He stepped forward, tilting his head, “I’m glad you came…I’ve been thinking about you,” his voice dropped low, “a lot lately.”
She didn’t know what to say, so she just stood completely still and tried to act like this sort of thing happened to her all the time.
“Ava, I have a little secret.”
“Huh?” she blurted. Her heart was pounding. He’s going to tell me.
He looked at the white wall as he spoke, “I’ve wanted to ask you out for a while. I’ve sort of been crushing on you since we first met.”
Her heart pounded and her throat tightened, “Second grade?” She managed a smile.
“Yeah, when we were on the playground...” He stepped closer, “Bobby Ranson.”
“Yeah,” she looked up, meeting his eyes.
“I still don’t like that guy.”
“Isn’t he on the football team with you and don’t you two hang out at school?”
“Yeah,” he sort of laughed. “Just because you hang out with people doesn’t necessarily mean you like them…”
“Yeah, seems like a lot of hassle.”
“It is,” he stepped closer. “Ava I really would like to take you out sometime.” He glanced at the door, “Without everyone else around.”
Ava couldn’t help the smile, “I’d like that.”
“Cool.” He looked straight at her and brushed back a piece of her hair, “There is something about you Ava.” He leaned closer. Her heart pounded and her mind screamed, “Oh my god, he’s going to kiss me! Troy Drake and me!”
The door swung open, hitting the wall.
They both turned.
Dale stood there with a cup in each hand, “Sorry Bro, I didn’t realize you had a girl in here.”
“We’ll be down in a minute,” Troy said between gritted teeth.
“Okay, but the kegs already floating.” Then he started rapping, “Ain't no party like a Troy Drake party, whoop, whoop,” bobbing his head up and down.
“Just tap the other one,” Troy said slipping his arm around Ava’s back and pulling her beside him.
Dale pulled the door shut, still rapping his song. “Ain't no party like a Troy Drake party, whoop, whoop…,” his voice faded away.
Troy turned her around, not saying anything as he pressed his forehead to hers and smiled just before their lips came together. His lips were a little thin, but he knew how to kiss. Ava closed her eyes, still not believing this was actually happening.
“Come on,” he whispered after a minute. “We better get down there.”
It wasn’t until about halfway down the stairs that she thought again about the grape soda thing. She glanced over at him and he smiled back. His eyes were clear blue and she pushed the thoughts away. “Just enjoy the moment. Troy Drake just kissed you. Troy Drake just kissed you and asked you out.” She knew she was smiling too big and tried to hold it in. She didn’t want everyone to think that something more than a kiss had just taken place up in his room.
She suddenly felt sick when she realized they would all think that anyway. About half of the kids stared up at them as they came down. Her ears burned and she was sure her face was turning red. The radio was a little lower now and Dale was still singing his song. “Ain’t no party like a Troy Drake party, whoop, whoop…” A couple of the other kids were singing it too, even though FlyLeaf played in the background, one of Ava’s favorite songs. Troy squeezed her hand and it was so strange. She’d imagined this moment so many times. Sitting in class, imagining him walking over and taking her by the hand... “This is really happening.”
Brea appeared at the bottom of the staircase. “Can we leave now?”
“What? Why...what’s wrong?”
“I’ll tell you later…,” she looked behind her.
Ava glanced at Troy, “I guess I’ll see you Monday.”
“Here,” he grabbed a piece of paper off the small table by the bottom of the staircase and wrote his phone number on it. “Call me…write down yours.”
“Okay,” she took the pen, ignoring Brea’s loud exhaling. She handed it to him.
He smiled as they left.
Once they were in the car, Brea started huffing and puffing, “What a jack-wagon!”
“Who?”
“John Donner”
“What happened? What did he do?”
“I grabbed his tongue and drug him around a little.”
“What?” Ava slowed down.
Brea crossed her arms, a little half-smile pulling her mouth to one side. “I told him if he wagged his tongue at me one more time, I was gonna rip it out. He made the mistake of not believing me.”
