Vampiric: Chapter Five, Part 4

 “Using that line on me, now?” His crooked smile twisted his lips.

“Of course,” I teased back, the tears successfully kept at bay.

“Glad you haven't lost your touch; you were starting to look too serious there for a moment.”

“We all change for what life has planned for us,” I said, inwardly cringing at how much I sounded like Drei and Valetta, even Mitchell on the odd occasion.

“So you aren't all fun and games anymore?”

“If I remember right, you were never all fun and games.” I smiled at him through the dimness.

“Ah,” he sighed, “the truth comes out.”

“Don't you wish life could just return to the way it was?”

“Before I met you, or after?”

“Before...well, I don't know.” I had meant the question for him, but somehow it felt like he had turned it back to me. “My life before you wasn't as glam as the movies make it out to be, and life with you was an emotional mess—”

“Thanks.”

“Not just because of you,” I added, grinning despite myself. “But life after wasn't that great either.”

“So when is your life going to balance out?”

Sighing, I gazed across the room to where Mom lay, sleeping and probably dreaming of Dad. Her life was probably great before me, but maybe not. Were we both destined to have lives full of disasters? Or was that just mine, and, before she ended up here, her life was great?

As he always had, Nick waited patiently for my response. The problem was I didn't have an answer for him. It apparently wouldn't be better now, and it obviously wouldn't be better once I left that place since that dratted sinking feeling still hadn't gone completely away. But there had to be a time when it would be better. Right?

“When I know, I'll tell you.”

“And if it never comes…”

“I have to believe it will come.”

“Why, though?”

“Because. I gave up believing you were still alive, and here you are. I nearly gave up finding my mom, and even though it's not how I wanted to find her, I found her. Before all of that, I had given up on ever being with Drei, and even though you can't really say we're together, it's closer than I had ever hoped. Every time I give up on believing, it happens to spite me,” I said, fully realizing how true it was. “So even if one of these days I do stop believing I'll ever find contentment in life, I know I will somewhere along the line.”

“You always were good at talking,” he teased, nudging me with his shoulder lightly. “But I see your point.”

“Do you ever get tired of joking?” I asked, gazing steadily at him again. His eyes wouldn't meet mine and I knew he didn't have an answer that was serious—not right away, anyway.

“Yeah, I do,” he admitted after a moment. “I hated having to joke the last time I saw you. I really wanted to be serious, but I knew that would be harder on you, so I did it for you.”

“Why haven't you stopped?”

“I did;” he met my gaze, a sadness dimming the light in his eyes. “I hadn't joked with anyone since that day—until today.”

“Then why did you start again if you didn't want to?” I had a feeling I knew the answer, but I didn’t want that to be it.

“Because I still love you, Abriel. And Drei doesn't have much of a sense of humor; and when I saw you tonight, you looked so much older than I remembered…like you were carrying the weight of the world. I just wanted to hear you laugh again, to see you smile.”

“You don't have to change for me,” I whispered, feeling tears press at my eyes again.

“I don't have to, but I want to. For you, I don't mind it.”

“Nick.” Was he trying to make me cry? Seriously. No matter how star-crossed it might have been, some small part of me was wishing we could have worked out.

“You don't have to say anything.”

I couldn’t understand why he was doing this, despite my knowing the answers. It was hitting me so much more than I had thought possible and I was certain I didn’t have the willpower to stop myself crying this time; it was so hard. My chest felt tight and my breath caught every time I tried to calm myself.

 “I love you, too.”

“I know,” he said, pulling me into his arms. As much as he had grown up, his arms were one place that managed to still be the same. “That's why I don't mind changing for you. No matter how much more you love him, I know you still love me.”

I sat curled in his arms for the longest time. We didn't say anything else. But for the first time since I had left the darkness that I could remember, I fell asleep. He held me through my silent tears, stroking my hair as he had done so many times before, rocking me gently. For a moment, we weren't the adults we had grown into; we were those teenaged youth back at camp, trying to find normality in a place where none existed. The last thing I remembered was a kiss on the forehead.

When I woke up, my mom was rocking me gently, stroking my hair and seemingly lucid. She smiled her goofy smile, but her cerulean eyes weren't as wide as they had been.

“Where's Nick?”

“Gone. He went off his shift forever ago. But he said he loved you and he'd see you in a week; for all we know that's tonight or a couple days away.” She shrugged.

“What changed?” I wasn’t sure what had happened while I was asleep, but I knew something had. She was being altogether too normal, considering her usual state.

“Nick talked to me before he left. He told me I had to try extra hard to be like I was. To be calm and focused,” she said, bobbing her head up and down in emphasis.

“Why, though?” I shook my head—it was throbbing from constantly trying to understand and accommodate the ever mounting influx of information; her sudden change in behavior was not helping.

“Because I have a lot to teach you. Uh-huh. A lot for you to learn about being you before he comes.”

“Before Nick comes? What?”

“No silly;” she clucked her tongue at me, then stopped mid-cluck as she remembered what she had promised Nick. “When your he comes. Nick said your he would come even though mine didn't. I don't remember what the name was though.” She tapped her chin with a slender finger as she tried to remember.

“Drei?” I offered, my voice dripping with the hope she had been discouraging since we met.

Her features lit up excitedly. “Drei, that's it. You're really good at that. When Drei comes.”

Vampiric: Chapter Five, Part 2

I found that by telling her about my childhood, I could keep her satisfied and quiet. Though the wide eyes were still childish, I could ignore them and forget the insanity plaguing her by looking elsewhere, or convincing the memories to come alive for me. Occasionally she would interject with questions or memories of her own which I listened to carefully, soaking them up when something useful came to light. There wasn't much that wasn't useless babble or vaguely related train of thought.

