A Time to Die (Elemental Rage Book 2) (12 page)

Zach looked lost. 
Raven thought that if Jade was sitting here on the sofa right now, that she
would instantly forgive Zach and all would be well.  His sadness seemed to
encompass the whole of his being.  He shrugged, “I’d do anything for Jade. 
Anything.  If this will help you find your Mom, I’ll be there.”

“Come to our house
then, on the Sunday of the full moon,” Raven said softly, “I’m sorry about
Jade.  We’ve been running from your order for years.  You have to understand
what it meant to her to discover you were one of them.”

Zach looked so
handsome in his navy blue button up shirt and tight jeans.  Raven couldn’t
believe Jade landed him in the first place much less why she threw him out of
the house for being a Death Keeper. He smiled ruefully and said, “I wouldn’t
change my decision, even though I lost Jade. I lost the Universe, too, but I
would rather she live and hate me than be…well, you know.”

Raven knew.  She
thanked him and was surprised when he pulled her into a hug.  She gripped him
back, realizing how lonely he must be without the Universe.  She said, “Thank
you. I hope you get the Universe back.  You seem like one of the good guys.”

“I try to be.”

The hug felt
normal, the parting awkward.  Raven could never tell Jade, even though it was
completely innocent.  Jade was so jealous of Raven’s black hair and perky
nose.  Raven knew she was cute.  She also knew she was
not
Zach’s type. 
The hug was platonic and comforting for both of them.  Raven had a flickering
thought that he was like a brother…in-law.  He felt like family.

Chapter 10

~~ Jade ~~

Jade missed a
volleyball game and a week of school.  Even though her wound had healed up, she
could barely walk from room to room and tired easily. Raven couldn’t stop talking
about the plans to rescue Mom. The whole week had been napping and listening to
ideas. Not that Jade had anything to add. She wanted to save her mother more
than anything, but she couldn’t seem to keep her eyes open.

Even now, in
English class, Jade put her head on the desk. She was exhausted.  The class’s
laughter woke her up.  She blinked, confused. Mr. Tanner only added to the
laughter when he said, “I understand most of you find Shakespeare boring. I’d
only ask that snoring be kept to a minimum."

Rubbing her eyes,
Jade refused to engage.  Sometimes school felt like a fake life.  Danika
tittered, her grating chuckle enough to make Jade want to punch her. Fire
thought toasty buns would be a better idea. Jade wanted so much to agree.

“I’m sorry, Mr.
Tanner,” Jade straightened in her seat.  The worst thing was that the heavy
feeling in her arms and legs just wouldn’t go away.  Sometimes she felt like
she could barely move.

The class moved
on.  Jade felt dread in the pit of her stomach, like a cold stone that just
sank to the bottom of her heart.  She would soon see Zach for the first time
since the whole Death Keeper revelation.  The minutes on those clocks just kept
moving forward, and she didn’t think she could bear the thought of sitting in
cold silence with him when she really wanted to burst into tears and snuggle.

Chemistry came all
too soon.

At least Zach had
the good grace to look as awkward as Jade felt.  She gave him a shy, “Hello.”

It was a crumb
that brought out a warm smile.  He thought he was forgiven and said,
“Homecoming is on Friday.  Are you still up to it?  I got a tux and
everything.”

The whole class
stopped talking, as if listening on baited breath.  As if her life was a soap
opera.

Great!

Jade wanted to go.
With Zach.  He was a Death Keeper. She wanted to go. His order killed her Dad
right in front of her.  Lowering her voice to a bare whisper, she said, “No,
Zach.  I’m sorry.  I can be civil as a lab partner, but we’re through.”

The rest of
chemistry was awkward to say the least.  She and Zach barely spoke to each
other at all.  She thought since she did the breaking up that it would be
easier, but the truth was, she had fallen in love with him.  She wasn’t the
type to just fall out of love again, even if he did betray her.

Cindy Mason saw
Jade in the hall.  She said, “I’m glad you’re back.  I hope you’re feeling
better.”  It was the first kind thing Jade had heard all day.  Her heart was
already breaking.  This was like the wind that shook the shattered glass and
made her fall apart. 

She nodded and
said, “Thanks.” Barely able to get the word out.

“Hey, are you
okay?” Cindy asked.

“Yeah, just me and
Zach.  I’ll see you at volleyball, ‘kay?”  Jade felt that she was suffocating. 
She somehow disengaged from Cindy and found the nearest bathroom.  She couldn’t
fall apart yet.  She still had American History. Grabbing paper towels she ran
them under cold water.  As her tears fell silently into the sink, Jade washed
her cheeks and eyes with cold water. 
Okay, Jade, pull yourself together.

A warmth spread
through her body,
You’ll be okay.  This happens at your age while you try to
find yourself.
Fire spoke with the wisdom of the ages. The words didn’t
sink in, but the warmth did. 

