by Regan Claire
That’s right.
I was pulling water from the showerhead… Into. My. Hands.
Completely freaked out by what was happening, I quickly turned off the water and wrapped a towel around my body. I stood in front of the mirror and watched as my hair dried. Well, I was hyperventilating a little bit, and convinced I was going bat-shit crazy, so I wasn’t really standing in front of the mirror so much as leaning against the sink that happened to be in front of the mirror.
This couldn’t be happening, not for real. But there was no explanation other than me losing my mind. I figured it was a 50/50 shot and the only way to be sure would be to wait and see… and perhaps ask Luke again, if this was even part of the secrets that he had been talking about. Bringing it up to Cash might be simpler, because if it had turned out I was crazy I doubted that Cash would have me committed.
With that plan firmly in place, I got control over my emotions and went to bed. I skipped the journal-reading that night, for the first time since I’d gotten it; Llewellyn had put enough stuff on my mind for now.
CHAPTER NINE
August 23rd, 1968
Dear Journal,
Anise’s lessons continue to go well, though her mind still wanders from time to time. I’ve been spending more and more time Reading, and I’m very worried about what I’ve been learning. The elements are always vague, but it seems that there is something, or someone, on the horizon of incredible importance. I’ve yet to discover if this person is a protector, or destroyer, but I do know that they are of my family. Of my line. I also know that the Elfennol will be involved, and that worries me to no end. One glimmer of hope is a small whisper on the wind that we will have an ally who will be, or is, a member of a local Tribe. I know a medicine-man who has a child Anise’s age that I can talk to about these suspicions. He works a different magic than I, and might know something that I do not.
A few weeks later I still hadn’t had the opportunity, or the courage, to bring up the little trick I had discovered in the shower. I hadn’t forgotten about it; in fact, I had been practicing.
I’d discovered that I could do the same thing with pretty much everything; get the tingly sensation and absorb the… whatever it was. Sunlight, trees, the ocean, sand… even, as Llewellyn had done, the wind. Though I wasn’t always certain when I was successful since there wasn’t something physical going on, like me drying instantly when I did it with the water. I’d also been too afraid to try anything else that Llewellyn described in her journals. I’m not sure whether I was afraid that nothing would happen if I tried, or that something would happen.
I walked into my house, amazed at its transformation. There was still a lot of work to be done, but all the big things had been completed. All the really expensive things too and my bank account was greatly depleted. I had gotten a late start since Luke had needed me at the shop and was surprised to find that the front room had already been painted. Following the voices into the kitchen I discovered the reason for the work, or rather the workers of the work.
“What are you guys doing?” I asked.
Dove was head first into my brand new refrigerator that I had gotten on clearance because of the big dent on the side, and Cash was sitting on the countertop eating some of the string cheese I had bought for snacks while I worked.
“Just grabbing a snack and a drink, give our backs a rest before starting on the next room,” Dove said through the corner of his mouth, his own stick of cheese sticking out like a cigar as he stood up from the fridge with a bottle of Gaterade in each hand.
“Ok, but why?”
“I think what she’s trying to say, Dove, is thank you. Isn’t that right Della?” Cash said, catching the drink that Dove had just tossed his way.
“Fine, thank you guys. You didn’t have to, but thank you.” We all just stood there for a moment, well Cash was actually sitting, not really saying anything. They had already helped so much and I was uncomfortable with the amount of gratitude I felt.
“Why are you guys helping me so much? Isn’t there something else you’d rather be doing on your days off?”
Dove was working in his uncle’s custom surfboard shop, and Uncle Connor insisted that Cash help him out at his car dealership. Desipite their jobs, they had both been there all the time, and had truthfully done more work than I had, since they each worked twice as fast as me. They’d been the ones who put the insulation back in and put the drywall up. They’d taken control of redoing the stairs, after laughing at my poor attempt at it, and refitted the new window shutters.
“Not really,” said Cash, though I knew he was lying.
Dove, who was standing next to me, bumped his shoulder against mine and knocked me off center before responding. “We’re friends, that’s what friends do.”
I turned my head and looked at him for a moment. He unblinkingly met my eyes, daring me to question him.
“Oh.” It was really all I could say. Not because I was speechless or anything. I mean, he was pretty, but I’d gotten mostly used to his looks this past month. I just hadn’t thought of him as anything more than my cousin’s friend. All three of us had been spending tons of time together, but I still sorta considered myself Cash’s tagalong. It hadn’t occurred to me that Dove might be my friend too.
The tune of “It’s Raining Men” suddenly broke out in the kitchen. Dove and I started looking around in bewilderment until Dove reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out. He shot a very evil look at Cash and it was only then that I noticed my cousin’s shoulders were shaking in silent laughter. It might have been a childish prank, but it was a hilarious childish prank and I laughed so hard I got stitches in my sides. That set Cash’s silent laughter to the not-so-silent kind, and before we knew it Dove was glaring daggers at both of us. He left the room to talk on the phone and that made us laugh all the harder.
“Are you guys done yet?” Dove said as he popped his head back in the kitchen.
