Elemental Reality (11 page)

“Callie?” Ady gasped.

I lost my concentration before my wings could fully retract. Instead they sprang to their fullest once again. I whirled around to see Ady and Emery standing on the patio, their backs pressed against the house, eyes bugged out, and jaws slack. I guess I had some explaining to do.

16

Secrets Don’t

Make Friends

This was not going to be an easy thing to explain to my two best friends. The closer I inched toward them the farther they pressed into the wall as if they could melt into it. The sun lit up my wings like a star gone supernova. I had to think of something to say so they wouldn’t be terrified of me.

“Oh, hey,” I said, chuckling nervously. “What are the chances of meeting you two here?”

“What are you?” asked Emery, ignoring my playfulness.

“I’m quirky, funny, cute, an awesome dresser. Need I go on?”

“Be serious,” Ady snapped.

“What?” I said defensively. “Can’t a girl hang out with her family in her own backyard?”

“You were just hanging out . . . with your Tinkerbell wings?” Ady asked dubiously.

“She’s right,” Oli agreed unhelpfully. “You do look wicked conspicuous.”

“I do? It’s just my Halloween outfit,” I lied. “Don’t you like it?”

“So you aren’t a Faerie?” Emery asked with raised eyebrows.

“What? No. No, no,” I said unpersuasively. “Definitely not.”

“Just tell them,” Dad ordered. “You aren’t very convincing.”

“Not even a little?” I held my thumb and pointer finger an inch apart.

Everyone unanimously agreed I sucked at impromptu lying.

“Fine.” I threw my hands in the air, acting like I was exasperated. “I’m a Faerie, okay? And so is Lola. I’m all elemental girl. Surprise.” I did my best impression of jazz hands.

Ady and Emery were still all chameleon against the brick wall.

“Lucy, Oli’s mom,”—I pointed her out—“was just teaching us about our wings.”

“What do you mean by ‘elemental girl’?” Ady asked shakily.

“She means exactly what you heard,” Lola piped up. “Here, watch this.” She walked over to the little dirt patch next to the patio that used to be our garden and twirled her finger over the dirt. In an instant, the dirt rose and formed a mini tornado. Lola moved her hand away and watched it with pride as it danced around the patch.

Ady and Emery cautiously moved closer to get a better look. A breathy laugh escaped their throats.

“No way,” Emery whispered. “You’re like Storm from X-men. Hot.”

“Dude, not even in your dreams,” Ady added, eyes wide in awe as she elbowed Emery.

Lola looked away, and the dirt fell to the ground. “I know, right?” She beamed. “We’re so much cooler than those superheroes though.”

She was right about that.

“That’s it? You guys aren’t freaked out anymore?” I asked. Of course they were freaked out.
I
was freaked out. They held it together pretty well, all things considered. I hoped it wasn’t the calm before the storm. Oh man, what if their heads exploded? Gross.

“I’m freaking out right now,” Ady said a tad hysterically. “I walk in on my best friend to discover she is a . . . a—”

“Faerie,” I finished dryly.

“A Faerie. Right. With wings and, uh . . . powers,” Ady noted, voice squeaking.

“You act like you caught me doing something sexual while bending my legs all unnaturally like a contortionist,” I observed with a laugh.

Oli eyed me, intrigued, Lola almost choked on her own spit, and Emery bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. Dad went green.

“Yeah. Um. Still freaked out a bit.” Ady frowned in disapproval.

“But-but I have wings,” I said like a pouting child as I flexed my muscles to make them flutter. With all the crazy emotions running through me, excitement finally showed itself.

“Really awesome, um, yeah. Wings,” she responded before cautiously approaching me.

She reached for my left wing, but her fingers passed right through. It swirled around as if it were smoke in a colorful light. It regained its shape when she removed her hand, and my wing settled back into its normal position.

“So they’re fake?” She looked disappointed. “Is it like some R2-D2 holographic image?”

“No, they’re real.” To prove my point I grabbed my wing gently between my fingers.

“Why can’t I touch them?” Ady actually sounded disappointed.

