The Evensong

by Lindsay Payton

  He still hadn’t said anything to me when we sat down at a small booth. I was still holding my head, which felt like it should have split open in one spot. Linden sat there with pursed lips, fiddling with a napkin.

  “Okay. I can listen now,” he said, looking at me. He noticed my hand at once. “Are you okay?”

  “I just hit my head, it’s nothing,” I insisted.

  The hard look faded from his face. “When I braked?” I nodded. “How did you get in the trunk?”

  He leaned forward in interest, and I wondered how much of his anger he was hiding.

  “I found a … a spell. It hid my aura, but only for a little while, I guess.” That last herb we didn’t have must have made some kind of difference. The spell wore off too early.

  “Right, only eight hours.”

  So we were already in Rhode Island.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I had this—”

  “You didn’t think I was coming back,” he stated.

  “No,” I said quickly. “No, I just had this really bad feeling … it was hard to ignore. I couldn’t.”

  He nodded, raking a hand through his hair. “Okay … okay. I can’t bring you back though. But I guess you planned on that.”

  I blushed deeply.

  He was thoughtful for a few minutes. “Rhys won’t mind at all. It’s just the others I’m worried about. Before we decide where we’re staying we have to go there.”

  I had a feeling he wasn’t exactly talking to me, so I didn’t reply. When the waiter came by he only ordered coffee and stirred in cream slowly. I didn’t touch mine.

  “Linden, I’m really sorry,” I said, trying to get the look off his face. “I’m—”

  “Don’t apologize, you acted on a feeling. Instinct,” he said, looking straight at me. “Don’t say sorry.”

  I shut my mouth and waited to see what would happen next.

  He downed his coffee fast and paid with equal swiftness. When we walked back onto the street, he stopped me and made me take my hand away from my head.

  “No blood. That’s good,” he said. “Do you need Advil or something?”

  “Maybe later,” I replied, afraid to look at him.

  As he sighed deeply he suddenly laughed. “This is what I love about you, Riley. I can never tell what’s next.”

  I chanced a look at him and it was the familiar Linden again. He didn’t seem angry anymore. He took my hand and pulled me back to his car, opening the door for me before he got in.

  I had never been outside of the state before, so even at night this new city was beautiful. The buildings looked old, but intriguing and I noticed a distinct smell on the wind that I couldn’t place. It was like the swamps, but very different.

  And that’s when I saw it. Even in the dark it was an expanse of awe, stretching out all the way to the faintly gray horizon: the ocean. I audibly gasped when I saw it, and Linden looked for a second.

  “Yeah, they’re impressive,” he said, thinking I was talking about the homes lining the white sand.

  “I’ve never seen it,” I breathed, barely hearing him.

  “What, the ocean? Never?” I shook my head, never taking my eyes off it. “You’ve been missing out. That’s the first place I’m taking you tomorrow.”

  My head whipped around to look at him. “Really?”

  “Hey, if you’ve never seen it, there’s no excuse,” he said.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off the black water for the rest of the drive. It was a short ride down a small road to a part of the beach that jutted out into the spray. A white house hugged the sturdy ground behind it while there was nothing in front but the sand and the water.

  “Rhys lives there?” I asked as we approached.

  “Occasionally. This is the one that they decided on,” he replied, tires scratching across the small road, dusted with sand. I was so choked up about it, I’d almost forgotten what was waiting in that house.

  “Good,” Linden muttered when he parked beside a few cars. “Nerio isn’t here.”

  The name brought on anger and a little bit of fear, but I tried to cover it up as I stepped out of the car. The sound of the waves against the sand was so calming, I instantly felt better. Linden came around to shut the door, since I’d forgotten, and stood beside me for a minute, following my gaze.

  “I should have just brought you here without you being in the trunk,” he commented. “Especially if you haven’t seen this.”

  I didn’t reply, still watching the white tips of the water as it tumbled onto shore.

  “Come on,” Linden said gently, his arm around my waist. “They already know we’re here.”

