Earth: The Elementals Book Two

by Jennifer Lush

  Everleigh couldn’t make out everything her aunt was saying, but she picked up on a few words. She stared ahead waiting for some magical veil to drop, and a vampire to appear. Nothing.

  She turned to her when she had finished, and said, “I don’t see anything, Aunt Meredith.”

  The corners of her aunt’s lips slowly turned up into a smile. “He’s here.”

  Everleigh was about to ask where when she glanced back at the mirror and screamed. In the reflection standing behind her was a very tall and very handsome man. He looked young, younger than her aunt appeared to be. He could easily pass for mid-twenties. His hair was jet black, and his skin had a dark tan. They laughed when she screamed.

  He put his arms around Meredith and kissed her. “I didn’t realize it was show and tell tonight, dear,” he teased.

  “I’ll explain soon,” Meredith told him, furrowing her brows with worry.

  Everleigh turned around to look at him directly.

  Amber was standing several feet behind them with her eyes wide open. “He just appeared.”

  “It’s a hiding spell,” Meredith explained, “to protect something valuable, and Luke is most valuable to me.”

  He hugged her tighter then let his arms fall to get a good look at the other two girls in the room.

  Amber was still staring. “He wasn’t there. Then he was.”

  Luke smiled at her. “I was here all along. You just couldn’t detect me.”

  “You saw us?” Everleigh asked.

  “Yes, of course. I was the one who was hidden, not you.”

  “Luke, these are my nieces, Everleigh and Amber. Girls, this man is my one true love.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you ladies,” Luke said and did a slight bow. “I’ve waited far too long for your aunt to get around to introducing me to the family,” he said, laughing at his own joke.

  “Let’s go downstairs,” Meredith instructed. “We have to be on our way soon I’m afraid.”

  “Where are we headed?”

  “I’m hoping my friend Todd will take us in,” Meredith answered him, concern wavering in her voice.

  They made their way down to the main floor of the house where Eloise was waiting. As Meredith put on her coat, she could feel the watchful eyes of the old woman on her at every moment.

  This wasn’t the first time Eloise had to sit back and watch as she forced Meredith and Luke away. It made her heart heavy thinking it probably wouldn’t be the last time either. The Elemental factions had decided centuries ago not to mix the lines. It was a hard test of loyalty when one of the groups was being hunted. There would be a hefty choice to make. Do you help your own people? Or do you aide the person that holds your heart?

  Too many times their kind had seen this play out. Bloodlines being betrayed in the name of love, or a family member sacrificed because the one they loved turned on them when they chose their family. The repercussions of the decisions regardless of what they might be affected the factions for generations to come every single time. That’s when the elders decided it would be best to not intermix.

  Meredith had been informed of this. Still she chose her heart over her family. That was her decision to make, and as far as Eloise was concerned, she made the wrong choice. There would be no way to know whose side she would take in a moment of battle. Best to keep her at arm’s length.

  They drove off to the farmhouse, and Meredith chuckled.

  “Pray tell, what’s so funny?” Luke asked.

  “Oh, nothing, I was just picturing the look on Todd’s face when we arrive.”

  Luke was puzzled. He and Todd had been acquainted since long before he met Meredith. “Why would he be surprised to see us?”

  He checked the time. It was after midnight. “Is it because of the hour?”

  “No. Air has been gathering here for days. Some of Todd’s family have never met a witch or a vampire before, and now we’re about to drop by unexpectedly.”

  Luke mulled it over. He could see the humor in it, but it left him uneasy. “Will he allow us to stay?”

  Meredith shook her head, “I honestly don’t know. I’m certain he will take us in for the night, but after that,” her voice trailed off, and she shrugged.

  “We’ll worry about it in the morning if that’s the case,” Luke said, looking out the windshield. He brought her hand to his lips and glanced her way briefly. He tried to smile at her reassuringly, knowing she could see right through his façade. It was hard to stay positive when every time you had to move, you were placing an even larger target on yourself and helping your enemy track you down.

  They turned down the lane toward the farmhouse and parked at the end of the drive. Luke looked out the window at the light pouring onto the porch from the downstairs windows. It didn’t look like they would have to wake anyone at least.

  “Are you coming?”

  He looked over and saw Meredith was already out of the car, leaning in to get his attention. “Oh, sorry. There’s a lot on my mind.”

  Luke quickly unbuckled and got out. They walked up the steps and could hear voices from inside. He quickly knocked on the door then stepped to the side.

  A minute later, Todd opened the door. “Meredith!” he greeted her, happily as always.

  “Can we come in?”

  “We?” Todd asked.

  Luke stepped out from where he had been standing and nodded at Todd.

  “Hello, Luke,” Todd said. “You are always welcome here. Please, come in.”

  The two of them walked inside where the family were gathered deeply concentrating on something. The only one who paid them much attention was Lilah who couldn’t tear her eyes away.

  “What brings you out so late?” Todd asked, indicating he knew it wasn’t a friendly meeting.