“You’re crazy, Brea. Did you hurt him?”
“Not as much as I wanted to. Turns out, it’s harder to pull a tongue out than you might think; plus it was slimy and gross.”
Ava laughed, “You have a serious case of ‘shot-out-ness’.”
She laughed, “Now that I think about it that was a little crazy, but at the time it seemed to make perfect sense.”
Brea turned her head suddenly, “What the hell is going on?” Ava’s heart sank.
Red and blue lights flashed all down their road. An ambulance flew by.
“Oh no,” Ava shivered and pushed the gas harder.
It was after one in the morning, but everyone was outside. The whole road was lit up. Ava drove past her house, seeing Aunt Avalene and the rest of them on the front lawn.
“If he…hurt her,” Brea’s voice broke painfully. “What if…,” she stopped, tears welling in her eyes. “Hurry up, Ava!”
“It will be okay. It’s probably something else.” Ava tried to sound confident, but she was terrified that Brea’s fears were about to be completely realized. She went around the corner. News trucks were parked in front of the house right before Brea’s. The once two story house was encased in black smoke and dust…crippled down to bare frame now.
“Thank God!” Brea said. “I mean…do you think the Williams’ were inside?”
“I hope not.” Ava slowed to a stop, staring at the Williams’ house. They watched as it collapsed to the ground…heard the sound of burnt wood snapping as the last part of the frame fell. Dark ash and soot covered everything. Small flames still drifted over scorched wood. The fire truck pump was loud and they still pointed the hose at what was left of the house. Mr. Williams stood outside. There were people all around him. A woman tugged at his arm, pulling him towards a car. When he turned his eyes were swollen and red; his face pale white. People stood along the road, most with their hands over their mouths and shocked expressions on their faces.
Ava got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“You don’t think…,” Brea turned to her “You don’t think that Mrs. Williams was in there…”
Chills rose on Ava’s arms. “I hope not, I don’t see her out there though…” She thought about all the times Mrs. Williams had come by to buy some of Aunt Avalene’s honey and the sad story Aunt Avalene had told her.
Mr. and Mrs. Williams had a little boy before they moved here. He passed away as a baby. No one was sure why he died, but Mrs. Williams was permanently broken by it and they recently found out they couldn’t have any more kids. Aunt Avalene always put a few of her “secret herbs” in the honey, one for fertility and one for heartache. Ava felt sick thinking about sweet Mrs. Williams. She backed up and turned around, “Let’s go talk to Aunt Avalene.”
“Yeah, we can’t get to my house anyway. I’ll call mom when we get there.”
The look on Aunt Avalene's face was almost as heartbreaking as the look on Mr. Williams face. Ava parked and walked slowly towards Aunt Avalene who stood beside Ruby and Mr. John at the corner of the yard.
“What happened?”
Aunt Avalene swallowed hard. She didn’t say anything; she just stood there shaking her head back and forth. She gripped the tissue in her hand then put it up to her mouth, her hand was shaking.
“Mrs. Williams was in the house,” Ru
by answered for her.
“Is she…?” Brea started.
Ruby nodded, “Yes, they pulled her out about twenty minutes ago.”
“How did it start?” Ava tried to meet Aunt Avalene’s eyes.
Aunt Avalene was clearly upset, but the way she wouldn’t look at Ava stung deep.
Mr. John touched Ava’s shoulder, “Lightning struck the house.”
“But it’s not even storming!” Brea looked up at the dark sky; the stars glittered back down at them. Not a single cloud blocked the moon and stars.
“It was a freak thing,” Ruby said.
Aunt Avalene ran the tissue under her eyes “It’s terrible,” she said, still not looking at Ava.
Ava took a step closer, “Can I talk to you for a minute Aunt Avalene?”
Aunt Avalene looked away, then turned back to her. “Do you know how scared I was?” The sharp tone in her voice scared Ava. “When I woke up to sirens and you weren’t in your bed and then I couldn’t find you…I am so disappointed in you Ava. You know I told you to stay here. You know how dangerous things are right now. I really think you need to get your priorities straight.”