When I ran out of stories about Dad and growing up, I started on stories about my first year at the safe camp Drei took me to. I didn't tell her they were real. She didn't need to know, and she was quieter thinking they were fairy tales or something. Unless she asked, I wouldn't tell her otherwise.

I was afraid she would ask when I started crying while telling her about how Nick—the boy who didn't belong there (whom I had wanted to stay), but was willing to give up anything to fix the trouble he had caused—had said goodbye to me. He tried to make it easy on both of us, but there's no such thing when you love someone. Though my love for him was nothing in comparison to my love for Drei, saying goodbye was one of the hardest things I’d had to do. He had promised we would see each other again, but he’d never said when. As time progressed, I had given up hoping.

Nick was a bounty hunter, charged with finding and turning in elementals to places like this. He had helped us escape, and no one knew what had happened to him because of it. I didn't have eternity—as Drei and Valetta so frequently reminded me—to wait for him to show up again.

“He sounds as nice as the one night guard,” she said excitedly.

Wiping away my tears, I looked at her, wondering if I should tell her she was wrong. More than likely, Nick was dead and he had lied again, hoping to soften the blow of completely losing him with fanciful wishing. As little credit as it seemed, it wasn’t entirely unlikely. It seemed very much like him if it meant diverting or lessening pain.

Something in my stomach was heavy. It took me a moment to realize relinquishing hope was the reason my mom had lost it in the first place. No matter how bleak everything seemed, I had to keep holding on to it. Even if, in some cases, it wasn’t logical to keep hoping anymore.

“Did she ever see him again?”

I stared at her, her wide eyes sparkling and joyous for no reason. That joy caused a seed of resentment, but I kept my negativity to myself. “Not yet.”

She was quiet a moment, staring past me, before jumping up and down in her giddy way, saying, “The night guard I told you about is coming tonight.”

“How do you know?”

Ty rolled her huge eyes at me. “You don't know? It's one of the most useful tricks in the history of ever!”

I wondered if my mother—my adoptive mother—had ever felt the same way I did now. It was almost like a slap in the face, but on a completely different level.

“He's coming!” she squealed, dashing over to the door and straightening out her wrinkled sun dress.

“Who?” I was lost in her stream of bubbling remarks and forgot my momentary pain at being insulted. She could be worse than a brook or a spring some times. I didn't know how long I had been here, but so long as she was making noise, it seemed closer to forever.

“The night guard,” she hissed, turning to face me briefly. “The nice one.”

The door swung open further than the person the night before—if it really had been just last night—had opened it as I stood. There was the darkness again, spilling into the room, but this time a shadow was stepping forth from it. The light peeled away the shadows hiding the figure, revealing a man in his twenties with bright jade eyes and a chiseled face, shadows softening his jaw line; his pine colored hair was crew cut short though it didn’t seem to fit him. His eyes sparkled at my mom as he greeted her, not seeing me.

“Good evening, Ty. How have you been?” he asked in a familiar, playful tone.

“I've been ever so wonderful,” she said, spinning, trying to keep her eyes on him. “My daughter even got in a pinch of trouble;” she giggled secretively, holding her thumb and forefinger close together.

“How would you know?” he teased easily, an eyebrow cocked and his lips curved in crooked grin. “What have you been up to, Ty?”

“Nothing, I swear.” Her eyes grew large again and she crossed her heart. “She's here.”

His eyes followed her accusing finger and met mine. My breath caught as it dawned on me exactly who he was and why he was so familiar.

Tears flooded my eyes and I fought them back, trying to grasp onto something, anything that would make sense. He wasn't supposed to be here. She wasn't supposed to be like this. And I couldn't think of one sane thing to say to him as he stood, realization dawning over his features, his jaw dropping.

“Abriel,” he whispered, making any doubt in my mind dissipate.

A sad smile spread across my lips, a few tears crawling down my cheeks. “Nick.”

My mom looked from him, to me, back to him. “Is he the Nick from the story?” she questioned, sounding perfectly sane for the first time since she had pulled me from the darkness.

“Story?” he asked, his eyes finding her again.

“Yes,” I replied, nearly choking on the word. How could I have given up hope on seeing him again? It seemed ludicrous now that he was standing there. I had been an idiot to think he had lied.

My mom whipped her wide eyes on me. “Then you're the girl;” she faced him again. “And you saved her—and hurt her—and—and…” she stumbled for the rest of her thought, fighting against the deterioration of her brain.

I went to her, pulling her small, flighty form into my arms.

“You should go,” I said to Nick without facing him. “This isn't good for her.”

“And what about you?” he asked, reaching to put a hand on my shoulder.

My head whipped around, his hand freezing inches away. “I don't know how to answer that.” My eyes watched his hand; it was safer than meeting his eyes. “I spent the last few years thinking you had lied to me and were dead.”

“Well, I'm not dead,” he offered, shrugging in his signature way. Even working in a place like this he still managed to be almost too relaxed and way too cocky. If my mind hadn’t been reeling, I probably would have smiled and told him so. But that wasn’t the case.

“No, you aren't.”

Mom started babbling in my arms again, trying to finish what she had started to say earlier. Repeating her last few words until even those escaped her and she started bubbling forth a string of disconnected words.

“I'll come back later…before my shift is up.”

I had already disengaged myself from our conversation, trying to shush my mom into sleep. It was impossible for me to deal with Nick and my mom simultaneously; as he wasn't my fellow cellmate, he'd have to wait.

Vampiric: Chapter Four, Part 1

Chapter Four: A Mother’s Love

I didn’t know where I was or how long I had been there. There was a bright light beyond my eyelids, but that wasn’t often. Sometimes there would be voices, but nothing they said was comprehensible. Not to me, at least, and definitely not in my current state.

At some point during a period of receding blackness, I thought to move my arm, convincing myself it was to prove I was still alive to the voices. My arm was too heavy, though. No matter how I tried to shift and lever my weight, I couldn’t. I came out of the blackness again later and realized the exertion had sent me back; I noted not to try that again.

