Elemental: Chapter Seven, Part 5

I had left after the other lights flickered out in the cabins, not wanting to explain what I was doing or why. That’s spontaneity for you, never a rhyme or reason, but it always feels so right in the moment. It was the moment after the action you had to watch out for.

Nick called out when he arrived in the chaotically tranquil garden. I sat up from the patch of grass where I had been stargazing, supposing he had waited for Mikael to fall asleep before chancing to leave.

“What are you doing?” he questioned, lying beside me.

“Aren’t the stars beautiful?” The black and white of the sky was bordered by curious leaves; they were either questioning what was going to happen, or what the heavens looked like close up. I doubted it would look more lovely than it did now.

“My dad used to teach me to read constellations, but I never really took an interest.” He shrugged beside me, his arm brushing against mine, surprisingly warm. Or perhaps I just hadn’t realized how chilly it was.

“My dad and I never did anything over our last several years together; he was busy working and staying away from my mother.”

“What are you thinking about?” Nick inquired, shifting to his side, rushing past my sorry statement. He didn’t change the subject in a way that suggested he was disinterested, but in a way so as to lighten the mood. The jade eyes burned into me and I again felt he could see past the skin and bones to something more. It frightened me. Mostly because I couldn’t be sure what he saw.

“Everything,” I said instead of talking about how much this smell reminded me of Drei and all the circumstances in which I’d inhaled it. “Anything.” I avoided admitting I missed Drei, even if I was the one pushing him away. “And nothing.” I shoved away the confession that, as much as I liked him, I wished he was Drei.

“That’s quite a boat load,” he replied.

I didn’t say anything, just rolled onto my side to face him, going over again how he was different from Drei, and what it was about Nick I liked. What it was that made him mysterious and easygoing.

“You’re beautiful,” Nick said, his shaggy hair pushed up by his palm.

Before I could think of a response, his lips were on mine and I felt alive. Not like breathing alive. I was fully aware of everything around us: the whistling breeze, the flowers sighing in sleep, the stars twinkling in an undecipherable code…everything.

My heart raced and my brain tried to find something to ground me. I pushed him away, just so our noses barely touched.

“This isn’t going anywhere,” I warned, praying he’d understand what my lack of words seemed to say in my own mind.

“I wouldn’t dream of taking it anywhere,” he whispered before his lips found mine, and the breathless feeling of life—real life—filled me again.

In that moment, I forgot about my feelings for Drei. All thoughts ceased to pass through my mind except for one: now I knew what the leaves had been waiting for.

Elemental: Chapter Seven, Part 4

Nick disappeared for a couple of days. He hadn’t left the camp because he was always there for breakfast and supper; he just wasn’t around the rest of the day. When I asked one night where he was running off to, he replied it was a secret. And, of course, I was too stubborn to admit I missed his company or to provide any decent answer as to why he should cease running off. I wanted to tell him to stop going away and just talk with me, like we had been doing, or join in the game du jour. But my lips refused to emit words.

The fourth day into his disappearing act, Nick scared me half to death, sneaking up behind me and shouting, “Boo,” in my ear. He fell over laughing, his hair mussed and a grass stain on the knee of his jeans.

“Don’t do that again,” I commanded, a hand still covering my poor heart, my pulse slowly returning to normal.

Nick sat up, laughter still playing behind his eyes; “Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.”

A few of the children were watching us, expecting some kind of trouble that distracted them from the game.

“You’re back early today,” I stated, trying not to be angry with him still.

He waved a hand dismissively at Mikael, Kora, Derek, and Xenia, who had begun the climb towards us. Nick smiled as extra assurance that everything was well, and they ran to join back in the chaos of a game I didn’t know the rules for.

“I want you to come with me,” he said in response to my earlier statement. “You’ll love what I’ve found.”

“Not today,” I replied, indicating with a tilt of my head the reason before us. “I don’t abandon responsibility for just anything.”

“It isn’t just anything;” he smirked secretively. From behind his ear he pulled a small blossom of lilac. “I don’t have the fancy tricks of flying flowers or anything,” he admitted, taking one of my hands and setting the bloom in my palm, “but there’s more where that came from if you come with me.”