Ava felt every word like hot bee stings; each one stinging a little more than the last. “Yes ma’am.” Ava turned to go inside, “I’m sorry.”
…Alec…
Alec met Thomas down by the boat dock. He’d told the girl he would come back later tonight if he could make it. Really he wanted to shake her and demand answers. He wanted so badly to know what she would tell him. He knew one thing for certain now. That Scott wasn’t killed during a battle; he was used for a sacrifice. Ben and Tony were there watching when it happened. He needed to know more, and once he knew more he had to find a way to kill them. If they really were in with Lareina that meant they were untouchable, but not if Ava challenged her. He hated how he felt. He was beginning to understand why his father had walked away from the guard completely.
Ben was already on the boat. Just before they stepped in, Thomas turned and touched Alec’s shoulder, “I’m sorry about Scott, Bubba. I know you two were close. My mama always said that family ain't just blood, its true friends. People you know ain’t going anywhere.” His accent was heavy. Thomas was a southern boy through and through. He was from somewhere in Alabama.
“Thanks” Alec said, seeing the sincerity in Thomas’ brown eyes. Thomas was a real friend and he was right, or his mama was. Scott wasn’t blood, but he was family, and so is Shawn.
Ben turned away as they stepped on to the boat. His eye was a little blacker today and he looked like he’d just had a haircut; probably to get rid of the singed pieces.
Thomas leaned forward and squinted his eyes and asked Ben, “Dadgum boy, what happened to you?”
“Nothing, mind your own damn business,” Ben said, reversing the boat.
“Don’t get your britches all in a wad,” Thomas laughed.
Thomas doesn’t get mad real easy. There isn’t a lot you can say that will get him going. Nothing embarrasses him and no remark can ruin his day. There are really only two things that will get him going and Alec had only seen him upset a couple of times. You never talk about his mama, or do anything against anybody he considers family. Alec had thought about bringing Thomas in on their discovery about the queen, but now that he knew that what they had discovered could get them killed, he didn’t want to risk anyone else’s life.
Ben pushed the throttle forward and the heat of the midday sun blew away with the wind. Alec hung his hand over the side, enjoying the feel of the cool water as it stung his palm. He glared at Ben. He would just have to be patient; the time for dealing with Ben would come.
Finally they pulled into the boat launch in front of the meeting house. Thomas jumped out of the boat first. He grabbed the rope and slipped it around one of the dock posts. Ben climbed out next, stuffing the keys down into his pocket. Alec got out last. Telling himself to be patient was one thing, actually doing it another. As he walked past Ben, every muscle in his body tensed and he was using every shred of self-control he had ever learned to keep himself from diving on top of him and making him pay for what he had done to Scott.
The boat house had a fridge that was always stocked and Thomas and Alec each grabbed a soda before walking out to the garage. They took the four-door dually and Ben drove since technically he was the superior guard. It made Alec sick that he wore the same scorpion rose tattoo that had once given Alec such pride; the mark of the guard.
It meant you had earned something, it meant you had the power to protect and that you had taken the oath. Now as Alec stared at it there on the side of Ben’s neck, it meant nothing. It only meant that liars wore the same tattoo that he did. It meant that nothing was immune to corruption. Most of all it meant the guard wasn’t what he thought it was.
The airport was crowded and they wore their casual clothes so they didn’t stand out. So far there had been no sign of The Waerven, but they were ready for anything. Ben stopped halfway down to watch from a distance as Thomas and Alec walked up to the gate to wait for the new Green to get off his flight.
Alec scanned the room. The blue chairs held half a dozen people, none of them looked suspicious. The big windows facing the runway were foggy from the combination of summer heat and cool air conditioning. The front desk attendant seemed busy with the computer and the phones non-stop ringing.
“So where is the new one from, do you know?” Thomas asked, not being one for quiet moments.
“Chicago, I think.”
