4. Adrian
Adrian
A drian heaved his metal lunchbox onto the dented and stained kitchen table with a heavy clunk of resignation. His muscles ached and his stomach had been rumbling for the past hour, but stepping into the warm kitchen settled him and immediately put him at ease.
Something amazing was brewing on the stove, which dulled the sting of his disappointing day. Rosemary and sage.
Rubbing his hand over his aching shoulder, he inhaled deeply over the heavy stew pot, chipped and dented and bubbling on a slow simmer. At least it must have been a good harvest day.
Hannah Huxley rarely had a poor harvest. The residents in town liked to joke that Hannah could grow a pepper out of a rock. Only her family knew the true reason.
Hannah was a Ground Elemental witch, and if she put her mind to it, she probably could coax almost anything to grow anywhere. With the right blend of soil, salts, and a few well-placed potions, she had brought in a successful crop again this summer. If it wasn’t for his mother, Adrian was sure they would be bankrupt by now.
Hannah opened the screen door with her hip, covered as usual in dirt and grasses, humming to herself. She held a bounty of root vegetables, their stems tumbling over the side of her wicker basket .
“Let me grab that, Ma.”
“Thanks, honey.” She sighed, wiping her hands on her apron. “Can you wash those for me?”
He grabbed a handful of celery out of the basket as she clamored through the cabinet, pulling out a cutting board. Adrian waited until her back was turned before he snuck a spoon out of the drawer.
The spoon was halfway to the stew when Hannah pivoted toward him, her face stern. “Adrian Huxley, get your grubby hands away from that pot.” He froze. She always had a supernatural way of knowing when he was trying to sneak food. He put down the spoon with a shrug.
“I’m sorry. But I’m starving, and this smells so damn good…” He pouted at her pleadingly.
“Don’t pull that flattery bullshit with me.” She narrowed her eyes at him, fighting a smile. Reluctantly, she pulled out a small bowl and scooped a few bites out with her ladle.
He pumped his fist triumphantly as he sat down at the table. “You’re the best, Ma.”
She rolled her eyes as she pulled a knife from the block. “I may be a pushover, but your father is not. Goddess knows. Do not even think about bringing up the catch at dinner tonight. I have enough of my special—erm—recipe in that stew. David should have a very peaceful and contented night.” She tied her apron with a vigorous knot as she turned to the stove.
He stretched his arms up, the tension in his shoulders loosening as heaviness settled into his limbs. Adrian sure as hell didn’t want to bring up the catch. It had been weighing on him all week. After this evening, however, something new was on his mind.
Hannah pointed a wooden spoon at her son. “When you take over the business, promise me you’ll make your father retire. He’s going to have a heart attack if he keeps staring at those books all day.”
His jaw tightened. David Huxley might look over the books, like a good business owner, but Adrian was sure his dad had no clue what he was looking at .
Unfortunately, his father’s lack of knowledge about business had never stopped him from criticizing his son’s every move. If anything, his ignorance fueled his disapproval.
“In other news,” he said, changing the subject. She turned to him with eyebrows raised. “Seth and I sensed another witch in town today at the dock.” He held his breath, testing her response.
It was exceedingly rare to meet other witches in Farley. The idea of another Water Elemental in town nauseated him. The last thing they needed was more competition out on the water.
They lived in the kind of town that people never visited. The kind that people never left.
You were born in Farley, grew up in Farley, met a nice girl at the high school, married her, had a few kids who would someday learn to fish and trap, and then you retired in Farley, drinking as many craft beers as you desired until you eventually died in Farley.
Hannah looked thoughtful for a moment, but she turned back to her strew, nonplussed. “It was probably some environmentalist passing through town,” she reasoned. “Did you get a look at them?”
The Huxleys had never belonged to a coven. Most Elementals didn’t, as a matter of practice, preferring to use their talents within the human communities. Water Elementals, like himself, usually gravitated toward the ocean or river. He knew of a few other fishing families in Maine like theirs, but they lived down the coast.
Ground Elementals, like his mother, usually farmed, built, or worked for quarries. Most of the time, a coven was not needed and actually impeded the witches’ successes or talents in their community.
He tried to think of the last time he had met another witch in town, and his mind came up blank. Besides the occasional visits from his grandparents in his childhood, Adrian was quite sure that he had never crossed paths with another witch in town before today.
“What are you two talking about?” A tall young woman with auburn hair and stylishly ripped jeans strode into the room .
At sixteen, Ariel was about to become of age, which worried his mother. His little sister had shocked everyone when she came into her powers as a Fire Elemental. If Adrian had a dollar for every time his sister burned him through the years, he would never have to worry about the family’s finances again.
His parents half expected Ariel to set the house aflame during her angst-ridden teenage temper tantrums. Sure, Seth used to flood the bathroom sometimes in his adolescent years, and there was more than one occasion where Adrian had made it rain on a planting day, but Ariel was on her third set of singed bedsheets.
“Adrian and Seth sensed another witch at the dock today,” Hannah explained.
Ariel shrugged dismissively. “It was probably someone passing through,” she similarly reasoned. She stuck her finger directly into the bubbling hot pot of stew, extracting a carrot and popping it into her mouth.
“Ariel, please!” Hannah begged. The stove burner flared with a teasing gust of flame as Ariel sat down with her prize. “I was just telling Adrian that your father is in a mood, so we all need to have a nice, mellow dinner tonight.”
“Well, with the calming tonic you slipped in here, we should all be asleep by nine,” Ariel said, her mouth full of stew.
Hannah’s anger faltered as she fought a guilty smile. “Is it that obvious?” She clapped her hands. “I know! Two more licorice roots, and he should never know the difference.”
Ariel and Adrian shared a look. Their mother tried to make sure everyone was always at their best and happiest. A household full of Elementals could be a messy—sometimes dangerous—place to live if someone was off temper.
Sure, they stayed mostly to themselves. Their little farmhouse was cleverly situated atop one of Farley’s seaside cliffs. It was surrounded by acres of lush vegetable fields, gorgeous pollinator plants, busy hives of bees, and several ponds that Hannah and David had coaxed out of the ground.
They had an idyllic little oasis in an otherwise sleepy and, admittedly, drab town .
Adrian stared into the glow of the stovetop flames. They surged under the pot, licking between the grates with a sizzle as a bead of condensation met the heat. He couldn’t push back the sense of uneasiness despite his mother’s cleverly brewed tonic.