Everleigh avoided looking at either of them fearing she may chuckle out loud if she did. Flattery like that was nothing more than showboating where her grandma was concerned. It didn’t have an effect on her. If anything, it irritated her even more.
“Hmph,” Eloise frowned. “Just because you planted the first seed doesn’t mean you still get to harvest from it whenever you get the notion.” Her eyes darted to Meredith’s satchel. Eloise turned on her heel and marched into the house.
After she was gone, Everleigh whispered, “How does she do that?”
“She’s stronger than you could possibly know.” Meredith never tore her eyes away from the door Eloise disappeared through. “Never underestimate her.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. I live with her,” Everleigh joked.
Meredith’s eyes danced devilishly. “That doesn’t mean you are privy to all her secrets.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Everleigh asked her aunt’s back as she walked toward the house.
“It means you still have much to learn about her, and from her as well.”
Everleigh stopped just a few steps from the porch thinking about the volumes of information she still didn’t know. There had been many unanswered questions over the years. Enough for her to fill entire journals hoping one day to learn the answers. It wasn’t hard at all to recall one of them now. The tricky part was trying to decide which ones she was curious to know the most.
Meredith continued walking until she reached the back door before realizing Everleigh was no longer following close behind. She saw her niece hanging back lost in her thoughts about something. “What’s on your mind?”
“How did you meet Grandma Eloise?”
The question caught her aunt off guard. “What do you mean how?”
Everleigh shrugged. “I know how she feels about... Well, you know... About you’re immortality. How did you come to be involved with the family?”
“She never told you?”
“No,” Everleigh shook her head, knowing she had never asked before either. All questions that concerned her aunt in even the smallest way were kept quiet unless she could ask Aunt Meredith herself. It was discovered a long time ago that she was one topic her grandma tried to avoid at all costs.
Meredith sighed and looked off at the garden trying to think of how to answer the question carefully. “Your grandma is related to my ancestors.”
“That much I did know,” Everleigh told her.
“Well, ever since the choice I made to be with Luke, my family have passed my secret along to each new generation of witches. They have always included me to some degree. Some have been more accepting of the blood that flows through me than others.”
“Like Grandma Eloise.”
“Exactly like your grandma. For her generation, she was the only witch. She was stuck with me whether she liked it or not,” Meredith smiled. “And I’m willing to bet it was not.”
Everleigh slowly nodded. Honestly, her aunt hadn’t completely answered her question nor had she told her anything she didn’t already know. Still hearing it all at once like this seemed to make a little more sense than figuring out the bits and pieces she’d been able to pick up on over the years. The part she really wanted to hear was how she was even introduced to her grandma and when. Was her aunt always a part of her grandma’s life and eventually she was told the truth?
That’s how it had been for Everleigh. When she was old to question how her aunt’s looks never changed no matter how long it had been between visits, her grandma told her about the choice Aunt Meredith made to become immortal. Grandma Eloise had said everything she could to change Everleigh’s opinion of her, but all it did was make her more fascinated with her aunt. She was thinking of how to word her next question to get the most information when her aunt reminded her there were other matters to tend to.
“Come. We have much to discuss with your grandma.”
Everleigh threw her head back and sighed. Nothing was ever revealed at once. It always had to dance out of reach in a shroud of mystery before showing itself a little at a time.
The two went inside where Eloise was checking in on the progress of her other granddaughters in the kitchen. There would be no time for them to catch up until Eloise was through discussing whatever was concerning her with Meredith. Everleigh sat at the island in the kitchen preparing to once again take over on lessons while the two older women met in private.
To her surprise, her grandma gave the girls the afternoon off and sent them on their way to explore the town and enjoy their free time. Amber hung back hanging out in the kitchen with the rest of them which was no surprise. She had always been more interested in trying to learn by snooping then the actual spell work their grandma wanted her to practice.
“Did you understand what I said?” Grandma Eloise asked her sternly.
“Yeah,” Amber replied. “We got the day off.”
“To explore the town,” their grandma repeated.
“I’m good,” Amber said, opening the refrigerator to find something to snack on.
“When I give you time off telling you to explore the town, it’s my subtle way of saying I need you out of my house,” Grandma Eloise spat. “Now get your butt out of my sight as fast as your legs can manage.”
Amber’s head whipped toward her, and her eyes widened in shock. There was a moment of hesitation while she processed what she had just been told.
Eloise took one step in her direction, and that was enough.
“I’m already gone,” Amber called out, as she quickly trotted down the hall to the front door to catch up with the other cousins who had already left.
Everleigh couldn’t help but smile watching the whole scene unfold. Once it was only the three of them in the house, a heavy tension fell in the room. She looked up to see her aunt and her grandma staring at her. It was her turn to hightail it out of the house. She jumped from the stool and started toward the hall.
“Where are you going?” her grandma asked.
“To help my cousins explore the town,” she said, looking back to face them.
