Awaken the Elements (Elemental Trilogy) (20 page)

             
He rubbed his hands together. “I hope it is tight and leathery.”

             
“Or tight with lots of boobage.”

             
River tilted his head, thinking about it and nodded. “That works too.” They laughed, and Rowan draped his arm around River’s shoulder. They left the music store and made their way to Lears, where Anatha, Envy, and Ivy Lee were throwing their Halloween party. The lights were dimmed as they entered. Strobe lights flashed orange and purple as Stefan deejayed.

             
“Do you see Autumn?” River asked loudly over the music.

             
Rowan looked around. “No. Maybe she is running late.”

             
River nodded, and Anatha and Janice came over. Anatha was dressed as a dominatrix school girl. The guys took in the outfits; short schoolgirl skirt, white knee highs, slut heels, and a blouse that looked leather. Janice was dressed in a tight leather suit, wearing cat ears and a tail.

             
“Wow, and I thought I had been underdressed,” Rowan said to River.

             
“Hi, guy,” Anatha said. “You want to dance?”

             
River looked at Rowan, and then scanned the people in the room. No Autumn yet. He didn’t see the harm in dancing. The song was fast and techno, and Anatha threw out some good moves. Rowan and Janice danced close by as they both kept an eye out for Autumn. Three songs in, Stefan decided to play something soft.

             
Anatha pressed her body against him. “You know, I think I am going to take a break,” he said.

             
She stepped back. “Sure.”

             
He went over to Rowan and Drake. “Has Autumn shown up yet?”

             
Drake shook his head. “No. Haven’t seen her. I see you’ve been dancing with Anatha. She looks good in that costume.”

             
“She is all yours,” River said.

             
“Or you can dance with Janice,” Rowan said. “She wants me to sneak away and visit her bat cave.”

             
“Are you serious?” River asked, shaking his head.

             
He nodded. The guys danced with others and talked with their friends. A few hours went by, and River had yet to see Autumn.  He went over to Anatha.

             
“Wanna dance some more?” she asked.

             
“ Sure, in a bit. Hey, have you seen Autumn?  Rowan and I haven’t seen her.”

             
Her smile faltered, and her hands went to her hips. “She’s not here.”

             
“I get that. Just wondering why?”

             
She shrugged and twirled to the music. She grabbed his hands. “Who cares? Dance with me, River.” She moved up against him, rubbing her body against his. “Or maybe you would like to sit and chat. I’d like that too.”

             
“Maybe. But Rowan wanted to see what Autumn was dressed as.”

             
The music slowed down, and Anatha rubbed herself against him a little harder. He looked down at her. She was cute, but he didn’t think of her the way he thought of Autumn. “I love dancing,” she murmured to him, and the music sped up.

             
“So why isn’t Autumn here?”

             
She stopped, glaring at him. “Autumn wasn’t
i
nvited
,
” she said, spitting out the words in contempt.

             
“Why not? She is family.”

             
Her face flushed, and she couldn’t hide her annoyance. “She might be family, but she’s not our friend. She’s a giant nerd.”

             
“What’s up, girl?” Envy inquired, her devil horns shining in the party lights.

             
“I was explaining why Autumn isn’t here.”

             
Envy crossed her large arms over her chest. “Autumn is weird. She doesn’t dance, and she doesn’t have fun like we do.”

             
“It’s unfair to have a party and not invite her.”

             
Envy sniffed at him haughtily. “There are other people we didn’t invite either. Like her friend Hazel. She graduated from a tech school and thinks she’s better than us. What the fuck ever.”

             
“Okay,” River said. “I’m going to get some punch.”

             
“Be a dear, and bring me a cup too,” Anatha said as she turned away to focus on Envy.

             
He shook his head, brows furrowed. He walked past Rowan who was being assaulted by Janice. He turned, grabbed his cape, and pulled him out of the store. Janice stared after them.

             
“Thank you,” Rowan said, grabbing River’s shoulders. “You saved my life.”

             
“Autumn wasn’t invited.”

             
“What?” he looked at him. “Why?”

             
“They don’t like her.”

             
“Who cannot like her?” Rowan asked.

             
“Let’s go check her room,” River said.

             
Rowan shook his head. “She’s down in the bookstore.”

             
“How do you know?”

             
He turned his brown eyes, looking at Lears. “I think she would want to get away from the party.”

             
Five minutes later they walked into the bookstore. Toward the back, Autumn sat watching a horror movie, a bottle of wine clutched in her hand. Hazel sat in one of the other chairs, sleeping. They weren’t sure she was sleeping, so they watched her quietly. Autumn picked up the bottle of wine to drink, but it was empty.

             
“Darn,” she said.

             
“Autumn?” River said.

             
She gave a startled gasp and turned around. “Sorry,” they said in unison.

             
She put down the bottle when she realized she had it gripped like a weapon. Then she took in their outfits, sighing. She turned back to the movie. “Have a good time?”

