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

by Christina Mobley

  Nisca walked slowly over to the bed and looked down. Brea closed the book and handed it to her.

  Nisca took it and sat on the edge of the bed, “Makes sense; that used to be her room.”

  “Wait,” Ava said looking at the door then back to Nisca, “How did you get in here?”

  “I’ll show you.” She stood up and walked to the full-length mirror on the wall. She reached behind it and slid open a pocket door, “It goes to my room.” She turned back to them and walked over to the bed. “When my mother was the assistant to Nadia, she stayed in Brea’s room. Just before Nadia was murdered, she installed a door between the new assistant quarters and hers.”

  “Why?” Ava asked, sitting up straight.

  “Kind of creepy.” Brea stared at the hidden door.

  “Brea!?” Ava said.

  Brea shrugged “Well it is!”

  Nisca took a breath, “For protection. She wanted to be able to speak to my mother in private, where no one could hear her. So they mostly talked in my mother’s room when they had to talk about certain things.”

  “So, did that mean she didn’t trust someone here on the island?” Ava wondered aloud.

  “What certain things?” Brea asked.

  Nisca looked at Brea for a long moment, “Before I go any further, you should know that what I am about to tell you both is something that is supposed to be a sacred secret between the True Elementris and her assistant, but,” she raised her finger, “after watching how close you two are, I know I might as well cut out the middle man and tell you both. I know you two share everything.” She paused, looking only at Brea, “Can you keep this secret until your last breath?”

  Brea nodded slowly, “Definitely, promise, cross my heart,” she made a small “x” over her chest, “I swear!”

  Nisca looked at Ava, “Do you trust her?”

  Ava glanced at Brea and back to Nisca, “Yes. Completely.”

  Nisca nodded “Come on, let’s talk in my room. It’s safer.”

  The three girls slipped though the pocket door. Nisca carefully closed it behind them. She took a deep breath and began her story, “That diary you found, it was my mothers. Keeping the notebook and diary is a tradition everyone in the Havoc family has carried on for centuries. It makes it easier to keep all the information straight.”

  “What information?” Ava asked, not sure she really wanted to know the answer as she stared into Nisca’s honey-colored eyes.

  …Lyssa…

  “Just do it,” Zack whispered behind her.

  Lyssa stood frozen in front of the apartment door, staring at the number six painted perfectly on the front door. She had so many questions, there was so much she wanted to know; her mind was racing. Things like what her mother looked like and why her mother gave her up, and how she came to be with the Relics. The list of what she already knew, the things she had learned from her father, ran through her mind. Her mother was a teenager who had no way to provide for her. She was six weeks old when she came to live with the Relics. Her birth mother had named her and no one knew where she had disappeared to after she signed the paperwork allowing the Relics to legally adopt her. Lyssa knew those things, but what she knew only created more questions.

  The curtain in the window moved as someone peeked out and then the door opened with a click. “Who is he?” a woman whispered.

  “My, uh, my friend.”

  The door slowly opened wider. The woman who appeared was much older than Lyssa had expected her to be. Her dark hair, almost the same color as Lyssa’s, was tied back in a loose braid. Her eyes were blue and they were exactly the same shape as Lyssa’s. She had fine lines around the edge of her smile. She stepped back, “Come inside.”

  Lyssa walked slowly into the room and stood awkwardly in front of her, “I’d like to know why I’m here, please. I think you might be my mother. Are you?”

  The woman nodded once and stared at Lyssa as if she were mesmerized. She reached out and touched Lyssa’s shoulder, “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s hard to believe, that you are really you and that you’re finally here with me.” She smiled “Please, let’s sit down.”

  Zack stepped back towards the door, “I’ll wait outside and give you two some privacy.”

  “It’s okay, Zack.”

  “No, let him go. He can keep an eye out to make sure your Clutch friend doesn’t follow you here.”

  Zack nodded and stepped outside.

  “You know about that?”

  “Yes,” she paused nervously, “I saw you with him.”

