Embers (The Wings of War Book 1) (23 page)

Up to this point I hadn’t really thought much about the dynamics of being a Growler.  It seemed pretty unnatural to me, but now that Ivan was willing to talk about his family, it made me curious.

“If you don’t mind me asking, were you born a wolf or a human?”

Ivan replied eagerly.  “I was born a wolf and I lived in that form until I was seven years old when the first change happened.  My parents were with me when it occurred and they took their human forms for the event.   They explained to me that since I’d changed into the human, I would be trapped in that body until I reached the age of thirteen, when my body began to grow into an adult. Then I would be able to change when I wanted between the two forms.  During those childhood human days, my parents sent me to live with my grandparents in the village to learn the human ways.”

“That must have been kind of rough, going from being a wolf to a human all sudden like.”  What an understatement. 

“Yes, it was difficult, but my grandparents were kind and they taught me how to speak and do all the human things.  There was even an English man living in the village who was an eagle shape shifter.  He taught me how to speak this language,” Ivan said the last sentence with obvious bitterness.  I took my eyes off the rutted gravel road that now had small streams coursing over it to glance at Ivan.  His face was red and his eyes squinted in anger. 

Carefully I asked, “How did you end up here?”

He spoke with indignation.  “The eagle captured me and sold me to Mister Garrett.  He told me that it was my duty to serve, because that was the original purpose of my race; that if I fought the inevitability of it, he would kill my grandparents.”

It all fell into place.  Garrett’s European friend must have been the eagle.  It was pretty rotten to sell off one of your own kind for profit.  Surely, Ivan had some serious desire for revenge in his heart.  I know I would if I were in his shoes.

We rode silently the rest of the way until we turned in between two Sycamore trees.  The woods opened up into a small, picturesque valley.  The large raindrops lessoned the further into the hollow we went, until the drizzle finally stopped completely.  The rain storm had left behind a fine wet mist that draped the fields in secrecy. 

Ivan spoke again, “It is beautiful, is it not?  I visit here in wolf form from time to time.  Initially, the goats attracted me, but I knew the old woman needed their milk, so I left them alone.”

In all the years I’d lived on the mountain, I’d never ventured here. Yet Ivan was right, it was pretty.  Come to think about it, it was strange that I hadn’t found this place in my wanderings in the woods.  It was almost as if the place was protected from discovery until a person was invited as we’d been
. 
But that still didn’t explain how the wolf found the place.

I recalled then one of Garrett’s lessons about how Watchers used to detour their enemies from finding their territories. He said that they had some kind of magic where they could alter the lay of the land to keep intruders from finding their domain.  The invader would be guided by the trees, the rocks and nature itself to move away, without them ever knowing that sometimes a huge stretch of land existed nearby.

Garrett had commented on how useful that kind of magic would be for us, but that we could never control the Watchers.  He’d said that their powers were too great to harness.  He went on to say that they’d fared even worse than us during the human’s frenzy to destroy anything supernatural.  And that they’d also spent much of their history fighting one another, which drove them to extinction. 

I recalled Garrett telling Kimberly after she’d posed the question of whether there were any Watchers left, that he didn’t think so and that that was a very good thing. 

The reason I’d never came upon this little valley must be explainable in some other way.  I wasn’t going to worry about something as trivial as the landscape, when I had other, more important things to think about.

The mist lifted a fraction and I spotted Ember’s horse grazing in the pasture.  She was an exquisite mare, full of bloom and vigor, her coat glistening black from the rain.

The entire scene was so tranquil.  There were chickens scratching the ground and the rabbits skittering about.  A bit odd perhaps was the large, snowy-white lop eared rabbit nibbling the clover at the edge of the yard, but peaceful and inviting overall.

Parking the Hummer, I suddenly tensed when it occurred to me how green and vibrant the valley was compared to the rest of the mountain.  At the compound, the little bit of grass had dried up weeks ago and the trees were even beginning to drop their water deprived leaves.

