Wicked (The Drake Chronicles Book 1) (8 page)

Bennett gave him a look that seemed to say
watch yourself
and left the living room.

Ethan rushed to the coffee table, packed his grandfather’s grimoire and fit his arms through the straps of the backpack.

He turned to find Adam leaning on the wall for support, blood on both of his hands. Why had Bennett left him like that? Ethan hurried over to him and saw how severe his injuries were.

There were little gashes on his arms but they were easy to fix. But a wound like on his chest was more difficult, and Ethan figured with both of their powers together they could fix it.

Ethan steadied him, and helped him down the hallway and into the downstairs bathroom.

              Adam sat down on the large sink and looked as pale as snow in the bathroom light. Sweat garnished his face and he looked as if he were in loads of pain but was trying not to show it. Ethan knew a healing spell, but he would need Adam’s help too.

Adam suddenly looked as if he were about to pass out and Ethan grew concerned.

He tapped Adam on his face a few times, trying to keep him conscious. When that didn’t work, he turned the water on, filled a deep soap dish with cold water and threw it on Adam’s face.

Adam’s eyes flew open and he breathed in heavily as if he had been swimming under water.

              “That-was-cold,” Adam said through gritted teeth.

              “I need your help to heal the wound, it looks really bad.” Ethan touched the sliver in his shirt. Adam hissed at the touch.

              “Well thanks for soaking me,” Adam laughed.

              “Shut up and take off your shirt, I need to see the wound,” Ethan commanded.

              “Hey, don’t I have to take you out to dinner before I take my clothes off for you?” Adam smirked. Ethan chuckled, leaning back against the blue tiled wall for support. Adam had a confused look on his face.

              “You are hilarious,” Ethan said.

              “What, so you wouldn’t go out with a guy like me?” Adam asked. An eyebrow rose in curiosity.

Ethan began softly breathing hard. Why was he asking him this? Now was not the time for it. But Ethan fixed his composure and stared directly into Adam’s eyes.

              “Yes, I would go out with a guy like you. But I’d like to you to be alive, so let me see that wound, please.” Adam blinked twice as if he hadn’t expected that answer and slowly peeled off his soaking wet shirt, revealing a chiseled torso.

Ethan suddenly felt lightheaded, not caring if Adam saw his cheeks flush. He took Adam’s shirt from him and threw it in the bathtub.

              “Then, I propose a deal.”Adam said.

              “A deal?” Ethan smirked.

              “Yes. I’m only supposed to take you to Elsmere and leave you with someone else to find Oleandra. But if I help you with
everything
, will you go out with me after this is all over with?” Ethan just stared at Adam.

He thought about it and he needed Adam’s help, he needed it badly. And to be honest, he did want to go out with Adam anyway. There was something about him that intrigued Ethan and made him feel way different than he had with other guys.

              “Fine, I’ll go out with you.” The words escaped Ethan’s mouth.

              “Awesome,” Adam said as he leaned back into the mirror and helped Ethan mend the gash on the middle of his chest.

              Bennett was rolling up the scroll Emma had discovered when Adam and Ethan entered his office. The room was dim and had been decorated with two large bookshelves, at least a hundred different colored hourglasses, and two stuffed ravens on either side of Bennett’s enormous black desk.

Ethan felt unsettled, and tried not to let Bennett know it. Adam’s wound was easy for both of them to repair, and he was wearing the same t-shirt, still a little damp.

Adam explained to Ethan that they were more than likely going to stop at his house in Elsmere so that he could change and grab a few things.

The dim light from the chandelier above grew increasingly brighter and Ethan could see the room better. No matter what, it still, for some reason made him feel uncomfortable.

Two wide leather chairs sat before Bennett’s desk and he gestured for them to take a seat. The boys fit themselves in the comfortable chairs and stared across the desk at Bennett, the light above making his eyes look hooded and hollow.

              “It seems we have a little problem. Craven is here in the mortal world now, searching for you and your sister. And he’s recruited most of the ex members of the dark society to help him find you. This means you will have to be extra careful in Elsmere. There is no telling
who
is helping him.”

“It looks as if he’s planned for this a long time because this is all happening at a rapid pace. You will need find Oleandra as soon as possible. She owes your mother a favor anyway seeing that they were friends.” Bennett stared at Ethan and his palms began to sweat. But he didn’t want to look overpowered, it wasn’t his style.

