Under A Blood Moon (Elemental Enchanters)

by Carrigan Richards

  Ava loved how he cared about her. But he was right. If Xavier was meddling with something dangerous, she didn’t want to make it worse. She cared about Peter, too, which was why she wanted to help Seth. “Okay.”

  “Come on.”

  “Um, you should enter first. I don’t want Thomas thinking anything.”

  “Does he know we’re just friends?”

  “Yes. It’s easier this way. I don’t want him badgering me with questions, and I don’t feel like dealing with his temper.”

  “Of course.” He rolled his eyes, and then opened the door, leaving Ava outside.

  She hated hiding, but she knew how Thomas would react by her showing up late to lunch with Peter. Ava waited a few seconds outside but then heard footsteps behind. She twisted her head and saw Xavier and his gang walking closer. She quickly placed her hand on the door handle. Just then, a blinding flash burst in her head, and then nothing.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ACCEPTANCE

  Ava’s face stung as it pressed against something cold and hard, and her head throbbed intensely. She felt a dull ache in her jaw, but had no recollection of anything.

  “Ava, wake up.” She heard Peter’s voice. He sounded worried.

  She felt his fingers carefully sweep her hair aside, which sent shivers down her spine. Then, her head stopped throbbing. The dull ache in her jaw vanished. Ava felt no pain. It was as if it disappeared at his touch.

  “Ava?”

  She opened her eyes slowly and realized she was lying face down on the white concrete floor at school in an empty hallway.

  “Are you okay?” He helped her sit up. “What happened?” His worried expression changed to relief.

  She touched the right side of her head and winced at its tenderness. “I don’t know.”

  “Were you feeling lightheaded?”

  “No. Not at all.”

  “You don’t remember anything? I came into the lunchroom before you, but you never came in. And after a few minutes, you still weren’t there. I just walked out here and found you sprawled on the ground.” She felt him stiffen. “It was Xavier, wasn’t it? Did he hurt you?”

  “I-I don’t know.”

  “I knew he would.” He checked the back of her head. “You aren’t bleeding. But you have a knot now. I’d still get that checked out. You must have been hit pretty hard if you can’t remember—and since you totally blacked out. Do you hurt anywhere else?”

  “No,” she said. His touch stirred the butterflies in her stomach. “I don’t feel any pain.”

  “I’m sure it’ll start hurting soon. Come on, I’ll take you to the nurse.”

  The bell shrilly sounded, echoing in the hallway, followed by loud voices over voices and the shuffling of students exiting the lunchroom. Just as Peter helped Ava to her feet, Thomas pushed him aside, and grasped her.

  “What did you do to her?” Thomas demanded Peter while the rest of her friends circled around her.

  Ava pressed her hand against his chest. “Thomas, don’t.”

  “What? What is it, Babe?”

  “What happened?” Melissa asked.

  “I think Xavier knocked her out,” Peter said.

  “And I think we can handle it from here,” Thomas replied.

  Ava met Peter’s eyes and silently apologized.

  “Why would Xavier hit you?” Jeremy asked.

  “I can’t remember.”

  Thomas pulled her into an embrace. “I’ll take care of him. He won’t hurt you again.”

  He smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead. She loosened his grip slightly to tell Peter she’d talk to him later, but he had already walked away. The throbbing returned. Ava buried her head into Thomas’s chest to ease the pain, but it only got worse.

  “My head.” She winced.

  “Here.” Gillian reached in her purse and then dumped two pills in Ava’s hand. “Take these.”

  “Do you remember anything at all?” Melissa asked.

  “I sorta remember talking to Xavier. Trying to figure out what he was doing.”

  “You shouldn’t have been talking to him,” Gillian said. “Why can’t you just leave it alone? It doesn’t concern you. We don’t need you to go disappearing on us and suddenly wind up in his court, okay?”

  “Okay. But I saw him,” Ava said. “That day you fainted.” She looked up at Thomas. “He walked by at the same time. And then you couldn’t remember anything. Could he…could he be like us?”

