Under A Blood Moon (Elemental Enchanters) (20 page)

“Good hit,” he said. “But you should never get so close to the enemy.”

“Why?”

“Because they can do this.” He snatched her and threw her hard against a tree. It happened so quickly, she didn’t comprehend until she was flat on her face and broken branches and leaves fell around her as if it were snowing.

She was a little sore, but felt fine, amazingly.

“You must focus.”

“I am.”

“There are a lot of things going on with you. I can tell you’re scared. Can you feel me?”

She waited only a second until she could. His head was clear of any thoughts, his heart beat rhythmically, and he breathed calmly.

Ava inhaled and exhaled. The ocean displayed in her mind with Gabriel in it. The waves grew, but they refused to crash. Instead, they fell all around him, but not on him.

“Focus,” he urged.

“I am,” she snapped.

“Don’t get frustrated. Come on. Think of the water. How it feels. Smells. Sounds. Think of what you can do with it.” His voice was smooth, steady, and confident.

“I am. It’s not working.”

“Stop talking. Just listen to the water. You can do this.”

She took another deep breath, and imagined how water felt. It was smooth, like silk. It smelled pure, clean, like rain, and could make the slightest of sounds or could be loud and thunderous.

She felt a tickle that ran down her arms, and when she looked, she gasped. Water dripped from her fingertips. She produced the water, and couldn’t believe it. “I did it.” Water rolled over each curve of her hand and each crevice. It was amazing. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I knew you could. Now, you just need to learn to do it faster.”

The water wrapped around her arms, building, and she shot it toward Gabriel, but he disappeared. He reappeared closer to her.

He had a beautiful smile, she thought, one that spread to his eyes. “Try again.” His lean, but muscular, tall body exuded confidence through his patient manner. It seemed like time hadn’t changed his face or body. He looked like he was in his early twenties, and perhaps he was. His blue eyes captivated hers with intensity.

Ava self-consciously cleared her throat. “Okay,” she said, but he stared deep into her eyes. She dropped her gaze and felt slightly guilty for thinking how attractive he was.

Ava tried to discharge water, but narrowly missed him again.

His eyes held hers again. “Sweet dreams,” he said.

Less than a second later, he stood behind her, with his hand lightly grasped around her neck. Breathing steadily, she froze. She hadn’t even seen him move.

“If you were my enemy, you’d be dead right now,” he whispered in her ear, causing her to quiver. She stared straight ahead and waited for him to release her. “But don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you.” He removed his hand and then stood in front of her.

What else could she do? Summoning water was hard, so she attempted to drown him again. The water was still, as she thought of cooling it. Ice crept over the water, hardening it.  

Gabriel’s teeth chattered and he seemed motionless. His eyes closed, and he fell to his knees. Then she released the hold over him.

He let out a breath. “Good. That’s exactly what you need to do. If the drowning doesn’t work, try other tactics.”

Could her mother freeze water with her mind like that and actually kill someone? She wondered if she would eventually be able to transform her entire body into water. It all sounded so surreal.
She wondered why they hadn’t trained before with the other coven.

Gabriel stood. “Come on, let’s work on being faster.”

After training for several hours, Ava came home, and took a hot shower. Her body was sore, and the heat worked out the kinks. Training with Gabriel had helped her confidence. It gave her something to focus on and kept her mind off things. Nights were dreadful now since all she thought about was Peter. But she tried so hard to avoid it. She wondered what it would be like to have Gabriel’s powers, and go anywhere she wanted, whenever. Like tonight, when he took her to Russia. She’d never been there, but it was beautiful, serene, and far away from here. If she had his power, she would be able to escape this and be free.

Saturday morning greeted Ava with raindrops attacking her window. The winds were powerful enough to make the empty house creak. She
hadn’t slept well, which was becoming a habit now. They were supposed to practice today, but she wanted to visit her mom first.

