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

by Christina Mobley

  She sat there for a moment, then got out of the car and walked into the boathouse. Brea couldn’t help but feel a little bad. She looked back at Shawn and tried to read his eyes. He was still looking at her, his ice blue eyes sad. He was definitely sending mixed messages. She wanted to go to him, her body didn’t seem to understand what her mind knew. “He isn’t yours.”

  “We should go.” She said, gesturing with her thumb over her shoulder. “We should get to the island.”

  “Yeah.” He said, still staring at her. Those blasted eyes of his were giving her fits. She knew he was with Bianca and yet, the message he was sending with his eyes seemed to be saying something entirely different. Maybe she was imagining it. Brea felt her heart shatter again as she turned away from him and walked inside.

  Bianca was across the large room, staring at nothing. She turned and eyed Brea, her mouth cocked to the side like she tasted something sour.

  Brea stared at her as she walked towards her. She was ready to walk right past her, but then the words just flew from her lips, chased by a giant ball of anger and pain. “Don’t hurt him. I don’t know what is going on between you two, but I’m watching. I don’t care if you think you’re Miss Kick-Butt Clutch Guard or whatever,” Brea stepped closer and lifted her finger, “I will put you on the floor if you hurt him!”

  Bianca took a step back and smiled. “Sweetie, you have it all wrong.” She turned on her heel and walked through the door.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Brea asked.

  “What’s wrong?” Shawn asked from the doorway.

  Brea turned, “Nothing,” she said. “Everything,” she thought.

  …Ava…

  Ava followed Alec downstairs. He stood at her side and everyone seemed to be giving her a little extra space as she crossed the room. She felt sick to her stomach. It wasn’t their fault. She couldn’t blame them. At this point even she didn’t know what she was capable of doing next.

  Cook was the only one who seemed to be oblivious to the fear. He walked straight towards her. “Hi, Queen Vangeretta. I’m so glad to see you up walking around.”

  “You’re probably the only one,” she thought cynically. “Thanks, Cook.” She smiled at him, thankful for the small interaction.

  “She’s waiting for you outside.” Alec whispered.

  “How did you get her here so fast?”

  “It was pretty easy. She was already here, visiting her grandson, one of the new Greens.”

  “I hope she can really help me get a better connection to my earth element.”

  “I’m sure she can.” Alec said as he held the door open for her.

  An older woman with short white hair and big brown eyes stood just outside. She was only about four foot tall, but those eyes were packed with dynamite.

  “Ms. Frank?” Alec asked.

  “That’s me.” She smiled and tilted her head toward Ava. “Ava Vangeretta, I presume.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Ava held her hand out.

  “Those blue eyes. You look so much like her; an old soul for sure.” Ms. Frank said as she took Ava’s hand in hers and placed her other hand on top.

  “Like who?” Ava asked, curious.

  “Nadia.”

  “Oh.”

  The small woman tilted her head. “I have one question for you.”

  “Anything.”

  “Have you ever truly touched the earth?”

  “Um. I think so.” Ava glanced at Alec.

  The woman jerked her hand free and started walking. “If you had you would know.”

  “Ava hurried to her side and Alec trailed behind them. “What do you mean, exactly?”

  “Queen Vangeretta, if you had truly touched the earth you would know. There would be no question.” She paused, “Have you ever heard the earth’s cry?”

  “Um.” Ava wasn’t sure how to answer. She was beginning to doubt Ms. Frank’s ability to help her reconnect with her elements.

  The look on Alec’s face said he was thinking the same thing.

  “Well, have you?” The woman insisted.

  “Have I heard the earth’s cry?” Ava repeated.

  “Yes, child. Have you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Then you have not!” Ms. Frank frowned and started again. “If you have never heard the Earth cry, you have not truly touched it.” She reached back and took Ava’s hand. “Today,” her wrinkled eyes narrowed, “Today, you will.”

  Ava followed her, not sure what to expect.

