Under an Onyx Sky (Elemental Enchanters Series Book 4) (11 page)

Ava nodded. There was a whirl of people, and then she was face to face with Gabriel. She swallowed thickly, but then went on like she had no idea who he was. He took her hands and brought her body close to his, taking the breath out of her. She could feel her cheeks warm, which was strange since she had never blushed around him before. Her heart felt like an erratic drumbeat. She inhaled the scent of freshly clean water and juniper. It was almost mouthwatering, and she wanted to kiss him.

His eyes were on her, but she looked everywhere else. His hand flexed at her lower back, sending a warm shudder throughout her. She squeezed his other hand, loving the feel of it with hers. He spun them through the massive crowd of dancers, holding her tight. She couldn’t concentrate on the dance steps, and like always, Gabriel didn’t let her fall.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered. The way he said it, she knew he hadn’t lost his memories.

Heat poured over her. She couldn’t have a conversation with him. Not with Havok watching, and possibly reading her thoughts. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, or even just how hot he looked in his black suit. How sexy his clean-shaven face and short hair made him. And those eyes.

She cleared her throat. “I see you’re done with your punishment.”

“Yes. You know he can’t hear us.”

“He can read thoughts.”

“You’ll know when he’s trying.”

She knew that. But she was connected to him. She knew he couldn’t feel what she felt, unless it was something physical. Ava looked up and met Peter’s eyes. He gave her a knowing look, as if to say it was okay to be herself.

She turned back to Gabriel and gazed into his eyes if only for a moment. “I love you,” she whispered, and then looked away.

He squeezed her hand. “I love you. This is absolute agony.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t heal you. I couldn’t risk it.”

He drew her closer. He lowered his lips to her ear and his breath tickled the nape of her neck. “Don’t apologize. That isn’t what’s agonizing me, and you know it.” His rough, steely voice made her stomach flip.

Then, they changed partners again. She was back in Xavier’s cold arms, away from the warm comfort of Gabriel. It was like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over her. She hated the vast contrast.

“Are you okay?” Xavier asked. “Did he tell you anything?” Concern showed in his dark eyes.

“No. He just said I had a pretty dress.”

When the song ended, she turned to him. “Can we not dance the rest of the night?”

He smirked. “Not your thing, huh?”

She shrugged. “I just don’t want to dance with anyone else.”

The comment made him light up as if it was about him. She smiled softly at him.

“Are you sure he didn’t say anything? I can talk to him.”

“No, no it’s fine.”

“I promise if you dance with me, we won’t change partners again.” He gave a pleading look.

She wanted to go to her room, but she had to keep up the act. Just a little bit longer. She could hold on just a little bit longer.

Ava took Xavier’s hand, and only danced with him the remainder of the night.

Ava stared hard at the gray eyes that glowered back. Her long fiery red hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. Not a single hair frayed. She looked at her usual black get up: long sleeved shirt, black spandex pants tucked inside black boots that reached her knees. She was strong and her body showed that, but she could tell being away from home for months had taken its toll. She had been in Caprington for almost six weeks. It had been a week since the Selection dinner, and tonight was their first Ephemeral massacre.

Staring back into her eyes through the oblong mirror, she kept telling herself, she could do this. She placed her hand on the door handle and took a deep breath. Then, she turned off her emotions and left her room.

She met the rest of the Cimmerians and Elementals in the training room. Havok waited for them at the front, with an almost malicious grin. Ava hated it. She was sure he would give an encouraging speech on how the world was better off without Ephemerals and how they were the ones to rid the world of them, which would invite uproarious celebrations.

But he never said a word.

Instead, Xavier moved to the front. “Tonight, we’re to massacre Ephemerals. Unfortunately, not all of you will be coming.”

Confused and angry whispers filled the air. Ava wondered what was going on. Wasn’t that the point of the Selection event?

“We’re testing the Elementals tonight.”

A couple of groans, which were quickly squashed by Havok’s judgmental eyes.

