Demon Seer (Ember's Flames Book 1) Read online

  Zach froze with a gulp of milk in his mouth. He had never even considered that might be the case. He was shaking his head, but he hadn’t convinced himself that Carson was wrong. He just wanted him to be. Was it possible Zach had actually lived and died through all of those scenarios before? “Nah, I don’t think so.”

  With another shrug, Carson finished off whatever was in his glass. “Okay. Maybe not. But if you start having the same dreams over and over again, take some notes. Also, see if you can figure out what everyone is calling you.”

  “Why is that?” Zach asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

  “Because, if you’re a Seer, and they made you forget that, maybe your subconscious can tell us who the hell you are. Then, we’ll know for sure.”

  Zach nodded and Carson bid him goodnight, heading back down the hall.

  An uneasy feeling came over Zach as he stood with his hand on the glass, his head tipped down to the counter. He already knew what the others had been calling him, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it for the fear of what it would mean. “Damus,” he whispered. They’d called him Damus.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “Hmmm. I see Carson has been here.”

  Abby’s voice brought Zach’s head whipping around. She’d been so quiet, padding in wearing slippers and a robe over her nightgown. She was gesturing at the saucepan.

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry. That was for me.” He reached over and picked up the pan, carrying it to the sink.

  Pulling the dishwasher open, Abby took the pan and put it inside, along with a few other dishes. Zach went back to the glass he’d left sitting on the counter. He quickly drank it down, rinsed it out, and put that in as well. “Thanks, Abby.”

  “Certainly. What has you up this time of night? Couldn’t sleep, bad dreams, or both?”

  “Mostly bad dreams,” he admitted. “I came in looking for a drink and found Carson who told me I was making milk wrong.”

  A chuckle rolled around in her throat. “Yep, sounds about right. The two of you might not get along well right now, but you will. Just give him some time. He’ll come around.”

  “If you say so.”

  Abby went to the refrigerator and grabbed some prune juice, pouring herself a glass. “Want some?”

  “I’ll pass.”

  She smirked at him. “Give it thirty or forty years, you’ll change your mind. You’ll have to.” She took a drink, made a face, and then put the container back. “What was the nature of your dreams?”

  “Uh… battles mostly. I thought maybe I’d been listening too closely to the stories everyone else was telling today, but Carson suggested they might actually be memories.” He tried shrugging, like that might make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal, even though he was still freaking out about the entire situation. It was a state of mind he found himself in quite often, especially these days. Not that he'd ever been much of a chill guy.

  Abby studied him for a long moment, sipping her juice, before she asked, “Did you get any clues from the dreams that they might be memories? Anyone there you recognized?”

  “Yeah, Ember was there. And Jake. Maybe Ryan. I’m not sure. There was a Flyer in one of the battles, but he was so fast, I couldn’t see him. They weren’t calling him Ryan, though.”

  “What were they calling him?”

  “Uh… I’m not sure. Something that started with an A, maybe.”

  She smiled at him “Apollo?”

  “Yeah, that’s it. But… he’s not the Apollo, is he? Was he?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure how to answer that. Legends are usually combinations of real people. Ember isn’t Athena, but then, she has a lot in common with her. Jake isn’t Helios. Carson isn’t Hades, but you might disagree with that.” A wicked smile pulled up the corners of her mouth. “We’ve all had different names from time to time. Names go out of style or must change with our location. I couldn’t possibly be called Anka now, not if I wanted to blend in.”

  Zach nodded in understanding. “But what was your original name? What did God call you when you still lived in heaven, before the fall?”

  Her eyes shifted as a sweet memory filled her mind. When she looked back at Zach, there was a twinkle in her eye. “Aphrodite.”

  His mouth dropped open. “For real?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what you just said about legends not being true isn’t accurate.”

  “No, it is. I didn’t do all of the things you’ll read Aphrodite did. I didn’t do much of that at all. But I was quite beautiful.” That twinkle was still in her eye. “And what about you, Zach? What were they calling you in the dream?”

  He took a deep breath, not sure he wanted to answer. But if he could trust anyone, it was Abby. “Uh… Damus,” he said so quietly he wondered if she could even hear it.

  Abby nodded. She reached out with a wrinkled hand and rested it on his shoulder. “I knew it was you.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Ember knew something was different about Zach the moment she saw him. He was standing in the dining area, sipping a cup of coffee as he stared out the window. She’d intended to take him back out for another training session today. He’d done so well the day before, but now, watching him there, she wasn’t sure it was necessary. Maybe he was already ready to face whatever it was ahead of them.

  She’d called Dr. Ford the evening before to see if he had any ideas about how to lure Ruby away from Lane. Was there anyone who might be in need of her services? Dr. Ford agreed that finding her another team might be a good way to get her to speak, but he didn’t think Lane would let her go that easily.

  When Ember mentioned Ryan’s theory to Sylas, he’d agreed it was a good one. The Sword of Truth had mystical powers. Not only could it kill the likes of Lilith, it could be used in countless ways against one’s enemies.

