“Yes,” she cried. “Triss, you shouldn’t be here.”
I ran up the steps and found her sitting in the corner, shackled. Hay was spread out for bedding on one side of the floor. Her hair was a tangled mess, and she looked deathly thin but still managed to smile.
I ran to her and hugged her not wanting to let go. She felt like bones. Tears streamed down her face, and I couldn’t hold mine in either.
“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled.
“Triss, this isn’t your fault,” she said, releasing me.
“Here,” I said, reaching into my pockets. “I have some granola bars. I know it’s not much, but I’ve got more stuff waiting on the side of the wall. I’m going to get you out of here.”
She shook her head. “No, Triss. You need to only be concerned with getting yourself out of here.”
Not wanting to divulge any details, I only shook my head.
“What made them put you here?”
“The moment I arrived I created a problem and —” she stopped. “You need to get out of here. They’re going to be back.”
“How many?” I asked, standing up to leave.
“Usually two,” she whispered. “Triss, how’s Logan?”
“He’s good, amazingly so,” I paused. “You’ve raised the most incredible man I’ve ever met.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
A brightness quickly flashed in her eyes.
“No, Thank you.” I held her hand.
“Be careful.”
“I’m meeting my mother and Trevor today, but I will be back. In the meantime, make sure you eat these. You’ll need your strength, but this place is coming to an end. I’m not leaving you, so you need to stay as strong as possible.”
I bent down and gave her a quick hug, I peeked down the stairwell opening to make sure no one had come in since I arrived, and it was all clear.
I opened the front door slowly and made my escape back to the main house where Trevor and my mother were waiting.
“Where to first? I asked, trying to calm down from my encounter with Ellsy.
“I thought the gardens of the gods would be a great introduction,” my mother replied.
“Sounds incredible,” I lied.
Trevor reached for my hand, and my gut twisted in a violent response that my lips couldn’t repeat. Letting him grasp it, I looked at him and smiled.
“Thanks,” he replied softly as we went outside.
He had the ability to be decent if he let himself. My mother carried a basket similar to the one we used to carry at home in Seattle for our gathering purposes. I wondered if she was content. For someone so oblivious would I be doing her a disservice getting her to come back to reality?
“It’s really nice having you here,” Trevor said, interrupting my thoughts.
“Thank you.”
“It really is,” my mom seconded.
We were following along behind her on a path that was edged in periwinkle.
“Have you been to wherever we’re going?” I asked Trevor.
“Selfishly, that’s also why I wanted to come along. It wasn’t only to spend time with you.” He smiled. I’ve been so busy planning and helping your father there’s a lot of this property I haven’t seen.”
“What have you been helping him with?” I asked.
“He’s been waiting for this meeting for quite some time.”
“Who is it with?”
My mother turned around and gave Trevor a warning stare. Oh, now she comes to life?
“I’ll tell you later,” Trevor whispered.
The earthy scent began emerging the longer we stayed on this path. Were we headed to more mushroom fields?
“Almost there,” my mother hummed.
Rounding the corner my eyes met rows and rows of beautiful gardens. As far as my eyes could see, there were flowers in every direction. There were ornamental gardens, herb gardens, vegetable gardens, anything I could imagine was right in front of me. I also noticed many workers tending to the plants.
“Wow, those red sunflowers are huge and so gorgeous,” I replied, understanding the army of workers it would take to keep this going.
“What’s beyond the gardens?” I asked, as Trevor and I wandered through the flowers. My mother had roamed off in another direction, and surprisingly I was relieved to be with Trevor. I wondered if he knew anything about the mushrooms.
“I really haven’t been to this area, but I know your dad’s propagating all types of things everywhere he can find room.”
A woman was deadheading all of the flowers, and we walked by silencing our discussion until we were farther away.
“Who’s my dad meeting?”
“There’s an elder of the Praedivinus Order who only comes to the states every decade or so. I guess your father has only seen him two other times,” Trevor whispered, as if there were recording devices in the fields.
“I thought my father was the head of that?” I asked.
“You know about it?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Only what I saw on the flyer at Starbucks.” I divulged.
“Well, he’s next in line, but he’s the head of it in the states.”
“What is the goal, do you know?”
“Transcendence of the soul.”
“Wow. That’s kind of a lofty statement,” I blurted out.
Trevor stopped walking and glared at me.
“Are you making fun of it?”
“Not at all. I think that’s a pretty hard thing to accomplish on a wide-spread scale.”
“You haven’t seen him in action. Your father can work wonders.”
“Is it all magic or does he have any help?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like potions you guys drink or —”
“Everything is done by searching deep within one’s own soul.” Trevor interrupted.
He has no idea, but why isn’t he as far gone as my mother?
“Kids?” My mother’s voice rang through the air. I suddenly felt like I was ten again.
I bent down and ripped some lavender to smell. Bringing it to my face I froze as I recognized the earthy scent that was definitely not lavender. Dropping the herb, I ran to the nearest worker.
“Do you guys fertilize everything out here?” I asked, startling the worker.
