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

by Christina Mobley

  They just stared at her like wild animals that had been caged for far too long. The overwhelmingly raw emotions associated with Spirit filled her. Her eyes lit, she needed time, time she no longer had. Only by restoring their Spirit element could she set them free from the evil that imprisoned them.

  Ava was now completely surrounded by Waevern soldiers. Caslan and Bianca walked towards her. Caslan’s face was bandaged and bruised. He smiled and the children moved. A flicker of hope for them danced through her, then she watched them join the ranks of Waevern soldiers. They completely encircled her, trapping her in their midst. Ava stared at Bianca. The temperature in the room dropped and icy air encased them. Ava grabbed Bianca by the arm and pulled her close. Bianca screamed and, as Ava’s grip tightened, she began to shake. Her teeth clashed together violently and her skin turned black with frostbite where Ava held her. Caslan tried to grab Ava, but jerked back when he realized what was happening to Bianca.

  Moving quickly, Caslan grabbed her shoulder, and jammed a long needle into her arm. The syringe froze and shattered before he could inject all of its contents. His hands curled into fists and his fingertips blackened. Ava pulled the needle from her arm and threw it across the room as her sight blurred. The children moved to the front of the tight circle and started chanting. Ava could do no more, she wouldn’t hurt the children. She tried to speak, but she didn’t know what she was saying. Her words sounded distorted and odd. She couldn’t make out what they were saying either. Dark shadows danced around her as twisted magic pulled at her from every direction. She raised her arms but they were numb and fell limply back to her sides. She was so dizzy, so heavy. Then there was nothing.

  …Brea…

  Brea was anxious as she rode the elevator up. She couldn’t believe how stupid she had been. “I should have known Caslan and Macy were working together and I should have told Ava about everything sooner,” she thought. It was her fault that they had been able to take Emberlee. Just as it would be her fault if Ava died today. Her last moments could be happening right now. Brea’s body shook. She held her best friends heart and soul in her arms and knew that she might never see Ava again. She had been a fool; almost everyone she had trusted had betrayed her. She pressed the only button on the wall over and over again feeling as though she would explode before escaping.

  The elevator stopped and Brea tensed as the door started to slide open. Shawn bolted out as soon as there was enough space and shouted for Brea to get to the car as he fought the guards so she could get through. She ran as fast as she could, barely avoiding getting punched. She reached the car and got in as quickly as she could without hurting Emberlee, thankful that the door was already open. Slamming it shut, she locked the door. She looked around to see Shawn running full speed towards the car.

  “They’re coming, Shawn,” Brea yelled. There were black trucks coming from all directions. She reached over and turned the key in the ignition, hoping that would give them a little head start.

  Shawn jumped into the driver’s seat and floored it. He was driving hard; so fast that Brea felt like she would throw up. The other three Clutch Guards that had come with them pulled alongside and behind them. The trucks gained on them rapidly and it looked as if they were in the middle of a demolition derby. The Clutch Guards were relentless, using their cars as weapons with no care for their own safety, their only job to protect Emberlee.

  A few minutes later Shawn reached over and lightly touched Brea’s shoulder. He glanced at the rear view mirror, “More will come, but we should be well ahead by the time they do.” He looked at her, “I’ll take you to Alec’s fathers place. That’s the safest place I know.”

  “What about Ava? We can’t just leave her there.” Emberlee cried louder. Brea wished she could join her as she rocked her in an effort to calm her cries.

  “We can’t help her. Let me call Alec and Thomas so they can come for her.” He picked up the phone and dialed, “Alec? It’s Shawn.”

  “Shawn? Where is she? Where’s Ava?” Brea could hear Alec shouting into the phone.

  “The Waevern have her, Alec. Where are you?”

  “Just outside of Serinta. Thomas is with me and everyone that is left is behind us. He told me everything. I know that Ava is planning to sacrifice herself.”

  “She went in there and fought to get Emberlee out. She hasn’t come back out, Alec.”

