by Allie Burke
“Don’t call me Auntie. What’s wrong?”
“There is a beautiful woman in my kitchen. She’s wearing my t-shirt. Nothing else. And I’m sitting here, talking to you.”
“So, sorry,” the phone said. “Well, you might as well talk to me now. I’ve already ruined the moment. Hi, Jane.”
“Hello, Jeanine.” Her tone was overly cautious.
“Elias, why don’t you bring Jane over for dinner?”
“You don’t cook.”
“I didn’t say I would cook. You don’t have to cook to have dinner.”
“I’m cooking now.”
“Let me guess. Bacon and eggs. You know you can’t live off breakfast food?”
“Oh, yes I can.”
“Well, Jane can’t. See you in an hour.”
There was no more arguing. Jeanine already hung up.
Elias drove Jane to Jasmyn. They hadn’t spoken since Jeanine called. He threw her an apologetic smile once the conversation was over, but she just hopped off the counter, put her dress back on, and asked him to take her home.
“I need a quick swim,” she said. “Come with me?”
“Yeah,” he said, his tone more agreeable than his scrambled thoughts. He wasn’t sure what to expect when they got there.
He parked the car next to the white picket fence, and turned his headlights off. It was dark again. They enjoyed a quiet walk down the same trail Elias had toured the night before. They reached the end, and the woods spread into an opening, exposing a crystal clear lake lined by mountains and large rocks. He stared intently at the natural ambience before him.
“Isn’t it the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”
He looked into her eyes. With the utmost honesty, he said, “No.”
Jane bit her lip. “See you in a minute,” she mumbled. She stepped forward, and elegantly dove in.
Elias looked up at the stars, searching for guidance in the bright constellations. He undressed down to his underwear, and walked around the lake to the shallow shore. He gently stepped in, but he froze when he heard Jane bark “Hey.”
He looked up. Her head was above water, her eyes down. “Be nice, Jaz,” she said.
“Huh?” Elias asked.
“Go ahead, Elias. She won’t hurt you.”
“Um. Who?” He frantically searched his surroundings. They were alone.
“Jasmyn. She’s a little protective.”
“O-kay,” he said skeptically, and walked forward until the water level reached his waist.
He froze again, halted by the sight before him. Jane was lying on her back on the surface. Surrounding her body was a purple cloud of sparkly glitter, a—what did Jeanine call it? An aura. It was the same color as the shimmer hovering over her in the painting, but seeing it in person was incomparable. It bundled around her like an army of tiny purple lights, bright as the stars, ready to protect her against anything and everything.
He swam towards her. Elias slowed as he neared the aura, and then he swooped forward, taking her body into his arms. Unexpectedly, the glitter stretched to envelop Elias’s body as well.
Jane looked surprised. This particular phenomenon was new to her, too.
He leaned in for a kiss, but Jane’s chest vibrated against him with a heavy breath.
“Jane? What’s wrong?”
“There’s someone at my house.”
“Who?”
“Enchanter. I have to go—” Jane swam away from him, a purple trail leading to her. She hopped onto one of the rocks and climbed up onto the cliff. He followed her.
He dressed quickly as Jane paced back and forth between the trees. He buckled his belt, and she came over to him. She settled close, and glided both of her hands through his wet hair. He felt a slight breeze waft over him, and his hair was suddenly dry. She spoke before he could ask anything about it.
“I’m sorry. I’m probably freaking you out. We’re not in danger. Enchanters, they just make me nervous.”
“Why?” Elias couldn’t help but feel confused. Weren’t they her kind?
“They’re not stable.” She looked away, thinking, and turned back. “Do you want to come with me?”
“Of course,” he said immediately.
She smiled, grasped his hand, and led him back the way they came. As they passed the same pink flowers, his mind raced again. He didn’t see Liam this time. He saw Jane, not as she walked next him, she was older, still beautiful, just older, more comfortable as she sat next to him on her couch speaking casually about something inconsequential.
