There were some murmurs going through the crowd now as the relief was sinking in that Lilah would be fine. Meredith could hear a few words of gratitude being aimed at her as well.
“Someone has been drugging her. I know your limits. I know what the only thing is that can bring you death. Lilah could likely survive this on her own, but what if her heart had stopped for too long before she was found.”
“Her heart stopped?” Todd asked, choking on his pain.
“She wasn’t breathing when I found her,” Meredith hadn’t been sure if she wanted to omit this piece of news or not, but found herself saying it.
You could have heard a pin drop after the bomb dropped on them. They all sat in silence realizing how close they had been to losing her.
Meredith stood and stared at the man in the back of the room. The man who hadn’t looked up for some time now. The man who still hid his face and rocked with his shoulders shaking hard enough to give away the sobs he was hiding. Nothing broke her stare not even when Todd tried to ask her questions.
Others picked up on it and curiously turned to see who or what she was looking at. One, then another, and another at first. Then everyone joined her. Still the man didn’t move. If he had any inclination that he was under scrutiny, he didn’t show it.
“Brian!” Myles called for his attention sternly.
The rocking stopped and slowly the man lifted his head. When he saw all eyes upon him, the sobs he had been trying to keep stifled broke free. He didn’t say much as his cries grew louder, but he did manage to say, “This wasn’t what was supposed to happen.”
“Where is she?” Abby asked Meredith after getting herself under control.
“I sent her somewhere safe. She’ll be protected.”
The words caused Abby to flinch as though it was a direct attack on her.
“She’ll be protected from anything that might come our way until she’s recovered,” Meredith explained gently. Abby had always been an ally, and it would continue to bring her guilt how she had caused this poor woman so much pain tonight.
Voices were starting to rise up all around as the family began demanding the man give them answers for what he had done. Meredith felt like her work here was over, but she wanted to wait a bit longer before leaving. She needed to know the girls were safe.
Todd approached and gave her a hug so tight he might have just as easily been trying to cut her in two with his arms. “I can never repay you for helping my niece. You saved her life.”
She placed her hand on his cheek and looked in his eyes, “You have saved me countless times.”
“Not like this, Meredith.”
“Friends don’t keep tabs, Todd. Isn’t that what you told me once?”
His face softened a little, and he remarked, “That’s what you chose to listen to of everything I’ve ever tried to teach you?”
They laughed softly. Todd had certainly tried to influence her for the better over the years, but she wouldn’t always have it.
He scanned the room and the verbal attacks that were being slung. “This will occupy them for a while,” he told her, knowing what she was doing after seeing Lilah leave not long ago with his own eyes.
“That is the hope.”
“And you are aware we will all know where she has gone and who she is with?”
“Then you will also know how safe she will be under his protection.”
Todd chewed the inside of his cheek. “I imagine there’s no place safer.”
“I will head out soon once I’m confident the girls are long gone,” Meredith told him, feeling like she needed to explain why she was simply watching the show she set in motion.
“They’re not going anywhere,” Todd said, nodding toward his brother who was being circled like he was at his end, and vultures were awaiting their last meal.
“Why did he do it? Any ideas?”
“I have my suspicions, but it’s a ridiculous extreme in any event.”
“Agreed,” Meredith scoffed. Her family had many disagreements with her over the years especially when she first chose a life with Luke. They had disagreed, fought, and gone periods without speaking, but this is something her family would only do if she were a danger to herself.
It clicked inside her like a cartoon lightbulb that switched on. “Wait. Did she do something? Lilah, I mean.”
There was no response, but she watched his shoulders rise and fall with a heavy breath. “There was a … an incident,” the words came out slow.
“What kind of incident?”
“It has been observed that our young Lilah is the strongest of us all.”
Meredith’s mouth fell open. She knew the storms last night had been the young girl’s doing, and it had been confided in her that Air thought Lilah’s powers were superior among the rest of them. To hear Todd say it like this confirms what had been speculated. There had been numerous times when she saw Todd at the peak of his form. It was more than enough to make her definitively aware that she did not want to ever be at the wrong end of an Air’s anger. It was unimaginable that this young little waif of a girl was actually stronger.
“You have to be exaggerating,” she told him.
“Sadly, no. We thought…well like how more witches spawned?”
“Maybe Air was increasing in power since you could not increase in numbers as rapidly?”
“Exactly.”
“It’s not a bad theory.”
“No, it is a debunked theory. We tested it this morning. Even combining our strengths, we are not as powerful.”
“Crap,” Meredith was stunned. It was mind boggling, and that was without knowing to what extent Lilah was more powerful.
“That’s what I said,” Todd smiled dryly.
The mob scene was just getting started. The man responsible for what happened was cowering away. The only words he could muster was to apologize over and over.
Meredith clicked her tongue to get Todd’s attention and nodded toward the kitchen. She held a finger toward Matt and Rita as she walked by with Luke telling them to hang on.
“You think that’s why he did it then? Because of her power?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Still,” Meredith shook her head. “It seems outrageous to me.”
