“There’s going to be witches,” Uncle Liam said from the counter where he was spreading chicken salad on a bun.
Lilah hooked her thumb in his direction. “What he said.”
Abby rubbed her hands in circles again as she always did when she was nervous or unsure. “How does it look?”
Uncle Liam then turned to them both, “She tries her best to dodge some questions which leads to one witch getting mad and the other warning her guy that Lilah’s a liar.” He lifted his sandwich and took a big bite holding the plate underneath to catch the dollops of chicken salad that fell out.
Abby and Lilah pierced their lips shut to keep their grins contained. “Would you like to join us?” Abby motioned to an empty chair.
“No. Not my business,” he said and left the room.
Lilah and her mom giggled. “What do you want to do?” her mom asked. “What do you feel comfortable with?”
Lilah wasn’t sure how to answer. She knew what she wanted to do, but she wasn’t sure her mom would approve.
“I mean you can always stay home. I know how it feels when you find your match. I remember like it was yesterday. That feeling,” her mom took a deep breath like she was smelling something intoxicating, “it never goes away.”
Lilah got up took her glass over to the counter. She added some sugar to her tea, stirred it and took a sip. ‘Much better,’ she thought. She had played tonight out in her mind in so many ways. None were that much different than the rest except for staying home. “I know it sounds selfish. I just really want to see him,” she finally said as she sat back down.
“It may be selfish. I don’t know. That connection is a force stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced. He’s feeling it too, you know.”
Lilah’s eyes lit up, “Well now I really don’t want to stay home.”
“So what do you want to do then?” her mom asked.
Lilah knew then her mom wasn’t asking if she wanted to go, but rather which possible outcome she was going to choose. “Honestly? I want to just tell Everleigh I’m an Air.”
“I think that’s the best course of action to take.” Uncle Todd’s voice startled Lilah. She hadn’t seen or felt him sneak in.
“You do?” Lilah was surprised. All this talk about Air keeping themselves secret, but now she was just supposed to give the information to a complete stranger freely?
“For one, I wouldn’t call her a complete stranger,” Uncle Todd said reading her thoughts. “Well, her maybe, but not her family. But two, it’s going to come out eventually no matter what you do tonight.”
“How do you know that?” Abby asked.
“C’mon,” he said, throwing up his hands. “Marcus gathered us here. Here. This town specifically. The same town where a familial order of witches are not only gathering, but spawning in record numbers. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“I’ve thought that, too.” Abby agreed.
“So you know what’s going on?” Lilah asked excitedly.
“You mean why we’re here? No, but it has to be connected,” he sat down next to Abby.
“Okay, then. I will tell Everleigh outright since her family will probably find out about us anyway when everything comes to a head.” Lilah headed to her room to start thinking about outfits.
“I hope we’re doing the right thing having Lilah come out with it.” Abby said.
Uncle Todd looked up out of the corner of his eye and rocked his head back and forth. “Well, it’s either that, or Meredith will tell her.”
Lilah nervously waited on Jackson’s porch. It seemed like an eternity before he answered the door even though it was only mere moments. He smiled at her and she melted.
“Hi,” she smiled back.
“Come in. It’s freezing out.”
Lilah walked in and unzipped her coat. “I knew it wouldn’t be as warm up here, but I wasn’t expecting this.”
“It’s normally not this cold yet, and it’s definitely too early for all the snow we got today. We’re having an unusual October.”
Jackson took the coat from her and hung it on the rack in the hall. When he turned back, he looked at her sweater with a weird look on his face.
“What?” Lilah looked down worried she had spilt something on it before leaving the farmhouse. She gripped the bottom hem and pulled the sweater out looking for stains or snags.
“It’s nothing,” he walked to the living room. “Just that earlier as I was making sure I had everything ready for tonight, I pictured you in a red sweater just like that.”
She followed him to the couch. “Hmm, I guess maybe we’re just really in tune with each other,” she said, wagging a finger back and forth between them knowing there was more truth to that than jest.