“I’m, um, not human. Because you are, my wings will appear to be an apparition to you.”

“Why did you keep this a secret from us?
How
have you kept it a secret?” Ady placed her hands on her hips, eyeing me skeptically.

“Yeah, not cool Callie,” Emery said, frowning.

“I didn’t. I just found out”—I glanced at my watch—“fifteen hours ago.”

“What?” exclaimed Ady. “Why are you finding out now?”

“Because of Cayden,” Oli inserted.

“What are you talking about?” Ady asked, confused. “What does this have to do with Jail Bait?”

“Did he hurt you?” Emery asked, hands fisting at his sides.

“Not physically. He’s um . . . he’s a Demon,” I said calmly.

“I knew there was something off with him. You seemed like you were under some freaky kind of spell. So what kind of Demon is he?” Ady whispered, and the look on her face was full of undiluted terror.

“He’s a Palo Demon
,” I said.

“A what?”

“He’s a fire Demon, mate,” Oli explained.

“A fire Demon. Great,” Emery said sarcastically. “That makes things less stressful.”

“Oh my God, he’s going to kill us,” Ady shrieked and gripped Emery’s arm so violently he winced.

“Whoa, back up there. Callie didn’t say that. Let her finish,” Emery chided. He turned back to me, his brown eyes wide. “He’s not going to kill us, is he? Right, Callie?”

“He’s a flippin’ Demon. Demons are evil. E-V-I-L.” Ady spelled it out as if he was slow.

“Just because he’s a Demon doesn’t mean he’s going to kill us,” he shouted back. “Tell her Callie. Tell her Cayden’s of the friendly variety.”

Ady, ignoring me, shot back, “And what makes you so sure? Do you know some Demons personally? Are you all chummy with them? Huh?”

“Of course not,” Emery admitted defensively.

“I didn’t think so.” Ady crossed her arms. “I watch TV and movies. Demons kill people.”

“This is reality, not TV or movies, Ady.” Emery’s body tensed at his words as if it just occurred to him that this
was
reality. And Faeries were a part of that reality. Of my reality.

It was like watching a tennis match, eyes going back and forth between them. Unable to get a word in edgewise, I turned to Lola for help, but she was busy squirting water from one hand to put out the fire on the other. Yeah, she’d definitely had a Red Bull today.

“Didn’t you see the wicked gleam in his eyes?” Ady countered to something Emery said that I missed. “He’s evil.”

“If he wanted to kill us, he could have the first time we met,” argued Emery and folded his arms over his chest, mimicking Ady’s posture. “I mean, maybe he’s like a Demon with a soul. You know, like Angel from
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
.”

Ady rolled her eyes—so did I. Emery and Ady argued like they were an old married couple all the time. Or they “bickered,” as Ady liked to call it. I knew from experience this was going to be a never-ending argument. Once they “bickered” for thirty minutes over what exactly the expiration date on food products meant. Did it mean it would magically go bad on that date, or was it a sale-by date? I had to interfere or we’d be here all night.

“Guys,” I yelled, cutting Emery off mid-sentence. They turned their angry stares my direction. “Will you both just shut up? Cayden is
not
going to kill you.” At least I didn’t think so. “He wants me and Lola.”

Emery visibly relaxed. “See, I told you,” he chided, sticking his tongue out at Ady like a child. “He only wants Callie and Lola.”

“He only wants Callie and Lola,” Ady mimicked in a gravelly voice. “Do you hear yourself?”

“What?” Emery’s hands flew up defensively. “He doesn’t want to kill us. He just wants Callie and Lola. Not kill.”

“Oh, shut up, Debbie Downer,” Ady sneered playfully.

“Whatever, Negative Nancy.”

“Don’t you dare—”

I cut her short. “Adele Meyers. Emery Jones. Do you two need a timeout? Quit acting like children.”

“Sorry,” they both said bashfully.

“Shouldn’t you, like, pack a bag and go to a hotel or something?” Ady asked.

“I don’t think that bloke will try anything with all of us around,” Oli replied, amused.

“Why not?”