“What’s with the flowers?” he blurted.
She smiled. “What did you see?”
He blinked his eyes, wishing the vision would reappear. “Happiness,” he whispered.
“Home,” she said.
“What?”
“The azalea bush. In Chinese culture, it’s known as the xiangsi shu. ‘Thinking of home bush’.”
He smiled. The future. He could only hope. He squeezed her hand in his, and they kept walking.
He stopped abruptly as a rustling in the trees distracted him. Protectively, he stood in front of Jane. He waited a moment, listening. A man stepped onto the trail from the woods. He was tall, brown hair, chestnut eyes, tanned skin. He would have been very good looking if he hadn’t been staring at Elias like he was going to kill him.
Jane sneaked under Elias’s arm and stood in front of him. The man looked at her, and every line in his face softened.
“Hey,” he whispered. His voice was extremely calm, like he couldn’t ever raise his voice if he wanted to.
“Hey,” she said, her tone just as soft.
“You know there’s someone here.”
“I know.”
“You know he has your energy.”
“I know that, too.”
“You need some help?”
“I’ll let you know.”
He nodded, and turned to go back into the woods, but Jane called him back.
“Thank you.”
He opened his mouth like he had something else to say, but instead he sucked a deep breath in, turned, and left.
Jane stood there for a while, staring at the spot where he disappeared into the trees.
“Who was that?” Elias carefully said. He was afraid to even ask. Their conversation was way too familiar to be friendly. Way too constricted to be kind. They knew each other better than they knew anyone else in the world.
“That,” Jane breathed, “is the man that hates you more than you could ever understand. Come on. Let’s go.”
Jeanine ordered Chinese food and was cleaning up the house a bit, readying it for guests. She was so excited to see Jane again. Jane had disappeared when Annabelle did, except Annabelle was gone forever. Jane had just been distant.
A knock on the door startled her. What were they doing here already?
Jeanine opened the door. The old man outside surprised her. His features were very familiar.
“May I help you?” she asked.
“Hello. I am trying to locate a family member. I’m told she lives near here. I thought maybe you’ve seen her around?”
He produced a picture. It was obviously old, the quality of the photo incomparable to the digital technology available today. It revealed a smiling, middle aged woman. It must have been taken thirty years ago, at least. But Annabelle’s dark brown eyes were unmistakable.
Jeanine looked up at him. A gush of air was stolen from her lungs as she saw something before her eyes that she wasn’t supposed to see. She slammed the door in his face, locking the dead bolt. She ran to her cell phone and dialed Elias’s number. Voice mail. The tone beeped, and Jeanine left a frantic message.
“Elias. Get Jane out of there. Now.”
Elias and Jane stood amongst the trees across the clearing. A man, old, probably seventy or so, stood right beside Elias’s car. His silver hair gave his age away, but he was not carrying himself as an old man. His demeanor was that of a twenty year old: confident, energize
d.
Jane stepped forward, and they walked towards the house together. The man turned. He spoke in a gnarly, devilish voice.
“Hello, Jane.”
“Who are you?” she asked coldly.
Elias flinched. He hadn’t seen this side of Jane yet, didn’t know it existed until this moment.
“My name is Lewis Clarke,” he said, “but you can call me Grandpa.”
~ * ~
Jane brought a cup of tea into Annabelle’s room. The coughing had progressed, and Annabelle looked much worse. She set the mug down on the table next to the bed, and sat next to her. The movement slightly shifted the bed, igniting one of Annabelle’s coughing fits. It didn’t stop for several minutes.
“Janie, there are things I need to tell you.”
“Anna, stop, please.” Jane was shaking.
“Listen to me child, I don’t have much time.”
There was nothing Jane could do but sit there.
“Make sure you keep the wards strong. Use what I have taught you. Follow your heart. This is your home. Defend it.”
