Under the Burning Stars (12 page)

“Especially after what I did,” Link said.

Joss frowned. “Too bad Savina can’t erase all of their minds.”

Gabriel raised his eyebrows. “Joss! Did you really just say that?”

She shrugged. “What? Just trying to help them out.”

Link shook his head. “It’s okay. I’m definitely not going back. I’ll homeschool myself.”

“Not a bad idea,” Ava said.

“There comes a time when you can’t be afraid,” Gabriel said. “Let them think what they want. So what if they bully you. You’re all strong. Mentally and physically.” He was speaking to the group, but his eyes trained on Ava.

“You aren’t the one who bombed a school and killed twelve people.”

“You’re right. I’m not. But I’ve done things in my past that I’m not proud of and some I had no control over.”

Jeremy
pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “We’re supposed to be protecting them and yet here we are having to protect ourselves from them.”

“Not all of them,” Joss said. “Gabe’s right though. Don’t be afraid.
None of you is responsible for that bombing. There is no proof. They’re just looking for someone to blame. I think we can all understand that.”

Both of them were right. They had nothing to fear. Besides. Ava
had to get back to trying to find out who killed her mom. She would ignore the humans and keep to herself. Maybe she could do a little spying on her own as well.

“
Have either of you been at war with Cimmerians before?” Link asked.

“Yeah,
” Joss and Gabriel replied simultaneously.

Ava locked eyes with Lin
k and then Jeremy.

“So
what happened?” he asked.

“We were trying to stop
Corbin from creating a war with the humans,” Gabriel said. “We unfortunately lost a few members from the battle. Corbin knew us better than we knew him. They defeated us. Some of us weren’t ready for the fight. They put images in our heads, morphed into other people, manipulated us, shot objects from nowhere at us. This was also several years ago. Probably eighty years or so.”

Link shook his head. “So Corbin was trying to obliterate the entire
Ephemeral race and anyone who got in the way?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, so what about people like my mom?” Ava asked. “Were there revolutionists or what?”

He frowned. “I don’t know.”

“What about Caprington?” Link asked.

“What about it?”

“What happened there? All I know is that the village people thought Corbin was this upstanding guy, and thought the same of Savina and Colden. His sister Veronica randomly visits and then she and Corbin goes to Caprington. Corbin returns home and decides to unleash hell among the citizens.”

“No one knows what happened
in Caprington,” Joss said. “Except that Veronica killed her husband because he was a Hunter. He knew he was getting involved with an entire family of Enchanters and wanted to kill them all.”

“But they had a child,” Ava said.

“It was part of the ruse.”

“And no one knows what made Corbin snap?”

“Savina and Colden don’t even know.”

“Do you think it was a Hunter that killed your mom?” Link asked Ava.

No one knew what happened between Ava and the blond Cimmerian at the Cruciari except her and Gabriel. “She was a Cimmerian. And I think she killed her to get revenge or because my mom betrayed someone.”

“How do you know that?”

Ava waved her hand. She didn’t want to talk about her encounter with the Cimmerian. Or her dreams and Marcel. “Did Corbin ever try and take any of you?”

Gabriel looked away. “Maggie and Kira. Kira has a very strong venomous power. If
Corbin had that, he could have easily killed someone without anyone knowing.”

Link furrowed his eyebrows.
“But he had a similar power.”

“Kira’s is almost instantaneous, whereas his took days or weeks to take effect.
He wanted everything. He wanted the most powerful army so he could treat the Ephemerals, the way they treated him, supposedly. But according to Savina and Colden the Ephemerals never did any harm. Since he died, there have been Cimmerians who try to start wars, but none of them were as powerful as Corbin.”

“Like Devon,” Link said.

“What made Corbin so much more powerful other than his age?” Jeremy asked. “Was it the abundance of followers?”

“That and he was very good at tactics.
In the beginning, Savina was rather…” Gabriel seemed to hesitate. “Naïve and not very strong.”

“And now the Cimmerians know there is a coven of Elemental
Enchanters that are on Savina’s side,” Ava said. “If Corbin was so desperate to create an unstoppable army, who’s to say there aren’t other Cimmerians out there trying to do the same? What if there is a growing army forming at Caprington? Maybe Devon was just a test.”