  “Oh...” Lyssa took a seat on the small sofa that sat under the window. The apartment was small, just one room. A brown, three-cushioned sofa and an old television made up the living room and the bed was just across the room right next to a small kitchen. She stared at the stranger in front of her and all the questions she had prepared in her mind suddenly whisked into a scramble of thoughts that she couldn’t seem to organize. “You’re older than I thought you would be,” Lyssa sputtered.

  Her eyes hardened slightly, but then she smiled and cleared her throat, “I’m not that old.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lyssa twisted the end of her hair nervously around her finger “I just, my dad, he said you were a teen mother, so I just thought.”

  She shook her head, “No, it’s okay. That’s what I figured they would tell you.”

  “So…um, why?” Lyssa said bluntly.

  Her mother looked up leveling her blue eyes with Lyssa’s, “You want to know why I gave you up?”

  “Yes.”

  “I had to. I had to protect you,” she said. “Your element is water?”

  Lyssa nodded, “Yes. What were you protecting me from?”

  “From the Clutch,” she said with a clipped tone.

  Lyssa didn’t want to say anything, but she thought her mother might be overly paranoid. The Clutch guards weren’t so bad. “What’s with all the covert stuff? Why do you have to be so careful?”

  “I did something.” She looked down, “I have been running from the Clutch since just before you were born. I had to be sure they wouldn’t catch me until I gave birth to you. I gave you up to the Relics because I thought you would be safe there. I couldn’t bring a child along with me and stay on the run all the time.”

  “What did you do, why are they after you?”

  She paused, tears suddenly pooling in her blue eyes, “I killed someone.”

  “Who?” Lyssa said, sitting forward.

  Her mother paused, “I…um, it’s not important. I had to do it. They would have locked me up, Lyssa, and they would have put me in prison forever.”

  “And what about the gift, how did you know I had a gift? There is no way you could have known when I was only six-weeks old.”

  “I’ve checked on you from time to time. I had to be sure you were still safe. I had to be sure the Relics had kept their promise to give you a good life, and that they gave you the love I wanted to give you.”

  Slap! The window shook.

  Both Lyssa and her mother looked at the window. The door knob twisted and Zack scooted inside. He was holding a small white bird in his hand. “It hit the window. I think its wing might be broken,” he said, holding the small bird out.

  Lyssa stood and rushed over looking down at the bird, “It’s Lymp, Thomas’ bird!”

  “What?” her mother asked. “Who is Thomas?”

  “Nothing, he’s no one,” Lyssa shook her head, “We have to go,” She grabbed Zack's arm. “We have to go now.”

  “Will you come back?” Her mother ran to the door.

  “When I can.”

  “Okay,” she nodded.

  Lyssa practically dragged Zack down the stairs. “What? Why did we have to leave?” Zack asked.

  “My babysitter,” Lyssa said as she climbed in the passenger seat of the truck and began rolling the window up.

  Zack handed Lymp to her, then started the truck and backed up “Thomas?”

  “Yeah, I think this is
his bird.” Lyssa looked down at the bird, then lifted her gaze to scan the parking lot as Zack pulled out of it. “The last thing I want is to scare my birth mother away before I have the answers I need.”

  Chapter Eight…Island secrets

  …Ava…

  Ava and Brea sat gripping the edge of the bed, mesmerized as Nisca began her story. “Ann Marie Havoc was my ancestor. She was not born of the Element or born into any of the royal families of those born of the Element. She was the first of our kind that we know of. Ann Marie and her True Elementris, Hanna, were best friends. They were inseparable as children, much like you two,” she said, smiling.

  “When Hanna’s eighteenth birthday came, she traveled to the island to accept her gift. Ann Marie came with her, knowing full well that she would have no way to leave the island if Hanna failed, that’s how close they were. They say that Ann Marie held Hanna’s hand as she accepted her gift and stood screaming as Hanna fought her battle for the throne. When my mother told me the story of the Havoc family she said they believe that when Ann Marie held Hanna’s hand as she accepted her gift, something happened to her as well. She fainted and when she awoke she was never the same again. For the next few months she was plagued by fainting spells and visions.”

