Elements of Power (Council of the Harvest Moon Book 1)

by Kate Stoessel

  Wriggling even closer to him, I turned my face so slightly that my lips were centimeters away from his. Perry looked down at them with a fiery intensity. Not being able to wait a second longer, I pressed my lips against his and gave him a passionate kiss imbued with everything I was feeling for him, spoken and unspoken. His lips met mine with enthusiasm and his hand at my waist pulled me in closer. Around us a gentle breeze kicked up and I wasn’t sure if it was my power, his, or Mother Nature herself. This was the moment that I had been yearning for since I first met Perry Prentice.

  And it was also the moment that my mother arrived at my cottage.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Khloris Freya Lethestone,” came my mother’s commanding voice interrupting a perfectly wonderful kiss.

  You have got to be kidding me ...

  Perry broke away from the kiss and moved next to me to face my stern-faced mother and President Sager. In her purple satin blouse, black blazer, and long skirt, my mother was an intimidating figure. Her top knot extended her 5’11 frame even further. She and Vibiana Sager towered over me and I had to crane my neck to make eye contact.

  “Greetings Mother,” I finally croaked out. She looked me up and down wearing cropped black yoga pants, a loose gold tunic top, and my normal ankle boots. “The Healing Center gave me these clothes to wear when they released me.”

  My mother made a tsk-ing noise. “President Sager told me that you had three friends waiting night and day for you to wake up. You’d think one of them would have made themselves useful and picked up something appropriate for you to wear.”

  “We wanted to make sure that we were there when she woke up,” Perry explained calmly, looking my mother square in the eye. He stepped forward and held out his hand. “Hello Madame Lethestone. It is nice to see you again.” When she looked at him blankly, he continued. “Hyperion Prentice... Perry.”

  My mother looked at his hand and then back at his eyes. “You are the trainer working with my daughter? The air elemental” My mother raised her eyebrow inquisitively at me, obviously indicating that I had left something out on our weekly phone calls. I blushed and saw Perry put his hand back down at his side, realizing that my mother would not be shaking it.

  “Yes, I have been working with Khlorie,” Perry replied calmly.

  “Well, you must be exhausted. I suggest you go home.” The tone in her voice made it clear that her suggestion was not a request. Perry balked for a moment and looked down at me. I nodded to let him know that he should go. Hesitantly, he gave my hand a squeeze and vanished down the rows to his oceanside cottage. I watched him go for as long as I could see him.

  Shaking me back to the present, my mother’s voice broke through the fog of thoughts and feelings. “Khloris, go change into something more acceptable and meet us in the kitchen. I will brew some of my relaxation tea.”

  With that, she and President Sager walked past me and into the cottage. Itzel must have already been sleeping, or giving everyone space, because nothing but silence came from her room. When I walked into my bedroom, there was a little piece of green paper floating in a gentle breeze from the open window.

  Khlorie,

  Do not walk around the campus alone. You need to be careful. Send an “Air Message” if you need me. Let me know if you want to have independent Study time tonight.

  Yours, Perry

  Yours , I thought smiling. He signed it yours. I would have to talk to him about his insistence that I never go anywhere alone, but I appreciated his sweet sentiment. My desire to kiss him again made it easy for me to command a tiny fire to burn up the note. Quickly, I jumped in the shower, used a spell to dry my hair and body, and got dressed in something more suitable for a kitchen summit with two of the most powerful witches in the known world. I slipped into a long black skirt, boots, and a floral-patterned blouse and, with a wave of my hand, fixed my hair into a perfect potioneer’s top knot. When I opened the door, I walked into a heated conversation already in progress.

  “You assured me that security protocols here were some of the most powerful anywhere! Yet, my 18-year-old daughter just chased down two high ranking members of the Fairy Queen’s court!” My mother paced back and forth in the kitchen with a teacup and saucer in her hands. “Have you been getting updates from your local marshals? When I spoke to Bodhi, he told me that all intelligence points to Linus Boreas hiding out in this region.”