“That’s gonna be interesting. Has he ever seen the island?”
“I don’t think so. I believe his file said he was adopted and another Elementris discovered him and contacted us.”
“What’s his affinity?” Thomas whispered.
“I think fire.”
“Well,” Thomas leaned against the wall, “you should be able to teach him up good then. I was sort of hoping that we’d get ourselves another spirit since there ain’t but me and three others in the guard.”
“Yeah, I’ve never thought much about it.”
“What’s his name?” Thomas continued.
“Daren Smith… I think.”
“Oh.” Thomas turned to look out the big glass window. Alec was used to Thomas’ talking, but right now he had a lot on his mind. He wanted to be silent so he could add up all the facts bouncing around in his mind and get them straight. Thomas started a week after him and the twins.
He remembered the day they brought Thomas in on the boat. He had one of those crazy stories. He grew up on a farm and when he was little people around his town called him “the cow whisperer.” He could make the farm animals do pretty much whatever he wanted them to, and he was great at herding cattle. The only other surviving person in his circle, a girl of royal descent found him and told him everything. Thomas once said that when he was a kid watching the movie “Babe,” he wondered if the person who dreamed up that story had a secret of their own.
Daren walked off the plane looking like a gangster wannabe. He wore sagging jeans and a blue bandanna around his short blonde hair. He had a tattoo on his neck that said thug life. Alec and Thomas shared a glance.
“Daren?” Alec said, extending his hand. The boy was sixteen, but looked like he had been through a war. He had dark circles under his eyes, a cut with stitches above his eyebrow and his clothes looked about ten sizes too big.
“D… Dog,” he said, trying to deepen his voice.
Thomas laughed out loud, “Well then, let’s get at it.”
Daren gave Thomas a strange look and walked between them with a not-to-well-practiced swagger.
“Let’s get your luggage,” Alec said.
“Ain’t got nothing else, this all I need.” He pulled at his t-shirt and tucked his cheap necklace in his shirt, looking around like he thought someone would want to steal it.
“Okay then,” Alec said.
Thomas shook his head back and forth, cracking a laugh, “Dadgum boy. I can barely understand
you.”
“I ain’t hearing none a dat cracker talk falling out your mouth either…boy,” he stretched out the word boy.
“Fair enough I reckon.” Thomas shook his head, giving Alec a look as if to say “Can you believe this boy is joining the guard?”
Ben stepped out behind them.
Daren jumped forward a little.
“He’s with us,” Alec whispered, cringing at his own words. “He’s with us?”
Ben drove again. Thomas sat in the passenger seat and Daren sat in the back across from Alec. Daren wasn’t talking, he was just looking out the window. Thomas only allowed about fifteen minutes of silence before he started in on him, “So, you’re from Chicago?”
“Yep,” he said rudely
“Do you know anything about all this?”
Daren looked down and got a little quiet, “Some.”
“Don't you worry, you're gonna like it. Wait ‘til you see Element Island.”
The boy nodded looking out the window again. Alec found himself staring at Ben’s tattoo again. It would be easy to just end this thing right now. He could burn a hole straight through Ben’s neck with his eyes if he wanted to, but he can’t. He has to know what Ava will be facing if she decides to accept the magic.
Ava needs to understand how important she is and how much she has to learn if she decides to accept the magic. He recalled the dream he shared with her the other night. He has always sensed her out there somewhere and has known from the first moment he laid eyes on her that he was in trouble. And when he touched her… He knows they will have to meet again soon, face to face this time. “I don’t want to push the dreamwalking on her too much and maybe together we can begin to make sense out of all of this. Maybe…”
They finally arrived at the island and Daren looked around wide-eyed, “How does it appear like that?”
“Magic,” Ben said sarcastically.
Thomas smiled, tying the boat off. “It appears for us. Nobody knows exactly how it works but sometimes it’s harder to find than others. You’ll get it, don’t sweat it none.”
Elementris, Exposure, Eruption Box set: The Vangeretta Curse Series Page 12