Forgotten Fires Read online

  I eyed her patiently and waited for her to tell me about Claire.

  “Well,” Allison began conversationally, “her death was announced in class a few days ago, and I didn't think much of it. I know that sounds harsh, but we didn't really know her, right? I just assumed it was a car crash or something, because no one really said any different. Then the rumors started.”

  “As they always do,” I encouraged. Chase still had his eyes closed, but I knew he'd be listening intently. He really didn't miss much.

  “Claire was found in her bedroom by her little sister, Rose. The sister had been kept home for a few days after it happened, but when she was finally allowed to see her friends she blabbed the whole thing. Claire's sister found her lying in bed with blood all over her throat. It wasn't a knife wound either. The skin was torn apart.”

  “Of course it was,” I sighed. A cold knot was forming in my stomach. Couldn't I ever get a break?

  “It's just that after everything that happened with Nick, and then with Maggie . . . ” Allison let her words trail of.

  “I know,” I replied somberly.

  Nick had been a werewolf. I say had been, because my dad killed him. He had worked with a group of witches who kidnapped and killed supernaturals in an attempt to steal their powers, but really they were all just puppets for the demon Bartimus.

  Maggie had been a vampire that tried to kill me. It turned out she was also one of Bart's puppets. Bart had been the one to kill her, though very few knew the actual details, since Chase and I were the only ones present.

  Even though I hadn't been the one to “pull the trigger” on Maggie or Nick, they'd both still died for messing with me. Enough time had passed that I was pretty sure no one would try to avenge Nick's death. The only people I could think of that would currently want revenge on me would be Maggie's sister, or Chase's ex-girlfriend Josie, and neither of them were around to get revenge on anyone anymore. I shuddered as I thought about the body-count. Most people get to go their entire lives without seeing a mangled corpse. I am not most people.

  Josie's death had affected me a little more than the others, though I wasn't sure why. Maybe because I knew that she had been important to Chase at one point, and he was the one that had to kill her. We'd never really talked about it, even though I knew he mourned her death in his own way.

  Many others had been hurt in Bart's attempts to get to me, but he was dead now too. This latest death couldn't have anything to do with him.

  “Nick is dead,” I stated. “Maggie and her sister are dead. Bart and Josie are dead. This can't have anything to do with us.”

  “There's one more thing,” Allison said hesitantly.

  I waited for her to continue, but she just curled up on the couch away from me and bit her lip.

  “Tell me,” I demanded.

  She took in a deep, steadying breath. “I told Jason that you kissed Chase.”

  “You what!” Chase and I both exclaimed in unison. Chase was now sitting up, wide-eyed as he stared at Allison.

  “I'm sorry!” she shouted back. “He came to see me after I went to talk to you about your mom wanting you to stay with your dad. He wanted to make sure you were alright, but he didn't want to see you.”

  I felt my heart skip a beat. “He didn't want to see me?” I questioned weakly.

  It was a stupid question. If he had wanted to see me, he could have. Still, hearing someone else say it broke something inside of me.

  Tears were flowing steadily down Allison's face. “He said he was going to leave for a while, give you time to sort things out, and then he would come back. I told him about Chase because I thought it would make him stay. I thought maybe making him aware of the competition would change his mind.”

  “But it didn't,” I stated coldly. “I get it.”

  “No you don't, Xoe,” Allison argued. “I've never seen Jason so angry. He scared me.”

  “So what?” I asked as my anger began to build. “You think he killed some random girl to get back at me?”

  “No, I don't think that Xoe,” she replied quickly. “I just thought I'd mention it, just in case.”

  “But you couldn't mention it to me as soon as you told him!” I shouted.

  At some point I'd stood without realizing it, and suddenly Chase was standing too with his hand on my arm. “Let's take a walk,” he said evenly.

  He was right. It wasn't safe for me to be around Allison when I was angry, especially when my anger was directed at her in particular. I hadn't accidentally lit anything on fire recently, but it was still a possibility.

