Elemental by Leah Crowe (red queen ebook .TXT) 📖

Tania’s in charge.” She said with a chuckle. I nodded and turned to Puck, who was laughing. When I turned back to face Miss Melody, she was gone. “Ok guys,” I said to the group, “you heard her. Don’t leave the property. And no swimming today. The weather channel said it’s going to rain.” Suzie piped up, “You know we NEVER leave Dawtry.” I looked in her direction with suspicion. Suzie had attempted to leave the property several times before. I would have to keep an eye on her. Puck stood up and grabbed my hand. “You guys keep eating. I’m going to steal Tania away for a while and if you guys need us, we’ll be outside.” He said and raced me out of the room. I scowled. “Puck, you know we can’t leave them alone. What are you doing?” He placed a finger over his lips, asking for silence. I growled but complied.

“Where are we going?” I asked for the fifth time, once again with no response. Puck tiptoed behind me and covered my eyes. I could hear the waves and smell salt on the wind. “The ocean…” I murmured without knowing. Puck began to lead me, my eyes still closed. He whispered in my ear, “I found this the other day. It was hidden but with a little man power and skipping some school, I managed to clear a path for us.” I giggled but tried to cover it up with a cough. “Now,” He said, “Open!” He removed his hands from my eyes and I gasped. We were a hundred or so feet up and far down below, the waves crashed. The endless blue stretched on for miles and miles all around and my head felt like it was going to burst from all the smiling. Rocks scraped my bare feet and seagulls crowed above, looking for a meal. Puck stood silently beside me, taking in the scenery. “This would be a great place to learn how to fly!” He shouted and took a step towards the ledge. I screamed and pulled him back, but he only laughed and laughed. Indignant, I punched his arm softly and went to stand closer off the side of the cliff-face. Dropping to my belly, I shimmied till my head was dangling in the air. Sharp rocks jutted out of the waves far down below. Suddenly nauseous, I saw double and began to sway. I felt Puck’s arms on my waist. “Careful there, Tania.” He said, pulling me back to firmer ground. I held my head in my hands and waited for the world to stop spinning. “I’m sorry. That was odd. I guess I’m not much for heights.” I said slowly. Puck’s face fell some and he looked concerned. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.” He said. “No, no,” I replied hastily, “It’s beautiful here and I’m glad you showed me.” I gave him my warmest smile to reassure him. He asked if I was ok, then pulled me to my feet and led me back under the copse of trees. Now that Puck’s hands weren’t covering my eyes, I could see that we had come to the farthest part of the property. I could even see the road that led to the more populated part of the coast. As I spun to look behind me, I caught a glimpse of something shining in the light. Pinpointing its location, I tried in vain to view it again but it was gone.
CHAPTER 2
I slowly sat up in bed and kneaded my eyes. It was Friday and I was…I gasped! It was FRIDAY! My heart grew heavy. Puck would be leaving tonight. I grabbed my robe and raced to Puck’s room on the other side of the hall. Not even bothering to knock, I simply barged into his room catching him unawares. He was curled up, his sheets a mound on the floor, his shirt lying beside that. He looked so peaceful, his mouth slightly curved upward, as if he were having a good dream. I couldn’t disturb him so I simply sat down beside his bed and peered around his room. Books were lying on every surface, strewn on the floor. A map of Middle Earth from ‘Lord of the Rings’ was hung up on the far wall by his own balcony. Right next to that was a John Lennon poster. I smiled. He was so unique, so special. My smiled faded away. He just couldn’t leave. I heard a soft groan behind me and turned to find a bleary eyed Puck looking down at me. “Wha?” He began and I hastily rose. “I’m sorry…” I began but he simply raised a hand and smiled. He replied, “Its fine. You need something?” I shook my head slowly, not wanting to face the truth. He was going to leave. As if reading my thoughts, he began to frown and said, “I need to finish packing.” I nodded dumbly at this and turned to leave. I suddenly couldn’t stand to see him another moment.

“Take a walk with me?” Puck asked me as I sat at my desk, working on Trig homework. I arched my back to stretch out the kinks and stood up. I replied, “Yes, a walk would do me good. I think my butt’s fallen asleep.” Puck laughed at that and we walked out the front door. “Whatcha doing?” came a voice from behind. Suzie materialized from behind the stairs. I turned and said, “We are going for a walk. If you need anything, go talk to Miss Melody.” Suzie pouted and said, “Oh c’mon! Let me come with you. I never get to have any fun!” Puck walked over to her and kneeled so he was her height. “I want to have a little time with Tania before I leave but I promise we can make a big fort later on, ok?” He said with such love, I sighed. A big piece of this home would be missing soon. Suzie nodded and let us pass. Puck asked me, “So where to, Milady?” And he gave me a silly, formal bow. I laughed and curtsied while replying “How about the cave?”
We talked. For hours on end we laughed and spoke of the future. The sun had begun to set and I felt my eyes mist. “It’s almost time isn’t it?” I whimpered. He gave me a hug and rested his chin on my head as we peered off into the distance. We stood there in silence for a while. Then behind us I heard a twig snap and Puck tensed. I broke our embrace and turned my back to the sea. I scanned our surroundings and gasped. There! I saw I something glisten, just like before in the woods. Once again, it was gone. Puck turned and began to walk off. “Wait, where are you going?” I cried. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He said rather distractedly. I followed him with my gaze as he became a speck in the distance.

I waited and waited. For half an hour I stood pacing on the beach until I finally snapped. “Where IS he?!” I yelled. Enough was enough. I was going to find him and figure out what on earth had happened. I stalked off in the direction he had taken, searching and calling out his name. Night was fast approaching and I was beginning to think I would have to go get help when I saw something odd off in the distance. I raced towards it, careful of the sharp rocks that littered the beach. Something bright red glistened on the ground. A single drop among the grey rock. It was so out of place that I bent over to inspect it further. Still trying to figure out what on earth it was, I looked up and found a bigger splotch over a few feet. Intrigued, I searched for more. They became more and more frequent on the earth and they slowly led me to the water. Startled, I felt the waves lapping my toes. Odd,

I thought, the trail of red ends here.

I sighed and began to search the water for the source. A shrill scream ripped through the air. I was shocked to realize that the sound had come from my mouth. There, floating some feet off was a bruised and bloodied Puck.

Imprint

Publication Date: 02-25-2012

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
This book is for all those who need a home or want to learn how to soar.