Lying in bed while watching Netflix I turned and glared at Asher who sat next to me. “You know you all are really taking this to the extreme,” I said, rolling my eyes.
Keeping his eyes on the screen, he never looked away. “No, we are not. Your safety is our greatest concern. Now, you need to sleep,” he said, as he ran a hand through my hair.
I closed my eyes and sighed. As much as I wanted to be upset with him, it was hard when he sat so close to me and said things like that.
As much as I wanted to keep watching the comedy on the screen, my eyes gave in and I fell fast asleep again.
Running through the woods, I felt myself fall as I fought desperately to escape. As my body hit the ground, my hands grabbed onto the wet and slimy leaves and debris scattered around me. Thunder boomed above me and large drops of rain began to fall from the angry sky. I clawed my way off the ground and continued running until I found myself in front of a shallow creek. I turned but didn’t see my antagonist anywhere in sight. Instead, a voice rang from the sky’s calling my name like a siren.
“Elle.”
Refusing to stop, my heart pounded, and my head begged for me to keep running; I needed to place as much distance between myself and whoever was after me. My feet landed in the icy water of the creek as I continued to run. I was splashing and causing too much noise, but I still couldn’t stop or slow down my speed.
“Elle, I am coming for you,” the wicked voice threatened from behind me.
I tried to call out, but words escaped me. Darkness surrounded me, and I couldn’t see. No longer was I surrounded by lush green trees and rich browns and golds of the forest I was so familiar with. Instead, a dark cloud of night fell over me, and I couldn’t make out anything in front of me. It was as though day had turned to night instantly and it was forever night in my world.
“Elle,” another voice called, only this time it sounded more distant and far away.
“Elle.”
My arms felt tingly, as if someone was reaching out and grabbing hold of me.
“Elle,” this time I heard Asher’s voice calling me as he shook my arms violently.
My eyes shot open and I gasped for air. My body was drenched in sweat and my legs were sore and tired, as though I had actually been running. My heart was still pounding, terrified from my dream.
“What happened?” I asked, as I struggled to sit up.
Asher was staring down at me with a wild curiosity and worry in his eyes. “Elle, you had a nightmare but something else happened,” he stated.
Suddenly, he jumped off the bed and ran like a flash out of my bedroom. I could hear his feet padding down the hall and then downstairs. Without warning, my parents rushed into my room with Asher close behind them.
Seeing their faces caused panic to settle into my heart. If I thought I was afraid in my dream moments ago, nothing compared to this moment now.
“Elle, tell us what you saw in your dream?” my dad bellowed, as he flew to my bedside.
With eyes wide as saucers, I was startled at how fast he moved. “It was like my other dreams,” I answered before realizing I hadn’t disclosed my dreams to my parents yet.
“What dreams?” my mom asked, tears brimming in her eyes.
Before I could speak, I heard my front door open and close from downstairs and then heavy footsteps ran up my stairs. I knew it had to be Maddox.
As he ran into my room, he crashed into Asher and almost fell down from the impact. Asher may look like a thin, tall guy, but, he is stone solid and tougher than most men I know.
“You all are starting to freak me out. I have been having some nightmares. It makes it difficult to sleep, but I am handling it. I guess I had another bad dream and Asher woke me,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm even though I was anything but calm.
“How long has this been going on?” my dad asked.
Maddox and Asher exchanged nervous glances as they both were aware of my dreams and hadn’t said anything either. They both just took a step back and allowed my parents to question me. Cowards.
“Maybe a few weeks,” I said, my voice low and childlike.
Turning to Maddox and Asher, my dad began to speak. “So, her dreams began around the same time the Witches moved into the area,” he stated flatly.
“Moved into the area? I thought the Vampires Council said it was only a possibility,” I yelled, this time finding my voice loud and clear.