I didn’t seem able to just wake up, and that terrified me. Who knew how long I had been here, or where I even was. The voices obviously, but they were just voices and I could have been hallucinating.

Then I finally started coming out of the haziness. The blur of voices surrounding me started making sense and the bright light became more distinct. I opened my eyes to a white room, filled with dark figures and the discussion of shots. Someone was saying I needed another one until they found out more about me. Another person argued they’d never know if they kept knocking me out. A third party voted in favor of another shot and performing more tests. What tests had I already been subjected to?

The figure who had suggested another shot moved toward me, a syringe glinting in the bright light.

Without thinking about the consequences, I pulled the air into a boulder shape and rammed it into the person, the syringe twinkling before it shattered somewhere far off. The tinkling sound of glass scattering was the last thing I remembered before the blackness closed in once more.

Vampiric: Chapter One, Part 2

Numerous events spanned the two years leading us to the meeting with Caroline, most from before we left the camp Drei had started. It was the second location of the camp, as the first had been compromised by decisions I had made about one particular boy. He was also the reason we were able to escape and continue protecting children like me. Children born into gifts over an element—elementals as we learned to refer to ourselves. Our protectors, and the administrators of the camp, were a group of vampires led by Drei; they believed in the good we would do for the world if we were allowed to grow in our talents and learned to hide ourselves from a government that would turn us into experiments.

Lily—a blond vampire turned in the 1920s—disappeared some months after we had settled at the new location and never returned. I asked Drei once where she had gone, and he told me not to think on it. I did, though. It was strange losing someone so integral to the camp. She was the only vampire who smiled regularly and was in a cheerful disposition more than half the time.

I had been free to do what I wanted during the day, now that the older children had taken over leading and creating new games. Sometimes I would join in, for old time's sake. But it wasn't the same, and I would soon leave, unable to feel as young as I thought I needed to believe I was.

That first Christmas there, more children I knew left. Of course, new children with earth or water elements kept appearing throughout the year, but I felt more like a stranger. Not even the occasional night Drei and I would spend talking could make it feel like home.

A week before my twentieth birthday, I went to Drei and Valetta. I had decided I wasn't needed there and it was time I returned to the reality of life, hopeful to figure out where I was heading. The longer I stayed, the more anxious I became that I was losing time. Valetta had said once I didn't have a lot of that. Time, that is. It might have been depressing if I hadn't had some mystery to keep me pushing forward.

They sat sipping something from teacups and Mitchell—a dark skinned vampire who enjoyed teasing me and answering my questions in riddles he knew I couldn't solve—was on his way out when I entered.

“Join us,” Valetta said, setting her cup before her.

I slid into a chair between them and inhaled, trying to remember the words I thought would sound best.

“I want to thank you for everything over the last couple years,” I began, aware of the curious looks I received from both ends, “but I feel it's time for me to leave.”

Drei nodded and flashed Valetta a look that seemed to say they knew this had been coming.

“We were hoping you would stay a while longer,” she said softly.

“I'll stay until the thirteenth.” My tone suggested this was long enough as I gauged both of their reactions. It hadn't bother them as much as I had imagined. In my mind, they would be furious and insist I wasn't ready. Alas, I had underestimated them.

As I waited for one of them to say something, a scent filled my nose. It was coppery and disgusting in my mouth. Nearly gag worthy, and somehow familiar.

The smell was wafting from their teacups, and I realized they were drinking blood, not tea. Why this was so shocking, I couldn't determine, but it was. It made me sick to think of whose blood it was, and how they went about retrieving it. When I tried to stop the thoughts, more came.

Drei noticed my discomfort and said, “We need to drink to survive. We do not harm people; this is from—”

I waved at him to stop, not wanting to know. Though I loved him, I didn't need to know what he was drinking; and I decided never to ask or be around when he was. It would be better that way.

“So you have decided to leave,” he restated.

“Yes. A week from yesterday.”

“Valentine's Day will not be the same without you,” Valetta said. With that, she stood and left, as though Drei had demanded her to do so.

He drained the last of his beverage as I tried to find something interesting in the room to hold my attention. The children’s rooms had more personality; Drei’s cabin hardly looked lived in. There was a distinct dearth of posters or anything to sufficiently distract my mind from his drinking. His lips were stained red when I faced him again.

“I am coming with you.” His tone was stern and direct.

“I wasn't going to tell you no.” I stood, knowing I still had to figure out what I was taking and where I wanted to go.

Drei kissed my cheek, pulling me into his embrace. “I would have followed even if you did refuse me.”

My arms wrapped around him, my face buried in his chest. It was my favorite place in the world, just being in his arms. There, it felt like nothing could reach me; I would be forever protected and safe from injury of any kind. Moments like that were so sparse, they were even better when they happened.

“When are you telling Martin?” I whispered, fully aware that Martin wanted to take control of the camp when Drei left. Martin was a stubby, albino vampire who liked to agree with Drei even when he was wrong—not that he often was.

“I am not telling him a thing. Valetta will take over in my stead; she was always my chosen successor.”

“He won't be happy.”

“His happiness does not concern me,” Drei said in a way that made the cruel words sound gentle. “He does not care about our goal or our purpose; he cares only for what power he may grab for himself.”

“I love you,” I told him, smiling. I was delighted Drei had noticed it, too. It was the one thing I was most worried about when I had made my decision. If Martin took over, I would have found a way to make Drei stay or change his mind. The camp would fall apart, and that would be on me. Enough things like that were already on me and I didn’t want more.

“I have always known Martin's kind;” Drei kissed my hair. “Just as I have always known my duty here would end.”

Our embrace seemed to last forever in my memory, but eventually the thirteenth came, Valetta was officially declared new lead vampire, and we left. Martin threw sinister glares our way until we disappeared into the foliage. Somehow I knew that wouldn't be the last of him, but it didn't stop me from feeling relieved he was gone for the moment.

