Ember sat up listlessly when she awoke. Her dead eyes glanced around her: She was back in her room, and Demetri was no where in sight.
She slowly slid out of the bed and stared blankly into the standing mirror in the corner. Her spiritless eyes were slightly sunken and when she lifted Demetri's shirt her ribs poked through the bandages wrapped around her torso. She sighed and sank down in front of the fire place, staring at the flickering flames.
He will never see those flames in my eyes again. She said to herself resolvedly. Never.
Ember reached out one hand and grabbed a stick of charcoal from the edges of the fire. She stood up, walked over to the blank wall on the other side of the room and began to draw.
She drew for what seemed like hours and her fingers were black with charcoal by the time she stepped back to take a look at what she had done: There were beaches covered in palm trees, dolphins jumping out of a tempestuous sea, a house high in the tree tops, a ship chased by a storm, a tiger squaring off with a distant, shadowy hunter, and, finally, in the centre of it all were her own fiery eyes replicated in shades of grey.
Not a glimmer of emotion could be seen in her real eyes as she stumbled back to the bed and crawled into it, black fingers and all, exhausted from channelling all her restrained feelings into her art.
Demetri faded in just as her eyes closed, his arms filled with firewood to replenish the diminishing supply. But, when he saw her flaming eyes staring at him from the wall, he almost dropped the logs. He put them down slowly and walked over to the wall to stare at the drawings.
God they are beautiful.
He thought to himself in complete surprise.
I had no idea she could draw like this. Not that I know anything about her at all...
He turned around sharply as the halfling stirred slightly. He smiled tenderly at her black fingers and padded over softly to wake her.
Her blank eyes blinked open and she found she could hardly feel his touch as he pulled her into his arms and faded into the kitchen. He set her on her feet and turned her around to face him, brushing wayward strands of hair from her face.
"Ember, will you wash your hands while I find you some food?" he asked. "Just think of what you want and I will find it for you. Please, you need to eat. You look starved."
The halfling nodded slightly and Demetri's heart lit up at that small acknowledgement.
As she washed her hands he began to open up the cupboards. There was nothing in the first few he opened, but when he reached the last cabinet in the row he found a small bag of blood hidden in the corner.
He reached out tentatively and looked it over. There was a label, it was pig's blood. He turned around and looked at the halfling with confusion and concern in his eyes.
"I thought you didn't drink blood, Ember," he said. "I don't understand, why do you want this?"
The halfling's blank gaze looked almost sad as she pulled up her shirt to reveal her gaunt frame. Then she unwrapped the bandages a little so that he could see that her wounds were still open.
He shuddered and looked away, so ashamed of what he had done.
"I see, you don't want it but you need it to survive," he said as he held out the bag to her. "I am sorry."
The halfling grabbed the bag from him and sunk her petite fangs into it, sucking it dry in moments.
Demetri watched in amazement as colour returned to her ashen skin, as the dark circles beneath her eyes disappeared, and as she tore of the bandages to reveal smooth, flawless skin.
But still the fire did not return to her eyes.
"Do you need more?" he asked hopefully.
The halfling shook her head and turned away.
Demetri sighed and grabbed her hand, pulling her into his chest as he faded them back up to her room. They reappeared in front of her charcoal mural and he kept her hand firmly clenched in his as he stared at it.
"I didn't know you could draw, Ember," he said. "Are these things you have seen?"
The halfling sighed and tried to pull away from him slightly, but the ghost would not let go.
"Why did you draw these eyes? These eyes I may never see again?" he asked.
His voice began to darken and he pulled her towards the wall.
"Huh, Ember? What are these eyes for? Are you taunting me?" he growled. He pushed her up against the wall so her back smeared the charcoal sketches.
Ember's lifeless eyes stared at him. They were such a contrast from the flaming eyes drawn above them that it made his blood boil.
"Fine," he said angrily, letting go of her hand.
She watched with grim satisfaction as he faded from the room.
I called your bluff, ghost. It's not my damn fault you have feelings for me.
The halfling curled up in front of the fireplace and watched the flames flickering. Suddenly, Ember got the feeling that she was being watched. She sat up slowly and looked around the room; there was no one there. She turned back to the fire and found herself staring into a pair of eyes as fiery as hers used to be. She backed away from the fire as a man emerged from the flames and climbed into the room.
He was stunningly handsome. His bare chest was smooth and taut, his hair was golden and he reached out to her with strong arms and gentle hands.
"Are you hurt?" the man whispered as the halfling looked at him fearfully.
"My dear," he whispered, "are you hurt?"
The halfling shook her head and accepted his hand reluctantly.
"Good," the man said, his lips curving into a slight smile. "Will you tell me your name, my dear?"
Ember's eyes had been captured by his and she found she could not look away. She wanted to tell him her name, her deepest desires, her dreams and fears. She could trust this man... She could tell him anything.
"Ember!" Demetri's cry shattered the trance and Ember turned to face the ghost as he burst into the room.
"Don't listen to him! He's a demon!" The ghost yelled.
Ember turned back to face the man clutching her hand and found his perfect face had morphed into a hideous visage. She recoiled but the demon would not let her go.
"She belongs to us now, ghost," the demon laughed as he began to fade into black.
"No!" Demetri cried as he grabbed at Ember, trying to pull her back into the light. But the demon wrenched her out of his reach and the darkness closed over her in the blink of an eye.
In that last brief moment, however, Ember's eyes caught Demetri's. For the first time in days fire sparked back into those eyes for the briefest moment to reveal a truth he had long tried to ignore:
You could have had me but you said you didn't need me. You said I was nothing more than your revenge. Now you will never have me... and you can choke on your lies.
Then, all at once, the fire faded and she was gone.
++++++++
Ember woke up drenched in sweat and bathed in a pool of amber light. Wherever the demon had taken her was hot enough to pass as hell itself. Beyond the circle of light she was lying in, there was nothing but black.
"Ah, so you're awake now," came a booming voice from the darkness surrounding her. Booted feet came out of the shadows, and then the light illuminated a being who could only be the arch demon. His skin was the colour of burning coals and his body was covered in spiked armour. He unsheathed his sword and held it beneath the halfling's chin, forcing her to stand.
"Rise, half-blood," he commanded as she slowly stood up. "Let me have a look at you."
The arch demon circled her slowly, swinging his blade through the air.
"I can see why the spirit chose you," he said, returning to face her.