  Chase led me slowly out of the house and we began walking down the road. It was cold enough that patches of snow could still be found amongst the trees, but there wasn't enough for the road to be icy. The underground might mirror the temperature of the human world, but the demons never got to see snow. The chilly Oregon air helped clear my head as my anger seeped away. Unfortunately my anger was soon replaced by tears.

  “I'm sorry, Xoe,” Chase said softly without looking at me. “This is all my fault.”

  I laughed, but it came out more like a sob. “Your fault? It's all my fault. I'm the one that pushed Jason away while I dealt with everything, and I'm the one that kissed you. I'm such an idiot.”

  Chase reached out and put a companionable arm around me as we walked. “It's going to be okay. We'll find Jason and we'll tell him what happened. You were delirious from blood loss when we kissed, and there was nothing else to it.”

  “It wasn't just blood loss,” I mumbled, feeling a rush of anxiety at the admission.

  I still wasn't ready to talk about things, but it looked like things were going to be talked about whether I wanted to or not. It wasn't fair just to keep it all to myself.

  “You don't need to say that,” Chase replied quietly.

  The silence stretched out, with only the sound of our footsteps to keep us company. Chase still had his arm around me, and I took comfort in his presence. I felt guilty about that comfort, just as I felt guilty about everything else. I'd lied to Jason when I told him I didn't have any feelings for Chase, and I hadn't offered Chase any sort of explanation about my behavior. It wasn't fair.

  I stopped walking and pulled away from Chase's arm so I could face him. “I kissed you because I have feelings for you. I think they've been developing for a while, but I also love Jason. I didn't know what to do about any of it, so I just didn't do anything. After this moment, I plan on continuing to do nothing until I can figure out a better course of action.”

  Chase raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That was probably one of the most honest statements I've ever heard.”

  I shrugged and looked down at the ground, embarrassed. “Get used to it. I have a lot of dishonesty to make up for.”

  “Dishonesty?” Chase questioned.

  I shrugged again and continued to look down at the pavement. “Mostly to myself, I think, but some toward other people as well.”

  Chase nodded. “Are you ready to go back to Allison's now?”

  “That's it?” I asked. “No comment on anything I just said?”

  “I respect your decision to do nothing, and I respect your quest toward honesty,” he replied, “but I'm not going anywhere regardless, so there's really nothing else for me to say.”

  I smiled weakly. “If only all things in life could be so simple.”

  Chase laughed. “Give me time,” he joked. “I'm sure I'll figure out a way to complicate things.”

  We turned around and walked back toward Allison's house. Although not much had changed, a tremendous weight had been lifted off my chest. When I finally got to see Jason again, and I would get to see him, there would be nothing to lie about. Sure, there was a new murderer on the loose, and sure, I still had to study for my GED, but those things seemed far away from me.

  A murderer may kill you, and homework may crush your mind, but a lie will eat at your soul until there's nothing left. I'd much rather deal with the murderer.

&n
bsp; 3

  “I was only trying to help,” were the first words out of Allison's mouth as she answered her front door.

  “I know,” I said apologetically. “It was all my own fault anyhow. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you.”

  “I really don't believe that Jason had anything to do with Claire's death,” Allison added as we went back into her living room. “I guess I was just looking for some way to broach the subject. What I did seemed less terrible when compared to murder.”

  Allison and I sat back down on the couch, leaving Chase to stand awkwardly by the door. I looked back at him and gestured for him to sit, but he shook his head.

  “I'm going to give you two some girl time,” he announced as he rocked back and forth on his heels. “I think it's . . . needed.”

  He was right, but I still eyed him skeptically. “My dad will throw a fit if he finds out we split up.”

  Chase shrugged. “He'll survive.” With that, he went back out the front door and closed it behind him.

  Allison stared at the door for a few heartbeats, then turned back to me. “So what's the deal?” she asked excitedly. “Are you two dating now? Lucy will be totally bummed.”