Able to pull
herself together, Jade said thank you.

She ran down the
hall, slipping into her seat just as the bell rang.

~~ Zach ~~

Jade said no. 

Zach couldn’t
actually believe it.  She said hello as if they were going to be friends again,
and then embarrassed him in front of everyone. He was stopped in the hall by
Danika, not one of his favorite people.

Danika smiled
coyly up at him, her doe eyes wide and seemingly innocent. Zach knew better. 
Danika’s sharp tongue made her more harpy than maiden, witch then sweetheart. She
said, “Look, you and I both have a problem.  Matt and I had a huge fight.  I
don’t have anyone to go to Homecoming with and now you don’t either.”

“Where’d you hear
that?” Zach asked with the twin thoughts, ‘Who did she tell?’ and ‘Jade
wouldn’t say anything.’

“Come on, Zach. 
Everyone in Chemistry heard the question.  Even if we didn’t hear what Jade
said, your body language was enough.  Look, if you go with me, I guarantee you
Jade will be jealous.  So will Matt.  This is just a business agreement between
friends.  We go to Homecoming together, take what joy we can from the
experience, and then our real partners will realize what they’ve almost lost
and come crawling back.”

Zach had lost a
lot of face in Chemistry today, and Danika made sense.  Who else was he going
to find at this late hour?  They might as well enjoy the night.  Maybe Jade
would
come to her senses. 

His conscience
told him to say no.  His conscience told him that he’d hurt Jade.  He asked the
Universe for His opinion.  The Universe was silent. His selfish thought said,
Do
it.  She cost you your gift.

That settled it,
then. Zach said, “All right.  We’ll go together, but just as friends.”

The look of
triumph on Danika’s face almost made Zach change his mind.  He trudged down the
hall feeling lower than a worm drying up on the sidewalk at the end of a rain. He
wasn’t even happy that he had a date to Homecoming.  That should have told him
something.

~~ Jade ~~

By noon the news
was all over school.  One guess on who spread it.  Zach and Danika were going
to Homecoming together.  The worst was the fact that Jade had quickly become
the center of the whole conversation.  Some of the girls on the volleyball team
touched her arm and said how sorry they were.  The girls who hated her put
their noses in the air and acted like she deserved his double betrayal, not
that anyone knew about the first.

Raven was sitting
alone at one of the tables. Jade slid in the seat beside her, “Where’s Shelly?”

It was a sore
subject for Raven, one she’d kept to herself.  When she was part of the Void,
she didn’t much care, but now that she was whole and complete, she felt the
loss of her best friend keenly.

“Her Mom pulled
her out of school and shipped her off to stay with her cousin,” Raven got most
of the news from friends at school.  Shelly’s only communication to Raven since
the party had been to text Raven to tell her how it was all her fault, that if
Raven had told her she had a bad feeling about the party, she should have said
it up front. Shelly wouldn’t accept Raven’s explanations or apology.  She
considered it a breach of friendship that Raven left her alone at the party. 

“I’m sorry,” Jade took
a bite of applesauce and made a face, “You’d think they could come up with
something more appealing.”

One of Raven and
Shelly’s mutual friends grabbed the chair on the other side of Jade. She was
overweight, but her face was cute, so she had that chubby angelic look that the
cherubs in a renaissance painting wore.  “I bet you’re furious with Danika.”

Jade broke the tab
on her Coke, “I’ll never be a fan. So what did she say about me this time?”

“You don’t know?
It’s all over school.  She’s going to Homecoming with Zach,” she said. 

It was a physical
blow to the gut.  Jade said, “Danika?  That makes no sense. He doesn’t even
like her.”

Raven glared at her
friend.  She said, “I’ll ask him straight up.  I bet it’s a dumb rumor.”

“I wish I hadn’t
wasted money on a dress,” Jade said, thinking of the satin green gown in her
closet. The green played off the red highlights in her hair.  While she
wouldn’t say she looked stunning, she at least managed to feel feminine.

“It’s not a waste.
I’ll wear it next year,” Raven joked. “Seriously.  You should just tell Zach
you changed your mind and want to go with him.”

“No way. He lied
to me. And what he is…that’s not something I can get over.” Jade sipped her
Coke.  A couple of the Moms were lobbying hard to get rid of the machine in the
lobby.  Until they did, Jade would use it with glee.

Jade hated the way
Raven took Zach’s side.  Raven started listing all of his virtues, his level of
cuteness, intelligence, and kindness.  That last one was rare.

After fourth
period, Raven caught her in the hall to confirm that Zach really had agreed to
go with Danika, but that
she
had asked him.  During fifth period, Matt,
Danika’s ex-boyfriend stopped Jade in the hall.  He said, “Would you want to go
with me to Homecoming?”