  “Ann Marie could see things that helped Hanna. She was somehow linked to her on a much deeper level. Hanna went on to rule until the ripe age of ninety-four and when she died, Ann Marie died two days later.” She took a step closer to the two girls “Every female descendent of Ann Marie has been born with the gift of visions. It’s a secret only shared between us and our True Elementris. It’s important to keep this secret between us to protect my family and future generations.”

  “So, you can do that?” Brea asked, “See things?”

  Nisca nodded.

  “Tell Ava something! What have you seen about her?”

  “Brea!” Ava said, bumping her elbow into her. “Don’t ask her that; it’s rude.”

  Nisca smiled, “It’s okay. It’s not like the psychics you see on television or anything. My visions are not definite and they come in pieces. It’s like a puzzle that I have to put together and I receive a new piece each time I have a vision. It’s hard to explain, but one event can stretch out over ten or more separate visions.” She held up her mother’s notebook, “That’s why we keep the books. It makes it easier to put it all together and figure everything out.”

  “So, what have you seen?” Ava asked carefully.

  Nisca walked over to her dresser and picked up her own notebook. She turned slowly back to face Ava, “Like I said our visions come in pieces and we only get visions connected to our True Elementris. The visions I have been getting are very sporadic. I know there is something that you need to know because my visions have been coming closer and closer together and always in your presence.” She opened her notebook and began to carefully turn the pages, “I am trying to figure this one out. It’s been gnawing at me.”

  “What is it?” Brea asked excitedly.

  Nisca’s small frame went sort of stiff and her honey eyes locked with Ava’s, “I keep seeing you somewhere besides here. So the good news is that you will be leaving the island soon.”

  Ava stood, “And the bad news?”

  Nisca clutched the notebook to her chest, “I don’t know where you are, but there is evil there. I keep seeing your face, strange jars on shelves along a wall, tears streaking your cheeks, and I keep hearing this strange clacking noise, like heels on a floor. You say, ‘You killed him! You killed him!’ and then that’s it. That vision was broken up into four separate pieces.”

  Ava felt her chest tighten; Alec. “That’s all you can see? You don’t see who it is?”

  Nisca slowly shook her head, “No, I just see you. What worries me the most is that I can’t see where you are. There are red curtains in the room and the jars on the shelf. That’s all I get.”

  Alec’s voice echoed through the wall.

  Ava turned toward the hidden door, “It’s Alec.”

  “No, don’t go that way. Use the other door,” Nisca said.

  With a quick flick of her wrist, Ava slung the door open in front of her. She moved down the hall and rushed through her door and into Alec’s arms.”

  Alec threw his hat on the bed and laughed as he caught her in his arms. “What’s all this? Are you okay, Ava?”

  She nodded against his chest, feeling the warm tears threatening to fall over her lashes.

  Concerned now, he tightened his hold and reached up to stroke her hair, “I love you, Ava.”

  She swallowed hard and blinked rapidly to force the tears away. She took a deep breath and looked up at him, “I love you, too.” She paused, seeing something in his green eyes, “What?”

  He frowned and stroked her cheek with the back side of his hand “I have to go away for a few days after all.”

  “What? Why?” she asked as she took a step back from him.

  “I got a letter from my father,” he closed his eyes and when he opened them sadness and pain were reflected there. “My grandmother is sick, she’s asking for me.”

  “I’m sorry, Alec.” Ava moved back into his arms. “I’ll go with you.”

  “You can’t go with me, Ava.”

  “Yes, I can. I’ll be safe with you and your dad’s place is almost as safe as the island.”

  “Just about,” he smiled a weary smile, “but I would feel better if you stayed here. I’ll only be gone a few days.”

