Ella Awakened (8 page)

“Terrific,
then it’ll be cake and presents tonight.  I’ll let you get going.”  Burke busied
himself in the kitchen, and Ella headed to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

After she
was showered and dressed, Burke took Ella to campus to get her car.  Once she
was on her way, he headed home himself.  He wasn’t exactly thrilled she was
leaving, but he knew she needed to take care of family things.  He hadn’t told
her about the second victim yet.  She was probably safer than anyone else on
the planet right now with her strength.  Even if she wasn’t comfortable enough
to attack, she should have no problem defending herself.  Warriors were always
at their most powerful just after their awakening.  The Demon probably wouldn’t
hunt again for at least a few days.  Then again, Burke had been surprised at
the short time between Jill and the second victim.  Besides, he just wasn’t
willing to take any chances with Ella’s safety.  He had lost too much in his life
already.  He turned his truck around to follow her.

Ella hadn’t
gotten much of a head start, but Burke was still pleasantly surprised when he
saw her car up ahead a short time later.  He eased off the accelerator and
stayed several cars behind so as not to draw attention to himself.  He wasn’t
sure how she’d feel about him following her, and in truth it made him feel a
little guilty.  He had already concluded without a doubt that Ella was
independent.  He didn’t want his concern for her to be perceived as him
considering her weak.  It was just that she hadn’t seen or experienced the
things he had, and until the Demon was defeated it was better to be overly
cautious.  He thought of his little sister and squeezed the steering wheel
until his knuckles turned white.

~~

Willow had
been Burke’s only sibling; she’d been six years younger than him.  Burke had
awakened only a year before the Demon attacks had begun.  Burke’s mother, Zera,
had been a healer, as had both of her parents.  His father, Reid, had been one
of the common folk.  His dad was the most sought after carpenter in the
village.

The village…
would he ever see it again?  Ever again walk through the cobblestone streets? 
It was a much simpler life, and he missed so many things about it.  People took
care of each other and had the highest respect for life.  They grew their own
food and survived through trade.  If you needed to see a healer, you did.  If
you needed help in any way you simply asked for it.  People honored, respected,
and appreciated each other.

This world
with all of its technology was spoiled in so many ways.  Burke often thought
about the differences between his world and this one.  He knew most humans
would think his home behind or backward.  They wouldn’t understand that lack of
desire and need rather than lack of intelligence had kept technological
advances at bay.  There was no need for medical machinery and equipment when
people seldom became sick.  The skills of a healer had always been sufficient. 
Who needed things like televisions, computers, or cars when there was singing,
dancing, and long walks with the one you loved?  He missed the village, and he
missed his family even more.  Burke had enjoyed working with his dad and had
spent a great deal of his spare time helping his father even after he had
awakened as a healer.  He was proud to be a healer like his mother - just as
Willow would have been had she lived long enough to have the chance.

All healers
had a natural passion for herbal medicine, but Zera’s skill was beyond
compare.  Willow had been in awe of her mother.  She’d followed Zera around the
herb garden since she could walk.  She knew the names and uses of every plant. 
Her family used to tease her that if she didn’t go through an awakening, she
could fake it and no one would ever question her skills as a healer.  And
beautiful!  To describe Willow as beautiful would have been an understatement. 
She’d had long raven hair; it was so dark it sometimes looked highlighted with
blue in the sun.  Her eyes were lavender, and her skin was pale as porcelain. 
Her lips were dark as if she’d just eaten berries, and in the months before her
death it seemed her cheeks were always pink.  She’d been in love.

Love was of
a higher plane in their world than it was on Earth.  Humans were fickle and not
all of them, but most, seemed to fall in and out of love as easily as the
seasons changed.  Burke’s people believed that the Mother of All carved two
hearts from one piece of wood and delivered them with a blessing to a man and
woman.  These two hearts were linked and would forever be drawn to one
another.  Soul mates weren’t a dream, but a certainty.  Willow’s heart had
found its twin in Barret.  One wasn’t often blessed to love so young, but
Willow and Barret had become enamored very early.  They ran in the fields
together as children, tumbling and chasing each other.  Eventually the running
evolved into long walks with fingers intertwined.  Everyone expected them to be
bonded once they had finished school and passed the age of awakening.  Willow
was happy and her family was happy for her.

