Evan Elemental (The Evan Elemental Series)

by Crystal Groszek

  "Look, just have whoever drop me off at home and I'll be out of your hair," I say. I make for casual but I just sound hollow.

  Josh stares at me, obviously confused. "You don't wanna come hang out?"

  My eyebrows shoot straight up to my hairline. Either he's crazier than I am, or this is some kind of a set up. "You really want me to? After all that freaky shit?"

  He laughs softly and steps closer. In the moonlight, I can see the gold streaks in his dark eyes. "Of course. You're a hell of a lot cooler than every other asshole in this town."

  The manic blush returns. Luckily it's dark and he can't see the beaming shade of pink that is my face.

  "That's really nice of you Josh," I say slowly. "But, at the risk of making things awkward, I have a boyfriend." Technically, that's true, even if Lex and I haven't exactly DTR'ed yet.

  Josh doesn't say anything for a second and I'm afraid I bruised his ego.

  "Look Josh, I'd still like to get to know you better. As a friend. I could really use a friend right now..." I trail off. I'm pretty sure my face has just reached new levels of pink previously unknown to humanity.

  When I'm sure I'm going to die from embarrassment, Josh laughs. The color drains from my face, which is somehow worse than a blush. Maybe my earlier confidence was a little bit unfounded. I turn on my heel and start walking in the opposite direction, away from Josh and the car that just pulled up on the other side of the road.

  Just like before, I hear Josh's footsteps behind mine. I want to curse him for trying to be such a goddamn gentlemen all the time, but my jaw is locked up.

  "I'm sorry, Evan. Wait," he says, gently grabbing my elbow, stopping me. "I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that..."

  He drops my elbow, but I don't move. I don't turn to face him either. I can't look at him but I want to hear what he has to say, even if I have to sacrifice a bit more of my pride.

  Josh blows out a puff of air. "I'm gay," he says simply.

  My jaw drops and I spin around, covering my mouth with my hand.

  "Oh, my god. I am so sorry. I'm such an asshole." I need an ego check, fast. Normally I'm good at reading people and picking up cues, but I was so desperate for a confidence boost I only saw what I wanted to.

  Josh takes in my horrified, apologetic expression and just chuckles, his right shoulder lifting up in a shrug.

  "Do you really have a boyfriend?" he asks, the amusement back in his voice.

  I scowl and pretend to be mad. "Yes, I do," I answer in mock annoyance.

  Josh's grin widens. "Alright, alright. He's lucky I am gay." I playfully punch him in the arm and head toward the car.

  "So, you're coming then?" Josh asks hopefully.

  "That's what she said," I answer, making him laugh.

  The driver of the car is a guy with dark curly hair and pale blue eyes. He isn't traditionally handsome, but he does have a certain bad-boy sex appeal. The most standout thing about his looks is the long translucent scar that runs from his temple to his chin alongside his jaw. When he catches me looking he just grins. There is nothing good about a grin like that.

  "Hey, Conner," Josh says as he slides into the front seat. I'm sitting in the back. "This is my friend, Evan." He gestures to me over the seat.

  Connor glances at me again in the rearview mirror. "Hey, Evan." Josh looks over the back of his seat and winks at me.

  "Where to?" Connor asks Josh, his eyes lingering on me for a second longer. I shiver involuntarily and fight the desire to wrap my arms around my body.

  "I was thinking Il I," Josh replies as he shuffles through the iPod that's plugged into the stereo through an aux cable.

  Connor nods. "Right on."

  He shifts the car into gear and yanks the steering wheel making a tire screeching U-turn. I grip the seat and try not to think about the accident, but fail miserably. Bile rises in my throat and my stomach heaves. I close my eyes and think about Lex instead; a slow calm begins to eat away at my anxiety. Soon enough, we're pulling in to an empty parking lot behind what looks like a warehouse.

  I'm nervous but I decide to trust Josh. He knows I'm capable of something dangerous, even if he doesn't have the name for it yet. Let's face it, neither do I. We get out of the car and, instead of heading for the warehouse like I thought we would, we begin walking toward the alley between the warehouse and a vacant-looking office building.