My dad’s face paled and I knew he was caught. Sighing, he ran a hand over his face as he struggled to say the next part. “Yes, originally the Vampires Council was just running on leads. However, they came to us and told us the rogue Witches were, in fact, in the area and had been for a few weeks now. They found their new coven and learned that the Witches wanted to see you, Elle. The Vampires Council had a meeting with the Witches, but it provided no hope. These Witches are after all of us, especially you Elle.”
“Is that what you were talking about on the front porch the night I passed out?” I asked, looking my dad in the eye.
I couldn’t help but notice Asher nod, alerting me that I was, indeed, correct with my assumption.
My mom gasped as tears began to flow down her cheeks. “This is terrible, why are they after my daughter,” she cried out, flinging her arms around me and holding me tightly.
Allowing her to embrace me, I clung to my mother like a young child. I felt so helpless at that moment. There were Witches after me and there was nothing I could do about it. And, it seemed now my own mind was fighting against me, causing nightmares within me.
“Elle, I am sure Asher heard our conversation or Maddox relayed what he knew to you, but yes, that is what we were discussing. Jim made contact with the Vampires Council. He was the one who learned of the meeting and their whereabouts. Elle, from now on you will not leave this house without constant supervision. We will have members of the pack stationed outside of your school and our home. Training will continue, but inside our house or in the cellar where you first shifted. Our eyes will be on you at all times. Your powers are both a gift and a curse it seems,” he said, shaking his head in disgust. “I am so sorry Elle. I never knew your life would be this difficult. Your mom and I were so proud to watch you shift and become so powerful. It never occurred to us that you would attract such monsters,” he stated, venom spurring from his words.
My body shivered from his words. I spotted Asher move toward us, but his face only made me cringe. He didn’t look like he was about to comfort me which I needed more than anything. No, instead, he looked as though he were about to shatter my world.
“There’s something else,” Asher spoke.
Everyone in the room turned and stared at Asher. Maddox gulped, and his eyes flashed to mine, an unspoken apology singing between the two of us.
“What else, Asher?” my dad asked, as my mom continued to sob and hold on to me like a lifeline.
“Elle, while you were in your dreams, I heard a voice calling to you,” Asher stated, sorrow filling his eyes.
“A voice?” I asked, saying what everyone else around me was too afraid to say.
“Yes, it was a woman’s voice, but it sounded far away,” Asher finished.
“Was it hoarse and sounded almost… wicked and happy?” I asked, fearing the answer I would receive.
“Yes,” Asher said.
I felt as though all of the air in the room had been sucked away from me. Struggling to breathe, I felt myself begin to panic. Asher had heard the same voice I had in my dreams. Something about that confirmation sent an eerie chill down my spine and panic through my blood. I felt terror gripping hold of me and refusing to let go. Seeing my panicked state, both Maddox and Asher were by my side in a flash.
“Breathe, Elle,” Maddox soothed, as he rubbed my back.
Squeezing my hand, Asher tried to get me to make eye contact with him. We both knew he was my safety, my one constant that always made me feel secure and at home. Only right now, I wasn’t sure anything could settle my gr
owing nerves.
“What does that mean?” I asked again, unsure if I could remain sane any longer. This was all becoming too much for me to handle.
“I can’t be entirely sure, but…” my dad began, but he shook his head as he started to get choked up just thinking about the words he was about to confess. “These Witches are the most powerful and evil the Vampires Council have seen in many decades. They strive for power, crave it. I think they have been using magic to get into Elle’s dreams. They must be trying to attack her in her mind as well as attack her in physical form,” my dad sighed, running his hand through his hair, a nervous tick he had picked up over the last year.
“Are you saying the Witches or one Witch has gained enough power and closeness to me that she is in my head?” I asked, my voice shaking as tears filled my eyes.
“I’m afraid so,” my dad nodded. “I am meeting with the council again tonight. I will know more then,” he finished, as he diverted his eyes away from me. He seemed lost in thought as he began to look out my window and past the horizon. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for. Maybe a Witch? An answer? Some sort of sign that could tell him all of the answers we needed to know.
