“Huh,” he said climbing out. “So there’s really a castle and all here?”
“Yeah,” Alec said, noticing some of Daren’s accent disappearing.
“Come on,” Thomas said. “I’ll give ya the go around and show ya where ya need to report tomorrow.”
“What’s you’re um…magic?” Daren asked.
“Spirit,” Thomas said. “Ben’s is Water and Alec,” he pointed, “he’s got fire.”
“Cool,” Daren looked around; chewing at his lip. “I got fire too.” He looked at Alec.
“Yeah, I know,” Alec said. “Thomas, I have to go write up the report. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“No prob, Brother.” Thomas walked ahead, “How do you do that fancy little walk of yours?” he said to Daren, pretending to limp real wide, but sort of laughed over his shoulder at Alec.
Alec couldn’t help but laugh.
“Man…sommin’ wrong wit’ you.” Daren shook his head, his accent back. “I always knew country folk wuz strange but...damn!”
“Watch what you say about country folk now boy.” Thomas got that little bit of crazy in his southern voice, and cocked his neck to the side like a mad rooster about to peck someone.
“Yes sir,” Daren said, completely losing his accent. “Sorry sir.”
“Alright then,” Thomas walked ahead. “Pull your britches up and come on. Don’t ever say nothing about country folk, those are my kinda people. I’ll have to get on ya like a sprayed roach; crazy, mad, and no place to go.”
“Yes sir,” Daren pulled his pants up and lost his strut at the same time.
“Thomas is ‘crazy as a sprayed roach’ when you make him mad, but he has a heart as big as Texas too,” Alec thought, laughing as he followed behind them. He turned to the right after the guard opened the gate and made his way to the castle to fill out his report. He was hoping to get done in time to sneak back down to the prison before it got too late.
…Ava…
Brea leaned back on the bed, she looked sort of pale. “I’ve never seen your Aunt Avalene that mad.”
“Yeah,” Ava looked up, “me either.” Ava pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around them. “I can’t believe Ms. Williams is dead.”
“Yeah,” Brea looked towards the window. “It’s crazy. How the lightning just struck the house…”
“Do you think Aunt Avalene was right?” Ava looked up.
“About what?”
“You know, when she told me that I needed to get my priorities straight. I don’t think she was just talking about tonight…I think she was talking about the whole Elementris thing.”
“I don’t know,” Brea leaned back on her elbow, her brown hair falling over her face. She pushed it up, “I honestly don’t know what I would do.”
“Yeah, I feel like I am being sort of selfish, wanting to have a normal life when so many people need my help.”
“You’re not selfish, Ava.” Brea laid her head down on her arm and covered a yawn, “You’re… just…confused. Who wouldn’t be?”
“I guess,” Ava lay down too pulling the cover up. “I’m going to fix this in the morning.”
Brea yawned again, “I know you will…”
Brea drifted off to sleep within seconds, but Ava lay there with her eyes closed and her head full of questions. Her thoughts just spinning round and round. “What if I did it? Not just learning the magic. What if I challenged her? What if I won? How exactly do you do that? Win?” Suddenly Ava felt a deep need to learn the magic. She needed to learn as much as she could as fast as she could. She felt so unprepared. Not that she had decided to become a True Elementris or challenge Lareina, but what if she had to? What if Alec was right? What if it was inevitable that she would eventually come face to face with her? She lay there for the next ten minutes staring at a crack in the ceiling, letting these questions roll around inside her head.
Brea turned over, snoring.
Ava stood up, the moonlight was shining through the thin white curtains; her bare feet quiet as she padded quietly across the cold wood floor. She opened her closet and knelt and opened her Hope Chest. She pulled back the quilt that Aunt Avalene had given her and pulled the book out. She unwrapped the cloth around the book and crept towards her small desk in the corner. She reached up and turned on her lamp, then checked to make sure she hadn’t disturbed Brea. She was sleeping soundly; snoring like a lazy house cat, curled in a little ball with her head under the covers.