  Linus Boreas? In Maine? I couldn’t believe my ears. Why would a terrorist choose to lay low in New England? Surely a more fairy-friendly area would provide a better place to hide out?

  My mother continued. “They know about her powers now. They know she is a blessed elemental! As if that didn’t make her enough of a target, my appointment to the Witches’ delegation for the Council of the Harvest Moon is going to be announced tomorrow. I need to know that she will be safe.”

  What? I thought.

  “Madame Lethestone, I understand your concern. Marshal Trackerson has his team investigating the breach in the wards and should have a full report to me within the hour.” President Sager was sitting calmly at the table with her legs crossed one over the other sipping her tea.

  “Maybe I should take her home,” my mother wondered aloud.

  “No!” I pleaded a little too loudly. “Please, Mom. I am just discovering my powers. I was able to use them so effectively. I need to stay.”

  My mother snapped around to look at me. “You took on two Inner Circle fairies by yourself, Khlorie! You put yourself into a magically induced sleep. You were foolish, and they should be teaching you better. I thought that I had.”

  “Mom,” I started quietly.

  “No,” she said. “You know what happened to your father when he came into contact with Inner Circle fairies. I cannot watch that happen to you as well.”

  “I didn’t know they were Inner Circle,” I said meekly.

  “She controlled water, Khlorie. He controlled fire. Only the Inner Circle fairies control one of the four major elements,” she said scolding.

  “I can control elements,” I replied and immediately regretted the decision.

  “Yes, and now the fairies know about you.” My mother was losing her temper in a way I had never seen before. “The only known supernatural to control more than one element is the Fairy Queen, herself.” My mother came over to where I was standing and gave me a brief hug. The moment of kindness in the midst of her whirlwind of emotions took me by surprise. When she pulled back from the hug, my mother had tears in her eyes. “Khlorie, it will not be hard for the Inner Circle to figure out who you are and when they do, you will be in danger. Tomorrow, I am going to be announced as one of the ACC delegates to the Council of the Harvest Moon. Our family is a target. I just can't let them have you.”

  I gave my mother a hug trying to comfort her. I wished I could tell her that everything was going to be alright.

  “The more I understand my powers, the safer I will be, Mom. I need to be here working with President Sager and Perry. I am never going to stop being a Lethestone or a target. I cannot hide forever.” I spoke calmly and my mother listened carefully. “I know that Marshal Trackerson and President Sager will get to the bottom of the breach and sure up the defenses.”

  “We will,” said an assured voice from the kitchen table.

  “In the meanwhile, I promise not to be reckless.” I grabbed my mother’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

  A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. President Sager welcomed Marshal Trackerson and Cal into the room. Over the course of the next thirty minutes, the muscle-bound marshal explained that his crew had discovered an underwater tunnel carved into one of the cliffs, likely by a stones and minerals fairy, whom he called a “digger.”

  Cal continued, “It looks like the digger was able to gain access because the magical protection layer behind Coventry Hall did not extend deep enough into the water. They dug the tunnel upwards into the cliff from underneath the barrier. Once the perimeter was bypassed
the magic was tripped, so to speak, and the boundary fell. It was an oversight, but we are in the process of correcting it now on every part of the island.” He handed President Sager an enchanted tablet.

  “So, these vandals weren’t working alone,” President Sager’s voice grew cold as she looked at the pictures on the enchanted tablet. “This was a coordinated penetration.”

  “Why would they go to all of that trouble?” I asked.

  “Our best guess right now is that the fairies were collecting intel and got cocky on the way out.” At the looks of concern, he continued. “We are going to have this place impenetrable in no time, though.” He then returned his attention to President Sager and my mother. “I do have a few questions to ask you before we implement some of my security ideas. You know the campus better than anyone.”

  All three of the adults prepared to head off to discuss security protocols.

  “Khlorie, I am going to ride back to the mainland with Marshal Trackerson. Are you sure that you don’t want to come with me?”