             
“Not really,” River came over and sat on one side as Rowan sat on the other. He looked over at Hazel. “Should we whisper?”

             
She laughed. “No. She went upstairs to get high with Moss and came down here and drank some wine. She is out for the rest of the night.”

             
“We went to the party and when you never showed up, they finally told us you weren’t coming,” Rowan said.

             
“I wasn’t invited,” she said, correcting him. “I am what they call a party pooper. The only thing I did right was say yes to a doctor. He was perfect, and they loved him, and he wanted to bend me.” She showed them with her hands.

             
She kicked the bottle now by her foot. It fell over and rolled away from her. Her eyes were lost in thought. “He controlled everything. Money, how the apartment was decorated, how I dressed, how I conducted myself in public. Autumn, the obedient dog. Because out there in that old world, he made my parents happy and,” she sat forward, hanging her head. “Fuck, I can’t believe this. I thought of financial freedom and a life of ease. All I had to do was give up being myself.”

She stood up. “I used to grow things.”

              “Then why don’t you now?” River asked.

             
“He ruined it for me.” She walked around the table. “One night at a party he had too much to drink, and I said some things to upset him. When we got home, he was so angry. I didn’t notice. I was checking on my plants, and he came in screaming at me about not being proper in front of his people. I went to get ready for bed. I don’t like confrontation. I’m like the
Hulk;
you won’t like me when I’m angry.” She winked at the guys. “I got out of the bathroom and heard the shattering.”

             
Tears started running down her cheeks. “He killed them. He killed them all. He stepped on their weak stems, grinding his heels in the roots. That night, he killed that part of me I had been hanging onto. And I became the good fiancé. The stupid trophy wife. Here I can be free. But it costs.”

             
River and Rowan had gotten to their feet and encircled her in a giant hug. “Screw them, Autumn. Let your freak flag fly,” River said.

             
She laughed. “The worst part is I am so tired of feeling the guilt.”

             
“Then stop. No more guilt. From tonight on. There is nothing you can do to fix what happened,” Rowan said.

             
“It might be me, or it might be the wine. But at this very moment I am very hot.”

             
They stepped away. “Sorry,” they said together.

             
She grabbed their hands. “Come on Captain Tight Pants and Professor Steamy Bottoms. I have some more wine chilling, and the night is still young.”

             
An hour later, working on a bottle of Jack, the three sat down in the movie theater. Their movie finished, and Autumn wobbled to her feet. “Let’s go back to my room. I think I need to be closer to the bathroom. I feel I have to walk a mile to get to one in this place.” River suggested they act like ninjas as they snuck to Autumn’s room. There they collapsed on a bunch of pillows, laughing.

             
“So what now?” River asked.

             
“I know,” Autumn shook her head at the bottle Rowan offered. “Truth or dare. Rowan, truth or dare?”

             
He thought about it. “Dare.”

             
“I dare you to kiss River. And when I mean kiss, I mean a passionate tongue kiss.”

             
“Hey now!” River said.

             
Rowan shrugged and grabbed River, pulling him to him. He locked lips with River before River could say a thing. River shocked at first, gave into the kiss. Autumn’s eyes got wide, shocked that they were actually do it. And, well, it turned her on. Rowan finished the kiss.

             
“Wow,” Autumn said.

             
“My turn,” Rowan said. With a wicked grin, he turned to Autumn. “Truth or dare?”

             
“Truth,” she said without hesitation.

             
“What is your dirty fantasy?”

             
She gave him a flirty smile. “You two kissing.” She laughed.

             
“No it isn’t,” Rowan said.

             
“Liar,” River muttered.

             
“My turn,” her green eyes locked on River. “Truth or dare.”

             
“Dare- No, truth!” he said.

             
“Tell me the truth; did you like that kiss?”

             
He looked at her, and then his eyes slid to Rowan who had a big grin on his face. “I did.”

             
“Damn that makes it ten times hotter,” she said, fanning herself with her hand.

             
River shook his head. “Autumn, truth or dare?”

             
“Dare,” she said.

             
“Show us some magic,” he said.

             
She sat back as if a snake had bit her. “I don’t know any magic tricks.”

             
“No, what Hazel had said. Your magic.”

             
She got up and went to the dresser. On it, she had a seed. She walked back over and sat in front of the guys. She opened her palm. “You can tell no one about this.”

             
“You shouldn’t be showing them,” Adair told her, his green eyes flashing with anger.

             
She ignored the monkey. “Promise you won’t tell anyone.”

             
“We promise,” they said.

             
She closed her eyes and her hand around the seed. She could feel it. At first it was just a seed, but then she opened her magic and focused. Her hand warmed, and she could feel movement. She opened her eyes and stared at the guys. They stared at her hand in wonder. The plant hummed with life in her hands.

             
“You are magic,” River whispered.

             
She shrugged. “Something I learned along the way.” She got up and dropped the plant inside a cup of water she had on the desk.