  Where’s Emberlee now?” Alec demanded.

  “We have her,” Shawn reassured him.

  “Good. Get her to my father’s place as fast as you can.”

  “We’re on our way there now,” Shawn reported.

  “Shawn?” Brea whispered a little while later. “Do you think that, Ava…?” She swallowed, unable to ask what he thought might be happening to her. She looked at him, “You don’t think she would really let them sacrifice her, do you?”

  He frowned. “I don’t know, Brea.”

  “Shawn? Did your brother really let the Waevern sacrifice him like everyone says?”

  He looked at her, the color draining from his face, “I took the Waevern Army oath when I was only twelve years old. My first assignment was to join the Clutch Guard. I was a spy. When Scott found out that I was joining the Clutch Guard he wanted to join too. He had no idea what I was really doing. He knew I had been doing bad things. I think when he found out I was planning to join the Clutch it gave him hope. “ Shawn sighed, “For over three years I didn’t hear anything from them. Scott and I had made the cut. I had become good friends with Alec. I looked at my time with the Waevern as a mistake. I really thought it was over. Then one of them came to me. Scott and I had gone home for Thanksgiving and a guy showed up at our house. I knew he was one of them as soon as I saw him. He gave me my second order.”

  “What was it?” Brea asked.

  “He wanted me to bring him a plant; a plant that only grows on Element Island. As far as I knew it wasn’t anything special. I didn’t want to do it, but I thought that maybe if I did it they would go away again. Then, over the years they would ask for small things. Seemingly unimportant things. I hated lying to everyone. I didn’t want them to find out. In my mind, I wasn’t a Waevern soldier and spy, I was a Clutch Guard. I was only twelve years old when I decided to join the Waevern. I was young and stupid.”

  “Why didn’t you just stop helping them?”

  “I couldn’t; I knew what they would do. They would kill my family. I’d seen them do it to others. I was trapped. They wanted me to steal a book from Lareina. Looking back now, it wasn’t even about the book. That was just a test. A test that I failed.”

  “I went to Waevern headquarters and I told them that I wanted out; that I wasn’t a Waevern Soldier. I told them I was Clutch Guard. At the time I thought that was it. It was over. Then Scott found out somehow. He found out about everything. I don’t know who told him. He was so angry. The night before he died we got into a huge fight. Scott asked what they wanted and I told him. He was worried they would kill our parents, our little sister, if I didn’t do it.”

  “You have a little sister?”

  Shawn nodded. “Scott stole the book instead. He took it to them. He was trying to clean up my mess. He didn’t realize he was walking into a trap. Lareina was working with the Waevern. The book was a test for me. That’s when they sacrificed him. When I found out Scott had died, I knew why. I think he did agree to do it. I think they told him it would free me or something.” He glanced at her, “Then Bianca came to the island. I knew who she was. At that time I realized two things, one the book was a test. My brother died for a test of my loyalty. They had given the book to Lareina to read. And two, I was a Waevern Soldier and there was nothing I could do about it. It didn’t really matter, because at that time there was no good and bad side. I never imagined that Ava would beat Lareina, or that she would bring good back. I was trying to survive. “ He shook visibly, “I couldn’t even tell Alec that I caused Scott’s death. After Ava came, I met you. That’s when everything changed. Scott was
dead, things were changing for the better and I knew I had to find some way to break free of them. I talked my family into moving. I made them promise not to tell me where they were going. With barely any questions, they did what I said. Disappeared. I took the book back and buried it in the ocean. I told them I was done. I tried to warn Alec about Bianca, but she threatened to tell him who I really was. A few months later, I received some pictures in the mail. It was my family in their new house. I…”

  “You had to keep helping them.”

  He nodded.

  “What kind of book was it?”

  He looked over at her, “Ann Marie’s diary.”

  Brea gasped. “You put it in the shipwreck?”