She grabbed her hoodie and keys, locked the door, and walked into the
downpour. Except, it didn’t fall on her. She looked up to the gray sky to find that it avoided her. It splashed on either side of her, front and back of her, but not on her, as if she held an umbrella. As she strode through it, it opened like a curtain. She removed her hood, and laughed. But she had to make sure she could control it—Ephemerals couldn’t possibly see this. Just then, the cold drops splashed on her face, and soaked her hair. Then, she put back the hood.

She drove through a narrow arched entrance of the cemetery, and the
rain slacked slightly. Passing centuries-old gravestones on either side of her, she turned the car right and then left on the small gravel path to more recent gravestones. She came to a stop and turned off the engine.

Ava let the water fall on her, wanting it to comfort her, and
made her way to her mother’s grave. Damp roses lay at the headstone underneath her name. She knew her father had laid them there.

Lucille Dakota Hannigan

B. May 13, 1968; D. March 17, 2003

Ava knew the birth year was phony since they couldn’t exactly put real Enchanter’s birthdates on the tombstones. She knelt down and touched the headstone. It was cold outside, but Ava didn’t shiver.

“I wish you could hear me,” she said, her breath coming out in a white cloud. “How did you do all this? How were you so brave? I wish you could help me. I can’t sleep anymore because I always think about Peter. I know it’s the right thing to do, but it just hurts so much, Mom.”

She rolled her eyes. It was ridiculous talking to a piece of limestone. Her mother wasn’t here.
It was just an empty shell. But her mom wasn’t anywhere. Still, somewhere inside of her wished for a sign that her mother had heard her.

Ava turned back and got in her car. She drove around aimlessly, and found herself at the cabin. The dark clouds still poised above, threatening to burst with water. She meandered into the woods. The serene forest was damp from the several rainfalls within the past week, leaving a thick fog to linger. Emerald moss latched onto tree trunks and rocks. In the distance, the trickling of water rushed in a narrow stream that cascaded over rock cliffs. Lush pines were the only trees that hadn’t lost their greenery. While the other trees looked brown and unappealing. Some trees stood straight on a path but others leaned over the stream or slanted against the hill.

No one travelled these woods. The coven owned them.

Ava approached the falling white water. At the bottom was a clear pool that eventually turned into a stream that ran west.

If she could change her body temperature, would she be able to in the water? She wanted to experiment.

She climbed down the rocks toward the pool and then removed her shoes. She braced herself, and slid her feet into the icy water. Goosebumps spread throughout her body until the water turned warm. Steam drifted from the now warm water as if it were a hot spring.

This is too much fun, she thought.

Remembering how she could control the water in the glass, she walked deeper into the pool beneath the waterfall until it was waist high. She raised her hands slightly, thinking the water would follow her movements, but it only dripped from her arms. She tried and tried, but nothing happened. How could she possibly be as strong as her mother was?

“You’re not focused enough,” someone said.

She inhaled a sharp breath and turned around. “What?”

“It’s me, Gabriel.” He held up his hands.

“
I know. We met last night, remember?”

“
Yes, but I thought I would properly introduce myself. Last night’s introduction wasn’t so courteous.” He smirked, his crystal blue eyes smiling as well. His black hair was messy with small sideburns that came just above his earlobe.

“
What are you doing here?”

“I used to come here a lot.”

She felt wary of him for some reason. “Sorry. I’ll leave now.”

“You don’t have to. I mean no harm.”

“That’s what you said last night after you teleported me to Russia.”

“You weren’t hurt, were you?”

She clenched her fingers into fists. Her necklace warmed. “What do you want?”

“I saw you practicing, and thought I’d come and help. You worry too much about things. You have to learn to clear your mind.” He sat on a rock, his long legs dangling over the water. “Come on. Try to lift the water.”

She watched him and decided he was really just trying to help her. She wanted to learn. Ava took a breath, and cleared her mind. Concentrating hard on lifting the water, she raised her arms, and like a magnet, it followed. She let out a laugh and the water fell.

“You’ve got to keep that concentration.”

Ava attempted to raise the water. This time, she lifted a large amount over her head. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a movement. She shot it to her left, and then saw Gabriel on his knees, coughing.

“Are you okay?” She swam toward him, and heaved herself onto the rock.

