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

by Christina Mobley

  …Ava…

  Ava sat down on the bed next to Aunt Avalene. “What is it, Aunt Avalene?”

  “How well have you and Nisca gotten to know each other?” she asked.

  “Not very well,” Ava admitted. “She’s in and out all day, but we don’t talk all that much.”

  Aunt Avalene nodded, “You need to work on building a closer bond with her.”

  “Why?”

  “Because, Shug,” she paused as if she were choosing her words carefully, “she can become a great asset to you.”

  “What are you trying to tell me, Aunt Avalene?”

  Aunt Avalene looked towards the window.

  “What is it, Aunt Avalene?”

  She looked back slowly, “She’s your assistant and you need to gain her trust.”

  “Aunt Avalene? What is it you’re not telling me?”

  Aunt Avalene shook her head and stood, “This is something that you’re going to have to figure out on your own.”

  Ava stood too, “You can’t tell me?”

  “No,” Aunt Avalene gave her a sharp look, “It would be a betrayal to the Havoc family.” She pushed back her hair and pulled her door open, “I’ll see you at dinner Ava, I need to freshen up and get unpacked.”

  “Okay,” Ava said, slowly walking through the door.

  She started to ask another question, but before she could the door shut with a loud snap.

  Ava tilted her head, “What the…?” She shook her head and walked into her room and out onto the balcony. She needed to think. She pressed her hands into the iron railing as she thought about the weird conversation she’d just had with Aunt Avalene. “What does Nisca have to do with anything? Why does Aunt Avalene want me to gain her trust?”

  Ava shook her head and looked up. Everything else was swept from her mind when she spotted the boat; right back in the exact same spot. She jerked the binoculars from the little table and pressed them to her eyes. Blake Sanders stood alone on the boat deck looking at what might be a map in his hand. He was writing something on it. His brows were pulled over his eyes, a hard line forming between them.

  Suddenly he turned towards someone else appearing from below deck and said something to him. The other man walked to the steering wheel. The boat began to move, it was coming closer to the island. It kept coming and didn’t stop until it was close enough that Ava didn’t need the binoculars anymore to see the men on deck. She dropped the binoculars and watched as Blake continued to write on what was looking more and more like a map. She shook her head, watching as he moved from one side of the boat to the other.

  He turned after a moment almost as if he could feel her watching him. He looked up and stared right in her direction. Ava took a step back and stumbled over the small table on the balcony. She kept her eyes on him. He seemed to keep his on her as well. Then he looked back down at his map and turned back to the man as if he had seen nothing.

  Ava turned and headed down to find Alec.

  She found him. He was at the bottom of the stairs with Bianca; they were whispering. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at them. Alec looked up at her, “Hey.” He frowned, “Is something wrong? Are you okay?” He rushed over and took her hand.

  Ava noticed the way Bianca looked down at their joined hands. She looked at Alec, “I’m fine.” She looked into his green eyes now, “I just need to talk to you.”

  “Okay,” He smiled, a question lingering in his eyes.

  “About that thing,” Bianca said, “now might be a good time.”

  “Okay,” Alec winked at her.

  Ava felt her chest tighten.

  Alec quickly slipped his arm around Ava’s waist and they walked up the stairs.

  …Lyssa…

  Lyssa felt something cool and wet brush across her forehead. Her face felt tight and pain radiated down the left side. Her jaw pulled painfully when she tried to move it. She worked to open her eyes and found Thomas leaning over her, his dark eyes concerned. She tried to focus harder and take in her surroundings, “Where am I?”

  “You’re in the nurse’s office.” He lowered his lips to her ear, “I can help you if you want.”

  “No.” Lyssa felt her stomach flip at his closeness, “I’m fine.” Lyssa sat up and felt the bruising in her ribs and a sharp headache pulse instantly. “Where’s the nurse?”

  “She stepped out to check up on the other girl.”

  “Other girl?”

