“I got turned around.” She searched the crowd for Shawn again. “I want to leave, Caslan.”
“Why?” Caslan pulled her close. “Where are we going?”
“Home. I’m tired. I don’t feel right being here. I want to go home.” Brea swallowed hard.
“What is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He stepped closer, “Don’t you trust me?”
Brea froze under his dark stare, then nodded. She felt his grip on her hand tighten. “I feel sick. Maybe it was that drink or maybe it’s the smoke. Whatever it is, I want to go home. Now.”
A hard line formed between his eyes. His lips thinned. “I want to show you something first,” he said as he pulled her through the crowd.
People seemed to automatically slide out of his way. He pulled her back through the door that she had just come through with Shawn. He hurried down the hall and up the stairs. He stopped at the end of the hall, “Look.”
Brea was starting to shake. She’d been down one too many rabbit holes tonight. She took a deep breath and once again looked down on a now familiar scene.
Bianca was still there. Brea had to strain to hear her. “You don’t know Alec. He won’t leave that island right now. Not with Ava pregnant and losing control.”
“He can do it.” One of the men said, looking toward someone she couldn’t see.
Shawn stepped into the light, “Even if you do manage to get him to leave, he won’t leave the island unprotected.”
Bianca moved to his side. “Alec trusts Shawn. He can get him to leave and get Alec to leave him behind to protect the island.”
Brea gasped.
Caslan pulled her back and spun her into his arms. His grip was tight.
Shocked, but smart enough to know she had to protect herself, Brea asked, “What are they doing here?”
“What do you think?” He leaned forward, “I saw you with him, saw him watching us, and I knew you had to see this. Brea, I can’t help you if you don’t trust me. I can’t help you if you are still hung up on him. I’m taking a major risk for you. Have I kept anything from you? Haven’t I told you secrets that could get me killed? You can’t trust him, Brea. Did you tell him anything about me? Does he know I’m helping you?”
“No,” she lied.
Caslan backed away from her. “Can I trust you, Brea?”
“You can. I didn’t tell him anything,” Brea said shakily.
“Good. Let’s go,” he said and walked back toward the staircase. “We have to go to Ava. You have to warn her.”
“Yes. I need to warn her,” Brea said as she followed him. She no longer knew who to trust. She had trusted Shawn but why was he here, helping them? Brea’s mind spun.
…Ava…
She couldn’t sleep. She turned over and watched Alec sleeping next to her for a little while before slipping quietly out of bed and pulling the diary out of her bag. She walked quietly across the floor and stepped outside. She sat in an old rocking chair on the porch of the same cabin that she and Aunt Avalene had stayed in when they’d visited. The moon was bright tonight. She stared at the hovering fog that danced over the dew covered ground. She moved her hand back and forth, watching as the fog danced in the firelight coming from the statue by the river. Memories flooded her mind and caused her to smile.
Something moved by the bench. Someone was standing there. She turned and the moonlight lit her face. Nisca? “What’s she doing up this late?”
Ava walked over to her, “Nisca?”
“Ava?”
“What are you doing up?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Nisca said as she looked at the fog-draped river, “I had a dream,” she looked back towards Ava, “about the rings. I dreamed of a woman burying one here.”
“Where? By the statue?”
“No.” She walked to the edge of the river bank, “Down there.” She pointed into the river.
Ava stared down at the water’s edge just as she had the day that Alec first brought her here. The memories flashed through her mind once again and she was surprised to realize how much time had passed since then.
“Are you going to try to find it?” Nisca asked.
“How?”
Nisca tilted her head. “You can move the water. If it’s there, you should be able to feel its power.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t gotten my control over water back yet.”
“Just try. You have the knowledge inside you, Ava. You just have to tap into it. It’s just like when you first accepted your power. It’s there. You just have to find it.” She turned back to the water. “Close your eyes and find it.”
Ava closed her eyes and listened to the flowing water. She imagined the ring in her mind. She imagined the water moving over it. She imagined it’s power and then, as if it was completely natural, she saw it.
“Ava?”
She slowly opened her eyes.
The water had moved back and exposed the sandy bottom. The current moved around the circle as if it was the most natural thing in the world. The exposed sand appeared to be dry.
Nisca climbed down the bank and looked up at her.
“Nisca don’t, I don’t know if I can hold it.”
“I trust you, Ava.” She started digging in the sand.
Ava felt sweat bead on her forehead as she held her hands out in front of her. Her hands shook and she felt as though she held the water back physically. Her hands were cold and she felt the pressure of the water prickling on her palms.
“Hurry, Nisca.”
“I found it!” Astonished, Nisca looked at the ring she held gripped in her fingers.
“You did!” Ava smiled and lost her grip on the water.
The water collapsed over Nisca and swallowed her.
Ava screamed and turned, preparing to move down the bank backwards. She had to be careful. She was getting bigger every day and the bank was steep.
“I’m okay.” She heard Nisca say behind her.
Ava turned.
“I got it.” She said as she walked out of the water.
“I’m so sorry, Nisca!” Ava exclaimed.
“No, it’s okay.” She wiped her face and climbed up the bank. “I’m fine. Here.”
