“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he murmured.
He knew she had been in his room. Of course he did, he would have felt the energy she had left behind.
“They have to pay for the way they treat you. That room with the chains. . .” she said with a sniffle.
“Virgil locks me in there when I do something to piss him off, which is hard not to do. Sometimes he just does it because,” Aiden said.
The pain in his voice made Eren want to hurt Virgil very badly. Aiden’s arms tightened around her for a moment before he let go to reach down and lift her chin.
“They’ll pay for everything they’ve done. But just for this weekend let that be. This time should just be about you and me,” he said.
His hazel eyes held her in thrall and she became blissfully lost in them. All her stress and worries disappeared as the world narrowed down to just the two of them. Smiling, he traced a finger along her cheek and caught one of her tears. She laughed as he stuck it in his mouth.
“That’s better,” he said as he touched the edge of her smile.
Rising to her knees, she closed the distance between them and kissed him softly. He held her tighter, drawing the moment out until her heart was thundering. A bit breathless, Eren finally drew back.
“I don’t know how much longer I can stay away from you, and I don’t want you to have to go back to that house,” she said.
“The party is only a week away. If we can expose what they’re trying to do and get evidence of what they did to your parents, then it will all be over,” Aiden reassured her.
Eren nodded, hoping he was right. She could make it through one more week as long as that’s all it was. Aiden had put up with those people his whole life. She could endure it for a little longer.
“We have all weekend to talk about that,” he said.
Eren shook her head to clear it of such thoughts.
“You’re right. We have something more pressing to focus on,” she said with a huge smile.
His eyes lit up as if the sun had just struck them and he stood in that graceful way of his and extended his hand to her. The light in those eyes banished the last of her troubles. Accepting his hand, she let him pull her to her feet and led her downstairs.
“We’re going out for a while, Aunt Sylvia. Be back in a few,” Eren called as they reached the door.
Somewhere in the other part of the house she could feel her aunt, probably in her bedroom. Eren waited with her hand on the doorknob.
“You kids have fun and. . . be responsible,” she finally said, tripping up over the last word as if it was difficult to say.
Eren dropped her head and groaned as she opened the door and pulled Aiden outside. From her words and tone, it sounded like Aunt Sylvia at least had an idea that they weren’t just going out for a walk. It was utterly embarrassing and kind of liberating in a way since she hadn’t tried to stop them. But did she think Aiden was going to help her channel for the first time, or something else? Best not to dwell on that. The idea of her aunt fearing her and Aiden were going out to do something else, was not a good thought.
It hadn’t rained all day and things were starting to dry out a bit. Everything still had that wonderful, fresh smell that the rain always brought out. The evergreens seemed just a bit greener and some of the rocks in the driveway still shined with moisture. There was a chill in the air, but even barefoot and in a sleeveless dress it didn’t bother Eren.
Aiden’s hand felt incredible around hers, so natural. Unlike Luke, who sweated and always gripped a little too hard as if he were afraid she’d pull away. Aiden took a left, into the forest. He moved with purpose, as if he had a specific place he was taking her. The mixture of fallen pine needles and leaves was a soft, crunchy cushion beneath her feet. This time of year the aspens were leafless which allowed the sun to filter through the forest in huge beams. Eren knew her enjoyment of every little detail could have a bit to do with her joy over being with Aiden. But knowing that didn’t lessen it any.
For about a mile they walked in comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other’s company. Aiden was so easy to be around. It was part of what Eren loved so much about him. Unlike so many other guys, he was very low maintenance and didn’t feel the need to constantly talk about himself.
They came to a break in the trees and an amazing little meadow opened up before them. It was circled by aspens and blanketed by their colorful fallen leaves. Eren’s breath caught in her throat and her mouth dropped open wide. The meadow was beautiful. How had he found it?
“I knew you’d like it!” he said.
“Like it? I love it! This is so beautiful Aiden,” she said.
Laughing, she ran into the meadow and spun in circles with her arms open wide. Orange, red, and yellow leaves swirled up around her. When she stopped, the way Aiden was looking at her made her smile and look away. The devotion and joy in his eyes was staggering. No one except her parents had ever looked at her that way. Even then, it had been different. There was a sensual feel to the way Aiden’s eyes traveled over her, leaving her tingling without even a touch. Yep, very different.
With a vulnerable look shining in his eyes, he crossed the distance between them and took both of her hands in his.
“Are you sure you’re ready to do this?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” she said without hesitation.
He stepped back and pulled his shirt over his head. Her eyes traced what her fingers didn’t dare, following the faint line of hair that led up through his abs and ended below his pecs. Suddenly she couldn’t remember why they were here.
When he reached down and unbuttoned his pants she took a deep breath and forced herself to turn around. It wasn’t easy. She thought she should feel embarrassed, or nervous, but she didn’t. That was all gone now. His jeans landing in the leaves was the loudest sound she had ever heard. Concentrating on her breathing, she fingered the hem of her dress.
“Don’t worry, I’m wearing boxers,” he said with a laugh.