Ava’s hands shook as she carefully opened the book. Crackling noises came from the spine. Wind blew through the curtain and Ava wasn’t sure if it was coincidence or not. She ran her hand over the old yellowing pages. The book was so thick and so confusing. There was no order to it. Spells were grouped together like a disorganized recipe book. “Where do I start?” she mumbled.
The wind blew again and the pages flipped to the back of the book. The title on the page said “Content” and there was a list of categories. “Whoa!” Ava said feeling excited.
She took a breath, said “Candle Spell” and waited…, nothing. “Candle Spell,” she whispered a little louder over the book. The wind rushed in the window and the pages flipped to the middle. “Light the Night” was written on the top of the page and there was a little drawing of a candle to the right of the page.
“Seriously cool,” she said, smiling.
“Start the car,” she said next and watching as the book took her right to the page she needed. In the bottom left corner she noticed the initials, “A.A.V.” “That’s Aunt Avalene's initials.” She remembered being told that new spells could be added to the book. She wondered if Aunt Avalene had come up with the “start the car” spell. She trailed her finger down the page reading the strange words.
“Ina creaneta saturea.”
She walked quietly over to the window. She looked down at her car; parked crookedly in the front yard behind the others. She concentrated on her car, remembering what Aunt Avalene said about commanding the magic. In a low yet commanding voice she repeated the words, imagining the sound of her car starting. “Ina Creaneta Saturea!” her car started instantly, but so did all the others. Even worse, the neighbor’s car alarms started going off, really loudly, at the same time.
“Crap!” She panicked and ran back over to the book scanning the page for how to stop the spell. She couldn’t concentrate with the loud alarms. The wailing and beeping was so loud... She scanned to the bottom of the page and found a word written in bold letters, “Seastola.”
She darted back toward the window, but suddenly the noise stopped. She looked out the window. Her car was silent and so were all the others. She looked all around the yard then down by the front steps.
Ms. Ruby looked up from the porch and gave her a crooked smile. Apparently she couldn’t sleep either. Ava sank back into the window as Ruby took another puff of her cigarette. She sat there for a minute and then grabbed the book, folded the cloth neatly around it, and put it back in the Hope Chest. “I definitely need help learning all of this before I wake up the whole neighborhood.” She climbed back in bed and lay there wide awake. There was so much to learn and so much at risk. She tried to force her lids shut, but her body was in overdrive, the excitement and fear rushing through her keeping her eyes wide open and her thoughts racing.
It seemed like hours before she finally got sleepy. Brea turned over, hogging the covers and snoring so loudly that Ava had to put her head under the pillow before she was able to drift off to sleep herself.
That night, the magic followed her into her dreams. She stood on the edge of a cliff. The sky was dark except for the flashes of lightning that lit up the crashing water below. She felt him behind her and when she turned, he took her by the hand. She smiled and turned back to the water. She felt an odd sensation working its way through her body and then, as if she had no control over her own body, her hands thrust out in front of her and a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and rattled her to her core.
Alec
wrapped his arms around her shaking body. He spun her towards him and looked into her eyes. “The things Lareina has done, the things she’s doing…,” he paused. “The world needs your help Ava, you have the power to stop it all.”
She shook her head, still feeling the amazing power surge through her veins, but also still feeling panic at the thought of having to make this decision. “I just don’t know Alec.”
He shook his head and moved away from her.
Alec and the cliff melted away and suddenly she stood on a boardwalk overlooking an angry ocean. Down on the beach a woman stood with her back to Ava, her hands raised towards the dark sky. Her arms moved wildly and the sky began to react to her movements. She pulled her hands back and threw them violently at the sky and the dark clouds burst open with an earth shaking thunderstorm.
The woman dropped down to the sand and moved her hands over it, the ground began to shake and an eerie growl of thunder stretched through the heated air. Lightning bursts flashed from all directions and Ava stumbled back as the wind caused the rain to sting her like a thousand tiny bees. Throwing up her hands to cover her face, she watched as the woman began to spin. As she spun, her long dark hair swirled around her and her blue eyes were illuminated by the lightning flashing in them; a cruel smile pulled her lips to one side. She disappeared.
