The fire that illustrated her calling to the craft worried her grandma that Everleigh would somehow be tied to Fire in the future. It wasn’t something her grandma need worry about. Being immortal had never appealed to Everleigh. She always embraced the natural view on life that stemmed from her own Earth heritage. We are not meant to live forever, nor should we long to.
Throughout high school as Everleigh started dating, her grandma’s worries began to cease. None of the few vampires she knew caught her attention for anything more than friendship if she was even interested in that. It continued through college where the only men who caught Everleigh’s eye were typical, average, young men who went about their day to day without the slightest clue of the type of bump in the night creatures that actually exist.
Now, she sat at the table with Dorian and Isaac trying to help them with the basics. This was her grandma’s work, but she had asked Everleigh to help out. Beltane had passed before the boys came to stay with them for about a month, but Grandma hoped they would be ready to help with the Summer Solstice celebrations. They would soon be out of time to work with either of them. Both young men had been accepted to colleges out west. They needed as much training as they could fit in before they left in early July to begin football practice for the freshman year at their schools.
Their calling came late which Grandma chalked up to boys maturing later than girls. She said this was typical with male witches, but Everleigh had never met one till now. There were male witches. She had been aware of that, but they lived far off and weren’t a part of her familial coven.
“So this is our first lesson? Lighting a candle?” Dorian asked Grandma Eloise.
Hearing Dorian speak snapped Everleigh free from her thoughts. It would be wise to pay attention and be helpful before her grandma got after her for daydreaming.
“It’s your first magical lesson,” she emphasized.
Dorian looked at Everleigh who mouthed the words, “I don’t know.”
“The first lesson for both of you is to stop calling yourself wizards,” Grandma groaned.
“What? Well that’s what we are? A male witch is a wizard.” Isaac stated as if it were a well-known fact.
“A witch is a witch. It doesn’t matter what you have in your pants,” she scoffed.
“Nah.” Isaac looked at his cousins. “Is that true?”
“They aren’t called wizards.” Everleigh agreed with her grandma, but it wasn’t a full truth. There was one wizard her grandma talked about a lot.
“Warlocks then?” Dorian asked.
Grandma Eloise looked up to the ceiling and said, “Oh, I need patience to get through today with these two.”
Everleigh chuckled which she knew wouldn’t be appreciated by her grandma, but she couldn’t help it. It was usually her who was the one driving her grandma to ask for patience.
“Who are you praying to, Grandma? God?”
Grandma Eloise lowered her head until she locked eyes with Dorian, “Did your father teach you nothing yet?”
There was no time to answer. The blank books in front of them flew open on their own to the first page, and as Grandma began to talk, the words she spoke would scrawl out on the paper in her own hand. Everleigh loved this feat and wanted to learn it herself someday.
“There were four Elements behind the veil that separates the spiritual world from the physical. They were the rulers of Air, Earth, Fire and Water. They controlled and maintained all the land. Balance was their sole purpose. Where one area experienced famine, another area would be fertile. Their existence was almost as old as time itself. They dared to cross the veil in human form to experience the physical world, so that they may better learn and understand. Rules were set forth for them to follow, but only one obeyed. He was Marcus, Air Element. Punishments were inflicted on all by the Divine Spirit because their fates are forever bound to each other as Elements.”
The writing stopped when their grandma stopped speaking.
“So you prayed to the Divine Spirit?”
Everleigh covered her mouth to stifle a laugh when her grandma reached out with a kitchen towel and lightly smacked Dorian on the top of the head with it. “What am I supposed to do with you?” she asked him, then shot him a look to shut him up when he opened his mouth to answer.
“A witch is a witch,” she told them when she was sure they would stay quiet. “Wizards and warlocks do not exist naturally in the Earth bloodline. When they do, a witch bestowed the title of Warlock would be one who went rogue and broke oaths. A Wizard would be an elder of his coven who had proven he was deserving of the distinguished title.”
The boys never mentioned it again, and resigned themselves to being known simply as witches.
“Focus on the candles in front of you. Visualize the flame in your mind, and make it appear.”
They stared at the candles for several moments without success. Everleigh walked to the window by the sink and looked at the bright blue sky while listening to her cousins’ protest to their grandma they were concentrating. The wicks on both candles ignited, and she turned with a devilish grin.
“How can you do that so easily?” Dorian slumped back in frustration.
“Once you are able to do it, it’s easy.”
“That no make no sense,” Isaac said in a mimicked voice and rolled his eyes.
“It will. Keep trying.”
“Yes,” Grandma Eloise continued, walking behind the two young men. “Keep trying. This is nothing compared to what you still have left to learn.”
Isaac opened his mouth, but didn’t get a chance to ask.
“And what you have left to learn is limitless,” Grandma Eloise responded, knowing the question before it was asked.