  “Like us? How?” Melissa asked.

  “Wait, you fainted?” Lance raised his eyebrows.

  They all looked at Thomas.

  “It might have happened. I don’t remember.”

  Ava rolled her eyes and removed herself from his crushing grasp.

  Jeremy pushed his glasses up. “I don’t think he’s like us. I think he’s just some manipulative bully who persuaded Kristen and the rest to be his friends.”

  “I don’t understand why he’s doing this.” Ava shook her head. “I’m going home.”

  “I’ll take you.” Thomas took her hand.

  “No, it’s okay. I’ll just see you later.”

  He sighed. “Why won’t you let me help you?”

  “Not now. I’ll call you later.”

  Lance grabbed his shoulder. “Come on, man, we’ve got practice.”

  Ava walked toward the door as the bell rang and out to her car. Who was Xavier Holstone? Was he like them? Did he have powers, too? Had the same thing happened to Thomas, Andre, and her?

  Ava awoke to the sound of a car door closing. She raised her head to see the time. Five thirty. Sleep had erased her headache, for now at least. She yawned but then cried out. The side of her jaw throbbed intensely. Her hands flew to her face and it felt puffy and tight.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered and went into the bathroom.

  Ava flicked on the light and gasped. The ghastly bruise was a deep dark purple. There was no hiding this. What was that kid’s problem? Did he get off on bullying people?

  With a sigh, she slapped the light switch off and then met her father downstairs. “Hey.”

  He raised his eyebrows, and grimaced. “What happened to you?” he asked, his voice rough.

  “I don’t really know.”

  “Did someone hit you?”

  “I don’t remember. I woke up on the floor. And I had a bruise on my face and a knot on my head.”

  “Who did that to you? Did you go see the nurse? Go to the doctor?”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  “Except that you can’t remember anything. Come on.”

  “I’m fine. I remember everything except that. And my head doesn’t hurt anymore.”

  He let out a conceding sigh and then sank into his recliner and removed his shoes.

  “Dad, could an Enchanter make someone just pass out?”

  He looked away and thought for a minute. “I can’t say I ever knew one who could. Why?”

  Ava sat on the couch facing his side. “This guy at school is terrorizing students. All these people went missing, and they returned like nothing happened, and they’re all different. It’s so weird. Including one of Peter’s friends.”

  He looked up. “How different?”

  “Like Kristen used to be so conservative and nice. Now, she picks on kids with her new gang, and she doesn’t even dress the same. Seth used to be this laid-back, nice guy, but he just beat up some kid today.”

  Her father narrowed his eyes. “Did this kid start a cult or something?”

  “I don’t know. I confronted Xavier, but he acted all high and mighty. Then Peter and I walked to lunch, and the next thing I know I’m on the floor facedown with Peter waking me. He said he saw Xavier come into the lunchroom a few seconds after him.”

  “Didn’t he see what happened?”

  Ava shifted on the old blue couch. There was certain spot on it that already had a divot made after so many years. “He went inside before me.”

  Her fathe
r raised his eyebrows. “He just left you out there?”

  “No, I told him to go ahead of me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I didn’t want Thomas seeing us walk in together.”

  “Ava.”

  “Come on, Dad. Thomas gets jealous.”

  He shook his head, and she knew he was disappointed in her.

  “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m an Enchanter, and I guess you should know my powers developed.”

  “Really?” His face lit, but she didn’t see what all the fuss was about.

  “Don’t get too excited. I can breathe underwater.”

  “And?”

  “And that’s it.”

  His eyebrows furrowed. “Something’s not right.”

  “What?”

  “That can’t be all you can do.”

  “What else is there? Other than the climate-control and strength.”

  “Well, all Enchanters have those. And soon you’ll have incredible agility, stamina, speed, and your reflexes will be so quick.” His eyes lit up like a kid in a theme park, and Ava couldn’t help but smile.

  “When does all this happen?” she asked.