  I inhaled to reply too quickly and ended up choking on my own spit. As I sputtered I managed to say, “Chill out. We're not together.”

  “So . . . you're still with Jason then?” she asked curiously.

  “As you well know,” I replied patiently, “I haven't spoken to Jason, but as far as I'm concerned we haven't broken up.”

  “Good,” she replied. “Just checking.”

  “Why is that good?” I pressed.

  Allison shrugged uncomfortably. “Just that I like Jason, and I know that he loves you, so you probably shouldn't trample all over his heart.”

  I almost wanted to cry at her blunt accusation. “He chose to leave even before he knew about the kiss,” I said defensively. “I'm not the only one doing the trampling in this situation.”

  Allison raised her hands as if to ward off a blow. “I know, I know,” she said soothingly. “It's just that you're so . . . tough. Sometimes it seems like other people might be more hurt by things than you are.”

  I glared at her. “Now that's the pot calling the kettle black.”

  Allison glared back. “What's that supposed to mean?”

  Trying to keep my anger at a minimum, I replied, “You're the veritable ice queen of the group. Does that mean that you feel things less? No. It just means that you choose not to show them.”

  Allison snorted. “At least I just brush things off. You blow them up.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Please tell me Lucy is on her way over.”

  I love Allison to death, but sometimes I needed a buffer. A few tense moments later my question was answered in the form of a knock on the door, and Lucy letting herself in before either of us could get up to answer.

  With her werewolf speed Lucy was on me in an instant. Her hug nearly crushed my ribcage before she backed off with an apologetic blush.

  She stood and looked back and forth between us. “Is there a reason for all of the tension currently in the room?”

  “Just Xoe being Xoe,” Allison replied.

  “Just Allison being Allison,” I mimicked.

  Lucy sighed. “And now Lucy will be Lucy, and the two of you can love each other again.”

  Allison and I both smiled as Lucy stared us down, grudgingly at first, but within a few minutes we were all laughing.

  “I can't believe this is the first time I've seen you since everything went down,” Lucy chided as our laughter died down and she sat beside me, pushing her pin-straight, black hair behind her dainty ears.

  She took off her blue wool coat as she adjusted to the temperature of the room, then straightened her white, button up shirt self-consciously. She was probably preparing for Allison to give her a hard time over her almost-matronly outfit, but Allison was too focused on watching my face to do so.

  “My dad hasn't really wanted me to come up,” I explained. “Plus, with not being able to go home, and being dropped out of high school . . . it just felt weird coming back.”

  “Well we're still here,” Lucy consoled. “That hasn't changed. Also, are you guys aware that Chase is walking up and down the road by himself?”

  I laughed. “He's giving us girl time.”

  My smile was cut short as Allison scrutinized me for any reaction to the mention of Chase.

  Lucy smirked, not noticing Allison's studious expression. “So are the two of you together now?”

  I threw up my hands in exasperation. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

  “Well Jason left . . . ” Lucy replied softly.

  “And he'll come back,” I finished, needing to reassure myself more than anyone else.

  Lucy shrugged. “I just wasn't sure that you would want to wait for him.”

  Allison gave me a knowing look. “And this is all coming from someone who doesn't even know that you kissed Chase.”

  That. That right there is why I needed an Allison buffer. Unfortunately my current buffer was looking a little sad about the news.

  “I was delirious from blood loss,” I began, but bit my tongue. No more lies. “And I might have some slight feelings for him.”

  Allison let out a sigh of relief. “At least you've finally admitted it.”

  “It wasn't that obvious,” I snapped.

  Allison laughed, not taking offense to my sour tone. “No, you're right. It was probably only obvious to those of us with eyes.”

  I pushed my back against the couch so I could sulk properly. “Can we please get back to talking about murder and other more lively subjects?”