“Not today.” I was intrigued by the lilac, though. Part of me wanted to go, but I was still holding out against him.

Our conversation repeated in a similar fashion over the next week. Different blooms were pushed into my palm with a plea to join him, that the children were fine without me. But I declined, later to add the bloom to a bowl of water in my room, the petals floating elegantly as they slowly wilted.

The eighth day he asked, I agreed.

“I’ll go if you watch over them for a week; I might need a break.” Being in charge of watching over them wasn’t eventful, but it was like watching a TV show or something. Interesting and mind numbing in the same instant. It didn’t require much work except for the occasional accident or conflict, and even those were few and far between because the older children were handling most of it lately.

 Nick pulled me to my feet, a puppy that finally receives his walk.

He never let go of my hand, half-pulling me along a path and through trees where the way wasn’t marked. It didn’t slow him, as though he saw landmarks I failed to see. When the trees thickened he treaded more carefully, pulling branches and tall grasses out of the way for me.

“You’ll love it,” he said, and I knew then exactly what we were coming up to. The flowers had been a hint, but the scent that hit me was undeniably familiar: the same blend of essences that seemed to follow Drei everywhere.

Though I was expecting something spectacular, I was nowhere near prepared for what I saw as we cleared the trees. The colors, the disorganization, the heavenly scent and sheer mass of flowers caused me to lose my breath. It was stunning, and, strange as it was, seemed to give me a sense of peace.

“I knew you’d love it,” Nick replied to my poorly hidden gaping jaw and wide eyes.

“It’s gorgeous,” I managed in a choked whisper.

He took my hand again, leading me carefully through the flowers so I could see which I recognized—mostly the common ones: lilacs, violets, bluebells—and touch those I didn’t. There were paths laced through the field, little more than the width of my foot. In the center was a grassy area, soft and lush, where Nick and I sat for a moment.

“How?”

“I was exploring those days I wasn’t around. And I just happened across here and knew you’d love it.”

“Is the path marked?”

“To here? Of course. Subtly, though. I haven’t figured out all of the symbols, but if you pretty much go in where we did and go straight, you’ll smell the flowers when you’re close.”

“So who marked it?”

Nick shrugged. “Does it matter?”

I shook my head, feeling warm in the sunlit area. It felt like summer here with the trees trapping heat and the flowers in full bloom, staring at us, wondering what would happen.

“We have to get back for dinner,” I said suddenly, not meeting Nick’s eyes, afraid I wouldn’t have the courage to leave them.

I stood up, dusting off my pants, and Nick led me back through the woods, a satisfied smile on his lips the entire way. It wasn’t until I noticed how much I looked at him, or how easily we made each other smile, or any number of other things we shared, I knew what I wanted to do next.

“Meet me there tonight?” I inquired, knowing how it must sound to him, hoping he didn’t take it the wrong way.

He stopped mid-step and faced me. “Really?” The time I hadn’t kissed him ran through his mind, a caution I might be stringing him along again.

“We can spend time together there, and don’t have to worry about anything else.”

“Or anyone else,” he added, expressing his own thoughts. I knew he meant Drei.

Though Drei hadn’t been around much, he disliked Nick and disapproved of my spending time with him—Valetta’s words, not mine. While his fears were rational, I wasn’t too worried and I hoped he would stop worrying as much as I knew he was.

“So?” I pressed, needing a definite answer. No way was I sitting around all night for someone who wasn’t coming. Then again, I would have deserved it. At least the first time, anyway.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he replied, grinning crookedly.

Elemental: Chapter Seven, Part 3

I wanted to turn the topic away from the serious discussion questions, afraid it might lead to something I wasn’t willing to admit; say, special feelings for a special someone who was already with another unnamed person. “What’s your favorite color?”

We changed the game to favorites for a long time. Nick loved the color green, he obsessed about Italian manufactured cars, and wanted to go to Europe someday. He hated school, could never master any instrument past three notes, and indulged frequently in the golden oldies that give you that feel-good bubble of happiness in your chest—his words, not mine.

My favorite color, as he learned, was pastel blue, I wanted to live in France someday, and had a fascination with stuffed bears (my massive collection left behind). My dislikes included liars, shopping, and the meaningless jewelry lessons my mother had forced me through. We went on to cover numerous other topics, usually playing off of each other for the next question. Favorites lasted a good hour or so, surprisingly enough.