“Of course. You can’t get gardens like this without fertilizer. It’s all organic though. Nicholas wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Everything’s beautiful,” I muttered.
“What’s your deal?” Trevor asked, coming up behind me.
“Nothing,” I said, wiping my hands on my clothes.
“You look like you saw a ghost.”
I started laughing trying to throw him off.
“Come on, let’s go get some lunch. This is just me with low blood sugar.”
We met up with my mom and walked back to the main house. Stopping in the kitchen, I grabbed some fruit that I never intended to eat and watched Trevor carefully. He seemed to get more nervous on our way back, and now that we were in the kitchen, he seemed almost terrified.
“What’s up?” I asked. It pained me to continue this playacting. Did I really care?
My mother came up behind me and rested her palm on my shoulder.
“Is that all you’re going to eat?” she asked.
“For now. I think the dinner from last night is still with me. I was actually going to go take a nap.” I looked at her and realized I was treating her as a stranger, but I was only following her lead.
“I know the feeling. I gotta go finish some stuff for your dad,” Trevor replied, waving as he left the kitchen.
“I was thinking about doing that too,” My mother replied, leaving me standing in the kitchen by myself. Looking around the space, I was completely stumped at how easy it was to rid myself of everyone. I plopped the fruit back in the bowl and took off back outside.
I walked by the building that Ellsy was being held in. There were no
w two people chatting downstairs exactly as she described. I nodded at them as they watched me with curiosity as I continued toward the woods.
As I neared the forest, I heard a large knocking. Looking up quickly, I saw a woodpecker, pecking away at a dying tree. It was such a large creature and quite beautiful. It seemed fitting as the dead wood crumbled from the sky. Lately it felt like the sky was falling.
Walking into the darkened woodland, the chirping and warbling from the many birds sounded wonderful. It brought me as close to peace as I would find for the moment.
I found the stone wall that was only as high as my hip, and I followed it along the property, attempting to get my bearings. I was getting thirsty and looked for one of the markers that indicated I was getting close to one of the drop-off points. If I could get a few nutrition bars and a couple bottled waters, I’d be set. My eye spotted the grey piece of fabric tucked in a branch and relief flooded my system.
I leaned over the wall and found the bag immediately. I quickly stuffed the bars in all my pockets, and twisted the cap off of one of the waters, drinking it as fast as I could. I placed the empty bottle back in the bag and grabbed two more. I tucked the bottles in my socks and secured each around my ankle with a ribbon that was provided. This brought new meaning to the word bootlegging as I pulled the cuff of my jeans back down over my hidden goods. Tossing the bag back where I found it, I decided that I might as well grab the pendant at the end of the wall since I was out here.
I wanted to believe that Logan was watching me. Like he and the others were only hiding in the woods, waiting for me to come search everything out, but I knew that wasn’t the case. I was alone.
Reaching the corner of the wall, I slid my hand along the wall, until I found the coldness of the metal. I quickly fastened the chain around my neck and hid the pendant under my shirt. Rather than make my way back along the way I came, I decided to weave my way through the woods. Calmness met me out here amongst the trees and the birds chirping. It centered me. I could see the buildings from where I was, and I didn’t want to go back yet.
I sat down and leaned against the tree, wondering if I’d be able to find out what I needed from my father and if that would even prove anything. It seemed like the only way to stop the traditions from my father’s past was to stop him and ensure that I didn’t pick up any bad habits along the way.
A bank swallow landed on the ground in front of me and began singing her song. I thought back to when Logan and I were at the beach and somehow I compared myself to a crazy cat lady. Even though it seemed like the weight of the world was on our shoulders, and I narrowly avoided being attacked, I’d felt loved and comforted. Like the possibilities all led to a good place. I didn’t believe that any longer. Instead, it felt like any choice I made was going to be the wrong one.
The bank swallow flew away, and I closed my eyes letting the sounds of the forest wrap around me. The cheerfulness of the songs surrounding me came to an abrupt halt as their silence warned of a predator. I opened my eyes to see my father talking with the elder Trevor had mentioned earlier.
“I don’t know what more you want me to do,” my father snapped, running his fingers through his hair.
“If we’re going to get this to market in time, you must speed up production. This whole thing with your daughter is holding us up. Either get rid of her or I will. She’s of no use to us.”
“But she holds powers from her mother that I know we can tap into,” my father retorted.
“You haven’t done well at choosing so far. Think about that Logan kid. That was a waste. He’s not still around I hope. I don’t have time for your screw-ups. I’m getting older, and I want to see everything the way the masters have planned for centuries.”
I could see my father clearly and was sure if he took his eyes off the elder, he would see me too.
“I’ll step up production, and my daughter will not cause any disruptions. Let me deal with her.” His eyes flickered to mine and I remained frozen.
“Now let’s get you back to the house before we head to the production facility.” My father placed his hand on the elder’s back and directed him toward the house.
