The Secret of Spruce Knoll (16 page)

“I’ll clean up,” Elisabeth volunteered.

“Excellent. Join us on the veranda when you’re finished, won’t you?” Camilia said in that too sweet voice of hers.

Virgil took Camilia by the arm and they walked down a hallway. Eren had barely cleared her chair when Luke grabbed her hand and led her after them. She cast a desperate look over her shoulder at Elisabeth who only smiled weakly. Did that smile mean she was safe, or did it just mean that Elisabeth felt powerless to help? Anxiety tied Eren’s stomach in knots and called to her power. She suppressed it and managed to calm herself a little.

The veranda was so beautiful, it could have graced the pages of Better Homes and Gardens. Plush furniture was grouped here and there on the huge deck and candles were upon every table. Beyond the deck, blue slate stretched across the yard like puzzle piece pathways, winding through flowers and shrubbery.

A refreshing breeze that smelled great and felt even better swept away the vestiges of the Moldovans energy that clung to Eren. But the breeze soon stilled and she was once again cocooned in their power. At least out here she could smell the wet grass and earth and could at least try to focus on it.

Virgil and Camilia sat down on a couch and Luke pulled Eren down next to him in a loveseat just opposite them. Luke hadn’t left any room between them and if she scooted away, it would draw attention, and worse, suspicion. Since there was plenty of that on her already she wasn’t about to risk it, no matter how uncomfortable it felt to have him touching her.

“So Eren, how did you enjoy your time among mundane people?” Virgil asked.

It was such an odd question that for a moment she didn’t know what to say.

“Um, it was fine I guess. I mean, I didn’t really know I was any different from them at the time,” she said.

Virgil and Camilia exchanged a look that confused Eren. Their expressions were very hard to read. It reminded Eren of the police officers she had talked to since her parents’ deaths. The cold detachment was the same.

“Your parents didn’t tell you?” Virgil asked.

“No,” Eren said, her discomfort growing.

“So you didn’t start to come into your power until you came here?” Camilia asked. The concern on her face made it appear that she was trying to sound gentle. She failed miserably.

This was starting to feel like an interrogation and Eren was getting worried about answering a question wrong.

“No, not until about a month later. Why?” Eren asked.

She knew she had to tread lightly here but she couldn’t help asking. The tension got worse, heating the air around them. Eren couldn’t completely stop her body from vibrating or banish a nauseous feeling.

“Because the risk of exposing our kind cannot be tolerated,” Virgil said in a dark voice that was void of any propriety or kindness.

Eren’s leg convulsed with the desire to run as her power surged and she had to fight hard to stop it as well as quell her fear. Luke’s hand tightened around hers and he gave her that frightening, hungry look. It suddenly occurred to her that he was getting off on her fear. That thought made her stomach do flip flops.

“I brought dessert,” Elisabeth said just a little too loudly.

She carried out a large tray of cream puffs and steaming coffee cups. Using the distraction, Eren let go of Luke’s hand and stood up.

“May I use your bathroom, please?” she asked.

“Sure, it’s down the hall we came through, turn right and it’s the third door on the left,” Elisabeth said as she sat down.

“Thanks,” Eren said.

She turned and headed back into the house as quickly as she dared. No one followed her, which was a good thing because when she got to the second hallway, a powerful convulsion rippled through her legs and sent her sprawling. Blue energy flecked through with red started to leak from the back of her hands.

No!
She would not let this happen, not in this house, not among these people. Her first channeling couldn’t be fear-induced, she wouldn’t let it. And it wasn’t going to be here with these people, it was going to be with Aiden.

The energy disappeared and the convulsions stopped. Panting from the effort, she stumbled to her feet and hurried down the hall. A few steps later, the energy she’d been searching for all night stopped her in her tracks. She stood directly in front of a closed door with a reinforced frame and a massive deadbolt on it.

Listening hard, she forced herself to wait and make sure no one was following her. They weren’t, so she reached out and opened the door. A staircase led down into yawning darkness, the basement most likely. Aiden’s energy signature was overpowering. She was certain his room was down there. Curiosity beat out caution and she descended the stairs.

By the time she reached the bottom her eyes had adjusted. There was a bare light bulb on that gave everything an eerie glow. To her left, a door stood slightly ajar, to her right, another was closed. She pushed the left door the rest of the way open. It wasn’t so much a room as it was a space under the stairs. A single sized mattress lay upon the floor in the tiny spot directly under the stairs. It was covered in tattered blankets. There was a very small desk in the tiny space just opposite it with a rickety looking chair sitting at it.