“To me as well, but she lost control when she got upset, and you have to admit, there’s a lot to get upset about at the moment,” he added.
“Yeah, everyone’s nerves are fired up,” Luke agreed.
Todd glanced over her shoulder toward the fight engulfing his family. “You don’t have to tell me that.”
“I’m going to take off and see how our little ball of energy we kidnapped is faring. I’ll let you know.”
“Yes, keep me updated,” Todd said, giving her a hug.
“And you get that under control,” Meredith turned and pointed toward his family. “Earth and Water are already arriving from the south. By dawn, they should all be settled somewhere.”
Todd nodded slowly, but Meredith felt like he didn’t really understand. “They’re going to want to meet. With all of us,” she emphasized.
His head turned toward her then, and his eyes looked old and tired. “I’ll be ready.”
With that, he headed into the living room and began shouting over the crowd to get everyone’s attention. Meredith wasn’t waiting to see how it worked out. She motioned to Matt and Rita to follow her, and they all left out the back door.
“That went well,” Matt smirked.
“Your speaking skills are amazing,” Rita said, joining her husband in teasing her.
“It did go well. The girls are gone, aren’t they?”
They hurried to their cars as if they expected an attack to come from the house at any moment. “Jackson’s house,” she told Matt and Rita, who were driving Luke’s car back while he rode with her.
She opened her door then remembered, “Hey!”
Matt and Rita both looked at her.
“
I know you are both aware, but just in case. Watch what you say when we get there. Jackson still doesn’t know,” she reminded them, making finger quotes in the air and rolled her eyes.
“What if I forget you told me that and help him find out?” Matt asked, making the air quotes back at Meredith.
“Shush it, Matt,” Rita scolded. “Let that girl do things her way.”
Matt shook his head annoyed by the pretense he had to keep.
“I’m with you, Matt,” Luke told him, “but we have to listen to the women on this one. They outnumber us.”
Matt started to object.
“There’s Lilah and Everleigh to count,” Luke pointed out, beating him to his argument.
Matt threw his hands up in defeat. “Fine, but convince her to do it. This is nuts.”
“You think it’s bad for you?” Meredith scoffed and folded her arms. “Think about poor Jackson in all of this.”
The look on Matt’s face showed he hadn’t thought about it like that before. He let out a long, loan chuckle then another. Gradually he began laughing harder. “Oh, hell! You’re right!”
The four of them got inside the cars and drove down to the main road. Meredith’s car was leading the way. “How is our champion Jackson doing?” she asked Luke, not attempting to hide her sarcasm.
“As well as can be expected. He’ll be fine once he knows Lilah is safe.”
“And you know that because you’re there keeping things under control? By things, I mean Jackson,” Meredith hissed between gritted teeth.
Luke rolled his head back and exhaled loudly. “I knew you’d be mad, but it wasn’t like I had the alternative of waiting until we could discuss it. Have you any idea how hard it is to contain him?”
“I can imagine it’s not easy.”
“Not easy,” Luke huffed, rolling his eyes. “Jackson was hell bent on coming out here to save the day. Either I let him do it, or I had to come out to make sure everything went off without a hitch. Those were the only options. I chose the lesser of the evils.”
Meredith opened her mouth to say something.
“And before you try to insist I should have just stayed there and kept him from coming out as was the plan,” Luke told her, raising his hand to tell her to wait. “I reasoned with him all I could. It was about to get physical. As old and strong as I am,” he shook his head and took a deep breath, “he’d probably finish me off without effort like an afternoon snack.”
“That one is a wild card.”
Luke sighed, “He always was.”
“And this Lilah business isn’t helping any.”
“It’ll be better once all the secrets are out in the open,” Luke reminded her.
“I want to respect her wishes on this, but she has to understand that current circumstances require the truth being told,” Meredith was frustrated.
“How is she supposed to come to that realization?” Luke snapped. “She is under the impression that Jackson knows a lot less than he really does. That she’s keeping him safe somehow.”
“And if she knew just how much he knows, she would piece together that he already knows the truth about her,” Meredith stretched her neck from side to side. It was a confusing circle.
Luke broke out in a fit of laughter. It kept growing until he was slapping the car door and stomping his feet.
“I don’t know how you find any of this to be that hysterical.”
“Oh, it is,” he cried out, wheezing from laughing so hard and clutching his sides.
“We are in the beginnings of what looks to be a war headed our way. Our very survival is at stake. The last thing we should be concerned with is some girl telling her boyfriend a family secret! And you? You can do nothing but laugh yourself silly.”
Luke was gasping now. He tried to compose himself, but the laughing fit came back. “That’s not it at all,” he barely managed to get out before sucking in more air.
Meredith gave him a menacing look waiting for him to explain.
“We are all focused on Lilah needing to be open with Jackson. What about when Lilah finds out?” The laughter returned again much harder.
“One problem at a time,” Meredith told him, with a small smile she forced to stay hidden. She had thought about that many times and knew it would be even more worrisome given Lilah’s recent outburst.