“Asher and I will be at that meeting,” Maddox stated rather than asked.
To say I was surprised to hear Maddox include Asher was an understatement. My shock almost made me forget I was dead in the middle of a huge crisis.
My dad didn’t’ bother to argue with either boy. He knew how they both felt when it came to my safety, and it was important for them to remain knowledgeable about any danger anyone of us faced-- Shifters and Vampires alike.
“Can we focus on the big idea here?” I yelled out with too much sarcasm in my voice. “You all just told me a Witch, one in which I have never seen before, has been invading my dreams. How is she doing this? Why? What can she possibly gain from scaring me in a nightmare?” I yelled out, throwing my hands in the air and forcing my mom to let go of her hold on me.
“Calm down, Elle,” Asher soothed, but I just knocked his hands away.
I could see it was killing him to see me so afraid and angry, but I didn’t want his sympathy right now. What I wanted was answers, but I knew that wasn’t going to be happening until my dad talked to the Vampires Council… or longer.
“Stop telling me to calm down. Stop trying to comfort me. Stop looking at me like I am already dead. I don’t understand any of this and none of you have any real answers to give me. So, instead of locking me up in my bedroom which isn’t keeping me safe since these Witches are able to get to me in my dreams, why don’t we all try to help me. Maddox,” I said, as I turned my outburst in his direction, “Meet me in the backyard in fifteen-minutes to train. Asher, I want you outside with us and I want your eyes and ears open. Senses in high gear. Any sound you hear, you let your family or mine know. Dad, get the pack together and everyone needs to make a list of what they saw and what they know so far about the Witches. And, I will be part of that Vampires Council meeting tomorrow. And mom, you have to stop crying. I’m scared too, but I need your support right now,” I finished, as I glanced around the room, trying to keep a brave face to prove I meant business.
I had played victim long enough. I had cried and sunk into the deep corners of my own fears and where had that gotten me? Nowhere. I was in more danger than before and no amount of protection could keep me safe from the vicious Witches who were out to steal my power and control.
“What do we do now to protect her? She can’t just act like she can handle this?” my mom yelled out, her voice resonating through the room. She looked at me and I saw the worry and anger building like a wildfire inside of her.
“I agree,” Maddox spoke up. “But, Elle is right. Keeping her locked up in this room didn’t protect her from the Witches. Someone needs to watch her as she sleeps. Who knows what else the Witches are capable of?”
“Of course, we can’t just hide Elle. I allowed my emotions to speak for me, but after hearing what Elle said, I see I can’t shield her from danger. The Witches know about her. And, it would be ludicrous to ask Elle to stop her training and just sit back like a target. If ever we needed her to grow stronger, it is now. All we can do now is remain vigilant and train,” dad spoke, pulling out his cell phone he began to type a message, and I knew he was alerting the pack to what we had just learned.
“I think the most terrifying part of all of this is that we don’t know what the Witches look like. With the Hunters and the Huntress, they all made their appearances, not hiding from us. I don’t even know who or what I am looking for,” I said, my voice breaking with each word.
“We will know tomorrow, I promise,” my dad said, as he stood and towered over the rest of us sitting on my bed. “I will have a face to look for, and mark my words Elle, these Witches will not hurt you. I have allowed you to fight your own battles long enough. This time, they have started a war and I intend to finish it.”
And with those words, my dad left my room slamming the door behind him. My walls shook from the impact and I couldn’t help but shudder.
“Elle, I swear I would die before letting anyone hurt you ever again,” Asher said, as he stood and began to make his way toward my door.
“Where are you going?” I asked, wiping a tear away from my eye.
“I’m going to run all over this town until I find the Witches or at least someone who knows something about them,” Asher seethed, as he took off before I could respond.
