I knelt down in the dirt, digging weeds out. The cool wind brushed my face and I stalled for a moment, enjoying the brief break.
The afternoon had been spent watering plants, arranging pebbles, and finally pulling out the invasion of minuscule plants.
Under Erin's attentive care, the tiny plants had flourished, and many were ripe with fruits and vegetables. The herb garden had done especially well since I'd been gone.
Erin stood up in the fruit's section, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Alright, I think that's good. Let's start gathering."
He passed out baskets and Ash and I began to pluck the plants' produce from their stems. Ash slowly made his way over to me, slow enough that Erin didn't notice or question it.
I pretended to bend down and snatch a vegetable.
Ash leaned over and whispered in my ear. His words made me shiver. "Three Predators are stationed around the garden. I'll try to take them out before your brother sees. Distract him."
Nodding, I stood and waved to Erin while Ash moved into the woods silently. The setting sun shone on Erin's face as he ambled over.
Grasping for something to talk about, I called out. "What else are we going to do?"
Erin scratched his head. "I think that's about it actually. We'll be heading back to the house soon."
He'd barely finished speaking when a Predator crashed through the undergrowth behind us. Ash ran after it, yelling, but it paid no attention. Erin opened his mouth in surprise, but I was already in action.
Leaping over the stones that bordered the garden, I unsheathed my knives. Ash sent a gust of wind at the Predator's back, throwing it off balance. Borrowing from the well, I covered my blade in glowing water. I struck the Predator straight through its chest, into its non-existent heart.
It exploded into dust and I turned to see Erin, who had fallen to the ground, gasping.
"Look...I-I can explain Erin..."
What happened next was completely unexpected.
"That was awesome!" Erin said, for once losing his somewhat calm and composed demeanor. "Why didn't you tell me that you could do that in the first place?"
I stuttered, thrown off. "Um, uh, this isn't the kind of thing you just blurt out. The world can't exactly know --"
"That your 'water', Ash 'air', and you're here to find 'fire'?"
Ash was just as stunned as I. "How? I thought...how do you know that?"
Erin shrugged modestly. "You're not the only one who reads the old myths in their spare time. Besides, it's totally cool with me that my sis' the Moon or whatever. Not every day that this happens."
My confusion transformed into something harder, and I saw Ash share my feelings. "You're talking about us saving the world here. Predators tracking our every step."
Uncharacteristic anger was bubbling up inside me now.
"Do you know what the last one said to me? It threatened to steal your soul! You and Mike and Mother and Father! They want your souls Erin. How hard do you think it is to bear that? I want to protect you, I don't want what happened to the Lupine camp to happen all over again. I can't believe you think it's great, just great, that I have to go through all of this."
My rage was misting over my vision in red, and I spat out the words as if they burned.
"And on top of that, the Sun's Chosen just so happens to be the one who nearly killed me. I can't, I can't deal with all this!"
Too caught up in my frustration to notice Erin's now understanding and shocked look, I shifted in my fury and dashed off. Ignoring the calls that followed me, I blindly tore through the forest.
I couldn't believe the nerve Erin had! If he really had read the texts about the five, he should've known what had happened to them. No, this wasn't a good thing, a great power to have. The world could survive or end based on every action we took.
It took me a while to realize that I was crying once more.
What had I done?
Erin was one of my two family members that didn't hate me. And now I had pushed him away. Hard. Not only that, but how was I going to defend him now? The Predators would be attacking soon, and we needed to find the third person and get out of here. While making sure that no one got their soul taken.
Tripping on a tree root, I tumbled down a hillside. Skidding to a stop, I shifted back to my human form, limping a couple of steps before collapsing at the foot of a birch tree.
My head was in my hands, tears running down my face uncontrollably.
Everything was just so overwhelming. All the events in the past month, from a fresh start filled with joy to a dark twisted path clouded in uncertainty.
I couldn't help myself, I couldn't stop it on my own. I couldn't beat the Predators or the feelings inside me alone.
I needed help...I needed...him.
"Melody! What on earth --" Ash cut himself short as he saw my tear-streaked face. "Mel!"
Turning away so I didn't have to face him, I laid down more curses upon myself. I hadn't been able to keep my cool and it irked me more than I'd like to admit. I'd acted so rashly and shown Ash a side of me that I hadn't known existed.
I needed him to help me.
But would he?
Would he think that I was a monster? That I was broken?
"Melody, look at me."
I stayed still, my mind berating myself and saying that I was worthless, I was weak.
When I didn't move, Ash cupped my chin and ever so gently raised my head to meet his eyes. "Hey, look at me. I won't get mad, I promise."
Avoiding the look he gave me, I stared behind him at the leaves, wanting to believe him but afraid to.
Ash brushed the tears away with his thumb and turned my face to his so that I had to meet his gaze.
I finally met his eyes, expecting to find outrage, but only meeting kindness and warmth in his gaze.
"I'm sorry," I managed to get out before bursting into tears again.
I'm so sorry.
(Side Note: I wanted to thank all of you guys for your support for me creating this novel. And I want to say thanks to aylarusa who helps me revise or correct every chapter that I post. Thanks guys!)