  She walked through the square and into the thick jungle-like woods. She walked as if she knew exactly where she was going. She moved the plants out of her way without saying a single word. She walked sort of fast for an older woman, Ava thought as she struggled to keep up.

  “Here. “ The woman announced suddenly.

  “Where is here?” Ava wondered aloud.

  “Exactly where she wants us.”

  “Who?” Alec muttered.

  “Mother Earth, of course.” She pulled Ava towards her. Then she put her palms together. She slowly parted her hands and all of the trees and plants around them scurried back, leaving a perfect circle of exposed earth.

  The old woman kneeled and placed her hand precisely in the center of the circle. She looked up at Ava and ordered, “Get down here.”

  Ava slowly kneeled beside her, curious despite her doubts. Ava wondered if she was crazy. Had all of the stories about her been wrong?

  “Do you remember what I told you on the way here?”

  “About the earth’s cry?”

  “Yes.”

  Ava nodded, “You have never truly touched the earth if you have not heard her cry.”

  The woman locked eyes with Ava. “I want you to listen carefully, in a way you have never imagined before. Imagine the earth could speak to you. Imagine every sound it made was words for your ears only. Imagine Earth could show you all she has seen and the pain and life inside her.”

  Ava nodded.

  “I want you to let it in. Without fear, without worry of what you will see, let her speak to you. Listen to the earth’s cry.”

  Ava still wasn’t so sure about the earth crying, but she definitely felt tears of her own and wasn’t sure if it was the intensity of the woman’s words or her hormones. “Okay.”

  The woman grabbed Ava’s hands and pushed them deep into the fresh earth. Ava felt small roots climb between her fingers and wrap around her hands. .

  She tilted her head and listened to the soft scratching of leaves and breathed in the earthy smell coming from the rich soil beneath her hands. She closed her eyes and really felt…something. She felt a horrible wrench in her stomach. Before she could begin to worry that something was wrong with the baby, the images came. It wasn’t her baby that was in pain it was Mother Earth’s baby. The world. Everything painful inside it. She saw a group of children rail thin and sick. It was so hot and so horrible. She watched a little boy barely more than skin and bone take his last breath. She heard his mother’s miserable cry. Then she saw trees burning and forest animals fleeing. She saw war, violence, and destruction. The images came faster. Glimpses of death and destruction. Then even faster. She could barely make anything out now. The images flew by; life and death in fast-forward. She felt it though, all of it. She felt the pain of the world all at once. Hunger, fear, pain, loss. She saw the changes. First snow and ice, then new life. A small flower worked its way through a pile of snow. Green grass followed it and then a small puddle grew to a mighty river. The river changed its course over and over again, changing everything along its path as it went.

  “Ava! Ava!” Alec’s voice rang in her mind.

  She tried to open her eyes, but couldn’t. She was trapped. She used all she had to force her lashes open, but couldn’t see a thing.

  “Ava?” Alec said again.

  “It’s okay. She’s alright,” the old woman said.

  “Her eyes, why do they look like that?” Alec asked, “What’s hap
pening?”

  “It’s the element’s response to her.”

  Ava tried to speak but couldn’t. She felt the wind tickle her face. She felt the ground shake beneath her, and heard the leaves shaking on their branches.

  “She’s touched it. She has truly touched her element.”

  “Ava, can you hear me?” Alec said.

  “Yeah, I...” Ava struggled, hearing tree branches shaking and feeling the world spinning all around her.

  “Let’s get you back.” Alec lifted her.

  “I’m okay. She was right. I saw it all.” Ava’s vision came back then. Her eyes watered. The old woman stood in front of her; a misted vision. “Thank you,” Ava said.

  “No, thank you.” Ms. Frank responded.

  Ava felt the spinning slow and saw the trees reaching for her. She lifted her finger to touch the leaves of one as Alec turned. She squinted as her head rolled back and the dark sky cleared before her eyes.