Everleigh tried to hide her smile. This was the grandma she had always known. It was almost like she could read everyone’s mind at any time she chose. There were no such things as secrets in this house. Trying to keep anything from that woman was impossible. Part of it had to be her skills as a witch, and no one could ever compare to her there. Mostly it was her lifelong experience Everleigh had always believed. Grandma Eloise had spent the better part of her years with at least one child in her care.
Dorian and Isaac stared at the candles until their eyes started to cross. Then they stared at them some more. While they worked at their simple spell, Eloise brought Everleigh aside to discuss something with her in private.
“Schooling is done isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I graduate next week, remember?”
Grandma nodded like she remembered, but she wasn’t thinking about the graduation ceremony. “What are your plans?”
“None. Find a job I guess.” Everleigh wanted to laugh, but the look on her grandma’s face was too worrisome.
“So then there isn’t anything lined up for you yet?”
“No. Well, I’m working at the theater again this summer. I already talked to them. I hope to find something better than that before summer is over.” It worried her that maybe her grandma was asking about if she planned to move. The only reason she was still in this big house in this little town was because she had to raise Everleigh herself. Ever since Pops died five years ago, Grandma made it no secret she wanted to go somewhere warmer. To do that, this house would have to be sold.
Grandma covered the rubino pendant that always hung from a black cord around her neck with her hand. “Would I be able to talk you in to staying a little longer?”
“Staying?” Everleigh blurted out, then looked to see if the boys had taken notice. This was the last thing she expected her grandma to ask.
“I know it’s a lot to put on you when you’re preparing to start your way in life.”
“No, Grandma. It’s not that. You just surprised me is all. I… I thought you were going to tell me you were ready to sell the house and move to Florida or something.”
With the gleam she always gets while passing on some tidbit of useful information, her grandma looked her in the eye, and said, “I’m afra
id Florida may have to come here. That is one dream of mine I can’t fulfill yet.”
‘What does that even mean?’ Everleigh wondered. ‘Florida come here?’ It must mean she will have to turn this place into her dream retirement home. We couldn’t exactly get away with making the weather warmer year round in this part of the country. “I don’t have any plans to move far away, Grandma. I was going to look for a job in Trinity since there aren’t many here.”
“Good. I’m afraid I may need your help soon.”
“Of course, Grandma,” Everleigh smiled. The whole conversation had been cryptic, but at least it wasn’t as important or devastating as she originally thought it may turn out to be. “What do you need my help with?”
“I believe a storm is coming, child.”
“A storm?” Everleigh glanced back toward the kitchen even though she couldn’t see the window from where they stood in the hallway. The sky had been clear only a few minutes ago. There had been no sign of a storm moving in.
“The biggest storm I’ve ever witnessed,” her grandma continued, removing her hand from the pendant and looking down.
Everleigh followed her gaze and sucked in her breath when she saw it. Inside the pendant was a swirl of clouds moving fast with lightning striking throughout. The center looked clear like the eye of a hurricane. She could almost feel the wind blowing out on her face and spray of rain coming from the necklace. She could also see the poor unfortunate souls who got caught in its path circling around helplessly.
“Hey! I did it!” Isaac yelled from the kitchen and drummed the table.
Dorian groaned loudly over being beat to accomplish their task.
The pendant went back to its solid red color right on cue like the commotion startled it back to secrecy. Everleigh’s breath came out in short raspy gasps as she met her grandma’s eyes. The look on Grandma’s face was enough to frighten her even more. Whatever it meant...the storm in the pendant...it had her grandma filled with fear.
“Did you hear me?” Isaac came into the hallway and saw the two women deadlocked in a look that told him he interrupted something serious. “Oh, sorry. I’ll...I’ll just go.”
There were so many questions flooding her mind. So many Everleigh couldn’t think of where to begin, but now wasn’t the time to ask anyway with the two novices in the other room struggling with the simplest spell work. “Whatever you need, Grandma, I’ll do it.”
A small smile broke on Grandma’s face, and she wrapped her arms around Everleigh. “I knew I could count on you to be by my side.”
They went back to the kitchen where Grandma had Isaac repeat his feat which he did several times. “You’re right,” he said, holding his head high. “It’s easy once you figure it out,” he beamed.
Everleigh had a hard time focusing on anything happening around her. It would probably be impossible for her to light a candle with her mind now no matter how hard she might try. Everywhere she looked, she saw the storm and the dark clouds illuminated by flashes of light. A storm with an eye that had been filled with bodies twisting in the clouds and writhing in pain. It was the grimaced faces that shook her the most.
It wasn’t an earthly storm headed for them at all. It was an end of time’s catastrophe for the Elementals. The faces of all of them had been showcased. The fangy glares of Fire. The sneering muzzles of Water. The glowing minds of Air. And the illumination of Earth. None of them were safe. The biggest question on her mind was what could possibly be coming for them all? And why?
