Fire Elemental: Ember1

[teardropdangel]

Fire Elemental
teardropdangel
Author's note: I decided that if I were to do this, might as well do it properly. So here's The first chapter. Jake's chapter follows this one.

Chapter One Ember: And so it begins. . .

Hey, I'm Ember. My real name is Blair, but no one calls me by that name anymore. Ember is my chosen pseudonym. Anyway, I'm Ember and I'm in trouble. Big trouble.

Okay, I'm going a little too far ahead. Let's first get a mental picture of me. I'm about 5'8, I have dusty, long, straight dark- red hair (which is why I picked the name Ember) and I've brown eyes, although I like to change the color from time to time. My lips are thin and always create the impression of a frown. People always come up to me with pitying looks on their faces. I'd learned to ignore them, but I'm cautious of those who look at me like that now. I'm seventeen. My birthday lands on April the 29th, the Eve of May. I was born exactly at midnight. I have no idea who his biological parents are, not that I complain. I couldn't give a shit about them. They're not important in this story. I know, what does any of this have to do with me being in danger? Be patient.

I was the normal rebellious teenager in America. I did things to drive my elders nuts and I listened to music that put most other kids' hair on end. But really, I like all types of music. Rock (being most listened to), pop, R&B, techno and a little Latin American flavor.

My story is going to be alittle unusual, so bear with me. Sometimes, when I look back, I can hardly believe that any of it was real. But how can I really be sure? How do I know that while I write this, it might all be a dream? The enemy might have already gotten to me already and this can all be an illusion. The desk that I'm sitting at, the pen and paper I'm writing with, the dark room in which I sit in. This can all be part of some sick and twisted dream meant to drive me insane. The people here who act so nice to me might really be on Balick's side.

I wish Jake were with me right now. I miss him so much.

Well, I can't be sure, can I? Might as well dream in the moment-while I can. I probably don't have very long anyway.

I'll give you a fair warning to those who might come to read this. My tale will be the most eccentric one you will ever possibly hear in your human lifetime. Forget everything you've heard about things that go bump in the night. Forget the bedtime stories your mother told you to go to sleep because there is no real happy ending to this narrative.

Not by a long shot.

"Xander, your tempo is too fast during the part with 'way'. It's supposed to be dragged out."

Xander rolled his eyes at Ember, looking very much bored. "Ember, we've been over this already."

It was Saturday night and band pratice was underway fo the members of Mayhem. Xander Lawrence's, the band's guitarist, and Ember, the band's singer argued like an old couple who had log gotten tired of each other.

"It doesn't sound right without the dragged 'way," Ember protested.

"I can't drag it out," he stated simply, sticking out a pierced tongue in a very childish way.

"You're just going to have to find a way to do it then," she snapped.

Joel, the drummer, banged on the symbols. "Both of you shut up. I'm getting seriously pissed, and I'm getting a headache." He'd just had his hair braided back this afternoon and he'd been complaining about how it hurt like a bitch in heat.

"You shut up," she and Xander said at the same time.

"If you two are finished with you're little squabble, can we please continue?" Russel asked, smoothly. He always managed to stay out of their fights and maintain his position as mediator.

"Sure," she said, whipping her hair over her shoulder defiantly, while still glaring at Xander. "Want to do Danger?" she opted.

They agreed. It was their pride and joy being their first completed song.

Joel started count. "5, 6, 7, 8..."

She started with slow strums on her electric guitar, Crimson. Then Russel followed her beat as a shadow with his bass, Metal. She began singing when Joel began playing on Babe.

" Danger, Dan-ger
Written in the sky
Dan-ger, Dan-ger
Way up high
Dan-ger, Dan-ger
In many forms
Fear and Panic. . ."


She broke off. Xander continued singing for a few moments before he realized she'd stopped. Russell and Joel ceased to play as well.

"What's wrong Em?" Xander asked.

