Chapter One continued

Daniel took his time showing up at her door often with his hat in hand. “Good day, Ms. Quinn.”

“Oh hello. What can I do for you?” Emma saw he had wildflowers in his hands. “Oh, how pretty those are!”

“They are for you. I hope you don’t think this is forward.” Daniel stumbled as he shoved the flowers into Emma’s hands.

He brought her flowers and different herbs he had “found” in the woods. Daniel wanted her to keep up her healing so she could bring her powers to her even faster. They would walk and talk with each other. Daniel even allowed the other villagers to get to know of him, but there was a select few that didn’t trust him. No problem. He made them disappear easy enough.

“Daniel, I know you are not telling me something.” She said as the wind ruffled her dress. The walk through the forest glade had been pleasant until then. Daniel frowned as he watched her eyes glance away from his face. How could he tell her of his powers and his need for souls?

These thoughts burned inside him, and they begged to be let out. “I have many secrets but if I show you one of them would you still want to see me?” Daniel’s voice broke as he asked her. To his surprise, she laughed and hugged him tightly and kissed him on his cheek.

The fire raged around them as Emma hid under a solid rough oak table with her mother in her arms. He could tell that her mother had been dead a while. Pissed, Daniel kicked down the front door “Emma, we have to go!” Daniel pulled at her arm trying to move her, but she wouldn’t budge. Emma looked up with tears streaming down her face confused at what she saw.

“Daniel? What? How did you get here?”

“Emma, we need to leave because the house is on fire. If we stay here, we both will die

“But how did you get here Daniel?” she asked in confusion.

Daniel knew in the back of his mind he should have let her die, but somehow, he couldn’t let her go. Emma looked around seeing her house was on fire. Emma could feel the heat of the flames on her skin and smell the smoke. She watched as her house around her was burning down just like it did when she was younger.

Emma had lost her family, her everything in that fire. He had found her hiding under a table crying with her arms wrapped around her dead mother, refusing to let her go. Daniel reached over and checked her mother knowing she was dead already. He knew he had to do something, had to sweet-talk her into leaving the house as it rained ash and embers around them.

Daniel scooped her up and dodged the flames as he made his way out the battered door. When they had made it outside, they sat and watched for a few seconds as the flames ate the small house. In a second Daniel disappeared ending the dream. He wrapped his arms around held her back at his place in the woods. Emma had been busy sobbing, and she hadn’t noticed where they were. Emma then passed out in his arms.

Daniel laid her gently on his bed and watched as she slept. He held her as she cried herself to sleep that night. Emma woke up alone a few hours later in his bed. She could see the darkness outside the window. She wondered how she had gotten there, but the memories came flooding back to her causing her to weep. The pain of losing her family was still fresh even after so many years. But now Emma had questions she needed to ask Daniel. Questions she felt would never be answered while she stayed in his arms.

Emma crawled out of his bed and wandered into his front room. The fire blazed in the fireplace. It was giving off warmth, but for some reason, Emma shivered. “Daniel, we have to talk.”

Daniel knew there was a time and place to tell her what he was, and he felt like this was the time. “Emma, do you remember what I told I can do?”

“Yes, Daniel I do.” She stared at him as he paced the room.

“That place I found you it was a nightmare you keep reliving. It was when your parents died.” Emma was confused and had questions, so Daniel explained more.

“Since I can walk into dreams or nightmares, there is one drawback. If you die in the astral plane, you stay dead out here.”

“Here let me show you what it’s like to walk into a dream.” It finally hit home when he snapped his fingers, and a door appeared out of thin air. He grabbed her hand as they walked into the astral plane. That’s where she found everything to be different.

They had walked into a dream of Molly’s. She was a seven-year-old with big brown eyes and dark hair. Her dream was of her dad bringing home a puppy. Emma stopped and turning toward Daniel she quickly hugged him. He was stunned. He never had real affection in his life nor a human touch accepting him. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, this time he meant it with warmth. Her warmth began to spread through him, and he could almost feel his heart beating for the first time in hundreds of years.

She looked up into his eyes and rose up on her tiptoes. Kissing him softly on the lips, causing Daniel’s loins to want more. Before Emma knew it, she could feel the warmth in the middle of his chest as she was whisked away. Emma woke up with a smile on her face. Daniel was left standing in the middle of a darkened field alone.

Daniel wanted to show her how easy it would be to walk into anyone’s dreams and watch them from afar, but Emma was very busy. After her parents had passed, the village Elders had taken her aside to show her simple spells that aided her in curing people of any sickness they had. She had other tasks to do as well. Emma was to welcome any new person who came into the village. It was to be a good show of faith on behalf of the still growing town.

Daniel hadn’t paid attention to how easy magic came to Emma. All he wanted to do was make her happy. Soon he would realize that was a big mistake. He didn’t know how much it would cost him. One by one they would spend days and nights together laughing and sharing. He wanted more of her, but she stopped him at the few kisses they had shared in the past.

“Here, come sit down Daniel. I want to tell you a story about my family.” Daniel took a sit on an old tree stump and watched Emma as she took her time trying to form the words to a story he already knew.

“Daniel I was born into a family that has magic, and they served on the board with the other Village Elders, but when I was ten, my powers never came.”

“That doesn’t matter. You can do anything.” Cajoled Daniel.