  “Yeah, Amber something, you hurt her ‘bout as bad as the four of them hurt you. I reckon they thought they better keep you two separated.”

  Thomas stood up, “I better get outta here, don’t want one of those teachers getting their feathers ruffled about me checking in on ya while the nurse was out. I heard that ole girl say that your step-momma was on her way though.”

  “Old girl?”

  “The lady in the office; the one with the tight lips. I’m thinking that she’d give Lareina a run for her money if she had any power.”

  “Ms. Croford.” Lyssa nodded. She was a really rude woman. “She said Dana was coming?” Lyssa shook her head, “I wonder where she was?”

  Thomas’ lips dipped into a frown, “I don’t know.” He peeked through the opening in the door.

  “What about you? What do I tell her about you?”

  He shrugged, “Tell her nothin’. I’ll be around, even if you can’t see me.” He disappeared through the door before she could say anything else.

  Not two minutes later the nurse walked in, with Dana right behind her. Dana looked amazing. Her blonde hair looked freshly trimmed and styled. Her nails were done in a perfect French manicure and she was wearing an outfit that looked pretty expensive.

  “Look at your face,” Dana gushed, taking Lyssa’s chin in her hand and turning it from side to side.

  Lyssa pulled back, “I’m fine.” She wanted to ask where Dana had been. How in the world she’d afforded the sudden makeover.

  The nurse held out a clipboard, “We need you to sign this, since you don’t want us to call rescue and have her checked out.”

  “I think she’ll be okay.” Dana said, taking the clipboard in her hand. She signed it and handed it back to the nurse. “Come on, Lyssa,” she said as she turned to leave. Lyssa followed reluctantly, knowing how pissed Dana was by the angry clacking sound her heels were making as she walked.

  They walked through the office and out to the parking lot. Dana unlocked the car and got in. The moment Lyssa slid in and shut the door, Dana turned on her, “What the hell were you thinking, Lyssa? Why did you go back to school? What do you know about the news story, and what possessed you to get in a fight?”

  Lyssa blinked at her, feeling her temper boil, “Where the hell were you, Dana?”

  “Where do you think?” She started the car and squealed out of the parking lot, “Looking for you all night.”

  “Did you check the house?” Lyssa rolled her eyes “I guess you got all made over to do that.”

  Dana looked at the road ahead, “I have some good news for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “First, tell me why the news changed? Did you have something to do with that?”

  “No, I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

  “Where were you when we were supposed to leave?”

  Lyssa said nothing.

  Dana stared angrily but didn’t comment. The car fell silent as they drove towards home.

  Chapter Six…Southern Charm

  Lyssa’s mind wandered as they rode but her eyes were searching every side road and every tree they passed. “What time is it?” She wondered and glanced at the dash clock. “School is almost over. Did Thomas stay there to finish out the day, or did he slip out to keep an eye on me?”

  The entrance to their road came into view and Dana slowed and took a sharp left into their driveway. Her old car sputtered and coughed its way down the dusty drive. The towering oaks out front rustled in the late afternoon breeze as a skirt of moss danced aroun
d the bottoms of their branches. Lyssa eyed the remnants of her childhood tree house clinging to a twisted branch on the old tree by the corner of the house. Just as she was about to open her mouth and talk to Dana, Dana cleared her throat, “I don’t want to fight, Lyssa.”

  Lyssa sighed. Their relationship had never been exactly civil. She had always suspected Dana was after money, even if she was too stupid to realize there was none. Why would a twenty-something blonde marry an older man who was swallowed up in depression? Dana had helped him though. For the first few months, her father had come downstairs every day. He’d started taking Lyssa fishing again, and he had started laughing again. For a few months her father was back. Now that he was gone, Lyssa was thankful for those few months she’d had with him before he got sick. She did owe those few months to Dana.

  Lyssa looked over at her, “I don’t want to fight either.”

  Dana shut the car off and shifted in her seat, “Look, what matters is that we save the house.”

