Circle of Elements: Water and Wind Collide Read online

  Circle of Elements

  Water and Air Collide

  Mandy Adler

  Amanda Adler

  Copyright © 2017 Amanda Adler

  All rights reserved.

  ~No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  ~This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  White Lilies – The Beginning

  The Beginning

  Chapter One

  Ella

  “I don’t want to move to a new town again,” I told Asher, twisting my hands nervously.

  My twin brother and I are foster kids, and Asher doesn’t always have the best of tempers. That in itself is a recipe for disaster.

  “I know but it’ll fine. It always is. We’ll pull through until the next one.” He told me slinging an arm around my shoulders.

  We have moved to five different towns in the last two years. I hated switching schools. I never fit in, no matter how much I tried, and eventually… I quit trying. Asher was the popular one, he always instantly slid into the cool kids’ group without even trying. He was outgoing and outspoken, and just really good with people. I, on the other hand, was quiet, shy, a little awkward, and liked to keep to myself. Asher liked to call us fire and ice. He was hotheaded, while I tended to be even-tempered and calm. It matched us in more ways than one. He was also my rock, though, I would never tell him that.

  “I never fit in, Ash,” I told him while walking to sit under the bridge. We were leaving in the morning to head to another set of foster parents. One day I’ll sit down and figure out how many we’ve had so far.

  “You got me, I’ve always got your back little sister.” He said as I rolled my eyes. He always calls me that, even though he’s only like, six minutes older. Whoop-dee-doo, six whole minutes.

  “I know.” I sighed, letting the ‘little sister’ comment go. And he does have my back, always. I love him all the more for it. I will always have his too, though I doubt he would ever need my back-up.

  Asher was a fiercely older protective brother, and I mean fiercely. Once, when we were twelve foster father number, heck, I couldn’t even remember what number, decided to act a little too friendly towards me, and Asher put him in the hospital. There were a lot of times like that, us getting kicked out of a home due to Asher protecting me, or us acting out, or anything else that seems to happen around us. This time we were leaving because he decided to put my boyfriend in the hospital after the guy grabbed my arm. The guy was a jerk. But again, Asher was a hothead.

  “Well, I hope these people are nicer than the last,” I told him, rubbing my wrist absently.

  We both had been born with these symbols on our left wrists, most people just think they are tattoos and we just let them believe that, what else are supposed to do? We believe they have something to do with the powers we always remember having. We don’t know where they came from or what they mean, but we keep our secret between us. We definitely do not want to end up in the looney bin. Asher controls fire and heat the best. I tease him that it’s because he is so hot-tempered, it matches him to a tee. I do best with water and cold; freezing, moving, making it rain, doesn’t matter. So, Asher’s little nickname for us isn’t all that off. We had never met any others with our talents, but we both knew they were out there. We couldn’t be the only ones. I reached over and put my hand on Asher’s soda can and frost formed around the edges, chilling the drink.

  Asher looked down and raised a brow, “Thanks, Ell.” I just nodded. The small things came easier now. We practice what we can when we can when no one is around.

  “It’s just… this is a small town, they’re already going to have their own groups. Where are we going to fit in?” I asked. Leave it to me to be the worry wart.

  “Just leave it to me, little sister.” He told me, standing to head back to the home where we will stay the night before getting on the bus tomorrow to start over… again. I just want a real home for once. Someplace I can feel safe and not have to worry about anything or anyone. I wanted a family, people Asher and I could trust. It sucked to always feel like we were in hiding, in plain sight. I shake off the thoughts in my mind, can’t change anything about any of that right now. No reason dwell on it.

  “You need a haircut, Ash,” I told him, watching his auburn colored hair fall over his eyes as we continued walking.

  “Do not!” He laughed while pushing the hair in question back. “Yours is longer than mine.”

  I rolled my eyes. He’s such a goof. “Yes, but see, I’m a girl. It’s supposed to be longer.” I told him, tucking a piece of my wavy hair behind my ears.

  My hair only fell to around my shoulder blades, it wasn’t that long. He just laughed and led me back to the home to pack the few things we owned. Another day, another home.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  I shivered from the cold while waiting on the curb for the bus. Asher put an arm around my shoulders and I could feel the heat he let radiate off to warm me. I smiled up at him gratefully. He was taller than me so I always had to look up. He was around six-one while I stood about five-three or so, we had the same sandy hair though, and the same deep green eyes. The only difference was that he had an amber color around the center like flames and I had blue around the same center like the water. But where he was tall, tan, and muscular. I stood petite, and although not pale, I was not as tan as Asher, and I was not built in any way. I was not good at sports or anything requiring any type of athletic abilities. I liked to read. Read and write poems, or anything really that pops into my head.

  The bus pulled up and Asher grabbed my hand and tugged us onto the bus, seating us in the very back. He sat down and pulled me beside him, still radiating heat off his body.