  “They?” I repeated, tearing my eyes away as I walked.

  “They. Rhys, Calder, and Tally, if that is her car.”

  At least I recognized these two names. The third I couldn’t place.

  We walked up the steps above the garage, which led to the front door. Diamond cut glass ricocheted light from inside, exposing the small hallway. I couldn’t see anyone inside, but I still half hid behind Linden as he rang the doorbell.

  “It’s okay,” he said quietly, squeezing my hand. I almost couldn’t breathe when I heard footsteps and saw a face I had only seen in pictures. Rhys was walking towards the door.

  Linden stepped back, and I went with him. Rhys opened the door and smiled, though there was an obvious hesitation there. He probably felt my aura since we came near the beach.

  “You made it,” Rhys said to Linden, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

  “Yeah, finally,” he said, immediately stepping aside to expose me. “Rhys, this is Riley.”

  He didn’t give another explanation yet, but Rhys still smiled warmly and stuck out his hand. I shook it lightly despite his firm grasp. “It’s nice to meet you, Riley.”

  “I’ll explain inside,” Linden mumbled, a hand at my back as he steered me in. Rhys just nodded, still watching me curiously. He shared the eyes, those impish cat-like eyes, except his were a warm shade of brown, like his hair. When he closed the door behind me, I felt a little trapped even though the house in front of me was incredibly spacious. Beyond the small hallway was an expansive living room with huge glass windows overlooking the ocean view. To the right, the door to the kitchen was open and besides hearing voices in there, I could see there were large windows, too.

  “You’d better see the others before they die of curiosity,” Rhys suggested to Linden, gesturing to the kitchen.

  “Right,” Linden muttered, again being the one to steer me to the kitchen. I didn’t want to go—I didn’t know what to expect from these people.

  There were only two people sitting around the polished table, the assumed Calder and Tally. Neither one of them looked at Linden; both shocked eyes were on me, and the girl scooted her chair back a good foot when I entered.

  “Hi,” Linden said easily.

  The girl was having no trouble hiding her feelings. She stared at me, mouth agape and frowning. “Linden,” she said, her voice clear and loud. “What is that?”

  “Hey,” he replied sharply, his arm going up in front of me as if for protection. “Tally, can you try manners?”

  “Manners?” she repeated. “Am I the one that brought that?”

  “Come on, Tallulah,” Rhys said easily as he walked in. Tally—or Tallulah—went quiet, but was still sour.

  “Okay—well, that’s Tallulah, and that’s Calder,” Linden said, pointing to the silent one sitting across from her. Calder looked more similar to Linden, though maybe younger. His hair was dark and long, falling past his jaw, but it was his eyes that were different. Bright, bright blue stared back at me from a pale, cautious face.

  I didn’t bother to say hi. I doubted it would matter if I did.

  “And this is Riley,” Linden added, pointing to me. For some reason, Tally scoffed and stood, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder.

  “Tally, sit,” Rhys said firmly. She paused, glaring at him, but sat down again before he tu
rned back to Linden. “Come this way, she can wait in your room.”

  Wait? Alone?

  Rhys led us through a hallway that ran behind the living room. At the end of the hall, he took a staircase to the right, which led to another hall. He finally stopped at the last room, opening the door and sweeping his arm towards the bedroom.

  “Make yourself at home, Riley,” he said, smiling.

  “Thank you,” I muttered, almost inaudibly. But he seemed to have heard and told Linden he would be waiting downstairs.

  Once his footsteps faded, I was able to take a breath. “They’re going to kill me. Tallulah’s going to kill me,” I whispered.

  “Don’t worry about her,” Linden said, going towards the bed. “She’s just always bitter. We’ll have to work on the others later.”

  Just the thought of more—including Nerio—made my stomach weak.

  “I’m going to go downstairs and talk to them,” he said as he turned on the bedside lamp. “Are you going to be okay in here?”

  “Sure, as long as she doesn’t come this way,” I replied.

