Awaken the Elements (Elemental Trilogy) (17 page)

             
“Rowan?” She called out into the dim store. She listened. No answer. Was he sleeping? Her smile turned into a wicked grin. That would make it even better. She noticed Rowan and River had turned the music shop into a small house. Living room set up in front, and by the looks of it, bedrooms in the back. It was darker the further in she walked, making it harder to see.

             
She reached the curtains and gently moved one out of the way. Peeking in, she thought she saw Rowan lying on his back. She could make out two types of music playing which meant both Rowan and River had headphones on, and they were turned up pretty loud.

             
She walked over to his bed and jumped on the mattress. She bent down and kissed him. Strong arms encircled her, and his mouth opened. The kiss became deep and needy. The strong arms holding her to a rock hard chest, and it felt so good, warm and safe. She broke away, and he removed his headphones.

             
“Autumn?” River whispered.

             
“Oh, crap,” she whispered, jumped off the bed, and quickly left the store.

             
River got up and listened to see if they had bothered Rowan then left the store to find Autumn. Anatha glanced up from her book and watched River stop Autumn outside her shop. She frowned, seeing him holding Autumn’s arm.

             
“I’m sorry,” Autumn said.

             
“Why?” he asked. “I didn’t mind it.” He reached up and pushed some curls out of her face. “You can kiss me anytime.”

             
Her eyes went to Anatha, whose angry, burgundy eyes looked at them. “We can’t do this,” she whispered.  She didn’t mind the idea of kissing him again; it had been a long time since she had felt so much heat in a kiss.

             
“Why not?”

             
“Anatha likes you.”

             
“But I don’t like her.”

             
“Can we talk about this some other time?” She looked at him. “Please?”

             
He nodded. “Yeah. Does this mean I moved up higher on the list?”

             
“One of two.”

             
“Goodnight, Autumn,” he said, giving her a smile that turned her insides to mush. Damn, she wanted to drag him into her room and have her way with him for the rest of the night. But she would be a good girl.

             
“See you in the morning,” she said. She watched him disappear back into the music store. She hated what she had to do now. She went over to Anatha, preparing herself for her cousin’s wrath.

             
“What the hell was that?”

             
“I needed to ask Rowan something, and he was sleeping. River wanted to ask me about the magic. He wanted to know if he could chat with us all tomorrow about different religions.”

             
“That seemed too friendly to me,” she murmured.

             
Autumn shrugged. “That’s all it was about.” She watched as a dirt brown monkey walked past her. It turned and looked at her with the same color eyes she had. It smiled and ran away.

             
“Anatha?” She shook her head. “No.”

             
Anatha looked up from her notebook, “What?” She saw a scarlet snake pass behind Autumn. It was about five inches thick and about six feet long. She let out a small shriek, jumping off the futon. Autumn turned around. Eyes big, she got up and walked backward.

             
“What the
   
” She tripped over Anatha’s foot, sitting down hard.

             
“Don’t be afraid,” the monkey said, sitting beside her. “We are your pets. Only real witches can see us.  We’ve been looking all over this mall for you two.” Autumn’s mouth fell open, but no words came out.

             
THE
MONKEY IS TALKING TO ME!!!
Screamed Autumn’s mind.

             
“Do you have to yell so loud?” the snake hissed.

             
“Autumn, are we really seeing what we’re seeing and hearing what we’re hearing?” Anatha asked in a whisper, but all Autumn could do was nod. She hadn’t found her voice yet.

             
“Do not be afraid. We are a part of you,” The monkey said, scratching its head.

             
“What? What do you mean?” Autumn finally said.

             
“The ritual you performed tonight introduced you into a magical world.”

             
“And that makes you guys what?” Anatha asked.

             
“Your guardians, teachers,” The monkey looked up, trying to figure out what else to add.

             
“Friends,” the snake said, slithering towards Anatha.

             
“What made you?” Autumn asked.

              “You called us. We’ve been asleep, waiting for you to wake us. It’s about time too. You guys should have come into your magic long ago.”

             
“You’re still afraid of me?” The snake hissed at Anatha.

             
“Sorry, but I’ve never had a large, red, talking snake slither over to me.”

             
“Touch me. I’m not red, I’m scarlet. Touch me. Go on,” it said. She bent down, reaching out her shaking hand. Her fingers touched the scales. It wasn’t hard like it looked but silky smooth. “I was once a dragon.”

             
“Was not,” the monkey said.

             
“I can breathe fire.” It said, giving the monkey a deadly look.

             
“And I can read,” the monkey said.

             
“I’m going to torch your tail.”

             
“Well, I’ll read the Iliad to you again.” The snake hissed, moving away from Anatha. The monkey jumped off the futon. “I’m not afraid of you!” The monkey cried out.

             
Anatha and Autumn sat beside each other.  She coughed, getting the attention of the snake and monkey. “So what do we do now?”