  “Yeah. I had to. I didn’t want The Waevern to get their hands on it. I knew there had to be a reason they wanted it and wanted me to bring it to them.”

  “And then it was found in the ship.”

  “Yeah.” His shoulders slumped. “You don’t know how hard it was to hand it over to Ava when we took it from that Museum. I knew they would want it back. When we got back I would have to hand it over to her again. That’s when Vincent came to me. He told me I needed to take a leave. He said Vern Waevern wanted to meet with me.”

  “I met Vern Waevern a week later. He was dying. I was told that day that Caslan was now the leader of the Waevern. He said I had to find a way to get the diary from Ava and he wanted me to find the rings. I tried to refuse again. That’s when Caslan showed me pictures of you with Macy at school. There were hundreds of them. Bianca told them that I was in love with you. That’s when they started using you to keep me in line. Then when Ava had her accident, and Bianca got the diary, she gave it to me. She told me that I needed to take it to Lareina and also about the plan to free her.”

  “Why were you with her then, Bianca?”

  “Caslan came to me and told me to break it off with you. He said he would kill you if I didn’t. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to convince you that my feelings had changed right out of the blue, so I came up with the idea of using Bianca. I thought that if you saw me with her you would stay away from me and be safe. At least that was what I thought would happen anyway. Then I saw you with him.” He looked at her. Tears filled his blue eyes, “I knew I had just pushed you into his trap. I knew it was over. I knew they had you and I had helped them.”

  “My brilliant plan actually ended up being their brilliant plan. You probably wouldn’t have given Caslan the time of day if you hadn’t thought that I was with Bianca. Once he found out what I was doing, he moved right in. He needed you to bring him to the island. I had no idea. Then, when he arrived, Bianca told me that I had to take the diary from Ava or they would expose me. Caslan wanted me and Bianca to find the rings. It didn’t take long after that to figure out what they were really planning with the diary and the rings.”

  “What?”

  “Ann Marie wrote about a spell that Demeter Waevern used to take the magic from her brothers and sisters. They were going to use it to take Ava’s power and split it between their circle.”

  “They don’t have the diary though, right?”

  “I’m sure they took it when they took Emberlee.”

  “Oh, God.” Brea murmured.

  “Listen to me, Brea. I never meant to hurt you or anyone else. I love you so damn much. I didn’t want you involved in all of this. You deserve someone good and I wish I had been strong enough to stay away from you. None of this would have happened if I would have stayed away from you.” He pulled the car over and reached out and squeezed her hand. His blue eyes were sad, “I’m sorry, Brea.”

  That small touch. His hand, his confession. She felt like she would fall apart right there. He had sacrificed everything for her and his family and never said a word. She stared at those tortured eyes she had come to love and saw the deep pain in his guarded face. Seeing his pain brought tears to her own eyes and she finally knew why Shawn hid his pain from everyone. “Shawn.” She felt her breath catch and took a deep breath as she prepared to put her heart on the line one last time, “ I love you.”

  He leaned towards her. His eyes intense and bluer than she had ever seen them. He pushed her hair over her shoulder and his hand shook as he cupped her chin in his hand. They stared at each other, breathing heavily. Heat, pain, and love radiating between them. When he kissed her he pulled her to him with such passion that she felt as if her body had burst into flames.

  …Ava…

  She knew she was dreaming and she knew exactly where she was. The lost city. Water dripped from the old monuments and a cold breeze blew. Ava looked around, searching, and then she saw her. The woman she had dreamed about before. Her onyx hair fell to the middle of her back and the gold on her wrist created strangely haunting music as she moved. The voice that came from the woman was powerful and loud, “You need to know the truth, Ava Vangeretta.”

  “Who are you?” Ava trembled as she walked towards her.

  “I’m Demeter Waevern, also known as the goddess of grain and earth. Mother of Persephone.

  “Like in Greek Mythology?”