Before she could think too hard about it and lose her nerve, she pulled the dress over her head and dropped it. Her bikini wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before but if she didn’t have enough control it could end up in tatters. She hesitated on taking the necklace from her mother off. But she didn’t want it to get damaged. Reluctantly, she pulled it over her head and laid it down on top of her dress. Aiden made an appreciative sound.
“Shouldn’t your back be turned?” she asked, trying to sound funny to keep the embarrassment from her voice.
“After what happened last time I’m not letting you out of my sight. Besides, I’ve seen you in shorts and a bikini top before,” he said.
There was no need to wonder about how to call her energy up, the husky tone in Aiden’s voice made her very anxious. With that anxiety came the vibrations, only this time she didn’t fight them.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll be right here with you,” Aiden whispered, his breath on her neck.
That sent an entirely different feeling tingling through her that changed the vibrating. It felt like her power was tuning in to him, and it was rising as it did so. What if she channeled while kissing him? The moment she thought about channeling she became nervous again. In this instant, it was a good thing because it called up her power.
“It’s very hard to control at first, but don’t let that scare you. Just dump it into the ground if you can’t focus it,” Aiden said.
Eren thought back to that day at the river with her grandfather. He said she was a warrior channeler. But she had also healed the cut on Aiden’s face. Her aunt said one couldn’t be both.
“Wait. My grandfather said I’m a warrior channeler because of the way I was able to sense the energy of fish and use it to spear them easier. But I also healed the cut on your face and my aunt said a channeler can’t be both warrior and healer,” Eren said.
Aiden stepped around and looked her in the eyes. A dangerously fragile hope was etched upon his face. “No one is supposed to be able to
do both, it’s true. But I can,” he said softly.
“Why can we do both?” she asked.
He smiled. “I have no idea, but I’m glad I’m not alone. Don’t worry, all you have to do is focus on turning the energy into a healing energy before you channel it,” he said.
“Will that be hard?”
“You’ve already done it, just on a smaller scale. The only time it’s hard to turn the power into healing energy is when you’re mad,” he said.
His eyes flicked down the length of her body before he turned and looked away. There was a huge smile on his face. A blush worked its way to Eren’s cheeks. Her black bikini felt a bit skimpy all of a sudden. Without looking over at him, she struck him in the arm. His laughter eased the remainder of her concerns.
She abandoned all her reservations and finally let go of her fear and iron control. This time there was no nausea or convulsions. Since she didn’t fight it she felt it from the inside out, and it was wonderful. The energy wasn’t a separate thing within her like she had thought it was. It was the pure, powerful essence that was her and it longed to be set free.
Vibrations started all over her body and her vision blurred blue. The power that rode through her was massive. It felt as though she held the energy of a lightning bolt within her. That thought terrified her. What if it was too much to control? Could she accidentally blow herself up?
“Relax, E. I’m right here. You can control this. Think about your connection to the Earth. Imagine your feet and hands are roots that go deep into the ground. Imagine healing the Earth. Now let all that energy flow through your feet and hands and into the ground,” Aiden instructed. His voice was calm and slow and it guided her like the North Star.
She did what he told her to. The blue haze that clouded her vision started to clear up and she could see again. The energy was too much though. She fell to her knees, hands burying themselves in the grass as her fingers searched out the ground. The energy poured out of her and into the Earth. It felt odd, kind of like the reverse of taking a shower.
There was a rustling sound and suddenly tiny green shoots poked up through the grass. They were everywhere, covering the entire meadow. The shoots unfurled, revealing bright blue flowers that carpeted the entire clearing.
“Wow, did I do that?” Eren asked.
An excited whoop sounded from behind her and she turned to see Aiden spinning through the flowers, his arms open wide, head thrown back as he laughed. He fell to his knees before her and took her face gently in his hands. His lips tingled upon hers, drawing up her energy again. How she could have any left after that, she had no idea.
“Yes you did!” he said as he drew back.
His intense stare reminded her of the affect channeling had on one’s clothes. Frantic, she glanced down. Relief poured over her when she found her bikini unscathed. She looked back out over the sea of blue flowers. It was impossible and yet she knew she had done it, she had felt it. She hadn’t created the flowers. The seeds had already been there, dormant within the ground. Her energy had just fed them and awakened them at an incredible speed.
“Maybe my grandfather was wrong. Maybe I’m a healer channeler,” she said. It didn’t sound so bad and it felt pretty amazing.
There was excitement in his eyes when Aiden looked at her. “You want to test it and find out?” he asked.
That idea frightened her a bit but Eren laughed to cover it up. “You just want to get the rest of my clothes off,” she said.
The shade of red Aiden’s face turned was so bright it almost looked painful. His mouth opened and closed but it was a moment before he could gather his wits enough to speak.
“While I’m not opposed to that, we do need to find out if you’re one or both,” he said.
Grabbing her hand, he started to walk to the edge of the meadow just opposite where they had come in. There was a small hill just before the trees and it was covered in boulders.
“See that rock?” he asked.
It took a minute for her to see what he was pointing at. The feel of his hand in hers was distracting.
“Yes.”
“Raise your energy, focus on destroying that rock,” he said.