She didn't answer him, but instead questioned the figure closing in on them. "Who are you?" she demanded. She knew her tone was aggressive but she didn't care. The Park is usually always devoid of human activity after dusk. That's why they picked it as their practice area. She was suspicious of this guy intruding on their territory.

She heard a soft anonymous laugh come from him. "Mayhem, uh? Do you have any idea what it is?"

"Of course we know what it is and what it means," she snapped. She was quickly getting annoyed. She had to hand it to him. Not many people can do that within a two-minute time frame. "Who are you?" She repeated the question. This guy with black hair and blue tipped ends and black eyes did not look familiar at all.

Russell put his guitar down to the side, eyes narrowed dangerously. "Seth. His name is Seth," he said. "What are you doing here?" Russell asked Seth.

All of this time, the guy's focus was on Ember. Now he looked up at Russell. "Why, isn't Russell." He looked amused.

Russell was not amused. "Why are you here?" he demanded again.

"Is this what you do up here? Playing guitar with your new friends?"

Russell snarled. "Beats the hell out of trying to get himself killed."

"You two know each other, I take it," Joel said.


"Yeah, something like that," Russell responded gruffly.


"So, Seth, what do you want? You're interrupting our practice. You'd better have an excuse other than reuniting with your long lost best bud," she said sarcastically. "If you don't, I think you'd better leave."

Russell?s head jerked in her direction in surprise and the cool Seth actually looked shocked, for a minute. She had the good grace to smirk.

Seth's gaze returned to her. "I'm new in town and I've heard about your band. I just wanted to check it out. I believe there's this thing about rehearsals being free concerts."

She glanced at the others in surprise and they stared back. Russell had an expression of mixed indifference with a tinge of anger. She turned back to Seth and told him to sit at the side, if he wanted to listen.

"If he wants to listen to our music," Russell commented, as Seth sat on a nearby bench, "he could have just asked for a sample recording tape."

"Don't get your personal feelings mixed up into this, man. Russell, this is a good thing. He might tell other people about our group," she said in a whisper so that Seth couldn't hear them.

Russell rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

They performed Suffocating, Disease, Firefly, and Here's to Hell. They finished unnaturally early due to the presence of their unwanted guest. Ember didn't like the glares Russell was sending Seth, so they packed up early to prevent any blood baths that might have aspired.

Ember helped Joel load Babe, his drum set, into the back of his dad's truck. There was just enough room for Xander and Avery, his bass, in the front.

"You want a ride, Ember?" Russell asked her.

She shook her head. She didn't like riding on motorcycles unless she was the one at the wheel. Although she didn't have a motorcycle of her own, she planned on getting one.

"You sure, Em?" Russell asked, sparing Seth, who had not spoken during the whole practice, a single glance.

"You know I can take care of him, Russell. Don't worry. Bye." Her house wasn't too far away, four or five blocks total, if she counted Mrs. Tate's block, which was a kind of alley. And if that Seth guy tried anything stupid, well she knew how to take care of him, too.

It took her a solid ten minutes to persuade him, but Russell finally left on his motorcycle. He was very protective of her, but he also knew she could take care of herself. Seth was still sitting on the bench. He didn't appear to be looking at her, though his face was directed toward her way. Properly freaked out, she gave herself a cerebral shake and started to walk away from him, back turned.

It wasn't long before she heard footsteps behind her. Somehow, that didn't surprise her. Knowing that it was Seth, she walked faster, gripping her guitar case strap tighter and closer to her chest. He called out her name.

"Ember! Wait a second," he said.

This is stupid, she thought. Running from him. She was fed up with herself enough to turn suddenly. She was surprised to find him right behind her.

He smiled pleasantly as if he felt and enjoyed her discomfort. Sadistic bastard.

"Why are you following me?" she asked.

"Because you wouldn't stop."

She rolled her eyes.

"You have an incredible voice, Ember."

"I'm sure you're not following me to tell me I have an 'incredible' voice. What do you want? If it's dirt on Russell, bug off. You're not finding it here."