  Lucy nodded, not acknowledging my sarcasm. She still looked a little sad, and I hated it. While we were at a coalition meeting in Utah she had admitted to me that she had feelings for Chase. At the time I had done my best to assure her that I had no claim on him, legitimate or otherwise, and now here I was kissing him and trying to hide it from her.

  Lucy gave me a scrutinizing look as if somehow sensing my thoughts, then explained, “I went to Claire's house today, well, not all the way to it, but near enough to sniff around.”

  “What are you, the local werewolf detective now?” I quipped.

  Lucy rolled her eyes at me. “No, but I am a member of your werewolf pack, and we're supposed to keep an eye on things in our area.”

  Crap. I hadn't thought about that. While I'd been hiding out underground, I'd left Lucy, Max, and Lela alone to deal with any werewolf matters that might come up. In fact, I'd done that for most of my reign as pack leader so far.

  I sighed. “Did you let Abel know about the murder?”

  “I thought I'd leave that to you,” Lucy said sweetly.

  Abel was the leader of the werewolf coalition. He was the reason I was able to lead a werewolf pack in the first place, though I was still slightly skeptical about his motives. Regardless, he'd helped us out of a few sticky situations, and he'd sent other werewolves to keep my small pack safe while I was dealing with Bartimus. He might prove useful once again.

  “Okay, okay,” I held up my hands in a don't shoot gesture, “I'll call Abel. Just tell me what you found.”

  “I smelled vampire,” Lucy stated blandly.

  I held my breath while I waited for her to go on. Jason would never hurt anyone, especially not as some sort of weird revenge on me.

  “Though I unfortunately can't really distinguish different vampire scents,” she finished, taking in my worried expression, “not that I've met many vampires regardless. Wolves I can distinguish, but no wolf visited that house.”

  “So I call Abel and tell him there's a murderous vampire on the loose?” I questioned.

  Lucy shrugged. “I smelled the vampire near Claire's house, that doesn't mean that he or she was the one to commit murder. It could just be a coincidence.”

  That was Lucy, ever reasonable.

  “But her throat was torn apart,”
Allison argued. “I'd say that pretty clearly points to a vampire.”

  “Or someone wanting the murder to look like it was done by a vampire,” I suggested.

  Allison snorted. “And who would go to the trouble? I'm sure the police are thinking human, so why make it look like anything else?”

  I shook my head. If Jason had been around, he would have told me that it wasn't my business. I was already involved in enough trouble, and I didn't need to go searching for more . . . but Jason wasn't around, and there was a chance that this murder could be some sort of message for my little werewolf pack. It was time to do some digging. Hey, a girl's gotta have a hobby.

  I excused myself to the kitchen to call Abel. Though I'd spoken to him countless times, I still felt nervous about calling him. I glanced down at the bracelet on my wrist as I searched for Abel's number in my cell phone. The ugly piece of jewelry, if you could call something made of intricately woven, blue twine jewelry, was a gift from Abel, and I'm using the term gift very loosely here.

  The bracelet basically said that Abel owned me, to put it quite crudely. What it really meant was that he had my back. If anyone messed with me, it meant they were messing with him. Since he was the head of the Werewolf Coalition, it pretty much meant that they were messing with all of the werewolf packs of the Western United States, and a bit of Canada. I still didn't trust Abel's intentions in giving me the bracelet, and it was yet to prove useful, but I'd feel pretty silly if I got into trouble and didn't have the bracelet to use as leverage.

  Next to the ugly, blue bracelet was a dainty charm bracelet. The only charms on it were a heart, and a small, golden serpent with little red eyes. The heart was a gift from Brian, a friend that didn't really want to be my friend anymore, but the serpent had been a Christmas present from Chase. The bracelet had spent a lot of time in my jewelry box. I had told myself it was for safe keeping, but really I just wasn't sure if Jason would be offended by me wearing jewelry from two different boys. Okay, I was worried that he wouldn't like the gift from Chase. I had just recently started wearing it again, and I felt silly for not wearing it all along since I actually really liked it.