“He’s right,” I said. “He only came around when I was alone.”

“What about when you were with us?” Emery asked.

“That was before I had my powers. Plus, you guys wouldn’t be able to stop him if he tried anything,” I explained.

“I don’t know. I don’t trust that reasoning,” Ady said, crossing her arms.

“You have to for now,” I said.

I went on to explain everything to them. I gave them the rundown on what had actually happened to Mom, where I was from, and what the plan was. Or what my plan was. Needless to say, they weren’t too happy about me leaving them behind, but they understood they couldn’t go with us. Honestly, Ady seemed relieved, and I couldn’t blame her.

Dad offered to cook us dinner and, surprisingly, Emery volunteered to help, as did Oli and his dad. The men cooking dinner while the girls hung out in the backyard; it was a nice change of pace. Outside, Ady watched, awestruck, as Lola and I learned how to retract our wings with Lucy’s guidance.

I closed my eyes and pictured my wings spreading out, their black tips billowing in the wind. This time I imagined them breaking down into tiny, glowing molecules and leaving a trail of light before disappearing from sight. They vibrated like before with that imaginary rope tugging them into my back. I opened my eyes. Ady stared at me in disbelief, her mouth slack.

“What?” I asked.

“Your wings, they, uh. Wow. Yeah. It was like they were sucked right into your back. Vacuum style. Except they . . .” Ady stuttered. “They left this trail of light. It was awesome.”

“Really?” A smile stretched across my face. “It was so easy, and it happened just like I imagined.”

“That was done perfectly, girls. I’m impressed. You two have a natural gift for this.” She smiled brightly.

I was thrilled it worked. My eyes found Lola whose wings had already disappeared, and she gave me two thumbs up. We practiced that simple task for hours. Around dusk my body demanded sustenance, and my stomach rumbled.

“Hungry much?” Ady grinned.

I wasn’t the only one, so we headed in to see what was cooking. The scent of pizza filled the kitchen. There was a large salad bowl on the island with smaller bowls of veggies and salad condiments surrounding it. Oli and Emery sat at the island where Emery had a bowl of cucumbers in his protective grasp. He munched on them as Oli answered the numerous questions Emery pitched at him without pause.

“It’s not polite to talk with your mouth full,” scolded Ady.

“Shut up,” Emery shot back with his mouth full.

Oli’s dad and mine were leaning against the counter talking and laughing over the “old days” and all the changes that had occurred since leaving Tehokas City.

Ady’s nose twitched. “It smells delish in here.”

Dad stopped talking and looked our way. “Glad you think so. I hope pizza and salad works for everyone.”

The room buzzed with approval, and we all took a seat.

“Hey Rorey, I hope you made enough pizza. I’m about ready to bog in,” Oli said.

“Oliver, can you please refrain from using our language here,” Lucy said, upset.

“Gee-wiz mum, I’m really tryin’, but it’s just so bloody hard yakka.”

“Oliver.” She appeared to be embarrassed.

“It’s okay, Lucy,” I reassured her. “I don’t mind it one bit. It’s kind of cute, actually.”

“Ace,” Oli whispered.

“Okay.” She laughed. “Just don’t come crying to me when you have no idea what he’s saying.”

“I have time to learn,” I said and gazed directly into Oli’s piercing green eyes. As I stared into them, I saw my life and future with him. I got a mere glimpse at his soul, and it was breathtaking. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and at that very moment I became a believer.

“Pizza’s ready,” Dad announced cheerfully, pulling me from my mesmerized state.

I blinked, and Oli’s hypnotic hold on me broke. His cheeks were reddened, and he gave me a shy smile. “I saw it too,” he mouthed and turned away, bashful.

Had he see the same thing I had? I would have to ask him before he left—I had to know. In all honesty, I didn’t want him to leave. Especially not after what I had seen in his eyes. In his soul. We all chowed down on pizza and salad. Ady and Emery threw every imaginable question at Dad and Oli’s parents. They didn’t seem to mind and actually appeared to be enjoying the barrage of questions they came up with. I imagined dinner would have gone the same way if Mom had never been taken.