“I’ll be going, and I’ll need Anais, Eve, and…” He scanned the crowd like he was choosing his dodgeball team. People actually raised their hands in hopes of being picked. Ava couldn’t believe someone would be so excited to go kill a bunch of people. But if this was their life, she guessed they knew nothing else. She imagined the rest of her group silently hoping not to get chosen. “And Link.” Xavier smiled. “That should do it.”

Havok took a deep breath. “I cannot wait to hear of the results. You will all make me proud.” Then he left the room with his guards.

It surprised Ava that he didn’t join them on what seemed like his favorite part of being who he was. What did he do all day? Sit in his room and eat fancy food and order people to do his bidding? Had the killing lost its luster? She couldn’t make sense of Havok. Did he secretly mourn for his loved ones? Or call to their souls?

“Such a small group of people,” someone piped up from the back and everyone turned back to the voice.

Donovan glared at Xavier, tattooed arms crossed, showing off his huge biceps, feet planted to the floor. He challenged Xavier. “Is this your rule?”

“You’re a Recruiter, Donovan. I don’t need any lip from you. This was Havok’s request, and you know that.”

Donovan shrugged and moved forward at a slow pace. “Why? Because of his precious Elementals now? What makes them so damn special? They’re just Enchanters like the rest of us. But we’ve been training for this for a year. They haven’t. I bet they’ll fail.”

Ava was offended. Hadn’t he witnessed what they could do? Hadn’t he faced them in battle before? Even during training. When he passed by her, she seized him by the throat and squeezed. She had no problem fighting the Cimmerians. Or paying him back for the nice shiner he had given her. “You don’t think we’re strong enough? Is that your beef?”

Donovan’s lips curled into a smile, but it didn’t match his eyes. He stared at her, and for a second she felt a pinprick in her chest, but then she imagined him under water. Donovan’s eyes widened. He coughed and his face reddened.

“Awe, I’m sorry,” Ava said. “Were you trying to hurt me?”

“Okay, enough.” Xavier laughed.

Ava released Donovan, and he inhaled. Once he caught his breath, he took a step closer to her, but then halted. He blinked his eyes a few times.

“Stop messing around, Don,” Xavier said. “We have work to do. Now, everyone who’s coming tonight, let’s go.”

Ava moved forward with the small group while everyone else left the room. Donovan waivered a bit, but eventually left.

They followed Xavier down toward the torment basement, but instead of going straight, he punched a code into what looked like a random stone in the wall. After a couple of seconds, the room shook, dust and tiny gravel particles dropped to the ground as the stone wall separated. It opened into blackness.

“Thomas,” Xavier said. “Light us with your fire.”

Thomas moved to the front, and fire appeared around his fists. It was a tunnel. Ava hated tunnels, but now that she was a Cimmerian, maybe no one would get inside her head. At least, she hoped Havok wouldn’t mess with her.

They walked silently in a group, Xavier leading the way. He moved through the tunnel maze with ease as if he knew them like the back of his hand. Which he probably did. They turned left. Then right. Another right. Left. Straight a little ways. Right again. It was almost dizzying. How could anyone find their way through here? Then it came to her. The Cimmerians used these tunnels to get to the Ephemeral world quickly. That was how they were able to pop up so frequently.

They reached a door. It was a simple wooden door like it belonged to a bedroom. Xavier typed a code into it and then opened it.

Ava couldn’t see anything yet, but as she walked through the threshold, she was met with a warm, muggy night. The rich, sweet air hit her, flooding her mind with memories. It smelled like a mixture between magnolias, jasmine, and mown grass. She took a long deep breath as if branding the scent to her memory.

They had come to a field that overlooked a city. As she peered out into the dynamic city, she recognized it. She could hear the music from Bourbon Street faintly in the distant. The vast array of colored lights lit up the sky and reflected in the Mississippi. A steamboat tugged its horn to their left.

They were to annihilate New Orleans.

The last and only memory she had of New Orleans was when she had gone with Gabriel, Joss, and Eric. They toured the beautiful, historical city. Ate warm beignets in the morning. Ventured through the streets, listening to the lively jazz music. She had also met Caroline, Sophia, Rene, and Marcel. It was that night that Ava learned her mother was a Cimmerian.