Then the
devastation had come.  Something in Burke had died along with Willow.  No
matter how long he lived he would always remember every detail of her last
moments.  The moments he’d shared with her when he’d found her, held her head
in his hands, and lived through them himself.

Barret had
come to the workshop where Reid and Burke were working.  He was frantic with
worry.  He and Willow were supposed to meet that afternoon but she hadn’t shown
up.  Burke didn’t bother trying to calm Barret down or to wait for the search
parties to be formed.  He set out immediately with a sickness in the pit of his
stomach and the knowledge that two people had already been killed.  He had
found her lying shattered on the rocks below the village cliffs.  Later, he
wouldn’t be able to recall how he’d made it down to her so quickly.  He had
screamed and fallen to his knees next to her soaked body.  He lifted her into
his arms before the incoming tide could carry her out to sea.  He took over an
hour to carry Willow up the winding path.  Burke had stumbled along half
blinded by his own tears.  When he reached the top of the trail he collapsed
and lovingly cradled her head in his hands.

Instantly,
he was Willow.  There was a young man beckoning him, claiming to have found an
injured child.  Without hesitation he followed the young man toward the edge of
the cliff.  When the man turned with glowing red eyes and pulled her to him,
Willow didn’t even scream.  She was more saddened by the knowledge of what
would never be than frightened.  Her eyes filled with tears and she whispered a
single word - “Barret” - before the Demon stole her breath and pushed her
lifeless body over the cliff’s edge.  

Burke had
still been engaged in the vision when his mother and father found him.  They
had pried Willow’s body from him, and Reid had carried her home.  Burke had
wrestled his hysterical mother to the ground and held her there, not wanting
her to lay her hands on Willow’s head and see the vision.  A mother’s memories
of her child shouldn’t include sharing her daughter’s heart wrenching sorrow
over being stolen from her love.

Burke had
left everything to avenge Willow.  He’d lost not only his family and friends
and the village, but his entire world.  Now, at last, it seemed the Mother of
All was showing him mercy.

~~

When Ella
made the final turn into her neighborhood, Burke continued on and turned on the
next street up.  He doubled around and parked at the end of the block where he
could see without being seen.  He would just lay low and follow her back later
tonight.  They still had a lot to talk about and much to accomplish in a short
time.  He felt at least a little better just being closer to her in case she
needed him.  With nothing to do but sit and wait, Burke seemed unable to
control his own thoughts as they replayed and analyzed the last few days he had
spent with Ella.

Of course
he’d
had
to rip her top when she had begun to convulse, so he could
bring her breathing and heart rate back.  But now that it was over and she was
well, he couldn’t help but dwell on the, shall we say, bright side of the
situation.  He closed his eyes and pictured the perfect shape of her creamy
white breasts and the exact placement of her tan lines.  How he would love to
be able to touch her under different circumstances.  How many times over the
past few days had he held her close to him?  Now that she was well would he
have the nerve to take her into his arms?  He thought for the second time that
day, about how he had kissed her that morning.  He had just been so overjoyed
that she was okay.  More than okay, she was pretty close to perfect.  He
wondered how she had felt about the kiss.  Was it just his hopeful imagination,
or had she leaned into him?  He couldn’t afford to run her off.  He was going
to have to feel her out, to take it very slow and easy.  He gave a little grin
at the wording of his own thoughts -
feel her out. 
He thought about her
soft curves and how he would indeed love to feel them.  He was lost in his
visual heaven when a sudden tap at his window brought him crashing back to
reality.  He actually gave a little yelp.  Only a warrior could sneak up on him
like that.  James used to think it was hilarious.

“Christ,
Ella.” He said as he looked up to see her standing next to the truck with her
hands on her hips.