“The Elders would know if there was an army forming in Caprington,” Joss said.

“Would they?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t know. I just think they’re hiding a lot from us.”

Joss raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure what they could be hiding. There’s just a lot going on right now and they’re just as lost as us.”

The room went quiet and Ava guessed everyone was lost in their own thoughts. She certainly didn’t see how Gabriel and Joss could think the Elders weren’t hiding things. They had to know about her mother. Someone had to know. Maybe she could find Marcel and talk to him. But the thought of being around him made her shiver.

“Who’s the strongest witch you ever faced?
” Link asked after a few minutes.

“For me, it
’s anyone who can control water.” Joss winked at Ava. “But I haven’t known too many others than you and your mom.”

“Sorcha,” Gabriel replied as his lips set in a hard line.

Ava exchanged looks with Joss, who only frowned.

“What can she do?” Jeremy
asked.

A muscle twitched in
Gabriel’s jaw. “She can cast a sleep spell over someone and severely weaken them. It’s the worst feeling in the world.”

Ava
, Jeremy, and Link both gawked.

“Weaken you how?” Ava asked.

“Weaken you to the point that you are powerless. And it lasts for months.”

Ava felt her jaw drop.

“But Aaron can strengthen you, can’t he?” Jeremy asked.

“His works differently. If you have the power already inside you,
he basically amplifies it. Since Sorcha practically takes away all your power, he has nothing to work with.”

“Whoa. So does it come back?”

“Eventually.”

Ava looked up and saw Natalia enter the room. She tensed.

“Gabriel, I need to talk to you,” Natalia said, standing in front of the table.

“Okay.” He looked back to Ava and the rest, pushed the chair behind him, and then stood. “Have a good evening.” He
followed Natalia out of the room.

“I think I’m gonna head out.” Jeremy gave Ava a one arm
ed hug and stood.

“Yeah, I’m pretty tired,”
Link said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night,” Ava and Joss said and then they left the room.

“Does Natalia know how to clear a room or what?” Joss smiled. “Kidding.”

“Are Natalia and Gabriel…together?
”

She let out a
sharp laugh. “No. They’re more like brother and sister.”

“Why does she seem to order him around?”

“She orders everyone around.” Joss hesitated. “She sorta doesn’t like you. So she doesn’t really like that Gabriel hangs out with you.”

“
Well, I think she’s rubbing off on him. So she must be doing something right. Why would it matter that he’s talking to me? You are.”

“She’s just like that. I wouldn’t spend too much time thinking about it.”

Ava nodded, but could tell Joss held back something.

“It’s okay. I’d feel the same way about it, too. I’m a worrier as well.”

Ava smiled. “Believe it or not, that’s comforting to know.”

“
How do you think the new Enchanters are handling all of this?”

“I guess okay. I haven’t really talked to Seth or seen him much here
, but Peter’s helping him. Nicole and Link are just trying to figure things out. I can’t imagine what they’re going through though.”

“I know. I mean, I never knew I was an
Enchanter until I was like sixteen. But being kidnapped and turned into one…” She shook her head.

“Wait, you never knew?”

“No. When my parents died, my aunt and uncle adopted me. They didn’t want me to be included or aware of the Enchanter world after what happened to my parents. But even they couldn’t stop it.”

“Were they not
Enchanters, too?”

“No. They were
Drolls.”

Ava had only known one powerless Enchanter and that was Colden. They were extremely rare.
“Wow. So how did you find out?”

“Weird things started happening to me. Like when I’d walk outside on a snowy day and suddenly would be warm.
The worst was when I took a shower and my body electrocuted itself.”

“Oh, wow. That’s awful.”

“That was when my aunt and uncle told me everything.”

“
Did you have an Aureole or anything?”

“
Yeah. I remember when I was seven, this strange man found me and brought me back to his home with five other kids. I didn’t know what was going on and I never told my aunt and uncle until we talked. But I never saw that Aureole again.”

“How did you get into this one?”

The corners of her lips turned upward into a big smile. “I was still in school and there was this gorgeous brown-haired boy, who everyone seemed to fall in love with. But once Eric locked eyes with me, it was like love at first sight. We both knew we were different, but it took a lot of getting to know each other, because it was so hard trusting anyone back in those days. Enchanters would be so friendly to you and then turn against you in a split second.”