  “Yes, mother.” I replied. “Are you sure about being a delegate at the Council of the Harvest Moon this year? With everything going on, it is going to be dangerous.”

  “I am always careful, Khlorie. You know that.” She leaned in to give me a kiss and then whispered, “We are not done talking about Perry yet.” With a last pointed look, she turned around and ushered the marshal and President Sager out of the cottage. I could hear her demanding they put extra security around my cottage and asking to see the schematics of the new security plans.

  Cal was the only one left. “So, I know I was never great at geography, but this doesn’t look like Europe.” He teased with a smile.

  “Sorry about lying, Cal. It’s kind of the policy here.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I totally understand top secret.” He paused. “Brigid would too.”

  “I hope so. I hate lying to everyone.” He shrugged. Cal would never fault me for prioritizing ACC secrets. “How is the investigation going? I hope you are being careful?” I asked.

  “Worried about me Pickle?” He laughed.

  “Of course I am, Cal. I have known you all of my life!”

  “I think that we are closing in on Boreas. That’s all I can really say.” One of his uniform patches started buzzing.

  “I’ve got to go Khlorie. That’s the signal that Dad’s boat is leaving the island. Take care of yourself and keep practicing those powers.” Without another word, he walked out of the cottage and ran down the main road of the residential area, causing heads to turn as he went.

  Closing the door, my cottage fell quiet. Still quite tired, I decided to lay down for a nap.

  Stirring back to consciousness around 5pm, I was still wearing the “appropriate attire” into which my mother had insisted I change. Through the wall, I could hear Itzel talking to two men, Perry and Orpheus.

  Perry!

  “Do they really think it was a premeditated attack? Not just an act of vandalism,” Orpheus asked.

  “That’s what I heard. They thought they were here collecting intel.” Itzel was obviously catching the boys up on what she overheard from my conversation earlier that afternoon. I didn’t mind. They all deserved to know.

  I ran to the mirror to straighten up and then went out in the common area. My three friends looked concerned but tried to give me a smile when they saw me emerge from my room. Perry walked over and pulled me into his arms, giving me a quick kiss. It wasn’t enough, but he seemed distracted.

  “Are you hungry?” He asked me in a quiet voice.

  My stomach growled as if on cue, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten anything. “I am famished. What are you eating?”

  “Well,” he said. “You weren’t the only one who got a visit from their Mother this morning. My visit was less eventful than yours, though.” He added, smiling. Behind him, I saw two large travel cauldrons filled with steaming hot soup. “I MirrorChatted with Mom yesterday from the hospital and told her what happened. She wanted you to have something hearty to eat when you felt up to it. So, she made you one cauldron full of corn chowder and one full of tomato soup.”

  “She made these for me?” He smiled and nodded. Pleasure filled me at the thought of Perry talking to his mother about me. The smell of each soup reached my nostrils and my stomach growled again. “They smell fantastic.”

  Itzel and Orpheus had two bowls in front of them, one containing each soup and were happily eating.

  “Khlor, you have to try both. I have NEVER tasted anything so delicious,” Itzel said between spoonfuls.

  Perry laughed. “My mother is very talented.”

  I sat down at the table and Perry brought my bowls over to the cauldrons on the counter. He generously filled each one of them up. Starting with the clam chowder, I greedily sipped the golden soup. Tasting the sweetness of the summer corn with the perfectly cooked potatoes revived me. I happily ate every last bite of both soups and followed everyone else’s lead in grabbing seconds. “Now I know why she sent such big cauldrons! It is impossible to stop eating soups that delicious. I am so full and yet so happy.”

  “She was very mad at me when she asked me your soup preferences and I didn’t know the answer. So, she decided to make two options.”

  “I’m not complaining,” said Itzel.

  “Me either,” added Orpheus, who was on his third bowl of each and was levitating ladles from the cauldron to his bowls to keep them full.

  “Well, we can send everyone home with some soup and I can put the rest in the freezer for later.” I turned to Perry and put my hand on his. “I will have to write her a thank you note. This was incredibly kind.”