She shook her head, as if to remove the memory. She was there for a purpose and had no time to revisit the past. It was gone, just like the city would be soon.

“So how do you want to start this?” Ava asked, staring forward at the lively city.

“Hmm. Well, why don’t we start with a tornado?” Xavier asked.

Jeremy nodded once, and they waited only a few seconds before a funnel of wind formed. It started out small, but grew. It lifted vehicles, tossing them into buildings like they were matchbox cars. The tornado sounded like a freight train, drowning out the cries of the people. The rough winds peeled the roofs off buildings. Glass shattered and blew out into the streets. People ran, ducked, and hid wherever they could find a safe place. The tornado left a ditch in its path.

Melissa added rocks and boulders to the intense tornado. It hurled them into buildings and homes. Sirens sounded in the distance. Then bombs exploded. Buildings collapsed into a huge cloud of black dust. The tornado had leveled most of the city, but whatever was left, Link took care of. Thomas threw fireballs at Ephemerals, lighting them. The smell of sulfur and burning human flesh filled the air.

“Watch this,” Gillian said. She moved forward a step. Slowly the moon came into view in full view.

Ava gasped.

Then the ground shook like there were saberwolves trampling. The streets split open, and people fell to their deaths. Ava never knew Gillian could make earthquakes, but it fascinated her. Lance absorbed Link’s power and created more bombs, blasting them into the city. The fiery, apocalyptic landscape reflected in the Mississippi River. Smoke rose into the New Orleans sky, like a flag waving in surrender.

Ephemerals continued to run for their lives, screaming. They held their loved ones, clutched onto their babies or young children.

Ava felt nothing.

“Your turn.” Xavier nudged Ava.

She called on the water from the nearby river. A few minutes passed, and soon a tidal wave formed. It grew into a tsunami, hovering over the entire city. Then she released it, letting it crash down. It put out the fires, and carried debris and bodies as it angrily forced its way through the avenues and neighborhoods. It knocked over trees and swept up houses. The water rose higher and higher.

Hands were visible above the water’s surface, reaching for someone to save them. Soon their lifeless bodies floated to the top.

The music was gone. The vibrant atmosphere dissipated. All the lights went out. Only the sound of flooding and burning and people dying remained. There was nothing left in the city.

Nothing but death, destruction, and desolation under an onyx sky.

No one said a word as they moved like robots back to Caprington. Ava wondered if it bothered the Cimmerians that they just attacked New Orleans. And killed who knows how many. Once they reached the door to the castle, Ava caught up to Xavier and walked beside him.

“How often do we do this?” she asked.

“It depends. We used to do it monthly. But now that you all are here, I’ve no doubt that Havok will want to do it faster. So we can be without Ephemerals quicker.”

“Don’t save any for slaves?”

“It’s come up, but right now I think he just wants to know what all you can do. He’ll be very pleased with tonight’s results. We’ve never completely destroyed a city like that.”

“Good thing you have us.”

He gave a slight nod, and looked away. He opened the door to the main room of the castle. They followed him through, crossing the floor to the front and out into the hallway. If Ava didn’t pay attention to where she was going, she could seriously get lost in this place.

“So what now?”

“We meet with Havok.” He sounded like he dreaded meeting with him. Xavier had been acting strange lately. She couldn’t put her finger on it.

Xavier opened a door to a small parlor, and they filed inside.

Havok looked up from the book he was reading and had a superior smirk on his old face. He grasped a wine glass with his claw-like fingers, drawing it to his lips, and took a sip of the red wine. “Mmm. I love a good wine.” Ava couldn’t help but notice how it was the same color as blood. “Welcome back.”

They stood side by side in a line. Eve crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked annoyed.

Havok swirled the wine around in his glass, and Ava was growing impatient. Were they all supposed to just stare at him admiring his damn wine? No matter that they had just obliterated an entire city of Ephemerals.