Ava turned sure she might see her, but behind her a whole new scene took her dreams hostage. People were running, floodwaters burst from a ruined dam and surged relentlessly towards a dark town while sirens screamed out a warning. A woman pulled her child behind her as they ran for safety. A man screamed out desperately for his wife and child, just before being swept away in the devastating flood waters.
Ava cried out and ran towards him only to hear a scream behind her. She spun around, horrified to see three massive tornadoes beginning to come together to become one terrifying swirl of wind, rain and lightning. She was powerless against this storm. There was no way to save these people…
“Ava!” Brea leaned over her, “Ava, get up!”
Ava was still so tired. Her head felt heavy. She turned to the side, “What?”
“Your Aunt Avalene said to wake you up before I left.”
“What time is it?”
“Two-thirty, you’ve been sleeping all day. You missed breakfast and lunch already. I have to go. I’ll call you later.”
“Okay,” Ava said sleepily, as she lay back down on her pillow.
Brea shut the door behind her.
Ava closed her eyes again and turned over with a groan. Sleep seemed like a drug that she had to have right now. She was so tired. She lay there, wriggling under her covers to get comfortable, but that was impossible with the horrible images from her dream circling in her mind.
She groaned again and sat up, blowing her hair out of her face. She couldn’t get back to sleep. Something about knowing it was two-thirty in the afternoon just wouldn’t let her sleep even if she had wanted to brave the dream world again…
…Brea…
Ms. Ruby gave Brea a ride home in her 1950s vintage car. It was a beauty with cherry-red paint and a white interior. Brea thought it fit her personality perfectly. Brea was quiet during the ride. She smiled over at Ms. Ruby, wondering if she should be talking more. Ms. Ruby wore a lot of hair spray and makeup to be so old. Brea knew what she was and wondered what Ms. Ruby thought of her. “Do they know I know about the magic? Or any of this stuff?”
Brea glanced out the window at the Williams’ house, or what was left of it. Tiny streams of smoke still drifted over the house. A fire truck sat in front and police tape surrounded the house. Brea swallowed hard. She still couldn’t believe that had happened.
“Right there,” Brea pointed at her driveway.
“Okay.” Ruby smiled and turned in, “It was really nice to meet you, Brea,” she said coming to a stop.
“Yeah,” Brea opened the door. “It was nice to meet you all too. Thanks for the ride.”
“You’re welcome.” She put the car in reverse.
Brea shut the car door and walked up to the porch. She was relieved to see that Buck was still at work. She really didn’t want to face him. At least she knew Aunt Avalene wouldn’t rat her out. Crap,” Brea said, realizing that she’d left her purse at Ava’s.
The house was dark and quiet. She knew her mom wouldn’t still be sleeping. She shut the door and wandered into the living room. The TV was off and the computer was off, usually they were both on. She walked into the kitchen…No one. She walked towards her mom’s room and found her in bed. What the hell?
“Mom?” Brea pushed the door open. “Mom?”
It was silent and completely dark. Brea froze at the end of the bed. “Mom!”
“What is it baby?” Her mom finally replied in a sleepy voice.
“Why are you in bed Mom?” she walked closer to the bed.
“I just feel a little sick, must be pregnancy symptoms.”
“Have you eaten anything?”
“Yes,” she covered her mouth with her hand. “I ate what was left of your dinner from the other night, steak with some eggs this morning.”
“My steak…,” Brea’s heart sank, alarms went off. His words echoed once again in her head like they had been for the last two days; “I carry over a hundred poisons on my truck… and three are completely undetectable in food.”
“I didn’t think you would want it.”
Brea felt tears and panic, “Mom, you shouldn’t have eaten that.”
“It was in the fridge for two days. Did you want it?”
