All Chapters of Ember: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

A young hunter stalks his prey. The forest is eerily quiet when his prey comes into sight. He takes aim and the shot rings out. The hunter goes to his prey and kneels. His short black hair blows in the wind and his green eyes shine in the fading light of the day. He smiles at the deer at his side. “Thank you for your sacrifice so that my family and I may have another meal,” he declares. He picks up the buck and swings it over his broad shoulders. They gleam with sweat from the heat of the day. The deer's weight doesn't bother him, because he is well built. He heads back towards town, when he hears crying. “Hello, is someone there?” he calls. The crying gets louder. He walks towards the sound and sees a girl on the ground. Her blond hair covers her face. There is blood on her left leg. He sees a tear streak down her cheeks. Not wanting to scare her, he sits the buck on the ground, leans his musket against a tree and slowly approaches her. “It’s okay, don’t be afraid. I am here

Hector feels bad about killing the girl. Rex takes him upstairs to meet his new Master. Hector walks up nine sets of stairs before they get to a living area. The living area is decorated with red and green banners and wooden chairs. The hallway leads to a throne room. Hector walks into the room. Carpet is red and golden, with the oak tree in the dead center of it. Ceiling is rimmed with gold and white mason oak tree carved into it in the middle.. The chandelier is gold, with candles and red crystals hanging down from it. The walls are lined with stone statues of every king that ever was. Hector gets to the throne. He notices one statue is broken, all that remains is stone pieces. “Sire, I bring you Hector,” Rex says. Rex kneels before the throne. The throne is made from an oak tree found on the battlefield of a ten-year war covered in the blood of the slain. It is a high-back, oak wood that is stained red with the blood of his enemies, studded with jewels along the armrest, with a

(Eight hours after Hector’s first time in the maze) Hector hears the door open. “Rise and shine, Hector and Ruby. Rex wants you both downstairs in ten minutes,” says Jesse. Hector looks out from under his covers and sees Jesse standing there. “Do I have time for a shower?” asks Hector. Ruby is already jumping out of bed and making a run for the shower. “Sorry mate. Looks like you won’t be getting that shower. Ten minutes. Downstairs. Ruby, be a doll and show him the way. I have to get the others up,” Jess calls through the bathroom door. “Sure, no problem, Jesse. We will go down in a minute,” Ruby calls back. Hector yawns and wipes the sleep from his tired eyes. Jesse leaves the room. Hector gets up and drags himself to his dresser. He feels no pain now, but his body still feels tense. He opens it to find a stack of black shirts in the lower drawer and a stack of blue jeans in the middle drawer. The upper drawer contains socks and underwear, all uniform style. Pulling out w

Hector walks into the game room and perceives that they have many games. From pool, darts, corn hole, archery, to knife throwing. Hector notices a few vampires and demons hanging out, playing games as they walk in. They spy Trevor by the pool table, playing with two demons. “Look who finally passed the first part of the training.” Trevor sneers at them. “Took you long enough as well. You just passed one day before us. Besides, Hector passed on his first night,” Ruby sasses him. “Shut it Ruby, no one needs your smart mouth,” says Trevor. “It's not necessary to be mean to her. She speaks the truth. You just passed,” says Hector. Trevor sets his pool stick down on the table. “Look here Hector, she's been a smart mouth off since she got here. I wouldn’t defend her. Besides, isn’t she the reason you’re here now?” says Trevor, getting closer to Hector. “She is part of the reason, but from what I understand, she was doing as she was told,” says Hector. “Think again. She volunteered for

Hector gets up and searches the bathroom. A few bottles of cleaning supplies, towels and soaps are what he finds when he opens the cabinets. He gets into the shower and washes his body. It leaves him feeling refreshed after his last encounter with the maze. His mind drifts to Kelanar and what she could be doing. Hector is so lost in thought that he doesn’t hear the knocking on the door until Ruby is standing by the shower yelling at him. “Hector, hurry. I need a shower and we are going to be late!” yells Ruby. “I am coming,” Hector calls out. He is breathing hard after being scared. Quickly shutting off the water, he dries off and goes into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist. “About time, Hector,” shouts Ruby. Ruby goes into the bathroom, and he hears the shower turn on. Hector gets dressed. He wears the vampire uniform. By the time he is dressed, Ruby is out and dresses herself. He looks away to give her privacy. “Tell me, what you were so distracted about that yo