  “I’ll make sure she won’t,” he said. “If this takes too long just go to sleep. I’ll be back up here as soon as they understand.”

  I nodded, feeling sick to my stomach. Linden reached out and put a hand to my cheek. “It’ll be okay.”

  “Yeah—I hope so.”

  He grinned before he left the room, closing the door behind him. Alone, my knees felt weak and I collapsed on the bed. I couldn’t believe I was in a house full of them—Elementals, undines. There was some obvious clashing going on, and I wondered how much worse it could get.

  Biting my lip, I carefully tried to feel the auras in the house. At first there was the usual nothing out of the ordinary, but when I broke through the feeling was beyond overwhelming. It was a crushing feeling of strange power, varying degrees and most coming off of one person. Hopefully it was Rhys since he seemed to be the most accepting so far. If it was Tally, I was doomed.

  I tried to call Alysana, but there were no bars in my phone. Typical. The best I could do was walk around and pace, waiting and fearing what could come. I didn’t doubt that Linden would try to protect me, but Nerio … he was huge. Maybe even Rhys would help; he seemed to want to keep the peace.

  After an hour I heard the door downstairs open and shut, and a very deep and distinctive voice called out for Linden, then a roar of, “You brought her here?”

  I pushed myself into the corner of the bed as much as I could. More yelling followed, and I realized I was in a house where mostly everyone hated me. With amazing clarity, I suddenly knew I was right in Linden’s shoes. This is what would have happened to him had he been in my house; this is what it felt like to be hated.

  Nerio’s voice carried the most when he yelled. Next to that, Tally’s high voice could pierce through the walls with ease when she needed it to. I didn’t doubt she was purposefully yelling things about ‘filth’ and ‘creatures’. This would be hard, but I tried not to let it get to me too much.

  I dozed after a while. I don’t know how much time went by, but when I heard the door open, I shot up fast despite how it made my head throb. But it was only Linden.

  “You scared me,” I whispered, trying to catch my breath.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

  I glanced at the clock; it was after midnight, but I stood and took the hand he offered.

  The house was dark and quiet as we walked through. Everyone seemed to have gone to sleep already, but I still moved as silently as possible, sticking close to Linden’s side. We made it out the door without interruption, and he pulled me along to the end of the paved drive where he told me to take off my shoes and socks. I left them beside his and we walked onto the sand.

  I’d never felt anything so soft and fine. It was almost hard to walk, my feet sinking in as my ankles struggled to keep me balanced. Linden seemed to move fluidly while I stumbled along admiring the warmth of the sand. The moon was high and white, casting enough light for us to walk.

  When we reached the cold, wet slope near the water, Linden sat down on the dry spot. I followed suit and gazed out at the water.

  “So who wants me dead?” I asked after we sat in silence for a bit.

  He laughed quietly. “No one wants you dead.”

  “Then who wants me to just disappear?”

  He sighed and raised his knees, resting his arms over them. “Tallulah is always hard to get to. If she doesn’t like something, she doesn’t like it. But Rhys made it clear that she needs to tone it down.”

  “He says I can stay?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

  “It wasn’t a question of whether or not you could stay, he would never kick you out. He just wanted to know what’s been happening. Now he gets it, and he’s fine with it.”

  “And Calder?”

  Linden stared thoughtfully at the sky. “I’m not sure about Calder. He’s quiet. I can tell you though that he doesn’t hate you. He’s young; he’s never really come in contact with someone like you.”

  “How young?” I asked.

  “He’s sixteen, according to you.” He smiled. “So he’s young on all terms. He hasn’t quite made up his mind yet. He gets the witches-are-okay speech from Rhys all the time, but Tally shoves it down everyone’s throat that you shouldn’t be tolerated.”

  “She shouldn’t be tolerated,” I muttered, digging my toes into the sand.

  “She’s not,” Linden laughed.

  “And Nerio? I heard him yell when he came in.”