  “Asher?” I asked quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone around us.

  “Hmm?” He replied absently, pulling out his iPod from his bag.

  “What do you think they are going to be like, do you think this couple could be nice?” I asked nervously. I hated being shy, I just couldn’t help it.

  “Doesn’t matter,” He replied, “In just over a year we won’t have to deal with it anymore. It will be just you and me.” That has always been our plan. We would turn eighteen and not have to deal with the system anymore, we could take care of ourselves and build a home out somewhere.

  I nodded, we will be seventeen in July, just two months away. So, I took the book he handed me. He loved music, while reading was my escape, we each had our own way of tuning out the world around us. I could hear the music blasting through his earbuds so I sat back and opened my book, and settled in for the long bus ride from Chicago to Virginia.

  Chapter Two

  The ride went smoothly enough, stopping for bathroom breaks and food along t
he way. We didn’t have much in the way of money, just the little bit we earned on odd jobs between homes. I was so nervous my leg was twitching up and down as the bus drew closer to the small town in Virginia. Asher put his hand down on my knees.

  “It will be fine Sis.” He told me gently. I nodded, biting my lower lip. Not that I don’t believe him, but trouble always seemed to follow us.

  We watched out the windows while the sandy beaches and blue water rolled by. I itched to run out to that water, it called me like a siren.

  Asher gave me a knowing smile. “Soon.” I nodded with a smile on my face, I always wanted to live near the water.

  When the bus finally rolled to a stop Asher stood up and stretched, I did the same.

  “Ready?” He asked me, grabbing our bag and hitching it over his shoulder. It was sad that our whole lives fit into that one bag. We moved so much, we liked to travel light.

  “I guess,” I replied. Ready or not, right?

  When we got out there was a sign with the name Roster printed on the front. That was our last name. Asher led us over to the couple, I trailed behind him at a slower pace.

  “Hey. I’m Asher and this is my sister Ella,” Asher said holding out his hand with the confidence only he had.

  The man shook it firmly. “Hello there. We’re the Coopers, this is Jenna, my wife and I’m James.”

  The woman, Jenna, came and gave Asher and I a hug. I was a little surprised, foster families weren’t always so welcoming. Maybe things would be better. Alright, Ella, don’t get your hopes up too soon.

  “Let’s get you two to the house, show you around. Then we can go over some ground rules. School starts tomorrow. I already enrolled the both of you.” James said while leading us back to his car. I stayed quiet, I always did. Just because they are nice at first, doesn’t mean they will stay that way. Jenna kept sneaking smiles at us, I really wanted to like them.

  “So, what do you kids like to do for fun? Are you two close? Are you twins? We didn’t get a lot of information.” Jenna asked in a bubbly voice. Wow, this lady can talk. What question were we supposed to answer first?

  I looked to Asher to answer. Knowing how shy I was he didn’t even have to look back at me to know it was his job to reply.

  “Yes, we are twins, and we are very close. I enjoy outdoors and sports, Ella spends most of her time reading or writing poems.”

  “You write poems, Ella?” She asked me.

  “Yes,” I answered in a small voice. Me... ever the gutsy person. I wanted to roll my eyes at myself.

  We rode the rest of the way in silence.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The Coopers lived in a two-story style farmhouse. It was on a lot of land with a stable and what looked like pigs, chickens, and horses. It was beautiful. It was the end of May so the weather was nice, not too hot, but not cold either maybe just a tad chilly in mornings. They led us through the house and showed us the living room. It was a charming, down to earth room, with yellow tinted walls, and a blue-clothed couch and love seat. There was a lazy boy and an older TV set in the corner. They then led us to the kitchen, which still had the easy-going country feel. Then they led us upstairs.

  “I know it’s not much, but we hope you two can be happy here.” Jenna smiled. “It’s not all up to date, but it’s our little home, we love it.” James pulled her close and kissed her head in a sweet gesture.

  “Our room is at the end of the hall. You two will have the attic that has been converted, it is the biggest. Do you two mind sharing a room? If so we have a guest room also.” James asked us kindly.

  “No, we prefer to stay together,” Asher replied immediately. We hate being separated, we depended on each other. Me more than him I think. But we always shared a room, always.

  James nodded, “Right. Well, we’ll let you two get settled. Dinner is at seven, we will talk rules then.” Jenna was standing next to him smiling kindly. He had an arm around her shoulders as they watched us walk to our new room. I didn’t know what to make of them yet, other than they seemed nice so far.

