The hot water felt great running down her body and maybe she needed this more than she realized. There had been day after day of stressful news and preparations without a break for far too long now. A ten minute escape was more than warranted.
Something caught her attention, and she yelled out from the shower. There had been a loud rumbling in the hallway almost like a herd of cattle ran past the door. There was no reply. Turning the water off to hear better, she thought she heard a loud thud coming from the downstairs. Everleigh yelled again only louder this time. No one answered.
She wrapped a towel around herself and peeked out the door. There was silence. “Hello?” she called.
The room she had slept in last night with Matt and Rita was across the hall. The door was wide open, and it was easy to see it was empty. She tip-toed down the hall to the room where her aunt had stayed with Luke. No one was there either.
She started to panic that something had happened with Lilah. It must have gone horribly wrong. Whether it was the seeing into the future or the actual conversation she had no way of knowing. She made it back to the bathroom as quick as she could and threw her clothes on even faster.
Everleigh ran to the stairs carrying her bag and shoes. There was no sign of anyone anywhere. The kitchen was empty, and one chair was toppled on the floor. That must be the noise I heard she thought. She went to the door and looked out the window. The only car still there was hers.
The panic escalated. Lilah had to have ran away. It’s the only thing that would explain it. She searched her bag for her phone, but couldn’t find it.
“What the hell?” she yelled to an empty house, trying to remember when she last used it. It had to be in the kitchen.
She surveyed the room and saw a soft flashing red light hit the backsplash behind a box of pancake mix. That was it. There was only one message, and it was from her aunt.
“Farmhouse! Now!”
Everleigh didn’t need a second nudge to move her along. She hopped toward the front door putting her shoes on as she went. Something awful must’ve happened between Lilah and Jackson. There is probably a tornado getting ready to bear down on the family of Air that have congregated out in the country. She only hoped she could get there in time and talk some sense into her friend before it got too bad.
The drive took forever in her mind even as she pushed her little car as hard as she dared with the new snow that covered the roads. The farmhouse appeared in the distance, and it didn’t take long to see she had been wrong. There was no storm beating down on the old structure. Lilah wasn’t out of control. This urgency still had to be tied to Lilah’s news. There was nothing else that could have happened as far as she knew.
The northern wolves hadn’t arrived yet. There were updates on their locations sent out that Meredith relayed to her. The wolf movement had stopped. It seemed they were setting up a new base to prepare for their next move. They had time before the threat reached them.
She turned into the drive a little too fast and fishtailed a good way. It scared her, but going off road and getting stuck now would not be a problem. The rest of the driveway could be run in minutes. Parking was non-existent at this point. She turned her car around and parked it on the side of the drive facing the road. It would be better if she had to leave fast, and she also wouldn’t have to move her car for someone else because she wasn’t blocking anyone.
The house’s aura vibrated brightly. The indigo shade that followed Air wherever they went was all but lost in the bright pulsating red and dark green. They were angry and pointing fingers at everyone except themselves. She knew she was headed into a frenzy parallel to a lion’s den at feeding time.
At the door, she debated about knocking. Voices could be heard, but she couldn’t tell what was being said. It sounded controlled like they were having a successful, albeit emotional, discussion. She rapped on the door lightly.
It quickly swung open. Jackson beamed at her. “Hello,” then added “Lee-Lee,” quietly afterward.
There was no time to yell at him, and he knew it. Everleigh pushed him out of the way and entered the house.
Lilah looked genuinely surprised to see that she was just arriving.
“I was in the shower,” she explained.
“That’s right. I didn’t realize you weren’t with the others when we left. Everything happened so fast.”
“No worries. Just get me up to speed.”
Before Lilah could say a word, the group continued their discussion.
“It isn’t an issue of how he came to be in his current predicament,” the elder Joseph said, his tone implying it’s not the first time he’s made this argument. “We need to concentrate on what to do to help him.”
Todd had been pacing and stopped to face his brother. “It matters because if one of us turned him out to the wolves, that person might have knowledge that could be helpful to us.”
“Whoa. What did I miss?” Everleigh asked more to herself than anyone in particular.
Jackson leaned over to her and whispered. “Brian drugged Lilah. Went outside. Disappeared. The northern wolves have him.”
“Thanks,” she said, without taking her eyes off the brothers who were now yelling at each other.
Lilah gave Jackson a slight nod, and he let out a shrill whistle that made Everleigh jump.
“He’s been our referee,” Lilah told her.
“Listen. There’s an easy way to settle this,” Meredith walked to the middle of the room.
Everyone turned to look at her. “Unblock yourselves.”
There were glances throughout the group as they both knew what she was suggesting, but unsure it was a fool proof plan.
“Pick one of you to read the rest then someone else will do their reading. It’s simple. Time consuming, but simple. In the interim, we can start to work out a plan to help him.” The last words rolled off her tongue with a bitter taste as she couldn’t fathom why they would want to save that man after what he did to one of their own.