Eren’s survival instinct told her she should leave—and quickly—but she couldn’t. As if they had a will of their own, her feet carried her farther into the room. Her mind tried to deny what her power already knew. On the concrete wall next to the bed a rough copy of the painting she and Aiden had done together was drawn with blue and pink chalk. Eren almost heard her heart break when her mind faced the truth; this was Aiden’s bedroom.

Fighting tears, she stepped out of the room and paused at the other door. She had to know what was in there, especially if it had something to do with Aiden. They wouldn’t come looking for her yet. Just in case, she paused with her hand on the doorknob and tried to feel their energy. It wasn’t hard. They were still outside and they were arguing, she could tell by the way their energy was aggravated. She opened the door.

Some doors were better left unopened. She understood that the moment she looked into the room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all concrete. A pair of heavy duty chains ending in shackles hung from the ceiling and another were attached to the floor. They had the same black hole void feeling to them that the weapons in Luke’s room had. They were iron. And there was blood on them. She could feel it more than see it. The blood had an undeniable energy signature clinging to it. It was Aiden’s.

A hand flew to her mouth to cover a whimper. His temper made sense now. No one could live through such a horrible childhood unscathed. She closed the door as softly as she could before leaping up the steps two at a time. Arms pumping and dark hair flying, she ran with everything she had. A few heartbeats later, she skidded into the bathroom, shut the door, and turned the water on.

A knock sounded on the door, making her jump.

“Eren, are you okay?” Elisabeth said.

Relief surged through her. She had thought it would be Luke. Turning the water off and opening the door, she decided a bit of honesty would serve her best.

“No. I don’t feel good. I’m having a lot of trouble not channeling,” she said.

Footsteps sounded down the hall. Luke appeared in the doorway a moment later. He put his arms to either side of the door which blocked Elisabeth from view, and leaned in with a smile.

“No problem. We can go into the forest and channel together,” he said.

Eren dropped her head and hid her disgust with a demur look.

“I’m afraid I’ll channel at the wrong time and ruin my favorite jeans,” she said with a laugh that she feared sounded forced. It was getting harder to pretend she wasn’t terrified.

“That’s the perfect reason to channel on purpose. We can take our clothes off.  Come on, it’ll be fun,” He turned the last word into something dirty.

“I’m sorry Luke, I can’t. I just need to go home. Can you and Elisabeth please walk me to the turnabout?” she said with the sweetest look she could muster.

She purposefully added Elisabeth so she wouldn’t have to be alone with him and she’d said the turnabout to keep their time together short. After what she’d seen downstairs her patience had run out.

The expression on Luke’s face wavered between anger and acceptance. Eren stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, hoping it would interrupt his thoughts long enough. It did.

“Of course we’ll walk you,” Elisabeth said.

Eren smiled thankfully at her as Luke whisked her down the hall. Elisabeth skipped ahead of them, humming a tune that didn’t exactly sound cheerful as she went. It felt like she was faking her lighthearted mood as much as Eren was. As they stepped outside Virgil and Camilia stood up.

“Eren isn’t feeling good. We’re going to walk her home,” Elisabeth said.

Camilia was good at hiding her feelings. Eren couldn’t tell what she was thinking at all. The blank look alone was enough to make it obvious she was hiding something though.

“That’s a shame. Well you kids don’t be too late,” Camilia said.

“Yes, tomorrow is a school day,” Virgil agreed.

His voice was so hard and cold that it raised the hair on Eren’s arms. She had to swallow before she could say anything.

“Thank you for having me over. Dinner was wonderful,” she said.

“We better get going, it smells like it’s going to rain,” Elisabeth said.

She looped an arm through Eren’s and pulled her toward the steps that led into the yard. Luke was forced to relinquish his grip on her waist and had to move quick to even catch her hand. She felt like a piece of meat between two dogs. Elisabeth had to give up her hand when they came to the gate leading out of the yard. When she did, she shot Luke a fierce look. Luke ignored it and smiled at Eren as if nothing was wrong. What the heck was going on?

On the way to the turnabout Luke rambled on about the fighting tournament that was going to take place at the end of November. Apparently there were three big tournaments throughout the school year. You had to qualify for them by placing in the top ten for your fighting style in the tournaments held the two months prior. Only the best qualified for the big tournaments and Luke was planning on being among them he said.

The whole idea was interesting, but Eren was unimpressed by his over confidence and she was in no mood to hear his ranting. At least talking about it kept his hands from groping her since he kept using them to demonstrate different moves. Elisabeth encouraged him by naming moves that some of his competition was good at. It was hard to tell, but Eren was pretty sure Elisabeth was doing it because she saw that it made her more comfortable.