He sipped his wine once more and closed his eyes. Finally, he swallowed, and got to his feet. Ava still hated that he used Colden’s body, but the way his face contorted in a constant menacing glare, it didn’t look like Colden anymore.

“What was the outcome?”

“Total annihilation,” Xavier said. “There is nothing left of the city. They completely leveled it.”

Havok raised his eyebrows, and then his skinny, dry lips stretched into a dark grin. It didn’t scare Ava anymore. He was just another egotistical person who had a power complex. What would happen once the Elementals destroyed all of the Ephemerals? Would he kill them too, knowing they were more powerful than he was? She could easily take him. It was a wonder that she even waited to kill the man.

“This pleases me very much. Your next assignment is New York. You are free for the weekend.” He waved his hand, and returned to his precious wine.

They dispersed out of the room. Eve and Anais walked away in a huff. But Ava heard them complaining about why Havok even needed them.

The rest of them waited for Xavier to say something.

“Celebratory party tonight at the tavern,” he said. “I’m going to get cleaned up. I suspect you all would like to do the same.”

“Yes, please,” Gillian said, twisting a curl around her finger.

“We’ll start in an hour I believe. See you there.” He went one way, while the rest of them went another.

“We need to go to Klaus’s,” Melissa said. “We’ll go to the stupid party for a little bit and then go to Klaus’s.”

As if going to Klaus’s would make everything okay.

Ava went to her room, showered, and put on a fresh pair of jeans and a black shirt. She left her hair down and put on smoky eye makeup and made her way to the tavern. She was ready to party and let loose. She didn’t want to turn her humanity back on and experience that flood of sensations. Just like the lights in New Orleans, her emotions flickered out.

“Damn,” Xavier said as she approached him outside the doors. His eyes roved over her, and he smiled as if he approved of the way she looked. “You look hot.”

“Thanks. You don’t look bad yourself.” She nodded to his dark jeans and button down blue shirt.

“I do what I can.” He opened the door for her, and they found an empty table, enough room so the others could join. “Drink?”

“You choose.”

He raised his hand and a waitress came over. She wore short black shorts and a white t-shirt that was too small. Her brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. Half of it was in her face. “Two stouts.”

She nodded and walked away.

Xavier leaned forward and took Ava’s hands. His sudden gesture startled her. She didn’t know what to do, but she hated that he touched her. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine. Why?”

He scratched the back of his head. “It’s just, this was your first.”

“Okay.” She shrugged. “Should I feel something else?”

He stared at her like he wanted to say something, but kept changing his mind. “No. Sorry.” The waitress returned with two beers, and Xavier released her hands. He chugged a bit of the beer and then stared of into space.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Fine,” he answered rather curtly.

“They were Ephemerals. They’re evil right? I mean, we’re supposed to kill them, right? How did you act your first time?”

“That was my first time. I should preface that, yes I’ve destroyed Ephemerals and their towns before, but that was the first time that we completely obliterated a city. I mean, there’s nothing left.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“I’m fine. I just. I don’t know.”

“What? What is it?”

He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

She wanted to know what he was going to say, but she knew he wouldn’t tell her no matter how much she probed him.

A few minutes later, the rest of her group showed up. Melissa dressed in an off-the-shoulder black and white striped blouse with black tights and boots. She’d pulled her blond hair back in a high ponytail and wore large silver hoop earrings.

Gillian fixed her black hair into tight curls and wore fresh makeup. Nicole left her hair down and went for jeans and a red sequined shirt. The boys wore t-shirts and jeans.

Xavier had whispered something in the waitress’s ear and then she walked away. “The band will start playing in a few minutes. Are you all ready to party all night?”

Ava smiled and raised her glass to his. “Hell yeah!”

The waitress returned with several shot glasses and a bottle of a gold liquid. She set them around the table and handed the bottle to Xavier. “On the house.” She winked at Xavier.

Xavier poured the liquid into the shot glasses and then raised his in the air. Everyone followed. “To the Elementals!”