  As we walk down the alley, I'm surprised to see Connor grab Josh's hand. He pulls him close and plants a quick kiss on his cheek. Just as quickly as it happened, Connor drops Josh's hand and picks up his pace so he's walking ahead of us. I make a mental note to grill Josh about that later.

  After a minute or two, Connor leads us through a sketchy side door into a surprisingly bright and comfortable looking room. It isn't exactly a café like I pictured it, but there's an espresso maker and a bunch of plush couches and beat up coffee tables. An assortment of people sit around the room but none of them bother looking up when we come in. Most of them are smoking pot, so that's probably why.

  I look at Josh and raise my eyebrows, but he just shrugs and flashes me a grin. His perpetually easy-going nature is kind of wearing on me. Following his lead I plop down beside him on a nearby sofa. Connor goes off to talk to some guy who's sitting in the back of the room surrounded by a group of scantily clad girls. He has drug dealer written all over him.

  "I didn't know places like this existed in Price."

  Josh laughs. "Places like this are everywhere; you just have to know where to look."

  "Hm. So, uh, what's with you and Connor?" I ask casually.

  Josh gives me a sheepish look. "Nothing."

  I roll my eyes at his attempt to be cavalier. "Yeah, right. I saw that little moment in the alley."

  "Some other time, Evan." He jerks his head to the side and I turn to see Connor walking toward us. I nod in understanding.

  "Look what I have." Connor holds out a baggie that contains a bunch of little white pills. He has a pleased look on his face that makes my skin crawl. I don't know what's going on between him and Josh, but I already don't like it.

  "Nice," Josh replies, nodding his head appreciatively.

  "What's that?" I keep my voice steady even though I'm a ball of nerves inside. I'm not so sure if I want to go down this route. In fact, I know I don't, but the temptation is strong. I've always been more curious about drugs than I should be, than anyone should be.

  "Devil's Daydream," Connor answers, his lips curling up in a wicked smirk. Josh rolls his eyes.

  "Everyone just calls it Vitamin D. Devil's Daydream is the name of the herb it's made out of. It's a mild hallucinogen," Josh explains. He sounds so casual about it that it's kind of scary and intriguing all at once.

  "Oh," is all I can manage to say without letting on how nervous and excited I am.

  Josh must sense my trepidation, because he puts his arm around my shoulders and gives me a squeeze. He drops his voice and whispers into my ear. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

  I bite the inside of my lip and consider. "How mild?" I ask.

  Josh chuckles. "Mild enough that you still maintain your sense of self. We take it because it opens us up spiritually."

  I press my lips together to keep from laughing at how stupid that sounds because I like Josh and I don't want to offend him, although I'm pretty sure I could hear the amusement in his voice when he said it.

  "Yeah," Connor chimes in, "and Price is the best place for it. That herb grows here naturally and they say this place is a hotbed of paranormal and spiritual activity." Now that's really funny.

  He holds out one of the little white pills to Josh who takes it and easily tosses it into the back of his throat, swallowing. Connor takes a second for himself, presses it to his tongue, and swallows it with a swig of Jack Daniels. The third pill he holds out for me to take.

  "How about it, Princess?" His eyes gleam with a silent challenge. Princess? Something tells me he knows more about me than I'd like him to. My
earlier paranoia about this being a set up resurfaces, but I push it back.

  "Whatever," I reply casually, taking the pill and swallowing it before I can think about it too much.

  I half expect something to happen instantly, like it does in the movies, but I still feel normal. Connor sits down on the other side of Josh and takes his hand. I feel a pang of jealousy and loss. If Lex hadn't been sent away, would I be here with them? Probably not. So many things are happening that shouldn't, but all of those things seem to lead to the same damn mystery; a series of different questions all with the same elusive answer. For all I know sitting here on this couch with two strange boys, waiting for some mystery drug to kick in, is exactly where I'm supposed to be.

  "You feel anything?" Josh asks, stirring me from my thoughts.

  I blow out a puff of air and shake my head. "No, I don't think so."

  Just as the words come out of my mouth the walls begin to sway a bit. I try standing, but my limbs feel heavy and my body immobile. My breath quickens as panic starts to set in. I watch helplessly as the ceiling shatters into a million white-pink petals that float down in slow motion. They land softly on the floor, which has morphed into a blue glass lake. The scene is painfully familiar.