“Nonsense,” her grandma said, making a cup of tea. “Come and sit. It won’t be long before they realize there’s nothing much to this town and head back home.”
Everleigh walked back to the stool she had just been sitting at surprised she was included in the conversation too. It hadn’t been that long since she had last been sent on some fool’s errand just to give the adults the privacy they needed to talk while she was gone. The calling of her cousins had changed everything for her and brought her into her own as an established witch in her family and coven.
“Meredith,” Eloise began, “I need your assistance with something.”
Both Meredith and Everleigh were surprised. It was unlike her to admit she needed help at any time, but to ask Meredith to help her was completely out of character.
“Anything you need,” Meredith told her.
Eloise stared at her cup of tea for several moments before carrying it over to join the other two ladies. “What do you know?”
It sounded like an undefined question to Everleigh. Her grandma could have been asking about anything even though she was fairly certain it either involved the coming storm or what had happened with Jackson. Maybe even both.
However, Meredith knew exactly what was meant by the question. “I know that the Fire Elementals are afraid. Many have gone into hiding. The ones who haven’t are trying to discover who is behind the attacks. It doesn’t matter what they choose because they are still being hunted. Even some of the ones who’ve gone into hiding have been found and murdered.”
Everleigh listened with growing interest. There had been some talk about mysterious circumstances around the deaths of a few vampires, but she hadn’t heard anything as alarming as this. Most of what she had heard was picked up from other people’s conversations, and it wasn’t much. Jackson hadn’t been around to keep her updated, but even if he had been home, hi
s dad likely would’ve kept most of the details from him. It definitely pointed to the wolves. If an Elemental wanted to go off grid, they could usually do so without incident. It would take intense tracking skills to find a vampire who didn’t want to be discovered.
“Everything okay?” her aunt asked.
She snapped back to attention worried about what she missed. Grandma Eloise wouldn’t tolerate someone spending all their time lost in space as she referred to it. Your mind should always be focused on Earth, not lost in the clouds. “Yeah, why?” Everleigh asked, worrying she missed part of the conversation.
Aunt Meredith shook her head and gave a weak smile. “It’s nothing. You looked upset.”
Slowly she began to nod her head. Of course she looked upset. It was disturbing news. “They’re found even in hiding?”
Her grandma sighed slowly. “Yes, dear. It saddens me as well. To take every precaution for your loved ones and leave the life you know behind in effort to keep everyone safe only to be found anyway, but without the strength of the numbers you would’ve had if you had stayed? It’s heart breaking. Many of them are killed while they sleep. Cowardly if you ask me.”
“Killed?” Aunt Meredith scoffed. “They’re being slaughtered. It’s worse than a slasher flick from what Luke tells me.”
Everleigh gasped. This hadn’t been divulged to her until now. Immediately she worried about Jackson and his dad. Judd might be intimidating without effort, but he had never done anything to warrant meeting an end like her aunt was describing.
As if she knew her thoughts, her grandma told her, “Don’t worry about your friend, child. There is no one who could protect him better than his father.”
Those were the kindest words her grandma had ever said about Judd Montgomery. Everleigh almost asked how her grandma knew what she was thinking then realized it would be for naught. Grandma Eloise would probably only ask her why she was surprised about it. A wry smile formed on her grandma’s lips while she had the thought, and if she didn’t know better, she’d have sworn her grandma was hearing her thoughts word for word. No one could do that. Not except for Air.
“Have there been any leads on who is behind it?” Grandma Eloise asked.
Meredith closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Near as we can tell, it’s the wolves. They’re carrying out the orders. That much we know for fact. We don’t know who the mastermind behind everything is yet.”
Eloise nodded. It was something she had already determined as well. “No one suspects Water is behind this, then?”
“Honestly, no one is really certain about anything when it comes to Water. Every lead we’ve ever had has been a dead end. It appears no one knows Water’s identity.”
“Yes,” Eloise agreed, sipping her tea. “Water has always successfully remained elusive.”
“If it’s the wolves, wouldn’t it be Water behind what’s going on?” Everleigh asked, thinking it seemed obvious.
“Not necessarily,” Meredith told her. “We’ve exhausted a lot of leads including whether it was a member of Air posing as the Water Element. Air is not a part of what is happening.”
That was one scenario Everleigh wasn’t sure she would have ever considered, but if it was already checked into, there was no need for her to contemplate it now. “How else would anyone be able to control the wolves?” Everleigh’s eyebrows lifted. It wouldn’t make sense for the wolves to go against their leader.
“There is always a way to persuade someone,” her grandma told her. “You just have to be able to give them what they want in return.”
“And what do the wolves want?”
Her grandma shook her head slowly. “It could be anything, but the most likely choice is an end to their curse.”
“But that isn’t possible.” Everleigh let the words slip out as soon as they popped into her head. Everyone knew there was no way to stop Water from transforming during a full moon.