“How many girlfriends have you had?” I inquired, pulling out of our “favorites” category.

“Two,” he replied easily. “I went out with one for a week before she dumped me for her ex, and the other I went out with for three months before she said I needed to marry her or leave her. We were 16, so I told her she was insane and left. She’s getting married in June to the guy she dated after me.”

“At least one of you found a happy ending,” I remarked before I could stop myself.

“Well, no one ever said I wouldn’t find mine.” His jade eyes held mine for a moment and sent a shiver down my spine. Why did he affect me this way? That was my biggest question, especially when I still barely knew him, despite our game. “What about you?”

“No girlfriends for me,” I joked, relishing the wide-eyed look he gave me. “I’ve had three boyfriends,” I continued, still smiling as his face returned to its interested but distant listening state. “One was because Sara broke up with him and he was such a mess she told him I’d go out with him; so I did, for a month before he got over her. Then there was the bad boy at lunch that no one liked and I ended up completely smitten over. Total disaster; it lasted two weeks before he admitted he had only been with me because he wanted to be with Emily but had lost interest, and therefore lost what grain of interest he had in me. He wasn’t the first I had experienced something like that with, but he was the only one with that intention I actually dated.

“Then there was Richie, who broke up with two of my friends at the same time and then asked me out. We dated about three months. He was a drunk and thought I would do anything he asked, so I left him, and never looked back.” I decided at the last minute not to tell him the exact circumstances. It wasn’t his business really. Well, it might have been but I wasn’t going to let it be. Not yet at least.

“Definitely more interesting than my story of the exes.”

“I think you beat me with the marriage one, though,” I said, pressing my lips together and grinning as I nodded my head slightly. “First date kiss?”

“Only if both of us agree it’s the right time,” he replied without missing a beat.

“How many times has that happened?”

“Never.”

“Thought so;” I couldn’t help smirking at his deflated, theatrical pout.

“What about you, Miss Experience?” His eyes were gleaming and the crooked grin returned.

“If the timing and the person are right,” I answered, fully realizing how cheesy it sounded.

“And has that happened?”

“How often do you find the right person?” I countered, leveling my gaze with his.

“Once in a lifetime according to every poet in the known universe.”

“Exactly.”

He pouted his lips, and I took my turn. “Were you a good person?”

“Am I or was I?”

“Were you?”

“Not always. I screwed up a lot,” he responded, gazing ahead at the mess of tripping children, new cacti and puddles of mud. There was a hesitancy to his voice, as though he was ashamed of himself. “I enjoyed pulling pranks and ‘hacks,’ if you will. Nothing too serious. All for kicks and giggles; I wasn’t caught until last year…but not by whom one might think.”

The way he finished speaking made it very clear he was done. I understood, since there were things about my past (and my present) I didn’t want to bring up any more than I had to. But I couldn’t help but wonder what his secrets were like. How bad were they? Were they anything like mine? Better? Worse?

“What about you? Were you a good person?”

I didn’t answer; I knew I hadn’t been; I had been shallow and careless and concerned more with not falling off the top of the pyramid. I made a lot of decisions I never wanted to remember. And Nick didn’t need to know any of that. No, that wasn’t right. I didn’t want him to know any of that; I didn’t want to think how knowing those things would change the way he looked at me.

“So…I guess not a good question to ask.”

I wanted to say, “No duh,” but couldn’t bring myself to pull out of my upright fetal position. I had asked it first, after all; I should have realized it would come right back to me.

“If you could do anything right now, anything in the world, what would you do?” he asked instead.

“I would be honest with everyone I’ve ever known,” I replied, the words just falling from my lips.  A voice in my head screamed, demanding to know what I was doing. But I went on, feeling guilty he was so willing to be honest when I just wanted to hide things from him. “I keep so much to myself, and sometimes I just wish I wasn’t so afraid to tell it straight, to everyone who deserved it. You know?”

Nick didn’t disappoint when I glanced at him, searching for reassurance I wasn’t mad. “I feel the same way sometimes.”