“I’ll do it,” Joseph volunteered.
The room filled with groans. “No,” said Todd. “I think it would be best for Lilah to do it.”
“Lilah,” Joseph laughed. “She has no reason to want to successfully help her uncle.”
“That I don’t doubt, but when I read her at the end, I will know if she withheld anything from us.”
Joseph stayed adamantly against it, but everyone else agreed. Lilah set to work on her family one at a time while the rest tried to work out a plan.
“What do we know?” Everleigh asked.
Meredith looked at her strangely before remembering she hadn’t been here but a few minutes.
“When Brian didn’t return last night, they thought he left of his own accord. This morning, Abby had a massive migraine.”
“Air doesn’t get migraines, not like that anyway,” Everleigh said apprehensively, looking up from under her lids at her aunt. One of the biggest traits of Air was their health.
“Exactly,” her aunt nodded. “It raised concerns. The migraines also cut off her ability to use her powers.”
“So then what?”
Meredith raised her eyebrows, “Somehow they determined the solution was for Abby to not only unblock herself in the hopes the others could help, but to concentrate her energy on whatever was blocking her abilities.”
“It worked? Brian was trying to communicate?” Everleigh was following what her aunt was telling her easily, but it didn’t make sense. Air’s gift was psychic thought. Their telepathic communication shouldn’t be difficult if they were unblocked.
“Yes. Whenever she gets a headache now, they know it’s because he’s trying to contact her.”
Lilah approached Meredith for a moment giving Everleigh’s mind plenty of time to wander. As soon as Lilah began working with her family to see if anyone knew more about the situation then they let on, her aunt saw the look on Everleigh’s face and grew concerned.
“What is it?” Aunt Meredith ask
ed.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
Her aunt narrowed her eyes and waited for Everleigh to continue.
“The intermittent headaches. Brian is obviously unable to contact her continuously, and there are many different possible explanations. But why does she have to focus so hard. Shouldn’t he be able to communicate freely? And why Lilah’s mom?”
Aunt Meredith nodded slowly and eyed the room. She pulled Everleigh off to the side as much as she could and lowered her voice. “Good points. These concerns have been raised already. Air has been worried that whoever is behind this might be able to block their communication. No one here has brought it up since the headaches started with Abby, but Todd and I have discussed it before.”
“Is it possible? Could they be blocked?”
Deep concern filled her aunt’s already troubled eyes. “I don’t think it’s a question of if it can be done anymore. I think the focus should be on how it was accomplished.”
Everleigh looked at her friend who was still moving through the room trying to determine if any of her family had secrets to divulge. Whatever was happening was constantly growing into something bigger than she expected. If the vampires could be controlled and the shifters communication could be blocked, there would be no limit to the confines that could be put on the witches to impair their ability to defend themselves.
There had been a dance with fear that spun around inside her since the day she looked into her grandma’s pendant months ago. Sometimes the fear would lead, but most of the time Everleigh was in control of it. It firmly rooted in her mind as she realized the true nature of the situation all the Elementals were in and slowly spread through her body like the cold blast of icy air that hits when you first step outside. Each beat of her heart echoed in her ears like the ticking of a clock that was counting down, and they were running out of time.
Chapter Twenty-One
Everleigh went home while her friends gathered for the meeting of Elementals. No one would have minded if she stayed, but there were things she needed to do herself. She walked in and felt almost like a stranger. It seemed like an eternity since life was more carefree without the daily conversations about impending doom.
In the kitchen, her grandmother and cousins gathered round the island discussing herbs. This is what she should be focused on right now. Helping the newly called learn and prepare for whatever may come. She went into the kitchen and asked, “Need me to do anything?”
Eloise was smiling before she came into Everleigh’s view. Somehow her grandmother always knew what she was going to do before she did it. It impressed her and made her wonder if her abilities would ever be that strong. “I’m glad you came,” her grandmother smiled, leaning over allowing Everleigh to kiss her on the cheek.
“I was starting to think you decided to move in with the rest of that crew,” Amber’s voice was stained with anger. It wasn’t easy always being left out of the group. Everleigh had been in her shoes once when she was first called and learning the ropes.
“Someone has to keep Meredith in line,” Eloise remarked.
Same old grandma she thought. Meredith had spent half her life away from her familial line because of the decision she made with Luke. It took a long time for anyone to accept her again. Even then, it took a long time for her to be able to form good bonds and strong relations with her witch kin. Things had improved for her over the last century or so, but grandma had always made her feelings known. Meredith was born to be a witch, but chose to be a vampire. It didn’t matter that she had the abilities of both. In grandma’s mind, she chose against her heritage. Grandma would tolerate her, but could never fully accept her.
“I’m just saying I wouldn’t mind being a part of things too,” Amber whined.
“It’s not that I don’t want you to be a part of things,” Everleigh tried to tell her.
“Then next time, you take me with you.”
