Blue Violet

chapter 7



Ellie took a break from her homework and went downstairs, only to find the house empty. Griffin had apparently gone out. She’d been so distracted with thoughts of Alex Jenner, a Vyusher could have walked directly in front of her, in full wolf form, and she wouldn’t have noticed.

Huh. Now that I think about it, Griffin’s tapping into my morphing ability. That’s a little strange, she thought. Ellie was a metamorph, with the ability to shift into specific animal forms. One being a falcon, inherited from her father. Griffin hated to fly, but the only one of her morphs he’d been able to master was her strongest form—the falcon.

He must be out doing some scouting of the area, Ellie decided, not bothering to tap into his mind reading ability to find out what was going on. He’d come home eventually and probably tell her about it. She went to make some homemade hot chocolate to pass the time while she waited. She didn’t know if Griffin would be home any time soon, but decided to make enough for him, too. She was just mixing in the milk when the phone rang.

“Hello?” She picked it up without bothering to check the ID. Very few people had the number.

“Hi, Ellie, it’s Adelaide.”

“Oh, hi!” Ellie grimaced. I wonder what this is about.

“I’m so sorry to do this, but we need to cancel our study session this week,” Adelaide said, her voice ripe with contrition.

Ellie frowned. “Oh! Why?” She was proud of how she pulled off the right mix of surprise and casual interest despite her thumping heart.

“With Alex home from college, we’ll be doing family stuff most of the week…sorry we have to flake.”

“Oh, no prob. We’ll do it some other time.” Ellie hoped the relief she felt wasn’t obvious as she spoke.

“Thanks, Ellie! Gotta go.”

“Okay, bye!” Ellie put the phone back on the receiver.

Phew! There’s one complication avoided… at least for now.

She fleetingly wondered why Alex had suddenly come home, but assumed nothing serious had motivated the decision. He’d looked perfectly relaxed at the school that afternoon. Ellie’s mind drifted to that moment. The first moment she’d seen him… and then when their gazes had locked. She’d never experienced anything like it.

I wonder if he’d felt anything too, or if I just looked like any other high school girl to him? Other than her eyes, she knew she really wasn’t a stand-out beauty. Alex, on the other hand, was gorgeous. Dark, brooding, yummy. Why would someone like him be remotely interested in someone like her?

Ellie gave herself a mental shake. Not gonna happen, Ellie... Let it go. With that, she deliberately put all thoughts of Alex from her mind and finished making her hot chocolate. She then settled down on the couch in the living room to work on her math homework. She’d finished several problems when she heard Griffin making his way into the house.

“Hey, Griff,” she called.

She didn’t look up when he walked into the room, until she realized that he stood directly in front of her, patiently waiting for her attention. Slowly, she raised her head and then her eyebrows.

“Do you want something?”

“I just spent the last few hours listening to the Jenners… You were right about Adelaide’s ability,” Griffin said. He leaned against a chair crossing one ankle over the other.

Ellie bit her lip. “She thought about today?”

“Yeah. She sees relationships between people. She saw strong relationships between herself and you, as well as between Alex and you. But she didn’t think about the specifics. They did seem to be positive relationships in her mind, though.”

“That’s a relief.” Ellie smiled, and then gave her brother a very direct look. “Why did you listen in on the entire family tonight?”

“Because when I felt that shock earlier today, I also managed to hear a little of Adelaide’s thoughts when you touched her. And what I heard made me think that she was beginning to wonder about you.” He dropped into the chair he was leaning against and propped his feet up on the coffee table, looking deceptively relaxed.

“Oh.” Ellie cringed.

“Exactly.” He gave her that utterly Griffin look that she hated…a look that stated quite clearly here you go again, Ellie.

“…So I figured a little reconnaissance wouldn’t hurt.”

Ellie waited a second for him to continue. “And...?” she prompted when he remained silent.

“Well, the mother’s name is Lucy. She and her husband Hugh are te’sorthene”

Ellie’s eyes lit up at this bit of information. Her mind reeling. Ellie remembered her mother telling her about te’sorthene as a child. The word literally meant a friend bonded by heart or sprit. But the Svatura used the term to refer to what equated to soul mates. Rare, because of how few Svatura existed, but more common in their large clan due to sheer numbers. Te’sorthene was supposed to be a pre-destined bond between two people that was elemental, almost physical. Most of the mated couples in their tribe were te’sorthene.

In Ellie’s experience, if Svatura were lucky enough to meet their te’sorthene, their fated mate, it typically happened much later in life—if ever. Te’sorthene seemed to only occur between Svatura. It hadn’t been known to happen between Svatura and humans. But people with their abilities were few enough in number that many married humans rather than waiting on the somewhat remote possibility of meeting their te’sorthene. That decision was a personal choice.