Neither of us said anything, and the silence between us echoed with the giddy screams and laughter below.

“What would you do?” I asked after a moment, needing to break the quiet.

“That’s too easy;” he smiled crookedly. “Kiss you.”

The thought tripped through my mind and I couldn’t decide if I wanted to kiss him or not. So I did what I did best, pretend. Leaning in, as if granting his wish, Nick followed suit. I almost felt cruel when my lips stopped a breath away from his and announced, “Try again.”

I stood and walked down the slope, calling the children to clean up before lunch. They groaned and obligingly agreed, but their disappointment was nowhere near equal to that of Nick. He was confused and grudgingly realizing what had happened.

My mind hoped he realized he wasn’t as desirable as he thought himself to be, while my heart chided he was more than I might be able to handle.

Elemental: Chapter Seven, Part 2

 “Like 20 questions?”

“Not really. The object is just asking questions. Each person gets one question per turn. No winner, no rules, you don’t even have to tell the truth; but…it’d be nice if you would;” his jade gems were serious and piercing.

“I’m game;” I smiled, interested in how this would turn out and hoping he would lighten up again. I liked it when he wasn’t so serious; it kept me from being too serious. “You start.”

He leaned back on his hands, his lips scrunched to the side in thought. “Why are you here?”

I thought a moment, judging just how much to tell him. Drei had warned to be careful, and thus far we had all limited how much we tapped into our power, causing him to believe most of it was mere coincidence. What he didn’t think was coincidence, we worked to convince him he imagined. It had become quite a game with the kids; it was rather entertaining hearing the stories and conspiracy theories they developed and built upon until we had forgotten what had started it all.

“Because I can do this,” I said after a moment, picking a flower resembling a fairy hat from beside me, using the air to lift it from my fingers and presenting it to Nick.

He plucked the blossom from the air saying, “Nice parlor trick.”

“Not so much a trick.” I didn’t really want to explain. Showing him was one thing; actually telling him outright was quite another. “My turn, right?”

Nick nodded, inspecting the flower for wires or something, trying to make it levitate as I had moments before, only to watch it fall to the grass repeatedly.

“What was your life like before?”

“Before the fire?” he clarified. At my nod, he continued slowly; “Well, we were happy. Kit and Kate had just started second grade and were ecstatic, finally allowed to buy non-matching clothing sets. My mom had insisted until then that twins were safer dressed alike. Really, she just thought they were cute dressed the same. Dad had been promoted and was talking about moving, which of course led to arguments with my mom; she insisted we stay and not uproot our lives because he wanted to. He was threatening to leave and just send money back, which she said was irrational and that we needed him. And then they’d jump straight to making up;” his cheeks flamed as though he had stumbled across this once and regretted it since.

“I used the instability of their relationship to stay out late. I never did anything I might later regret, but being around people who did somehow made me feel less cowardly. The first time I misjudged the night’s events and showed up late to be caught, they ripped me a new one, then apologized for stunting my growth and just asked if I would stay away from those guys. Course I didn’t…and now I kind of wish I had. Who knows, maybe they still would have been around.”

“I thought you said you were happy?”

“Kit and Kate were, I was, and Dad was; Mom just didn’t want to move, otherwise she was thrilled for Dad and the rest of us.”

“You really miss them,” I stated, thinking about my dad at home, wondering for the first time how he was holding up.

“What was your life like?”

“Before coming here?”

“Well, it is a reciprocal question.” I laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows. The first time he had done that, I tried and he fell over laughing so hard, I couldn’t help but laugh. I could tell from the look in his eyes he was thinking of the same thing.

“Superficial,” I started, forcing myself to look at what my life had really been like. “My dad worked all the time, I never knew my mom, and my mother was in constant denial of there ever being someone else. I was an only child, left to my own devices—one of which was a credit card with a limit I never reached. I had friends who were more like snakes with pearly smiles, but it was better to be on their side than to be against them. And then Drei saved me.”

He waited a moment longer, as though expecting more explanation, but I wasn’t going into the details of why or how he saved me. Nick needed to know that as much as he needed to know why I was here.

When the tension in his relaxed position returned, I knew he was ready for me to ask him another question. “What were you thinking that night, when they were talking about making you leave?”