When the turnabout came into sight, Eren had to fight the urge to sob with relief. It took a lot of concentration not to speed up. Those last few yards seemed to take an eternity to cover, as if she were moving in slow motion.

“Thanks for coming. I’m really sorry you don’t feel well,” Elisabeth said.

Luke shot Elisabeth a glare, clearly wanting her to leave, but she didn’t budge. Eren smiled at her. She owed her for that.

“Thanks. I’ll see you guys tomorrow at school,” Eren said as she pulled her hand free of Luke’s.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you all the way home?” Luke asked.

His eyes were hopeful and he was attempting to look innocent. She wasn’t fooled and was running out of the energy it took to pretend.

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. My aunt would kill me if she saw you. See you in the morning,” Eren said as she waved and walked backwards.

Shoving her hands in her pockets, she turned and hurried off.

“Come on, lover boy,” Elisabeth teased.

The muscles in Eren’s legs ached from working so hard at not running. She forced herself to wait until their voices faded into the distance. As huge raindrops started to fall, she let go and ran with all her heart. The dark blurry scenery whipped by as her thoughts turned inward.

She wanted desperately to tell her grandfather about this. The necklace was proof! Yet, no one knew about it but her. Would they take the word of a sixteen year old kid? Not likely. And poor Aiden, there was no way she’d ever sleep again knowing the conditions he was forced to live in. He wasn’t safe in that house with those horrible people. But if she told they’d hide the truth and he could be in worse danger.

As much as it hurt her to admit it, there was nothing she could do right now. They just didn’t have enough proof yet. From somewhere deep inside, she would have to dig up the strength and courage to keep up this game. She would have to go to that party.

Chapter 31

The last few days in the week felt like an eternity. She could barely look at Aiden in class because every time she did she pictured that pitiful bedroom and the horrible room with chains. He gave her a sad, almost ashamed look that made her think he knew what she’d seen. On Wednesday he slipped her a note that said he’d be over on Friday around 6:00 p.m. It tortured her to wait to see him, to wait to be alone with him.

Luke didn’t allow her a free moment outside of class and insisted on walking her most of the way home every day. Thankfully, Elisabeth stayed close by which encouraged Luke to keep his hands to himself. Her strange, surly attitude didn’t improve, but at least now when she was nice to Eren it seemed genuine.

Friday after Luke walked her home, Eren flew up the stairs, shedding clothing as she went, and jumped in the shower. His energy clung to her and she couldn’t wait to wash it off. There was no way she was going to allow him to taint her time with Aiden. Shampoo and a lot of body wash finally solved the problem.

Smelling like flowers, she toweled off and picked out a loose fitting sundress to wear. Not that it mattered much. She’d be taking it off soon anyways. That thought brought a rush of heat to her cheeks. Thankfully her almost-mocha colored skin was good at hiding a blush. As she combed her long hair out she looked in the mirror and contemplated make-up. Considering that she had no idea what channeling would do to it, putting it on didn’t seem like a good idea. That thought was all it took to make her nervous and shaky.

Outside gravel crunched to the rhythm of Aiden’s steps. She must have been in the shower a lot longer than she’d realized. She could feel his energy on the breeze that blew through her open window. The moment she felt it, her anxiety was replaced by a tremendous sorrow. With Luke dogging her every move she hadn’t been able to talk to Aiden about what she’d seen.

His voice drifted to her as he came in and greeted Sylvia. Eren ran to meet him, catching him just as he walked onto the loft. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she flew into his arms. He picked her up as if she weighed next to nothing and carried her into the bedroom, closing the door with his foot. Still holding her in his arms, he sat down on the daybed and leaned back against the wall.

Eren cuddled in against his chest, her arms wrapped tight around him. The tears wouldn’t stop. She was so afraid for him and there was nothing she could do about it. The helpless feeling was torturous. Sure, they were working on exposing the truth about Virgil and Camilia, but in the meantime he had to live in a nest of vipers.

The methodic way he stroked her hair eventually calmed her and stopped her tears.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he murmured.

He knew she had been in his room. Of course he did, he would have felt the energy she had left behind.

“They have to pay for the way they treat you. That room with the chains. . .” she said with a sniffle.

“Virgil locks me in there when I do something to piss him off, which is hard
not
to do. Sometimes he just does it because,” Aiden said.

The pain in his voice made Eren want to hurt Virgil very badly. Aiden’s arms tightened around her for a moment before he let go to reach down and lift her chin.

“They’ll pay for everything they’ve done. But just for this weekend let that be. This time should just be about you and me,” he said.