“Maybe,” I said, wiping the corners of my eyes.
“No,” Cash said at the same time.
“Seriously, Cash, you need to give me the password to change the ringtone. This is way worse then “I Feel Pretty”,” Dove said grumpily.
“Wait, you mean you can’t change your own ringtone?” I asked.
“Not since your wonderful cousin here changed the password.” Hearing Dove say that just set me off again.
“Yeah, laugh it up now, doll-face. He’ll do the same to you if you ever give him the chance.”
Tears were streaming down my cheeks, and I knew it wasn’t that funny. I really did. But I just couldn’t stop myself. Every time I’d slow down a bit, something else just seemed to set me off, like the look on Dove’s face, or the sound of Cash giggling next to me.
“Okay children. As much fun as this has been, I’ve got to head back now.” Well, that was sobering.
“Jeez, don’t be such a baby,” Cash said.
“No, that was my uncle. He needs me in the workshop. I guess Jason called out or something,” Dove explained.
“Ah, that sucks. Well, catch you later,” Cash said with a string of cheese hanging out of his mouth.
“Sure thing. See ya.”
“Wait, Dove.” I grabbed him by his forearm as he was walking by, causing him to stop and stare at my eyes. “Thanks, you know, for all you’ve done.”
He just looked at me for a moment, the sun shining through the window and hitting his eyes, making the copper in them stand out. Remember when I said I was mostly used to his prettiness? This wasn’t one of those times, and I was really glad it wasn’t my turn to speak.
“Anytime, Della.” Was his voice deeper than usual when he said my name? Holy Libido, Batman. He stood there another few seconds before I remembered to let go of his arm. Being friends with a hunk-ahunk of burning eye candy was going to be fun.
We got back to painting after he left, and worked until the sun went down too far to continue, which meant we skipped lunch, accidentally, but oh boy did Ca
sh act like a little baby when he was hungry.
His parents were going to pick us up and take us to dinner, and I wouldn’t let him wash the paint off his hands inside because I didn’t want to mess up the new sink. Yes, I know they make stuff that will clean it, but I was being stubborn. So, we’re outside just being snippy with each other, scrubbing our hands by the hose because we both knew Aunt Ellis wouldn’t let us in the car as covered in paint as we both were.
And well, Cash really brings out my maturity, you know?
Either way, he was annoying me, so I flicked water in his face. Which led to him flicking at me, which made me splash him, which had him retaliating by taking the hose and spraying me. Brat.
Well, I had been practicing my awesome drying power, and here I was, completely drenched and that meant Ellis certainly wasn’t going to let me in the car. So I dried myself. Like, instantly. With Cash watching. And I made eye contact with him the entire time, smirking at the look on his face.
“Hot damn, Della! That was awesome! Do it again.” He sprayed me again, this time more thoroughly. So I had no choice but to repeat my little trick.
“Don’t you dare spray me again. So, uh… this isn’t like, weird or something?”
“Not at all. I could Gather when I was still a kid. We’ve been pretty concerned about it. Dad didn’t want to come out and ask you, not until you mentioned it to us or something. He said you were probably used to keeping it a big secret and wouldn’t want to talk about it until you were more comfortable with us. Didn’t want to scare you off, but Dad was going to find a way to bring it up in the next few days. There’s some, uh, family stuff you have to do. How’d you learn to Gather so quickly? It takes me longer to dry off like that.”
So. Proof of sanity. Or proof that my entire family is just as crazy? Strangely, having some weird mystical power seemed more reasonable than an entire family having joint hallucinations.
“What exactly is ‘Gathering’? And how did you already know I could do it?” I was curious to know.
“What you were just doing. It’s what we call it when you gather power. And Della, you pretty much glow half the time. Dad said he’s never seen anything like it. You Gather all the time. What do you use all the power on?”
“Um…,” and I was lost again.
“You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?” he asked.
“No, not really. I kinda just figured out how to do this a few weeks ago. I wasn’t able to do it before I moved here and I was really careful not to Gather, or whatever, in front of you guys, since I seriously thought I was going crazy.”
“Really? Huh.” He looked at me with brows down in confusion.
“What?”
“That just doesn’t make any sense. How could you not have known? You’ve been doing it since you got here,” he told me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cash. I didn’t know, and I didn’t figure out how to do it until a few weeks ago. I don’t even know what I’m doing, just that I’m doing something.” Maybe I shouldn’t have ruled out family craziness so quickly.
“Don’t bite my head off! I wasn’t accusing you of lying, I just said it doesn’t make sense. You’re going to have to talk to my dad about it. If you just found out, then you need teaching. Hell, I’m still being taught. Probably going to meet the Elfennol in the next few months and dad wants to make sure I’m ready for it. But you don’t know what I’m talking about, so never mind.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dad will explain all that. Don’t worry about it till then.” Just then Ellis’s car pulled in the driveway to pick us up. “Good, Mom’s here. I’m starving.”
I was pretty hungry myself, but also insanely curious. I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of having lessons or whatever, but I really wanted to know what Connor could tell me. You can’t exactly ask a diary questions, and so far Llewelyn’s journal had been my only source of information.