  …Alec…

  He closed the door behind him after he laid her in the bed. Her beautiful red hair tumbled around her. Her eyes were back to normal now. They had turned the color of the sun. Even the whites of her eyes had turned brilliant orange and then had faded back to white. He had never been more scared in his life. Everything that was happening to her was out of his control. He understood how bad her lack of control was. “That damn diary. Why did I give it to her?” He wanted to destroy it. If their child was meant to become their biggest threat, wouldn’t it be better not to know? When would their happy ending come?

  He loved her more than the air he breathed. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her, or the thought of the torture she would experience as a mother. He wasn’t sure he could love anyone who threatened her life, their child or not. He walked downstairs and out to the meeting room.

  Thomas and Lyssa stood in the corner. Lyssa’s cheeks flushed pink. They both looked up at the same time, as if Alec had interrupted something between them. Alec shut the door and cleared his throat. “Where are Markson and Shawn?”

  “Shawn’s on the mainland with a cleanup crew,” Thomas answered, “and Markson is down with the Greens giving them a lesson on wind turbines.”

  “Oh.” He picked up the orders list from Markson's desk. “Get another crew together. I want them to go out and relieve Shawn and Bianca’s crew. We need to rotate the crews. The storms are coming faster than we can clean them up.”

  “Ten-four.” Thomas turned to leave.

  Lyssa paused behind him, “Are you okay, Alec?”

  Alec looked at her, not quite meeting her eyes, “Yeah.”

  “What about Ava?” Lyssa pressed, “How is she? Can she control the weather yet?”

  He felt a shot of anger. People kept asking him why Ava couldn’t control the weather. He couldn’t tell them it was their baby. The child would be hated before its first breath. “She’s getting there,” he said shortly.

  “Oh, well okay then,” Lyssa said tentatively. “Maybe I’ll go up and check on her.”

  “Not now. She’s resting.”

  “Oh.” Lyssa said as she turned to leave.

  “Lyssa. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be taking out my stuff on you.” Alec rubbed the stubble on his chin. “You go see her if you want to. It would probably be good for her.”

  “I will, but I’ll wait until later.” She smiled, “Alec? Don’t let all of this get you down.”

  He smiled, surprised his face was so easily read. He was known for not showing his true emotions. “I won’t.”

  …Ava…

  Ava woke suddenly. She thought of everything that had happened before she fell asleep and she felt relieved. She could do this. She sat up and climbed out of the bed. The door burst open and smacked the wall, everything on the dresser shook. There was only one person she knew that entered a room that way.

  “Brea?”

  Her face was all red and splotchy. She was out of breath and could barely get her words out, “Ava, I have to tell you something. I,” she bent forward to catch her breath, “This guy. Caslan. He and Macy, they were...”

  “Slow down, Brea. What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Ava asked, concerned. She stood to go to Brea, then clenched her fists closed as she remembered what the doctor had said.

  “It’s about those missing mothers. It’s the Waevern. They took them.

  “You saw them?”

  “No. I don’t even know where to start. Caslan, he’s Macy’s…, my roommate’s brother. She’s not really my roommate though. She’s evil and she’s been spying on me. They followed me.”

  “What on earth are you talking about, Brea? Who followed you?” Ava asked as she tried to calm Brea down. “Slow down, start from the beginning.”

  Brea took a breath, then throwing her hands up dramatically, started again. “Okay.” She fanned her face with both hands and sat on the bed. She waited for Ava to sit beside her and then told her everything.

  Ava took a long breath after she had finished. “Wow,” was all she could think to say while she tried to absorb what Brea had just told her.

  “So, what do you think?”

  “I don’t. I don’t know. First I need to talk to the council.” “Or, maybe I shouldn’t.” With Vincent’s suspected betrayal she wasn’t sure she could trust him or anyone else. “What if this guy, Caslan, was killed because Vincent was working with the Waevern and told them what he was doing? You need to stay here.”

  “I can’t. What about Caslan? Will you talk to him? Do you think he’s trying to trick me? I don’t know what to think about this whole thing.”

  Ava looked around the room. “Well, what do you believe? Do you believe him?”