  Lyssa nodded, “I might have an answer for that.”

  Dana smiled widely, “Me too! Let me go first.” Dana paused for a moment, “You know all the phone calls we’ve been getting?”

  Lyssa nodded, feeling her breath catch.

  “Well, that night that I told you to get ready to go to the Hilton.” She paused and smiled wider, like an excited little girl, “We got a call from a woman. She said she works for a very rich and powerful man who is interested in your story.” Her words rushed together, “He authorized an immediate advance. All he wants is for you to do an interview with his assistant. You don’t even have to show your face. He just wants to hear the story about your gift and the others born of the Element, the legend, and how it all works.”

  Lyssa’s stomach bubbled.

  “I thought it was a great compromise. This guy must really be powerful because he’s promised that he will make all of this mess go away after the interview. He simply wants the story for himself. He wants it for his own private collection. He’s some kind of collector of odd stories and things.”

  Lyssa shook her head, “So that’s how you got the money for the hotel and everything.”

  “Yes,” she smiled. “I’ve already paid the back payments on the mortgage.”

  “I…,” Lyssa tried to interrupt.

  “Wait!” Dana said excitedly. “You haven’t heard the best part!”

  “What?”

  Dana took a dramatic breath, and fanned her face with both hands, “He is going to pay off the mortgage completely. We will own Relic Manor free and clear. Well, you will anyway. I’ve decided to put it in your name. Your father would have wanted it that way so you can pass it down to your children.” She pulled Lyssa into an unexpected hug.

  Lyssa was confused and tears threatened as she absorbed everything Dana had just told her. “Why does everything just keep getting more and more screwed up?”

  “Dana, are you telling me that you told him that I would do it?” Lyssa pulled away from her.

  “Yes! Of course I did.” She blinked fiercely and leaned forward, “How could I turn down such a wonderful offer? Go get your things so we can return to the hotel.”

  “I can’t!”

  “What do you mean?” She frowned, “What else can we do? She turned, “What were you going to say before, because I guarantee whatever your idea for saving the house was, it can’t even come close to an offer like this.” She waited.

  Lyssa began to speak but shook her head instead as she realized she couldn’t trust Dana with the information she had been so close to sharing a few minutes ago.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Good, then go get your things.”

  “No,” Lyssa shook her head, “I can’t. I’m not leaving the house.”

  “What do you mean?” Dana leaned closer “You have to. This man has already given us the money. I’ve already accepted his offer. The interview is set up for three days from now. Don’t be stupid, Lyssa. Someone with that kind of money and power, we don’t want to mess with.”

  Lyssa considered for a moment. She felt panic rise in her chest. “No, Dana. I can’t do it.” She opened the car door.

  “Wait!” Dana screamed after her.

  Lyssa froze for a moment.

  “This isn’t a choice, Lyssa. You love Relic Manor more than I do. I did all of this for you. Even if you have given up saving it for some insane reason, it’s done. After everything I’ve done for you, you will do this for me. The interview is at twelve on Wednesday. Meet me at The Hilton, room 221.” She paused for a moment, “Have you forgotten your father already?”

  Lyssa felt the world shift. Her eyes closed as her head drooped and her chest ached with pain as memories of her father washed over her. She thought of his laugh, she thought of those last few days with him, and she started to shake as the tears burst uncontrollably from her closed lashes.

  “I’ll see you in a few days. You should come with me. It’s safer there than here.”

  “I’m staying here!” Lyssa shouted and slammed the car door.

  Dana backed out of the driveway and soon all that was left to show that she had even been there was the cloud of dust she left behind.

  Lyssa just stood there, covered in dust, as the tears fell down her cheeks and her fists clenched in anger.

  “Hey,” a familiar voice said from behind her.

  Lyssa didn’t turn. She heard Zack’s footsteps as he moved closer.