He flashed another smile at her and a shiver ran down her spine. He didn’t seem to notice, “Yeah, I guess.”
Jackson had barely sat when the doorbell rang again. He jumped up and let Everleigh and her cousin Amber inside.
“Brrrr!” Everleigh cried out. “I need a few minutes before I part with my coat.”
“Aw, come on. It’s not that cold out, Lee-Lee.”
“Mmm-hmm,” she said. “You tell me that when you walk the eight blocks to my house in this weather.”
“You walked?” he asked in surprise.
“Yeah, my aunt needed the car because hers is in the shop. Urgent business,” she mimicked, making finger quotes in the air.
“More like a hot date,” Amber chimed. They laughed.
“She couldn’t drop you off?”
Everleigh shrugged and unzipped her coat. “She left a couple hours ago.”
“Why didn’t you text me? I’d have picked you up.”
She reached up and pinched Jackson’s cheek like he was a child and said in an overly sweet voice, “Because I knew you were getting ready for your big night. Besides, it’s only eight blocks.”
They hung their coats and joined Lilah in the living room. Jackson made the introductions. “You two have already met. Lilah, this is Everleigh’s cousin Amber. Amber, this is Lilah.”
Lilah stood up and said, “Nice to meet you.”
Amber didn’t say anything at first. Everleigh gave her a slight nudge in the side. “Good to meet you too, Lilah.”
Amber and Everleigh sat on chairs opposite where Jackson and Lilah cozied up on the couch. The conversation was forced and awkward. The only person who didn’t seem to notice was Jackson. He was blissfully unaware of the pointed questions aimed at Lilah, and the glances shot back and forth between the cousins.
Lilah was thankful when the pizza arrived, and they started the movie. No more questions to try to dodge. It was all for Jackson at this point. She knew what would happen when the movie ended, and she knew the girls would know the truth about her before the night was over.
The movie finished, and Amber was quick to make it known she was ready to leave. Lilah began to make her exit excuses too. Jackson was disappointed hoping to have more time alone with her. She would rather stay, but it had been agreed with her family she would confess her heritage tonight.
Lilah offered to give them a ride home, so they wouldn’t have to walk in the cold. Amber looked eager to accept the ride, and Jackson thanked her.
Everleigh, however, was not a willing participant. “That’s alright, Lilah. I don’t want to be an inconvenience.”
“It’s no trouble,” Lilah countered. She beeped the button for the remote start. “By the time we get our coats on, my car should be warmed up. No need to freeze if you don’t have to.”
Everleigh was going to refuse again, but Jackson’s eyes pleaded with her. It was easy for all of them to see that all this boy wanted in the world right now was for them to get along. “Okay,” she said reluctantly. “Thanks.”
Lilah and Jackson said their goodbyes then the three girls headed out to Lilah’s car. They buckled in and Lilah put it in drive. “Turn left at the stop sign,” Everleigh told her.
“I know where y
ou live.”
Lilah felt her stiffen up. She couldn’t know for sure what Everleigh was thinking, but she was certain that it had something to do with wishing she wasn’t in this car anymore.
Everleigh reached over and picked up a barrette out of the console tray. She rolled it over in her hands before commenting, “This is pretty. Where’d you get it?”
“You won’t be able to sense anything, Everleigh.”
A gasp as loud and clear as a gunshot came from the backseat, and Lilah knew both of them were probably contemplating a jump from the moving car. “The barrette is my mom’s. I don’t know where she got it. You won’t be able to sense her either.”
Lilah slowed as she approached Everleigh’s house. She put the car in park, and the cousins sat frozen in place. She turned to the witch sitting in her passenger seat and introduced herself again, “My name is Lilah Thomas. I’m an Air. It’s great to finally meet an Earth.”
Everleigh’s mouth dropped open. Then closed. Then dropped open again. “You’re an Air?”
“Yes.”