So he stood up from the chair and crossed his arms.

              “Then we should leave right now,” Ethan said.

              “Brilliant, I’m glad you aren’t backing down. Your mother would have been proud,” Bennett said as he walked out from behind the desk and turned the head of a stuffed raven.

The room began to shake; rumbling as if a tremor had suddenly had broken out. The bookshelf to the right of them slid sideways, a soft white mist slithering across the ground.

Behind the bookshelf was a gray bricked circular room that looked menacing in many ways. In the middle of the bare room, a white crystal ball was hovering as if it were suspended by invisible string.

Bennett advanced over to the ball and waved his hand over the entity. Just then, a soft green light beamed from within the object, brightening up the room.

Ethan had never seen anything like it before and he couldn’t help but gaze. He had read many books but in the last three days, he had seen things that he never came across while consuming those tomes.

              “All you have to do is walk over, place your right hand on the sphere, and recite this spell:
Loci Acenta
. Adam will show you how to return to this exact spot when it is time. Would you like me to fetch your sister so that you may say goodbye?” Bennett now stood in the secret doorway.

              “Just tell her that I’ll be back… and to be careful,” Ethan said as he made his way over to the shimmering ball. Adam placed his hand on it without hesitance and stared at Ethan.

              “Go ahead. It doesn’t hurt,” Adam said, smiling at him. Ethan brought his hand out from his pocket and slowly placed it next to Adam’s. He felt a surge of warmth and it seemed to calm his nerves.

He was tense, scared, and curious all at once. But he smiled back at Adam. He wouldn’t let him see how frightened he really was. He hadn’t been to Elsmere since he was a child and he didn’t even remember it.

Now, he was returning, but not to visit. He was returning because his life, as well as his sister’s, was in grave danger.

Adam nodded at Ethan and they both gripped the ball tightly.

             
“Loci Acenta!”
they both recited in unison as the light broke free from the sphere and whirled about them like a gust of powerful wind.

Ethan felt as if his skin was being peeled right off of his bones. The pain was incredible and it hurt beyond belief. He swore that when they arrived in Elsmere, he would smack the hell out of Adam for lying to him.

5

Emma stared down at Mason’s grimoire. Ethan had left it behind when he and Adam left to Elsmere before she awoke. He left without saying goodbye and that hurt Emma the most. 

What if something happened to him or her? No matter how ugly things became, she loved her brother and would never treat him differently. She needed him to know that.

She hoped that Ethan would find Oleandra and return as soon as possible. She didn’t know how long she would last without him. Nothing about the situation felt right.

“How did this all go to crap so quickly? I’m losing my brother and my sanity all at the same time,” Emma said as she put down Mason’s grimoire and leaned back into the pillows of the bed.

“Sometimes things just happen. You can’t stop it, but you can face it. You can hold your ground and fight. I’m going to be here for you, because I’m a part of this now and I’m not about to let anything happen to you,” Logan explained as he sat down next to Emma. She turned to him. Without him right now, she’d be worse off than she already was.

“Take my mind off of all this for a moment. Tell me about you. Why did you move to this particular street?” Emma asked. She figured that maybe talking about something else would ease her mind off of everything that was ruining it.

              “My dad wanted to move near the woods and we had already been living in Herman, which is only about an hour out of Westbrook. So we packed up and moved here, and to be honest, I’m glad that we did.” Logan smiled.

              “Tell me more.”

              “You first,” Logan said.

              “Fine,” Emma smirked and got comfortable. She gazed into Logan’s eyes. She wanted to tell him about his death, but decided against it once more. “I don’t know what to say about myself, to be honest. I like fencing, I don’t like reading, I’m deathly afraid of heights, my favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz, and my favorite flavor of ice cream is rocky road.”

              “You sound like you are applying for an online dating service,” Logan laughed.

              “Then how about you?” Emma nudged him playfully. She hadn’t flirted with a guy in so long that she felt like a middle school girl again. And Logan didn’t seem to mind.

              “I’m going to sound the same. I graduated last year, I have a non-sexual relationship with my Xbox, reading is my soul, I am extremely afraid of goblins. Oh, and my favorite flavor of ice cream is none. I’m lactose intolerant,” Logan explained.

Emma smiled up at him and for a moment it felt as if they were just two teenagers getting to know each other and not in the middle of danger. Emma began to think about Ethan and her smile faded.