Chapter 32
The weekend went far too fast. Since Aiden’s adopted parents were out of town, Aunt Sylvia agreed to let him sleep on the couch. Eren kind of figured it was mostly because Sylvia was afraid he would just sneak in Eren’s window if she didn’t let him stay over. They made the most of every moment, going to bed late and getting up early. A month of lost time gave them a lot to make up for.
Saturday they went for another long run and practiced channeling nearly all day. He showed her an entirely different world, one without fear and worries. Aiden was a perfect gentleman the whole time with no sign of the anger Eren worried about. He always turned away when she channeled just in case she ruined her clothes. And there were times when she did. He wouldn’t stop complimenting her on her natural ability and her amazing control over it. If what he said was true—and it always was—it had taken him months of channeling to make it look as easy as she did.
He left early on Sunday, wanting to shower and wash his clothes before anyone got home. It killed Eren to let him go, but she had no choice. She just kept telling herself that a week wasn’t that long. After the party they could quit pretending. That kind of became a mantra of hers anytime she thought about having to face Luke.
Once he left, Sylvia sat Eren down for a talk. She wasn’t controlling or judgmental. And thankfully, she had already figured out that Aiden had helped her channel for the first time. There was an uncomfortable moment where Eren had to tell her that they had not had sex. Then Aunt Sylvia had a talk with her about how the power could heighten sexual arousal. Just hearing her aunt say those words made Eren want to crawl into a hole and disappear. It was way more awkward than the sex talk with her mother had been.
Monday arrived and she was forced to face Luke and Elisabeth again. After her time with Aiden being around Luke was just too hard. Every time Luke touched her she had to fight the instinct to lash out at him with her power. It wasn’t difficult to make him and Elisabeth believe she wasn’t feeling well. She could tell they thought it was because she was fighting the desire to channel, and she let them think exactly that.
That night, she broke down and told Aunt Sylvia that Luke and Elisabeth were bothering her so much that she needed a few days off from school. At first Sylvia had wanted to talk to the Moldovans about it, but Eren freaked out so bad that it convinced her not to.
“Please, Aunt Sylvia, it’ll be okay. I just need a few days off. Can’t we say I’m sick or something?” Eren pleaded.
“Our kind don’t get sick,” Sylvia protested.
She thought about it for a moment as she stared very hard at Eren.
“All right. I’ve been thinking about going to the city for some shopping. I guess it would be fun if we went together. We could stay in a nice hotel, maybe catch a movie,” she said.
Eren jumped up and down before hugging her aunt so tight she gasped for breath. This was perfect! She wouldn’t have to see Luke almost until the party, and she’d get to spend a couple of fun days with her aunt.
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” she exclaimed.
“I’ll call the school, you go pack enough clothes for a few days,” Sylvia said, shooing her off.
Eren skipped all the way upstairs. She was so relieved that she wouldn’t have to see Luke, wouldn’t have to let him hold her hand or put his arm around her. Even one day that she didn’t have to pretend to like that jerk was enough to make her giddy. She threw some clothes in a duffle bag and wrote Aiden a quick note to let him know where she was going and that she’d be back in a few days.
As an afterthought, she threw the necklace the coroner had sent into the bag as well. Something about it had been nagging at her and she wanted to ask Uncle Alin about it. No doubt Sylvia would be taking her laptop so she could talk to Alin and Fane. Not a night went by when Sylvia didn’t talk to them. And after chatting with them nearly every night herself, Eren understood why. They were great people. No one should have to be separated from their family like that. It made Eren all the more determined to take Virgil and Camilia down.
Feeling particularly spirited, she called her energy, swung over the loft railing and jumped. She landed on a soft cushion of her power in the living room twelve feet below. Sylvia stepped out of the kitchen and gave her a wide-eyed look.
“Feeling saucy are we?” she asked.
“Just happy to get out. Sometimes this town seems very small,” Eren said.
Laughing, Sylvia nodded in agreement. Her car keys jingled in her hand as she headed for the door.
“I’ve got to run do something real quick. I’ll be back before you have the Jeep pulled around,” Eren said, pausing to slip her sandals on.
“Okay,” Sylvia said as they stepped outside.
The moment she turned toward the garage Eren sprinted for the forest. Trees streaked by as she covered distance. This was why she had been forced to hold back when she was on the track team. Her speed was incredible and she realized that was in part because her power made her faster.
At the edge of Aiden’s meadow, she skidded to a stop and gave the world a moment to stop spinning. Such abilities came at a price. Stopping was the hard part, it always left her dizzy for a little bit. Finally her vision cleared enough for her to find what she was looking for. She and Aiden had found a boulder that sat like a bench overlooking the meadow. After their runs they’d spent a lot of time sitting on it and talking. Their energy still lingered here. Eren loved the feel of their two energies mixed together.
Just under the boulder was a cubby hole they had decided would be a great place for secret notes. This way even when they couldn’t see each other at least they could still communicate. There was no way she was going to leave town without telling him where she was going and why. There had been too much miscommunication between them already. Besides, she didn’t want him to worry. This would be so much easier if he just had a cell phone.