We traveled for a week to a city known for its constant ebb and flow of people and faces. There we rented a small apartment and I took on a part-time job—I refused to let Drei pay for everything from his mysterious source of income. While he spent the nights doing his thing—mostly research on the city he would later share—I often kept to the apartment, content with leaving to work and occasionally buying a new outfit.

It really was a cozy space. There were two small bedrooms, a kitchenette, and a living room. Though we each had our own room, sometimes, after he had been out late, he would lie beside me until morning when I would get ready for work.

When I wasn't working, Drei had me read up on the work of great revolutionaries, from those who developed revolutionary theories, to those who led the fights, marches, protests, boycotts, and numerous other political devices. He insisted I needed to know the past if I wanted to succeed in the future. That, and I needed to see how the fire elementals led their movements in contrast to how the air elementals led theirs.

Though we were alone, we still kept our distance, except for the occasional embrace or kiss. You could never be sure how alone you were, and it was just good practice. We knew we could have thrown our caution to the wind if we really wanted to, but it was best to be reserved. Whenever—if ever—I began to lead my revolution, it would be the most valuable thing to us.

If you're careless, you will be found. And, as my lessons had proven, very few air elementals lived past their movements. Very few fire elementals lived after as well, but that was our burden. No one had said it would be easy.

Elemental: Chapter Twelve, Part 2

“Now you boys sleep tight,” I said before leaving the room.

Our new camp was larger than the previous one, the cabins older but roomier. Instead of two rooms, these had four. The lake itself was also larger, extending past the horizon. Mitchell informed me that Drei had planned this location for his new camp, and had been checking on it for the last several years, ensuring it really was abandoned.

While Mitchell and the other vampires were settling into the new environment or returning the rental vans, Drei and I were left to tuck everyone in. It hadn’t yet occurred to me there might have been an intended purpose for that. Initially, I just thought it was accidental.

“What if we aren’t tired?” Mikael asked from his room, quickly followed in agreement by Danny, Derek, and Josh—a newer addition to the group who had fit in immediately.

“If you don’t sleep then I’ll have to send some cold air this way until you’re all too freezing to get out of bed,” I said with light humor.

They giggled at the mental image of them blue with icicles dangling from their noses, but stayed put and made no other complaints. Though I was joking, subconsciously, they didn’t want to risk it.

“Good night,” I whispered, leaving the cabin. They were my last group and, though it was chilly outside, I realized Drei and I were the only ones around. I wasn’t sure if the timing was ideal, but I knew I probably wouldn’t have another chance like it.

I caught sight of his silhouette disappearing toward the cabins we hadn’t yet filled—some of them probably reserved for the vampires.

“Drei,” I whispered, sending the word to his ear.

He whirled around, startled at first, but then beginning toward me when our eyes met. I met him halfway, feeling the cold settle into my bones through my coat.

“Yes?” he questioned softly, glancing around to guarantee no one else had stirred. “Is everything well?”

The words vanished from my mind and I wondered if I had misjudged the moment. It didn’t seem like forgetting the words would happen in the ideal moment, but I had to say something. He was expecting it now.

“How did your sisters die? Ashlyn and Avery?”

Drei looked away from me, the set of his jaw revealing his refusal to reply, whether because of pain or just my not needing to know. After a hard moment of silence—in which I doubted Valetta had told me the truth—Drei said, “What do you really want to ask?”

And just like that, the words came. “What are we?”

“How do you mean?” He gazed at me again. His amethyst eyes were intense, as if he knew what he wanted me to be asking, but wasn’t sure I was.

“Together;” the anticipation welled in my chest. I couldn’t bear to meet his searching gaze; whatever information they held, I didn’t want to read. I wanted him to tell me, to say it aloud.

In his logical voice, he began, “Vampire law forbids any relationship between mortals and vampires, and lately they have been less lenient in their rulings. Lily is the youngest of us, turned in the 1920s, before the Council decided we needed more order to survive.” He cast his gaze off to the half-moon wavering above; I couldn’t tell if it was for strength or for locating those elusive words. “We are especially barred from elementals, the risk of distraction too great to truly understand until the damage is done.”

“That isn’t what I asked,” I whispered, feeling the tears well in my eyes. I didn’t want to know we couldn’t be together without him getting into trouble with this council, whoever they were. All I wanted to know was if he loved me; if I had tortured myself trying to forget him for nothing.

“You are shivering,” he said gently, pulling me into his arms, wrapping his jacket around us both. I was hesitant to wrap my arms around him, despite my longing to do just that. It wouldn’t feel right or acceptable until I knew, and he was more than reluctant to let me know.

“Why are you avoiding the question?” I asked, looking up at him, struggling not to let his comforting arms or familiar scent distract me. I wasn’t sure if either was on purpose, but, if they were, I didn’t want them to succeed; all of us, it seemed, had suffered too long from this omission. “What are you afraid of?”

Drei’s pale fingers brushed a wisp of hair out of my eyes. He looked down at me with such a sadness in his amethyst gems, I was certain he wouldn’t answer me, just as he hadn’t answered about his sisters. He had a way of locking away anything painful, as though it would make life easier for others to be ignorant of injury.

“Secrets hurt, Drei,” I said, resting my head against his chest. “My whole life was a huge mystery I never knew about. Please, don’t add to the pain my parents caused me.” My throat constricted, stopping me from opening my heart further. Stopping me from giving away everything before I knew if he would replace it.

He held me tighter, a hand tangled in my hair. Before, he had always been so cold when we touched; now he seemed to radiate warmth. In this wondrous whirlwind, that was the one thing I couldn’t make fit in with something else I had allowed to make sense.

“I believe you are the one I have been waiting for,” Drei whispered into my hair.

