us!” the witch hissed and Reid set his jaw in annoyance.
“Say it again, I think I missed it the first time,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. Witches with a way to protect against compulsion could be a real problem, but he wouldn’t let her see it worried him.
“I’m serious, vampire! We’re going to strip you of everyone you care about, starting with your little girlfriend. How do you think she’d enjoy being a mouse? I think it would suit her.” The witch smiled a nasty smirk and Reid felt fury flare up in his chest. The bitch was threatening his Ember.
“You won’t touch her or I swear to God, I’ll rip you all apart limb by limb and burn your mangled corpses,” his voice was deadly quiet as he spoke, and he could feel the dark glint in his eyes, the lengthening of his canines. The witch backed off a little as he slipped into an attack stance, but she snarled one more thing before she fled.
“You know she doesn’t love you, right? You’re a monster! What girl could love a monster? None! She’s acting because she’s terrified of you! She’s going to turn on you! And if she doesn’t… she’s only in danger because of you! Soon, you’ll realise you’re going to get her killed!”
And then the witch was gone. But her words seemed to echo in his head. ‘You’re going to get her killed’. It struck him with startling clarity, and painfully so. The damned witch was right. It was his fault Ember was in this mess! His fault Joseph had put the dead crow in her room, his fault she was being hunted by vengeful witches, his fault she was in trouble with her mother - that last one was hardly important in light of the other issues, but still it was a problem he’d caused. Maybe her mother was right? He was a bad influence. He brought danger to Ember, and soon enough she’d start to consider things… like mortality. What if she asked him to turn her? He couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t make her what he was. Could he?
That’s when he’d decided to stay away from her for a while. For her own good. If he wasn’t around her, the witches might leave her alone. Maybe she’d realise she didn’t want him anymore, and she’d get herself out of this mess. He could handle that - maybe - but he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
***
And that was why he’d forced himself away from her since Saturday because some stupid witch had hit a nerve. But there was no way in hell he was risking getting Ember turned into a mouse or worse, even if it was killing him to stay away from her. He knew she’d been upset about something in English and his curt reply to her note hadn’t helped, but maybe she’d avoid him for a week or so. Just until he could track down the witches and rip them to shreds.
Unfortunately, his body ached for her, and so did his heart. She was so exciting and fiery; when she wasn’t around everything was cold and dim. There was something in her that was magnetic to him, something fierce and bright and beautiful. And Dear God, if he had another dream about her in that damned bikini, he was going to lose his mind. His attraction to her wasn’t purely emotional after all. If they hadn’t been in a public place on Friday… As it was he’d barely controlled himself. He’d so desperately wanted to stroke every inch of her body, feel the heat of her soft skin on his, hear her whisper his name… Stop it! He jerked himself out of it. He wanted to storm down to her room and wrap her up in kisses and touches to make her dizzy. But that would ruin his plan to keep her safe. So he lay on his bed, trying to block the impure images that rushed to his head, and hoped he could slee
p for the next few days. Dreamlessly.
Ember
Thursday. Four o’clock. The forest. Ember was sitting in her tree, thoughtfully watching the clouds flow across the grey-blue sky. Her dorm room had seemed oppressing, so she’d come out here to think. She was wondering about her dreams of Owen, about what he’d said and why he kept showing up. The last time she’d had strange dreams like that, they’d been about Reid, telling her what he was. Perhaps these dreams were trying to tell her something too? But she hadn’t seen Owen in four years; he was a stranger to her now. Why would he be the one trying to tell her things? Things that, in reality, he had no idea about. Analysing dreams was never comforting in Ember’s mind. They always seemed to tell her dangerous or scary things.
“So why do I bother?” she sighed aloud, resting her chin on her knees, her gloved hands wrapped round her shins. The caw of a crow nearby sent shivers through her, and she had to shake off the images the sound brought to mind; blood and feathers on her bedroom floor. Eventually that image would stop filling her with anger and sorrow. Or at least that’s what she hoped. For now, her Owen encounters in her sleep were more distracting. They confused her to no end, and worried her just a little. They were only dreams but, as she’d learned, dreams could be prophetic. What if Owen’s warning was true? Maybe she really shouldn’t be here on her own?