Amber started muttering in the backseat. “Girl, I wasn’t sure if I was going to run away or come at you, but I was leaning heavy on coming at you when you started all of that you can’t sense me talk.”
“Me too, only I was ready to run for my house screaming FIRE as I went!” Everleigh joked.
“Maybe it was a bit over the top. I just haven’t exactly had this opportunity before, so I wanted to get the most out of it.”
“My Aunt Meredith knows an Air. His name is Todd,” Everleigh mentioned.
“Uncle Todd’s friend Meredith? She’s your aunt? How is that even possible? She can’t be that old.”
“Shouldn’t you know that anything is possible?”
Lilah felt embarrassed. Of course her aunt used an aging spell to make herself look younger. She felt like an idiot.
Everleigh opened her mouth, but paused. She turned to face Lilah. “My aunt visited with Todd earlier today. You guys are nearby?”
“Yeah, out in the country.”
“Your family?”
“Yes,” Lilah wasn’t sure why she was asking.
“Your WHOLE family?”
Lilah was becoming uncomfortable. ‘How much would be too much information to give out?’ she wondered. “Not my whole family. Not all of Air.”
“Oh,” Everleigh sounded disappointed. She looked down and fidgeted with the zipper on her coat.
“Wrong answer?” Lilah tilted her head and waited.
“Nah, girl. It’s just that the new witches like me are popping up left and right. More are spawning than ever before,” Amber said.
“Amber!” Everleigh tried to quiet her.
“What? It’s true. You were hoping the same thing was happening to Air, and you know it.”
“It’s not the same for Air,” Lilah told them.
“We know,” Everleigh said before Amber could have a chance to speak. “Your numbers are limited.”
“I was still hoping that maybe something was happening round your way too,” Amber spoke up from the back seat again.
“We were summoned.” The words fell out of Lilah’s mouth so easily she wasn’t really aware of what she was saying until it was done.
“Summoned?” They asked in unison.
“By our Element. A lot of us are here, but the rest of us are almost two hours away.”
“So something is up with you too?” Amber wasn’t afraid to say what was on her mind.
“We don’t really know what’s going on,” Lilah told her.
The girl in the backseat piped up again. “You guys are psychic right?”
Everleigh shot Amber a look then turned her attention back to Lilah, “She’s new.”
“I already told her that,” Amber was irritated.
“She’s this past summer new,” Everleigh added.
“It’s okay. We are psychic, but our powers don’t work on the other Elementals. Like how you guys couldn’t get a read on me.”
“You heard about the vampires though?” Everleigh asked her.
“Yeah. Do you know who’s doing it?”
“No, not exactly.” Everleigh put her hand on the door and asked almost too quietly for Lilah to hear, “You know about the werewolves and the witches?”
“I know something is going on with the werewolves, but nothing specific. Witches? Well, you guys are multiplying your numbers. That’s it.”
Everleigh looked at her house through the window. She knew her grandma would sense their arrival, and she would have some explaining to do later. “Do you have to go straight home, Lilah?”
“No.”
She put her seat belt back on. “Do you know the coffee shop on Main Street?”
Lilah didn’t, but she could find it in her mind. “Yes.”
“Let’s go there,” Everleigh told her. “Before someone comes outside to see why we’re just sitting here.”
Lilah drove off. The coffee shop was only a few blocks away. It was almost empty no doubt due to the weird Midwest weather. She parked her car right out front, and the three of them went inside.
Everleigh excused herself to call her grandma, and let her know they’d be home a little later. Amber and Lilah ordered three hot chocolates and found a table. Everleigh joined them after the phone call.
Lilah stirred the whip cream into her hot cocoa letting it melt. No one said anything. She looked around. There was one other customer who was seated across the room. The barista was busy on her phone. “There’s something else going on with the witches isn’t there?”
“We’re next,” Everleigh answered.
“What do you mean you’re next?”
“We’re being hunted,” Amber raised her eyebrows then blew on her cocoa.
“That’s a little dramatic, but yes. And Air will be after us.” Everleigh said.