CHAPTER TEN
September 8th, 1968
Dear Journal,
Been very busy getting Anise ready for the Elfennol, and think that she is ready to start working with a team. I’ve spoken with Henry Neale about his boys and whether they are ready. He told me some disturbing things about L, that he has been acting wild and disobedient. I see recklessness in his eyes, and with a war going on overseas I wonder if he will do something rash and enlist, as so many other boys have already done. I hurt for Anise because I fear this boy will break her young heart.
Cash and I had a brief argument over who would sit shotgun in the car, but my aunt took the decision away from us by insisting I sit up front with her since I was “a lady”. We talked all way there about shopping, and Ellis asked if I’d be interested in driving up to Virginia Beach to make a day of it with her since the island didn’t have whatever store she wanted to go to.
Uncle Connor met us at the restaurant, since he had to work late at the car dealership, and he already had a table for us when we walked in. He also had some appetizers waiting for us; he must’ve gotten there a little early.
“Did you get a lot of work done today, Della?” he asked, right when I was shoving a crab-dip-laden chip in my mouth. I held up one finger while I chewed, like some sort of conversation pause-button.
“Yes. We got all the painting done in the main part of the house, just need to do the bedrooms now, and the little stuff like the window trim. Cash and Dove surprised me and did the entire front room before I even got there.”
“How good of you, Cash! We ought to have Dover over one night for a crab pickin’.” Ellis was pretty much beaming in pride at her son.
“Great. So, what all needs to be done after you finish with the painting?” This was from Connor, who had taken a big interest in all of the goings on at the house.
“Just need to sand and wax the floors and bring the furniture back in, then I’m done with the inside. I need to re-stain the porch and new stairs, and I’d really like to rebuild the little dock that was in the back but that can wait.”
“I shouldn’t have let it rot out.” Regret laced Connor’s voice and he and Ellis exchanged a look-you know, one of the “weighted” kind.
“Della, we’ve been trying to get hold of Gabby’s remains for a while now. Right now it looks like they cremated her, and they disposed of her ashes already.” He coughed to clear his throat, probably so I wouldn’t catch the little hitch in it. “We still really want to have a service here for her, if that’s all right with you. We’d have it, oh say in about a month. What do you think?”
“Well, it’s up to you guys. It’s just, I didn’t really know her, you know? So, it’s really up to you.” Ellis looked a little teary at my words, but they were the truth. I knew that the guilt I was feeling at her grief was irrational.
“There’s something else that we really wanted to talk with you about, Della. Something about our family.”
“Sure,” I said, though I had an idea what he was about to bring up.
“Well, there are things, that is, abilities, that you may think you need to hide. What I mean is, our family has this…”
“You mean like the Gathering thing? Cash told me about it this afternoon.” I interrupted him before he could go on. He gave Cash a look that had him instantly on the defensive.
“Hey, it’s not like I just came out and said, ‘Look, our family has these mystical abilities, thought you should know’. She Gathered right in front of me, after she got a little wet. Dried herself instantly. It was awesome.”
“After you sprayed me with a hose, you mean.”
“Cash, you didn’t!” The pride that had lighted Ellis eyes just moments ago vanished.
“Hey, she splashed me first!” he said indignantly. Ellis may not have approved of his actions, but Connor was obviously holding back a few chuckles. “But dad, you’re still going to need to work with her. She says that’s all she can do, and that she just figured that much out a couple of weeks ago.”
; “Really? That’s very unusual.” His face echoed the confused look that Cash’s had when I told him that.
“Why is that so weird? Cash didn’t say, but he acted all weird about it too.”
“Because Gathering usually presents itself when you’re a child. See, Della, Gathering is really absorbing energy from the elements. So, as a child when a lot of what you do is instinctual, you may Gather when you’re throwing a temper tantrum, or skin your knee, or even in a footrace against your friends in school,” the look he gave Cash made it clear my cousin had done that. “It gives you a little kick of energy, and you can’t do anything without Gathering first. So, in Cash’s case, we knew something was happening if he started Gathering, and we’d go check on him to see what was wrong. If we didn’t, we’d end up with a small wind storm or something. It happened far more frequently than it should.” He gave Cash an affectionate look. “Cash is a bit emotional. Basically any time that your emotions are high you lose control of yourself, and your abilities might present themselves. The first thing we teach is control, and that starts really young because unpredictable things can happen if you don’t control yourself.”
I thought back to my own childhood, looking for those memories where I might have been using some sort of power. There were a few memories of hysterical crying, but the belt wouldn’t stop snapping until I stopped my tears. ‘I’ll give you a reason to cry’ had been a motto among several of my foster fathers, and mothers. It was better not to feel anything than to feel what was happening, better to shut it out. Even in the nicer homes the other kids would latch on to any weakness. They always thought I was weird and I had learned pretty early to control myself so I wouldn’t be an even bigger target for them. Had they sensed that I was different? Did I show some sort of power to them without even realizing?
The rest of the table was quiet, mostly because our food had just come and they were taking their first bites.