Under A Blood Moon (Elemental Enchanters) (11 page)

Ava
shook her head. What was she thinking? She had just taken an oath and couldn’t undo it.

The clock ticked achingly slow. It was as if it purposely taunted Ava, like it was some type of bully. She
had given up on the chemistry lesson ages ago, and couldn’t stop yawning. Sleep was not something she had been getting the last few weeks. Not since before the night she had returned to Blackhart Manor. How could anyone possibly sleep when someone could be spying on them?

None of them had even practiced or channeled yet, because of the lethargy. And fear. No one had really admitted it, but they could all feel what the other one felt.

Ava yawned again, bringing tears to her eyes, and then the bell finally rang. It was a sweet sound to her ears.

“Why are you always so tired?” Peter asked, grabbing his book.

She walked beside him out of the room. She hadn’t told him they couldn’t be friends; she just limited their talking, texting, hanging out. It wasn’t easy because every fiber in her being wanted to be with him.

“Just a lot going on.”

“You know I’m here for you,” he said.

“Thanks.” Would he still be there if he found out she was an Enchanter?

“I’ll see you later.”

Thomas
and Ava made their way to the lunchroom, got their lunches, and joined the group at their usual table.

“
There has to be some cure to this no-sleep thing,” Lance said, and then took a sip of milk.

“
No kidding,” Ava said.

“I
keep thinking about Devon and those spies. They could be lurking around anywhere. Isn’t there a way to tell if someone’s an Enchanter or not?”

“I don’t think so,” Jeremy said.

Ava poked a carrot with her fork. “I still can’t believe Devon would even use Halflings. Aren’t they much weaker than Enchanters?”

Jeremy shrugged. “Maybe they’re just pawns.”

Thomas finished his water. “I’m sure Devon would want as many people as possible to distract us or something. Especially young people.”

It made sense
. Armies could use young people. They’d probably catch on quickly through training. What power could Ephemerals possess if they were changed?

Ava looked up and saw
Xavier and his small army of minions. They still kept to themselves and tormented others. Just the other day Seth and Link shoved one of the football players into his locker and locked it. People were too afraid to tell any authority figure about it because they probably wouldn’t do anything about it and Xavier’s gang probably carried out threats. His minions all hung onto his every word and did anything and everything he said like he was some sort of leader.

Ava
froze. She couldn’t believe she didn’t see it before. “Xavier,” she blurted.

“What?” Thomas
asked.

“He’s
an Enchanter. He made them all Enchanters.”

Thomas laughed. “You’re kidding me, right?
”

“Yeah, that seems a little far-fetched,” Melissa said.

“Think about it. Thomas and I have both passed out when he was around. And we can’t remember anything. And all his so-called friends are completely different.”

Jeremy leaned forward. “
She could be right.”

“Please,” Gillian scoffed. “You honestly think
Devon would want Kristen Miller as part of his army?”

Ava exchanged looks with Jeremy. Since when was Gillian against Kristen? It sounded like something Melissa would say but not Gillian.
“She’s not the same anymore.”

Thomas shook his head. “
He’s not an Enchanter. He’s just some punk.”

“Some punk who can mysteriously make you faint?”

“Maybe my blood sugar was down that day. I don’t know. That was months ago.”

“Why
don’t you believe me? I know I was fine before I got knocked out.”

“You hit your head on the floor and that’s what gave you a bruise.
”

“Then why would he bully and torture so many
Ephemerals and get away with it?”

He rolled his eyes.
“So anyone who bullies other kids automatically makes them an Enchanter? A Cimmerian no-less?”

“
He made both of us pass out without touching us,” she said through clenched teeth. He always had to disagree with Ava, no matter what it was about. She could tell him the sky was blue but he’d argue.

“Just drop it, Ava.”

“Think about it. Every one of them at that table went missing for days, some of them for weeks, and they all returned and became friends with him.”

Gillian groaned.
“Stop arguing.”

“
Maybe we can ask Savina and Colden,” Melissa said.

Thomas shook his head. “You’d be wasting your time.”

“Maybe then they can tell me what I can do,” Lance said. “If I’m the Sun, does that mean I can burn people? Blind them?”

Jeremy
put his elbows on the table. “I’m sure you have more than that,” he said. “Think of the sun’s rays. Or how pretty much all life on Earth is stimulated by the sunlight. It’s extremely powerful and the atmosphere is there to filter some of that, but with you, I don’t—.”

“You can stop now,” Gillian interrupted. “No one knows what you’re talking about.”

Ava looked at Gillian. Why was she so rude with Jeremy? She’d never been that way before.

“No, no, keep going,” Lance said. “Is there a correlation with invisibility?”

Jeremy cleared his throat and thought for a minute. “No. But the sun absorbs electromagnetic radiation in the form of heat.” He paused. “Maybe you absorb powers.”

“That’s it,” Ava said. “Savina mentioned that. You’ve been using Mel’s ability.”

“But I can’t do anything else. Like, I can’t breathe underwater,” he said, lowering his voice.

“Maybe because you’ve been around Mel a lot,” Jeremy said.

“Maybe you can stop Devon if he gets to us,” Ava told Lance.

Thomas sighed. “Ava, he’s not even gonna find us.”

Melissa popped a piece of gum into her mouth. “This is so amazing. We should start practicing tonight.” She smiled.