“That’s not entirely true. There is a spell,” Meredith said quietly.
That caught Everleigh’s attention. It was the opposite of what she had understood as truth her entire life. None of the Elementals were supposed to be able to affect factions other than their own. “What spell? How does that work?”
“For starters, there’s a coven in the south that has been able to remove the pain from the transformation,” Grandma Eloise revealed.
“But I thought...”
“It’s not that cut and dry,” Grandma Eloise went on. “There has been blood shared between Earth and Water in that area for centuries.”
Meredith cut her eyes away without Eloise seeing it. “What she means is there has been some interbreeding between the Elemental groups in that region.”
Everleigh thought it over, and it would seem to reason that their spells would work if they were related. “Okay, so they can help with the pain. They can’t take away the transformation completely.”
“You’re right,” Grandma Eloise agreed. “Only the Divine Spirit could stop it.”
“Although it has always been rumored Anya could spell it to stop successfully if she were so inclined,” Meredith added. “Maybe for only one cycle at a time.”
Eloise scoffed at the remark. “Even if she was capable of something so profound, I doubt she could ever be moved to see it though.”
“I don’t understand. How could they be promised something that can’t be done?”
Meredith furrowed her brow. “People make false promises all the time.”
“And why would the wolves believe it can be done?”
As soon as the question was out of her mouth, Everleigh realized the answer and sucked in her breath quickly. “It’s because of the success the witches had in the south, isn’t it?”
“That’s the theory I’m behind,” her grandma answered.
Everleigh looked down and slowly drummed her fingers on the counter top. “That makes it sound like witches are involved.”
Eloise stood up and placed her cup in the sink. She turned back to face the ladies and rubbed her temples. “This brings me back to what I said at the beginning. Meredith, I need you to help me with something.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Do you have any contacts in the south?”
Meredith shook her head. “I know only a couple of them, and I barely know them at all. There is one woman. Her name is Rita. I can try to get ahold her.”
“See what you can find out. Also, that friend of yours. I believe his name is Todd?”
“What about him?”
Eloise walked closer. “He knows people from every faction. Try to bring him in on this. We need to find out who is behind this to put an end to it before it reaches us.”
The atmosphere around them turned urgent with those final words, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. As soon as Eloise was done speaking, the cousins bounded in the front door and quickly made their way to the kitchen ignoring the tone of room. They were talking over each other about the lack of anything to do in town besides go out to eat. When they finally took notice of the seriousness of the three women gathered around the island in the middle of the kitchen, it was too late to ask questions. Meredith made her exit claiming she had errands to run, and Eloise quickly set the newly called witches back to practice on their spell work.
Chapter Ten
Anya shuffled crates around setting up their spot in the marketplace. They were here every morning selling what they could to the townsfolk. She hoped there would be a need for chickens and eggs today as that was most of their haul.
A kind woman about twice the age of Anya was their first customer. She was a servant who shopped for the house she worked for and regularly bought from them. Anya always looked forward to seeing her not only because she was a consistent sale, but because she enjoyed their chats.
“How are you this morning?” Anya asked her.
“The pains let me know I’m alive,” she responded, rubbing her lower back. “It’s a blessing.”
“Growing old is a blessing. Not everyone is afforded that luxury.”
“That is very true,” Anya agreed, admiring the wisdom this woman had. She always saw life in a different light than any of the others Anya had met.
“You, my dear, are blessed more than most. You don’t look a day older than when we met. When was that anyhow?” She thought it over for a minute, but was distracted when the children ran up behind the table.
“Mother! Mother!” Little Daniel was yelling excitedly. He wasn’t quite so little anymore. At ten years old, he was already almost as tall as his mother. She knew she would have to stop thinking of him as Little Daniel, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“What is it, Daniel?” she asked, in one of the rare moments where she left out the word little.
“Nicholas found a baby rabbit! Can we bring him home?’
“Ask your father,” she told him, knowing quite well that there would be a new animal joining them at their home today. Daniel never could tell the boys no.
Anya turned her attention to the woman who was watching the boys run off. “That’s right. Little Daniel. He was just a babe you were wearing on your chest the first time I met you at the market. How old is he now?”
“He’ll be eleven this autumn.”
The woman shook her head and commented, “And you look young enough to be his older sister. Blessed indeed.”
The old woman’s words plagued Anya the rest of the day. She would never age. She was immortal. She wondered how many people had taken notice of her youthful looks who hadn’t mentioned it to her. How long would it be before someone looked at it as more than just a blessing? She’d often spent many a night thinking about what she would do when her ageless appearance began to be noticed. She wasn’t ready to leave her family, and it wasn’t really an option in her mind. They could move. They could always start over somewhere new where she might pretend to be a sister or an aunt, but what explanation would she give to Daniel or their children? There was no easy choice.
Earth: The Elementals Book Two Page 11
