Elementris, Exposure, Eruption Box set: The Vangeretta Curse Series

by Christina Mobley

  “Thomas,” he said with a little smile. “What do you mean?” He said over his shoulder, his cheek slightly brushing hers as he waited for her answer.

  Lyssa lifted her eyes taking in all the students staring at them as they parked, liking the warmth of his cheek. “They,” Lyssa whispered, “are already trying to decide how we know each other. Are you my boyfriend? Are you wearing a Mercanny uniform? So Thomas, who are you?”

  He lost that sexy smile as his jaw clenched. He stood and stepped from the bike so fast that Lyssa had to catch herself to keep from falling off.

  He looked down at her as she straddled the bike uncomfortably.

  She felt her face heat and flush red. Staring up at him, she wished she hadn’t whispered so close to his ear. “He’s got to be at least two or three years older than me. He is so damn hot though. The council and the True Elementris would never trust me for sure if they knew what I was thinking right now. I would be marked as a bad seed forever!”

  Thomas reached down and took her hand, helping her off the bike, “Cousins.”

  “Huh?”

  “Cousins,” he repeated in a rigid tone. “Its best, safe,” he gave her a dark look and walked off to join his fake mother by her car.

  “Okay, whatever,” Lyssa whispered to herself. She stomped off, red-faced, towards her first period class. All the kids in front of her squeezed through the double doors, chattering on about their shallow lives. They all matched each other.

  Just outside of first period she saw it, over a girls left shoulder on her smart phone. Two of them huddled over the screen as the news story replayed on the girl’s phone. The same blonde reporter that had reported Lyssa’s amazing ability now stood in Lyssa’s front yard. She wore a tight-fitting pink skirt suit and pushed her hair up twice before pointing to Relic Manor behind her. “This is the home of Lyssa Relic. We first reported her amazing story a few days ago when she showed an amazing ability to manipulate water. We were blown away. Our phone lines lit up with requests for interviews with the sixteen year old girl. We did a back story a few days ago about her historic home and the shutdown of the Relic factory.”

  “The story has taken a twist however, and the truth will leave a bad taste in your mouth.” The camera focused in on her, “The taste of deception, of deceit.” She paused for a moment, then continued, “Lyssa Relic is indeed a talented teenager, one with a talent for trickery. She staged the whole thing using a pre-rigged air hose under a drain in the church parking lot. She used the air hose to shoot up the water just as she raised her hands.” The camera suddenly switched to the clip showing Lyssa lifting her arms and raising the water. It showed the water spray up and then a small circle focused in on an air hose poking out of a drain that Lyssa couldn’t even remember being there.

  She was shocked, “How could they pull it off so well? Why did they have to make her look so bad?” She felt dizzy.

  The two girls finally noticed her looking over their shoulder. Both girls looked at her, started laughing, and turned to walk away.

  Just as Lyssa felt that tingling sensation in her fingertips and the water fountain across the hall began to shake slightly, Zack grabbed her arm. He moved quickly and they slipped into the classroom that held all of the media equipment. Zack shut the door and turned to her, “I was hoping you wouldn’t see it.”

  Lyssa shook her head, “How did they make it look so real? You know there wasn’t an air hose. I don’t even remember the sewer grate being there.”

  “It wasn’t,” Zack said, taking her shaking hands in his, “As soon as I saw the newscast I reviewed the first one that I recorded on my DVR and compared it to the one that aired today. I saw it right after you left this morning. I don’t know who fixes stuff like this, but they’re good. I drove by the church and there is a brand new sewer grate there too.”

  “I can’t believe they went that far to cover it up.”

  “This was definitely a high quality fix,” Zack said.

  “Ava did say that they have connections everywhere. A big family, she called them; people born of the Element.” Lyssa looked towards the door, “How am I going to go out there and face them all?”

  “You can do it, Lyssa.” He grabbed her hands, “You’re the strongest girl I know, the strongest person I know.”

  She shook her head, “I just don’t want to.”