  “Eloise kicked us out,” Meredith said, regretting coming here. Even if everyone staying there was accounted for in the living room, it was too many for one house. There could be even more scattered throughout the house. Todd’s family opening their home to them was a long shot, and it looked like they were already overbooked.

  “What?” Todd seemed amused.

  “Well, to be fair, I didn’t exactly ask permission to stash a vampire in her attic.”

  Meredith heard a gasp and looked behind Todd to find Lilah staring with her mouth open. She was amused. Lilah’s face was identical to the expression Amber had in the attic not long ago.

  Todd gave them a sly grin. “Luke, this is my niece Lilah. You have to forgive her. She didn’t know vampires were real until a few days ago.”

  Lilah couldn’t stop staring. Meredith snapped her fingers in front of Lilah’s face. “Aren’t you going to say hi?”

  “Hey,” she said, turning her attention immediately back to the vampire standing before her. “Are you really going to be staying here?”

  “That’s up to your uncle,” Meredith said, exchanging a quick look with Luke. They hadn’t asked about staying yet. Neither had thought that far ahead to work out the best way to go about bringing it up. If Everleigh had given Lilah a head’s up they were coming over, she wouldn’t have been so dumbfounded over seeing a vampire in the flesh. Both of them were left wondering how exactly she knew that’s why they were there.

  ‘It had to be a lucky guess,’ Meredith told herself. She had revealed Eloise had kicked them out. It might be a logical conclusion that they at least needed a place to crash for the night. ‘No Elemental’s gift can cross faction lines, so there’s no way she could’ve picked up on it with her powers, right?’

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I’m worried about Isobel.” Nicholas mentioned to his mother one afternoon during a visit.

  “Is there something wrong?” Anya asked. She looked at Isobel playing on the floor with the other children. She looked healthy and well.

  “Not wrong per se,” he looked unsure of how to express his thoughts.

  “Take your time. The words will come.”

  “She has these night terr
ors. They wake her up many times each night leaving her frightened and hard to return to sleep.”

  Anya kept her eyes on her granddaughter. She knew what was happening all too well. Isobel was almost a woman now. If she was experiencing the dreams, there were other signs as well even if they were not yet noticed.

  “I have those dreams myself,” she told her son.

  “I remember. This is why I brought it up. Is there anything we can do? There are nights where we hardly get any sleep at all.”

  “Is she not in her room? How do you hear her?”

  “She wakes us up.”

  Anya smiled, “Then simply tell her not to. She is of an age where she can sooth herself.”

  “It’s not always like that. She rarely comes into our room, only when the night terrors have really frightened her. Her siblings hear her cry out sometimes and wake up. Regardless, she will be up for hours doing busy work because she’s afraid to sleep. Soon others are disturbed then the whole home is awake.”

  There were many nights when Anya lay awake in the dark frightened by a vision. She rarely got up because she dared not disturb Daniel, but there were times when her dreams effected everyone.

  “What can we do, mother?”

  She sighed. There was a lot she could teach Isobel, but nothing she could pass on to her son. “I have an idea. Why not allow her an extended visit with us?”

  “How would that help?”

  “Well, I can tell you what to do in the hopes you would do it well, or I could teach her myself. Your family will have a rest filled break while she’s here to help us in addition to learning how to overcome the night terrors.”

  Nicholas thought it over. It wasn’t what he’d had in mind, and he knew his other children would not receive the news of having to pick up the slack from Isobel‘s chores that well. Yet, the thought of sleeping through the night without ruckus or alarm rousing him was too tempting to pass.

  “For how long do you think?” he asked.

  “Hard to say. A few weeks at the most would surely be enough. Daniel and I will bring her to you when she learns how to handle herself well without disturbing others after one of these dreams.”

  He couldn’t find good reason to turn down the offer. The next day Isobel came to the house with a small crate of belongings. Daniel and Anya happily welcomed her. It had been far too long since a child lived within their home. Isobel knew why she had been sent there, but was surprised no one had mentioned it all throughout the evening. Before turning in, Anya explained she wanted to see for herself how bad her night terrors were in order to better help her. Isobel laid down to sleep on a bed that used to be her father’s with her grandmother next to her.

  It was very early morning when Isobel awoke screaming and kicking at an unseen presence. Anya reached out and took her shoulders. She exhaled slowly in front of her face nodding at her to follow. Isobel continued the long intentional exhales until she was calm.

  “Tell me, child. What did you see?”

  “I’m not sure. I couldn’t see it, but it chased me.”

  “Chased you where?”

  “Through the forest. I ran as fast as I could, but I could never shake it. I tripped, and it was upon me.”

  Anya knew exactly what it was that had chased her through the trees. She had dreams very similar to this herself many times over the years. “It can frighten you, but it can never harm you. Tomorrow, I will teach you how to tame it.”

  Isobel looked at her grandmother with a growing admiration. They had always been close. Her grandmother was close with all of her family making each of them feel important and appreciated unlike how most adults treated children. No one had ever treated her nightmares with such kindness, and she was grateful to not suffer consequences this time for something she couldn’t control.