  That’s why Ember had fought so hard to get it--twice. Once, she’d gotten it only to be killed a few years later, and it had been stolen while she was gone. She hadn’t gotten it back until about a hundred years ago. Now, she’d do whatever it took to keep it. That’s why she’d brought it with her here and hid it in a secret, enchanted panel in the wall in her mother’s library.

  “How are you?” Ember asked Zach, not even bothering to go to the kitchen for a bite to eat yet.

  Zach smiled at her. “I’m fine. How are you?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve been better. Did you sleep okay?”

  “Uh… not really.”

  “We tried to be quiet.”

  Zach’s face turned red. “Did Ryan say something to you?”

  “No. Like what?”

  His face was the same color as the showstopper in Abby’s beet salad. “Nothing.”

  Ember giggled. She could only imagine what he might’ve said the night before when she and Jake had been so loud. She hadn’t been thinking straight that night. She’d been in such a tizzy to get her batteries recharged and to be with him. But Ryan had taken things slowly and he was naturally quieter than Jake when it came to such things. “So if it wasn’t us keeping you up, what was it?”

  He ran a hand through his hair, his face morphing from embarrassment to a different sort of uncomfortableness. He looked around uneasily. Others were milling about, but no one was bothering them. “I had a bunch of dreams last night. I thought they were just nightmares until I got up to get a drink. I ran into Carson and then Abby. They both seemed to think they were likely more memories than dreams. Then, Abby and I discussed a few things I hadn’t realized, about what’s in a name, and I went back to bed. This time, I knew for sure my dreams were memories.”

  Her eyebrows arched as she listened. This was quite a revelation. “And… what do you remember?”

  “Everything, Ember. I remember everything.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. I know who I am now, and it’s scary as hell, but I’m glad I remember. I still don’t know where I’ve been for the last two hundred years--it’s like that time doesn't exi
st--but I recall all of my past lives in perfect memory, just like you do.”

  She took a deep breath, both excited to hear that but scared of what it might mean. So the Seers were out there--they just didn’t remember who they were. Except for the one standing in front of her. “And who are you?”

  A small, familiar grin spread across his face. “You know who I am, Athena.”

  Ember’s mouth dropped open. No one had called her that in… centuries. But she instantly knew who she was talking to, and a thousand memories came rushing back to her. He’d been there for so many important battles, and though he’d never been part of her team, she’d known him well. In fact, he’d died helping her get back the Sword of Truth. Even though they’d been calling him Damion then, that wasn’t his given name. “Damus.” It wasn’t a question.

  He nodded. “Did you miss me?”

  “More than I can tell you.” Ember wrapped her arms around him, and he pulled her close. After a moment, she backed up. “Who else have you told?”

  “Only Abby knows.”

  Ember nodded. They’d have to figure out the best way to tell everyone. Her team needed to know, but giving the information to everyone else could be potentially harmful to their cause. The less people who knew about this for now, the better. “We’ll figure all of this out. It’s nice to have you back. Do you feel like you have all of your powers now, too?”

  Zach took a deep breath and then said, “Yes, I do. And I think I can help with the Lane situation now, too.”

  She was glad to hear that, but she had a lot of thinking to do. Her stomach rumbled, and she suddenly realized she was starving. Giving him a quick peck on the cheek, she headed to the kitchen to stave off her hunger and figure out what the hell to do next.

  Chapter Forty

  The rest of Ember’s team took the news well. Ryan wasn’t surprised at all; Jake accepted it right away; Carson argued for forty-five minutes and finally conceded that perhaps it was true, but he didn’t think so.

  “What do we do now?” Jake asked once Carson had settled into the couch in Abby’s parlor, his arms folded and a scowl on his face.

  “I don’t know,” Ember admitted. “But we need to figure out what it was that brought Zach around so that he remembered so we can see if we can use it to wake the rest of the Seers.”

  “How would it make a difference if we can’t find them?” Carson asked. “What are we going to do? Post on social media, ‘Anyone who thinks they’ve seen a demon recently, call 1-800-Angels R Us?’”

  “I have no idea,” Ember admitted. “But knowing what woke him will be helpful in case we do come across other potential Seers. They’ve got to be out there somewhere. If we know to look for them, we’ll have a better chance of locating them.”

  “And if Lil knows we’re looking for them, she’ll be looking for them, too, which means we can follow her to them,” Jake said with a shrug.

  “Do you think it was just seeing the demon that planted a seed in my mind and eventually brought me around?” Zach asked. He sounded almost afraid to hear what her guesses toward an explanation might be.

  “I doubt it,” Ember said. “You seemed pretty locked into the idea that you weren’t one of us.”

  “So what’s changed in the last few days?” Ryan asked, stroking his chin. “We know Lane’s shifted sides on us, that Lil’s been after Zach and almost made contact, that the demon in the cell tried to kill him--what else?”

  “Isn't that enough?” Zach rolled his eyes.

  “That’s a lot--but would any of those things suddenly make him remember the truth?” Jake asked.