"Your voice is incredible," he repeated.
She rolled her eyes again and sucked her teeth. "Look, if that's all you wanted to say, I'd better be going."

"I'll walk with you."
"No," she said quickly, her voice carrying a hint of panic.

He stared at her.

She looked to the ground and started walking again. He came up besides her and she thought: Why won't he leave me the hell alone!

No sense in not asking, right? "Why won't you leave me the hell alone!"

Seth shook his head. "You really need to chill out. You accused me of trying to get dirt on Russell before. Let's get it straight. I didn't know Russell was in the band. I was just as surprised as he was. I came here to see you."

"Yeah, right," she scoffed.

"I don't lie, Blair."

She froze. How did he know her real name? No one ever called her that without permission. Those without it quickly learned not to utter it again. "Don't call me that." The words came out from a tight throat, strained.

"Isn't that your name?"

In the heat of rage, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Don't ever call me that. Ever," she hissed.

"I didn't think it would matter so much, Blair. Don't you want to remember?" His voice had gone soft and nearly comforting. Damn him.

"Shut up!" she shouted.

"I know all about it. The orphanage, how you ran away, how you changed your name. If it hurts so much, I'll apologize."

She realized she was trembling and she released him. "What do you know?"

"Doesn't get tiring being living a fake life? A life that doesn't exist?" Condolence rang through.

"Go away. Leave me alone." Damn him, she thought again.

"Haven't you had enough time to be alone?"

Her head snapped up. "I've been alone most of my life." She shook her head. "Go away. They sent you, didn't they? I'm almost legally independent. Just a few more years. Tell them to find another little girl."

"Who? Cale and Rusty?"

"Who else!" she snapped. "You're working with them. Don't try to lie to me."

"I'm not with them, Blair. You have to trust me."

"Trust you?" She nearly choked off the absurdity. "They really know how to pick them, don't they?"

"Bl-Ember! Listen to me. I'm not in league with them." He grabbed her arms and she struggled with him. she cursed, she scratched with everything in her. But he was surprisingly strong. Almost too strong. The last thing she remember was him saying something about 'help' then everything went blank.


She didn't remember anything that had happened after. She'd woken up on her front porch.

After she woke up from her coma-like nap, she went straight inside. she didn't allow herself to think about how she got to the house or about Him, Seth. she would make up for that later. As soon as she shut the door behind her, she heard her adoptive mother's whining.

"Ember, is that you? Why are you home so late, you ungrateful child?"

"Band practice," she said simply, before climbing up the stairs. Sometimes that alone could shut Mavis up.

As soon as Grem, her boyfriend, appeared, she knew that it was not going to be that easy. Grem was just about as dirty as his name sounded.

"Maybe we oughta cut out that band crap if you keep showing up this late," Grem said.

She stiffened at the implied threat. "We had some trouble during rehearsal." She had to keep her temper in check. It wasn't that she liked living with those two, she just liked living in a town that had her friends in it. They'd become her only family.

"Don't lie to me!" Mavis said this now. "She saw that boy who was with you on the lawn."

Grem made a rude sound. "Girl's learning how to spread her legs already."

She flinched, but didn't give him fuel with a response. She gripped the banister until her knuckles went white. They always accused her of sleeping around; that was nothing new. Their accusations were always supported by wind, anyways. What Mavis saw about the boy on the lawn, Ember had no idea about. She couldn't remember anything.

"Becoming a whore, girl?" said Mavis. "What an honorable profession."

"Yeah, you should know," she said without thinking. So much for keeping her cool, she thought.

"Shut that smart mouth of yours," Grem said. "How dare you speak to your mother like that. We brought your ungrateful ass out of the cold. One more wise crack like that and I'll make sure you won't have teeth to repeat it again."

Ember laughed bitterly, in her mind. He'd never beaten her before and this time was no exception. He couldn't hit her, actually. Threats were as far as he dared to go. She's made sure of that a long time ago. She was not a helpless child and, even at age twelve, she was a force to be reckoned with. The first time he threatened to hit her, she told her guidance counselor in school, then the counselor gave her social services' number. She threatened to call up them in return, having a permanent advantage over him until she was old enough to leave.