  “Exactly like Greek Mythology. Not a myth, but rather the roots of what you know as history. The history of those born of the element. Think about it. It’s simple. Stories of gifted people with powers of the sea, earth, and fire. Manipulators of the elements. Human history is scarred with the truth of those born of the Element.”

  Ava gasped, remembering everything she knew about Greek mythology and all that she had been reading in Ann Marie’s diary about the lost city “You were the one,” Ava stared at her. “You’re the first witch. The creator of dark magic. I read all about it in Ann Marie’s diary. You took power from your brothers and sisters, you killed them.”

  “It was the only way. I made a deal with Hades. He gave me the power of dark magic, and I gave him my oldest daughter. Follow me and I’ll show you.

  Ava only hesitated for a moment before she followed her. They made their way through the ruins, stepping over crumbled stone and broken statues. Gold was strewn around as if it had no value at all. The wet sand beneath their bare feet was cold. They walked towards the old castle and through a dark entrance. Cold blue fire danced along the walls. The flames licking the old stone and the sea sand covered bottom.

  Demeter removed a bottle-shaped ruby from her necklace and Ava watched as she poured something into a circle etched in the floor. A strange green cloud rose from the circle and then a loud grinding noise shook the floor beneath them. The stones moved like puzzle pieces and a stair case opened before them.

  Demeter walked down the stairs, the wind blowing around her from the depths that hid in the dark staircase. The wind carried a distinctive smell. Evil.

  Having no other choice, Ava descended also.

  The stairs seemed to go on forever. Ava knew this was bad, but she needed to know what it was that Demeter had to tell her. When they reached the bottom a large room opened before them. A large fire burned in the middle of the room. The blue flames raged with power.

  Demeter walked past the strange fire and stopped in front of a tall shelf that held potion bottles and scrolls. She pulled out a scroll that was stained with something red, Ava hoped it wasn’t blood. The scroll was fragile and looked as if it might fall apart in her hands.

  Ava watched as she unwound the scroll. She grabbed several different bottles and a handful of crushed herbs and mixed them all together in a large iron pot. When she was finished, she poured the mixture onto the stone floor. Just like before, she poured the mixture into a circle, but, unlike before, she connected five points inside the circle. At each point she kneeled and used her flame element to light a candle. Each candle represented the color of an element.

  “What are you doing?”

  Demeter didn’t answer her. It was like she had forgotten Ava’s presence. She pulled a ring from each finger and placed one above the flame of each candle. They floated there as she began to speak, “From my circle of magic each element I take. Fro
m their blood gain power.” She stepped into the circle, tossed her head back, and screamed at the top of her lungs.

  Ava wanted to run but her feet wouldn’t cooperate. She was stuck in place, powerless in the strange dream world.

  Ava was taken somewhere else. Not to a different place, but to a different time. The same castle they had just passed through was dry and bright. Colorful cloths blew from the windows. Servants carried plates filled with food. Beautiful things adorned every room. Ava could hear distant voices as she walked through the castle. She walked through a doorway and saw a large table covered with food. Five figures sat around it. Demeter was one of them. All five were flawlessly beautiful and wore crowns on their heads. Not one of them touched the bounty of food on the table. Each of their eyes were the color of an element. Demeter’s eyes were green with earth, a beautiful man with dark hair had eyes as blue as the ocean, a woman with crimson hair the same shade as Ava’s had amber colored eyes like Emberlee’s. She wore robes of flame. Next to her a large man with eyes like the wind, almost void of color and swimming with emotion, ran his finger around a bronze cup. They stared silently at each other not seeming to notice Ava’s presence at all.

  A young girl with a dark and dingy rag-like dress on brushed past Ava and walked to the table. Her big brown eyes were red from crying. She walked to the end of the table and dropped to her knees.

  “Rise, Child,” the woman that looked eerily like Ava commanded.

  The young girl got to her feet. “I’ve come to beg your help. My family is starving and the war has left no food to beg for. All of the fields have grown dry and died.”

  “What do you have to offer?”