He moved to an upright position. “If I were an enemy, you’d be so dead right now.”

“Sorry I asked.”

“Good hit, though. You’re quick.”

“So are you. How old are you?”

“Twenty. You?”

“
Seventeen. How long have you been an Enchanter?”

“Almost a hundred and forty years. I’d be considered fresh meat compared to the elders, except you all now carry that title.”

She couldn’t fathom still being alive after so many years. Granted, Enchanter years seem shorter than human years. “How did you become part of this Aureole?”

He looked away. “Parents died when I was young. Uncle abandoned me, so I strayed into this group one day.”

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago. I’ve had some time to get over it.”

She couldn’t imagine surviving through that and wondered why he never tried using his power to change things. “If you can stop time, can’t you go back in time and kill Devon at the prison? Or for that matter, kill Corbin.”

He gave her a displeased look. “I can only stop time and teleport from place to place. Unfortunately, I have not mastered the time-space continuum to travel to different times. But even if I could, you’re talking about a lot of issues with that. Changing the past changes the future. I’m not even sure I want to master that.” He seemed angry or sad—she couldn’t tell since she couldn’t feel anything from him except calmness.

“Sorry. I just—One minute I think I’m ready for all of this and the next I feel as if I’m going to fall apart. I don’t sleep at all anymore because I’m scared someone’s watching me.”

“I know. But you have to overcome that fear so you can become a better fighter.”

She nodded. “Yeah.” But that wasn’t the only reason she couldn’t sleep.

“There’s something else isn’t there?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re sad.
And hurting.”

Ava looked away. She had to learn to hide her feelings. “Just worried about
Devon coming. And spies. You know my everyday life now.”

“I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “Can an Enchanter make someone say something or do anything?”

He fu
rrowed his eyebrows. “Yeah. There are Enchanters who can compel others. Why?”

“Promise you won’t laugh?”

“Why would I laugh?”

“Because I told my friends and they don’t believe me.”

“What is it?”

“I-I think this guy at my school is an Enchanter making Halflings.”

“What makes you say that?”

“These kids
started disappearing and then came back like nothing happened and were friends with this guy like they’d known each other their whole lives. It was the strangest thing. They all act completely different. It’s like he just forced them or manipulated them to join his gang or whatever. He’s even threatened me to join.”

“
How long has this been going on?”

“Since September.”

His eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t know if an Enchanter, or if he’s a Cimmerian, would really be at your school for that long, though. If he did make them into Halflings, they would be training. But I’m no expert. Have you told Savina and Colden?”

“No. I’m afraid they won’t believe me.”

“Maybe you should. How long were the other students gone when they disappeared?”

“Weeks.”

“What’s his name?”

“Xavier Holstone.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell. Why would you think the Elders wouldn’t believe you?”

“I don’t think anything I say holds any influence with them.
”

“They would take into account what you say.”

She nodded. “
Well, thanks.”

“For what?”

“Not laughing.”

He smiled a little. “Was it your boyfriend? Thomas?”

“We’re not together anymore.”

“You might want to tell him
that,” he mumbled. “Savina’s having a Christmas party. Are you coming?”

“I’m not really one for the holidays.”

“I know it’s hard spending them without people you love, but it’s a good time to remember them.”

“I feel like I’m losing my memory of my mom every
day.”

“I know what you mean. Not to be a pessimistic, but you never get over them. It does get better as time goes by, but you’ll think of them randomly.”

“Melissa said I should be over her death.”

“Wow.”

“That’s why I think Xavier or someone made her say that. He made Jeremy pass out the other day without touching him. And Thomas and me.”

“You really should tell the Elders. I know Cimmerians use compulsion on
Ephemerals to turn them into Halflings sometimes.”

“Maybe I’ll come
to the party and tell them while I’m there.”

“It’ll be fun. I promise.”

She nodded. “I could use some fun.”

“
Come on. Let’s get back to it.”

“Are you sure you can handle me?”

He gave a sly grin. “I wouldn’t get too cocky.”

She felt herself smile a little. She hadn’t known Gabriel long, but it was nice to have someone who was understanding.