Not caring how silly it was, she kissed the note, closing her eyes and picturing Aiden’s face as she did so. It was going to be excruciating not seeing him for a few days, even when all she could do was gaze at him across a room. But Aiden was exactly why she had to get away from Luke. After what she and Aiden had shared it was nearly impossible to fake affection for someone else.
Reluctantly, she placed the note and turned and ran before she could lose her willpower. When she skidded into the gravel almost two minutes later the Jeep was waiting there with its engine purring. Aunt Sylvia was sitting in the passenger seat. Hesitantly, Eren opened the driver’s door and peered in at her.
“Sorry, it took a bit longer than I expected,” she said.
Her aunt gave her a knowing smile and waved the apology away.
“Time for us girls to have some fun. Come on, you need the practice,” she said with a nod at the driver’s seat.
Taken completely by surprise, it was a moment before she leaped in. This was going to be even better than she had imagined! Some girl time was exactly what she needed. Getting to drive all the way there was a huge bonus that she hadn’t expected though. She really had to learn to stop underestimating her aunt.
* * *
The drive took a good part of the day, but Eren never tired of the practice. They weren’t just going to the small town outside of Spruce Knoll with the bus station. Sylvia had meant the actual city. Eren didn’t mind the long drive because it gave them a chance to talk. Sylvia wasn’t nosy at all about Luke and Elisabeth. In fact, she didn’t even bring them up. That scored her huge points, almost as many points as letting Eren drive. They talked about Sylvia’s work as an art dealer and that led to a discussion about Eren’s paintings.
“You’re quite talented. I think you should look into some of the art colleges in Europe,” Sylvia told her.
Eren was so thrilled by this idea that she hardly spoke for the next hour. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined she’d be able to go to an art college. As much as she loved art, she had never discussed it with her parents. They t
hought it was a phase she would outgrow. This gave her a lot to think about, so much so that she finally relinquished the wheel to Sylvia. It was more than just that though. A dull ache had started behind Eren’s eyes and her stomach felt like it was considering rejecting her breakfast.
Outside her window the forest had long ago given way to open fields which had then given way to suburbs filled with houses crammed too close together. It was nothing like California but it was more buildings than Eren had seen in months. She thought the familiar sight of civilization would have been comforting, but it wasn’t. The postcard sized lawns seemed choked by all the concrete and houses. The air felt different and the sheer lack of energy from plant life was disturbing. Eren rolled the window down and leaned her face into the wind, but it didn’t help. Back in California she had experienced panic attacks on occasion and they kind of reminded her of this, only less severe.
“I don’t feel so good,” she mumbled.
“I’m sorry, honey. It’s like that after you’ve come into your power. I should have remembered. It’s just been so long for me,” Sylvia said.
“What do you mean?”
“The sickness you’re feeling is your body reacting to the lack of healthy energy from plants. Cities have that affect on our kind,” Sylvia said.
Eren rolled her head in her aunt’s direction, hating how the motion made her want to throw up. Sylvia didn’t look as chipper as she usually did but she didn’t look as ill as Eren felt either.
“It doesn’t look like it’s affecting you that way,” she said, having to force the words out. It felt like it was getting harder to breathe, like they had climbed a thousand feet higher in elevation or something. Could her panic attacks really have just been a mild case of this all along? Now that she thought about it, they had only happened when she had gone into downtown.
“I’ve learned how to tolerate it over the years. It helps if you pull your power tight into your center and keep it contained there,” Sylvia explained.
Closing her eyes, Eren focused on the dull pulse of her power and drew it in to her center as tightly as she could. It wasn’t hard considering it felt so repressed already. By the time she opened her eyes the nausea had started to pass and it had become easier to breathe.
“Why have I never felt that before?” she asked.
“Because you don’t notice it until your power has awakened.”
“It’s always going to be like this?” Eren hated how whiny her voice sounded but she couldn’t help it. While the headache had almost disappeared and she no longer felt the need to throw up, she still didn’t feel quite right.
“I’m afraid so. You get better at tolerating it, though.”
Eren let the topic drop. Talking made it harder to concentrate.
When they arrived, Sylvia surprised her by pulling into a five star hotel. Like her parents, Sylvia wasn’t hurting for money. The Mayan channelers had not left Yaxchilan without a good amount of the city’s gold. What surprised her was that Sylvia would spend so much just on an excursion with her. Her parents had always been so conservative. They never would have sprung for something like this.
“Wow, this makes the headache so worth it,” Eren murmured as her eyes were drawn up the side of the towering building.
“The headaches will get better with time and practice. I’m glad you like my choice of hotels!”
There was sadness in Sylvia’s voice hidden beneath the cheerful tone. It made Eren wonder.
“This is why our kind live in the country isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yes. That and we don’t seem able to conceive children when living in the city. We’re dependent on the feel of the Earth beneath our feet and around us,” Sylvia said.
