Evan Elemental (The Evan Elemental Series) (10 page)

"I
didn't know places like this existed in Price."

Josh
laughs. "Places like this are everywhere; you just have to know where to
look."

"Hm.
So, uh, what's with you and Connor?" I ask casually.

Josh
gives me a sheepish look. "Nothing."

I roll
my eyes at his attempt to be cavalier. "Yeah, right. I saw that little
moment in the alley."

"Some
other time, Evan." He jerks his head to the side and I turn to see Connor
walking toward us. I nod in understanding.

"Look
what I have." Connor holds out a baggie that contains a bunch of little
white pills. He has a pleased look on his face that makes my skin crawl. I
don't know what's going on between him and Josh, but I already don't like it.

"Nice,"
Josh replies, nodding his head appreciatively.

"What's
that?" I keep my voice steady even though I'm a ball of nerves inside. I'm
not so sure if I want to go down this route. In fact, I know I don't, but the
temptation is strong. I've always been more curious about drugs than I should
be, than anyone should be.

"Devil's
Daydream," Connor answers, his lips curling up in a wicked smirk. Josh
rolls his eyes.

"Everyone
just calls it Vitamin D. Devil's Daydream is the name of the herb it's made out
of. It's a mild hallucinogen," Josh explains. He sounds so casual about it
that it's kind of scary and intriguing all at once.

"Oh,"
is all I can manage to say without letting on how nervous and excited I am.

Josh
must sense my trepidation, because he puts his arm around my shoulders and
gives me a squeeze. He drops his voice and whispers into my ear. "You
don't have to do anything you don't want to."

I bite
the inside of my lip and consider. "How mild?" I ask.

Josh
chuckles. "Mild enough that you still maintain your sense of self. We take
it because it opens us up spiritually."

I press
my lips together to keep from laughing at how stupid that sounds because I like
Josh and I don't want to offend him, although I'm pretty sure I could hear the
amusement in his voice when he said it.

"Yeah,"
Connor chimes in, "and Price is the best place for it. That herb grows
here naturally and they say this place is a hotbed of paranormal and spiritual
activity." Now that's really funny.

He
holds out one of the little white pills to Josh who takes it and easily tosses it
into the back of his throat, swallowing. Connor takes a second for himself,
presses it to his tongue, and swallows it with a swig of Jack Daniels. The
third pill he holds out for me to take.

"How
about it, Princess?" His eyes gleam with a silent challenge. Princess?
Something tells me he knows more about me than I'd like him to. My earlier
paranoia about this being a set up resurfaces, but I push it back.

"Whatever,"
I reply casually, taking the pill and swallowing it before I can think about it
too much.

I half
expect something to happen instantly, like it does in the movies, but I still
feel normal. Connor sits down on the other side of Josh and takes his hand. I
feel a pang of jealousy and loss. If
Lex
hadn't been
sent away, would I be here with them?
Probably not.
So
many things are happening that shouldn't, but all of those things seem to lead
to the same damn mystery; a series of different questions all with the same
elusive answer. For all I know sitting here on this couch with two strange
boys, waiting for some mystery drug to kick in, is exactly where I'm supposed
to be.

"You
feel anything?" Josh asks, stirring me from my thoughts.

I blow
out a puff of air and shake my head. "No, I don't think so."

Just as
the words come out of my mouth the walls begin to sway a bit. I try standing,
but my limbs feel heavy and my body immobile. My breath quickens as panic
starts to set in. I watch helplessly as the ceiling shatters into a million
white-pink petals that float down in slow motion. They land softly on the
floor, which has morphed into a blue glass lake. The scene is painfully
familiar.

"Evan,"
Josh breathes and grabs my hand, "It's OK. Calm down. None of it is
real."

I shake
my head. "Yes it is. I've seen this before."

"What?"
he asks. His voice sounds a lot farther away now.

I open
my mouth to answer but the words die on my tongue.
In the
middle of the lake a brilliant shimmering light blossoms.
It twists and
swirls until it takes the shape of an archway. Suddenly, my body feels feather
light. I seem to float off the sofa instead of stand. I should be worried about
sinking to the bottom of the lake as soon as I take a step, but I'm not. The
petals have come together to form a walkway that is solid under my feet.

"Evan,
what are you doing?" someone calls. It must be Josh, but he sounds so far
away and nothing can make me turn back now. The closer I get to the arch, the
faster I walk. It's that same sure and steady motion I felt when I was leading
us out of the woods. A gentle warmth pulses from the surface of the water as I
walk, as if the lake is alive and speaking to me.

An
immeasurable amount of time passes and I'm standing in front of the archway. I
stretch out my arm and watch as my hand disappears into the light that fills
the arch. I can still feel it attached to my body but somehow it also feels
separate. I take a deep breath and take a step, sending the rest of me through
the arch.

I half
expect to enter into some Alice in Wonderland-
esque
alternate reality. Instead, I find myself in a hotel room. It's a rather nice
hotel room with posh furniture, a gleaming
flatscreen
TV, and a giant plush-looking bed. I glance behind me. The shimmering door is
gone, replaced by a giant plate glass window. Early morning light streams in
making everything look grey-blue.

A door
clicks open to my right before I have a chance to hide myself. Well, before it
even occurs to me that I maybe should hide myself. I'm completely unprepared
for who walks through the door a half a second later.

"Evan?
My god, what are you doing here?" asks a deep, painfully familiar voice.

My eyes
travel slowly up Lex's body taking in his dark fitted pants, crisp white
button-down shirt that's halfway undone, and his hair still wet from the
shower. It's too good to be true and I have to resist the urge to pinch myself
to make sure I really am awake.