  “You have to, Lys. Just think about it this way: going out there and facing them, doing what you’re supposed to, will give you the power to save your dad’s house. If they are going to help you, you have to do what you’re supposed to. Not only that, you need your education to get a better job, so you can take care of yourself. You’ve always said that’s all you wanted, to not have to depend on anyone else.”

  Lyssa took a deep breath and stood up, “Okay, let’s get it over with.”

  Zack smiled and held the door open for her.

  Lyssa noticed the looks she got as she walked down the hall. She heard the words they half-attempted to whisper. “Can you believe she did that? What a loser, she must be desperate, pathetic.”

  Lyssa worked to block it out, focusing on her breathing and her steps as she lifted her chin and walked past them all and into her first period class.

  …Ava…

  Just as Ava and Alec walked out of the morning meeting, Shawn reported a boat approaching the dock. Alec walked her down to greet the first guests for the festival. People began to come from the beginning of the month right up until the night of the full moon, which also happened to be Ava’s birthday. Most of the visitors stayed down in the bunk housing on the other side of the island. Ava was told once that it was sort of like Woodstock. Everyone shared everything, and it was almost like a month long party that would end with a big bang.

  The boat docked just as Ava and Alec walked through the gate in the stone wall. Alec was trying to act cool, but Ava could easily see how tense he got as they passed through the gate. He was still trying to protect her, even in the safest place she could be. Ava watched the muscles in his arms and face bunch up and then release as they realized who was in the boat.

  “Aunt Avalene!” Ava shouted, and ran towards her.

  “Hey, Shug,” Aunt Avalene said as she climbed out of the boat, lugging a big flowery bag over her left shoulder. She gave Ava a hug and admired her dress for a moment. Her eyes glossed over for an instant. “Pretty dress,” she managed and handed Alec her bag.

  Ava noticed Aunt Avalene’s reaction to the dress and knew she recognized it as one that had belonged to her sister when she was the True Elementris. That made her sad for a moment, but she shook it off quickly; she was so happy to have Aunt Avalene with her.

  “We need to talk, Shug.”

  “Is something wrong?” Ava asked as they made their way to the castle. “I figured you would send a letter to tell me when you were coming so that I could send a guard and a boat to escort you.” Ava paused “Where did you get one of the Clutch boats anyway?”

  Aunt Avalene smiled, “It was at the boat house in Miami, I used my ‘start the car’ spell, works well on boats too.” She looked at Alec, “You might want to send someone out to take it back. I’m sure whoever parked it there will need a way to get back.”

  Alec nodded and smiled at her, “It was Thomas, but he won’t be back for a while. I’ll send one out in the morning. We will be making almost constant trips back and forth now to escort the visitors over for the festival.”

  Ava looked over at her, “Are you staying until the festival, Aunt Avalene?”

  “Yes, Shug, of course I am,” she said, adjusting her gardening hat so she could see into Ava’s eyes, “That’s not why I came though, I came to help you.”

  “Help me with what?”

  Aunt Avalene smiled, “I saw the girl on the news, and I heard about the find that diver had.”

  Alec and Ava both stopped at once. Ava couldn’t speak for a moment; “The find?”

  Alec’s green eyes widened, “What did they find?”


  “A shipwreck,” she said, surprised they didn’t know. “I caught it on the late-night news.”

  Alec shook his head, “I knew it.”

  They continued ahead in silence. Ava felt her heart pounding. Blake had found something. The question was what.

  Just as they reached the entrance to the castle, Vincent rushed over to them, “I need to speak to you both immediately. I have bad news!”

  “We know,” Alec said flatly. “I knew there was something down there.” He looked at Ava, “You go on ahead with your Aunt Avalene and I’ll deal with this.” He followed Vincent.

  Ava and Aunt Avalene started up the stairs and opened the door of the room across from Ava’s. They began unpacking Aunt Avalene’s things and pulled the thick curtains back from the stone-wrapped window to let some air in.

  Nisca came in with fresh sheets and towels and smiled at Aunt Avalene “It’s nice to see you again, Ms. Vangeretta.”