  “Yeah. I mean, I think so. He’s definitely telling the truth about Macy.” She crossed her arms, “Who knows though. Macy fooled me for a long time. I don’t know what to think. I believe him. I just don’t want to make a mistake here.” She looked at Ava. “How do you deal with this kind of crap all the time?”

  Ava shrugged, “I don’t know. I just deal with it the best I can and try to go with my instincts.” Her instincts about Vincent had always been on the wrong side of right. Maybe she should tell him some of it. Just to see the way he reacted.

  “Like Lyssa. You believed she was good, even when everyone else thought she was bad. I was sure she was bad. What does that say about my instincts? How did you know for sure that she was good?”

  “I didn’t know for sure. I just went with my gut, as Aunt Avalene would say,” she smiled.

  Brea scrunched her lips. “My gut is all screwy. I don’t know. I think I believe him though.”

  Ava touched her shoulder and then quickly pulled her hand back, just in case, she didn’t want to accidently hurt Brea too. “Let me speak with the council and then we can decide what to do. I won’t tell them anything about you or him. We definitely have to find those mothers and we have to find them fast. We have to find them before our babies are born.”

  “Our?” Brea questioned.

  “It’s complicated. I’m not sure if it means that those other babies are going to share a circle with my baby, but those mothers are all due to give birth on the same day I am.” Ava shook her head, “I don’t know what to think right now.” She stood. “Can you go down and tell the council members that I need to speak with them, please?”

  “What do you mean?” Brea asked. “You want them to come up here?”

  “Yeah. I’m on strict bed rest.”

  “Why? Is something wrong with the baby?”

  “No. It’s not the baby’s safety I’m worried about. It’s everyone else’s. Long story short, the baby might be a True Elementris. Honestly, I don’t know what the hell is going on. One thing is certain, something is causing all the weird weather. Maybe it’s me. I’ve already hurt Nisca and shocked Alec. It’s safer for everyone if I stay up here and keep the baby happy.”

  “Wow!” Brea exclaimed. “Is Alec okay?”

  “Yeah. His hair’s a little fried, but, other th
an that, he’s okay.”

  Brea laughed. “Sorry, I know it’s not funny, but it kind of is.”

  Ava smiled, “It’s okay now, not so much when it happened. Lyssa thought it was hilarious.”

  “I’m sorry, Ava. What would it mean if the baby is a True Elementris?” Brea asked.

  “It would mean a lot of very bad things.”

  “Wouldn’t that mean that one day you and she would…“

  “Yes, it would.” Ava cut her off. Her voice was sharp and cut the air like a knife. “I won’t though. I don’t care what happens. I just hope she isn’t a True Elementris.” Ava stood, feeling stronger than she had in days. It was time to get things back to normal.

  “Wow.” Brea touched her arm. “I’m so sorry, Ava. Do you really think the baby could be like you?”

  “At this point, anything is possible.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. Maybe she won’t be and, if it turns out that she is, then she just won’t accept her magic. Aunt Brea will make sure she doesn’t. Now stop worrying, and get your butt back in this bed.”

  Ava smiled, “You’re right. No use worrying about tomorrow’s troubles today.”

  Brea laughed, “Now you’re really starting to sound like Aunt Avalene.”

  “I guess I am,” Ava grinned.

  “It’s not a bad thing.” Brea rose from the bed, “Do you want me to go get them now?”

  “Yeah. We need to figure this out fast.”

  …Brea…

  Brea watched as the council members filed into Ava’s room. Ava had lost the worried look she’d had before. Now she just looked mad. She had her arms crossed over her chest and she was staring pretty hard at Vincent.

  Everyone in the room seemed to notice it.

  Ava lifted her chin, “We know the Waevern are the ones taking those pregnant women.”

  Vincent cleared his throat, “We know this how?”

  Ava’s lips thinned, “I don’t feel I can share that information just now, but I am setting a plan in motion to get them back. I wanted to let you all know.”