Earth: The Elementals Book Two

by Jennifer Lush

  “Nothing, dear. I was going to make another remark about him, but I believe it wouldn’t be prudent seeing as how I have fallen into his debt on this day.”

  ‘She does know.’ Everleigh felt herself begin to worry. ‘Why did I ever think I could keep something from her?’

  “I’d like to know that answer myself,” her grandma told her sternly.

  “Grandma, it was my fault-”

  “Shush, child. I have no desire to learn the details more than I am already aware. I know that boy would never mean you harm, but you need to learn your limits with him.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Everleigh knew her grandma was not open to a discussion about it.

  “You know the dangers. He isn’t bound by the same natural rules as others of his kind who have no choice but to obey.”

  This had been drilled into Everleigh since she was a young child. Each Elemental group had their own nuances. Earth typically skipped a generation. Fire and Water did not. All of their children would inherit the traits. In rare cases where hybrids occurred, it changed their natural attributes. One Elemental side would always be dominant with a few residual traces of the other shining through at times. Jackson was unique, and no one really knew why. If they did, they weren’t sharing the information, not even with Jackson. He was almost an entirely different being than the others save for a few details that held fast.

  She knew the risks of her friendship with Jackson, but rarely had there ever been an incident. None had ever been as close as today. Rarely had she ever seen his eyes change color and glow. When he first began to experience his nature, his temper would flare instigating the change. The medication had helped to keep him tame, but pieces of the Hyde to his Jekyll would shine through. It wasn’t lost on her that she had become a little too comfortable around him, but after the events of the afternoon, her guard would definitely not be down again for quite a while. That is if she ever lowered it again.

  “Is there anything else I should know?” her grandma asked, slowly climbing onto a stool without breaking eye contact.

  Everleigh knew the odds were good that her grandma had the answer before she asked the question, so coming clean was her only option. “Judd spoke to us about what’s happening to Fire. Something has targeted them.”

  Grandma Eloise sighed and looked at her hands. She drew one finger down the back of her hand smoothing out the wrinkles then removed the pressure letting the skin return to its original form.

  Everleigh watched her grandma play with around with her hand for a few moments wondering what she was thinking. Grandma Eloise was not one for vanity and felt sorry for those trying to hide their years beneath products meant to turn back the clock on their appearance. She believed wrinkles and graying hair were badges of honor showcasing a long life that many are fortunate enough to experience.

  Her grandma sighed, and turned her to face her. “Death has so many meanings and fears attached to it. Everyone approaches it differently.”

  “The vampires are being hunted then?” Everleigh sat on the stool next to her.

  Grandma Eloise looked away. Her eyes were distant like her mind was traveling to some time and place from long ago. “Earth and Water are a lot like humans in our regard of death. We are aware from youth that our days are limited. The smarter among us know to appreciate every day because not everyone is afforded a long life.”

  It was a treat to hear her grandma speak like this. Judd had been right about at least one thing. This woman had a lot of wisdom to pass on. The answer to her question would come, but her grandma would get to it in her own way and time.

  “Others have the comfort of knowing that their life will continue on while ours must come to an end. It makes them smug. Not so much with Air, but Fire...,” Grandma Eloise chuckled. “Fire can become quite cocky. It has always been this way which is why the rules were set in place for them centuries ago.”

  “Still, as the years roll by, the boredom sets in. With boredom, you become complacent. You start to relax far too much. You start to think about what you can do to make this immortal life more bearable instead of remembering you need to stay safe. Do you understand?”

  Everleigh thought about the choice of the words her grandma had used. It was no coincidence that she spoke similar words to the ones that had been on Everleigh’s mind moments before when thinking about her friendship with Jackson. She thought she knew what her Grandma meant. “Fire has brought attention to themselves again.”

  Grandma Eloise shook her head. “No, not so much that, but they’ve grown too comfortable. It’s been centuries since any of us experienced a hunt of our kind. They began to think those days were behind them. They wrongly accepted they would never die.”

  “They weren’t ready for an attack which made it easier,” Everleigh said, understanding now what her grandma was saying.

  “Ah, exactly,” her grandma patted her hand. “They let their guard down.”

  “Do you know who it is?”

  Grandma Eloise nodded slowly and chewed the inside of her lip, but she didn’t answer.

  “Who… Who is it?” Everleigh was almost afraid to ask only because she wasn’t sure if her grandma would be willing to divulge the answer.

  “I have a pretty good idea who is doing it, but what I don’t understand yet is why. There has to be more to it than what I’ve managed to discover so far. Some crucial piece of missing information that would tie everything together to make sense.”

  Everleigh waited, but that seemed to be all her grandma was going to tell her. She knew not to ask the same question again. If she was going to say who it was she suspected, she would have done so by now.

  “It would appear you’ve figured it out yourself,” her grandma continued.

  “Me?”

  “Yes, I believe you know who is behind it.”

  Everleigh opened her mouth then closed it, but her grandma widened her eyes and looked at her intently wanting her to voice it. “The wolves,” she softly uttered.

  Grandma Eloise nodded. “Indeed. It has to be Water.”

  “How can they be stopped?”