  She laid down again next to her grandmother. Somehow knowing she understood and was sympathetic toward her made it easier to fight her apprehension and try to sleep. She had long ago given up making any further attempts once she had been so cruelly jarred awake. Her terror was enough to keep her eyes peeled searching the shadows on the walls for anything that might be trying to attack her. In the middle of the night when the world is at its darkest, it’s easy to see anything your mind can imagine even if you know it’s not really there.

  The next morning, the two women set off on a walk into the woods after breakfast had been cleared away. They walked a long while before Anya said anything. “I will not be able to make these dreams of yours go away. I can teach you how to resolve them when they occur to reduce the times you disturb others.”

  This was great news to Isobel, but she didn’t understand how the woods would help with anything. Her grandfather knew why she was visiting. It didn’t need to be a secret.

  “The first thing we must do is decrease the number of times they occur.”

  “You can do that?”

  “No, but you can once you know how.”

  “How do I do it?” Isobel was excited, thinking there might be a solution that would actually help her.

  Anya continued to lead her through the woods, but she didn’t answer. They came to a clearing where a tree stump sat in the middle. It seemed deliberate to Isobel that they found themselves in this spot like her grandmother had previous knowledge of this location’s existence. She wondered what it had to do with her night terrors.

  “The beast that chases you is yourself.”

  Her grandmother made absolutely no sense. “How could I chase myself? It is not possible.”

  “It’s a part of yourself that you aren’t acknowledging. When you ignore it, it will come after you demanding attention. That is what is happening in your dreams. It wants you to accept all the parts of who you are.”

  Isobel had no idea what her grandmother was talking about. “I’m not sure what is meant by that.”

  “Have you noticed anything else?”

  “Like what?”

  Anya rubbed her shoulder trying to think of how to lead Isobel down this path gently. She couldn’t blurt anything out for fear of her running back to Daniel. “Anything that is different about you from your family or others that you know?”

  This was starting to worry her. She wanted to head back. She was suddenly uncomfortable with her grandmother out here alone, but she didn’t know why it bothered her.

  Her grandmother reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out an item keeping it hidden in her fist. “Tell me. What is in my hand?”

  This was absurd. Her uneasiness was building. “How would I know what…it’s an acorn.” Isobel would not be able to explain how she knew, but she was certain beyond any doubt.

  Anya slowly opened her fist revealing a small intact acorn laying on her palm. She smiled at her granddaughter gently.

  “But how? I must have seen you pick it up,” she said more to herself, trying to explain the trick to herself.

  “I put it in my apron before you awakened this morning.”

  Isobel shifted uncomfortably. She knew actions like these were taboo. You could be run out of town, strung up, or worse, left to live as an outcast that people spread falsities about for generations.

  “You needn’t worry. What else have you done?”

  The urge to run back to her grandfather was still there. She wanted to believe that she was safe here. Her grandmother would surely protect her, but she knew of others. They were turned out by their family over much lesser acts than knowing a secret item was an acorn.

  As she stood there trying to decide what she should do or how much she should share, her grandmother dug in the dirt near the stump. She pulled out a burlap bundle from a shallow hole and set it down.

  “Let’s take turns, shall we? You knew I held an acorn, and now you know where I keep my most precious belongings.”

  Isobel thought it over. She was very curious to see what was inside. There had been much to occur recently, and she hadn’t been able to tell anyone. She had longed to be able to discuss it. Run
ning seemed like the only option she could afford. She could run now away from her grandmother who obviously knew something about her she had tried to keep to herself. Or she could run later after she had been exposed at any time there was an opportunity. The only real choice was did she play along with her grandmother’s game. With a heavy sigh, she chose trust. She trusted her intuition that her grandmother wanted to protect her.

  “Last winter, you and grandfather gifted me with a beautiful chest.”

  “You already knew didn’t you?”

  “I thought I had overheard a conversation, but when I saw it…” She looked to her grandmother lost for an explanation.

  “You recognized it.” Anya reached into the bag and pulled out a vial. She turned it over in her hands almost lovingly before offering it to her granddaughter for a closer view. “It’s moon water.”

  She held the vial in front of her face by the bottom peering closely at the liquid inside trying to see how it looked any different than other water.

  Anya laughed. “It’s water that was charged during a full moon.” She took the vial back and set it on the stump.

  They went back and forth until all the items were laid out to view. There were vials of liquid, herbs, salt, candles, and a dagger among them. Isobel looked them over trying desperately to establish a different meaning than the one that had already taken hold in her mind.

  “These are the most important or most needed of all my tools,” Anya said, noticing the uneasy silence from her granddaughter had stretched out.

  “Tools,” Isobel repeated.

  Anya gathered everything back into the bag and buried it again near the stump. “I think that’s enough for today. Shall we head home?”

  “Enough?” Her granddaughter was still dazed and trying to find logic behind the events of the morning.

  “Enough for your first lesson.”

  “My first lesson of what?”

  “You already know. I can feel it. It’s okay to speak the words.”

  “You’re a,” Isobel looked off toward the woods. She couldn’t look her grandmother in the eye any longer. “A witch,” she finished, barely above a whisper.