Under A Blood Moon (Elemental Enchanters)

by Carrigan Richards

  “Wh-what’s going on?” he shouted. “Is-is this your secret? Did you all just…kill him?” He glared.

  “What are you doing here?” she yelled. “How did you get here?”

  “I followed you.”

  “Why?”

  “Why did you do that?”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but then saw Melissa breaking through the forest. Her eyes widened as she made eye contact with Ava. She turned back and shouted to the others that Ava had left. There was no way her coven could see Peter here. And she didn’t know if Trudy was hiding out somewhere waiting to attack. She had to get him out of there.

  “Peter, we have to go,” she screamed, and stood.

  “I don’t think—,” his voice wavered.

  “Come on.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him along through the forest.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Just keep running.”

  Once they finally reached the cabin, she raced to her car.

  Peter stopped and bent over, resting his hands on his knees.

  “Let’s go,” she yelled.

  “I-I can’t believe…” he murmured, and then fell to his knees and collapsed onto the ground.

  “Peter!” She lifted him under his arms and dragged him inside her car. Then, she hurried onto the driver’s side, started the engine, and drove away.

  Ava’s mind raced as fast as her heartbeat. Savina was not going to be happy that Peter had followed Ava. She couldn’t decide if she actually wished Savina had gotten to him before he saw what he did.

  Even if Savina decided not to erase his memory, he would never want anything to do with Ava. But she wanted to try to salvage what she could by explaining everything to him. It was time he knew, especially after what he had witnessed. And maybe she could convince Savina to stop.

  For now, she had to get him back to his house, and return to the Manor.

  Peter groaned as he stirred awake. “What the hell happened?”

  “You fainted.” Her voice was a dry whisper. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Fine.” His hand propped his head up.

  The blue glow of the interior lights reflected on him. Water dripped from his hair and rolled down his face.

  “What was that tonight?” he demanded.

  “Guess you now know my secrets.”

  “That’s what you’ve been hiding?” He shook his head. “I thought I was dreaming. But I wasn’t, was I?”

  “W-what did you see?”

  “What do you think I saw?” he yelled. “The four of you terrorizing that poor girl and guy. And then…then…oh, Ava. You killed him.”

  “Do you even know who they were?”

  “Like it matters. Whatever they did couldn’t possibly have warranted you killing them.”

  “They were the ones torturing you. How could you not want them dead?”

  She could see out of the corner of her eye, his mouth agape. “What is wrong with you? You turn them into the police. What could ever make you want to kill someone?”

  “Do you remember me telling you that I wasn’t completely good? And you told me there wasn’t anything that could make you leave me?” Rebellious tears rolled down her cheek and she quickly swiped them away.

  He gave a disgusted laugh. “Seriously, Ava? I didn’t think you were killing people,” he shouted.

  She flinched. “Well, you shouldn’t have followed. I warned you.”

  “I’m not sorry I did that. At least now I know.”

  “But you don’t know all of it.”

  “There’s more? What could there possibly be?”

  Ava took a deep breath, and pulled into his driveway. The sleet had finally stopped. “Peter—.”

  He opened the door, and got out. “Yeah I don’t need an explanation. I can’t believe you. Stay away from me,” he said with such venom in his voice, and then slammed the door.

  Ava fumbled to open her door and got out. “Peter, wait.”

  He turned around. “Stay away from me.”

  “Do you still have the elixir I gave you?”

  “Why? Is it poison?”

  “If you want to forget everything that’s happened to you lately,” she paused. “Including me. Drink it.”

  He stared at her for a moment, and then marched inside the house without looking back.

  Ava thought she prepared for Peter’s reaction, but the way the words twisted inside her ached more than she imagined. Her breathing refused to calm, but she had no time to grieve. She jerked the car in reverse and sped back to the cabin.

  She got out of the car, and five angry Enchanters advanced on her. Her necklace warmed and glowed. There was anger, confusion, disappointment, and worry all bundled together.