Seeing that he’d lost her attention, Griffin cleared his throat, and she contained her excitement with some effort.

“They’re Adelaide and Lila’s parents.”

“Not Alex’s?”

“I don’t think so. Her power is a very subtle one, but one you need to be very aware of,” he warned. “She can somehow see a person’s essence, who they are, and their intentions. With Svatura, she can see that they are gifted.”

Ellie wrinkled her nose. She was going to have to avoid Lucy.

“Right,” Griffin agreed, as he’d followed the path her mind had started down. “I think I can help you with that.”

Ellie tilted her head quizzically. “Have you decided to start helping me now?”

She caught a resigned look in his eyes, before he masked it with a mischievous quirk of his mouth. “How else am I going to make sure you don’t give us away too early?”

Ellie played along and grinned back, but that flash of apprehension in her brother’s eyes bothered her. Plus, he was still blocking her from seeing his thoughts. Something he only did when he knew something he didn’t want to share. Something that had him upset.

Griffin continued, “It seems like Lucy used her power to gather the family together. With her cunning sense of intuition, Lucy somehow knew when she was faced with one of their kind. She could sense their intentions and the heart of who they were. Everyone but their daughters she’s added to their group gradually.”

“Who else?” Ellie leaned forward, fascinated.

“There’s a woman named Charlotte Pierce. Her husband’s name I didn’t catch. They’re te’sorthene as well. There’s also another boy around Nate’s age whose name I don’t know either.”

“Jeez. Two sets of te’sorthene in such a small group. That’s incredible!” Ellie bounced in her seat in her excitement, knocking her homework onto the floor, which she then leaned down to pick up.

“Three sets.”

Ellie froze where she was, bent over the scattered papers on the floor. “Wait… what!?!”

“Adelaide and Nate as well.”

“Holy cow! I… I can’t believe it!” Ellie blinked. The odds of that many te’sorthene pairs happening in such a small assembly of Svatura were inconceivable.

“Did you figure out any other powers while you were listening?” Knowing that would be a huge help in her quest.

“Only one…Mostly, they were all concentrating on their discussion. But Charlotte has the ability to teleport. Although, as far as I can tell, she can only go short distances.” Seeing that Ellie was still frozen mid-action, Griffin moved to help her finish gathering her homework off the floor. They sat down on the couch together. Griffin picked up her legs and propped them in his lap.

“So what did they talk about?”

“Ummm… someone named Alex just arrived.”

Ellie nodded, blocking her true thoughts from her brother. “Yeah, I met him today. What about him?” She hoped she sounded casual, even though her heart bounced around a bit at the mention of his name.

“He’s been away at college, and Lucy asked him to come home. Apparently her power also includes some kind of general intuition. Feelings that something good or bad is going to happen. The family seem to take her feelings pretty seriously. And she’s got one now.”

That sounds pretty ominous, Ellie thought. Aloud she asked, “Good or bad?”

“A bit of both,” Griffin answered. “Based on what I heard, she’s not sure which. On the plus side for us, they think you’re just a normal high school girl…that you would’ve figured them out or approached them by now if you weren’t.”

Relief whooshed through Ellie as she released a big breath.

“But,” Griffin continued, “that does mean you’re going to have to be extra careful until we know for sure we can trust them.”

“We can trust them. I already know that.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do,” she insisted.

He looked skeptical.

“I could always use Lucy’s power to show you. You said she sees intentions,” Ellie suggested.

“Pass.”

Of course, Griffin hadn’t gone into any details about what he was really bothered about, but Ellie knew it would be useless to ask him. He tended to be a bit of a thinker, and would only open up when he decided it was best. If he decided it was best.

After a few moments of contemplative silence, Griffin ran his hands over his face and said, “If you’re sure you’re right about being able to trust them, then I think you shouldn’t avoid Adelaide, Lila, and Nate.”

“Seriously?” Ellie loved the idea of befriending the trio. It’d been a long time since she’d had anyone except Griffin as a real friend.

“Can you do it without their finding out?”

“Ummmm…” Ellie managed to momentarily put on hold her desperate wish for friends who truly knew who and what she was, to give that question the serious consideration it deserved. “Yeah, I think I can. Especially if I have your help,” she finally decided.

“Okay.” Griffin nodded and ruffled her hair. “You’d better finish your homework, young lady.”

Ellie stuck her tongue out in response. It felt so good to have Griffin on her side again. Ellie headed upstairs, her head full of what tomorrow might bring.