"Go up to your room. She can't stand the sight of you."

Taking it as her dismissal, she went. In her room, she locked her door and shut the bolt. Obviously, she did not trust her adoptive 'parents', if anyone could bear with the title. Mavis' only reason for adopting her was to have an excuse for taxes, et cetera. She needed a dependence, and because she didn't want to take care of a baby, she found themselves with Ember.

Ember looked at the time on her clock and shook her head. It read 12:35. She blinked hard. It couldn't have been that late, right? But it was. Her clock always told the correct time. Now she understood why Mavis and Grem was so mad. Usually they couldn't give a shit about what time she got home. But with the combination of the time and the appearance of the hissterious boy on the front porch had given them something to chew on.

How could she have been out that late? What happened?

She slumped down onto her bed miserably. She was at a complete loss as to what had happened. She remembered Cale and Rusty being mentioned and the struggle, but what in blazing hell happened after? Obviously, Mavis and Grem weren't going to be a big help, so she wasted no time in trying to ask for it.

Cale and Rusty were the guys who had 'taken care' of her before she got herself landed with Mavis. Cale and Rusty were just as bad as Mavis and Grem. Only difference was that C&R needed her. They were in the Business. The Theft Business. They took her under their wing and taught her everything they knew. They taught her how to shoplift and pickpocket. They explained to her how to deflect blame away from herself, how to distract, how to confuse. She, being the naive little brat she was, took on the lessons with glee. Stealing was forbidden, right? A taboo in society. So, right before her, she had a chance to be able to break that rule with the acceptance of her surrounding elders. Cale and Rusty met her eight years with seventeen years. It was a golden opportunity that not many eight year olds had. Besides, she had a gift for it. As she said, she was young and naive.

She, Cale and Rusty were the unstoppable Trio. Cale was magnificent with gossip and getting info that was needed. Rusty was the technician, getting the things they needed, drawing up plans. She was the actual thief, although She also served as a tip off to any suspecting individuals. Who would ever suspect an eight year old girl with big sad brown eyes and red hair? Cale and Rusty trusted her and she, with no pleasure in admitting so, know that they envied her capability to be cool under fire. They almost never took the advice they gave out. `Be calm, Be cool, Don't look down, Don't stutter...' But when the time came to face the heat, they always chickened out and she was the one picking up the pieces after a job gone wrong.

She ran away from them after four years in their company. It wasn't a very teary separating, considering that she and Cale had a fight that night and she was fuming mad. She'd had a memory lapse and couldn't remember where she put the keys for the Rover. They needed the Rover for our next job. She ran in the dead of the night. She'd bet they didn't know what hit them. She hadn't thought through the plan and she got caught while she was trying to board a train. The police had said she was 'underage' and there she was, stuck in a stupid orphanage! She was twelve and totally capable of taking care of herself, or so she thought. She did not make life easy for the headmistress at the orphanage, Evelyn. She was a very nice , soft spoken lady, but Ember did not want to be cooped up in a stinking orphanage for seven years. She ran again, but with a more developed scheme. She would cross the border of Mexico and find some sort of work there.

Unfortunately, that plan didn't work, either.

Mavis picked her from the streets and adopted her. Out of all the orphans in the world, she had to go and pick her! She wasn't even at the orphanage. She can tell you that before she came along, Mavis was rich. Inheritance money from her grandparents. Apparently, she'd dwindled it away and got stuck with heavy debts. So she adopted her and then it was back to hell. It wasn't like being with Cale and Rusty. Mavis threw insults at her about her hair and the way she looked. When Grem came into the picture, he started making those more than disgusting sexual statements. The threats were also routine. So there in the room, which had been hers for five years, she sat and contemplated on what the hell had happened that had caused her to lose three hours of that evening.