Ava took the ring. “Thank you, Nisca.”
“You’re welcome. Now, let’s get you out of here.”
…Brea…
They drove through the night. Brea felt like she couldn’t breathe. How in the world could she have been so fooled? Bianca still a part of the Waevern? How did no one know? Why was Shawn really there? She felt like she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think.
She looked over at Caslan. His face looked pale and his dark eyes distant. He was scarily quiet.
“I didn’t tell him anything,” she said, breaking the silence between them.
“You realize they will kill me if they know I’m helping you.” He glanced at her, “How long has Bianca been a Clutch Guard?”
“Bianca?”
“Yeah, Bianca,” he said, not taking his eyes from the road. “She was meeting with some of the higher-ups.”
“Why?” Brea wanted to know.
“I don’t know.”
“You know her, too?” she asked.
“Yes. I know her.”
Brea processed this new information. She still couldn’t figure out why Shawn was there and now Caslan was saying that he knew Bianca. She didn’t know who to believe, who to trust. She had to get to the bottom of this.
“How do you know Bianca, Caslan?”
“Before I tell you that, tell me how she came to live at the island,” he said.
“She was captured from a Waevern gathering. You knew her then?” Brea asked quietly.
“Yeah,” he responded just as quietly.
“How exactly?”
“Do you remember me telling you that I had a sister that left after she found out about all of us being stolen?”
“Yeah,” Brea’s heart jumped to her throat.
He slowed the truck, “Bianca is my sister. She’s who I’ve been looking for. She’s been there all this time.” He shook his head. “They knew where she was. There’s something else you need to know, Brea. He’s not really a Clutch Guard. He’s a Waevern Soldier.”
“Who?” Brea asked, not wanting to hear the answer.
“Shawn. Stay away from him, Brea. He’s dangerous and not who you think he is.”
Brea couldn’t move as those words left his lips. She fixed her eyes on the road ahead trying to blink away the tears that filled her eyes.
Caslan continued. “I trained with him. Vern put a bunch of the kids in as Greens. He was one of the only ones that made it and became a Clutch Guard. Just after I got here, the day after I agreed to pretend to be your boyfriend, I heard Vern on the phone with him. He said, ‘You haven’t gotten anywhere. You’ve wasted enough time trying. Plan B. Make it hurt.’”
“Plan B?” she repeated softly.
He looked at her. “I don’t know what Plan B is.”
A picture of Shawn and Bianca twirling on the dance floor flashed through her mind. She felt her lashes fall and warm tears flow down her cheeks. “I do. Plan B, was Bianca.”
“Oh.” Caslan looked over at her. “So he was trying to get close to you. Just like Macy. He must have not gotten as close to you as Vern would like. That’s why he wanted me to do it. He thought if you were, you know, hurt, you would be more likely to date me. That makes sense, I guess.” He looked away.
“Why does everyone want to get close to me?” Brea whispered, stricken.
“You’re Ava’s best friend, Brea.” Caslan said flatly.
“Oh.” Brea looked down. Every moment she had spent with Shawn flashed through her mind, pulling her apart. “Was it all a lie?” She tried to hold on to what Shawn had said back at the gathering. Was he really what Caslan said? He was Alec’s best friend. He was so loyal to Ava. How could he betray them? Her eyes stung with a fresh set of tears. She bit her lip so hard she thought she would split it. She wouldn’t cry because of him. Not anymore.
…Ava…
Ava thumbed the ring in her pocket as they drove down the road. The weather was dark and threatening but even that couldn’t dampen her good mood. She stared up at the sky and tried to make it go away. She could feel the magic come in little spurts. It was the most frustrating thing in the world. She needed to find a way to get her connection back. She stared at the tall trees that hung over the dirt road. So many memories filtered through her mind. She smiled over at Alec.
He smiled back, “Why are we going to Aunt Avalene’s if she’s at the island?”
“We’re meeting someone somewhere else first.”
“Who?”
“Nisca’s mom.”
“She lives just across the Georgia line,” Ava smiled
“What are you girls up to,” Alec said teasingly.
“Nothing.” Ava answered. “Nisca just wants to see her mom.”
“Okay.” Alec said staring at her. “Where does she live?”
“About forty minutes up the road. Right there in Folkston.”
…Brea…
“What about his brother, Scott. Was he a Waevern Soldier too?” Brea asked Caslan.
“I didn’t know him. Oh, wait. I saw him once. Right before I left home.” He paused. “They were twins, right?”
“Yeah.”
“No. He wasn’t a soldier. He found out about Shawn’s ties to the Waevern, I think. They sacrificed him for Shawn’s power, along with the other three in his circle.”
Brea couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was too much. “Bianca is really your sister? She’s part of your circle? Why in the world did she stay on the island? I don’t understand any of this.”
“Probably for the same reason that Macy became your roommate, the same reason that Shawn tried so hard to get close to you, and the same reason that my father asked me to form a relationship with you.”
Brea felt sick, “So that she could be the one to take over.” Brea paused, “Wait, though. That means all of this time she’s been bringing back information. Between the two of them, your father probably knows everything.”