“
Definitely,” Gillian said with a wicked grin. “I want to start manipulating minds.”

Ava looked up at Jeremy. The wary look in his topaz eyes mirrored her feelings.
What had happened to Gillian? First, she believed Ava was going to betray them, and she had been so supportive of her and Peter, or so Ava thought. And now Gillian couldn’t wait to use her powers on Ephemerals. What was going on with them? They were all angry and edgy. Unless they were all freaked out about everything but wouldn’t admit it.

When the day finally ended, all Ava wanted was to go home and relax. She dropped her bag at the foot of the stairs, and headed for the kitchen. She filled a glass with water, and took a sip. The house was quiet but her thoughts weren’t. They were the same that had consumed her mind for the past few weeks. It was all so overwhelming. Had her parents accepted this life so easily? According to her dad, they had. And that her mom had never regretted it. But did he?

Her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket, saw
Thomas’s name flash, and then tossed it on the counter. Ava sighed, and raised the glass to take a sip but stopped. Like a magnet, the water shifted to the side that she held. She set it down, and then with her fingers, made it move from one side to the other. It followed her fingers every direction, just like the fire had done with Thomas at the bonfire.

She
took a deep breath. Could her mom do the same? Dad mentioned her controlling it. And conjuring it. Ava didn’t know the first thing about conjuring water. She wished her mom were there to tell her how. The ringing started again and she groaned in frustration but answered.

“Are you okay?”
Thomas asked.

“
Why do you keep calling?”

“
Because I can tell you’re sad. I got worried.”

Blood burned
her insides. Her teeth clenched and her slender fingers curled into a fist. “I’m fine.” She didn’t like having Thomas of all people know her every emotion. She was always so good at hiding them. Now, they were easily exposed. This would just reinforce Thomas’s dominance.

“
What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking about my
mom,” she said without thinking. It slipped out and she regretted it because now he was going to coddle her.

“
Baby, don’t be sad. I’m here. We can talk about it.”

“No
. I’ll be there soon,” she said, curtly.

When she pulled up to the cabin, the sky had darkened and there was a chill in the air.
There was something eerie about the calmness outside.

Ava walked inside and Thomas immediately came up to her.

“Baby, I’m so sorry.” He hugged her tightly and petted her hair as if she was a dog or something. “Come on.” He pulled her down the hall into the first room and closed the door after them.

“Thomas?”

He crossed the room and took her hands in his.
“What is it, Babe?”

“
Why are we in here? Where is everyone?”

“
You need comfort. Everyone else is in their room. Please don’t be upset.” He stroked her cheek. “Why are you thinking about your mom?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You never talk about her.”

“Don’t.”
She glared at him.

“
Okay.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

Why did
he always think this would make her feel better?

He pressed harder
and wrapped his arms around her. Heat emanated from his lips. She tried pushing him back, but he held her tighter.

“Thom
—Thomas.” She finally broke the kiss.

“What?
What is it?” He asked breathless.

“Not so rough.
”

“Sorry.
” He kissed her and moved her backwards. She felt the edge of the bed pressing into the backs of her thighs. His hands moved slowly up her shirt but she stopped them.

She felt a
surge of hatred toward him. Ava thought of Peter and immediately pushed Thomas away.

“
Why are you so mad?” He held her at arm’s length.

“What happened to being patient
?”

“
I can’t help it. I’ve just got so much energy flowing through me.” He crushed her to his chest and moved her hair aside. His lips grazed her neck. “I am patient. But you’re so irresistible right now.”

“You’re
irritating me.”

He pulled back with a sigh. “Why? We used to make out all the time
.”

“This is getting so old.”

“You’re telling me? So does this mean you’re ready?”

Ava sighed and pushed him
away.

“Okay, okay.
Let’s stay here tonight.” His tone softened. “Please? I won’t go any further. I promise.”

“I
can’t. I have homework.” Ava felt somewhat guilty for lying, but she couldn’t trust him.

He rolled his eyes.
“You always have homework.”

She needed to change the subject and then remembered
earlier about the glass of water. “Do you wanna see what I did today?”

“I guess.”

Ava opened the door and went into the kitchen to grab a glass.

“It’s about time, you two
,” Melissa said, looking up from a magazine as she and the others sat on the couches. “What were you doing in there?” She laughed but stopped when Ava met her eyes. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

Ava filled the glass with water and set it on the bar above the counter. “I noticed this earlier,” she said and
everyone gathered around. She moved her fingers up and down, and like before the water mimicked her motions.

Melissa’s eyes widened. “That’s cool.”

“That’s it?” Thomas said. “What are you going to do with that?”

Melissa slapped his arm.
“She can control water. Just think of what she could do to a lake. Or a river. Or even the ocean.”

Thomas
looked skeptical. “Yeah, when she can do this with water, we’ll talk.” He held his palm facing up and a fireball abruptly appeared. He bounced it as if it were a baseball. Then, he threw it into the fireplace, startling Ava. The flames bulged and crackled for a moment.

“That’s so cool,” Lance said. “I wonder if I can do that.”

Ava sighed and poured the water down the drain. He was such a jerk. She tuned out Lance and Thomas’s admiration of his ability and walked outside. Her necklace warmed and glowed. The night had cooled and clouds moved across the dark sky. The door opened and she dreaded it would be Thomas, but she heard the click of a lighter and knew it was Melissa.