“Anna,” Jane cried, “don’t do this—”
“They will come for you. All of them.” Annabelle’s head rolled to the side, her eyes closed. Jane squeezed her hand, but this time, her grandmother did not squeeze back. Annabelle was gone.
Chapter 13
In the corner of his eye twinkled the slight bend of Jane’s knees, and Elias caught her. Her eyes flickered closed. She’d fainted.
“Weak,” Lewis said, “just like her grandmother.”
Elias clenched his teeth together. He gently set Jane down on the soft dirt, turned around, and punched Lewis hard across the cheek. He fell to the ground. Elias smiled down at him, feeling much better. That is, until the black cloud formed around the old man, a dark, hateful, evil aura. Oh, shit. Elias couldn’t feel the smile on his face anymore.
“Elias.” Jane’s voice behind him. “Help me up, please.”
He turned his back on the scary old guy. He should have argued with Jane. If she was too tired to get up on her own, she shouldn’t get up. Her voice was determined, though, and if he didn’t do what she asked, she would have found a way to get up without him.
“Stand behind me,” she said.
“No.” He stubbornly planted himself in the dirt between her and Lewis.
She gripped his arm, pulled him back. He stumbled. Actually stumbled. He looked at her, dumbfounded. She hadn’t grown larger muscles in the last five minutes, still little, beautiful Jane. He was three times her size. How was that even physically possible?
Jane stepped in front of him. She raised her arms, tightly forced them outwards. Her purple aura appeared in a sparkly, glittery flash of violet. It was different outside of the water. The blue lake water altered its color, but here, against the dark night, it shone like purple electricity.
“What do you want?” Jane’s voice was dark and angry, her tone full of power.
“You. Dead.” Lewis got to his feet.
Elias’s heart swelled in his chest. He couldn’t fathom the emotional impact of “Jane” and “dead” in the same sentence.
In her silence, the wind started blowing. The branches on the trees jumped up and down, their green leaves swaying side to side. No other traits of a storm, no clouds, no shift in the temperature, just wind.
“Elias, come closer,” Jane said.
He stepped forward, the coolness of her body slightly grazing him. Jane lifted her arms higher, and then there was water. It was everywhere he looked, summoned over the trees, thousands of gallons of water surrounding them in a whirlwind, large waves bulging, nothing but the forest to contain it. Jane pushed her hands forward. A large wave escaped from the water tornado and shot itself at Lewis, knocking him down. The impact was much worse than when Elias had punched him. He thought he heard Lewis’s head smack the ground, even over the monstrous swishing sounds. The waves calmed, all the water fell to a flood on the ground, flowing away. It gushed towards the lake, like it was returning. Elias was dry; not a drop ever touched either of them.
Jane’s arms relaxed, knees wobbling again. Elias held onto her. Lewis lied on his side, soaked, coughing up water.
“You’re lucky he’s here,” Jane said to Lewis, “or I’d fucking kill you. Get the fuck out of my woods.”
Elias flinched, her sharp words oblivious to the weakness in her knees as he realized he hadn’t yet heard Jane curse. Melodious was not the right word to describe her voice at the moment. Frightening was more like it.
With that, Lewis jumped up hastily, and ran very quickly out of Jasmyn. He had underestimated her.
Jane stepped forward, out of Elias’s arms, but he stepped with her, placed his hand on her shoulder. She breathed heavily, the silence between them deepening.
“I’m sorry, Elias,” she said to the trees. “I never wanted you to see that.” She paused to catch her breath. “If you want to leave—if you don’t want to be with me after—” she breathed again, “I’ll understand. But please, if that’s the way it is, go now, or else I won’t be able to let you go.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he answered without thinking. He turned her around and pulled her to him. He moved the wild strands of hair from her face. “Promise me that will be the last time you ever talk about me leaving you.”
Her face fell along with her body, her muscles and expressions succumbing to him. Elias caught her again, held her close to him.
“I promise.”
