Chapter One
I was running through the woods, a herd of moose charging behind me, and a girl in panting of me. Why we were running was because my friend here was doing something dumb. You'll find out. We turned a corner and ran staight towards a road. Thankfully, the road was empty. We sprinted right up to the sidewalk, moose on our heels, where we suddennly jumped up and grabbed a tree branch and scrambled safely into the boughs. The moose ran across the road and disapeared behind a hill on the other side. Now to find out the stupid thing my friend did.
"Why did you do that?!" I asked furiously. I noticed my palms glowing red. Better watch myself, I thought.
"I told you Ember," The girl replied nervously. "That iPod means a lot to me! It's the only thing normal around here. I just want to have a normal life."
"So jumping out of a tree and landing in a herd of moose is normal?"
She scowled. "You haven't been normal either!"
"Maddy, since when do you think I should be normal? I live in a house made of tree branches."
"You're right. that sounds creepy. Let's just go back. It's getting dark. For all we know, or, I know, because you know the woods pretty well, that there are vampires in this place."
Worse. I thought, but trudged on
We walked for a couple minutes and found ourselves in front of a hut that came out of four trees, their branches intertwining. We brushed aside the curtain of leaves that served as a door and went in. Inside were two roughly made matresses, a circle of rocks, piles of twigs, and two flint rocks.
Maddy plopped down on matress. "What are you Ember? You're too weird to be human, you're not a vampire or werewolf, and not a mermaid, and not a witch, or a wizard. Definetly not a fairy. And what happenned to your familly? How old are you? Twelve or something?"
I didn't answer her. If she knew how old I was, she'd faint. I was human alright. But also different. I started a fire, staring at the embers. Ember Isn't my real name. But no one alive knows it. I also never told anyone my secret. No one knew. No one will know. I thought. No one will know. Why my familly was dead was a secret. I knew a lot of secrets. Secrets that have been secrets for a long time. I feel like telling someone. But I never can. I opened my palm. There, embedded in my flesh, but still open to air, lay a deep red stone in the shape of a tear-drop. It glowed warmly, and strongly. No one will know.