Elemental: Chapter Eleven, Part 3

Inside my cabin, I felt overwhelmed with sorrow. The next step promised to be better—more difficult, perhaps, but better—but I would always remember this place. The memories trapped in these walls replayed before me, from the first moment I saw the desolate building and the wondrous rocking chair to Nick’s arrival, all the arguments, all the tears, everything. I soaked it up, never wanting to forget any of this, despite the drama and heartache. It seemed like my first real lesson in life: people get hurt, and all you can do most times is hope it doesn’t hurt too much.

“We can bring the chair if you would like,” Valetta suggested gently from behind me.

I turned, swiping at the tears that had appeared on my cheeks. “That’s okay.”

“Drei already approved it; all you have to do is say yes.”

“No, really. I don’t need it,” I reassured her, gazing over its carvings again, knowing I would probably never remember the full intricacy of the designs.

“You know he found that chair specifically for you. He personally refurbished it,” she said, coming closer.

“Why?”

“The carvings on the chair are for calming, relaxing, and clear thought. It was your mother’s before she was taken,” Valetta responded very matter-of-factly, sounding like a documentary. “It is an heirloom passed down in your family as nearly as we can tell. He found it at an auction, and thought you would like it when he found you.”

I shook my head, knowing something Valetta didn’t. “I needed the chair when I came, but I don’t need it anymore.”

“Very well;” only her raised eyebrows betrayed her surprise. “We need to go. Sorry to cut short your reminiscing.”

Gazing around me again—the never entered second room, the front room, my room, the chair—flashes of my life popped up before me, vivid again. “I was just finishing,” I said, watching the image of Nick and I hugging earlier that afternoon fade away. Even if it was only a temporary goodbye—as he had insisted—I was still going to miss him. But that’s life for you. It was time for someone other than myself to bow out. I had done enough of that to last me a lifetime.

“What’s happening to Nick?” I asked, suddenly needing to know. He was staying behind, but that didn’t mean nothing was happening. Something had to happen.

“Now, or after his colleagues arrive?” Valetta followed me out.

“Both.”

“We are not certain what the government will do to him. There has never before been a bounty hunter to help us,” she replied, a slight note of concern to her voice. “As for now, you should ask Drei. Just know I stopped them from hurting him too much.”

A nervous laugh escaped my lips. “What does that mean?”

“Ask Drei.”

“Everyone keeps telling me that.” I wasn’t quite ready to face him.

“Then maybe it is time you listened,” Valetta said easily as we fell into the disappearing procession of children and vampires.

Elemental: Chapter Eleven, Part 2

Shortly after I had finished packing, Valetta returned to take me to see Gloria. She had requested my audience. We would be going separate ways tonight and she did not foresee our paths crossing again soon.

I followed Valetta to the far side of the lake—the side none of us ever visited. It was shrouded in thick forest; the paths were overgrown with moss, grass, and weeds. Gloria’s cabin was the furthest in, the windows covered but allowing the sweet scent of marigolds and roses to escape their hidden cavern.

Valetta stopped at the foot of the path leading to the door. “Gloria is waiting for you,” she said. “This is where I leave you.”

Though I wanted her with me, I started down the path, head high and trying to convince myself this was not some fairy tale gone awry—because that’s what it felt like.

“Come in,” a deep voice said from inside, a puff of the thick flowery scent hitting me through the open door.

Gloria sat surrounded by violet, white, and indigo candles, flickering gently across her creamy complexion. Her eyes were gray on the edges, white in the center. Just as Nick had a way of looking through me, her eyes seemed to see everything in their once over.

“I would suggest you sit,” she said gently, her eyes following me as I sat cross-legged. “I would have aired out the fumes if I had been given more time. Under the circumstances, I just hope you can bear them long enough.”

I nodded, unsure what kind of answer she wanted, but hoping she would continue; I was already beginning to feel lightheaded. If she had wanted, I could have aired it out pretty fast, but I didn’t want to seem rude. She was the one who saw everything, after all.

“This was the easy part, the beginning,” Gloria said. Although she spoke softly, her deep voice seemed to fill the room.

“And I thought this was finally ending,” I whispered, lifting a hand to my head, trying to focus.

“No, Abriel. You still have a long journey ahead, with many choices and many more ordeals, increasingly difficult to overcome.” The words were not threatening, or even of warning, but still managed to be disheartening. “Do not fret; you will have a companion always with you.”

“Drei,” I said suddenly. My hands covered my mouth, my eyes wide at my own audacity.

Gloria’s full red lips upturned, crinkles appearing in the corners of her eyes. “You already know; that is more than I thought you knew. You must also remember your friends and charges, you will need them. They will need you.”

“Gloria,” I started, needing to know, “is my mom still alive?”

She nodded slowly, her short brown curls shifting around her clear visage. “You will meet her one day and may ask for yourself.”

I nodded, unsure in what state I would find my mom now. The thought also crossed my mind if I was the only one who would leave her presence feeling even less sure about the future or if she did this to everyone. So far, nothing she said made me feel confident about what came next.

“One thing, before you leave. If you remember nothing else, Abriel, remember life is about perspective. You can see endings or you can see beginnings.” She reached out to me and I took her hand. It was soft and surprisingly warm. “Choosing to focus on the endings will bring sadness and depression. It will paralyze you.”

“And beginnings?” I hated asking since it seemed a simple enough task, but the fumes were starting to cloud my thoughts.

“Choosing beginnings brings hope.” Gloria squeezed my hand and smiled kindly at me. “Be strong, child. Remember, you do not walk your path alone. There may be times you feel abandoned, but know the opposite is true.”

With that she released my hand and ushered me from her cabin. Fresh air had never been more welcome, though I was grateful for the opportunity to finally meet the clairvoyant. As I made my way back along the lake’s shore, my mind pondered the many beginnings I had come across in the past couple years.