With that thought, she glanced around her. At the creaking pine trees and swaying oak trees, the misty sky and sodden ground. She listened to the chirp of birds and the rustle of leaves, the whisper of the wind and the whipping of branches. She felt the sharp, cold air on her face, blowing loose strands of hair across her cheeks and forehead, felt the rough bark at her back and the warmth of her thick jumper. No. Nobody could hurt her here surely? Even witches couldn’t get her in this peaceful place. Not when she was twenty feet off the ground in a tree. Twenty feet up felt like a whole other world to her today. Like she was free in her own reality, where there was nothing but the surrounding nature. That’s why she’d chosen here to think about the things that worried her. They couldn’t hurt her if she was here, but she could think about them safely. The only person who could get to her here was Reid.
Ember bit her lip, suddenly feeling a little upset atop her confusion over her disturbing nightmares. She was starting to think Reid really was avoiding her. She’d tried to catch him after English class today, but he’d taken off so fast she’d only glimpsed him rounding the corner to the Art department. He’d been so lively and flirty on Friday and then snap, he’d started this. Had she done something? Surely she hadn’t been clingy recently? She knew how that could drive him away - hell, it’d drive her nuts if anyone even suggested she was clingy. She didn’t stick to any guy like glue, no matter how much she cared for them. But then, why was Reid avoiding her? She wouldn’t track him down and ask. That would be stupid if she really was being clingy. Instead she’d give him some space and hopefully he’d come back to her when he wanted to. It’d give her a chance to redeem herself in the eyes of her oft-neglected friend. She knew she’d been quite unsocial to Sherry the past few days, and Sherry had tried to make time for them to hang out all weekend. Even when Ricky had shown up to take her out on Saturday morning, she’d declined in the hopes that Ember would watch movies with her. Ember had felt bad about being anti-social to her friend, but those pesky dreams were irritating her.
“OK,” she muttered out-loud, straightening up. “Give Reid some space, hang out with Sherz and forget the dreams.” She decided firmly, stretching out her cramped arms and legs. Carefully she clambered down the tree, wondering if Sherry would be up for a horror movie night tonight.
“Ouch!” she cursed as she jumped from a few branches up and hit the ground awkwardly, stumbling against the tree trunk. She scowled and brushed off the leaves and bark from her jumper before turning to walk back to the dorms. But apparently fate had decided to intervene in her newly-made decisions, because Reid was suddenly standing in front of her now, looking solemn. “Oh, hey. What’s up?” Ember smiled weakly, unsure whether or not to hug him.
“Ember, we need to talk.” His voice was dull, and his blue eyes were unusually dark. His devil-may-care smile was missing, replaced by a tight frown. Ember was immediately suspicious.
“OK. What about?” She dropped her smile and narrowed her eyes, feeling a chill blossom in her chest. He hesitated, looking away from her.
“I… I’ve realised something…” he began slowly, his voice emotionless as he started to walk around her - at a distance. She waited patiently, watching his feet as he stepped gradually round to her right. “I know this might come as a shock, babe, but I… I don’t…” He paused, and Ember had to push away from the tree and turn to see him now. He was standing a few feet back behind the tree, facing her with sympathy on his face. He looked rueful as he said. “I don’t want you anymore. It won’t work with us. I’m a vampire and you’re not. We’re so different and …you just aren’t what I want.” His words were almost cold, sharp but blunted by his gentle tone. Ember felt a stinging heat in her eyes and they filled with tears that she tried to blink back.
“Are… are you breaking up with me?” she asked in a whisper, the chill in her chest froze round her heart. This was shocking to say the least. She knew he was being distant but she never expected this. How could he have changed his mind since Friday? She hadn’t done anything wrong; she hadn’t changed.