That kind of freaked Eren out. She was nowhere near ready to even think about having kids but to hear that her kind couldn’t have them if they lived in the city was not encouraging. A good majority of the world was covered in cities or civilization of some kind and there was always more being built. What happened when there was no more country for her kind to live in? It gave a whole new urgency to the need for preservation.
Such heavy thoughts faded to the back of her mind as Sylvia brought the Jeep to a stop and got out.
The lobby was so amazing that Eren decided the spa would definitely be worth checking out. Massive pillars rose up to the twenty foot high ceiling out of gray marble floors that were polished to a blinding shine. A man in a suit took their bags while a smiling receptionist checked them in and pointed out on a map where the pool, spa, and workout room were. Even the carpet in the hallway was tasteful. That was something Eren had never seen in a hotel.
Their room didn’t disappoint either. There was actually a hot tub in the room so incredible that there was no need to go to the spa. Right now she was happy to just settle for a shower. By the time she got out, Aunt Sylvia had already tried chatting with Alin but the network was down. As much as Eren wanted to ask him her question, she was just as happy to sink into the huge queen sized bed that awaited her.
Chapter 33
Eren had so much fun the next day that she was able to forget about Luke and Elisabeth completely. She and Sylvia shopped for hours in all the stores she and her old friends had only dreamed about going in. Even shopping was different now. She had to look for clothes that would be easy to take off quickly in case she needed to channel. Sylvia figured out what she was looking for and was more than happy to help.
After that, they found an upscale place that did manicures and pedicures. They caught a chick flick that had them both crying and laughing, then wrapped up the day at a fine steak house. It was so much fun that Eren was not looking forward to going home the next day.
Careful to keep her painted toes out of the water, Eren lounged in the hot tub with her aunt. It was far too big for just the two of them, but that allowed them to stretch out and take up all the room they wanted.
“Thanks for this, Eren. With two boys in the house, I don’t really get any girl time,” Sylvia sighed.
“I bet. But I should be thanking you, this has been a lot of fun,” Eren said with a content smile.
After a while of soaking Sylvia stood up and reached for her towel.
“I’m going to try and get a hold of Alin and Fane. You go ahead and soak,” she told her.
Settling deeper into the liquid warmth, Eren did just that. Her life had been all about stress and drama for so long that it almost felt strange to relax. The nausea had faded away and as long as she kept her power under tight control, the headache wasn’t so bad. The quiet gave her a chance to think, and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. She began to wonder if she was really ready for what was coming, or if she was in over her head. Virgil and Camilia were killers after all. Who’s to say Luke wasn’t capable of the same? He certainly seemed twisted enough. Elisabeth, on the other hand, was starting to act as trapped as Aiden.
What if the party came to a fight? Luke’s intention seemed to be for it to end that way. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t stop her thoughts from moving in that direction. The possibility was very likely. She had a pretty strong feeling that Luke’s idea of pleasing his parents would involve her death. His interest in her wasn’t faked, but it certainly wasn’t for her personality either, which probably meant he had more in store for her than just a quick death. That thought made her shudder despite the hot cocoon of water.
Every day after school she had been training as hard as she could and she was becoming a decent fighter. But would it be enough against someone like Luke? Much, much worse, was the question; would Aiden get hurt? Of all things, that she couldn’t bear.
Enough thinking for one night, she could handle no more. Eren stood up and grabbed her towel. She was almost dry when Aunt Sylvia came in and asked if she wanted to talk to Alin and Fane.
“Yeah! I’ll be right there.”
Slipping on an oversized night shirt, she grabbed the necklace from the coroner and dashed into the other room. Thanking Sylvi
a, she slid into the seat she had just vacated. Alin’s handsome face smiled back at her from the computer screen.
“Hi, Uncle Alin. I have a question for you,” she said.
She was hesitant, not sure if she was ready for the answer. But like all the other unpleasant truths in her life, she had to know. Her hands fumbled with the baggy, unusually uncoordinated. Finally, she opened it and held the necklace up before the web cam.
“Do you recognize this?” she asked.
“By the gods Eren, where did you get that?” Alin nearly shouted.
A chill sank into her. “The coroner sent it to me along with my parents other personal property,” she said.
His desperate tone didn’t exactly ease her mind. Aunt Sylvia must have heard because she was suddenly standing over Eren’s shoulder. On the computer screen Eren could see that Fane was doing the same to his dad. This had gone from a simple question to a family discussion. Not a good sign.
“What is it Alin?” Sylvia asked.
Alin rubbed his hand across his brow and took a moment before he spoke. Eren thought she saw the glimmer of tears in his eyes.
“That’s my grandmother’s necklace. I would know it anywhere. Virgil stole it when he fled Romania,” Alin said.
Eren drew in a sharp breath and dropped the necklace on the desk so she could cover her gaping mouth. There was only one way that could have ended up with her parents’ bodies. Camilia had to have dropped it in the fight.
“That means—" Eren choked on the rest, unable to finish.
“That means Camilia and Virgil killed your parents,” Sylvia finished for her as she placed her hands upon Eren’s shoulders.
The Secret Of Spruce Knoll: A Channeler Novel Page 20