“No, Daniel but don’t you see I barely can heal anyone without a ton of practicing and the herbs you bring me,” Emma said as she got up to stand in front of Dayou no matter what. So, skill or no skill you had to

.Grabbing his hand, she pulled him up and gazed into his eyes that she could get lost in. “Emma, I watched you while you took care of the villagers and they love ave your own magic.” Replied Daniel as he leaned down to kiss Emma. “Oh, well Daniel. Do you really think so? You have a way of taking my breath away,” Smiled Emma.

“Now it’s your turn.” Smiled Daniel

“Oh, just you wait. I will show you when you least expect it.” Daniel smiled as he grabbed her hand. They walk farther into the woods to listen to the birds and enjoy the sun. Emma kept telling him not to worry. She was sure whatever his gift was it was from God. She didn’t want to think about what he was, but Emma wanted to walk into dreams and control magic.

Emma had seen village elders use magic but had none of her own. Daniel wanted to surprise Emma that night. With a snap of his fingers he brought the door out, and he snuck into one of her dreams, but when he opened the door, he found the small village was quiet. He heard the roar of a blaze, it didn’t take him long to figure out what he was looking for. Daniel could smell the smoke as he ran. “Emma!” he screamed not caring what a noise he made or who might see him.

That’s when Daniel saw her house was on fire. He saw himself standing outside her house with his own hands weaving the magic that lit the flames to kill them all. He watched the flames licked the walls and roof. He knew right where he would find Emma but his time she wasn’t coming out. He could hear the walls buckling under the heat. But Daniel knew with him inside her nightmare she could die and never wake up. “No!” he screamed as he barreled through the front door.

It was just like any other day, except a special person was on their way down the trail, coming to the village that sat outside Savannah. It was the day for the new blacksmith to arrive and Emma was sent to greet him. She was the only healer left in the village after her parents had passed. The Village Elders had assigned the task to her to keep the blacksmith out of any mischief. 

Daniel watched from afar as Emma would talk with the blacksmith. He watched as Emma gave her real smile to him. A smile that Daniel thought was only for him. Daniel watched as the blacksmith would tease her and surprise her. Daniel could feel Emma slipping away. 

He knew in his cold heart that he needed one more chance to bring Emma back to him. Who else would understand her families power Daniel thought? He had his plan, that was going to be set into motion, just as the sky had turned into night. Emma was in her home looking at her dresses that hung in front of her. With butterflies in her stomach, Emma was just about to pick her favorite plum colored dress with ivory laced cuffs that her mother had sewed many years ago. Stepping behind her Daniel wrapped his arms around her, they both disappeared into thin air. 

They ended up in the field out back of the Village Elders main house. “Emma, I need you.” Daniel’s breath washed over her neck. He had turned Emma to face him slowly raising his head trying to gaze deeply into her eyes.

 “Daniel, I told you I can’t be with you because I know what you really are,” Emma said coldly refusing to meet his gaze. “You know what I am? You can say it or are you afraid too? Say it, Emma, I am a demon. Daniel replied his breathing falling in deep arithmetic pulses as his anger grew. 

“I know it, and you know it. You are nothing like Edwin.” Emma replied. 

“I knew it. It’s because of the human Edwin isn’t it?” Narrowing his eyes as he glared at her in disgust. “You want him.” 

Emma smiled for a split second “You are best served to leave him out of this. Yes, I am drawn to him. It’s because of the goodness and light in his soul.”  With that, she left Daniel standing in the field that he had found her running in with the young children many months ago. 

Feeling strange the next morning Emma thought nothing of it. She went about her daily chores and when it was time for the villagers to come and be taken care of, she went about it with more speed than she was used to. What Emma didn’t know was Daniel would watch as the villagers would come to her when they had some sort of sickness. He could feel the power growing inside her and could see within seconds she would figure out their problem and created a healing potion, and they were good as new again. Daniel found himself losing interest in anything but Emma.  He trailed after her around the village helping her but keeping an eye on the human as well. 

Daniel saw Edwin’s wagon was brand new and had excellently carved designs on the doors with brilliant plum colors. Edwin seemed to be the blacksmith that the village Elders wanted, and when he took one look at Emma, he smiled. Daniel could feel the pull the new blacksmith had in his heart he knew he wanted her.

Daniel tried to find Emma, but she was to spend more time with Edwin. Since he was new to the village, she was charged with making him feel welcome. She was taking him around to meet everyone. Slowly, Edwin began to take all of Emma’s time. They would be walking around the village talking and laughing. He would take the time to show her things that he made or fixed. It wasn’t long before he had shown up on her doorstep with a hand carved wooden box. On the box was a detailed heart with her initials on the side. 

Daniel had been watching from afar, that moment was when he knew Emma was lost, Edwin now held her heart. Every time Edwin would walk by Emma would follow him with her eyes as if she is making sure he would be ok. It was a special night when Edwin had gone to see the Village Elders to ask for her hand in marriage. When they had blessed the union, he made sure that he came to her with a hand-carved box with his mother’s wedding ring. 

Daniel wanted Emma for himself, so he walked into Edwin’s dreams one night, but he was surprised to find Emma there watching Edwin with a soft dreamy smile. Edwin had been dreaming about Emma and their life together. Teaching Emma to walk into dreams wasn’t one of Daniel’s better ideas because now she did it with ease.

He watched as she snapped her fingers and the door appeared. Daniel regretted that he had made sure she could put up one hell of a fight in dreams. He hid behind some trees and began to fire off spells at her. Emma blocked each one and landed a few good hits. Even today he still has the scars to remember that night. He had taught her how to protect herself in dreams just in case one of the many demons that wanted to make a name for themselves might