Ava clinked glasses with her friends and then Xavier. She downed the shot, its liquid burning her throat. She didn’t care.

Two shots later, Ava felt the warmth enveloping her body. The room swirled and it was full of laughter. The table next to them had some girl on her back while random people did body shots. Usually, she would be repulsed by the scene. But tonight she was carefree. She stood up, losing her balance for a second, and made her way to the table. But someone snatched her arm and dragged her away from the table.

“Hey!” she yelled. When she turned to face them, it was Melissa taking her toward the bathroom.

“What is up with you?” Melissa asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re drunk.”

“Yeah, so? Am I not allowed?”

When the last remaining females left the bathroom, Melissa locked it and cornered Ava. “This isn’t you. Stop hiding behind your wall.”

“Fat chance of that happening. I’m having fun.”

“Don’t lose yourself, Ava.”

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

Her face twisted in disgust. “Oh so you’ve given up now?”

“Why? Because I won’t turn on my humanity so I can experience all the things we just did? Feel all of those emotions? You don’t get it. If I don’t lose myself, this will break me.”

“We can get through this.”

“Easy for you to say. Your mother didn’t promise your soul to Havok. You don’t have to fear death.”

“Are you kidding me right now? Of course, I fear death. We all do.”

“Honestly, I think we should kill him now. We’re stronger than him.”

Melissa sighed. “Do you have a death wish? You know we can’t do that until we figure out the antidote to the curse.”

Ava laughed. “Good luck with that one. Are we done here?”

Her eyes softened. “Let’s go to Klaus’s, Ava. It will make you feel better.”

“Why? So we can sit around in a circle singing kumbaya and wishing for things we can’t have? No thanks.”

Melissa put her hand on Ava’s arm. “Ava, you need this. You need to let it out.”

Ava swatted her hand away. “I don’t need to do anything. I’m not going to sit around feeling sorry for myself and cry into my pillow every night.”

“Oh so keeping your emotions off is the better way of dealing with this? It’s gonna catch up to you. And when it does, it’s going to be detrimental.”

“What part of any of this isn’t detrimental?” she snapped. “Everything is so messed up, Mel. And I’m so sorry that I can’t be perfect like you and flip it on after everything I do and cry it out.”

“So you’re just gonna keep the emotions off until it’s over?”

Ava shrugged. “Why not? Might as well make the best of it.”

“Don’t give up.”

Her anger flared. “Stop saying that! Don’t talk to me about giving up!”

“That’s what you’re doing,” Melissa yelled back. “You think you’re in this alone. You always think that, and it drives me crazy. You’re not the only one who killed innocent people. You’re not the only one who sacrifices themselves every day for this cause. Yeah, you’re linked to Havok, but we will conjure up a way to break the curse. Just stop acting like it’s all on you.”

She clenched her teeth. “Stop wasting your time on trying to save me, Mel. I’ve accepted my fate.”

Her jaw dropped, but then she recovered. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Have you now? Does Gabriel know?”

“Gabriel’s too busy with Eve. And yes, I have. We should start trying to convince the Cimmerians to side with us and focus on that. In the meantime, I’m going to have some fun.”

“Ava, please. Let’s go to Klaus’s. I don’t want to fight anymore.”

She sighed and walked past Melissa. “You should give up while you’re ahead. We’re stuck here, Mel. Until I kill Havok.” She unlocked the door, and left. She crossed the crowded room to Xavier.

“There you are,” he said, and handed her a shot. “Everything okay?”

She took it without a hesitation. “All good.”

The lights went down and the crowd screamed. The band started playing a punchy heavy song. Red lights flashed, and people flocked to the dance floor.

Xavier reached his hand out to her, and she took it without hesitating. He led her to the floor and they danced under the red lights. She had no cares. No sadness. Nothing but the feel of alcohol running through her bloodstream and the music vibrating throughout her body.

When she glanced back at her friends, she saw Gabriel staring at her. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she ignored him. Especially seeing Eve come up next to him and drag him out into the crowded dance floor. Though no matter what, his eyes never strayed from hers.