His hazel eyes held her in thrall and she became blissfully lost in them. All her stress and worries disappeared as the world narrowed down to just the two of them. Smiling, he traced a finger along her cheek and caught one of her tears. She laughed as he stuck it in his mouth.

“That’s better,” he said as he touched the edge of her smile.

Rising to her knees, she closed the distance between them and kissed him softly. He held her tighter, drawing the moment out until her heart was thundering. A bit breathless, Eren finally drew back.

“I don’t know how much longer I can stay away from you, and I don’t want you to have to go back to that house,” she said.

“The party is only a week away. If we can expose what they’re trying to do and get evidence of what they did to your parents, then it will all be over,” Aiden reassured her.

Eren nodded, hoping he was right. She could make it through one more week as long as that’s all it was. Aiden had put up with those people his whole life. She could endure it for a little longer.

“We have all weekend to talk about that,” he said.

Eren shook her head to clear it of such thoughts.

“You’re right. We have something more pressing to focus on,” she said with a huge smile.

His eyes lit up as if the sun had just struck them and he stood in that graceful way of his and extended his hand to her. The light in those eyes banished the last of her troubles. Accepting his hand, she let him pull her to her feet and led her downstairs.

“We’re going out for a while, Aunt Sylvia. Be back in a few,” Eren called as they reached the door.

Somewhere in the other part of the house she could feel her aunt, probably in her bedroom. Eren waited with her hand on the doorknob. 

“You kids have fun and. . . be responsible,” she finally said, tripping up over the last word as if it was difficult to say.

Eren dropped her head and groaned as she opened the door and pulled Aiden outside. From her words and tone, it sounded like Aunt Sylvia at least had an idea that they weren’t just going out for a walk. It was utterly embarrassing and kind of liberating in a way since she hadn’t tried to stop them. But did she think Aiden was going to help her channel for the first time, or something else? Best not to dwell on that. The idea of her aunt fearing her and Aiden were going out to do something else, was not a good thought.

It hadn’t rained all day and things were starting to dry out a bit. Everything still had that wonderful, fresh smell that the rain always brought out. The evergreens seemed just a bit greener and some of the rocks in the driveway still shined with moisture. There was a chill in the air, but even barefoot and in a sleeveless dress it didn’t bother Eren.

Aiden’s hand felt incredible around hers, so natural. Unlike Luke, who sweated and always gripped a little too hard as if he were afraid she’d pull away. Aiden took a left, into the forest. He moved with purpose, as if he had a specific place he was taking her. The mixture of fallen pine needles and leaves was a soft, crunchy cushion beneath her feet. This time of year the aspens were leafless which allowed the sun to filter through the forest in huge beams. Eren knew her enjoyment of every little detail could have a bit to do with her joy over being with Aiden. But knowing that didn’t lessen it any. 

For about a mile they walked in comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other’s company. Aiden was so easy to be around. It was part of what Eren loved so much about him. Unlike so many other guys, he was very low maintenance and didn’t feel the need to constantly talk about himself.

They came to a break in the trees and an amazing little meadow opened up before them. It was circled by aspens and blanketed by their colorful fallen leaves. Eren’s breath caught in her throat and her mouth dropped open wide. The meadow was beautiful. How had he found it?

“I knew you’d like it!” he said.

“Like it? I love it! This is so beautiful Aiden,” she said.

Laughing, she ran into the meadow and spun in circles with her arms open wide. Orange, red, and yellow leaves swirled up around her. When she stopped, the way Aiden was looking at her made her smile and look away. The devotion and joy in his eyes was staggering. No one except her parents had ever looked at her that way. Even then, it had been different. There was a sensual feel to the way Aiden’s eyes traveled over her, leaving her tingling without even a touch. Yep, very different.

With a vulnerable look shining in his eyes, he crossed the distance between them and took both of her hands in his.

“Are you sure you’re ready to do this?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” she said without hesitation.

He stepped back and pulled his shirt over his head. Her eyes traced what her fingers didn’t dare, following the faint line of hair that led up through his abs and ended below his pecs. Suddenly she couldn’t remember why they were here.

When he reached down and unbuttoned his pants she took a deep breath and forced herself to turn around. It wasn’t easy. She thought she should feel embarrassed, or nervous, but she didn’t. That was all gone now. His jeans landing in the leaves was the loudest sound she had ever heard. Concentrating on her breathing, she fingered the hem of her dress. 

“Don’t worry, I’m wearing boxers,” he said with a laugh.