  Thomas took a step closer to Ava, and took her hands in his. “What happened back there?”

  “I—.”

  “Where the hell did you go?” Gillian demanded, with a hand on her hip. Her black curly hair was now one big ball of frizz. Her eyes glared, and her face was crumpled. “Why didn’t you kill her? Why’d you leave us?”

  Jeremy held Gillian back. “Calm down.”

  “No,” she shouted. “We were supposed to kill her.”

  Ava crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Well, what were you doing? You could’ve killed her too.”

  “We were all unable.”

  “Thomas, Lance, and I had passed out,” Melissa said. “What happened?”

  “Ava was just standing there like an idiot, and let Trudy go and made Jeremy kill Milo,” Gillian said.

  “I tried to drown her, but it didn’t work.”

  “Why weren’t you focused?”

  “I was. Nothing I did harmed her.”

  “You were distracted, weren’t you? It’s Peter isn’t it?”

  Thomas stiffened. “What?”

  “I know it’s him,” Gillian said. “He’s the cause of her weakness. That’s why she couldn’t kill Trudy.”

  “G, get a grip,” Melissa said.

  “She made me see my mother die,” Ava blurted. “I couldn’t block her.”

  Melissa’s jaw dropped. “She made you see that?”

  “What’s going on?” a voice demanded.

  Ava turned around and froze. Savina and Aaron walked toward them.

  “What happened?” Aaron asked again.

  “Trudy didn’t die,” Melissa said. “We tried, but she was stronger than us.”

  “She made me see things,” Ava said. “I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything. It was like I was someone else.”

  “She escaped.” Gillian added. “And because of Ava’s lack of focus, she made Jeremy kill Milo.”

  “Stop it,” Jeremy told her.

  “All of you, inside, right now,” Aaron demanded.

  Gillian tossed her hands up in the air, frustrated and stomped into the cabin. Ava hesitated, but Thomas tugged on her arm, and she went inside.

  With a wave of Savina’s hand, a fire appeared in the fireplace. Aaron stood next to her with his arms crossed in front of his broad chest and a stern look in his russet eyes.

  “Tell us what happened,” Savina asked.

  Ava’s chin quivered before she spoke. “We sneaked inside their house, and Trudy turned invisible instantly. Gillian lost her control over Milo and the rest of us went chasing after Trudy. I captured her, and tried to kill her, but then I saw my mom die again.”

  “And then there was the lightning and hail,” Jeremy said. “It was as if it were directed right at us. Like she was controlling it or something. And Lance, Thomas, and Melissa blacked out.”

  “Trudy cannot cause lightning or hail,” Savina said. “Someone else was there.”

  Controlled lightning, Ava thought. “Kristen.”

  “Who?” Melissa asked.

  “Kristen Miller. It was her. Xavier made you three pass out, and Kristen was aiming lightning at us. I knew they’d be there.”

  “Why weren’t you prepared for others to be there?” A
aron asked.

  “We never saw them,” Ava replied.

  Savina moved closer. “What happened after Trudy put images in your head?”

  “She ran, and Jeremy tried killing her, but Milo got in the way.” Ava bowed her head. “I tried running after her, but—.”

  “Please,” Gillian said. “You ran away like a scared little girl.”

  “Enough,” Savina insisted. “There is quite a lot of animosity. I hope you all have it sorted out soon.”

  “You all will need more practice, for sure,” Aaron said. “I thought we taught you to be on the lookout for others.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ava said. “It’s my fault.”

  “You should not take full blame,” Savina said. “We should have prepared you better. I realize it has been a while since they have made an appearance, but you should never let your guard down. I hope you all will learn from this.”

  “We have,” Melissa said.

  Aaron uncrossed his arms. “Get some rest. We will meet soon.” He gently took Savina by the elbow and they started for the door.

  “What about Devon?” Ava blurted. “Did you find him?”

  Aaron turned back to them. “We will discuss that tomorrow.”