  “I don’t know why they would,” Ember said with a shrug. “Maybe it’s just that he’s been aware of the existence of demons for a few days, and it’s all starting to come back to him.”

  “Maybe,” Zach said. “But I don’t think so. It’s not as if it came back a bit at a time. It all came back at once--in my dreams at first. And then as soon as I spoke to Abby about it, I remembered what I’d forgotten for so long. But why did the dreams happen that night, and none of the nights before?”

  “Did you smoke anything before you went to bed?” Carson asked.

  Zach only glared at him in response, but then Ryan sat up straight. “Wait a minute--go back to what Jake said.”

  “Me?” Jake asked. “I just asked what made him remember all of a sudden.”

  “No, you said what made him remember the truth,” Ryan clarified.

  “And?” Carson asked, still in a bad mood about earlier.

  “Ember, was that night Lil tried to take Zach out in the alley the first time you’d carried the sword with you since Zach’s been around?”

  “Yeah…?” She wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but something stirred inside of her to let him know he was onto something.

  “And do you have it with you now?” Ryan asked.

  “Yes.”

  He nodded. “It’s the sword.”

  “What do you mean, ‘It’s the sword’?” Carson asked.

  But now, Ember understood what he was getting at. She nodded along with him. “Of course. It’s the Sword of Truth! It helped you remember who you truly are, Zach.”

  “And that explains why Lane wants it,” Jake added. “So he can go find a Seer of his own.”

  “How? Driving around, waving it at random people?” Carson asked, scowling.

  “I don’t know how he intends to use it, but if he knows it can help identify Seers, he wants it for that purpose,” Jake said, his tone very matter-of-fact.

  “How would Lane even know the sword could do that?” Carson wanted to know.

  “He wouldn’t--unless whoever put the Seers where they are told him. I think he's in cahoots with Lil, that it isn’t even necessarily Lane that wants the sword but Lil that does,” Ryan concluded. “If she would’ve realized you had it on you that night, she would’ve come after you and not Zach. She wants him to get to the sword.”

  Ember raised both eyebrows at Ryan. If it was anyone else, she would’ve said he’d over thought the entire scenario and that was crazy, but since it was coming from Ryan, there was a good chance he was right. And that was terrifying. Because if Lane was after her sword, and he was working with Lil, it would be almost impossible to keep it safe. They’d have to keep it, though. They’d need it to find the rest of the Seers. There was no doubt in Ember’s mind they wouldn’t be able to defeat Lil and the other powerful Scales without the Seers. Since they’d been gone, the Sorcha had been crippled. Having Zach back would help, but she needed more Seers. If the sword could help her find them, she’d have to go to great lengths to make sure it wasn’t taken from her--by anyone.

  “So what do we do next?” Jake asked, looking at Ember.

  “We find out if what Ryan just said is true or not. If Lane is working with Lil, we’ve got to find out what sort of a deal she made with him. If he’s not, then we need to know how he discovered it was the sword that helped Zach remember who he was.”

  “And how do we do that?” Carson asked, a little less salty than he had been before.

  “That… I don’t know,” Ember admitted. “But I think we start with Ruby. If we can get her to work with us, we have a better chance of finding out the truth than without it.”

  “It’s too bad the Sword of Truth won’t work on Lane,” Jake muttered.

  “Yeah, even if it did, I wouldn’t risk getting it that close to him, Ember admitted.

  “We have our work cut out.” Ryan let out a sigh, but then he smiled at Ember. “But if anyone can do this, Ember, it’s you.”

  “Thanks,” she said, wanting to believe him. “As long as I have the four of you with me, I think we can do anything.” She looked at each of them, certain what she’d said was true. It might be a long road ahead, but with the help of her flames, she would find a way.

  Continue Ember’s story in Demon Hunter, now avaible for preorder through October 15 when it will be released.

  A Note from Sa
die

  Hi there!

  At the time that I’m writing this, the world is still upside down in the middle of this pandemic. I’m way behind on my writing because of everything else that’s going on in the world. This isn’t where I expected to be halfway through April.

  But I’m healthy, my family is healthy, all my friends and loved ones are safe, so I’m not complaining.

  I might not get this series finished this year, but I will get you book two before the end of the year, I promise that. I hope that you’ve enjoyed book 1 and will be looking forward to the release of book 2, Demon Hunter, on October 15. You can preorder here.

  Make sure you don’t miss out on the release. Subscribe to my newsletter, and get my shorter work, Queen of Winter for free.

  Link for signups: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/vl5ybaj15x

  Blessings to all of you! Stay safe and strong!

  Love,

  Sadie

  Also by Sadie Waters

  Chosen by the Princess: A Reverse Harem Romance,

  Realm of the Chosen Book 1

  Loved by the Princess: A Reverse Harem Romance,

  Realm of the Chosen Book 2

  Ruled by the Princess: A Reverse Harem Romance,

  Realm of the Chosen Book 3

  Realm of the Chosen: The Complete Series

  Demon Seer: Ember’s Flames Book 1

  Demon Hunter: Ember’s Flames Book 2 (preorder through October 15)

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