“Sounds familiar,” Ava said under her breath.

“We were together for quite a while before I became part of their Aureole. Aaron says our love makes our Aureole stronger. I mean, other than Savina and Aaron, we’re the only couple. But we all have a strong love for each other. I sound so sappy don’t I?” Joss rolled her eyes.

“No, not at all.
It really is amazing.”

“It is. And I don’t know what I would do without Eric, or any of them.”

“I feel the same about Peter. He makes me stronger.”

Joss smiled. “I know. I feel it.
How does it feel to have him with you now?”

“It’s so surreal. I never thought this would happen.
But at the same time, I don’t know. I’m feeling a little conflicted.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I broke the rules. Lost the trust of my Aureole. Thomas and Gillian are still angry with me.”

“They’ll get over it eventually and they’ll trust
you again. That’s kinda why Natalia doesn’t like you. She thinks you’re rather naïve and selfish.”

Ava bit her lip.
Selfish? Okay, maybe she’d been worrying about Peter more than Devon, but if she hadn’t, maybe they never would have found out the truth.

“I really wouldn’t worry about her. She took
a while to warm up to me.”

“I’m not going to worry. There’s too much other stuff going on.”

Joss nodded and then yawned. “Gabriel and I will try and find out about these Ephemerals. But it’s getting late. We should get some sleep.”

They both stood,
but Ava didn’t want the discussion to end. She really liked Joss. It was like the same strong connection she felt with Gabriel. They walked up the stairs and Ava stopped in front of her door.

“I’m all the way on the end,” Joss said. “
But if you need anything, feel free to come knock the door down until I wake.” She smiled sweetly and then reached up and hugged Ava tightly. “See you in the morning.”

“See
ya.”

Ava turned and quietly opened the door and slipped inside the room. Peter had left the lamp on for her and
after changing into a soft shirt and shorts, she slid underneath the warm blankets. She clicked off the lamp and Peter rolled over and placed an arm around her, drawing her closer. He sleepily kissed her forehead.

Joss was right. She didn’t need to worry so much. Peter was one of them now. A strong addition to this world and she felt incredibly lucky.

Ava and Peter were anxious as he pulled into a parking space at the school. She twirled her ring around her finger and dreaded the day. Ava couldn’t believe it was September already and definitely didn’t want to be at school.

Melissa, Lance, Link, Nicole, and Seth had been waiting for them. Ava could feel all of their
unease as she opened the car door and then closed it.

Link released a loud sigh. “I can’t believe we’re here.”

“I can’t believe they rebuilt it so quickly.” Melissa
took a drag from her cigarette.

“I really don’t want to be here.” Nicole chewed on her bottom lip and hugged herself. Ava sympathized for her once she saw the terror in her blue eyes.

Link unclenched her arms and took her hand in his. “I’m not going to leave your side today.”

Melissa tossed her cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. “We can do this.
It’s senior year. We have as much right to be here as any of them. Now let’s go.”

Ava slid her hand into Peter’s and he held it tight. “She’s right. We’ll be okay.”

Peter nodded and they made their way into the newly constructed part of the school. It smelled new. The freshly painted walls were a shiny gray. The lights were brighter. The floors glossier. And the stares from the other students angrier.

Ava envied that
Melissa and Lance could walk with such confidence – like nothing bothered them or like they weren’t a target among the Ephemerals. Ava knew they were all vastly stronger than the humans, but they were supposed to protect them. Blend in with them. But it was difficult when the Ephemerals glared at them with such hatred and disgust for what had happened. No matter how many times Ava and others explained they were victims as well, they didn’t believe them.

“I feel like I’m going to have a panic attack.” Ava heard Nicole whisper from behind her.

Students watched them pass through the hall, their faces frozen in disbelief. It was daunting as they made their way to their lockers since the usual loud scurrying and locker slamming and chatting had ceased. But slowly, the noise began to pick up again.

T
he group split and Peter accompanied Ava to her locker and she tried to ignore the stares and whispers and jeers.

“I’ll see you
at lunch,” Peter said, watching everyone pass by.

Ava grabbed his
face and forced him to look at her. “Ignore them, Peter. I know it’s easier said than done, but we’re just as innocent as they are.”

He nodded and then kissed her on the lips. He turned around and braved the torturous walk to class.