  That was a big fat no.

  “Trudy kept mentioning Havok.”

  She could feel everyone’s eyes on her now. “She told me he wanted the Elemental powers so that he could wipe out all the Ephemerals. That was his goal all along, wasn’t it? To gain all our powers and become what Corbin never was.”

  Aaron and Savina looked at each other as if they were having a silent conversation and then Aaron turned to them.

  “Do not leave this cabin,” he demanded. “And if you must, go home, or to the Manor. Those are the only safe places. We will discuss this tomorrow.” He opened the door and they left.

  Ava felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Their refusal to talk about anything only confirmed her worst fears. Devon, or Havok, was after them. The fear among her group was strong as all their necklaces glowed.

  “Omigod,” Gillian said. “What are we supposed to do?”

  “Why didn’t we see this before?” Lance asked.

  “Because we didn’t take any of this serious enough,” Melissa said.

  Ava wanted to get out of there. She hadn’t signed up for this. They weren’t ready. She walked outside and took several deep breaths. Melissa and Lance followed.

  She paced beside her car and clutched her pentacle. “I can’t believe this.”

  Melissa put her hands on Ava’s shoulders and stopped her. “Calm down. We’ll figure this out.”

  “Why didn’t they see this?” Ava asked. “Aren’t they supposed to be our leaders or something?”

  “I think now they realize there’s more to this than revenge,” Lance said.

  “What did you do with Milo?” she asked.

  “Thomas and I buried his body.”

  Melissa lit a cigarette. “Ava, what exactly did Peter see?”

  “I don’t know. But I know he saw Milo.”

  “What did he say? What did you do?”

  “He was shocked, angry. I didn’t really do anything. I took him home and he told me to stay away. I never meant for him to see this. To see me that way.” She broke down, and Melissa pulled her into a hug. Her body shook from the aching pain that enveloped her.

  “We have to tell Savina.”

  “Can we hold off on that? I need to talk to him.”

  Lance cocked an eyebrow. “Talk to him about what?”

  “About me. I have to tell him.”

  His dark eyes widened. “Whoa, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

  “I have to.” She looked away from him. “I want to.”

  Melissa exhaled smoke. “I can’t believe how far out of hand this has gotten. You should tell him. He has a right to know.”

  “What?” Lance asked. “No she doesn’t. What he saw is tragic. Gillian can erase that from his mind.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want anyone to mess with his mind.”

  “Ava, it’s too dangerous. I can’t be held accountable if something happens to him. You can’t bring him around Thomas.”

  “After what happened to him, he needs to know.”

  “Can’t it wait? Until after we’ve finished off Xavier?”

  “No.”

  “Why don’t you talk to Savina first?”

  “Because Savina is going to erase me from his memory tomorrow. She wants me to stay away from him. But I won’t let that happen.”

  “Do you think he’s going to stick around now? He thinks you’re a killer, Ava.”

  “I’ll explain it to him.”

  “We have to tell Savina,” Melissa said. “And if you tell Peter, I’m behind you.”

  “Mel?”

  “Oh come on, Lance. He already saw things, and they’ve already threatened his life. Her dad is a Halfling. It makes sense.”

  Lance looked from Melissa to Ava. “He is?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are you going to say?” Melissa asked.

  “I don’t know. I really don’t. I have to go home and then I’ll go to Peter’s first thing in the morning.”

  Ava drove home through the sleepy rain and thick fog. It was dark and there was only a few streetlamps on the desolate country road. She was tired, scared, and worried about Peter. Most of all, she was disappointed in herself for how things had gone.

  She pulled her car into the driveway and slowed it to a stop. The light was on, and she got out and closed the car door. Her dad came outside and rushed toward her.

  He drew her into his arms, and held her tightly. “I was so worried about you. The school bombing was all over the news. Why haven’t you called? Where have you been?”

  “Xavier kidnapped us. We found Peter and a couple other Ephemerals. Then, we escaped and had to go kill Trudy. But she ran away.”

