Late that night Emma sat on her window seat, hugging her knees to her chest as she stared outside. Even with the lights in her room turned off she could still see the faint reflection of her face in the glass. Beyond that the full moon shone bright in the sky, with only a few stars bright enough to compete with it’s silvery glow. But Emma’s eyes weren’t on the sky. She was watching the shifting shadows of the trees, in her mind seeing the flames licking at the roof of the cabin as the sound of men screaming filled the air. The horror she felt at watching the cabin burn and listening to those men scream was still fresh in her mind. Every night that week she had nightmares, seeing it happen over and over again in her dreams and in the few moments when her mind gave her a rest from those haunting images she struggled with thoughts of what would have happened if she hadn’t followed Mark and Jason into the mountains.
She had followed them that night to prove that she could help them, instead she had showed them that she was even more of a liability than they had thought she would be. She had been so stupid to go after them, but she had wanted to be part of saving Tyler. Instead she got them all caught and managed to get Tyler killed. Emma didn't know if she would ever be able to face them again.
Emma leaned her forehead against the window. The glass cooled her skin somewhat but it did nothing to ease her emotions. In the dark glass her reflection looked thinner, her cheekbones more pronounced and the dark circles under her eyes showing more clearly. It was still so strange to see her reflection now, like it belonged to another person instead of her. Emma glared and turned away. Maybe she was a different person.
Crawling into bed she tugged her comforter tight around her. The new Emma might look tough but she had never felt so lost and alone before.
Far away from Riverdale, Loraine quickly took a deep breath before entering into the study of the mysterious man she was working for. His name was Drake, although no one with any hint of self-preservation instincts would dare say that name in his presence. Loraine didn’t even know what he looked like. The chair he always sat in was eternally swathed in shadows, like it was a black hole in the middle of the room. Determinedly trying to hide the trembling of her hands, Loraine crossed the room until she stood in front of the fireplace facing the cloud of shadows, her head respectfully bowed.
"Greco failed to capture the girl." Loraine reported to the shadow swathed chair. The shadows absorbed the sound of her voice, cutting off any echo of sound so her words sounded hollow and disconnected. Loriane frowned, subtly shaking her head to dismiss the disconcerting effect. "He nearly got himself killed in the process as well. I managed to show up in time to save him but no one else survived."
"Greco failed?" Winston Harring, Drake’s right hand man and the slimiest toad to have ever crawled out of a swamp, croaked in surprise. "How could that have happened?"
Loraine flicked a glance at him before returning her gaze to the floor. "He underestimated the girl and her protectors.” Loraine replied, her tone emotionless. “He didn't take into consideration the girl's shielding abilities or the ruthlessness of the one called Jason."
"What do you mean, his ruthlessness?" Winston pressed, his large eyes bulging out of his face more than usual.
Loraine looked at him disdainfully. She disliked the toad faced little man and could barely stand being in the same room as him but he had somehow managed to squirm his way into the position of Drake’s right hand man so she didn’t allow any hint of annoyance to color her tone as she replied.
"Jason blasted a hole through the wall behind Emma with fire. Emma shielded herself from the flames but Ethan wasn't so lucky, he had to jump out of the way to avoid being burned alive. The other boy, Mark, ran forward and grabbed her, jumping out of the cabin. Jason tried to save Tyler but Ethan attacked him. I’m not sure what exactly happened but the entire cabin exploded into flames. When I arrived they were gone and everyone in the cabin was dead except for Greco." Loraine explained.
"That cabin had reinforced walls." Winston argued, glaring at her suspiciously. "How could he just burn through it like that?"
"Obviously we underestimated his abilities." Drake’s deep voice came from the shadows of the chair. "For him to be able to destroy the cabin that easily means that Jason is more powerful than we suspected. I think it's time we took a closer look at Jason and Mark. I don’t want any more of these surprises."
Winston bowed at the chair respectfully. "Of course sir, I will send someone to do that right away. What would you like us to do about the girl?"
