LAILAH
TWENTY-SIX
Drained from the amount of energy that I used to make the shield, I passed out the moment I leaned against the window of the car.
Charlotte sat next to me with a sleeping Hope in her arms, who refused to be put in her own seat.
Kayley and David sat silently in the back of the SUV.
No one knew what to say about what just happened on the mountain.
I had no idea what was known as common knowledge, but whatever it was didn’t prepare them for what we experienced.
Micah drove back this time. Brayden was just as worn out as I was, having brought down a mountain around us. Before my eyes closed for the rest of the drive, I locked eyes with Micah in the rearview mirror. He gave me a nod and the hint of a smile that I took to say I had done good today.
My dreams were fitful and full of demons jumping out of the shadows to attack me.
That had been the second time that I had been swarmed while out in a forest. What did that tell us?
Could we have done something differently?
How did they find us? Did I lead them there with my tainted blood?
Question after question filled my mind with doubt. Was I a danger to this family?
“Lailah,” Charlotte said, shaking me awake. “We're home.”
Slowly, I sat up, my neck feeling stiff from being smashed up against the window the whole ride back.
I rubbed the grit out of my eyes, trying to pull myself out of the haunting thoughts that I’d been trapped in.
Solemnly, we all entered the kitchen, shedding our winter clothes and putting them in the mudroom.
Charlotte took Hope and David upstairs to put them down to rest. Even though David hadn’t said anything, you could just see the lost look in his eyes, unsure of what to do or say.
Kayley went to the stove and put a kettle on to boil water.
I sat at the kitchen table, watching as Kayley pulled down five mugs, plopping a tea bag in each of them. As if on cue, Charlotte rejoined us as the kettle started to whistle. Once everyone had their mug and was seated, we all took a deep breath.
“We have to tell Father,” Charlotte said, breaking the silence.
Brayden lifted his head to look at his sister, eyes tired and filled with sadness. He nodded. “We can’t let him tell Mom. If she knows it will send her off the edge.”
“Especially since Father won’t let her go to a hospital after what happened with Michael. He would rather treat her at home than let her out of his sight,” Charlotte agreed, gripping her mug tightly.
Kayley finally broke and slammed a fist against the table. “Who the hell is going to explain what the fuck happened back there?”
“Language,” Charlotte snapped.
“Right, because that’s something we need to worry about when there are goddamn demons running wild in the woods. Do I need to worry about them attacking us here at home?” Kayley snipped, rolling her eyes.
“The house is warded, no demon should be able to get in,” Micah said, voice muffled from his head lying on his arm folded on the table.
Kayley shot up from the table, causing her chair to crash to the floor behind her. “What do you mean the house is warded? Are we witches or something? Is that what the Elementi are?”
Brayden let out a sigh and ran his hands through his hair. “No, the Elementi are not witches. Far from it. We are the good guys fighting against the demons and keeping the world safe.”
“Right, sure. The good guys, because causing an avalanche, manipulating fire, and making magical shields is totally normal stuff,” Kayley said, crossing her arms. “You better have a fabulous explanation for all this.”
Looking around the table, I could see that everyone was running out of steam to handle her torrent of questions.
“Do you know the story of how the Elementi was started?” I asked, surprising everyone.
“No… just that our family and many others have been a part of it for generations,” Charlotte said, catching me off guard.
I glanced over at Brayden, who wouldn’t meet my eyes. “So you have no idea who and what Brayden and Micah are?”
“What the hell does that mean?” Kayley demanded. “Up until today, I’ve never seen anything strange like that going on, and I grew up with both of them.”
“The three of us are Blessed Elementi Warriors, gifted with elemental powers by the angels,” I said, meeting Kayley’s eyes, then Charlotte’s.
Both of them looked at me like I had just told them they were adopted. Kayley took a moment to right her chair and then sank into it. Charlotte gulped down the rest of her tea as if that would calm her.
“I mean I knew about some things but… Explain what that means—please,” Charlotte whispered.
I reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze until she looked at me. “I’m new to all of this too. I didn’t learn who I was until about a month and a half ago. I understand how shocked and betrayed you must feel.”