Ava took a deep breath and made her way to English. She took the seat in the back closest to the door. So far, no one said anything as they entered the room. They all minded their business. A shy quiet girl dropped down in the desk next to Ava. She was so unassuming and had always kept to herself. Ava couldn’t remember her name, but she reminded her a lot of Kristen Miller, Xavier’s first victim.

Ava heard a loud clap,
like someone had dropped a book on a desk, and jumped. She turned toward the noise and saw Drew sinisterly smile as he slid into the seat in front of her.

“Well, hello there, Ginger,” he said.

Ava rolled her eyes. “Like I haven’t heard that before.”

“Where are all your little buddies?”

“Probably in their classes. Just like all your little buddies.”

“So, what’s it like being a witch? Can you do spells?
Make someone fall in love with you? Curse them forever?”

Ava leaned forward. “Why don’t you come to my secret lair and I can show you?” she whispered. The frightened look in Drew’s eyes made her laugh
inside. “You really are stupid if you think witches exist.”

“Why do you wear that stupid necklace?” He pointed at it.

“Why do you have a tattoo of a Chinese symbol? Or why do people wear crosses?”

“Those are religions.”

Ava barked a laugh. “Chinese is a religion? I guess you learn something new every day.”

Drew leaned closer to her
, and Ava gagged from his bad breath. “You act like you’re so much better than everyone else. But you’re just a sad excuse for a human.”

Good thing she wasn’t a human. “And you’re just a sad little boy
who only feels better about himself when he puts down others.”

His face darkened. “You’d better watch it, or we’ll be the ones burning your house next.
”

Ava stifled her building anger. “I have to have a house for that to happen.”

Drew laughed. “Omigod. You’re too poor to have a house. That’s hilarious.”

She
stared at him, repulsed, wanting to use her power, but she withheld it. “My house burned down by the same culprit who bombed the school.” She wasn’t sure why she told him that. Maybe in hopes he would lay off or that it proved she was innocent. She hated stooping to their level.

“Likely story.”
The bell rang and Drew rested his arm on her desk. “So what do you have to do to become a witch?” he whispered.

“Not letting this go, are you?”

He shrugged. “I’m just fascinated.”

“What do you have to do to be a part of any religion?”

“Come on. Be serious. I
know
you all did something the day of the memorial and the night that Thomas’s house burned. Trent would never hit me like that. You cut off his air. How’d you do it?”

Ava dropped her glare and saw that his hand was in a tight fist.
She could really use Gillian’s mind manipulation right now. Or something. “Cut off his air? Do you know how dumb you sound right now? I think you’re paranoid. Might need to visit a shrink.”

He snatched her arm and dug his fingers into it.
“You’re playing with fire right now. None of you deserves to be here after killing all of those people. Murderers should be locked up. Or killed.”

“Drew, I’m s
orry you lost some friends. I lost some, too. So stop trying to blame all this on us because we didn’t do anything. We were all injured in that attack.”

“Didn’t they burn witches at the stake back in the day?”

Ava met his crazed eyes. Would he really rally the troops and try burning all of them? He was bluffing. She had to keep her breaths even or her necklace would go off. She wasn’t afraid of him exactly. Just of the unknown and of hurting him. “Let go of me,” she demanded.

“
I wouldn’t keep showing your faces around here. But if you do, you’ll be the center of our bonfire next month.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Let go of me.”

He glared at her and then released her.

Ava didn’t pay attention in class. It was the first day and it was a very
wild atmosphere. Everyone tried to be upbeat and start a new beginning, but the solemnity lingered around like some gnat. Always in someone’s face.

When the bell rang at the end of class, Ava followed the line out the door and into the hallway. Maybe once everyone saw them every day the
glares and whispers would end, but Ava highly doubted it. She took a seat in her government class and ignored the group of girls staring and laughing at her.

Ava looked right at them as if to challenge them and realized two of the girls were Valerie Hammond and Amanda
Russo, Peter’s old friends. She could only imagine the rumors they were starting.

Valerie made her way toward Ava and stood over her. Ava
assumed it was meant to intimidate her, but it only annoyed her.

Anger leak
ed out of Valerie’s brown eyes. Her long brown hair was straight but her bangs curled under a little.