"Nothing for now. The girl is special in some way, I’m just not sure how. There is someone I need to consult with before I decide how to handle the girl." The voice continued.
Winston frowned. "Who is there to consult?"
There was a brief pause, then a name rolled forth from the shadows. "Lady Bayne."
Loraine felt a chill race down her spine. Lady Bayne was the most well known and feared Secret Stealers in the world. Lady Bayne was rumored to know more secrets than anyone ever should, it was said she could look into a your eyes and read your soul, know everything you ever did and all of your secret desires. She had never been caught but her name had been connected with all of the major uprisings, rebellions, revolts, and political coups their kind had experienced in the last decade. Calling Lady Bayne was like asking the devil to come over for dinner.
"Winston, go get a piece of paper and a pen. Lady Bayne only replies to handwritten letters and I need her immediate attention." The voice continued.
Winston bowed and left the room. Loraine continued to stand in front of the fireplace, looking a little nervous now that she was alone with the shadows.
"Loraine, talk to the housekeeper about a room. You will be staying here for a few days." The voice directed her.
Loraine jumped when the voice spoke but she quickly nodded and hurried out of the room. When the door shut behind her the fire crackled and whipped from a sudden gust of air, then the shadows receded and the chair was empty.
Monday morning Emma walked through the doors to the school, ignoring the surprised looks and whispers that followed her as she made her way through the crowded hallway. This was her first day back at school since…what had happened that night over a week ago. A week…it sounded like such a short amount of time and yet to her it was both a lifetime and a blink of the eye.
Emma approached a clump of guys clustered in front of her locker, pausing only to let them shuffle out of her way before stepping up to her locker and spun in the combination. For a brief moment her mind flashed back to the look on Mark’s face when she had stormed out on him yesterday. He had looked so hurt. A new image of Mark flashed across her mind, the helpless fury on his face when he had seen Ethan holding her, his claws digging into her neck as Greco gloated. Then fire burst out of Jason, engulfing everything around him. The acrid smell of smoke stung her nostrils and the sounds of men screaming filled her ears.
With a gasp Emma wrenched herself out of the nightmare and back to the crowded high school hallway. Blinking away the tears she spun the combination into the lock again. Emma yanked on the door but the lock jammed. Muttering under her breath Emma rapped the locker with her fist, springing it open.
“Nice technique.” A tall boy with sun bleached hair propped himself against the lockers to Emma’s left. Sean Masters, their star basketball player with celebrity good looks. Or he would have if his nose hadn’t been broken one too many times. If Sean could dodge a punch as quickly as he could throw out a line he would have saved himself a few bloody noses.
“Thanks.” Emma drew the word out, letting her confusion be heard in her voice. Emma had gone to school with Sean since eighth grade and as far as Emma could remember he had never spoken to her before, or even seem to notice her existence.
“You’re Morgan’s sister, right?” Sean asked, a spark on amusement shining in his eyes.
“Oh.” Emma nodded her head, suddenly understanding what he was getting at. With
a shrug she turned back to her locker. “Yes, I am but we usually try not to claim the relation so if you’re trying to get her to date you I’m really not the best person to go through.”
Emma pulled some books out of her backpack and put them in her locker, trading them for the books for her first three classes. The sound of Sean’s chuckling drew her gaze back to him.
“That’s not why I’m talking to you.” He said, a wide grin on his face.
Emma’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Okay, then why are you talking to me?”
“I like your style.” He replied smoothly. “I don’t know why I never noticed how cool you are.” Sean watched her speculatively, waiting for her reaction.
Emma snorted dismissively and went back to straightening up her locker. “Probably because you never even looked at me, much less talked to me.” Emma countered.
Sean’s grin widened. “I can see that was a huge mistake now.” He said. He slid over until he was directly next to her locker, forcing her to look at him. “Go out to dinner with me, give me a chance to get to know you better.”
Emma fumbled the book she had been grabbing, caught off guard by Sean’s request. The book tumbled to the floor and heat rushed to her face. “Are you asking me out on a date?” She asked incredulously, quickly bending down to pick up the fallen book.