The view of the cabin was incredible.  Flowers were amassed in every color and variety along a path leading up to the aged, log structure.  If you didn’t already know it was mid-September, you would think that it was springtime.  What could be the old woman’s secret to growing her plants—did she have access to a super fertilizer?

Or was it something else.

Ember met us at the bottom of the path, tossing me the jacket in a hurry to get rid of it.  When I tried to hold her crystal blue gaze with mine, she quickly glanced away.  Her hair was still damp, but she wasn’t shivering any longer and her color looked healthy.   The glorious heat was radiating from her as strongly as before.  I was fairly certain the rain hadn’t damaged her and was bothered with myself for breathing out in relief at the realization.

I dropped the jacket back into the Hummer, perplexed and irritated at the same time.  When I turned around, the meanest looking and largest dog I had ever seen was speeding towards us.  As if it were a monster-seeking missile, the dog aimed straight for me.  Its lips pulled back showing enormous teeth for a canine.  The dog screeched to a halt a foot from me.  The instant its forward momentum stopped, it began barking. 

“Angus! Stop it!”  Ember yelled.  She lunged at Angus,
wrapping her arms protectively around him.
She was worried about the dog?  
The beast quieted beneath her hands and murmurings, but it kept its almond eyes locked on me.   

This
was Ember’s pet?  She sat on the ground, pulling the dog into her lap.  She rubbed his sides vigorously, kissing his nose several times.   Now I was jealous of the furry monster.  How I’d like to change places with it.

An old woman walked up to the touching scene on the ground.  She glanced at Ivan first and then settled her gaze on me.  There was a moment of awkward tension as Ember jumped back up and introduced us.

“Ila…Aunt Ila—I’ve brought friends home for dinner. This is Ivan and Sawyer.  Sawyer changed my flat tire.  I wanted to thank him with your good cooking.” She spoke the words so quickly that it was all jumbled and hardly coherent at all.  

Aunt Ila frowned at Ember before she turned a wide smile on us. The smile didn’t reach her eyes though.  I was immediately on guard.  The same as Ember, there was something strange about the woman.  And, unlike Ember, a dangerous sheen sparkled off of her. 

Aunt Ila might look like a nice old granny at first glance, but I wasn’t fooled. 

“Welcome, both of you. Thank you so much for helping my dear Ember with her

tire.  Of course, I’d love to have you stay for dinner.” 

Ivan smiled.  He seemed unaware of the strangeness about the woman.  For being part animal, he didn’t have very good senses.

The dog began growling again.  It was a deep, guttural sound.  The beast was formidable, but it would never last a minute with either me or Ivan.  In a swift movement Ivan was on the ground with the dog, laying his body low and not looking at the dog’s face.  It was obviously some wolf thing.  It seemed to be working when the dog stretched out hesitantly and began sniffing Ivan.  This went on for several seconds until the dog started licking Ivan’s face.  Ivan let the dog do it, intermittently rubbing his own face against the dog.

I sighed in partial amusement.  Ivan had just made a new friend. 

When I chuckled, the dog’s head snapped back at me and it began barking all over again.

“No, Angus, that’s not a nice way to treat a guest,” Ember said in a soothing voice.  Exactly the way I’d like to hear her speak to me, actually.

“You could make an effort young man to befriend the dog.  You can’t expect him to do all the work,” Aunt Ila spoke with chagrin.

“If you all think I’m rolling around on the ground with him the way Ivan here is willing to do, it ain’t happening,” I informed them.

“Don’t you want him to like you?”  Ember asked in an edgy voice.

“It wouldn’t bother me in the least if this dog didn’t like me, as long as he doesn’t bite me,” I said calmly. 

Ember and her aunt both looked at me as if I had leprosy.  I knew there was no sense in even trying.  Dogs had been repulsed by me ever since I was awakened.  I’d always liked dogs and it did bother me deep down the way this one was reacting to me.