  “Oh, dear, you go on and call me Aunt Avalene. Ms. Vangeretta sounds so formal and we are practically family. The Havoc family and mine have lived alongside each other for years.” Aunt Avalene stepped forward and touched Nisca’s shoulder, “How is your mother?”

  “She’s doing okay,” Nisca looked at Ava and then back to Aunt Avalene, “I was just telling Ava how she asks about you all the time.”

  “You tell her I said hello. Is she coming for the festival?”

  Nisca shook her head, “No, she has terrible arthritis and can’t get around very well anymore.”

  Ava stepped closer to Nisca, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

  Aunt Avalene took Nisca’s hand, “You’ll give me her address and I’ll go see her after the festival.”

  Nisca nodded once and then suddenly she drew in a desperate breath. Her honey-colored eyes glazed over and she went completely still.

  “She’s having another seizure,” Ava grabbed her arm.

  “Help me get her over to the bed,” Aunt Avalene ordered in a calm voice.

  Ava and Aunt Avalene carefully moved Nisca over to the bed and laid her back. Nisca stayed as still as a statue. Ava knew this seizure was lasting a lot longer than the last. She frantically stroked Nisca cheek “Nisca? Nisca!”

  Aunt Avalene grabbed Ava’s hand, “No, let her be.”

  Nisca’s eyes closed and fluttered back open. She glanced around, confused.

  “Are you okay?” Ava asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” she said as she sat up.

  “I think we should have you checked out, these seizures can’t be good.” Ava reached out to help her up off the bed.

  Nisca took her hand and stood up, staring wide-eyed at Aunt Avalene.

  Aunt Avalene looked back at her and something passed between them as their eyes met and held.

  Ava walked towards the door, “Come on, let’s get you checked out.”

  “No!” Nisca shouted and rushed from the room, slamming the door behind her.

  Ava whirled around to face Aunt Avalene. “What’s wrong with her?”

  Aunt Avalene lifted her velvet blue eyes to Ava’s, “Come sit down, Shug.” She sat on the bed and patted the place next to her, “We need to talk.”

  …Lyssa…

  She made it through the first four periods with only minor looks and glares. It wasn’t until fifth period, when Mandy Parker walked in with Lee Cameran, that Lyssa felt a stab straight through her back.

  Mandy and Lyssa had never been exactly friends, but they sat together at lunch sometimes and paired up on projects. Their relationship had never extended beyond school. They’d never shared anything personal, but still, when Mandy smiled sweetly at her, asking how she was doing, her eyes narrowing just slightly, Lyssa felt like she had lost a friend.

  Despite her suspicions, Lyssa responded in a calm tone, “Fine.”

  Lyssa caught the first hint of cruelty in Mandy’s tone, “Why did you do it, Lyssa?” her smile was positively evil. “Why did you lie like that?”

  Lee, Mandy’s long-time crush, joined in, “Yeah, why, Lyssa?” A bunch of his friend’s gathered behind them, all staring at Lyssa waiting for her response.

  “I, um,” Lyssa attempted to speak, her throat closed, she felt as though a vise grip was tightening around it. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t think. She shook her head with her mouth open, her lips waiting for the words her mind would not produce.

  They started laughing.

  Lyssa felt warm tears flood her eyes and she couldn’t move. She was frozen right there in front of them. Her eyes bounced from face to face. Their eyes and comments were cruel. She wanted to crumple to the floor and wrap her arms around herself. This was it, they all knew. Her throat went dry and her lips trembled as she attempted once more to find words.

  The door swung open and hit the wall hard.

  Thomas walked in and stole all of the unwanted attention away from Lyssa at once. He coolly walked over to her, nudging some of them out of his way and slipped his arm over her shoulders. He locked his dark eyes on Lee, his brows drawn together, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew, boy.” He turned away, not the least bit worried that Lee was going to give him any trouble, and guided her to a seat. He stood there for a minute and looked around the room, his menacing glare sending a clear message that would make anyone think twice before approaching her. Satisfied that no one had anything else to say, he sat down in the seat next to her.

  Once class got started and Lyssa’s throat had loosened enough for her to speak again, she whispered in a cracked voice, “Thanks.”