Nick shrugged and looked out past the kids to the lake.

“Really,” I insisted, resting a hand lightly on his knee. I had been so concerned with everyone else in the room, I didn’t know, and I kind of wanted to.

“Well,” he drawled, as if still thinking. “At first I was just preparing myself for it. Trying to convince myself that it was nothing and at least I had met you, and I was feeling better. I had kind of expected it,” he admitted, “but just the mental preparedness of myself was lacking. But then you argued for me, and I couldn’t believe it. You barely knew me and yet you were fighting for me against one of the most frightening guys I’ve ever met. And I couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing and brave that was.” He didn’t shrug, as I had expected him to, to lighten the weight of his words. Though I had looked away to hide my flaming cheeks, I knew he was staring at me with those piercing eyes, trying to measure my response.

“What were you thinking?” he questioned after a moment.

I didn’t respond right away because I didn’t know how. The night was a blur; I couldn’t even remember what Drei had said really, let alone what I was thinking.

“I don’t think I was,” I began slowly. “I just remember that I knew it was unfair and at one point that I was ready to leave if Drei wanted me to. What he was doing wasn’t right, and it made me—it made me so angry.”

Nick nodded, like he knew this already and just wanted the confirmation. “Your turn.”

Elemental: Chapter Seven, Part 1

Chapter Seven: The Trees Have Eyes

Part of me felt useless with the children alternating their games to match the warming spring weather, trusting each other to be creative in altering them or creating new ones. There was still the occasional need to resolve a problem or patch up a scraped knee, but they were considerably more independent now. Not to mention much friendlier towards each other from when I’d first arrived.

Nick kept me entertained, a distraction from my former pastime. He would spin fanciful encounters of foreign lands and unconquered mountains crushing him in defeat. I couldn’t be certain what was true, but it was refreshing to laugh again, even if it was only because of faux chivalry.

One particular afternoon, we were lying side by side on the springy new grass, a color to rival Nick’s eyes. The children were running around playing a version of tag that would have had complaints of cheaters had any other group of children been involved. Michelle, Jake, Danny, and Kora judged what was fair and unfair according to the regulations I had set up in the winter. Of course, they had modified it so Nick would be more likely to believe all the tripping and mud slicks were not entirely out of the ordinary.

“What are you thinking about?” Nick questioned quietly. I felt his eyes on me as I followed a puff of cloud passing overhead, pondering briefly what would happen if I tried to change its path.

“Nothing really,” I said, for an instant believing I had seen something in the folds of fluff. Why did unrealistic things jump out at me when my mind was elsewhere? I guessed it happened to everyone, but it seemed so strange that it happened to me, even after I had spent so long practically ignoring things like clouds unless it rained.

“Want to do anything?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, tearing my eyes from the cloud and whatever it was or wasn’t hiding. “You?”

“Well,” he began, an uncharacteristic hesitancy to his voice. In the two weeks he had been here, he hadn’t been hesitant about anything, not even flirting with Lily to obtain some posters for his room. “I want to get to know you.”

Instead of saying anything, I tossed his statement around in my mind a while, wondering if I was willing to let him know me. I was somewhat tempted to laugh, even. No one had ever said they wanted to know me. Most people had just assumed who I was and I had felt compelled to fit that image. I learned to be really good at it, too, which was perhaps the saddest part.

“How?” I sat up to face him.

He followed suit. “Ever play questions?”

Elemental: Chapter Six, Part 6

That night, Nick slept in my bed and I stayed curled in the rocking chair. Though Drei didn’t return, I managed to find sleep without him. My dreams weren’t the best, but it was an improvement on my former state. As strange as it was, I found the lack of his scent didn’t bother me this time, almost as if I had maxed out on my nightly interest in it.

I woke early again, knowing my duties were would not be dismissed a second day and the children would be running around in no time.

Valetta stood in the doorway, leaning elegantly against the frame. That’s when I noticed Nick wasn’t there. The covers had been pulled neatly across the mattress, the pillows fluffed and stacked, my blanket folded across the foot. There wasn’t any indication he had been there.

“Where is he?” I demanded, jumping to my feet and halfway across the room. I felt betrayed, certain she had removed him when I’d let my guard down believing she had been on my side the previous night.

