Awaken the Elements (Elemental Trilogy) (30 page)

             
“Why do I think if that guy in the tunnel had seen us, we would be dead now?”

             
Autumn looked down and swallowed the lump in her throat.  “Not dead. He needs something. He is looking for something.”

****

             
“What do you mean they saw him?” Mabon asked the monkey and the snake.

             
“They had a vision quest. In it they saw Ginjay,” Adair said as Aarawn choked on the rabbit they had caught for dinner. “And he almost saw them.”

             
“He did sense them,” Angel said.

             
“What do we do?” Mabon looked over at his cousin. “Should we just go in and take them now?”

             
“We are not allowed to. Let’s send a message to Pyrus.”

             
“What do we tell them?” Adair asked.

             
“Vision quest…not sure what to make of it,” Aarawn replied.

             
“Autumn is starting to notice we have been hiding things from her. And there is another witch folk inside.”

             
“Who?” Mabon asked.

             
“He is new. He came into some of his powers that summer night but has not gained full use of it. He is like a buffer for them.”

             
“Weird,” Aarawn said. “We will tell Pyrus that as well.”

             
“Go figure, my sister would discover things.  She is smart like me,” Mabon said, looking out at the mall.

             
“And mine isn’t?” Aarawn asked.

             
“I am tired of fighting with you,” Mabon said and left the trailer. He sat outside under the night sky and looked at the dark shape of the mall. He thought of the day he would meet his sister. What they would talk about, how he would protect her, and how he owed his parents. Relynn, his silver cat, jumped in his lap. He stroked her fur absentmindedly as he thought of Autumn.

****

             
Autumn sat on a table in the food court while Hazel did her toes. Hazel’s hobby, when she wasn’t a nurse, was nail art. Autumn loved to see her friend’s passion come back. She felt like a bad friend when she wasn’t with Rowan and River. Most of her time lately was spent with Stefan and Anatha.  She had agreed to be Hazel’s guinea pig for the night. On the other side of the food court Anatha, Envy, and Ivy Lee made beaded jewelry. And in the middle, a bunch of the guys played poker.

             
Joe and Windle walked over to Autumn. “Hey, Autumn,” Joe said, taking in her bare legs. “How is everything going?”

             
Autumn looked down at Hazel, who rolled her eyes but continued to work. “Hi, Joe.  Same old same old.”

             
He nodded. “You didn’t say hi to me,” Windle said, ogling her bare legs.

             
“You can go away,” she said and picked up her round knitting loom.

             
Joe nudged Windle and motioned to the guys playing poker. They wandered over. “So what are we playing for?” Joe asked.

             
“Chores,” Drake said.

             
“I would love to lose some chores,” Joe said. “Mind if we join?”

             
“Not at all, the more the merrier,” he said.

             
Jaime stared at the table where Anatha and the others sat. “There are some fine bitches in this place,” he sighed.

             
“You are right,” Drake said, “It could be a lot worse.”

             
“Must be nice to be married. No worries; you’re with the person you love,” Linden said.

             
Windle and Joe exchanged knowing looks. “I don’t know, sometimes you wonder,” Joe said.

             
“What’s to wonder about?” he asked

             
“If you love someone you don’t have to wonder,” River said.

             
“Are you almost done? My ass is falling asleep,” Autumn said, making everyone glance her way. Noticing the eyes, she blushed and hid her face.

             
“I would love to get close to that ass,” Windle murmured.

             
Joe nodded. “Whoever is banging Autumn is one lucky guy.”

             
Stefan watched as Rowan and River both tried to concentrate on their cards.  “Maybe we shouldn’t be talking about her,” he said.

             
“Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do at poker night?” Windle asked. “Anyway, she is one fine lady. Not when we were younger but now. I just can’t help but wish those legs wrapped around me at night.”

             
“Hey now,” River said, his voice strained. “I call.”

             
“Full House!” Linden said as he threw down his cards.

             
“Dammit!” Drake said. “One more hand. I want out of garbage duty this week.”

             
Stefan gathered the cards and shuffled.  He passed them out as he looked around the table. There were four heads watching Autumn, as she looked at the toes on her finished foot.  Other heads turned to the table where Anatha and the others were beading.

             
“You did have a chance at that,” Joe was telling Windle.

             
“You did too,” he chuckled. “Did you get to see anything?”

             
Joe looked at him, confused. “Huh?”

             
“Boobs. Her boobs are fucking amazing.”

             
River put his cards down. “I can’t,” he said, pushing himself away from the table.

             
“Oh, I got in a good feel,” Joe said.

             
“We need to stop talking about Autumn and play the game, guys,” Stefan said. “River, it’s okay, come back and play.”

****

             
“I think Jaime likes you, Anatha,” Ivy Less whispered as they peeked at the guys every so often.