“Yeah.” Sean said. He laughed at the stunned look on her face. “You look surprised.”
“I am surprised.” Emma said, quickly regaining her composure as she stood back up. “I’m not exactly your usual type.”
“And what type is that?” Sean asked, leaning closer to her.
“Pretty, popular…blonde.” Emma recited, rolling her eyes at the last one.
Sean reached out and tugged a lock of Emma’s hair. “You might not be blonde, but I think you sell yourself short with the other two.”
Emma was about to reply when Jason’s voice snapped through the air.
“Sean, what are you doing?”
Suddenly Jason was standing next to Emma, glaring at Sean.
Sean languidly stood up straight, smiling easily. “Emma and I were just talking.” Sean said, winking at Emma.
Jason bristled. “Maybe you should be leaving.” He directed, a blatant warning in his voice.
Standing so close to Jason Emma could sense the anger roiling inside of him even more clearly than she could before and fear hit her like a block of ice in her chest. She sucked in a shallow breath and shifted away from him until she was pressed against her locker. Images of the fire creature tempting her into the fire kept flashing in front of her eyes.
Jason rubbed his chest, a slightly confused look on his face but then Sean smiled mockingly at him. “And why would I want to leave Emma’s delightful company?”
“Because Lindsey is coming this way.” Jason smirked, his hand dropping from his chest. “I heard she wants to talk to you about the date you blew off this weekend.”
Sean’s smile disappeared. Lifting his head above the crowd he quickly scanned the hallway. “I guess that’s my cue to leave.” He announced. Turning back to Emma Sean smiled rakishly at her. “If you change your mind about Friday let me know.” He said cheerfully. With a cocky salute to Jason and another wink at Emma Sean disappeared into the crowd.
“I don’t like him.” Jason blurted, turning to face Emma.
Emma shook off the fear that still clutched at her and grabbed her backpack, shutting her locker before heading off through the halls.
“That’s great Jason.” She drawled.
“I’m serious, Em. Sean is a flirt and a player, he’s not a good guy to get involved with.” Jason replied, following close on her heels.
“You would know, you are a real beacon of safety, aren’t you?” Emma retorted. “And don’t call me Em.”
A hurt look crossed his face for a moment but then his expression hardened. “You’re right, Emma, I would know. So stay away from him.” Jason ordered.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do Jason.” Emma snapped.
“Actually, I do.” Jason replied, walking right behind her. People began to stare at her and Jason as their argument got louder. Emma glared at him over her shoulder.
She spun around and planted a hand on his chest, stopping him in the middle of the hallway. “Like hell you do!” She hissed under her breath. “I can take care of myself!” Emma pushed him back and stormed away but she had only taken a few steps when Jason grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into a corner between the lockers and the wall.
“Hey!” Emma protested as Jason stepped closer, blocking her off from the rest of the hallway.
“You can’t take care of yourself and you know it.” Jason’s voice was serious as he lowered his head to look her in the eye. “You could still be in danger, let us protect you.”
“You killed the men who were after me. I heard them scream as they were burned alive so don’t tell me I’m still in danger. The only one dangerous here is you!” Emma exclaimed.
Jason stepped back, his face expressionless. “If that’s how you feel.” He replied after a moment, his voice carefully controlled. “I’ll leave you alone.”
Emma tried to push past him but Jason grabbed her arm, stopping her once more.
“Just so you know, everything Mark and I did was to protect you. You can’t just pretend like none of this happened.” Jason let go of her arm. “If you ever need us, we’ll be here for you.”
The two of them stared at each other, neither of them wanting to be the first to look away. Jason’s eyes blazed with unspoken emotions, so bright Emma could practically see the flames she knew were inside. An image of the burning cabin flashed across her mind and she flinched back from Jason. She sucked in a quick breath, her eyes glued to her feet as she moved to walk around him. Keeping her head down she quickly hurried to her class, not once looking back.
Other Books By the Author-
Tempest- Book Two of Alteria
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