When Drei had first ended his nightly visits, I had begun to grow and discovered my unknown strength. Ending things with Ritchie was the start of defining my individuality—from social expectations and my mother’s expectations. Each ending was also the start of something that promised to be better. The move may be the end of this location for the camp and my time with Nick, but it was the also beginning of whatever adventure waited around the corner. For all of us. Nick impacted all of us, whether positively or negatively—or both—and perhaps this journey was the beginning of a long needed change…I hoped.

Elemental: Chapter Eleven, Part 1

Chapter Eleven: Beginnings Bring Hope

“You need to pack, honey,” someone said, shaking me gently. In the moment before I opened my eyes, I wished I would see Mom sitting beside me, exactly the way Dad always saw her in his memories. It would have been perfect timing if it were her. I felt like I could use the extra support.

Valetta had pulled her hair back and was wearing a tank top and gouchos, both in black. Outside, the sky was still gloomy, but it wasn’t as depressing as rain.

I was disappointed it hadn’t been Mom, despite knowing it had been a long shot.

“Whatever you think you need, pack it,” she instructed. “Do not leave anything too revealing about yourself if you can help it.”

“We’re leaving tonight.” She didn’t have to tell me she was frightened tonight might be too late, or the journey might be too long for the younger kids. I could tell.

She nodded and left, passing Nick outside my window as she traveled to break the news to others. I watched other vampires traversing between cabins—their mission difficult but necessary—as I waited for Nick.

He didn’t step into my room, but waited just outside. I turned away from the window, digging out my duffel and piling clothes inside.

“I don’t know what to do,” Nick started, slow and painfully. There was a tremor to his voice. “How do I make it up to you? For everything I’ve done?”

Gazing up at him, I smiled. Despite everything that had transpired, I loved him in my own way. “Don’t worry about it.” I wanted to add we had all screwed up, but the moment wasn’t long enough.

“If you insist,” he replied, staring at his feet and coming inside to sit on my bed.

“Is there something else?” I inquired, joining him, aware something had changed in him. There was this air about him. I vaguely hoped he would relent what Drei had guarded so dearly.

“Yeah. I spoke with Gloria; she requested I see her, oddly enough,” Nick said slowly.

“And?”

“Well…I better know my part in this play.”

“All the world’s a stage,” I recited distractedly.

“And all the men and women merely players. Shakespeare knew what he was talking about.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “What play are we in?”

He looked shocked and I hated that expression, more than I had before. If people—namely Drei, Mitchell, and, now, Nick—would just tell me instead of being riddle masters, I wouldn’t have to ask the obvious questions. It wasn’t such a difficult concept to grasp. Or was I alone in thinking that?

“The play of your life. Every event, every person, it’s all leading up to your shining moment.”

“And what is my shining moment, pray tell?”

“That’s like asking what I wished,” he replied, smiling that slightly crooked smile with which I first fell in love. “You’re never supposed to tell.”

“Punk,” I teased, disappointed, but knowing everything would have to make sense at some point in time. Who knew if that time would ever come, but it seemed worthless to resist waiting for it.

I expected him to leave then as I couldn’t imagine there was anymore reason for him to stay; I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to leave, though, despite what I now knew about him.

“Can I ask something?”

“Why not?” I responded, shrugging.

He looked extremely serious and almost grave. “May I have one more kiss?”

I nearly fell off the bed laughing. His manner and the question were such a stark contrast to each other, I couldn’t help it. Nick caught my flailing arm before I tumbled sideways.

Instead of saying anything, I kissed him. His breath was warm and his lips soft, just as they had always been. But this kiss was different. This kiss felt more like saying “See ya, sugar” than “Hello, gorgeous.”

“Two things,” he whispered when our lips parted. “This isn’t goodbye, no matter what it feels like. I’m just bowing out for the act.” A gentle smile played along his lips, his jade eyes glinting with a hint of sorrow. “Secondly, now I can tell Gloria she was wrong about something.”

“Wrong about what?”

He wrapped me in his arms again, and it felt more like a goodbye by the second. Tears pressed at my eyes, my heart aching. I had expected this moment to come—I didn’t think Drei would let him come with us. We couldn’t risk anything more. It was a miracle enough I was going, though I don’t know how much of that was thanks to Valetta.

“She said you wouldn’t kiss me.” As he held me tighter, tears soaked his shoulder and our laughter rippled around us. Part of me wished he could say goodbye without joking; another part of me wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Elemental: Chapter Nine, Part 5

Christmas rolled around, much the same as the past year. The main difference being I didn’t stand off on my own. I leaned against Nick, watching the children scramble for their gifts. The eldest children—one of them being Jake—and a few not yet 15, received transcripts as a present. They had decided they were ready to go home again. The good-bye party was that night. Some would be escorted back by train, but most by taxis to the nearest airport.

I was slightly upset at seeing some of them leave. But that was the reality. They grew up somewhere they could be safe and explore their elements. Then, when they were ready, they said farewell. I just never thought it would be so difficult to see them go; I had underestimated how much I had grown attached to them all.

Mitchell waved, and I knew there wasn’t a surprise present this year. I wasn’t shocked, honestly. That would be more difficult to explain to Nick than my comment on light hearts. He still asked about that.

“I have a surprise for you,” Nick said, tugging slightly on my hand. I followed him to my cabin.

On the front step lay a blanket of flowers. Initially, I was overwhelmed at his thoughtfulness. Then I realized where the flowers had come from, and I couldn’t hide my disappointment. I thought he would be more respectful towards the garden. It wasn’t his and I knew he hadn’t asked. Even if he had, I doubted Drei would have approved.

“They’re lovely, Nick,” I responded, the sorrow painfully obvious in my voice.

“Everything all right?” Though I didn’t face him, I knew he was worried about me. I could feel it and, for once, I was tired of his emotions permeating my own.