  Ava sighed, “Okay.” She forced herself to think about Alec. “He doesn’t need to have to worry about me while he goes to see his grandmother.”

  Alec placed his hands on either side of her face, “Don’t worry about me, Ava. I just need to know that you are safe. I promise as soon as I feel that you can leave safely, I will take you away somewhere. Just the two of us, someplace we have never been before.”

  “Not an island, okay?” she forced a smile.

  He laughed and cupped her cheek in his hands, “Not an island.”

  Alec turned for the door “I’m going to go get things ready.” He pulled the door open, “I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay.” Ava smiled at him, worried and wishing she could erase Nisca’s words from her mind.

  The door shut behind him.

  Ava grabbed his hat from the bed and hurried to pull her book of spells from the hope chest in her closet. She walked to the table by the window and set the book down. A quick flick of her wrist moved the chair from her vanity to the table and she sat down and took a steadying breath. “Protection spell,” she ordered.

  The book vibrated on the table and then the cover slammed open and the pages began to dance back and forth until they fell open to reveal the spell she had demanded.

  “Hold and keep from danger,” she began as she desperately clutched his hat in her hands. Nisca’s words floated through her mind as she desperately worked to put a protection spell on his hat. “He will be safe there,” she told herself, but just to be sure she worked the spell into his hat; concentrating fiercely as she ran her hands over it.

  Alec returned just as she closed the book. She hurried over to the door and took his hand, “Here, don’t forget your hat.” She pulled it down over his head, “I know this one’s your favorite.

  “Yeah,” he squeezed her hand in his, “Don’t worry about me, I can take care of myself you know.”

  “I know,” she smiled as they descended the stairs, “but that doesn’t stop me from worrying about you.”

  “Promise me you won’t,” he rubbed his thumb over her hand.

  “I can’t make that promise.”

  He lifted a brow, “Yes, you can. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  They walked down to the boat dock and she saw Shawn walking towards the boat, “You’re taking Shawn?”

  “Yeah,” Alec said, letting his black backpack slide down his arm before catching it in his hand, “See? I’ll be fine.” He leaned down and gave her a slow kiss.


  Ava, reeling from the kiss, looked up at him, “Please be careful.”

  “I’m always careful,” he smiled.

  “No, you’re not,” she teased him.

  “You’re definitely not,” Bianca’s voice came towards them.

  Alec smiled, “Don’t tell her that, and you’re late.”

  “More like time disabled, my watch broke,” she held up her watch as she passed them. She turned, walking backwards, “Looks like I’m still waiting on you,” she smiled and winked, “As usual.” Her hair swept over her shoulders as she turned and walked away.

  “Bianca is going?”

  Alec frowned as he looked at her, “I’m taking my top two with me. I thought that would make you feel better.” He leaned over to kiss her again.

  “It does,” she lied. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead and his fingers slipped from hers as he moved towards the boat. “Not really,” she mumbled under her breath as she watched him join Shawn and Bianca in the boat.

  …Lyssa…

  Lyssa walked away from Zack’s house with the little white bird clutched in her hand. The small bird’s eyes seemed knowing somehow. Maybe that was it. Maybe that was how she knew instantly that this was Thomas’ bird, that and the clumsy crash into the window. She held her thumb under its small wing. It was hanging awkwardly and looked painful in the unnatural position. It didn’t take long at all for her to hear the sound of a motorcycle coming up the road behind her.

  The bike pulled to a stop beside her. “I have your bird,” she told Thomas.

  Thomas reached out and carefully took the little bird, cradling it gently in his big hands, “Get on!” he ordered.

  Lyssa slid on and quickly wrapped her arms around his waist.

  Thomas slipped the bird inside his jacket and they took off. Dust rose from the road and sent a cloud billowing behind them. He turned into the driveway, barely slowing. She could feel how tense he was.

  Thomas was off the bike and holding the door impatiently for her in a flash, “Come on.”

  Lyssa responded to his urgency and moved just as quickly as he had. “Is he okay?”