First And Last - By Stacey Kennedy Page 0,48

My teeth chattered. “And why didn’t you tell me to put on a coat?”

Zia glanced back, her nose red with frost. “The Alps.” She shuddered a little and wrapped her arms around herself. “I hadn’t thought of a coat.” She quickened her steps. “Come quickly.”

I picked up my pace and ran forward. “Frig, its cold here.” This place would be cold with full winter gear. Being half-naked, my body became frostbit with each second that passed.

Luckily, we weren’t far from the house, and just as we reached it, the door flew open. Zia rushed in, I followed close behind. The smell of flowers and spice danced along the air and the warmth of this cozy home surrounded me, instantly giving relief.

“Zia,” a soft voice came from beside me.

I followed the voice to see a Witch. Surprise brightened her violet exotic eyes as her little mouth perched together. She wore an Indian dress with fringe trim and fluffy fur boots that reached her knees. With her long black hair pulled into two low pigtails, she definitely resembled a Native Indian Princess.

“Hello again, Ember,” Zia said, rubbed her arms in fast movements to warms herself. “We need your help.”

Ember paid no attention to Zia, her gaze had fallen on me. She slowly stepped in front of me and stared, as if searching for something. Her violet eyes bore deep into mine.

After a few moments of awkwardness, I wondered if she was waiting for me to say something. “Hi. I’m Nexi.”

“Nexi,” she whispered with a soft expression that made her eyes all but melt.

Huh?

I glanced at Zia, hoped she could shed some light on the weirdness of this situation. She watched Ember with an odd look. Then, she shook her head at me. I played it cool and didn’t put a voice to Ember’s peculiar behavior.

Ember finally took a deep breath and her gaze broke away from me to look back at Zia. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Zia.” She walked over to the simple oak benches that sat before a fireplace. “Come and sit, you both look like you’re freezing.”

Feeling like a damned icicle, I didn’t hesitate. I went straight over to the fireplace, sat down on the bench and put my hands out to warm them. Zia sat next to me just as Ember handed us a thick fur blanket. I hesitated for a moment, feeling yucky about wrapping some dead thing around me, but I was too cold to resist.

As I wrapped the blanket around me, I studied Ember a little. Witches always had a little pull to them. Black Witches felt raw and wrong while White Witches just expelled brightness.

Zia was the strongest witch I’d known and she felt nothing like the Witch before me. The power within her almost created a glowing aura.

Ember took a seat in the rocking chair that rested right beside the fire and as she sat, a wolf sauntered over to lie down at her feet.

“Werewolf?” I couldn’t sense that he was, but weirder things have happened, better just to ask.

Ember laughed softly and gave his ear a scratch. “No. Sayer is a pet. Nothing more, but special nonetheless.” She glanced away from the wolf to Zia. “What can I help you with?”

“Do you know what has happened in the Underworld lately?”

Ember’s gaze flicked to me a moment then back to Zia as she nodded. “I know, yes.”

“We have just that learned that demons are forming a resistance and rallying to summon back the Demon Lords to see that their world is given back to them,” Zia explained.

Ember’s violet eyes darkened. “I feared something of this magnitude was happening.”

“How did you know that?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Something felt wrong.”

Her response made me wonder just who and what she was. She was unbelievably powerful, that was a fact, but she felt different. Her power felt close to what I remembered Pye, a warlock I destroyed not long ago, being like. His magic wasn’t elemental, more like an energy, but Ember is a White Witch. I couldn’t sense an ounce of evil in her.

“She’s a very old Witch,” Zia said, clearly reacting to my thoughts. “That’s why you’re sensing such power from her.”

“Are you saying she’s a Spirit Witch?”

“Felt dark…” Ember continued.

“Yes. She has the ability to manipulate all the elements.”

“Darkness stirring…”

I glanced at Zia. “That Witch sitting there is not a Spirit Witch. I can feel it. She’s different, but I can’t quite place it.”

Zia’s brows rose, but was interrupted when Ember said,