  He touched her shoulder, “I was worried about you. I came straight over.” He walked in front of her, “Wow, Lys. Your eye is a mess.” He stopped, noticing the tears, “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

  Lyssa shook her head, unable to speak.

  “Let’s go inside,” Zack gently guided her to the front door.

  Lyssa sat on the sofa in the living room and Zack sat across from her on the coffee table. He took her hands in his, “C’mon Lys, you have to tell me what’s wrong.”

  She shook her head and felt her throat go dry as she spoke, “Everything!”

  “What is everything?”

  “Dana set up this interview. I can save the house but I’ve already promised the True Elementris that I wouldn’t do any interviews.”

  “Then don’t,” Zack said. “Screw Dana! We’ll find another way.”

  “It’s not that simple, Zack. The guy has already given Dana an advance on the money he’s promised for the interview. She paid off the back payments on the mortgage with it. Do you know how big that advance must have been for her to be able to do that? She said that she would be able to pay off the mortgage completely after I do the interview. She also said that I wouldn’t have to show my face and that the interview would remain part of his private collection; that no one else would ever see it.”

  Zack’s blue eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you really believe that?”

  “I don’t know what I believe.” Tears fell again. “I just wish my parents were still here to help me figure all this stuff out. Dana will probably send me off to the state if I don’t go along with her plans. I’ll probably end up having to run away to avoid it. Times like these really make me feel alone.”

  “You’ll always have me, Lys.”

  “I know.” She forced a tear-filled smile, “You wanna adopt me?”

  “I couldn’t handle you.” His dark blue eyes crinkled around the edges as he smiled widely.

  “I know.” She laughed, then suddenly serious, she said, “You’re my best friend, Zack.”

  Zack made a face like he’d just tasted something sour.

  Lyssa felt an awkwardness bloom between them that had never been there before. His hand lifted and rested over hers. He met her eyes and he ran his thumb intimately over the top of her hand. He lifted his other hand, reached out, and slowly he touched her cheek.

  Lyssa froze under his fingers and then pulled away and looked everywhere but at him.

  Zack cleared his throat uncomfortably, “There is one family member you have left
.”

  “Who?” She asked.

  “Your birth mother. Are you going to go meet her? If Dana did decide to turn you over to the state, maybe she could adopt you or something.”

  Lyssa rolled her eyes, “I’m sure she gave me up for a reason. I doubt she…” She shook her head.

  “She did write that letter.”

  “You read it?”

  He nodded, “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” She blew out a breath, “I don’t know.” She paused considering, “Maybe I should contact her. That’s the least complicated decision I have to make right now and I do want to know what she knows about my gift and why she gave me up.”

  Zack stood, “You should do it.” He stepped forward, getting a little closer than normal, “I’ll go with you.”

  Lyssa smiled slightly, “When would we go?”

  “Tomorrow, we can go tomorrow.”

  “What about my babysitter?” she asked.

  “Where is he anyway?” Zack looked around.

  Lyssa shrugged and moved closer to Zack so she could whisper her reply, “I don’t know. He says that even when I can’t see him he’s there. I sure don’t want him following me. The way my mother spoke in her letter, I doubt she wants a Clutch guard anywhere near either. We’ll have to sneak away without him somehow.”

  Zack nodded and quietly responded, “Okay, we can ditch tomorrow and go. What period do you have with him?”

  “All of them,” she looked up at him.

  “Really?”

  She nodded, “I’ve got it though. We can skip out during my gym period. He can’t follow me into the girl’s locker room and I really don’t want to go back in there tomorrow anyway. I’ll meet you at the back gate.” She moved to pull back.

  Zack didn’t let her do that though. Instead of moving away, he turned towards her, softly placed both palms against her cheeks, and kissed her!

  Lyssa pulled back, shocked and most definitely confused. “Where the hell did that come from? This is not good.” She felt even more confused than she did a minute ago. Something like this could really mess up their friendship. “Zack?” she shook her head. “Why did you do that?”