             
The snake went still, and it was the monkey who spoke. “We teach you magic.”

             
“That’s all?” Anatha asked.

             
“Yeah.”

             
“So what do you guys eat? I’ve never had a monkey before,” Autumn said.

             
“We don’t eat,” The snake said.

             
“What are your names?” Anatha asked.

             
The monkey and snake exchanged glances. “You have to name us.”

             
“That’s going to be hard,” Autumn said.

             
“You both look tired. You should sleep on it,” The monkey said.

              That night, Autumn slept very well. She dreamt of kissing Rowan and River while a dirt brown monkey snickered somewhere behind her. Anatha dreamt about seeing River naked again, and the snake torching his bare ass. River dreamt of being chased by Anatha while being chased by a small dragon. Rowan dreamt about doing a little more than kissing Autumn. He woke up from the dream wide-eyed and sweaty. River woke up feeling as if he had lost something, looking on the ground to make sure no dragon was sitting there watching him.

****

             
“It’s fucking hot, G,” Jaime said.

              “You’re telling me,” Joe replied. They sat beside each other under one of the palm trees in the fake grass that surrounded the base of the trunks. Staying close to the floor felt to be the coolest spot in the mall.

             
Everyone lingered on the second floor.  It was too hot on the other floors. Autumn walked by the guys. She had on a pair of denim shorts and a green halter top. Everyone had on only as much that would keep them decent. She hated summer and dreaded the season each year. The heat made her miserable, and right now she just wanted to die. She went over to the fountain, dunking her head in. She pulled it out, flinging her hair back, and getting everyone wet. The water was cool as it ran down her back.

             
“I’m going to die,” she said, looking into the water thinking about getting in.

             
“Thinking of drowning yourself?” Stefan asked.

             
She looked at him. “Sounds like a good idea,” she said. Her monkey sat on the fountain edge, a fan attached to its long three-foot tail.
Woodruff
, she thought. It looked at her and shook its head.  She had been trying to name it all morning.

             
“Blah,” Hazel said. She was sitting by Jaime. “I need someone to fan me. Why couldn’t we get stuck in some exotic place?”

             
“Be glad you’re here. I am,” Joe said.

             
River was sitting on the edge of the fountain. “Just sit down. The heat will pass.”

             
Rosemary
?

             
The monkey gave a small humph. “Do I look like a female?” it said aloud. She sat by River and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. No one had. 

             
“It’s not even the heat of the day. The air conditioner better be fixed soon. If not, we’re going to bake in here when July hits. I’d rather go out and take my chances with the infected.” She looked at the doors. She moved her legs to River’s lap and laid back on the fountain edge. “I’m too hot to even worry about the creepy things.”

             
She let her right hand flop into the fountain. She stared up at the dome window. The other day they had discovered it could retract to let in fresh air. With the heat and stale air inside, the fresh air livened them up for a bit.  Then it only let more hot air in.

             
River ran his hand up and down Autumn’s right leg. “Nice and silky,” he said.

             
“I know. You like?” She asked.

             
“He shouldn’t be touching you like that,” the monkey said lazily.

             
Kevin
? She asked in her head.

             
“I knew a Kevin once, got his head bitten off by an alligator,” the monkey said.

             
“Are you coming on to me?” River asked slyly.

             
“Sure, whatever.”

             
He laughed, touching her tattoo, tracing the wings with his finger. “Tell me about your tattoo.”

             
“What do you want to know?” She stared up at the crystal blue sky through the thick glass dome.

             
“Why a butterfly?”

             
“I like butterflies. They are pretty, and it has another meaning for me.” She turned her head in time to watch Rowan walk over to them.
Chip, Dale, Donald
?

             
“Do I look like a squirrel or a duck? I warned you,” the monkey said, watching Rowan too.

             
“Having fun?” Rowan asked River.

             
“Tons,” the monkey said. Autumn bit her lip.

             
“Sure,” River said. “So what’s the other meaning?”  His dark eyes looked at Autumn.

             
“Butterflies are said to be the souls of the dead in some cultures. They are gentle and delicate which I’m not.” She motioned to Rowan to sit by her head. He did, and she moved enough, so she could use his leg as a pillow. She was still hot but at least comfortable.
Adair
?

             
“Hmm, not bad. I sort of like that,” the monkey said. “Adair; think of anything else?”

             
Nope.

             
“I guess I look like a pillow, huh?” Rowan looked down at her.

             
“Be quiet, and be a good pillow,” she said, smiling up at him. He smoothed her curly, damp hair back from her face.

             
“Where’s a palm leaf? I’ll fan,” Stefan said with a huge smirk on his face.

             
“Shut up,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him. “Go find me a fan!”

             
“No way, man. You ain’t my mommy,” he said.

              “I wonder where Drake is?” Jaime asked.

             
“What for?” Autumn asked, turning to look at the monkey as it dropped off the edge and ran away.