Bones Beneath

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.

It was a small flame, but not insignificant in the vast darkness of the Marrow Forest.

Penny had taken this route many times. It was the fastest to get back to her house from Tara's house on the opposite side of the forest. Tara had often voiced her complaints to Penny, but Penny always assured her it was perfectly safe.

"Text me when you get home!" Tara would always urge.

And Penny never missed a text. Ever.

She always took the same path: over Tara's fence, across the creek, follow the water down past the old windmill, turn left and climb the hill past the old abandoned cabin. From there it was a straight shot through the last twenty feet of forest to her house. She knew the path like the back of her hand. Nothing even remotely extraordinary or unsettling had ever happened.

Until she saw the candle.

Penny stood, transfixed. No one had lived in that house in decades. Why would there be a candle?

Despite herself, she turned off the path and took a step toward the cabin. The crunch of the sticks and grass echoed in the stillness of the forest, infinitely louder than the dirt path she had been taking.

She was surprised that her breath came evenly and confidently. She didn't feel at all afraid or anxious. She felt like she was home.

The cabin was large and black from years of misuse, but as she stepped onto the porch, Penny felt the boards strain under her step, but was confident they would not break. She felt the strength of the house, felt its energy. There was a strange hum and Penny noted that she felt warm and calm.

"Hello."

She jumped and turned around at the sudden voice and froze when she beheld him.

He was tall and clad in a monochromatic black suit with black wingtip shoes. His eyes were a starkly piercing silver, striking against his smooth, black shoulder length hair. There was a playful smile on his handsome face that Penny could almost feel in her heart.

"Hello."

Her voice was small and the word came out fast. She could look nowhere but his eyes. How were they the exact color of a sword and a cloud?

"What brings you to my home?"

Penny looked around in surprise.

"You live here?"

He chuckled. Penny was struck by how musical it was. She hoped she could make him laugh again.

"It's not quite so bad on the inside, I promise."

"Does the decrepit outside drive people away?"

"It didn't drive you away."

Penny studied his beautiful face. There was a sad sort of curiosity hidden in his expression.

"I saw the candle in the window and got curious."

He laughed again. God how lovely a sound it was.

"Have you always been drawn to fire?"

He began to walk around her in a circle, his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"It's always meant warmth and safety," she said honestly.

He smiled as he passed her.

"To some it means destruction."

"I find it beautiful."

He stopped in front of her, studying her with a precise fascination.

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

The side of his mouth curled into a grin and he took a step away from her.

"What's your name?" he asked in a husky whisper.

"Penny Dimitri."

"Dimitri? As in the Athebourg Dimitris?"

Penny shifted on her feet and nodded. Her family may have owned half of the town, but Penny always felt embarrassed to be associated with 'the scandolous Athebourg royal family.'

"Are you ashamed of your family?"

The candle in the window flared into a bigger, redder flame. Penny was transfixed, watching the flame dance. It looked alive. It was beautiful.

"No, I just...don't appreciate all the...family drama..." her words came out slowly as she studied the dancing flame. At that moment, the flame then began to take the shape of a small being before multiplying in two, continuing to dance in the window sill of the house.

"What is that?" she asked, approaching the window just as the dancing flame multiplied again into four.

"That's my friend. He helps me protect this place."

Penny turned to the man.

"Why does this place need protecting?"

He chuckled, sensing her derision.

"I have powerful enemies."

Penny felt a rush of heat surge within her. Why was she not scared? The only boy she had ever been with was Connor last year at prom. Connor did not make her feel this way. This was an entirely different feeling.

"What could anyone want with your cabin?"

He laughed again and walked up right behind her, his breath hot on her neck.

"It's not the cabin itself, it's where the cabin leads."

Penny felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. Tara was calling to check on her. Penny snapped briefly out of her daze and turned away from the window, scrambling for her phone. The man didn't move from his place behind her.

"Who is that?"

"My friend Tara. I usually text her by now that I'm home."

The man didn't move, a sudden malevolent smile crawling across his face.

"You are home."

A dark red flame then encircled his hand and he brought it up to his mouth, blowing a dark red smoke into Penny's face.

She fell into blackness.