Before she could think too hard about it and lose her nerve, she pulled the dress over her head and dropped it. Her bikini wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before but if she didn’t have enough control it could end up in tatters. She hesitated on taking the necklace from her mother off. But she didn’t want it to get damaged. Reluctantly, she pulled it over her head and laid it down on top of her dress. Aiden made an appreciative sound.

“Shouldn’t your back be turned?” she asked, trying to sound funny to keep the embarrassment from her voice.

“After what happened last time I’m not letting you out of my sight. Besides, I’ve seen you in shorts and a bikini top before,” he said.

There was no need to wonder about how to call her energy up, the husky tone in Aiden’s voice made her very anxious. With that anxiety came the vibrations, only this time she didn’t fight them.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll be right here with you,” Aiden whispered, his breath on her neck.

That sent an entirely different feeling tingling through her that changed the vibrating. It felt like her power was tuning in to him, and it was rising as it did so. What if she channeled while kissing him? The moment she thought about channeling she became nervous again. In this instant, it was a good thing because it called up her power.

“It’s very hard to control at first, but don’t let that scare you. Just dump it into the ground if you can’t focus it,” Aiden said.

Eren thought back to that day at the river with her grandfather. He said she was a warrior channeler. But she had also healed the cut on Aiden’s face. Her aunt said one couldn’t be both.

“Wait. My grandfather said I’m a warrior channeler because of the way I was able to sense the energy of fish and use it to spear them easier. But I also healed the cut on your face and my aunt said a channeler can’t be both warrior and healer,” Eren said.

Aiden stepped around and looked her in the eyes. A dangerously fragile hope was etched upon his face. “No one is supposed to be able to do both, it’s true. But I can,” he said softly.

“Why can we do both?” she asked.

He smiled. “I have no idea, but I’m glad I’m not alone. Don’t worry, all you have to do is focus on turning the energy into a healing energy before you channel it,” he said.

“Will that be hard?”

“You’ve already done it, just on a smaller scale. The only time it’s hard to turn the power into healing energy is when you’re mad,” he said.

His eyes flicked down the length of her body before he turned and looked away. There was a huge smile on his face. A blush worked its way to Eren’s cheeks. Her black bikini felt a bit skimpy all of a sudden. Without looking over at him, she struck him in the arm. His laughter eased the remainder of her concerns.

She abandoned all her reservations and finally let go of her fear and iron control. This time there was no nausea or convulsions. Since she didn’t fight it she felt it from the inside out, and it was wonderful. The energy wasn’t a separate thing within her like she had thought it was. It was the pure, powerful essence that was
her
and it longed to be set free.

Vibrations started all over her body and her vision blurred blue. The power that rode through her was massive. It felt as though she held the energy of a lightning bolt within her. That thought terrified her. What if it was too much to control? Could she accidentally blow herself up?

“Relax, E. I’m right here. You can control this. Think about your connection to the Earth. Imagine your feet and hands are roots that go deep into the ground. Imagine healing the Earth. Now let all that energy flow through your feet and hands and into the ground,” Aiden instructed. His voice was calm and slow and it guided her like the North Star.

She did what he told her to. The blue haze that clouded her vision started to clear up and she could see again. The energy was too much though. She fell to her knees, hands burying themselves in the grass as her fingers searched out the ground. The energy poured out of her and into the Earth. It felt odd, kind of like the reverse of taking a shower.

There was a rustling sound and suddenly tiny green shoots poked up through the grass. They were everywhere, covering the entire meadow. The shoots unfurled, revealing bright blue flowers that carpeted the entire clearing.

“Wow, did I do that?” Eren asked.

An excited whoop sounded from behind her and she turned to see Aiden spinning through the flowers, his arms open wide, head thrown back as he laughed. He fell to his knees before her and took her face gently in his hands. His lips tingled upon hers, drawing up her energy again. How she could have any left after that, she had no idea.

“Yes you did!” he said as he drew back.

His intense stare reminded her of the affect channeling had on one’s clothes. Frantic, she glanced down. Relief poured over her when she found her bikini unscathed. She looked back out over the sea of blue flowers. It was impossible and yet she knew she had done it, she had felt it. She hadn’t created the flowers. The seeds had already been there, dormant within the ground. Her energy had just fed them and awakened them at an incredible speed.

“Maybe my grandfather was wrong. Maybe I’m a healer channeler,” she said. It didn’t sound so bad and it felt pretty amazing.

There was excitement in his eyes when Aiden looked at her. “You want to test it and find out?” he asked.

That idea frightened her a bit but Eren laughed to cover it up. “You just want to get the rest of my clothes off,” she said.