She kissed him. He could feel Jane’s chest heating up against his as her limbs strengthened. Standing on her own, her leg lifted and knotted around him, her hands were under his shirt, and then, their kiss died. Elias’s own strength gave slightly, his disappointment weighing him down. He could still feel her, her cool hands on his chest, her thigh tight against his side. Elias opened his eyes.
Jane leaned with her head tilted back, deep, heavy breaths parting her lips.
“I’m sorry, I—”
“No,” she interrupted him. “I just—” she moaned. Twice. “Never mind.” She entwined her hand in his, and they went into the house, sat down on the couch.
He thought of something Jeanine had said. The Enchanter. One of a kind.
“Can I ask you something?” Elias’s words approached her carefully.
“Of course.”
“If your element is water, how can you dry me off?”
She let out a long sigh. Her “of course” empowered him to be bold. He didn’t think she was going to answer him now.
She finally spoke. “I can manipulate all elements. Water, Earth, Wind, Fire. And others.”
His confusion must have been painted thickly all over his face.
“I’m a Brooks,” she said. “We’re different.”
He didn’t ask what that meant. If she was going to elaborate, she would have done so on her own.
“Will you show me sometime?”
“No.” There was the angry tone again.
He lifted her into his lap. “Are you afraid?”
“Yes.”
“You won’t hurt me. I trust you.”
“Don’t.” She stood up, and walked out of the room.
Don’t what? She couldn’t really expect him not to trust her? She had already saved his life twice. The first time was when she walked into his world.
He waited for her. He was positively sure that pushing her was not the right thing to do. She came out after a few minutes, wearing a black sundress, her hair still wild, but not so frizzy.
“I’m sorry.” She stood behind the couch, her eyes past sadness, on the verge of misery.
He got up, went to her, took her face in his hands. “I need you to relax. If I take you to Jeanine’s house like this, she’ll know it was all my fault, and then she’ll hit me, I’ll get a bruise, you’ll have to take me to the hospital—”
She was laughing. Her smile. Thank you.
He kissed her cheek, and they walked out of the house. She
started down the stairs, leaving him on the porch.
“Aren’t you going to lock your door?” he asked.
“No. I have the wards,” she waved her hand around in the air.
“What?”
“Defense wards. No one can pass through unless they’re invited.”
His smile mocked her. “I passed through. Were you waiting for me?”
She shook her head. “You are too charming for your own good, Elias Linden.”
Knock, knock, knockity knock. Jeanine sat on the couch, a mental disaster, worry making her crazy. The Chinese food sat on the kitchen table, cold and nasty. At the sound of the fist on the wooden door, her body jumped up and ran to it. When she opened it, she saw Elias, and with Elias was—she had to breathe deep before she could form the word—Jane. She was so beautiful.
She ignored her nephew, leaped forward and wrapped Jane in a tight hug. “Janie,” she whispered, “where have you been?”
“I—” Jane stuttered, “I had an emergency.”
“No,” Jeanine backed up, holding Jane’s arms. “Where have you been? It’s been months! Where did you go?”
Tears welled up in Jane’s eyes. “I’m so sorry—”
“Jeanine,” Elias angrily cut in, “stop.”
Jeanine pulled her close for another hug. “I’m sorry, Janie. I’ve missed you.” Jeanine looked at Elias. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
Jeanine stepped aside, and waved them in. They all sat down.
“Tell me about Lewis Clarke,” Jeanine said.
Jane’s face flushed. “How—”
“He stopped by here, asking if I had seen—”
“Wait! He was here?”
“Yes.”
Jane leaned in close to Jeanine. “Did he hurt you?”
“I’m fine, sweetie.”
Jane covered her eyes with the palm of her hand. “He claimed to be my—”
Jeanine interrupted again. “He is.”
She removed her hand from her face. “He is what?”
“Your grandfather.”
Jane’s mere flushy cheeks turned fiery within half a second. She started shaking, and she bent down and placed her head between her knees.