“No,” Brea reached over and turned the light on. “Mom, have you been throwing up?”
“Yes.”
“What other symptoms are you having?”
“Um…I’ve been a little dizzy…what’s wrong with you? Why are you acting so strange?”
“I uh …, Mom, I have to tell you something and you’re probably not going to believe me.”
“What is it baby?” She tried to sit up, but sank back into her pillow rubbing at her eyes instead.
The words flew from her mouth before she could think anymore, “Buck might have poisoned that steak…because he thought I was going to eat it.”
“What? She sat up straighter, “What are you talking about Brea?”
She could tell by the look on her mother’s face that she already didn’t believe her and she knew she was probably wasting her breath, but she had to tell her. “What if that steak really was poisoned? What if the poison was slowly working its way through her mother’s body, killing her?” “Buck told me that he was going to poison me, and I think he poisoned that steak.”
Her mother looked around almost like she was considering, deciding what to believe. She looked up, her dark brows lowered over her blue eyes, “Brea, that is just ridiculous. I know you don’t like Buck, but he wouldn’t poison you.”
“It shouldn’t be that hard to believe. We both know what he is capable of. Let’s just go get you checked out at least Mom.” She reached down, taking her hand.
She pulled back, “No!” Her mother was looking at her like she was a complete stranger as she sat up. “I don’t even know what to say, Brea.” Tears filled her eyes, “Just leave me be. I can’t believe you would make up such horrible things. Buck loves us, he loves you. Go to your room and don’t come out until I…tell you.”
“Mom, please listen to me!”
“No, just go,” she pushed back her brown hair, “right now!”
Brea turned and went to her room. She knew her mother wouldn’t believe her. She knew better. She would lay there and die before believing that Buck could be that monstrous. She ran to her computer and pulled up a search engine. She typed in “Pesticide poison symptoms,” and waited.
Headache, fatigue, dizziness, loss of appetite with nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhea.” She whispered the symptoms out loud to herself.
-blurred vision associated with excessive tearing;
-contracted pupils of the eye;
-excessive sweating and salivation;
-slowed heartbeat, often fewer than 50 beats per minute;
-rippling of surface muscles just under the skin.
Her heart pounded, she felt sweat on her own forehead. She ran to the kitchen and grabbed the flashlight from the drawer. Her hands were shaking. She might not believe me, but I’m not going to let her lay there and die. Brea pushed the bedroom door open.
“Brea, what did I tell you…what are you doing?” She was standing now, pulling on a clean shirt.
“Are you feeling better Mom?”
“Yes, it was just some nausea. I’ve had it for the past week every morning.” She frowned, “I thought I told you to stay in your room.”
Brea searched her mother’s face. Her eyes seemed okay; she didn’t see any dilation in her pupils. Her skin was nice and pink.
“I just…,” she started.
“Go back to your room. Now.”
“Yes ma’am,” Brea mumbled.
She turned and walked slowly back to her room. She heard her mother in the kitchen and wasn’t quite sure what to do. She picked up the phone to call Ava.
“Hello,” Aunt Avalene said.
“Aunt Avalene,” she whispered, “Can I talk to Ava?”
“Brea?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“She’s out back in the green house with Mr. John and Sherri right now. Can I have her call you back…are you alright?”
“Yes ma’am,” Brea exhaled. “Bye.”
“Bye,” Aunt Avalene said and then hung up.
The phone rang just as she set it in the receiver, “Hello,” Brea said.
“Brea Holt?” a man said in an excited voice.
“Yes…”
Her mother pushed open her bedroom door, “Hang that phone up now, you’re on restriction!”
“Mom, hold on!” She pressed the phone back to her ear, “I’m Brea Holt”
“I’m calling to inform you that you have won a cruise! You entered our sweepstakes drawing and you won!”
“Really, and it’s really free…like for real?”
“What is it?” Her mother inched closer.
Brea held her hand up and listened.
Elementris, Exposure, Eruption Box set: The Vangeretta Curse Series Page 13