Ember and Ash

Burning Questions

Ember was more eager to start the school week than she had been since the very beginning of the year. She had woken up almost a full hour earlier than usual. She had showered, blown out and curled her hair, and completed her whole makeup routine before Ashley had even gotten out of bed. A blur of blankets shuffled into their shared closet and collapsed onto the chaise.

"Bathe me. I'm still asleep" The covers were thrown off onto the floor revealing a bed headed Ashley face down in the damask patterned fabric. "Please."

"Sounds like fun, but I'll pass."

Ember walked over to the jewelry cabinet and picked out a simple gold horseshoe pendant to go with her deep green top. She slipped into a pair of grey suede booties before giving herself one last inspection in the giant mirror that was the back wall of the room.

The stairs were a bit tricky to descend as she practically skipped down them in four inch heels. A new key hung on the hook where her old key once resided. Cradling her coffee between her arm and her book bag, she ran through the gently drizzling rain. She smiled as she took a deep melting sip from the paper container. The car literally roared to life. This day was going to be epic.

This day was certainly not epic. Ember had earned some lustful glances when she pulled into her usual parking spot, but they were clearly for the car alone. She lingered in the halls well past the second warning bell hoping to catch a glance of Casey Loghen. She already knew that they didn't have any classes together, but she was counting on seeing him somewhere.

He wasn't in the common rooms during break. She hadn't noticed him in the long line of traffic leaving the grounds for lunch. It wasn't until she was driving past the front entrance on her way home that she finally saw him walking out of the building.

After school wasn't much better. Aunt Jalice got a call from their grandfather and it actually lasted longer than a few brief moments. Apparently Ira was scheduled to fly in at the end of the week. Ashley had ran upstairs as soon as she heard the news to clear space on her side of the closet.

"What's wrong, Ember?" Jalise waved her hand whimsically in the direction of the glass fireplace that separated the living room from the dinning room. It popped as the flame licked it's way across the translucent stones.

"What do you mean?" She picked up Jalise's overweight smokey Persian and pretended to be distracted by stroking the long tufts of fur at the tips of his ears.

"Well, for one thing, you don't seem that excited that your grandfather is coming." The cat jumped from Embers arms and went back to bathing himself on the sofa. Jalise motioned for her to sit. "Also, you bought a car without really talking to anyone about it first. I'm not trying to tell you what to do with your money, but you're young and there are people out there that live to take advantage of people like us."

Em felt her face getting hot. She didn't like being reprimanded for something that she felt would have been a non issue with her parents. Besides, it costed a fraction of the gift Ira had tried to give her. And hadn't Ashley gotten her pretty toy on a whim just a few months ago? Ember didn't remember her being lectured about that.

"I just wanted something new I guess. I honestly didn't even think it. But, you know, I'll be on my own to make my own decisions in a few months and I think I can handle car shopping."

Jalise shook her head. "Of course. It's just so unlike you to-"

Ember could almost finish the sentence for her. It's so unlike you to be spontaneous. To do something unexpected. To think for yourself. She stood and walked toward the stairs.

"I trust you." Jalise plastered on an unconvincing smile. "I'll just have to get use to seeing you as an independent young woman instead of my little niece who use to cling to her mother wherever she went. But if you need to talk about something."

"I know." This conversation was getting uncomfortable. Ember just wanted to escape to her room.

Jalise nodded and turned toward the kitchen, leaving Em free to dart away. The last thing she wanted was to talk to Aunt Jalise right then. Actually, she did want to talk to her. She must have had a million questions, but they were all in that one category that her family avoided broaching like the plague.

She wanted to know whether her mother knew about her father's family, about Ashley and herself. She had heard things, things that she had never dreamed possible after her parents' death. They were scattered pieces of an infinite puzzle.

Her father had gifts, as did Jalise and Ira. It was an Evans thing. They had known that her sister was starting to gain her powers. They had even begun training her to use them. But what about Ember? Was there no chance for her to learn to control them? Why hadn't they told her? Why hadn't they prepared her?

Ember tried to swallow but her throat was too dry. Not only had everyone she had ever trusted kept the biggest secret possible from her, they had divulged the truth to Ashley. Her sister had known for years that they had gifts. Gifts that Ash could partaken in. Gifts that would turn Ember into a dangerous freak.

Days went by like molasses as Ember tried to hide her agitated state from her family. She watched the clock above the smart board. Ira's plane would be leaving in less than an hour. He would probably be there when the girls got home.

Ash had tried to bail on classes that morning. She claimed she would be too excited to pay attention, which was most likely the truth. Her first block was calculus. Em remembered how she had come home bragging about how she had totally bewitched the smartest guy in the class into being her personal study buddy. As in, she bats her eyes and he does her equations. Ashley had always enjoyed playing dumb to get out of any real work.

The bell finally rang and Ember shuffled out into the crowded hall. She followed the current of students down the front stairway before breaking free to duck into the girls room. There were three other girls already perched in front of the mirror. Em thought one of them looked familiar, but she couldn't place her. They must have not noticed her slide into a stall behind them, because they began to talk candidly amongst themselves.

"What are you doing this weekend?" Em could see their shoes under the door, but she couldn't tell who was speaking.

"Casey's playing at the bar. You know she wouldn't miss a chance to stalk him all night." Another girl's voice giggled as she teased her friend.

"I don't stalk him." A cell phone began playing that annoying new pop song that radio stations seem to keep on a loop. "I have to work. He's just a job perk. It's not like I would actually date him or anything."

"That's not what it looked like at Spade's party." Whoever had been talking answered the phone and walked out of the room.

"Seriously, I was just drunk. Do you know what my parents would say if they thought I was interested in someone like him?"

"They would say that the bartender isn't the only one who will be cutting you off?" Two sets of snickers erupted. "You should worry about what everyone else would say as well, in case you haven't noticed there are some pretty nasty rumors floating around about his folks."

"Ok, what are you talking about?"

"Lets just say the shades of the Loghens' little equestrian utopia have been tainted."

The bell rang and the girls scurried out. It took Ember a few more moments to convince herself that they were gossiping about the same Casey Loghen she had given a ride home. Whatever was going on with Casey's family, it had nothing on the Evan's. You know what they say, more closet space, more hidden skeletons.