Maddox jumped off the bed and rushed behind Asher. “Where are you going? Why is everyone leaving?” I yelled, as I grabbed Maddox’s hand before he could get too far away from me. “I just told you that I want to train in the back yard right now.”
“Do you think I am going to sit here while Asher gets the credit for finding those Witches? I’m going to run all over these woods. From what you told us, they know where you run. There must be some sign of them there. I’m going to go sniff it out, and when I get back, we will train until you are the most powerful Shifter alive,” he said, jerking my hand away before I could stop him.
I watched as three of the most important men in my life walked away from me. I wanted to scream for them to come back to me, but I couldn’t. My voice eluded me and all I could do was sit back and wait. I had drifted off to sleep sometime late in the night as I waited for either Maddox or Asher to return to me. I had texted both of them numerous times, but neither one of them had responded. Melanie and Laura had texted with me for a while, but I couldn’t tell them what was going on. I hated that I couldn’t share my true concerns with my best friends.
***
When I finally woke, I was groggy and discombobulated. Alarming sounds pierced through my ears as I was jolted awake.
“Elle, you have to get up,” Asher yelled, as the wind howled behind him. As my eyes opened, blurs of shapes and images flashed before me. Was this a dream?
“What is happening?” I asked, trying to clear my eyes and mind from my sleep.
“Tornado sirens are going off. We need to get down to your shelter,” Asher yelled, as he lifted me into his arms and began to race downstairs. He moved so fast, I wasn’t’ even sure if his feet ever touched the ground.
As he leaped off the stairs and onto the downstairs floor, my mom and dad came running out of their bedroom.
“Tornado?” my dad asked, through his groggy state.
“Yes, we need to get to the shelter,” Asher yelled again.
Both my parents looked at Asher, in our home in the middle of the night, with brief questionable stares before getting back into action.
Sirens still blared, and I held my hands over my ears as Asher ran out the back door. The door flew off the hinges and we were suddenly assaulted by sharp pellets of rain that seemed to be shooting down from the angry sky. The wind was blowing so fiercely Asher almost fell over, but he was able to keep his stance as he ran.
My mind suddenly went to Maddox and his family. They needed to get to our shelter, too.
> “Maddox,” I screamed as I fought to get out of Asher’s arms.
“He’s coming,” Asher yelled at me.
I turned to look for Maddox, but rain pelted my eyes and I couldn’t see anything for the storm around me.
When we finally reached the shelter, Asher placed me back on my feet. I looked around as my dad lit a lantern and found Maddox and his family sitting on the ground and motioning for us all to follow them.
Asher took out his phone and sent a quick text to his parents. Thankfully, they had heard the alarms and were safe in their storm shelter.
As sounds of destruction raged outside, all we could do was sit around helpless and wait for it all to be over.
“What is happening?” I cried out, as we all sat around one another.
“A tornado,” Maddox said, with no emotion in his voice.
“Yes, I am aware of that,” I snapped back at him, sticking my tongue out like a child. “I mean, I didn’t’ see any sign of one earlier today.”
“The meteorologist on the news channel has been talking about strange weather patterns that have been moving into our area. Big storms more intense than normal have hit us. Maybe this is part of that storm front,” my dad said. I could tell he was trying to remain calm on the outside to help keep us all relaxed, but I could see that he was scared just like the rest of us.
“Maybe it’s more than just a weather pattern,” Asher stated.
“What do you mean?” Maddox’s dad asked Asher.
“Well, don’t you all think it’s strange that the Witches arrive in Shady Oaks and now we are facing dangerous storms unheard of around here?” Asher said.
“Kentucky is prone to storms, tornados too,” my mom chimed in, her eyes weary.
“Yes, but not like this. I think the Witches have something to do with it,” Asher added. “When I was out tonight searching for them, I felt the air around me change. It was like it was growing thick and making it almost too difficult to move. I know it was them. It had to be some form of dark magic,” Asher finished.
Evernight Page 7