“What do you want, Valerie?”

“Whatever you did with Peter, give him back.”

Ava let out a small laugh. “Excuse me?”

“He was kidnapped and then suddenly he’s hanging out with you and your friends.”

“Same with Seth,” Amanda said.

“Maybe you should talk to both of them. It was their choice.”

“You think Peter and Seth are stupid
enough to just join your cult or whatever? I know you did something to them. And we know it was you and your friends who bombed this school. You’re a heartless bitch.”

Ava ignored her. She had to keep calm. After a few seconds, Valerie and Amanda finally walked away.

Getting blamed for the bombing had gotten old, but Ava knew that was something they would have to deal with since they returned. What was so wrong with homeschooling? Okay, so they weren’t supposed to run from their problems, but what if that one problem they were entrusted to protect tried to attack them?

As soon as class was over, Ava found Peter by her locke
r and they silently walked hand-in-hand to the new cafeteria. She could feel his frustration and annoyance and squeezed his hand.

He gave her a sad smile and squeezed back.

Once they walked inside the lunchroom, they got in one of the lines.

“At least they could have changed the looks of the lunchroom,” she said. It was identical to the previous one with its high warehouse-like ceiling and gray painted concrete walls. Windows lined the very top of the walls, but didn’t let much light in.

After they got their food, they sat with Melissa and Lance. Ava figured Gillian, Jeremy, and Thomas ate by themselves since they didn’t want to be around her or Peter. It was ridiculous.

“Well, today sucks a big one,” Melissa said.

Ava nodded. “You’re telling me. Drew Foley is in my English class and threatened me.”

“Fantastic. Trent is in my science class and did the same. I really need a cigarette.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “We’ll go out in a second.”

Nicole
, Link, and Seth walked up to the table.

“Can we sit here?” Link asked.

Melissa moved her bag from an empty seat and set it on the floor. “Of course.”

They
dropped their trays down, and looked around like they expected something to happen.

Ava stabbed a piece of lettuce on her plate. “It’s so somber in here.”

“Well, did you expect it to be all puppies and rainbows today?” Melissa fidgeted with her fork.

“I was only making a statement.”

Link leaned forward on the table. “Does Savina realize exactly what each of us are going through? This isn’t normal bullying. We are not welcome here, and I don’t need to fear for my life from my old friends.”

“They can’t hurt you,” Melissa said. “You just have to keep telling yourselves that you or any of us were
n’t responsible for that bombing. It was Devon and Xavier. You had no control over your actions. At all. And you need to start believing it, or the Ephemerals will keep badgering you.”

“Has it always been like this for you all?” Nicole asked.

“Like what?”

“The constant stares and the whispering.”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Ava said. “Maybe not this bad, but people have nothing better to do than gossip about someone they know nothing about.”

“I can’t stand it. How do you deal with it?”

“I’ve learned to ignore it, but sometimes it’s hard,” Melissa said. “It will eventually end.”

“Just don’t sit there and take it for too long,” Ava said. “Otherwise they’ll walk all over you for as long as you let them.”

Nicole nodded.

“Where are Thomas, Gillian, and Jeremy?” Seth asked.

Ava sighed. “Still avoiding us. Well, Peter and me really.”

Melissa took a bite of her salad. “They’ll come around eventually.”

Seth frowned. “I wish I could say the same about Amanda. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to talk to her. What if I told her about me, it would change her mindset. How did you do it Ava?”

“She was very wishy-washy for a really long time,” Melissa said and then smiled. “It was kind of annoying after a while.”

“It was a hard decision.”

“
True, but you’re madly in love with Peter and practically obsessed over him for a while.”

Ava shifted uncomfortably.
“Really, Mel?”

Melissa lifted a shoulder. “What? It’s true.”

“What was your reaction when you found out about Ava?” Seth asked Peter.

“At first it was surreal but I don’t know.
” He shrugged. “It didn’t matter to me. I love her.”

Ava glanced at Peter and smiled.

Melissa groaned. “Okay, lovebirds.”

“Please. Like you and Lance aren’t obvious. Always sneaking off in the woods.”

“At least we’re private about it.”

Ava rolled her eyes.
“We try to be,” she said under her breath. “Seth, I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell Amanda.”

“Why
? I mean, I would wait a while before telling her.”