“Calm down,” she said gently, unmoving.

“What did you do?” I tried to withhold my anger since she was so calm but I wouldn’t exactly call it contained.

Valetta stepped forward, radiating composure. “Lily and I asked Mitchell to move him to another cabin. It is not entirely appropriate for both of you to share.”

“Wish you would have said something sooner,” I mumbled, feeling small for jumping to conclusions. At least he was still here.

“You were still asleep when he woke. I volunteered to explain it to you.”

“Why?” I asked. Was she planning something? Aside from last night, she hadn’t treated me very well.

Valetta sat on my tidy bed, turning to me, motioning I should sit as well. “I regret my behavior towards you upon arrival. It was disrespectful, and I should have given you a chance,” she said quickly, holding my gaze.

I looked down, not really understanding what she was doing, or why. “What changed?”

“You proved me wrong,” she said, as if it had been that simple all along. “I had perceived you as selfish and not much more grateful than the brats—sorry, children,” she corrected automatically. “Last night, though…that was impressive.” A slight smile crossed her features. “No one stands up to Drei. He is the leader; that is a universal truth for us. He is not wrong, though we sometimes disagree with his decisions; he always thinks of how it will affect us all, not just a few…or even one.” She smirked at me, though I could have been imagining it. Valetta didn’t seem the type to smirk. Part of me wondered if I had woken up in an alternate reality, or if I’d truly woken up at all.

I decided my mind was playing tricks on me and considered her words. I could understand what she meant. It was like high school: the popular people were that way for a reason. Everyone else either fell in line or fell by the wayside. Yet, this was also different, because he didn’t seem the type to lead for the sake of leading.  

“It’s like he gives you a purpose outside of living for yourself. Something to aim for,” I said softly.

“Exactly.” Our gazes met and I realized we weren’t so different. Both of us understood wanting the control, not having it, and knowing there was greater safety amongst those who did.

“I admire you,” she went on, “because you were not afraid to face him.”

“Without your support, I would have lost,” I insisted, trying not to blush.

She smiled at me, different from how she smiled at Drei, but a genuine smile all the same. “I supported you because I knew you were right.”

“What is the deal with Martin, anyway?” I asked randomly, remembering his excessive butt kissing the previous night.

“Him?” She waved her hand dismissively, scoffing. “He will do anything to stay in Drei’s good graces. We all figure Drei will leave sometime and start a new camp elsewhere. Martin wants to earn control when he does.”

“And Mitchell?”

“He is a typical vampiric male. The only exception is that everyone likes him,” she admitted, smiling like any girl dishing a good bit of gossip. “What about Nick?”

“He’s…” I began before I realized I didn’t know what to say about him. “…different.” The word felt like the best fit. I didn’t know much about him yet, but I knew he was different from any other guy I had ever met.

She cocked her eyebrows. “Is that all?”

I shrugged, playing it down more than necessary. “Yes.” She didn’t say anything, as though expecting me to elaborate in the silence. Yes, we had bonded. Did I trust her? Not yet. I wasn’t convinced she was anything more than an acquaintance. So I wouldn’t tell her how much Nick staying meant to me, or how I felt he was safe and yet a mystery I wanted to solve.

“I’ve got to go,” I said instead. “The kids.”

“Oh,” she replied, shaking her head as if she had forgotten where we were. “Yes, of course.”

I smiled meekly, hoping she would forget to ask later, though, with my luck, I doubted it.

Outside, the children had already begun playing, except it was them against Nick in a game he must have thought up. It involved lots of mud and mini fortresses dotting the mud-ball field. From the looks of it, they had their fair share of casualties. I sat away from them, watching the onslaught as someone finally broke Nick’s defenses and nailed him with blob at close range. He split them up into separate groups and they continued on their own as he made his way toward me, plopping down in a sloshing mess.

“Hi;” his smile shone through the hardening muck.

I smiled back. “Hi. You’ve made quite the mess.”

“Of myself or everyone else?” he questioned jokingly.

“Both,” I replied, unable to help smiling more.

“That was the plan,” he insisted light-heartedly.