“Or they’re planning to bring something better.”
“Like what?” Brea froze as the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. “Ava’s baby.”
“Yeah. The next True Elementris.”
“Why would you say that Ava’s baby is the next True Elementris?” Brea asked him as she thought about the last conversation she’d had with Ava.
“The Diary. Ann Marie Havoc's diary. When Blake delivered it to my father, he read it. Every bit of it. It said that the old scripts said this would be the year the next True Elementris would be born.”
Brea nodded as her whole body went numb.
“Well, Ann Marie’s diary said a True Elementris would be born and that there would be a shift in power. Light vs. Dark. My father thinks Ava will give birth to the next True Elementris.”
“You knew all of this?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know that Bianca was a Clutch Guard. I had no idea. Tonight was the first time I’ve seen or talked to her since the night she left.”
“Pull over,” Brea demanded.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I think I’m going to be sick.
“I can’t pull over.”
“Why not.” She followed his stare in the rear view mirror. She turned around and saw a black SUV zoom up behind them. Two more appeared on either side of them and she turned back to see one in front of them, too.
…Ava…
Nisca’s mother lived in a small trailer in the middle of the woods. All kinds of wind chimes hung in the trees around her house. An old rusted blue truck sat parked out front.
Alec held the door as Nisca and Ava went inside. He shut it softly behind them.
“Mom?” Nisca said.
“Who’s there?”
“Nisca, Mom. It’s me.”
“Oh, come in here, Honey.”
They walked through the living room and stepped around a stack of boxes on the floor by the kitchen counter. “Did your mom just move in here?” Ava asked.
“She moves a lot.”
“Oh.”
“Hey there, Honey.” She looked startled as she spotted Ava. She rose from the old wooden chair she sat in, “Your Majesty.”
“Oh. You don’t’ need to…, please, sit,” Ava protested.
“I don’t know what to say.” Minya said, sitting slowly. “What’s going on? Why are you here?”
“Mom, Ava has some questions for you.”
“Questions?” She looked at Nisca, then back to Ava “What kind of questions?”
“Questions about the five rings and the history of those born of the element; questions about Ann Marie.”
Alec glanced at Ava across the room. Ava knew he was sick of the diary and all that Ava was finding in it. He shook his head.
“Oh.” Minya nodded slowly, “What is it that you want to know?”
“Ava discovered some strange things in Ann Marie’s diary.”
“Nisca told me you found it,” Minya addressed Ava.
“Ann Marie wrote about there being five rings and a dream that she had about a city beneath the island. Atlantis maybe.”
“It says all of that?”
“Yes.”
Minya took a long sip of her coffee and stared at them.
“I’ve been having the same dreams, Mom,” Nisca said quietly.
“You have?” Minya looked concerned.
“Yes. Do you know anything about it? The diary mentions scrolls, too.”
“Scrolls.” Minya closed her eyes and then re-opened them. She sighed, “I thought we had gotten rid of those for good. We were sworn to secrecy.”
“Sworn to secrecy by whom?” Ava asked.
“By Nadia. Your grandmother.” She shook her head, “I swore I wo
uld never talk about all of that, but I truly believe when someone finds out about certain things they are meant to know. I never agreed with keeping secrets.” She looked up at Ava. “Don’t get me wrong. I loved Nadia like a sister, she was my best friend, but I did not think we should hide things.”
“What happened?”
“We found the scrolls in a secret room in the castle. It was me that found them. I kept seeing them. I took them to Nadia and she took them to the council. The information in the scrolls changed everything we believed. It was a totally different history. We always believed the story of the first five women who gave birth on the island. No one had thought to look beyond that. No one thought to question why they were there and if there had been anyone before them. Not until those scrolls were found.”
She paused for a moment, then continued, “The scrolls told of strange and fantastical things. They told of a great city, bigger than the island by miles and miles. It told of not one True Elementris born with power, but five rulers, all True Elementris’. There were others born with elemental magic, but the power of these five was complete. They were like gods. They ruled the greatest city on earth from five chairs. Each of them wore gold vine rings, charmed with their element. It said that they traded spells and magic for gold and land. They were the rulers of earth magic. Born royalty. Every kingdom that tried to take what they had, fell. The only defeat the five rulers ever suffered came at the hands of their own flesh and blood.
Ava leaned forward, listening carefully.
“One sister, Goddess of Seed and Earth, wanted more. She schemed to capture the other four. They say that when she took their power for her own, it killed them. The scrolls said that the magic she used ripped their magic from them.”
“How?” Nisca asked.
“She made a deal Hades. They say he taught her herb mixing and black magic. She used it to kill the others.”
“What kind of deal did she make?” Alec asked.
“She traded her own daughter for marriage to Hades . She thought that once she had the power of the other four, she would never have to keep that bargain but, on her eighteenth birthday, her daughter plucked a flower and fell into the earth. Her mother was never the same, she went crazy.” She dropped her shoulders and sighed, “After that, there was no group of True Elementris, there was one True Elementris with the power of all five elements.”
Elementris, Exposure, Eruption Box set: The Vangeretta Curse Series Page 74