“I’m just tired,” I lied, gathering the blooms in my arms. “I think I’m going to sleep for a little bit.”

“Okay,” he replied, a hint of disbelief slipping through. He didn’t press me, though.

The flowers were arranged on the windowsill where the ice sculpture used to sit before it melted. The rocking chair helped me to feel better, but I was worse off than before and there was only so much help for that.

“Do you really love him?”

I jumped, not realizing Jake had even entered and now stood in the doorway.

“Don’t sneak up like that,” I needlessly warned, forgetting for a moment he was leaving that night.

“Do you love Nick?”

“What’s this about?” I asked, instead. I didn’t really want to think about this even though I had been for much longer than I wanted to. “Why are you asking?”

“Something isn’t right, Abriel. Not about Nick, and not about you,” he said. I had never seen him so serious, which was saying a lot since he was possibly the most serious of all the children here. “You changed when he came. Though we’re happy that you’re happier, none of us think this is going to end well.”

“Who is ‘we’?”

“All of us,” Jake responded as though this was obvious. “There’s been this really weird vibe surrounding Nick since before summer. And it’s starting to infect you;” he stepped into the room, burying his hands in his pockets. “That night we visited—you said it was you. The problem wasn’t Nick or Drei.”

“It was me,” I insisted, trying to follow where this was going, how any of this was important.

He shook his head. “It wasn’t just you. If you think about it, you’ll know it wasn’t just you.”

That memory started to revive in my mind before I shoved it aside. I didn’t want to think about it. Part of me was afraid that if I did, I would discover I had made a mistake, even though I wanted so desperately to believe I hadn’t.

“So why do you want to know if I love him?”

“Because love is worth any cost,” he responded softly. “That’s what Mom always said before I came here. She knew the truth about this camp, and she felt it was the best for me. When I asked her if she didn’t love me anymore, she told me she loved me more than ever. And that it was only temporary. She said love was worth whatever you had to give up.”

Listening to him, I wondered how many of the others had similar stories I had never asked about. It also made me question how much I was willing to give up for Nick. Over the last months, I had started to think it was love, but they say you never know what love is until it’s gone. I just couldn’t be sure about anything, it seemed.

“How much would you give up for Nick?” His eyes studied me, taking in everything but not casting judgment on whatever they saw.

“Everything,” I replied, the word heavy and light on my tongue.

Jake nodded sadly. “The Moon will hold you to that soon enough.”

“What do you mean?” Since when did the moon have anything to do with this? I felt like he was trying to go somewhere and was losing me along the way. But I didn’t want to be lost.

Jake launched into a brief explanation; “Every promise is tested, and the Lady of the Moon watches to ensure they’re upheld.”

“How, though?”

“Ask Drei sometime. He holds her to her word just as much as she binds him to his; it’s why he always watches out for her.” Jake started to leave, but turned at the last moment, adding, “If you really are willing to give up everything for him, be careful, Abriel. You’re a great person, but the price might just be your life.”

Elemental: Chapter Nine, Part 3

Drei seemed to disappear again. Every time I thought I felt his presence, it vanished in the next instant. He avoided me completely; it was horrible to think it was my own fault, despite having wanted it. I just hadn’t wanted it like this.

As the cool days of October closed in, everyone spent more time at the lake, the water elementals showing off as much as possible when Nick wasn’t around. After he caught them creating fountains, I had to tell him something. I gave him the vaguest explanation I could that ended up being more circuitous than anything else. After a while, he just stopped asking about it. The kids became stealthier and almost more untrusting of him. They started setting a watch for when he had left so they knew when to act like normal kids playing in the water again.

Around that time, I also worked out a new idea to try: manipulate the air to help me stay underwater longer. Not such a good idea. The moment I breathed in, my nose was flooded with water. Nick helped me to the shore, teasing that I should know how to swim after a summer of such activity.

I laughed and coughed, playing it off as a mistake from being momentarily distracted. It took a while to reassure him I was fine. Once I had, he went back into the lake and I strolled over to where Valetta watched, disinterested, as always.

“Why can’t I use my element in water?” I questioned, leaving no room for pretense.

Valetta smiled, as if she had expected me to figure it out sooner. To be honest, I was angry with myself for not figuring it out—or at least trying it—sooner.

“Air is less responsive in water. Because it is a liquid, the air is heavier and lazier,” she said, the teasing smile not leaving her lips. “Have you ever noticed you tend to be unhappy when it rains?”

I thought about it; when it had rained last week, I had been depressed, not in the mood to try running between the drops to spend the day with Nick. That is, until Nick came over to spend the day playing a board game he had coaxed Lily into finding for him. It felt like being a little kid again: wet, gray skies, a smiling face, and something to do.

“Well, if I have someone to spend it with, I’m not so sad.”

“When the air is heavy, so are you—emotionally, of course.”

I thought a moment on this, taking it in and comparing my experiences with this new nugget of information. “That makes sense, kind of.”

“Try not to drown yourself,” Valetta teased.

“You saw that?” I scrunched my face and vainly hoped she hadn’t.

Her eyes glinted with laughter. “I see everything.”

Elemental: Chapter Nine, Part 1

Chapter Nine: Free Falling

I woke up hearing Mikael moving around in the next room, forgetting for a moment I had fallen asleep in Nick’s arms, and he in mine. Nothing had happened; it had surprised me—to be quite honest—he was so respectful of my wishes, considering how Richie had been.

Nick sighed in his sleep, his heart beating against my cheek.

In that moment, I knew I had chosen correctly. There was nothing I would trade for that morning. His heart pulsed steadily, an arm draped protectively about me. I didn’t regret my decision and it felt like, for the first time, I had done something right.