  Her grandma leaned back in shock. “Do you think this is where our focus should be? Meddling in the affairs of Fire when we have our own people to protect?”

  “Yes,” Everleigh challenged. “I think if we help Fire, they will help us, or we could stop it before it reaches us at the very least.”

  A grin spread over her grandma’s face. “I believe that’s the right answer this time, child.”

  Everleigh felt relieved. In a way, the only real option was for everyone to work together. The image of the storm her grandma had shown her last spring represented all of them. It was only logical to increase their numbers by combining forces. On the other hand, her grandma was very set in her ways and did not approve of consorting with other Elementals too much. “You do?” she asked. “I thought…”

  “You thought I’d risk the lives of our people over foolish pride.”

  “No,” Everleigh insisted. “Nothing like that.”

  “Exactly like that if we don’t work together, dear. I have very strong opinions, and I have always been very vocal about them. Of course you would think I would be hard to convince on this matter.”

  Everleigh smiled weakly. This was the first time her grandma had even come close to admitting she was wrong. Even so, she wasn’t wrong. Her grandma was making the right choice as always.

  “Off to bed now. We have work to do in the morning.”

  “Work? I thought my cousins would be gone for a couple weeks?”

  “They will be, but you and I need to figure out a way to prevent Water from extinguishing Fire.”

  Everleigh smiled and hugged her grandma. On her way out of the room, she stopped to ask, “How did you know about what happened tonight?”

  Grandma Eloise looked across the room as if she hadn’t heard.

  Everleigh was just about to leave when she pulled the necklace from inside her shirt holding
the pendant in her hand. “Divination. When I felt that you were in trouble, I looked to find out why.”

  As she walked up the stairs, she heard her grandma call out again. “You were right about something else too. I spoke with your aunt. She is making arrangements to stay with us soon.”

  She ran up the rest of the stairs smiling and squealed into her pillow after she jumped on her bed. Aunt Meredith was always a riot to hang out with, but they didn’t see each other as much as she’d like. Grandma and Meredith did not see eye to eye on pretty much everything.

  Everleigh took out her phone and sent Jackson a message to see if he was awake. He answered immediately, and she knew he had probably been waiting on her since the moment she left his house.

  “Meet tomorrow?” she sent.

  The dots showed up instantly. “When?”

  “Don’t know. Grandma needs me for something.”

  “Let me know.”

  “I will.”

  A few minutes later, he messaged her again. “Anything to update tonight?

  “Meredith is coming. Grandma confirmed it’s the wolves.”

  She laid down, but was too excited to sleep. It was getting late, but she knew her aunt never cared when she called. Propping up on her elbows, she dialed the number.

  “I wondered how long it would take you. I was beginning to think your grandma decided not to tell you.”

  “Hello to you too,” Everleigh joked, relaxing like the weight of the world was lifted off her shoulders just by hearing her aunt’s voice.

  Meredith’s smile could be heard through the line. “How have you been?”

  “Busy!”

  “I heard Eloise has been having you help train the called ones. How’s that going?”

  “Was I that bad?”

  Meredith laughed hard.

  “Be honest. I don’t remember being so slow to pick up on anything.”

  “You were a star pupil,” her aunt told her. “You were the only child your mama had. Eloise knew you’d be called, so she started immersing you in her world from a very young age.”

  Everleigh could remember all of the herbs she helped to plant and harvest. There were numerous rituals and celebrations she at least got to attend if not take part in. She had never thought of it as training because she enjoyed it so much, but looking back, that’s exactly what it was.

  “I heard you had a run in at Jackson’s house today.”

  “Grandma told you?” Everleigh sat straight up. It was hard enough to digest that her grandma had reached out to Meredith, but for the two of them to chat and catch up was unbelievable.

  “Of course not. Are we talking about the same grandma?”

  Everleigh laughed, “Then how do you know?”

  “Luke told me.”

  “How did he find out?”

  “Jackson’s dad called him while you were unconscious. He was worried to death about what almost happened to you.”

  “I’m fine,” Everleigh insisted.

  “Make no mistake. You’re fine because Judd got to you in time.”

  “I know,” she said quietly. Her aunt wasn’t wrong. If not for Judd, she would surely be dead or worse. Everleigh tried not to dwell too long on what could have happened.

  “Did he agree to take the pills?”

  “You knew about that?”

  “It was my idea,” Meredith stressed. “I need to know you’re safe. Now, let’s discuss something else before we get too upset.”

  “Like what?”

  “How about what is really going on between you and that boy.”

  Everleigh rolled her eyes and groaned. They’d been hearing this their whole life, but there would never be anything more between them. “Nothing, Aunt Meredith. We’re just friends.”

  “Then let me ask you something else.”

  “Sure, anything.”

  “Why the hell not? That boy is as gorgeous as they come.”

  “Aunt Meredith!”

  “Don’t Aunt Meredith me. I might not be a spring chicken anymore, but I know handsome when I see it.”

  Everleigh clamped her hand over her mouth. She couldn’t believe this was her aunt talking. Her aunt who had fallen in love with Luke the moment she met him and had been cast out by many in her family because she defied them when they forbid her to continue to see him. This aunt thought Jackson was good looking? A giggle broke through even though her mouth was still covered.