Rock was a bit of an understatement. It was a boulder larger than she was and probably at least four times as heavy. Eren remembered lifting the boulder back at the river. She had used its energy as well as her own.
“But rocks have energy. Doesn’t that mean they’re alive?” she asked.
“Not exactly. They’re part of the Earth so they carry her residual energy. But don’t worry, you won’t be hurting them. Their energy just gets scattered and returns to the Earth,” he said.
That didn’t sound so bad. But it did make her wonder about the nature of energy. “Okay,” she agreed.
Aiden let go of her hand and backed away a bit. “This time, raise your power and focus it on the rock. Think about destroying it. You won’t need to ground yourself, the energy should all go into the rock,” he said.
Reaching deep into herself she called upon her power, and was surprised when it rose so quickly. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do it again so soon. It built like a wave within her, gaining momentum as it worked its way up from her core. In only a moment her body was vibrating from the effort of holding it in. It had built too fast and felt like too much for her to handle. A vision of Aunt Sylvia and the bear came to her. She remembered how her aunt had focused the energy through her hands and shot it at the bear.
Her eyes were hazing over with blue when she raised her arms and pointed her palms at the boulder. She let go. The energy left more than just her hands, though most of it focused through them. A blue bolt of mist shot toward the boulder, exploding it into millions of pieces.
“Sweet!” Aiden exclaimed.
She realized she was suddenly cold in places that should have been covered. Before she looked down to check, she knew her clothes had been ruined. Actually, ruined would have been kind. They had been disintegrated. Letting out a small squeak, she turned away from Aiden, using her long black hair to cover what she could.
“Turn around!” she demanded.
“What? Oh!”
She checked to make sure he had turned his back then rushed over to where her dress was laying in the flowers. It didn’t fit quite right without the support of her bikini top but it would have to do. At least she had something to cover herself with. By the time she put her necklace on Aiden was back at her side.
“That was amazing!” he said.
Heat rushed to Eren’s cheeks and she was glad he couldn’t tell. “The rock or the fact that my clothes were blown to bits?” she asked.
“Both, but I meant the rock,” he said with a sly smile.
“Very funny,” Eren mumbled as she slipped her sandals on.
They started walking back into the forest.
“It looks like you are both types of channeler, just like me,” Aiden said as he took hold of her hand.
“What does that mean?”
“I have no idea. No one’s ever been both that I know of.” There was no fear in his tone, just excitement and awe. It was hard for her to worry about it when he was so confident.
They walked for a while in silence. It was comfortable and easy like all the time they spent together. The relief Eren felt over that was almost staggering. She hadn’t realized just how much she’d been afraid that channeling would change things between them.
“You should try running with your energy raised. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world,” Aiden said after a while.
“A peek wasn’t enough? Now you want me to run through the forest naked with you?” Eren asked.
A blush brightened his cheeks again, making her laugh. He laughed with her. “You don’t channel, just raise your power and use the energy of the living things around you to guide you and help you move. There’s no risk to your clothes as long as you don’t get carried away,” he said.
It sounded like a great idea. Eren was
so charged after raising her power that a run seemed like exactly what she needed.
“Let’s do it,” she said.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Already Eren’s power was rising to the surface. It felt like she’d downed a quadruple espresso. “As long as my dress isn’t at risk, let’s go,” she said.
Gripping her hand tight, Aiden took off running. If felt amazing. Eren loved to run anyways, but this was different. The only word that came to mind was freedom, complete and utter freedom. Everything felt different with her power crackling just beneath her skin. The energy of every tree, fern, and bush pulsed around her, feeding and guiding her. She wasn’t just running upon the earth, she was a part of it.
That realization was staggering. Suddenly she understood why everyone in Spruce Knoll cared so much about the environment. Such heavy thoughts were impossible to hang onto as the joy of running took over. She gave into it with an eagerness that surprised her. It was a lot like giving into the artist in her when she painted.
They ran for nearly an hour. When they reached the river they ran down along its cold banks for a while before continuing deep into the Mayan woods. For a short time, they even ran alongside a herd of deer they had startled. Eren found the energy of the deer fed her too, renewing her strength and enabling her to run faster.
When the sun was getting close to setting, they returned to the meadow. She collapsed onto her stomach. It wasn’t exhaustion so much as she was overwhelmed with a variety of emotions: contentment, excitement, and a profound sense of belonging. The slightly damp grass felt wonderful beneath her body so she stretched out belly down on it. Crossing her arms, she propped her head up on them and turned to watch Aiden slip a pair of black jeans on over his boxers. His eyes widened when he turned back to her which made her laugh.
He turned his head away and took a deep breath. “What did you think?” he asked.
“It was amazing. You were absolutely right, of course. I can’t believe I fought against this for so long,” she sighed.
“Of course I was,” he agreed with a smirk.
They sat together and chatted, watching the sun sink behind a forest as colorful as the painted sky. He wrapped his arm around her and she laid her head upon his shoulder. The day couldn’t have been more perfect. Experiencing this with Aiden completed a part of her that she hadn’t realized wasn’t whole. She knew who and what she was and was starting to think she might be able to embrace it someday.
The Secret Of Spruce Knoll: A Channeler Novel Page 19
