Under A Blood Moon (Elemental Enchanters) (18 page)

“He only hurts her because she spends so much time with Peter.”

The door to the cabin opened and Ava moved out of
Thomas’ss way. “What’s going on?” He looked around.

“Gillian manipulated me,” Ava said, without looking away from Gillian.

“Into liking Peter?” Thomas asked.

Ava twisted her head and met his eyes. “Into feeling like I did when you kissed me.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and then looked past Ava at Gillian. “You did that?”

“I was helping you out,” she said. “You should be happy.”

Thomas shook his head. “You mean when I kissed her, I thought that was her wanting to kiss me back? But it was you making her?”

“Why are you getting mad at me? She lost our trust. She should be kicked out and her powers should be taken away.”

“What’s gotten into you?” Jeremy asked.

Ava shook her head. “We used to be friends. But now? You’re nothing to me.”

Ava turned and left. She knew it was a harsh thing to say, but she didn’t care. If Gillian was going to use her power against her closest friend, Ava could say anything she wanted. And what was up with Thomas’s reaction? He actually seemed hurt that Ava had kissed him back against her will.

Ava watched the crescent moon through the trees. The night was cold, and she immediately warmed herself. She was ready to begin practicing fully for the mission. Ava was determined to never think about Peter, and to give in to her life as an Enchanter completely—something she should have done from the beginning. What would her mother have said if she saw her acting like this?

But she wasn’t ready to forgive Thomas or Gillian for what they
had done. She hadn’t spoken to either of them since the incident a few days ago.

Melissa flicked her cigarette and stomped it out. “Okay, so maybe each of us should partner up. I’ll be with Ava. Lance, you and Thomas, and Gillian and Jeremy. We’ll
switch it up.”

“Sounds good to me,” Thomas said, and he and Lance
walked near the edge of the woods.

Melissa stood beside Ava.
“You look like you could use a night out.”

“I’m fine,
” Ava said.

“
I’m sorry, but you had to know this could happen.”

Ava sighed. “Did you know Xavier said he’d leave Peter alone if I became his girlfriend?”

“You didn’t?”

“No. But ever since that stupid fight
, he’s left Peter alone.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’
m sorry that it hurts you, but it’s for the best.”

“
I know.”

“
Come on, let’s practice.”

A
sharp wind moved through the trees, bending them as if they were blades of grass. Dead pine straw and leaves lifted into the air. Ava lost her balance, but snatched Melissa’s hand. They turned their head toward the woods as a cracking noise echoed. She gasped and brought her hand to her mouth.

Jeremy smirked
, and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Something I’ve been working on.”

“
Wow.” Lance raked his hands through his dark hair and still held his jaw open in astonishment. “Just think of what you could do to some of these spies. If they even exist.”

“I hope you don’t do that to me,
” Gillian shrieked.

Melissa rolled her eyes. “Your turn, G.
And hurry up. I’m dying for a cigarette.”

They waited for Gillian.
Then Jeremy charged toward Melissa. Ava quickly moved out of the way. Melissa turned invisible, and then Gillian fell forward on her hands and knees onto the ground. Melissa reappeared behind her.

It was obvious Gillian
had manipulated Jeremy to attack Melissa.

“Don’t send Jeremy to do your dirty work,”
Ava said.

Gillian scowled.
“Fine.”

Melissa held a vacant stare, turned, and headed toward the cabin.

“Where are you going?” Ava asked.

Lance
came up next to her. “What’s she doing?”

“I don’t know.”

A few seconds later, Melissa returned with a knife in her hand, poised to cut across her wrist.

Ava gasped, and realized she was being controlled. “Gillian, stop
.”

Melissa poked the flesh enough to make it bleed.
The knife made another incision.

“Gillian, stop it,
” Lance demanded, and rushed up to Melissa. He took the knife from her.

Ava visualized Gillian under
water. It was as if she stood over her in a pool of water. Gillian tried to break the surface, but Ava kept her down with her mind. Gillian grasped at her throat and choked until she fell once again to her knees. Her hold over Melissa broke and left Melissa completely disoriented. It was strange to Ava that she could do that to Gillian. Or anyone.

Melissa’s eyebrows crease
d as she examined the knife in Lance’s hand, and then her arm.

Gillian coughed. “What did you do to me? I couldn’t breathe.”

“Look what you did to her,” Ava yelled.

“We’re supposed to be practicing on each other.
That was all I could think about doing.”

“She didn’t cut very deep.
” Melissa noted. “Or I should say she didn’t make me cut myself very deep. That was the craziest thing. I was watching it, but I couldn’t do anything about it.”

“Are you okay?” Lance asked.

“I’m fine. Come on, let’s practice.” She turned toward Ava and slyly smiled.

“What?”

“Watch this,” she whispered.

Ava waited until she saw dirt and rocks move and congregate around Gillian, forming a
small wall.

“What are you doing?”
Gillian screamed.

“I’m just practicing,” Melissa smiled
and shrugged. The wall lifted slightly, and then collapsed around her in a cloud of dust. “This is too much fun.”

Ava had to admit how amazing it was to see them so powerful.