***

Summer passed in a flurry of new love and hopes. The children indulged in swimming and forgot their games of colder weather. Most days, they were required to do lessons—Valetta’s idea to do “summer sprint sessions” as she put it. The reasoning being they were all talented learners, and deserved more freedom during the day. During the summer, they would give up three hours after lunch to study various subjects. Two hours after dinner were reserved for studying and homework. It really was ingenious the way they had set it up, and all busywork was practically eliminated. The only reason I could grasp why they studied in the summer was to ensure the children were inside during the worst of the heat; otherwise, that part didn’t quite make sense to me.

Nick and I weren’t required to attend since we were both high school free. We spent those hours exploring or sunbathing—more I was sunbathing and he was splashing around nearby before pulling me in with him. I had never known summer to be so full of happiness. There was not one moment I was distressed or felt as though I had betrayed Drei. It was shocking, considering how I had expected to feel.

As far as I could tell, Drei didn’t care. He wasn’t around much anyway, which I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. But I guessed he could listen once in a while.

Elemental: Chapter Eight, Part 4

How could everyone be happy? Like we used to be? Drei would be overwhelmed if Nick left this minute. He’d behave as though Nick had never been here; but then Nick and I would be depressed. There was something about Nick I needed, and was it so wrong to feel needed in return? If I left with him, would Drei still be happy? Would I be at peace? Or would missing Drei overshadow any hope at serenity?

The scenarios played through my mind, each ending with someone hurt. It didn’t seem there was a way to keep everyone happy. Though I needed to decide something, I didn’t know how to make it up to Drei or Nick, or even make myself feel better.

Late in the afternoon, while Nick was playing kickball with the children, I watched Drei call him aside. Curious, I brought their conversation to me, my heart breaking even more.

“Where is Abriel?” Drei demanded, his voice low and violent.

“She’s taking some time off,” Nick responded carefully, not giving in to his fear of Drei, but not fighting…yet. “She needs time to think or something.”

“What did you do?” I watched him grab Nick’s shirt with one hand and shake him threateningly.

“What did I do? What about you?”

“Do not speak to me that way!” Drei growled, lifting Nick off the ground. Nick grabbed Drei’s wrist to support himself. “This is your fault; if you had never come she would have been perfectly fine.”

“Since I came she’s had someone who’s there for her, unlike the way you were treating her.”

Just as Drei wound up a fist to pummel Nick, I forced them apart, a blanket of air catching Nick before he hit the ground and Drei before he lost his balance. Both of them looked around as if expecting to see me; when they didn’t, they went off on each other again, this time keeping their distance.

Their argument made me resolve to figure out something, anything. Continuing on like this would ruin the entire camp, and over something as little as with whom I wanted to spend time. I couldn’t let that happen and be my fault; I didn’t want to destroy everything.

But I couldn’t stop anything if I was unable to decide on a course of action.

Elemental: Chapter Eight, Part 1

Chapter Eight: Waiting for Peace

The garden was our date locale most nights. During the day, we’d sit together talking about random things or join in the games. The children accepted Nick because I did, but they were wary of him, as if his skin or breath were poisonous. I had asked why, one day, and they all pretended to know nothing about it.

Some nights we sat and shared the past, his arms curled around me to protect from the cool weather. Other nights, our chatter was dispersed between kisses and laughter over funny faces and even more amusing jokes. I didn’t know what you could call what we had. For me, I wasn’t sure if I would call it love; but it was such an extreme affection, I knew he wasn’t just a friend I regularly kissed. Nick never said what it was for him; the look in his eyes before he kissed me, the crooked curve of his lips when we were together during the day, or the way he’d hold my hand said it all.

I warred with myself whether it was fair to Nick that I didn’t know how I felt about him. When I was with him, none of it seemed to matter. Perhaps it was my power or some other force I wasn’t aware of that caused me to feel as though he was part of me, and I was part of him. That every time our lips touched or his hand slipped into mine, we were melding together.

The month passed as such—a not-so-secret relationship and a series of private meetings. When Drei happened to be around while we were playing games, I couldn’t help but notice he always glared at Nick. I had a sinking feeling that the thought of us together was more dangerous than bounty hunters. At least in the case of Drei. Perhaps that had some impact on my uncertainty.

One night, I sat in Nick’s embrace, my arms crossed loosely and resting lightly on his. My head lay on his shoulder, my eyes closed as he spoke to me. Not because I was tired, but just because his voice had a different quality that way.

“One day, Kit was running around with Kate’s doll, her favorite one,” he started, his voice excited as he launched into the tale. “Kit insisted it was hers and she should be able to play with it and the white jeep Mom had bought her for Christmas. Of course, Kate was crying when she came to me; our parents were at some company party my dad had to attend. When I yelled for Kit to bring the doll with her, she showed up sniveling and saying she was sorry. They were in preschool and I guess they hadn’t learned about sharing yet. She kept muttering apologies; Kate only plugged her ears and started yelling that she’d never forgive her again.”

“Oh dear. What did you do?” I had a feeling I knew what he would say already. It was really similar to another story I’d heard before.

“We sat down together, Kit still crying a little because she had been found out, Kate still stubbornly pouting, the picturesque victim. I asked Kate why she wouldn’t accept the apology, and she insisted that it wasn’t sincere. So Kit started crying full out again until I stopped her and told her Kate didn’t mean it. Kate complained I was lying, but I asked if she loved Kit, and she stopped. Then she apologized for being stubborn and mean. Kit hugged Kate, telling her she was sorry.

“That night when my parents returned, they found I’d been cornered into playing dolls with them to keep the peace—which unfortunately also involved playing dress up,” he finished, a blush in his voice as I laughed. “It never happened again. Dressing up, that is.”

“It’s still funny,” I insisted, turning to look at him, less mystified by his ending.

He smiled down at me, that special curve to his lips; “Have I told you you’re beautiful?”

“Never.” I smiled and waited for what came next.

“Well you are,” he replied, leaning in to kiss me.

“What are you doing here?” a vicious voice snarled from a few feet away.