             
“Whatever,” she said. “I don’t want no wannabe rapper.”

             
“Fuck, girl, take it and use him,” Envy said.

             
She eyed her cousin. “You would do that?”

             
Envy stared at her like she had grown a third eye. “Really, Anatha?”

             
She shrugged. “Sometimes I forget you are worldly.”

             
“If that means whore, then yes, she is,” Ivy Lee said, laughing.

             
Envy pushed her little friend over. “Whatever, bitch. You are the one with two kids from two different daddies.”

             
Anatha shook her head. Shouting erupted from the card table, making them all look over.  She saw River on top of Windle, smashing his face in with his fist. Her eyes widened, and they ran over to the table.

             
“I told you to stop!” River shouted as Drake dragged him off.

             
“What the hell is going on?” Anatha said as she watched Stefan holding Rowan back.

             
“Joe and Windle were being pigs,” Jaime told her as he moved to stand beside her.

             
“Oh yeah?” she watched with a frown as Autumn grabbed River and Rowan and pulled them out of the food court.

             
“Yeah, they were talking about Autumn,” he replied. “Those guys acted all butt-hurt like they were both Autumn’s boyfriend.”

             
She scowled in the direction her cousin had walked. She was going to find out once and for all what was going on with those three. Then she could work on a spell to win River’s heart, and he could be all hers to do with as she pleased. She shivered at the thought of him being her sex slave. She licked her lips and realized that Jaime was still talking to her.

             
“What?” she asked, looking down her nose at him.

             
“I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me. You know, maybe share a table? Just you and me?”

             
“Maybe some other time,” she said and left the food court. If she had to she would sleep outside Autumn’s shop. She would find out something.

****

In the elevator
, the three were quiet. Autumn looked down at her sparkly toes. “Sorry,” River said.

             
She looked up at him. “Why?”

             
“For being a jerk.”

             
“You weren’t a jerk to me,” she said and reached out, touching his face.

             
“I was mad. We were both so mad at what he was saying,” Rowan said.

             
She shrugged. “Who cares? They’re only words.” They walked over to the music store. “Thanks for defending my honor.”

****

             
Two days later, Jaime was sitting on the futons chatting with Envy and Anatha. She spied Autumn leave her store and walk to the stairs. She got up and left without saying a word, following from a distance. Autumn took the stairs down to Playland. Anatha waited a while before following her.

             
“River?” Autumn asked by the elevator. He said to meet him there. She was getting ready to go inside Playland when two strong hands grabbed her and pulled her behind the elevator, pressing her up against the wall. River’s greedy lips pressed against hers as his hands went down to grab her ass. He picked her up.

             
“River!” She squealed at the unexpected move and wrapped her legs around him for more support.

             
He kissed along her neck as she unbuttoned his pants, and then fumbled with the button on her shorts. After trying and her fingers slipping, he finally sighed and pressed his head against hers. “This worked so much better in my head.”

             
She laughed. “It’s okay,” she said, laying a kiss on his nose.

             
Anatha stepped off the last step and kicked the can, not seeing it. It rattled to the middle of the room. Autumn and River looked at each other, and he slowly put her down, trying not to make any noise. He looked at her, and she shook her head. She motioned for him to stay as she crept over to the edge and watched Anatha walk into Playland, looking around. Autumn frowned, watching her disappear.

             
She turned back to River and motioned him to follow her out the other side of the elevator. They scuttled out and ran up the stairs. River grabbed her hand and made them turn into their bookstore.

             
“Hey,” Hazel said as she played
Call of Duty
against Frank and Rowan.

             
“Anatha is sneaking around,” Autumn said, sitting down.

             
“You need to tell her,” Frank said.

             
“We just don’t want everyone to know,” River said.

             
He shrugged. “It will get out eventually.”

             
“Just tell her you like boys,” Hazel said. “I told some guy I was into chicks to get him off my back once.”

             
River’s eyes slid over to Rowan who looked up and winked at him. “Not a bad idea.”

             
“What if she doesn’t believe it?” Autumn asked.

             
“You have to make it believable,” Hazel said.

             
“Easily done,” River said and he, Autumn, and Rowan burst into laughter.

****

             
Anatha climbed back up the stairs and walked over to the bookstore. She frowned as she felt the wards bite into her skin. Angry she couldn’t find them, she walked over to the elevator and let it take her to the next floor, going into the bookstore. Drake was inside browsing a bookshelf as she walked past.

             
“Hey, Anatha,” he said.

             
“Hey,” she said, and a thought hit her. She turned. “Drake?”

             
“Hmm?” He asked, looking over the book he was reading.

             
“Has River ever talked about me?”

             
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “We don’t talk about that stuff much. Really, we don’t talk about that stuff at all.”