  We headed up to the attic to check it out. It was a big room, we each had a full-size bed against opposite walls. There was a bookshelf with a small TV on the middle shelf. It also had a huge window in between the two beds. And small tables beside each bed with an alarm clock plugged on one of the tables. Asher walked to the bed on the left side and plopped his backpack on it. I went to the other bed and laid down on my back looking at the ceiling fan. Ugh, school. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the classes. I just hate the people, they are always so judgy and everyone is in these cliques. At least this time we transferred schools at the end of the year, summer was only two weeks away. I could feel Asher trying to warm the room back up. When our emotions run too high… temperatures seem to change, mine ran it cold and Asher’s ran it hot.

  “Sorry, Ash,” I said, trying to relax. Flexing my hands on the bed beside me.

  He came over and sat beside me, pulling me to sitting. “Relax. Tomorrow is going to be fine. It’s a small school, so I’m sure we will have most of the same classes together. The best part of having a twin is you aren’t alone.” He nudged my shoulder with his. “You won’t have to sit alone at lunch or wander around by yourself.”

  I know how other siblings act from tv and other foster kids, but Asher and I aren’t like that. We depend on each other, lean on each other. We have too much to risk by petty arguing and dividing each other. We weren’t just twins, we were best friends.

  I nodded and put my head on his shoulder. He was right. I was just a nervous person by nature, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Right. Okay. Relax, Ella. Asher, on the other hand, was never nervous, just quick to temper and rash. I felt the room heat back up as Asher let his power warm the room back to normal.

  “Come on let’s take a look around outside.” He pulled me up to stand easily. “See what kind of place we’re living at for now.” I nodded and followed as he led me outside.

  We walked around for a while, looking at the horses and other animals. James came outside and asked if we could water the animals while he helped with dinner. Asher laughed while I just did it the easy way and filled the buckets using my power, making sure the Coopers were nowhere in sight of course. I loved the feeling, it felt as if the water was running through my body and out of my hands. It was calming, so natural.

  “Whoops.” I laughed as I shot him with a water ball.

  “Hey, you did that on purpose.” He yelped. I watched as he heated his body and dried off almost instantly. Clothes, hair, shoes and all. “You’re lucky you’re my sister or I would so torch your butt.” He told me with a mock scowl. Oh, my brother thinks he is so fierce. It would be scary if I didn’t know he would rather pull off his own arm than ever hurt me.

  I stuck out my tongue and ran towards the house when I heard Jenna call us for dinner. We walked in and sat at the worn table. James sat at one end and Jenna at the other. Asher and I sat side by side, on the same side.

  “How do you like your room?” Jenna asked me kindly, smiling at my brother and me.

  “It’s great, thank you,” I replied softly. She seemed nice enough.

  We ate while Asher and the Coopers talked. I mostly just sat back and listened. Listening I could do, it was the joining in I had trouble with.

  “Rules,” James said shortly after the meal was complete, “We trust you two are responsible, so we don’t have many. You help out with the chores and don’t skip school.” He gave us a stern look. “Use your heads and we want to home by eleven on school nights.” Those weren’t too bad of rules. Easy enough to follow. “We will trust both of you until you give us a reason not to.”

  So, we headed up to our new room. Asher plopped down on his bed, and me on mine. I could hear Asher snoring not long after. I smirked, the boy could sleep through a hurricane. I just stared at the ceiling hoping this new home will work out and we will get to stay. Slowly, all my thoughts drifted to silence.

&nbs
p; Chapter Three

  When I woke up Asher was already up and dressed, he always woke before me. Turd. Probably because he always fell asleep before me.

  I showered and dressed in a green short sleeved t-shirt, my favorite low-rise jeans, sneakers, and brushed my hair out, then headed downstairs. Asher was already seated, eating bacon and eggs when I came in. I sat down next to him and Jenna set a plate in front of me. I thanked her quietly.

  “What would you like to drink?” She asked me.

  “Coffee.” Both Asher and I both answer at the same time then laughed.

  She looked at us and smiled. Then went over and filled two mugs, handing them to us.

  “Do you two always answer at the same time?” She asked. “Or is that a twin thing?”

  “Sometimes. Depends on the question.” Asher answered before thanking her for the coffee. “We both love our coffee so that one’s a given.”

  We finished eating and Asher headed up to grab his coat. Jenna handed me two backpacks she had picked up for me and Asher. Asher came down, handing me my light coat and grabbed his bag from me.

  “You forgot this, it’s still chilly out.” He told me with a smirk. I stuck my tongue out and followed him to the ride the Coopers are letting us borrow. It was a red 4x4 Jeep that seemed to be twenty feet off the ground.

  “We thought you two would like a car to yourselves, it’s yours when you leave us also,” Jenna told us.

  “We can’t accept this.” I stammered. Why in the world would she give us a car? I looked at Asher, who was just as wide-eyed.

  “Nonsense, it was our son’s but he passed away a few years ago. So, it has just been sitting here ever since. We have no use for it, it’s a teenage vehicle. He loved this car, and I know you two will take care of it.” She said, tears shining in her eyes. “Please take it.” She held out the keys.