“How did you find out?” Kayley asked, making it sound almost like she was accusing me of something.
“When I was being attacked by a demon much worse than what we faced today. It was trying to kill me, and my powers saved me until the guys could kill the demon,” I said, nodding at the boys to my right. “Parker, Jay, and Hudson are also like us.”
“Speaking of them, I think we need to fill them in on what’s going on. They could have something like this happen to them too,” Brayden said, pulling out his phone.
I smiled at him, but the dark thoughts from earlier told me that I was the reason that we had been attacked.
The further people were away from me, the better things would be for them.
Now I had to take responsibility for putting them in danger and explain this whole crazy world that I was now a part of.
“Brayden, Micah, Parker, Jay, and Hudson are known as the Five Blessed Warriors who were gifted with elemental abilities. It is passed down the family line—any male could be the next blessed warrior. Brayden told me it was your uncle who was the last Earth Elementi Warrior,” I said, starting with the basics.
“The Elementi are a branch off of the Knights Templar and have been working to defeat the demons causing chaos in the world.”
“If there are only five, then how do you fit in?” Charlotte asked.
“When the original Five Warriors were blessed, they were promised a power that would turn the tide in the battle. If they stayed true to the cause, then when they needed help the most, Synergy would be given to them. It was never known how Synergy would be presented. Some thought it might be a weapon or some other mystical object. Only one man thought that it might be another person. Turns out, he was right, because here I am,” I said, waving my hands to present myself like I was Vanna White or something.
Kayley snorted. “Right, you expect me to believe that you are some magical woman who will save the world. I know I’m young, but I’m not stupid enough to believe in the bullshit.”
“Really, then was I in a different avalanche protected by a force field that was made by her?” Micah said, lifting his head to give Kayley a blasé look. “No one has ever been able to do something like that before.”
Kayley opened her mouth to argue but then shut it again and flopped back in her chair, glaring at me. “Whatever, it still doesn’t explain why demons came out of the woodwork to attack us today.”
Just as I was about to confess my thoughts on the situation, Brayden’s phone started ringing. He answered it and put the phone on speaker.
“What the fuck to do you mean you were attacked by demons?! You’ve only been gone for a day! Is everyone okay? Trouble didn’t get hurt, did she?!” Parker’s frantic voice blasted from the speaker. “I will kick your ass if she gets hurt again.”
I couldn’t hold back my smile hearing how worried he was; it warmed my heart to know he cared so much. “I’m fine, Parker. I even learned a new trick.”
“What kind of new trick?” Hudson asked, butting into the conversation.
“Seems like I can make a shield strong enough to withstand an avalanche,” I said, and everyone on the other end of the line fell silent.
“Is that an estimation of its strength, or has that specific scenario been tested?” Hudson questioned, his voice unsure if he wanted to know the answer.
“If Brayden dropping a mountain’s worth of snow on top of us counts as being tested, then yeah, I’ll say that’s a sure thing,” Kayley interjected.
“We’re coming to you,” Jay said as the call was disconnected.
I looked from the phone to the guys, then back again. “Wait, you don’t think he means right now, do you?”
“It’s Jay,” Micah pointed out. “My money’s on seeing them at dinner tonight.”
“Where will they all fit? We don’t have enough rooms to house everyone here,” Charlotte said, worrying her bottom lip.
“It’s fine, there is an Elementi safe house here near the city they can use,” Brayden said, rubbing his face with his hands. “Now I just have to tell Dad what’s going on.”
“How much trouble do you think you’ll be in?” Kayley asked.
At first, I thought she was being passive aggressive with that statement, but looking at her, I could see the worry in her eyes and the way that she was picking at her nails.
She was genuinely nervous about the reaction their father would have about this.
Then I remembered Brayden telling me the story about how their mom locked Kayley in her room for weeks after she tried to run away.
We could have died today—what extreme outburst would Adriana have when she learned this information?
“Only one way to find out,” Brayden said, hitting the speed dial on his phone for his father.
I could hear it ringing, but there was no answer, and he went to voicemail. Brayden hung up and then texted his father to call him when he could about an urgent matter. Having done what he could, he set his phone aside and let his head fall into his hands, waiting for the world to drop around him.