My
voice sounds too high pitched when I speak. "I don't know. I think I might
be hallucinating."

Lex's
face folds into a look of concern but I can see the hint of amusement in his
eyes. "Hallucinating?" he repeats. Slowly he steps closer to me and
gingerly places his fingertips under my chin, tilting my head slightly upwards.
He looks searchingly into my eyes making my knees go weak. I falter slightly
and he slips his arm around my waist in one smooth motion to steady me.

"Evan,"
he says slowly, trying to suppress his budding grin, "are you high?"

I bite
the corner of my lip in an attempt to hide my own smile. "Maybe.
Definitely." Lex's smile broadens. For the second time tonight, I feel my
face go ten shades past pink.

"I
took this weird herb and then all this freaky shit starting happening," I
explain articulately.

"Herb?
What herb?"
Lex
asks, his smile fading slightly.

"
Uhm
, Devil's Daydream, I think." Lex's eyes darken and
his mouth presses into a hard line. He looks fierce and deadly without the
familiar amused glint in his eyes and it makes me shiver.

Lex
tightens his hold on my waist.
When he speaks his voice is dark and thick, danger and desire. "Why would
you do that? Messing with drugs is dangerous on its own, but magic herbs?"

Another
shiver courses through my body, but this time it's in response to what he said.
Magic herbs? Josh and Conner didn't mention anything about magic.
Disappointment crashes down on me in one big lead wave. I really thought Josh
was a good guy and I was looking forward to having someone at school that I
knew, that I actually liked. Tears well in my eyes making me feel even more
foolish.

"Please
don't cry,"
Lex
whispers, his voice awash with tenderness. He circles his other arm around my
waist and pulls me tight against his chest. "You're okay now. Tell me how
you got here. Did you take drugs and wind up on an airplane? How did you know
where I was?"

My
stomach drops. I had conveniently forgotten about my newfound ability to
somehow traverse across space and time. Maybe I really am brain damaged.
"I didn't get on a plane," I mumble into his chest. "I don't
really know what happened." My voice cracks and I feel the fresh threat of
tears sting my eyes.

"Try
and think about it,"
Lex
urges me gently.

I take
a deep breath and try to pull myself together. Reluctantly, I pull back so I
can look into Lex's eyes. "No, I mean, I know what happened. I just don't
know how or why."

Suddenly
I'm buzzing with nervous energy. I loosen myself from Lex's arms and start
pacing the room.

"It
was this little white pill, and after I took it I was just sitting there when
the room started to wobble and then the ceiling started to rain flower petals.
It was like that day by the lake, before you left." I pause and search
Lex's face for signs of disbelief but don't find any; he's concentrating on
what I'm saying and it reminds me that in Lex's world things like this are
commonplace. I take a shaky breath and resume pacing.

"I
mean, the floor, it looked just like the lake, all smooth and blue-green. And
all I could think about was how badly I wanted to be with you." I pause in
front of the window and take in the unfamiliar scene. I'm torn and humiliated
for being so honest, but I don't think I realized how desperate I am to be near
Lex
until now. Instead of dwelling, I push the thought
aside and concentrate on the last hazy bits of what happened. When I press my
eyes closed I can see the perfect outline of the arch that I stepped through.

"Evan?"
Lex
says in a low voice. "What happened
next?"

I turn
to look him in the eye. "Then, there was an arch. At least, that's what it
looked like." I fall silent, remembering the way it shimmered and called
to me.

"Then
what?"
Lex
whispers. His jaw is tense and it
scares me. I'm afraid of what this means. I'm afraid of how much more has
changed and will keep changing.

"I
didn't even need to think about it, I just started walking toward the arch, and
then I was walking through it. And
..
."

"And?"

I bite
my bottom lip but it doesn't stop the grin that suddenly pops up. "And
here I am." I let out a nervous laugh.

"Holy
shit, Evan."

"Yeah,
I know," I say, slumping onto a plush white sofa.

"No
you don't. You have no idea what this means."

"And
you do?" I ask.
Lex
takes up pacing where I left
off.

I hop
up from the couch and grab his arm, halting him. "
Lex
?
What does it mean?"
Lex
turns his head slightly
so he's looking down at me, the expression in his eyes distant and thoughtful.

"I'm
not exactly sure, but it has something to do with why I'm here, what I'm
looking for."
Lex
drops down to the couch and
leans forward so that his elbows are resting on his knees and his hands are
clasped between them. I try to be patient while I wait for him to gather his
thoughts, but I'm itching for answers and patience has never been my strongest
attribute. I sit on the edge of the bed and bite my nails in an effort to keep
my mouth shut.

"Evan,"
Lex
finally says after several minutes, "has
anything else happened, since I left? Like what happened at the lake?"

"Yes,"
I reply quickly, a wave of relief washing over me. Since he's been gone there
hasn't been anyone to talk to about what's been happening.

"Tonight,
I channeled energy from a bonfire at this stupid party in the woods. And that
wasn't the first time; I think I can manipulate it, if I want. And then I was
lost in the woods and somehow I was able to use the wind to find the direction
out. There's been a bunch of stuff like that, sometimes small like a flicker in
a gas lamp. And sometimes big, like the night you left. I think...I think I
made it rain. I'm not sure about that one, though. It could have been a
coincidence."

I pause
and look at
Lex
. He's staring at me with wide eyes,
his face paler than normal.

"
Lex
?" My voice is small when I speak. "Say
something."

I watch
as he gets up from the couch, walks slowly over to the bed, and sits heavily on
the edge beside me.

"Evan,
the reason why I'm here? I'm looking for a text, a document. This document is
said to contain a prophecy."