I held my breath until I hovered on the verge of passing out. Was my father trying to protect me or did he only believe that I was of some use to him? I knew he saw me, but he probably didn’t give my presence away more for his self-preservation than mine.
The birds began their songs again, and all I wanted to do was hop the fence and never come back.
“Triss,” a voice whispered.
Was that Logan?
“Triss, over here,” Logan commanded.
It wasn’t in my head or was it? Without moving my head, my eyes scanned the forest, and I saw no one.
Feeling the warmth from the nectunt, I placed my hand over it.
“Are you here?”
“No, Triss. I’m not. Why? What’s going on? Did you hear something?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.” I returned. “Just wishful thinking.”
The limbs to my left snapped back, but I saw no one, nothing to cause the motion. My eyes traced the branches, hoping to see a squirrel or bird hopping around, but I found nothing except leaves rustling. I leaned my head back and frowned. Could the mushroom dust from the lavender be causing this?
“What aren’t you telling me?” he asked.
“Nothing. I’ve got to go give some items to your mom. She asked about you. She’s proud of you.”
I felt the pain as he thought of his mother. I wanted to ease his suffering, but there was nothing I could do until we got her out of here.
“I’ll talk to you tonight. Love you.”
“I love you too, Triss.”
Standing up, I heard the voice directly behind me.
“Why are you fighting your father’s wishes?” he commanded.
I looked to see Logan standing by the birch, but it wasn’t really Logan. I rubbed my eyes, and tried to refocus on the being. What was going on?
“Who are you?” I yelled.
A pixelled retransformation began as Logan’s features began vanishing. I wanted to scream, but no one would care even if they heard me. As I stood motionless watching the imposter transform into his true character, I began doubting everything, but most of all my abilities. I needed to get out of here.
My hand slowly reached around to my back pocket, gripping my wand.
“Don’t bother,” the impersonator replied as he stepped toward me. It was the old man my father had been talking to. His face was marked with battle scars, and he looked older than humanly possible. “How’d you know I wasn’t Logan?”
“My father will come looking for me,” I replied, lying to myself and ignoring his question.
“No he won’t. I’m still with him. I have the uncanny ability to be more than one place at a time.” His laughter bounced off the trees. “And you know as well as I do he wouldn’t come for you anyway.”
“Who are you?” I asked, hoping to buy myself time.
“I’m the future.” He lowered his voice.
I remained silent.
Licking his lips he began again. “I will not let you disrupt the process.”
“I don’t think you have a choice.” My laughter dripped with rejection as he leapt toward me.
His hand came down on my shoulder, and the anger of eighteen years without a father ran through me. This was the man who turned my father against his family. I turned my head and bit his hand. My teeth entered his flesh and a wave of hatred followed.
“That’s what I thought,” he snarled. “You’re not special. You hate like the rest of us.”
He shoved me to the ground, and I wiped my mouth. The sickness began spreading through me. What had I done?
“Who said I didn’t?” My eyes flashed to his, then to his bloodied hand.
“Your father,” he snarled. “But you do. You do hate.”
“You’re wrong,” I replied, looking away from the man.
�
�I’m seldom wrong.”
“What did you promise my father eighteen years ago?” I asked. “What did you tell him to steal him away from his family.”
Remembering Logan’s words I kept pushing down the disgust and hostility, trying desperately to disallow hatred to seep back in to my blood. I was not going to prove this person right, whoever he was.
My fingers started tingling with the desire to destroy this old man. I had to stop myself.
“Children are supposed to listen to their parents,” he replied, twitching. “I only showed my son the possibilities of a world he attempted to abandon.”
“You’re my grandfather?”
***
“Eben,” he responded. “Grandpa Eben. Hmm. Never heard that before.”
He paused and looked down at me. “Not sure I like it.”
I glared at him, saying nothing.
“I’ll allow you one pardon since you’re my granddaughter. Give me your allegiance, and I will forget this ever happened.”
“Why do you need my allegiance if I’m like everyone else? Why not destroy me?” I smiled, springing to my feet.
“You’re certainly naively determined.” His eyes darkened, and I knew I’d struck a chord. I backed up until I felt the tree trunk behind me for support.
“I call the wind to my side. I sing to the creatures above and below,” I whispered. The breeze picked up with a certainty that didn’t exist before. “Be by my side in this world and the other.”
Eben’s rage grew with every second that passed. What was he going to do to me?
I heard a snap coming from behind, and Eben took his eyes off of me long enough for me to start running. My heart raced with fear at the realization that I had nowhere to go, but I kept running.
“Come back here, girl,” he hollered.
The first flame whipped by me, lighting the ground on fire. He may have dark magic on his side, but I had youth and speed on mine.
My lungs began feeling heavy as I darted through the trees, fire bouncing in every direction. And then it hit. I’d been struck. Collapsing to the forest floor, I rolled on my back to get the flames extinguished but nothing worked. I heard footsteps coming near me, and I struggled to get up, to run again, but my body collapsed once more. My mind drifted to blackness.
Witch Avenue Series (The Complete Set) Page 42