Ava tapped her pencil on her desk, and stared at the words on her chemistry test. It was all gibberish. The past month had been filled with practice and no studying. She lost her interest in school, and hardly even went anymore. But she liked to torture herself, just to see if Peter was safe. He never greeted her with a smile or asked how she was doing, or told her about his day so far. They never said a word to each other, but she was acutely aware of his presence. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do during the winter break since she wouldn’t see him.

“Ava, please keep the pencil still,” Mr. Horn asked.

She stopped tapping, and then circled random answers on the final exam until she finished. When the bell rang, she turned in her test, and then left the room for the last time.

“Hey Babe.
” Thomas smiled. He still acted as if they were still together, but Ava did nothing to correct him. She didn’t want to cause a rift in the group. They carried on as if nothing happened, and surprisingly he had begun acting like his old self.

“
What do you want to eat?” he asked once they reached their table.

Ava sat down across from Gillian and Jeremy and next to Melissa. “Just some water and an apple.
”

“
That’s it?”

“Yeah, I’m not hungry.”

“All right.” He walked away.

“I totally bombed that chemistry
exam,” she said. “Who knows if I passed the class?”

Gillian opened a box of raisins and popped one in her mouth.
“Why don’t you get Jeremy to help you?”

Jeremy looked up from his
War and Peace
novel, and pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “What do you need help with?”

“All of it.
It doesn’t matter though. It’s not like we’re going to be in school forever. Besides, today’s the last day.”

“Until you have to retake the class.” Gillian snorted.

“Don’t you have the lab next semester?” Jeremy asked.

“Yeah.
How’s the book?” Ava asked.

“It’s good. The characters are very enthralling and I like the dialogue in the story. I’m not that far into it, but I can’t put it down.”

“Well, don’t read while we’re at lunch.” Gillian grabbed the book from him and placed it on the table.

“What’s wrong with him reading?” Ava asked.

“It’s rude.”

Ava met Jeremy’s eyes and
silently apologized.

“Ugh, I’m so sick of this rain,”
Gillian said, and peered out the window.

“I know,” Melissa said. “
It’s been raining so much lately.”

“Can’t you change it, Ava?”

“I’m not making it rain.”

“No, make it snow
or something,” Gillian whined.

“Snow?
Here?”

“Sure,” Melissa said. “
Freak weather happens all the time.”

“I can’t control the weather.”

“Haven’t you been practicing at all?” Gillian asked.

“
Yes. Mostly to keep my focus.”

“Same here,” Jeremy said.

Gillian groaned. “That’s nice. Come on, Ava.”

“Why are you so eager?” Jeremy asked.

“I wanna see if she can do it.”

“Yeah, me too,” Melissa said.

Ava looked at them waiting for her to do something. When she didn’t, they rolled their eyes and consumed themselves in a conversation. She leaned her head on her hand, barely listening. Could she actually change the rain to snow? She stared out the window, and focused on the pouring droplets until they moved slower, slower, until they were still. It became silent as small snowflakes stuck to the windows.

“W
hoa, it’s snowing,” Gillian gaped. Her blue eyes widened as if she were a little kid.

Ava looked up. “It is? Wow
. I guess freak weather does happen.”

Melissa playfully
punched her.

A buzz awakened the sleepy cafeteria as students watched the snowfall in amazement while it began sticking to the ground. It was as if they’d seen fireworks outside—but it was an amazing sight to see the snow, since it hardly snowed in the south.

Thomas set down the trays of food, and gawked at the window. “It’s snowing.”

Ava bit back a laugh.

“Imagine that,” Melissa said.

“What’s so funny?”

Ava shrugged.

“Are you doing this?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, and then and glanced at Xavier’s table. Of course, he was staring at her, like always. Did he know what she was doing? Suddenly, she let go and it began raining again.

The bell rang, sending students to the doors. Ava followed, and laughed to herself that they were still talking about the snow.

“You think that’s impressive,” Gillian said, and stopped in front of the lockers.

“What are you gonna do?”
Ava asked.

She smiled
.

Melissa raised her eyebrows.
“Are we supposed to see something?”

Ava
leaned against the locker. Then, Jay McDonald, a blond guy in her math class, walked toward her.

He smiled. “Hi, Ava
.”

“Hi.”

He leaned down, as if he was going to kiss her. She tried backing up, but couldn’t.

“I really think you’re hot,
” he whispered in her ear.

“Hey,” Thomas said, and
pulled him away from her. “What’s your problem?”

Jay blinked a couple of times,
looking confused, and then widened his eyes. “S-sorry.” He walked away.

“Why did he just
do that?” Thomas asked.

Kevin Burnley
walked by, and then stopped, and turned. His eyes roved up and down Ava. “Wow, Ava.” He closed the distance between them.

She sighed and shoved him. “Gillian, stop it.”

Kevin smiled, and leaned closer. She pushed him, and Thomas grabbed him by the throat. Kevin’s eyes grew large.

“Stop, Thomas,” she yelled. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

He released him, and Kevin ran down the hall. Several people slowed down to watch, but then quickened their pace.

“Gillian,
I can’t believe you did that,” Ava said.