The whole world
tilted a little.  Matt…asking Jade?  Why?  She said, “But you like Danika.”

“Yeah, and you
like Zach.  But they’re not available right now.  So how about it?” Matt wasn’t
bad looking.  It’s just Jade never imagined anything with him, not even having
a conversation in the hall.  He had spent years ignoring her very existence.

Jade was surprised
at how steady she sounded when she said, “Yes.”

The day dragged on
and on.  Now everyone stopped by Jade’s desk to ask her if she broke up with
Zach and if she knew about Danika and why didn’t she do something about it.
Jade didn’t add to the rumor by mentioning Matt. By fifth period, everyone knew
that tidbit as well.

Jade just wanted
to go home and sleep.  Volleyball practice was terrible. Jade could hardly hit
a serve over the net, and she kept missing the ball on the returns.

Finally the day was
over.  When Jade got home, she changed into her long t-shirt and went straight
to bed.  Mindy fussed, but Jade felt so heavy in spirit that she just didn’t
have the energy to deal with it.  She was grateful when Raven told Mindy to
come out into the living room and let Jade sleep and that Jade had had a rough
day, which was an understatement.

~~ Raven ~~

At dinner, Aunt
Bertha looked outright ill.  She was holding her hand in the small of her back,
and squirming uncomfortably in her chair. Jade was still asleep.   Mindy drove
everyone crazy with her whiny discontent. 

“Mom.” Mindy said,
her eyebrows scrunched up in a frown.

“I know you want
Mom, but she’s not here.” Claire dumped a spoonful of lumpy mashed potatoes on
Mindy’s plate.

“Maybe we should
talk about Mom,” Raven said quietly. She waited until Claire was at her seat.

“Shouldn’t we wake
Jade?” Claire asked as she poked around her potatoes. She took a bite and
grimaced, “What did I do wrong?”

“As for Jade, no. As
for the potatoes, you need to actually use the mixer and not stir them three
times and call them mashed,” Raven softened her words with a teasing smile. 
With Mom gone, they had been kinder to one another.  At least that was
something.

Aunt Bertha sipped
a glass of water, her plate woefully empty.  Claire tried to fill it up, but
Bertha wouldn’t have it. Raven worried.  There were so many things to worry
about.  Bertha said, “Your Mom has been taken out of this dimension.  Only a
very few members have the kind of power to do that.”

Raven said, “The
Unmaker said our only real chance at rescuing her is to use Petrodus.  He’s
evil and unmanageable, but the Void didn’t know how to find the second person
with the key to that dimension.  There are only two.”

“I may be young.”
Claire hesitated and then just pushed ahead bluntly, “Okay. I’m just going to say
it. This is a horrible plan.  I mean, release our arch-nemesis of all-time on
the word of the group who has been chasing after us the other half of the time,
a group
he
belongs to, no less.  It’s crazy.”

 “Or leave Amy
where she is and live our lives without her,” Aunt Bertha said, “She is
trapped, but it is a gilded cage.”

“What do you
think?” Claire asked Aunt Bertha. 

Raven noticed that
Bertha’s hands had developed tremors.  Somehow in the last six months, she’d
gotten old.  As far back as Raven could remember, Aunt Bertha had always had
white hair, but as elderly people go, she’d been spry and on her toes, eager to
join in whatever game or adventure the girls were planning.  Now she was quiet,
tired, and more likely to sit in her arm chair and read.

Aunt Bertha
removed her glasses and carefully cleaned the lenses with her napkin.  She
spent so long on those glasses that Raven thought she might have forgotten
Claire’s question. Finally she said, “You won’t have long.  If you don’t act on
the next full moon, you won’t see your Mother again in this lifetime. Petrodus
is cunning and dangerous. If he is accidentally loosed on the world, the price
will be too steep. If I were your mother, I would want you to say goodbye and
leave me in that dimension rather than risk letting a murderer go.”

“What if she were
your Mom?” Raven asked.

Aunt Bertha lost
her mother at a young age.  She was eight when her mother died of a stroke, far
too young.  Some say it was the denying of her powers that did it.  Bertha
pressed her lips together and said, “I would save her regardless of her
feelings.”

“We all need to be
in agreement. Jade is in. I already spoke to her.  We need Earth, Air, Water,
Fire, and Death to come together on the next full moon.  At Diana’s sacred
waterfall, we will open the door.” Raven looked from Claire to Mindy, “It will
be dangerous.”

“Vampires?” Mindy
asked. For her, vampires encompassed all things wrong with the world.

“I hope not,”
Raven said.  She thought of the man inside that prison.  Whatever gifts he had,
he was powerful. She knew that outside of his prison, he could travel
dimensions and at one time could control Time.