I laughed, thinking how strange he was. How completely unexpected he had been. “Don’t overexert yourself.” I was only slightly concerned so much activity would cause him some other injury.

“Don’t worry. I’m stronger than I look.” His smile was slightly crooked, causing me to question if he wasn’t maybe a little dangerous.

“You keep telling yourself that.” I said, looking away from him to the children at play below us.

“Sure thing,” he assured, smashing a mud-ball on my head.

I gasped from the cold and the shock of the thick goop dripping down my neck and over my ears, watching him laugh beside me. Pushing him over, he started rolling downwards as I sprinted to the muddy field below to pay him back, telling him as much. Even though I complained, for once, I was honestly enjoying myself.

Elemental: Chapter Six, Part 5

He regained consciousness around sunset while I was curled in the rocking chair, using the last rays of light to read a used book Mitchell had found for me. The book was a murder mystery set on a cruise in a foreign country. Thus far, it was riveting. I still hadn’t figured it out.

“What’s your name?” his quiet voice questioned from the bed. I looked in his direction, surprised to see him sitting up, wide-awake; I wasn’t even upset he had interrupted me right before they revealed the murderer and how the deed had transpired.

“There’s some food by the bed there,” I said, pointing at the loaded tray. Drei had been very specific not to reveal anything personal until this had been settled. A non-elemental stumbling across the camp was unprecedented. From the sounds of it, anyone stumbling across the camp had been unprecedented. I had caught something about diversions, though I wasn’t sure what that meant.

He smiled and cocked an eyebrow, signaling he was pleased I had mentioned food, but I had not successfully escaped his questioning.

I watched as he inhaled the fare. He was gorgeous, the opposite in every way from Drei. It didn’t seem possible they could be so physically different and still be equally gorgeous. I wondered if he was the same mentally as Drei, or if that was different also.

“How old are you?” I inquired, wondering if my prediction had been anywhere close.

“Eighteen. You?” he returned between mouthfuls.

After judging the question wasn’t dangerous to answer, I had to think what day it was. “Eighteen,” I responded, slightly surprised to realize my birthday had already passed. There had been a Valentine’s party, but I hadn’t really paid attention to it.

Nick polished off the plate, chugging the water as if he couldn’t have enough. When he set aside the glass, he steadied his gaze on me. It felt strange, as though he was seeing more than just me. Like maybe he was seeing inside me to who I really was. Or, perhaps, who I wanted to be. “You’re beautiful, Miss No Name.”

My cheeks flamed as I denied it, blaming it on exhaustion and undernourishment. He waved my protests away, insisting I was being far too modest. Drei entered as Nick was going to request my name again. Following him were Valetta, Martin—a short, sickly figure who may have been albino before his turning—Mitchell, and Lily. Valetta met my eyes for an instant before turning away.

“Why?” I asked Drei; my voice sounded strained, threatening tears. I had known the worst case scenario was also the most likely, but I still felt overcome with despair and anger.

He turned, surprised for an instant before responding, “He does not belong here and therefore poses a threat to us all.”

“He doesn’t have anywhere to go.” My chest tightened as I fought through my mounting emotions. I felt like I was betraying them for their kindness by objecting, but I also felt as though there was a reason Nick was here and throwing him out was an injustice. That was just the more powerful of the two.

“Not my problem,” he replied, the words icy and scathing, his dark amethyst eyes even more so.

“Why can’t you make an exception?” I demanded, standing. I didn’t even reach his shoulders, but I felt I had more of a right to stand up than he did kicking Nick to the curb.

“We do not make exceptions,” he answered coldly, turning to face Nick again.

I whispered, tears edging into my voice, “You did for me.”

Drei turned back to me, speechless, endless strands of conversation flying past his brilliant eyes. I bit my bottom lip, waiting to receive the same boot. It was on the tip of his tongue—it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. But I wouldn’t apologize. I wouldn’t back down. Not like he was hoping I would.

Valetta stepped forward, and I knew those words of banishment were just being postponed; either that, or she was going to deliver them. Though I expected to feel happiness wash from her, it didn’t. I glanced at Nick—still anticipating the worst—unsure if it was worse he was present for this soap worthy display, or if his presence gave me more strength than I knew.