“Well, I can’t guarantee the dog won’t bite you, but we’ll see what we can do to keep you safe,” Ila said in a mocking tone that wasn’t expected coming from a woman her age.  “Let’s go up to the house, I’ve had dinner ready for a while now.”  She looked directly at Ember.  The girl shrugged, quickly glancing away. 

Ivan immediately went with Aunt Ila while I lingered with Ember on the path.  The wind picked up and there were goose bumps on her arms.  I wanted to pull her into my embrace and warm her with my body, even though I’d probably overheat if I did.  Given her hot nature, maybe the goose bumps weren’t from the stiff breeze.  

“Perhaps you should get some dry clothes on before you do get sick.” 

She nodded.  Angus stayed cemented in place watching my every move until Ember called the dog.  He reluctantly jogged to join her, but he kept peering back at me the entire way up the path.

I hoped Ember would leave the dog outdoors while we ate, but no such luck.  She let the dog trot into the cabin when she held the door open for me.  Her face held a wispy smile.  I wanted to know what had put it there. 

The cabin was as cute and cozy as a mountain home could be.  While Ila was working in the kitchen and Ember had gone into the other room to change clothes, I wandered to the bookshelves. It was interesting that most of the books appeared to be ancient.  I was used to the old books in the compound library, but I hadn’t seen such a collection of antiquity since my last visit to a museum.

One book in particular caught my eyes, its cover was worn, but I could make out the title,
The Power of Angels
.  I was about to reach for it when the air splitting laughter behind me forced me to whirl around.  Ivan was on the floor with the dog playing a game of try-to-get-the-biscuit.  Ivan must have stolen it off the table.  Or maybe it was the dog—he was definitely tall enough to do so.

Ivan’s behavior didn’t surprise me.  The Growlers spent much of their time on the ground wrestling.  At least for Ivan, this time it was a more even match.  He usually had to deal with an enormous bear or a mountain lion.

Once again, I knew Ember was back in the room before I even saw her.  Her heat and the lovely warm scent of her skin gave her away.   When I glanced up, I stared at her for a long second.  She’d changed into sweatpants, and the black t-shirt she wore was just a little snug, outlining her curves.  I’d been calling her a girl from the start, but she was one hundred percent woman.  I wanted to cross the room, pull her into my chest and invade her mouth with my tongue.  But I restrained myself.  After all, she was guarded by Cujo, a tough as nails old woman and a Growler.  I reckoned Ember would enjoy the experience though, before blood splattered the walls. 

Ember’s gaze finally caught mine and I tried to keep her eyes locked with mine, willing her to pay attention to me.  For a second, I thought I had her.  Then she blinked.  She turned away with an aggravated sigh before she breezed into the kitchen, her ponytail swishing on her back. 

What was I going to do about her?  All the bizarre feelings I was experiencing were a moot point.  Our kind could never be with a human.

As I watched her flit around the kitchen helping her aunt set the table, indecision crept in.  Maybe if I was very careful, I could keep her safe.  Then the voice at the back of my mind whispered, even if you didn’t end up killing her, why would she ever want you?  If she knew what you really were, she’d run away screaming. 

A happy bark by the dog showed he’d won the game.  He jogged to where Ember was standing and plopped down.  He held the biscuit between his paws in victory. 

Noticing that I was watching on him, his attention fastened back on me.  He growled again. 

“He really doesn’t like you, Sawyer.” 

As if I needed Ivan to tell me the obvious?

“Come and sit down boys.  I hope you like macaroni and tomato sauce casserole.”  She placed the large dish in the center of the table while Ember poured four glasses of milk.  I hadn’t had milk in decades.  I usually drank water or wine with my meals.  But the milk wouldn’t hurt me, so I took a sip. 

Interestingly enough, Ember waited until I sat down, then she took the chair next to me.  Maybe I was reading more into her seat positioning, but I couldn’t deny that the gesture pleased me immensely. 

Angus had taken his position at my feet, a low rumble still emitting from his throat.