“Boy, do I
feel safe,” she said.  “I assume you’re here to protect me, yet I march right
up and just about give you a heart attack.  What in the world were you staring
off into space grinning about anyway?”

“Nothing,”
Burke said, wondering how red his cheeks were.

“So spill
it, what are you doing?” she prompted.

“Okay,
okay.  Geez.  On my way back to the house after dropping you at your car, I
just couldn’t shake the worry that the Demon is out there somewhere. So... I
turned around and followed you.”

“Listen,
I’ve already talked to Aunt Rachel about the internship.  She knows I start
tomorrow, and that I need to get back to Sarah’s room at a decent hour.  She’s
very excited that I have what she feels is an excellent opportunity.  We’re all
going out for a late lunch instead of dinner, and then I’ll pack a few things
and be back to your house in three hours at the most.  So you, paranoid guy,
can just turn this truck of yours right around and I’ll see you soon.”

“I’m just
being cautious, Ella.  We haven’t talked about everything, and I’m concerned
for your safety.”

“I’m
flattered, but I think I’m a little more in tune with the gravity of the
situation than you give me credit for, hence, the making of arrangements to get
back as quickly as possible.  You, however, need to stop assuming I am going to
be dead within the hour and let me take care of things here so we can get on
with… whatever we need to be getting on with.”  Ella figured she sounded like
an idiot, but she needed to get rid of Burke, have lunch with her family, and
get back.  “Look,” she said.  Ella leaned into the truck window and spoke
through her teeth.  Of course Burke was more preoccupied with the smell of her
hair than what she was actually saying. “Will you just get the heck out of here
before my Aunt comes out and I have to explain who you are and what you’re
doing here?  Don’t you think that may just turn into an issue if she ever comes
to your office to see me, and - hello - the guy her niece is working for is the
same guy who was parked outside of her house?  She’ll think you’re a stalker
for Pete’s sake!  Bye now.  I’ll be back in a few hours.”  Without another
word, she walked away.

Well
Hell,
Burke thought
as he drove away.

True to her
word, Ella pulled into the driveway almost exactly three hours later.  She
grabbed her bag out of the passenger seat and headed up the walk.  Burke met
her at the door.

“Hi,” she
said with a smile.  “I hope you’re not upset with me for running you off.”

“No, it’s
okay, obviously I wasn’t being as stealth as I thought I was,” he replied.

“Must be a
warrior thing; I guess I’m a little harder to sneak up on than you are.”  She
grinned and nudged him with her shoulder as she walked through the door he held
open for her.

Burke took
Ella’s bag from her and put it in the bedroom closet with her other bag.  “Come
on, I believe we had a date for cake and presents.”

Once they
were each seated at the table with a piece of cake in front of them, Burke slid
the smaller of the two packages across the table to Ella.  “Open this one
first,” he said.

Ella tore
off the wrapping paper and opened the small box.  Inside was an elaborate charm
suspended from a short necklace.  The charm was a disc about the size of a
nickel; the bottom third was covered in chips of gemstones in varying shades of
purples - everything from pale lavender to deep violet.  Above the purple stones
were three bezel set diamonds.  Each diamond had a fine wire of colored metal
mounted across its diameter.  Ella didn’t know what to think.  It was one of
the most beautiful things she had ever seen, but not the kind of gift you gave
someone you’d known for only a few days.

“Burke, this
is absolutely gorgeous.  I’m not sure if I can accept such an obviously
expensive present.” Ella whispered and slid the box back across the table
towards him.

Burke
removed the necklace from the box.  He ran his finger over the stones and
smiled sadly. “It belonged to my sister,” he breathed so softly she might not
have heard him before her awakening.  “I want you to have it Ella.  Willow
would have adored you.  I want you to have something special from my home –
your home.  Our planet had three moons.  Each moon had a ring around it similar
to the planet Saturn in this solar system.  This charm is a depiction of the
moons over the ocean.  This is your heritage and your history, whether you’ll
ever get to set eyes on it or not.”