“What? I thought you liked
Ephemerals.”

She sighed. “I gotta go.” She walked down the hall, and saw Peter and his friends watching her. Her heart skipped a beat as she met his eyes.
Did they see Gillian manipulating Kevin and Jay? Once she passed him, she relaxed.

Jeremy came up behind her.
“I’m sorry about Gillian.”

She shrugged. “It’s not your fault.”

“How are you doing this?”

“
What?”

“You know
what I’m talking about.”

“I’m fine.”

“Come on, I know this is all fake. You can’t suddenly be back in love with Thomas as if nothing happened. I know you still have feelings for Peter.”

She
shook her head. “It’s better off this way. He can’t get hurt.”

“No? He’s hurting now. I can see it in his face.
And you’re not yourself. You seem so hollow and it’s like you’ve become so passive.”

That stung. Hadn’t she tried to appear normal? But
then again, Jeremy had always been so perceptive. “Even if I could be with him, there is no way I could hide what I am.”

He slid his glasses up his nose.
“Maybe you wouldn’t have to.”

“My mom did
n’t with my dad.”

He
arched his eyebrows. “What?”

She was unsure if she should say anything, but she could trust him.
“My dad’s a Halfling.”

“Wow, t
hat’s incredible. How?”

She shifted
, and lowered her voice. “Mom had to get acceptance from her coven. Savina saw how much she needed my dad, and my dad was willing to give up his life to become an Enchanter. But I’m not strong like my mom, and she didn’t have a possessive boyfriend, either. And if Xavier is spying on us, he could hurt Peter.”

The
late bell echoed in the hallway.

“Fair enough. But I
don’t think he’d be scared if you told him the truth.”

“If
he knew, do you honestly think he would just accept it and move on? And if he did, there is no way that Thomas would ever accept him.”

“You have my vote.
”

“
Thanks.”

“
There has to be a way, Ava. You can’t just be miserable forever.”

“For his safety, I will.
I just need to get over him. And realize it will never happen.”

Jeremy frowned. “Ava.”

“Don’t pity me. Come on, we’re late.” She pushed open the door, and took a step down, but stopped.

Xavier leaned against the wall at the bottom of the flight of stairs.

The door behind Ava and Jeremy closed with a click. Ava could go upstairs instead, but what if he made her faint or whatever he did?

He slowly climbed the stairs. “
Shouldn’t you be in class?” His black eyes taunted her, but then he looked to Jeremy.

Jeremy
leaned forward, and tumbled down the stairs. His body was sprawled at the bottom in an unnatural position and he was unconscious.

She
wanted to run to him, but knew she needed to keep an eye on Xavier. “What do you want?”

He shrugged, and brushed
against her. “Friendly chat?”

She clenched her teeth. Then
reached up, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him against the concrete wall. Her hands tightened around his thick neck. “Leave us alone.”

The door sn
apped opened and startled her. She softened at the sight of Peter. He looked at her as if she was a stranger. She reluctantly released Xavier and stepped back.

“What’s going on?” Peter asked.

“Nothing you want to involve yourself with,” she said.

Xavier rubbed his neck. “
Just a misunderstanding is all. We’ll talk later,” he said, and casually walked through the door.

Jeremy moaned and
Ava ran down to him.

“Come on, we gotta go,” she said, and helped him to his feet.
“Peter, go to class.” She took a step, but Peter grabbed her arm. She tried to keep her breathing level.

“What the hell was that back there?” he asked. “You’ve got random guys
trying to kiss you, and Thomas trying to attack them, and then you have Xavier by the throat.”

“
Just forget what you saw. I gotta go, but thanks for your help.” She rushed through her words, and jogged down the stairs with Jeremy.

As soon as they left the stairwell, h
e halted. “My head,” he said and doubled over, holding his head between his hands.

She knew all too well of the
excruciating pain he experienced.

“I’m sorry
. Come on.” She put his arm around her neck, and her arm around his waist. “Can you walk?”

Jeremy nodded.

She helped him to her car, and then scrambled to the driver’s side. “Do we need to go to Savina’s?”

He
shook his head.

She turned the engine,
and backed out of the parking space. Her heart was pounding. Peter had possibly just saved them. Who knew what Xavier would have done? He could have made them both pass out and kidnapped all three of them.

“
What happened?” he asked. “I don’t remember anything.”

“Xavier made you faint. You fell down the stairs. He didn’t even touch you.”
There was no denying it. Xavier was an Enchanter. He had to be.

“What was Peter doing there?”

“I don’t know. But he needs to stop following me.”

“You ever stop to think that maybe it was a good thi
ng he came?”

“Good thing? Xavier’s had his eye on Peter
, and I can’t stop him. I’ve tried warning Peter as best I can.”

“He won’t take
him.”

Ava sighed. She knew he was just trying to make her feel better.
“My dad didn’t believe me when I told him about Xavier. But I know he’s an Enchanter. He’s spying on us.”

“
I believe you, but do you think he’s working for Devon?”

“
Yes! It’s so obvious. Xavier is blatantly making Enchanters. He’s helping Devon build his army.”