  “What?” Her father looked down at her.

  “Let’s go inside.”

  He held her hand and they walked inside the house. It felt good to be home.

  “Your face is all bruised. Do you need to go to Savina’s?”

  “No, she and Aaron told us to get some rest and they’d see us tomorrow,” she said with a hint of aggravation.

  “Tell me everything.”

  Ava was wet and dirty and her stomach growled. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d eaten. But it was three in the morning and the only thing she wanted to do was clean up and then sleep.

  “Can I tell you after I take a shower and eat?”

  He frowned. “I’m sorry. I’ll fix you something to eat. Go get cleaned.”

  She trudged upstairs, went to the bathroom, and turned the shower on to hot. She stripped off her dingy clothes and glanced in the mirror. Red welts cluttered her face and body. Her hair was tangled into a clumpy mess. The more she thought about the evening, the more enraged she felt.

  Ava stepped into the shower and immediately relaxed as the hot water trickled through her hair and down her back. She watched blood and dirt collect and then swirl down the drain.

  After cleaning herself twice, Ava turned off the water and dried off, then dressed in a navy tank top and black shorts. Once the mirror defogged, she noticed the welts on her face were gone. She checked her body but they were still visible. That’s weird, she thought.

  Ava took a deep breath and smelled sausage and eggs and biscuits. It was good to be home. She walked downstairs, stopped in the doorway of the kitchen, and watched her dad. Like always when he cooked, he kept a towel on his shoulder. He stirred gravy and tasted it every so often, adding salt, or pepper. She had missed him and suddenly the want to have Devon dead overcame her.

  Her father turned to pour the steaming gravy in a bowl and glanced up at her. “Feel better?”

  She moved to the table and sat. “Somewhat. You didn’t have to go through the trouble of making an entire meal.”

 
“You need to eat.”

  He set the gravy bowl on the table and then grabbed water for her and a cup of coffee for him.

  Ava picked up a sausage patty and placed it on her plate. Then a biscuit, eggs, grits, and then she poured gravy on her biscuit.

  The only sounds were the occasional scrape of the fork on the plate and their chewing. She loved every bite and wished every day could start out like this. It wasn’t just the food. It was being there with her dad, feeling safe, and normal.

  “Have you eaten enough?” he asked.

  She pushed her plate away. “Yeah. Too much.”

  “Good.”

  “I don’t even know where to start. This day has been so long; it has felt like several.” Ava launched into explaining everything that had happened, starting with school and the bombs, and ending with Trudy. She told him about the vision, but left out the part that it was from someone else’s point of view, feeling it just wasn’t right. Her father listened intently and hardly asked questions.

  “I am sorry, Ava,” he said. “Savina and Aaron are disappointed, but Aaron is right. You all should have practiced more.”

  “I know. I wasn’t expecting to see her again. Not like that.” She wiped a tear.

  “You will get better at blocking those things from your mind.”

  “Maybe. So is Devon that obsessed with Corbin that he calls himself Havok? I mean, could there be someone else?”

  “It seems unlikely. The Elders would know. Devon has been locked up thinking about this and has been tortured. He’s crazy. Especially if he thinks he’s going to absorb all of the Elemental powers.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “He’s not going to succeed.”

  Ava nodded, but still felt fear. She wanted to tell him about Peter, but was afraid. “Dad, there’s a couple of things I left out.”

  “Like what?”

  “When I took Peter home, it was supposed to be for good. Savina is going to take his memories of me. But instead of drinking the mixture, he…” Just say it. “He followed me.”

  “He what?”

  “And he saw us kill Milo.”

  Her father cursed. “Where is he now?”

  “I took him home. Dad, I’m telling him everything today. I want him to be a part of this. But I’m scared that he hates me now after what he saw.”

  “I can’t even imagine what’s going through that kid’s head right now. Just try explaining it the best you can. If he decides to walk away, you have to let him.”