Heart of Fire

Forgotten Books

Week after week Ember and I spend hours in the Grand Library. Ember spent the last hundred years learning everything she could about realms. How to access them, how to read and speak ancient languages. Knowing that we would need this information for when she met me. I have learned so much about the realms, the realms Ember has been able to travel too. My favorite one being the realm where the population were giant insects and arachnids. Ember's fear of spiders was multiplied to infinity that day according to her. 

We would read texts and need other texts in other books to decipher the meanings, only to be led to yet another text in another book to read. It was maddening, but with Ember's knowledge and my ability to interpret and locate books we were making progress. We knew we needed a specific celestial even and that there were a few other aspects we could not figure out from the books in the library. 

 Ember and I have become fast friends, and I am grateful for meeting her. She owned a small apartment on the outskirts of town, which was wonderful. It allowed Callisto and I easy access to the forest. We have filled the living room with books checked out from the library so that our search can continue while the library is closed. It has consumed me. I am desperate for answers. 

Three months have passed since I said goodbye to my pack. So, when the phone Alpha Warren had given, me began to ring, I was confused and honestly a little scared at the same time. 

"Hello?" I answer the phone with hesitation. 

"Oh, Jade, good you still have the phone." I heard Alpha Warren's deep voice on the other end of the line. 

"Yes, Alpha I do. Is something wrong?" I ask slightly fearful of the answer he may give me. 

"No, no nothing is wrong per say. I am reaching out to you because Bruce has brought it to my attention that you have not made any contact and I also had not heard from you?" I could hear the concern in his voice, and I tensed a bit. I knew this call would come one day, but I was still not prepared to deal with the fall out. 

"I apologize Alpha Warren; It was not my intention to cause concern. I can say I am safe, and that I appreciate everything you and Luna Jamie have done for me. If you would be so kind to relay my best wishes to Bruce as I do not want him to worry. I would be grateful." I answer him as business like as I can. I know that if I were to continue speaking with him or especially if I were to speak with Bruce I would melt and want to return home. But that pack was no longer my home, this realm is not my home. I knew my path now. 

"Jade! That is all you have to say!!" Bruce's voice bellowed through the phone. I could hear Alpha Warren cover the mic on the phone, and loud muffled voices arguing about what had been agreed. I am not really surprised that Alpha Warren included Bruce in this call. I feel that having Bruce listen to the call would hopefully help him heal and begin his journey to letting go. 

"Dad ... Bruce, Alpha Warren, I understand this is difficult. It is for me as well. I cannot express enough what it means that you allowed me to be a part of your pack, a that you allowed me to be a part of your family. I will be eternally grateful for you, for Trisha, and even for Daisy. But if you read my letter, you know I am not coming back. You have to focus on Daisy and Trisha. I believe that our time has come to an end. Dad ..... Bruce, I love you and thank you for loving me." I said with sadness trickling into my voice. I knew this would happen and I should have tossed the phone first thing, but I think I guess I needed this moment to get closure. 

"Jade, you cannot just end a family." I heard Bruce say in a quiet voice. 

"It is not an ending to a family, I was on borrowed time already, and now that time is over. I love you. I love Trisha and Daisy. I love Willow and Dominic. I will carry you and them in my heart always. Please let me go as I requested. I will be tossing this phone after this call." I said with more conviction than I felt. But I knew that after Ember, and I began the next phase of our journey they would never be able to find me, and I did not want them to spend their lives looking for someone who no longer exists here.  

"Jade...." A broken sob croaks from Bruce's throat and I hold back my own tears. I have to finish this call before I allow myself to breakdown. This was not easy after all. I really do love my family.

"I love you . . . . Dad, I love you all. Take care of each other." I said as I hung up the phone and removed the battery and sim card breaking them into pieces and tossing them into the trash. I turn and see Ember standing in the doorway holding a new stack of books. 

"That feel as hard as it sounded?" She asks me. I can see the sympathy in her eyes. She has had to do similar as she will be leaving her community behind here as well. But they are aware of why and they know it is her fate. I thought about explaining this to Alpha Warren at least. But I did not want to cause panic or fear in my family's lives. I will be a ghost to them soon, an afterthought of a memory as they build new memories on top of the old. 

"Yes. You found what we needed?" I ask pointing to the books she has brought home. 

"I think so. I found this last one in the bottom of a stack in the very back of that small room with no shelves just stacks. I thought we had been through that room already, but this one was covered in spider webs. I had to find a human to pick it up for me." She said with a look of horror and disgust on her face. That bug realm really did a number on her. I did think it odd though I knew what room she was talking about, and I am with her I thought we looked at every book in there at least twice. I grabbed the book from her and read the title. 

How to travel the worlds.

©2023 Lisa Enstrom / @JadeFyre2018. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without written permission from the author. This body of work is available exclusively on Wattpad. If you are viewing it on a different website or platform under a different username or title, it has been illegally stolen, and you may even be at risk of malware. Please do not support these sites, as writing is hard work and effort on the original author's part. Head over to Wattpad and let me, the original author know if you have encountered this situation by finding me @JadeFyre2018