Read Online Embers (The Wings of War Book 1) by Karen Ann Hopkins - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Karen Ann Hopkins
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yours, yet mine are all right, and yours are ruined.” I was confused and weak, yet I was still trying to think rationally. “I need to get you to a hospital.”
“My dear child, I know this is going to be difficult for you to accept. You have been conditioned your entire life to not believe the things I’m about to tell you, but the truth is in front of you. You can’t deny it now.” Aunt Ila paused and wrinkled her nose as if she was in pain, and then she continued to talk.
“The fire can’t harm you, because it’s inside of you. It’s part of your essence, your very soul. Of course you know that humans are made up of water, bones, tissue and organs. And you have all those things in your body too, but the fire is in there as well; it’s just hiding. But it is in there all the same.” She poked her bloody finger into my stomach. “That’s why you weren’t injured during that horrible accident. All the others had to try to explain it away somehow, but you knew the truth in your heart all along. You just couldn’t face it or didn’t know how to. You were in the fire and the only thing it did was make you stronger. You are what you are and you can’t deny it.”
Her voice was soft, yet it boomed in my head.
In a shaky voice, I asked her, “What am I?”
“A Watcher, my dear, you are a Watcher.”
Jude 1:6
And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day .
Ember ~ Eight
A Watcher?
I strained to think of what a Watcher was, but came up empty.
Meeting Aunt Ila’s steady gaze, I said, “I’m sorry. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She took a deep breath and settled back into the chair. It looked like the explanation was going to take a while.
“Watchers are all types of beings. Some are evil, deformed creatures surviving on dark deeds and lusty appetites. They’ve evolved from a millennia of living in the shadows, defiling the basic laws of rightness that we were directed to follow. Others are neutral. They blend in easily with the populace, finding nourishment without necessarily breaking the oath.
“I’m happy to say that you are the highest form of Watcher, the kind who draws sustenance directly from the universe.”
The smug look on Aunt Ila’s face unnerved me about as much as her proclamation. But even though I wanted to scream out in protest, or perhaps even fall onto the floor laughing, I did neither.
I swallowed a gulp and stared out the kitchen window into the inky darkness. The popping song of tree frogs drifted in and I tilted my head to listen. An owl screeched and crickets chirped. The ordinary night sounds grounded me, making me stubborn.
“Really, you need to go to the hospital and have your hands taken care of. We can talk about this later.”
Aunt Ila’s gaze was unflinching for a several long seconds until her eyes narrowed. I didn’t look away, even though I really wanted to.
Her mouth began to quiver, and then she laughed. Not just a chuckle either, but a loud, from-the-belly sort of roar that bothered me immensely.
As quickly as the insane laughter had started, she suddenly quieted and jabbed her fingers into my face .
I sat back down feeling dizzy all over again.
Aunt Ila’s hands didn’t look the way they had a minute ago. The loose flesh was gone. The crispy barbeque smell had disappeared as well. They were red and a little swollen, but that was it. Somehow, her skin had just healed from severe third degree burns in a matter of minutes.
When I finally found my voice, I blurted out, “But I saw how burned you were.” Reaching, I took her hands in my own, turning them over and feeling them. They were cool and smooth now. I leaned in closer for a better look. “This is impossible,”
“My dear child, I know this is going to be difficult for you to accept. You have been conditioned your entire life to not believe the things I’m about to tell you, but the truth is in front of you. You can’t deny it now.” Aunt Ila paused and wrinkled her nose as if she was in pain, and then she continued to talk.
“The fire can’t harm you, because it’s inside of you. It’s part of your essence, your very soul. Of course you know that humans are made up of water, bones, tissue and organs. And you have all those things in your body too, but the fire is in there as well; it’s just hiding. But it is in there all the same.” She poked her bloody finger into my stomach. “That’s why you weren’t injured during that horrible accident. All the others had to try to explain it away somehow, but you knew the truth in your heart all along. You just couldn’t face it or didn’t know how to. You were in the fire and the only thing it did was make you stronger. You are what you are and you can’t deny it.”
Her voice was soft, yet it boomed in my head.
In a shaky voice, I asked her, “What am I?”
“A Watcher, my dear, you are a Watcher.”
Jude 1:6
And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day .
Ember ~ Eight
A Watcher?
I strained to think of what a Watcher was, but came up empty.
Meeting Aunt Ila’s steady gaze, I said, “I’m sorry. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She took a deep breath and settled back into the chair. It looked like the explanation was going to take a while.
“Watchers are all types of beings. Some are evil, deformed creatures surviving on dark deeds and lusty appetites. They’ve evolved from a millennia of living in the shadows, defiling the basic laws of rightness that we were directed to follow. Others are neutral. They blend in easily with the populace, finding nourishment without necessarily breaking the oath.
“I’m happy to say that you are the highest form of Watcher, the kind who draws sustenance directly from the universe.”
The smug look on Aunt Ila’s face unnerved me about as much as her proclamation. But even though I wanted to scream out in protest, or perhaps even fall onto the floor laughing, I did neither.
I swallowed a gulp and stared out the kitchen window into the inky darkness. The popping song of tree frogs drifted in and I tilted my head to listen. An owl screeched and crickets chirped. The ordinary night sounds grounded me, making me stubborn.
“Really, you need to go to the hospital and have your hands taken care of. We can talk about this later.”
Aunt Ila’s gaze was unflinching for a several long seconds until her eyes narrowed. I didn’t look away, even though I really wanted to.
Her mouth began to quiver, and then she laughed. Not just a chuckle either, but a loud, from-the-belly sort of roar that bothered me immensely.
As quickly as the insane laughter had started, she suddenly quieted and jabbed her fingers into my face .
I sat back down feeling dizzy all over again.
Aunt Ila’s hands didn’t look the way they had a minute ago. The loose flesh was gone. The crispy barbeque smell had disappeared as well. They were red and a little swollen, but that was it. Somehow, her skin had just healed from severe third degree burns in a matter of minutes.
When I finally found my voice, I blurted out, “But I saw how burned you were.” Reaching, I took her hands in my own, turning them over and feeling them. They were cool and smooth now. I leaned in closer for a better look. “This is impossible,”
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