“Let him stay, Drei,” she said softly, her dark eyes serious and stunning. My jaw nearly hit the floor.

“Valetta,” Martin and Mitchell gasped. “That is completely unethical,” Martin added as Mitchell included a list of dangers posed to everyone else.

“We know the government had some hand in that fire; it is the only thing that makes sense. Even the station reports say it was faulty wiring despite the realtor’s claim the wiring had been checked and was in top shape. You know this,” she argued calmly.

“And?” Drei insisted, his unfeeling eyes unleashed on her.

She barely flinched before composing herself more fiercely than before. “Who knows what the government wants with him?” Valetta questioned assertively, determined to convince him he was wrong. “It may be something very similar to what they want with the others. We do not know.”

“Exactly,” Martin piped in, his voice squeaky. “We do not know. He may be some new traitor.”

“No one has mentioned younger hunters; they are still middle-aged men according to our contacts,” Mitchell contributed, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

“Not the point,” Martin hissed through the side of his mouth.

“But if she feels, whole-heartedly, we should let him stay, I think we should listen,” Valetta interrupted before she could be forgotten.

“I second her,” Lily added meekly, shrugging as she threw in her two cents. “It is healthy for her to have someone her own age around. All the books and magazines say so.”

Drei grumbled under his breath, but swiftly took a vote. I watched Nick count those in favor—everyone except Drei and Martin, who was beginning to look very much like a suck-up. As the others exited, the decision final, Drei turned to me. “He is your responsibility.”

Though I felt like cringing from the pure ferocity emanating from his frighteningly stoic form, I crossed my arms over my chest and nodded, watching him leave.

“So,” Nick said when the door slammed, a slight curve to his lips, “what’s your name?”

I smiled weakly at him, emotionally exhausted from fighting Drei and happy I might not be so alone anymore. “Abriel.”

Elemental: Chapter Six, Part 4

 Nick’s head fell back into the comfort of my pillows. I recommenced rubbing his back and whispering it was all right. That if he talked to me about it, he’d feel better afterwards. I felt Drei watching me with skepticism. He didn’t think I could make Nick feel better about what had happened, and I wasn’t sure myself. But I needed to try, and that was all I paid attention to. I was needed for something other than being a babysitter. That was more important than Drei could know. So I had to try.

“They came late…after everyone was asleep. I was out late, past curfew, with a few friends. They had been drinking and smoking all sorts of stuff…I thought they were hallucinating when they dropped me off, insisting the sun was eating my house. Course they didn’t know it wasn’t the sun. I shooed them off and called 911. I ran inside, trying to find someone, anyone. But Mom and Dad, their door was locked, like it usually was when they had been arguing. Kit and Kate weren’t breathing when I found them…I didn’t know what to do.”

As he spoke, I drew the memory from him in a way not unlike how I had obtained the memory of my mom and dad—I wanted to see what he saw, to pick up what he left out. It swelled inside me, the sensation of smoke filling my lungs. Flashes of blinding red heat mingled with glances of sickly figures and engulfed, endless hallways turning in a maze of utter hopelessness. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, now that it was as much a part of me as it was of him, but I knew I couldn’t hold onto it. It was already overwhelming me with confusion and grief.

“I didn’t even wait around for the fire trucks; I just ran. As fast and as far as I could. Pretty soon I didn’t want to stop anywhere, wasn’t sure if I could. So I just kept going.”

Then the solution came to me. I released the memory, allowing it to float away from us—to find someone willing to listen or just dissipate into the atmosphere, I wasn’t sure which—and to leave us in peace. Though his eyes were blind to it, the swirls of black and red spiraled from us, rising through the ceiling like a beautiful version of the catastrophe it was. From there, I could feel a wind lift it away, dispersing it across the sky.

His eyes, glazed when he had remembered the events leading up to this moment, shone as they turned on me, a serene smile on the edge of his lips. One of my hands still rested on his forearm. “Then you found me; you saved me from killing myself. Thank you.”

Nick fell back asleep after that for the rest of the day. Drei left to brief a few of the other vampires, promising to return when Nick woke again. I was relieved of my sitter duties in order to nurse Nick and prepare him for the storm to come. It would be rough and I could tell Drei wanted him gone.