  He smiled at her and Lyssa felt a sizzle in the pit of her stomach. She took a breath and tried her best to concentrate on what the teacher was saying.

  For the rest of the day not one person said anything to her. Not one person gave her a judgmental glance, as a matter of fact, not one person, other that Zack, made eye contact with her at all. “Having a babysitter might not be so bad after all,” she thought as she walked with Thomas to the gym.

  Lyssa noticed the way the white button-up shirt stretched to cover his muscular chest and the tiny rip on the sleeves he must have made so he could force his arms into it. He was silent as they walked, his eyes constantly scanning the area around them. He’d somehow managed to get into every one of Lyssa’s classes. She wasn’t sure how he’d managed that, since each and every student knew the school worked hard to make sure there were no two students in every class together. The principal believed it kept cliques down and helped teachers and students concentrate more on their studies instead of their social lives.

  Thomas reached in front of her and pulled open the door to the gym. She had made it through to the last class of the day without any more problems. Thomas walked with her until she split off to go to the girl’s locker room. After the door shut behind her, he headed to the boy’s locker room.

  Inside the locker room she wasn’t as protected. The girls knew Thomas wouldn’t be joining her there. Lyssa pulled open her gym locker and quickly grabbed her dress-out clothes. When she turned around, four girls stood behind her. “Here it comes,” she thought.

  “So, who is he?” Mandy asked, joined by three of the snobbiest girls at Mercanny. Lyssa wondered when that had happened; Mandy had never had any interaction with those girls before now.

  “Yeah, who is he?” a girl called “Amber B” echoed. Lyssa didn’t know her last name; everybody just called her “Amber B.” For all she knew the three sidekicks were Amber A, B, and C. They all looked alike; perfectly made-up and not one hair out of place. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, she would have laughed.

  Lyssa shook her head slowly and tried to move around them.

  Amber B lunged to the left blocking her, “What’s the big deal, Lyssa? We just want the info. Is he your boyfriend or your family?” She let a little smirk stretch the left side of her overly glossed lips, “Is he single?”

  Lyssa felt her chest tighten. “It’s none of your business.” She said as she tried to move ar
ound Amber B again.

  Amber put her hands out and pushed Lyssa. “Tell me, Lyssa!”

  Lyssa glared at Amber, “Move!”

  “No, you freak!” Amber yelled.

  “Try me!” Lyssa cocked her head to one side and leaned into her face until their noses were almost touching.

  Amber lowered her brows and smiled like she had just come across the most brilliant idea known to man, “What are you going to do, blow me away with your water tricks?”

  Lyssa felt her muscles tense and a red haze blurred her vision. She felt her arms tighten as the buzz of her element shot through her veins. She forced it to calm, containing the energy of it in her closed palms. She looked up, needing a way to release it. She couldn’t though. She had to keep to the story, no matter how bad it made her look. She shoved Amber instead, knocking her back about two feet.

  Amber stumbled, lunged for her, and got two hands full of Lyssa’s hair.

  Lyssa swung and punched her right square in the nose. Her knuckles burned with the impact. Then she couldn’t seem to stop. She felt her arms swinging. She felt the impact of her fists as they met flesh. The air left her lungs suddenly as someone tripped her and she went down, Amber still hanging onto to a handful of hair. She felt kicks in her ribs, but couldn’t figure out where they were coming from. Then as Amber finally released her hair, she grabbed at their feet. They were all kicking her but she managed to pull one of them to the floor with her. Her arms started swinging again and then she felt her hair being pulled from behind.

  She spun around on the floor and struggled to her feet, pulling loose from their grip. She turned, facing Amber again now. The angry haze she seemed to be trapped in was fading and she felt two hard licks catch her on the side of the head from behind. Then all three of them came at her and she was somehow on the floor again, Amber fell on top of her and screamed. Lyssa’s ribs ached and sharp pain shot through her side. She tasted blood in the back of her mouth as she began to black out, and she wanted so badly to use her element. It would be so easy to just…, “No, I promised.” A blur of blonde hair and blood flashed in front of her eyes and then everything went black.