“Take you where?” Eloise asked.
Amber shrugged. “I don’t know. Jackson’s? The café? Wherever it is she’s going.”
“Why are you certain you would want to be a part of something when you don’t even know what it is?” Eloise had never allowed jealous attitudes in her home.
“I don’t like feeling left out,” Amber’s answered honestly, which Eloise would no doubt appreciate.
Eloise had a small mischievous grin, “You are not left out, child. You have been called.”
“I know, but-”
“No but’s. You are included. You have been given this gift that if not for these abnormal times, you would not otherwise have had. It’s time now to put in the work to learn how to use it well.” Eloise always spoke about the craft as a birthright that should always be respected.
Their numbers were growing, and not just because of the calling. What began with Anya in one family many years ago had grown to countless covens all across the globe. They would normally never meet most of these witches or learn anything about them, but if any one of them was ever in need, Everleigh had no doubt her grandma would be on the next flight to aide them.
“Tell you what, Amber,” Everleigh offered, remembering how it felt to still be learning the craft but being limited in what you were allowed to do. “Later, I’m supposed to be meeting up with some of them. Maybe you can come if you’re done here for the day.”
Grandma raised an eyebrow at her knowing it wasn’t a full truth she had told. Everleigh was going to see if there was a way she could include Amber for a while, but really had no idea it was even possible.
“Sure,” Amber said, trying not to sound happy about the offer because she didn’t want to be reminded of the importance the work she was learning held.
“I’ll be gone this afternoon,” Eloise told her granddaughter.
Everleigh said nothing. She had already learned who the chosen Earth representatives were.
“Maybe your friends could come here, and everyone could have a break while I’m gone.”
The four girls were sitting around the island and looked up hopeful. Everleigh wasn’t near as close to the other three cousins as she was with Amber. She lived nearby, and they were close enough in age to run into each other at school. It would be a chance to get to know them a little better as well.
“I think that sounds wonderful, Grandma. Thanks,” Everleigh told her, relieved to have been saved from the hopeful promise she made Amber.
“You could even teach those friends of yours a few helpful tricks they can use without the power of magic,” Grandma added.
“Oh, like magic for dummies?” Amber asked.
The kitchen filled with laughter.
“Something like that. Just make sure to include some flying ointment when you do it,” Grandma suggested.
“Why that one?” Everleigh stared wide eyed at her grandma not understanding why she should be introducing something so dangerous to anyone so inexperienced.
“It’s a handy tool for anyone to have. Wouldn’t you think?”
It made absolutely no sense to Everleigh. That was one that had virtually no real-life applications in today’s age. The hallucinogenic and astral projection effects of it could be produced in much less dangerous manners. It was used quite often for various purposes in the dark ages, but as with most everything in the history of witchcraft, its actual use was exaggerated for the purposes of persecution. It was odd her grandma would mention it.
“You will cover that one, then?”
“Yes, Grandma,” Everleigh knew not to argue. “I will.”
“Good,” she turned to the rest of the girls. “Remind her if she somehow forgets. She can teach all of you as well as her friends how to produce a successful flying ointment in my absence.”
Grandma Eloise leaned in closer to her and said quietly, “Make sure they are all given a sample to keep, yourself included. Tell them they will know when to use it, and not to touch it until then.”
Everleigh nodded even more upset than she had been. ‘Why give these gi
rls something so dangerous? It could kill them if they played around with it.’
“Oh, and make sure Jackson gets some as well,” her grandma smiled at her with that familiar knowing gleam in her eyes.
They looked just as confused as Everleigh, but they agreed to make sure it was covered. Eloise was unmistakably up to something, but no one knew exactly what it could be. ‘She’s probably just giving me a simple test. It’s the only logical reason. Not only that I remember how it’s done and execute it with accuracy, but to see if I’m capable of teaching others as well. It might be harder to teach a non-magical person,’ she assumed. ‘Maybe this was another of her lessons. Preparing me to teach her own granddaughter one day.’
“I’m going to go prepare myself now,” Eloise announced, kissing her granddaughter on the forehead. “This is herbal review. Make sure they are preparing the plants correctly, would you?”
“Of course, Grandma.”
Everleigh scanned the island and the kitchen counters. There were baskets of dried plants everywhere. The young witches were bottling them for both kitchen and spell use.
It’s like when children help their mom who is busy baking. They always wind up wiping counters and drying dishes. That’s how they learn. They do the grunt work and watch the adult who knows how things are done. This is the method her grandma applied to teaching witches who have been called too.
They will do the grunt work of planting, harvesting, drying, and preparing the herbs while Grandma gets the use out of them. It’s not all bad. She knew her grandma would provide each girl with some to keep. Everleigh had already been through this herself.
“Alright,” Everleigh began, figuring she should do something besides just watch them. “Which of these is beneficial to plant near other herbs who may be struggling?”
Earth: The Elementals Book Two Page 23