Chapter Three
Summer Solstice came and went almost uncelebrated. Everleigh knew her grandma would never miss a Sabbat Day, but the chaos that erupted so close to Litha was enough to make her worry this might be the first year she would skip one. It began when Uncle Roan called in the middle of the night mid-June in a panic. Something had woken him, and he felt a strong unease that made him check the house. Everything was fine. All the doors and windows were closed and locked. No sign of an intruder. No scent of fire. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling.
As he headed back to bed hoping it had been a bad dream he couldn’t remember, he checked on his daughters’ rooms for a second time. Kiara and Jasmin were fine. They were sound asleep in their beds. Uncle Roan opened the door of Amber’s room to find her floating in the air above her bed. He cried out, and she fell immediately waking up with no memory of anything that happened. It couldn’t be possible he kept telling his mother. Dorian had already received the calling. There couldn’t be two from his line. Eloise tried to calm him, but it was useless. Amber was put on the earliest flight to Trinity, and Everleigh picked her up from the airport.
It was like dominoes after that. Grace was next only two days later. She exploded the window in her bedroom after her boyfriend dumped her in a text message. Uncle Danny was already up to speed with the news of Amber’s calling. Grace’s flight had already taken off before he bothered to call to let anyone know she was coming.
Kiara found out her best friend slept with her boyfriend when she wanted to borrow a dress from her to wear on a date. It was the same dress her friend wore the night she slept with him. As soon as she touched the garment, she saw what happened in her mind, and promptly laid her former friend out with just one punch. Uncle Roan had to wait to see if charges would be pressed before she joined the others.
Only Jasmin took a while to display anything. It didn’t matter. When Kiara boarded the plane, so did Jasmin. Uncle Roan sent them both because he felt like it was only a matter of time. Grandma agreed with him, so Jasmin began her training by watching the others hoping she would be called too. While Kiara was trying to lift a leaf with her mind, Jasmin walked over and showed her up. She did it effortlessly on her first try without ever receiving a sign she would join the ranks of witches in the family.
In a matter of days, there were a total of six newly called witches at her grandma’s house. Everleigh spent her whole life wishing she’d had a large family. She had always wondered what it would be like having siblings. Not anymore. It wasn’t long before she couldn’t wait for the quiet peace to return to her home. She was exhausted between working at the theater and helping them train.
The Solstice celebration was busier than any Everleigh had ever experienced. The number of newly called witches was almost enough for them to form a coven when they were ready. For this year, they would be present and would participate in smaller matters. Mostly, it would be another day of lessons for them as they learned by observing.
“What is next after the cleansing?” Amber was always full of questions. For someone who had only recently been upset that her brother had been called instead of her, she was always quick to try to get out of the work that had to be put in to the craft. Some of their magical nature was gifted, but there was a lot to be learned. Witches weren’t exactly born with an encyclopedia of spells stored in their mind for later reference. Spells and potions had to be done just right. One small mishap, and the result would not be what had been desired. Not to mention, it could result in a horrible accident or much worse.
“We cleanse the house and our bodies then we work the garden. It is how it is done.” Grandma Eloise wouldn’t let anything, not even a chatterbox trying to get out of doing the groundwork dent her joy today.
“Why do we take a bath before we work in the garden? It doesn’t make sense. We’re just going to get dirty again messing around in the dirt.”
“Come.” Everleigh directed her outside and away from her grandma. “The cleansing was more for purification then for bathing. Weren’t you instructed on how to clear your mind and let go of any ill will you were harboring?”
Amber nodded, but then her eyes widened like she was expecting there to be more.
“That’s why we do it. We clear the negative energy to let the light and positivity flow freely.”
“Hmm,” Amber scrunched up her nose. “It sounds a little hippy-dippy if I’m being honest.”
Everleigh rocked her head from side to side. It wo
uld be hard to disagree. “Just don’t let Grandma hear you say that.”
“And I’m still going to need to take a shower after this. It’s a waste of time if you ask me.”
Everleigh furrowed her brows. “We’re not going to be rolling around in the ground. You know that, right?”
“Yeah. It’s still dirty.”
“You have gloves to wear.”
Amber stopped midstride and glared at her cousin. “Still. Dirty.”
“You are an Earth. It’s natural for us to connect with it.”
The look on Amber’s face turned to one of sheer terror. “You mean I’m supposed to just walk around looking like I live in the woods all the time?” Her voice cracked near the end of the question.
Everleigh couldn’t control herself. The laughter had escaped her lips before Amber was even done speaking. The expression on her cousin’s face alone was enough to bring on hysterics. That was nowhere close to what she meant, but a little dirt and dust never hurt anyone. Washing their hands when they were through should be enough. Taking another full shower was a tad over the top.
Amber looked irate. She wasn’t appreciative that her cousin found her desire to appear clean so humorous. Staring at her, she crossed her arms and drummed her fingers on her skin.
“I’m sorry,” Everleigh gasped, shaking from laughing so hard and wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “I was just picturing you dressed as one of those mountain people from that movie we watched last night.” The sentence was interrupted several times as her laughter grew over the words she was trying to say.
Earth: The Elementals Book Two Page 3