  “The more you practice.” He looked away wistfully and took his time answering. “Your mom was a Water Enchanter. She controlled it.”

  “Really?” Ava had never known what kind of powers her mother possessed. They hadn’t talked a lot about her mom.

  “She made it do whatever she wanted. She could generate it. Create rogue waves. She could absorb it so that if someone attacked her with say, a sword, it would just go right through her without damaging her.”

  “Wow.” Just thinking about it made Ava excited. “So, I can do all those things too?”

  “Every person is different. Only you will be able to figure that out. When do you see Savina and Colden?”

  “Sunday. I’ll be glad when it’s over.”

  “When what’s over?”

  “You know. This whole Initiation thing. I just wanna be done with it so I can get back to…” She briefly thought Peter, but knew that probably wouldn’t bode well for her father. “Normalcy. It’s all Mel can talk about.”

  “This is our life, Ava.” His stern voice told her she’d crossed a line. “It never ends.”

  “I know that.” He’d rarely gotten angry with her, but when he did, she always felt guilty.

  He shook his head in disappointment. “You should be proud of who and what you are.”

  “I never said I wasn’t. I mean, I have been dreading all of it.”

  “Dreading?” he spat and narrowed his eyes. “Do you understand what you’re saying?”

  Ava was taken aback. “Dad—.”

  “Your mother never regretted who she was.”

  “I only meant I was dreading the change.” She tried to ease the tension.

  “Ava, I know it must be a scary thing to suddenly wake up with powers. But remember what your ancestors and your mother went through so you could live free.” His tone was sharp.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Think about that the next time you dread it.” His eyes moved to the TV, and he flipped it on, signaling the end of the conversation.

  Ava swallowed the lump and released the pillow that she apparently had been gripping. She left, hoping he wouldn’t notice her. When she reached her room, she closed the door and sat on her bed against the headboard with her knees to her chest.

  Her dad had never spoken about her mom like that. Had he thought about her more because Ava was going to see Savina and Colden soon?

  She picked up the picture of her and her parents from the nightstand. She had no idea who had taken it, but her dad was behind her mom and Ava, hugging them. Her mother’s smile was pure happiness, and Ava wondered if any of her own ever looked so content. She loved the natural beauty and the absolute confidence her mother possessed. Though Ava shared her mother’s almond-shaped gray eyes, she doubted they ever held such self-assurance. She had the same pale freckles across her cheeks and the copper hair, but Ava’s was longer.

  She wished she could remember more of her, and felt as time moved on, she’d forgotten too much. As she stared at the picture, guilt weighed even more on her. She hadn’t meant to hurt her father’s feelings, but she needed to take her heritage more seriously. She was an Enchanter. This was who she was. Nothing could change that.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  BOYS

  Ava tossed her pencil in the crease of her chemistry book. She didn’t want to think about it. Nor did she want to think about her quasi-argument with her father last night. Or how she wound up unconscious in the hallway yesterday. She was sure the bruise on her jaw was extremely attractive. Had Xavier really hit her?

  The crowd cheered, and a whistle blew. The announcer said something, but it was like listening to Charlie Brown’s teacher. Very muffled.

  “First down.” Melissa nudged Ava.

  “And I care?”

  Like every Friday night at the football game, Ava didn’t watch, but did her homework. What better time to do it? If it hadn’t been for Thomas, she wouldn’t even be there.

  She always sat at the top of the concrete bleachers, away from the crowd so she could concentrate. Even in the sea of red-and-black Raiders fans, she managed to find a good spot. On the other side of the field, green-and-gold Spartans screamed and shook shakers.

  Gillian cheered on the sidelines in her little uniform while Jeremy sat at the bottom near her, and of course, Thomas and Lance were playing.

  Peter had sat with Ava every home game and actually helped with her homework, except tonight. She was glad Melissa hadn’t antagonized Thomas about them sitting together, and Melissa actually seemed to like Peter’s company.

  “I don’t see how you can concentrate on that here.”