  “She figured that you would be hungry and that everyone would be so worried about safety that food would be low on the priority list.”

  “She was right.” I replied, smiling at the handsome wizard. Once everyone had finished eating, I cast a cleanup spell which saw that all the bowls were sparkling and put away. Single serve travel cauldrons lined the counter and filled the freezer, so that everyone would have Ms. Prentice’s delicious soups to take home with them. Outside the kitchen window, we could see marshals walking the perimeter.

  “Looks like they are casting extra protection spells.” Perry said approvingly. Without a word, he walked out to talk with them.

  Itzel and Orpheus looked at each other and then at me. It was clear they wanted to know something.

  “Ok, spill.” Itzel finally spit out. “What did your mother say when she caught you and Perry making out?” Orpheus laughed but looked at me inquisitively.

  “She was distracted by the situation, I think.” I answered blushing. “However, I am sure that the reaction will be coming. She told me as much when she was leaving. I can’t imagine that she thought me kissing a boy she has never met in public was appropriate.” I turned to Orpheus. “Viv was convinced my Mom wouldn’t like Perry. With a meeting like that, she might be right.” I continued hesitantly. “Viv looked pretty upset at the hospital. Was everything ok?”

  “I’m sure it will be fine. Just stress and tempers running high.” Orpheus’ vague answer didn’t alleviate my concerns. Viv was worried about Perry’s wellbeing, and I wanted to know why. Itzel moved on before I could probe further, however.

  “And why didn’t you tell me you know Callum Williams? He was one of Brews News most eligible bachelors last year,” she said.

  Orpheus rolled his eyes. “He is a M.A.S.L.E.O. lifer. Hell, he’s royalty there. Isn’t that the organization that you are trying to avoid?”

  “I’m not trying to marry the guy. I was just appreciating him.” She laughed and winked at me.

  “I’ll introduce you, hopefully under better circumstances next time,” I promised, looking out the window at Perry talking to the marshals.

  Itzel shifted in her seat uncomfortably. “Khlor, I um…” she paused. “I’m so sorry about your Dad.”

  At her words, my conversation with my grandfat
her came flooding back. I shrugged. “It’s been a long while since my mother has mentioned him, actually. We loved him more than anything. I wish we spoke about him more. I was very young when he was killed. There are so few memories, and I am beginning to wonder if I can even trust those.” Tears filled my eyes.

  Perry walked in at just that moment. “I asked the marshals to also put extra protections on my cottage and Orpheus’ in case you need a safe house.” I smiled through the tears, glad that I wouldn’t be living under house arrest. Perry, seeing the tears in my eyes, came over and sat down.

  “What’s wrong?” Concern creased his features.

  “We were just talking about my father. He was killed by the Inner Circle.” I responded, catching him up.

  “Tell us about him,” Itzel suggested. “The good things.”

  “His name was Finch Bishop,” I replied. “He was a Healer, one of the best in New England. He often said that he simply couldn’t choose between his love of potions and his love of gardening, so he became a healer and got to do both. His research lab produced cures for many ailments that people all over the world though were incurable. He and my mother would debate endlessly the merits of different ingredients in healing potions.” I turned to Perry. “He would love your idea to study plant hybrids.”

  Perry took my hand and walked me over to the coach. Orpheus and Itzel followed. They took one couch, and we got the other. I positioned myself against Perry’s chest and cuddled in.

  “It sounds like he was a great man,” Itzel replied.

  “I remember spending time with him in our garden. He loved to teach me about the plants and he even created a little garden bed just for me.” I smiled, deciding to take Grandfather’s advice about relying on the people I could trust. Knowing that the area was crawling with marshals, I decided to cast the noise-blocking spell before delving into what I really wanted to share. “Atremizō !” I walked around the main living area of the cottage, making sure that my spell was sound. My friends looked on with interest but did not probe me to speak right away. “There are a few things that I didn’t tell the marshals about tonight. The first of which is that the water fairy did talk to me.”