“Wait,” Lilah rubbed her temples. “Hold on. We’re all going to be attacked. You’re certain?”
“It makes sense doesn’t it? The vampires are the most powerful. It’s mainly the hereditary vamps that are being murdered. There’s very few left.”
Lilah’s eyes widened, and she glanced at Amber who nodded.
Everleigh leaned closer. “Did you hear about the concert in New York City last week? A lot of people died.”
Lilah vaguely remembered something about it. She was too busy being mad over the move at the time. “I kind of remember it.”
“Search for it,” Everleigh told her. “There was a fire. It was blamed on some faulty pyrotechnics display. One hundred and twenty-two people died.”
Lilah closed her eyes. She saw it. It was chaos. People were screaming and running. People were being trampled. She didn’t see any pyrotechnics though. Then she found what she was looking for. In the back. There was a room piled high with bodies charred beyond recognition. It didn’t look accidental. Firemen were there. They were talking to someone, but the image was blurred like censoring on a television show. The blur was giving them something. It was…wait. It couldn’t be. Her eyes shot open and fear shown on her face.
Amber was staring into her cocoa like she was reading tea leaves.
“Did you see it?” Everleigh’s voice was weak.
“I couldn’t see anything about the people who died. They were…”
“Vampires,” Everleigh finished her sentence.
“But who was the other one?”
“Who?” Everleigh asked.
“The person talking to the firefighters. Staging the story,” Lilah withheld part of what she saw.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s the person who’s behind all of this?’
“It would have to be a vampire then,” Lilah stated.
“Or a werewolf,” Amber suggested.
“We know werewolves are involved, but not how much,” Everleigh told her. “It’s the werewolves coming after the witches. After us, they’ll go after Air. Take out the vampires especially the hereditary ones, then the witches
, and that leaves a handful of you by comparison.”
“How do you know it’s the wolves?” Lilah asked.
“There’s a tribe in Mississippi. Been there long before the settlers first explored the area. We got a coven of witches in that area too since a couple hundred years ago.”
Everleigh stopped talking as two more customers walked in the door. They ordered they’re drinks to go. “Anyway,” she continued when she was sure they weren’t paying them any attention, “you know how we can’t help each other?”
“What do you mean?” Lilah asked.
“They don’t teach you anything, do they?” Amber sneered.
Everleigh shot Amber an angry look.
“It’s okay,” Lilah insisted. “They don’t. We keep to ourselves. It’s always been that way.”
“Alright,” Everleigh went on, “you can’t use your psychic ability on me, right?”
“Right.”
“Well, it’s like that with our spells. I can’t make someone fall in love with you because you only have one soulmate…” A slow realization set in, and Everleigh straightened up looking at Lilah with eyes wide. “Jackson?” she asked.
Lilah didn’t say anything, but she felt her face turn a deep shade of red.
“Oh, my….Jackson!” Everleigh repeated with a shocked smile. “Does he know?”
“No. I thought we’d get to know each other a little before I spring forever on him,” Lilah joked.
“What about Jackson?” Amber was puzzled.
Everleigh cut her eyes to the ceiling. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll fill you in later.”
Lilah’s face was beginning to hurt from the wide smile she couldn’t control, and she bit her lower lip trying to her best to contain it.
“Wow,” Everleigh shook her head and rubbed her hands on her jeans. After a few moments, she clasped her hands together on the table and asked, “Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah, I can’t cast a spell that would stop a vampire from craving blood for example.”
“I see what you mean now.”
“But, the Mississippi witches could cast a spell that would make the transformation pain free for a werewolf.”
Lilah’s eyes widened. “You can do that?”
“Actually, no. I don’t even know the spell. That’s what the coven did in Mississippi and has done for generations. They did more that. They figured out a way to stop them from transforming during the lunar cycle as well. That coven of witches and that tribe of wolves have been friends for centuries. Each new generation of witches will spell the younger wolves, so they don’t feel pain.”
Air: The Elementals: Book One Page 12