“Yes. I’m breaking up with you. I’d say ‘let’s be friends’, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. You should just… try to stay away from me. It’s better for us both.” Reid brushed blond hair off his face, tugging down his black beanie and adjusting his fingerless gloves casually. Tears ran down Ember’s cheeks and she hastily wiped them away.
“Reid, where did this come from?” she almost wailed but her voice cracked.
“I met one of the witches on Saturday and she said some things. And I realised she was right. We’re just not right for each other. I can’t look after some little human, and you can’t survive in my world. You might act like you’re fine with it but I know deep inside you fear me. It’s why you’ve stuck with me, despite not caring that much about me. But I’m making it easy for you now. I’ll leave you alone, and you can be safe without me.” Reid didn’t look at her, just gazed off into the trees. She had a sinking in her stomach, and an ache in her chest. Her head hurt all of a sudden.
“What about Ricky and Sherry, huh? They’ve made it work! Why are you listening to some stupid bloody witch?” Ember shrieked, more tears escaping. Reid shrugged.
“It’s different,” he said shortly, as if it was an answer. Ember opened her mouth to argue, but something in the cold set of Reid’s jaw, and the way he wouldn’t look at her, shut her up. She shut her mouth and stalked up to him slowly. She ignored the tears running down her face, and stood just a foot from him until he turned to meet her gaze. She threw out one hand with all the force she could muster and slapped him across the cheek, hard. It made a sharp cracking noise and his head snapped to the side.
“I hate you,” she hissed through gritted teeth. Then she turned away and sobbed softly, letting the tears run freely as she ran back to the dorms.
Once she was close to the edge of the trees, Ember allowed herself a sneering smirk and wiped away the fake tears drying on her face.
Ember thumped on the dorm room door and waited impatiently for it to open. The second it opened and she confirmed who it was behind it, she threw out her hand to slap the boy. But he was far quicker than her, even when caught by surprise, and he caught her wrist inches from his face.
“Whoa! What was that for?” Reid exclaimed, blue eyes wide in surprise.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me you had a run in with a witch on Saturday?” She snatched her hand back and shoved him back inside the room, following him in and shutting the door. He looked at her in shock and opened his mouth but no words came out. “Well? That’s why you’ve been avoiding me, isn’t it?! For God’s sake,
I thought you were smart!” Ember sighed exasperatedly, longing to punch him.
“Wait, how did you find out?” He blinked and grimaced in confusion, running one hand through his hair. Before she could answer, he was suddenly holding her arms and peering into her face intently. “Have you been crying? Oh my God, that’s not because of me, is it? I didn’t mean to-” he started, guilt swelling in his lovely blue eyes. Ember waved him away.
“Shut up a minute. Yeah, I was crying, but I was acting. I’m good at that remember? I had a run in with a witch myself, only she was pretending to be you.” Ember rolled her eyes and he let her go, abruptly angry. Sometimes, his mood swings were worse than a girl’s.
“What happened?” he growled.
“You broke up with me! How could you?” Ember whined, pretending to cry again. And then she removed her hands from her face and smirked up at him dangerously, amused by the startled expression on his face. She arched a brow and saw the corners of his mouth twitch.
“And you knew it wasn’t me?” he asked boldly, sitting back on his bed.
“Yep. To start with I thought it was you. For like, five seconds. But then the not-you person, called me ‘Babe’ and I realised you’d never be stupid enough to call me that. Especially if you were breaking up with me.” Ember smiled innocently as Reid chuckled.
“And how do you know I won’t break up with you? How do you know I didn’t send the witch to do it for me?” he teased, trying to look serious but failing miserably. Ember grinned and walked over to him. She pushed his shoulders back so he lay flat on the bed and sat astride his lap, leaning over him. She bent close to him and breathed against his lips.
“Because you haven’t had me yet,” she whispered seductively, running her hands over his chest. It was fun to watch his pupils dilate and see his lips part as his breath quickened. She smirked and planted a tiny, teasing kiss on his mouth before moving off him. He groaned and closed his eyes briefly, not moving from his sprawled out position.