“I think someone should just slip up intentionally,” Luke said, regaining control of his temporary hysteria.
“Don’t you dare,” Meredith said sternly.
“What? You know as well as I do that Jackson will take the news like a champ.”
“But Lilah won’t react the same way to her secret being revealed,” Meredith said sharply.
“Accidents happen. What’re you gonna do?”
“What would she do?” Meredith reiterated, pulling into Jackson’s drive. “She would bring the town down around us and quite possibly take all of us out in the process.”
Meredith put the car in park and looked at Luke.
“What are you talking about?”
“That girl is like a volatile chemical. You have to proceed with caution around her. If you shake her up, there’s no limit to the damage she can cause.”
Luke was beyond intrigued. He had to know more. “Did she do something already? Besides the storm, I mean.”
Meredith ignored him and turned the car off.
“You can’t leave me hanging like that. You have to fill me in on the details.”
She opened the door of the car and said as she got out, “There’s no time. Just leave it for now.”
Luke got out after her and pleaded with his eyes. Meredith ignored him.
Matt and Rita pulled up on the street and joined them on the front walk. “What’s on the agenda for the rest of the night?” Rita asked.
“We need to figure out how to convince Lilah to tell Jackson she’s an Air, and we need to do it fast.” The urgency in Meredith’s voice underlined her statement.
They walked up the steps, and Luke suggested, “Have Everleigh do it.”
Meredith cocked her head to the side and squinted her eyes at him.
Rita quickly rapped on the door, shivering in the cold.
They waited a moment. “You’re freezing,” Matt said to Rita, knocking again much harder. The cold didn’t bother him so much, but he hated seeing his wife shaking so hard from it.
“Have her convince Lilah. She’ll listen to Everleigh before she does the rest of us,” Luke went on, ignoring his southern buddies who weren’t used to the Midwest temperatures.
“I knew there was a reason I kept you around,” Meredith leaned in and kissed him gently.
Luke raised his arm to knock a third time, but Meredith pushed it down. “Allow me.”
She stood in front of the door and reached into her pocket. She pulled out something resembling a wagon wheel and placed it on her tongue. “Viam revalare,” she said confidently. This probably wasn’t what Eloise had in mind, but there was plenty of it to use some to show off now.
The doorknob made a clicking noise as it unlocked.
“Good one,” Rita complimented. “I’ll have to remember it. Was that lotus root?”
Meredith pulled it out of her mouth showing it to her. “Yes, never leave home without it,” she joked, knowing the real reason why she had it on her.
“It’s very versatile,” Rita said in agreement.
“Alright ladies, can we go in now? It’s not getting any warmer out here.” Luke had never cared much for the colder climates and usually only visited them in the warmer months.
“I’m with you,” Matt agreed.
The other three all turned to face him surprised. His body was in a constant state of regeneration which required a higher caloric intake for his fast metabolism and resulted in a higher body heat. It stunned them to hear a wolf say anything negative about the cold weather.
“Look, just because I can tolerate it doesn’t mean I like it,” he answered their stares. “Besides,” he
said, looking off, “I’m bored.”
Meredith opened the door, and they walked in together surprising the three friends who were gathered in the kitchen. She led the others in and helped herself to a hot cocoa that appeared to be waiting for her to arrive. There was a tenseness in the house undoubtedly caused by Lilah’s uncertainty over everything barreling around in her muddled mind.
There wasn’t a lack of sympathy for the girl that was the problem. Meredith felt for her in waves that would suffocate her if she fed them too long. It was the urgency she felt toward pressing matters that caused her to exhibit some callousness toward Lilah. Basically, she needed to just rip the band aid off quickly and tell Jackson. Until then, it was difficult to make any moves with her around. On one hand, Meredith could tell that Lilah was going to be a key player in whatever the future held. Till then, she needed to get her out of the way to be able to talk to the others.
It didn’t take long before Meredith convinced Lilah to lay down on the couch. With the medication that was in her system and the stress she had been under, the poor girl was out in minutes. Meredith quietly warned everyone at the table they would have to keep their voices down to prevent Lilah from hearing anything if she woke up without them knowing.
“My people are already arriving,” Matt began. “In hours, the entire tribe from the south will be in the area.”
“My relatives’ covens are traveling with them,” Rita added.
“I could never thank your tribe enough for coming to our aide,” Meredith told him.
“It was your kind who first aided us,” Matt reminded her.
“Do you know anything of the northern tribe’s plans?” Everleigh asked.
“Nothing new, I’m afraid.” Matt sighed. “There is one, a relative of Rita’s, who is still in contact with them.”
“Can he be trusted?” Meredith’s concern was evident.
“Yes. He’s trying to gather as much information as possible before they find out he and his tribe are siding with the rest of us.”
Luke leaned back and rapped his knuckles on the table. “Playing both sides like that can be risky. Not just for him, but us as well if we trust him.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but you have my word,” Matt told him.
“How can we be sure he’s on our side?” Luke asked in a manner that implied there was nothing that could say to convince them wholly.
Earth: The Elementals Book Two Page 20