  Ava shrugged. “I just drown out the noises.”

  Just as she looked out into the game, Ava saw number seven run back to the sidelines and after several teammates patted him, he pointed at her.

  “I don’t get why he always does that.”

  “Because. He just made an awesome play, and it was all for you,” Melissa said in a dramatic voice. Her hands raked through her loose side ponytail.

  “Whatever.” Ava returned to her book.

  “You know Thomas is going to be upset that you’re not watching him.”

  “I don’t care.”

  Melissa opened a package of candy and poured some into her hand. She ate one piece at a time. Something to keep her from smoking, Ava guessed. “What’s the deal with you two? I mean, did it really spur from that night in the summer?”

  “That night certainly didn’t help.” She pretended to read about atomic mass.

  “Then what is it?”

  Ava didn’t want to say too much because Melissa wasn’t exactly the best at keeping things to herself. “He’s just different.”

  “We all are. Especially now. You two used to be so good together.”

  Ava looked up and saw, through the thick crowd of heads and shakers, Peter sitting with a couple of friends. Her heart leapt, and she wondered why he wasn’t sitting with her.

  “Would this have anything to do with Peter?”

  Damn. Melissa caught her looking at him. “We’re just friends.”

  Melissa popped a piece of candy in her mouth. “I mean, I get why you like hanging around him. He’s smart. He seems to hold a more interesting conversation than Thomas can.”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “I just think it’s a shame that he likes you so much, and you have a boyfriend.”

  “He likes me as a friend.”

  Melissa raised an eyebrow. “I doubt that. Do you know he’s been sneaking glances at you all night?”

  Ava shifted uncomfortably, but she secretly liked knowing that.

  “It’s like you two are star-crossed lovers.”

  “You’re ridiculous,” she said and faked a laugh.

  “Well, maybe you’re righ
t. One of the girls he’s with keeps glaring in your direction. She could be his girlfriend.”

  Ava looked up, and sure enough, the brunette girl was glowering right at her. Did Peter have a girlfriend? He would have told her. Was that why he wanted her to sit with his friends so much, so she could meet her? Her stomach turned. This was silly. He could have a girlfriend if he wanted to. Or maybe that was his friend Amanda who needed company after Seth became Xavier’s friend. But that didn’t explain the glares.

  The loud cheering and the emptying bleachers signaled the end of the game. Ava closed her book and notebook and followed Melissa with the rest of the crowd down the side of the bleachers. They stopped at the bottom beside the concession stand.

  “Hey.” Gillian bounded up to them. “That was an awesome game, wasn’t it?” Red and black ribbons tied her black curls into a ponytail with an exuberant bounce. Her blue eyes sparkled, and she held the black and red pompoms in her hands.

  “Yeah it was so awesome. I wish we could do this every night,” Melissa said sarcastically, and then walked closer to the locker rooms to wait on Lance.

  Ava looked past Melissa and saw Peter and his friends following the crowd out of the stadium. He playfully tousled the brunette’s hair, and she squealed. She hooked her arm with his. Ava felt a heavy weight in the pit of her stomach, and then looked away.

  Gillian tugged on her arm. “I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”

  “So it would seem.” She wanted to tell her the truth about Peter and needed to get it off her chest. “Gillian, if I tell you something, do you promise not to say anything to anyone?”

  “I promise.”

  “Not even to Jeremy or Melissa?”

  “Yeah. What is it?” Her eyes were eager for whatever juicy gossip Ava was about to tell her.

  She took a deep breath, and hoped Gillian could keep the secret. “I really like Peter. And it gets worse the more I see him. I’ve tried ignoring how I feel, but there’s just something about him. I want to break up with Thomas and be with Peter.”

  “Whoa.” Her mouth was agape, and she brought her pom-pom filled hands to her mouth. “You can’t,” she whispered so softly. “You know that’s forbidden.”

  She’d known about the unspoken rule regarding Enchanters mingling with humans. But if Corbin was dead and there wasn’t a war, what was the harm?