  "Evan," Josh breathes and grabs my hand, "It's OK. Calm down. None of it is real."

  I shake my head. "Yes it is. I've seen this before."

  "What?" he asks. His voice sounds a lot farther away now.

  I open my mouth to answer but the words die on my tongue. In the middle of the lake a brilliant shimmering light blossoms. It twists and swirls until it takes the shape of an archway. Suddenly, my body feels feather light. I seem to float off the sofa instead of stand. I should be worried about sinking to the bottom of the lake as soon as I take a step, but I'm not. The petals have come together to form a walkway that is solid under my feet.

  "Evan, what are you doing?" someone calls. It must be Josh, but he sounds so far away and nothing can make me turn back now. The closer I get to the arch, the faster I walk. It's that same sure and steady motion I felt when I was leading us out of the woods. A gentle warmth pulses from the surface of the water as I walk, as if the lake is alive and speaking to me.

  An immeasurable amount of time passes and I'm standing in front of the archway. I stretch out my arm and watch as my hand disappears into the light that fills the arch. I can still feel it attached to my body but somehow it also feels separate. I take a deep breath and take a step, sending the rest of me through the arch.

  I half expect to enter into some Alice in Wonderland-esque alternate reality. Instead, I find myself in a hotel room. It's a rather nice hotel room with posh furniture, a gleaming flatscreen TV, and a giant plush-looking bed. I glance behind me. The shimmering door is gone, replaced by a giant plate glass window. Early morning light streams in making everything look grey-blue.

  A door clicks open to my right before I have a chance to hide myself. Well, before it even occurs to me that I maybe should hide myself. I'm completely unprepared for who walks through the door a half a second later.

  "Evan? My god, what are you doing here?" asks a deep, painfully familiar voice.

  My eyes travel slowly up Lex's body taking in his dark fitted pants, crisp white button-down shirt that's halfway undone, and his hair still wet from the shower. It's too good to be true and I have to resist the urge to pinch myself to make sure I really am awake.

  My voice sounds too high pitched when I speak. "I don't know. I think I might be hallucinating."

  Lex's face folds into a look of concern but I can see the hint of amusement in his eyes. "Hallucinating?" he repeats. Slowly he steps closer to me and gingerly places his fingertips under my chin, tilting my head slightly upwards. He looks searchingly into my eyes making my knees go weak. I falter slightly and he slips his arm around my waist in one smooth motion to steady me.

  "Evan," he says slowly, trying to suppress his budding grin, "are you high?"

  I bite the corner of my lip in an attempt to hide my own smile. "Maybe. Definitely." Lex's smile broadens. For the second time tonight, I feel my face go ten shades past pink.

  "I took this weird herb and then all this freaky shit starting happening," I explain articulately.

  "Herb? What herb?" Lex asks, his smile fading slightly.

  "Uhm, Devil's Daydream, I think." Lex's eyes darken and his mouth presses into a hard line. He looks fierce and deadly without the familiar amused glint in his eyes and it makes me shiver.

  Lex tightens his hold on my waist. When he speaks his voice is dark and thick, danger and desire. "Why would you do that? Messing with drugs is dangerous on its own, but magic herbs?"

  Another shiver courses through my body, but this time it's in response to what he said. Magic herbs? Josh and Conner didn't mention anything about magic. Disappointment crashes down on me in one big lead wave. I really thought Josh was a good guy and I was looking forward to having someone at school that I knew, that I actually liked. Tears well in my eyes making me feel even more foolish.

  "Please don't cry," Lex whispers, his voice awash with tenderness. He circles his other arm around my waist and pulls me tight against his chest. "You're okay now. Tell me how you got here. Did you take drugs and wind up on an airplane? How did you know where I was?"

  My stomach drops. I had conveniently forgotten about my newfound ability to somehow traverse across space and time. Maybe I really am brain damaged. "I didn't get on a plane," I mumble into his chest. "I don't really know what happened." My voice cracks and I feel the fresh threat of tears sting my eyes.

  "Try and think about it," Lex urges me gently.

