CHAPTER FOUR
EMBER
“The police are at the gate about yesterday, and the elders are on their way as they are claiming Ren stole Lennox's mate,” Jace informs us as we fill our plates. I roll my eyes, then give Ren a worried look.
“Dan always told me to stay away from the elders in case they tried to use me or do tests on me.” I try to keep eating, but it's turning to ash in my mouth,
“We won’t let that happen, sweetie. The elders changed last year. There is now a mix of creatures which will help matters.” Lily soothes over her teacup.
Thankfully because Ren and I are still minors and the cops are human, they only ask us to confirm what Dad and Uncle Nic have already told them, as soon as they head out with my DNA and a copy of the police report from my attempted rape including the CCTV of the most recent attack, Alma turns into a taskmaster, even Liam and Nate jump to, to get the house tidy.
Lily and I head to the kitchen. We have two days, maybe, so we work on stuff that can be part-cooked and then stored.
Ren, Brayden, Kodi and Jace head out for some meat.
Bas and Timber set up some rabbit snares, then start tidying outside, hauling dead trees from view.
The next day is much the same, minus the police visit.
Matt checked his emails in the morning, then he and a very pissed off Nate hide in one of the offices.
They tell us later that Matt's old supervisor had tried getting into his computer and changing the finder’s commission from him to her.
Matt recommended that Nate put out a check on everyone in case she had done with any of the others.
I slept with Jace that night, but other than kisses, nothing happened.
I woke to the feeling of two bodies around me, and then one disappeared with a thud.
With a chuckle, I left Jace and Creed bickering and wrestling and headed to breakfast with a smile before going to the old sun room, which is now my studio.
I had the urge to create today, flicking my music on as I get set up.
After painting a mountain background, I get sealing wax out, heat it, and use it as a dabber on my canvas.
I start making dragon scales, creating a replica of Dan's dragon.
The canvas I picked is so big that I have to keep using a step ladder for parts of it.
As I set out to paint Elise standing on his curved wing, petting his snout, Liam, who had quietly been watching for the past hour, speaks.
“I always forget how fascinating it is to watch you work, and I am annoyed that I can now see so much of your father in you. I hate that I missed it,” he chuckles, but there is a sadness to the tone he uses.
“Do you plan or just create?” he asks, switching to teacher mode. He steps up to the canvas, looking closer at the background. I concentrate on Elise's features before moving to Dan's eyes, not liking the hollow gaps,
“A bit of both”, I reply, then side-eye him when I hear the click of a photo being taken. He gives me a cheeky smile.
“This I planned in my head since you taught the technique, something like that.” I point to a canvas I did while singing with Trent, it’s of a vase of flowers, but look closer and there are hidden images within the blooms.
“I just closed my eyes and went for it with whatever was inspiring me at the time, sometimes it’s whatever my music playlist is at the time, sometimes the emotions that are becoming too much.
I missed them today, so I wanted to make a memory.
Well, kind of.” I wipe the tears from the admission to their loss, clearing my throat as I continue.
We are quiet for a while, he’s looking through my other stuff, and noises are coming from him.
I try not to guess if it's like or not; he was my teacher, so it is sometimes hard not to expect him to grade my work.
I inwardly snort, thinking of coming in here one day and finding sticky notes with grades and comments on how to improve.
Half an hour later, Liam has retaken his seated spot, so I decide now is the time to bring something up. I haven’t been able to work out how to approach him about it.
“Dan and Elise left me their ‘human’ effects when they passed away, I have a property I want to use when I turn eighteen, but when I looked, I have a problem, I own the building, or will own it, on my birthday, BUT, the land is owned by someone else, so I need permission to even step onto the drive, let alone do any work on the house.” I grab the file and hand it over,
“Want to sign off so I can start bringing my future house up to date?”
He looks over the details with a frown and then chuckles,
“I will agree if you do an art show with some of these, even if you donate the money to charity.” I look at him, then look at my feet
“I can’t until I turn eighteen and have access to my money to buy an ironclad pseudonym.” As if waiting for an opening to enter, Nate walks in,
“I will pay for a vampire one for you. I owe you eighteen years of birthdays and Christmas as your godfather, so I will be happy to.” I blink at him and then sigh. I know I’m not going to win this argument.
GROUP CHAT MADE – ART
NATE, MATEO, DEVIN, LIAM, MILES ADDED
ME: I need to sort my artwork
out for an art show, you lot are
Now in charge of it. I will mark
the ones I don’t want to sell,
And Miles needs to pick what
He wants for the new house.
I put my phone away and let them sort stuff out, and they all soon walk into my studio. I continue with my painting, adding yes, no, and maybe when they hold up my art, a couple of them I just want to burn, but Liam smacks the back of my head with a rag, so I just shrug those off from then on.