  “Yeah, Nerio …” He tried to find the words for a few minutes. “Nerio is Nerio. He’s like Tally. Just worse.”

  I grimaced. “Was he part of the witch trials?”

  Linden’s sharp look caught me off guard. “Where’d you hear that?”

  “I only heard it as speculation,” I replied quickly.

  That seemed to calm him. “He wasn’t alive then. We’re not immortal, you know.”

  “Okay.”

  “He wouldn’t kill you for no reason.”

  I laughed loudly, reminding myself the house wasn’t that far away. “No reason? I wonder what he would consider a reason, though.”

  “Just don’t worry about it,” he assured. “They all know that you have to be treated like a guest here, under Rhys’ orders. And no one goes against those.”

  I hoped no one would. I sincerely hoped no one would ever try. This was all about protection, and I wondered how much would be offered if I was ever alone.

  “All right—ocean time.” Linden stood and tugged off his shirt, his skin white in the moonlight. He tossed it to the ground and insisted I stand. “Come on, first-timers have to just be thrown in.”

  “What? No,” I replied, hugging my arms defensively.

  “I’m just kidding. Come on, it’s pretty warm,” he said, already walking across the wet sand to the waves. I paused, looking down at the shirt he’d neglected. I didn’t want to just go in fully clothed or I’d leave a trail of water in Rhys’ house. It was dark enough …

  I looked back at the waves realizing Linden wasn’t standing there anymore. There was just water. Afraid, I stood fast, scanning the water, but I didn’t see anything. Hurriedly, I took off my shirt and pants leaving me shivering slightly in my bra and underwear.

  Just go, I thought fiercely. I followed his footsteps, still imprinted in the ground, until the water was rushing up over my ankles. I gasped; it was colder than I thought. How did Linden think this was warm?

  He suddenly burst up from under the surface, pushing his hair out of his face.

  “Linden, it’s freezing,” I said, my arms crossed over my chest.

  “It is not,” he defended, walking closer.

  “Can you make it warmer?”

  “No, I don’t mess with the ocean,” was his instant reply, accompanied with a smile. “Not for first-timers, anyway.”

  I groaned and rolled my eyes, still standing there with t
he water barely touching me. I could feel the blood rising to my cheeks; this was the barest he’d seen me.

  “I will throw you in,” he threatened.

  I yelled when he approached. “No!” I clapped a hand over my mouth when I remembered the house. “No,” I whispered. “I’ll come in, just hold on.”

  He made a show out of standing there and waiting, the water up to his waist. I finally just rushed in, tense with cold, my arms still above the surface. I stood in front of him shivering, swaying slightly as the waves moved.

  “There. Not so bad, is it?” he asked, watching me.

  “No,” I lied, still cold.

  “You have to swim a little to get warm,” he said, lowering himself into the water.

  “But it’s—”

  “Just swim, Riley.”

  I sighed and obliged. I let myself sink under the surface, holding my breath and keeping my eyes closed. Just letting the current pull me gently was a comfort, and when I felt Linden’s arms pulling me up, I let myself relax completely.

  I wiped the stinging water out of my eyes when I surfaced. Linden was smiling widely as he held me in place.

  “Well?” he asked.

  I smiled, “It’s great.”

  We spent enough time in the ocean that it tired both of us out. Soon I was out of breath as I tried to swim, my limbs getting sore. Even through it all, I felt great and completely forgot any other worries I’d had before. I finally stumbled back to shore, lying on my back. Linden followed shortly after, collapsing next to me.

  “I’ve really missed this,” he said, having no trouble breathing.

  “I—bet,” I replied, catching my breath.

  He smiled at my condition. “Good workout, yeah?”

  I just nodded. “Is it okay to shower? There’s sand everywhere.”

  “Yeah, no one will care. They should be asleep by now,” he said, sitting up. He offered me both hands and helped me to my feet.

  As he said, everyone seemed asleep when we crept back into the house. Creeping back upstairs, he led me to the long bathroom with the wide bathtub.