  I take a deep breath and try to pull myself together. Reluctantly, I pull back so I can look into Lex's eyes. "No, I mean, I know what happened. I just don't know how or why."

  Suddenly I'm buzzing with nervous energy. I loosen myself from Lex's arms and start pacing the room.

  "It was this little white pill, and after I took it I was just sitting there when the room started to wobble and then the ceiling started to rain flower petals. It was like that day by the lake, before you left." I pause and search Lex's face for signs of disbelief but don't find any; he's concentrating on what I'm saying and it reminds me that in Lex's world things like this are commonplace. I take a shaky breath and resume pacing.

  "I mean, the floor, it looked just like the lake, all smooth and blue-green. And all I could think about was how badly I wanted to be with you." I pause in front of the window and take in the unfamiliar scene. I'm torn and humiliated for being so honest, but I don't think I realized how desperate I am to be near Lex until now. Instead of dwelling, I push the thought aside and concentrate on the last hazy bits of what happened. When I press my eyes closed I can see the perfect outline of the arch that I stepped through.

  "Evan?" Lex says in a low voice. "What happened next?"

  I turn to look him in the eye. "Then, there was an arch. At least, that's what it looked like." I fall silent, remembering the way it shimmered and called to me.

  "Then what?" Lex whispers. His jaw is tense and it scares me. I'm afraid of what this means. I'm afraid of how much more has changed and will keep changing.

  "I didn't even need to think about it, I just started walking toward the arch, and then I was walking through it. And..."

  "And?"

  I bite my bottom lip but it doesn't stop the grin that suddenly pops up. "And here I am." I let out a nervous laugh.

  "Holy shit, Evan."

  "Yeah, I know," I say, slumping onto a plush white sofa.

  "No you don't. You have no idea what this means."

  "And you do?" I ask. Lex takes up pacing where I left off.

  I hop up from the couch and grab his arm, halting him. "Lex? What does it mean?" Lex turns his head slightly so he's looking down at me, the expression in his eyes distant and thoughtful.

  "I'm not exactly sure, but it has something to do with why I'm here, what I'm looking for." Lex drops down to the couch a
nd leans forward so that his elbows are resting on his knees and his hands are clasped between them. I try to be patient while I wait for him to gather his thoughts, but I'm itching for answers and patience has never been my strongest attribute. I sit on the edge of the bed and bite my nails in an effort to keep my mouth shut.

  "Evan," Lex finally says after several minutes, "has anything else happened, since I left? Like what happened at the lake?"

  "Yes," I reply quickly, a wave of relief washing over me. Since he's been gone there hasn't been anyone to talk to about what's been happening.

  "Tonight, I channeled energy from a bonfire at this stupid party in the woods. And that wasn't the first time; I think I can manipulate it, if I want. And then I was lost in the woods and somehow I was able to use the wind to find the direction out. There's been a bunch of stuff like that, sometimes small like a flicker in a gas lamp. And sometimes big, like the night you left. I think...I think I made it rain. I'm not sure about that one, though. It could have been a coincidence."

  I pause and look at Lex. He's staring at me with wide eyes, his face paler than normal.

  "Lex?" My voice is small when I speak. "Say something."

  I watch as he gets up from the couch, walks slowly over to the bed, and sits heavily on the edge beside me.

  "Evan, the reason why I'm here? I'm looking for a text, a document. This document is said to contain a prophecy."

  I swallow hard. "A prophecy?"

  "Yes," he answers. I can tell he wants to touch me, but I'm glad that he doesn't. "Evan, it's supposed to be about you." Lex lets out a long sigh and rubs the back of his neck. Normally I would find the gesture endearing, but right now I'm just too numb.

  "Why didn't you tell me?" I ask trying hard to keep accusation from my voice.

  "Because I didn't know, not for sure. I was hoping that you wouldn't have anything to do with this."

  "With what, Lex?"

  He rubs his palm across his forehead, looking wearier than I've ever seen a man look.

  "I'm not sure I'm the right one to tell you about all this. Magda didn't want to do things too hastily, but I warned her what could happen if you were unprepared. And now..." He trails off and gives a helpless shrug. He looks so damn lost it breaks my heart, but I'm not ready to comfort him. I'm too lost myself.