Flames [Completed]

Ghosts and Dead Men

Gentle music floats through the wooden cabin, inside which I am draped over a couch backwards, eyes fixed on the ceiling. Too many thoughts are running rampant in my mind; it's tiring, I need to have a clear head, now more than ever. The music isn't blocking it out like I hoped, and it is only isolating me more. Jasper is not home yet, he was spending time with Alice; she felt useless, being unable to see the battle's outcome now the pack is involved.

A creak of wood announces Jasper's arrival. He steps in and stares at me, one eyebrow arched in confusion. "Are you alright?"

"Yes and no," I reply, idly making the charms from the trees float around the room on a train of purple smoke.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks, closing the door and sitting on the floor beside me, his back against the couch.

A sigh passes my lips and I nod. "Azhara is going to pick me up tomorrow to see the council, she knows where the portal is. Apparently the ruins of Denure are a good place to have it."

Jasper hums thoughtfully, looking at me closely. "Are you worried?"

His question is simple, but I realise I haven't thought of why I feel the way I do. Am I afraid? Anxious? Curious?

"I don't know."

Nodding his head, he leans it back on the cushions, his eyes finding my favourite spot on the ceiling. "You will be okay, Jordan. Azhara will be with you, and well...you're you."

"Exactly!" I exclaim, my hands falling to the floor. "Trouble follows me everywhere, and I doubt anything will change that."

I can see his smirk, and drop a charm on him as payback. He jumps in surprise as the small piece of wood hits him, squinting between it and me. "You are the only person I have ever known who can bypass vampiric reflexes."

"What can I say? It's like magic." We share a chuckle, but as Bowie fades from the room, my lips fall. "Truth is, Jaz, I don't know how tomorrow is going to go. I don't even know why the council wants to see me. But it means something is going to change."

"Love, things were always going to change. They've been changing since the day you arrived here, for everyone," he says softly, "We can deal with that, as long as you come back."

I turn my head towards him, seeing his own stresses bleed through his well-structured mask. My stomach sinks and I curl my hand around his the best I can, given the size difference.

"I'll come back, Jasper."

"You better," he says, smiling faintly.

Jasper stands, holding a hand out to me. Once we are both on our feet, we walk to the bedroom balcony together. The night is quiet, still, but something in the air dances around in anticipation. By now, I know the forest is not quite what it seems, and I'm beginning to understand how it communicates. I don't know if it's just this forest, or if it's like this all over the world, and you just have to know the language; but these trees have something special in them, I can feel it. They know something is changing, and eagerly await the day they can sing again.

For a while, we don't speak, finding comfort in one another's presence, engulfed by our own thoughts and worries. But I have been in this state for longer than Jasper, and I'm tired of it. Instead, I choose to think about something much more interesting — him.

There's a question I've had since the day I learnt who he really is, a tricky one. The topic is sensitive, not just for him, but for me as well. I've thought a lot about how to bring it up, and rather than devising a strategy, I think I'll just ask.

"Jasper?"

He blinks, and turns his head to me. "Yes, love?"

"Why did you join the confederacy?"