  “Laugh if you want. You know I’m telling the truth.”

  “Yes,” she mumbled. “He’s good looking.”

  “So why not flirt it up, and try him on for size?”

  Everleigh shook her head. There were many reasons why she had never allowed herself to think of him in that way. Reasons her grandma clearly laid out many years ago. Now they’d been friends so long that it was hard to see him as anything else, and that’s what she told her aunt.

  Meredith sighed. “I suppose I can see that. Good friendship can be as hard to find as a good man.”

  “Exactly.”

  “We need to find one for you.”

  “A good man?” Everleigh scoffed. “Good luck with that.”

  “You are much too young to sound so bitter.”

  Everleigh was glad her aunt couldn’t see the look on her face. Her mom had been head over heels in love with someone everyone thought was a good man. Late into her pregnancy, he came home drunk and accused her of cheating. Claimed the baby probably wasn’t his. They argued, and he left. Her mom ran out the door after him and fell down the steps. He didn’t stop. He didn’t care. If he had, she might’ve got to the hospital in time. She might not have bled out so much before help arrived. She might still be here. There was nothing anyone could say to convince Everleigh she needed to find a good man.

  “You still there?”

  “Yeah,” she yawned.

  “Hmm… Maybe we should wait and talk more when I get there.”

  “Wait. Do you have any news about the wolves?”

  It was her aunt’s turn to get quiet. “No, sweetie. I wish I did. I’ve got in touch with a few people who are going to see what they can find out and get back to me. Hopefully, I’ll know more when I get there.”

  “When are you coming?”

  “Soon. I just have something valuable I need to put into safe keeping first.”

  If that doesn’t sound cryptic, she thought. “Okay, but hurry. I need an ally.”

  Meredith cackled. “An ally against who? Eloise or that boy of Judd’s?”

  “I think you know,” she said before getting off the phone. It got under her skin the way everyone always pushed her toward Jackson. Even if she did like him in that way, which she did not, she knew her grandma’s feelings about pairing up with someone like him. It would never be allowed.

  Everleigh lay back and closed her eyes. She drifted off to sleep worried about what the future held. That worry was surely what influenced her dreams that night.

  She was running through an old empty building. It looked bleak and drab. Something like what the basement of an old hospital might look like. She was being chased by something, and even though she never saw it, she could hear it snarling behind her. Just before the wolf reached her, someone knocked her out of the way and saved her by killing it. In the dream, she knew this man who saved her life, and she loved him.

  In the morning when she opened her eyes, she was certain of only one thing. There was no chance it had been a psychic dream. There was no way she would ever fall for a guy like the one she saw behind her closed eyes.

  Chapter Nine

  “Aunt Meredith!” Everleigh ran outside to greet her. It had been far too long since their last visit.

  “Where’s your grandma?” Meredith asked.

  Everleigh smirked, and her eyes shone. “She had some unexpected errands to run today.”

  “Imagine that,” Meredith said, linking her arm through her niece’s before they both exploded in fits of laughter. They walked into the house side b
y side where the cousins were busy working on magical exercises to commit spells to memory.

  “I was hoping we could have some time to ourselves before Eloise returned,” Meredith told her quietly, frowning at the number of people gathered downstairs.

  Everleigh glanced at their work and knew it would be unwise to pull them away. When grandma put you to task, she expected you to deliver on it. “We could go outside to the garden, perhaps,” she suggested more like a question.

  “Brilliant,” Meredith’s eyes lit up. “I am in need of some more bloodroot. Has your grandma any?”

  “You already know the answer to that,” Everleigh told her, leading her aunt through the house to the backdoor. Once outside and out of earshot from her cousins, she added, “And you know not to let me see you slip any of it in your pocket in case grandma asks later.”

  Meredith grinned from ear to ear and turned in circles with her arms outstretched. “Some things never change,” she laughed. “I do miss this place though,” she said, opening the garden gate.

  “What do you mean?” Everleigh narrowed her eyes. Aunt Meredith had never been entirely welcome. Grandma merely tolerated her when necessary. Her aunt had already found the bloodroot, so Everleigh moved away where she couldn’t watch what she was about to do. Grandma Eloise could sniff out a lie before it was told, and she wanted plausible deniability if asked about whether Meredith helped herself to anything in the garden.

  In a few minutes, Meredith walked up behind her brushing the dirt off her hands. “Did I ever tell you I’m the one who sold this house to your grandma?”

  “You’re kidding?” Everleigh gasped in disbelief with her mouth hanging open.

  “I didn’t know who the buyer was until after it was done. Luke and I were long gone and hadn’t been to this house for quite some time when it sold. The sale was handled by a third party.”

  “No. No, I never knew that.” Everleigh stared at her aunt.

  “I don’t think she likes to let that secret be known.”

  “What secret is that Meredith?” Eloise’s voice boomed from behind them both.

  Meredith’s eyes widened, and she stifled a laugh before turning to greet the old woman. “Eloise, always a pleasure. I was just telling my niece how I was actually the one who started this garden, but you have certainly grown it into something even far greater.”