Lissa spun around, holding the dripping teapot against her chest. "Nothing is going to happen to you. Rikki got through her crisis and came out stronger than ever. So has Judith. This is your time, Airiana. I'm not going to dismiss your fears and tell you everything is going to be fine when you're feeling like something terrible is coming. I say, if it is, let it come. We'll face it together. We're strong together, whether we're all physically present or not. You'll get through this and you'll be happier for it."
Airiana nodded. "I know. I don't want to go the way of my mother. My mind can be very demanding and chaotic if I'm not continually learning and the last thing I want to do is start drinking to numb myself."
Lissa smiled at her. "Crazy girl, you don't drink alcohol. I can't see you suddenly swilling the stuff."
Airiana laughed. "Keep an eye on me. If you see me suddenly hitting the alcohol cabinet, hit me over the head or something."
Lissa rinsed the teapot again and set it aside with the rest of the clean dishes. "I am coming back, Airiana. If Damon gets here before me, just stall."
"I will, I promise." Airiana blew Lissa a kiss and turned to go back to her bedroom.
"Airiana? I love you right back," Lissa said, her voice tight.
When Airiana turned around, Lissa was already ducking out of the kitchen through the arched doorway on the other side of the room.
Airiana found herself smiling as she took her shower. She was afraid of what Damon was going to say to her, but it didn't matter, because she had her family and they were already closing ranks around her.
She pulled clean underwear from her drawer, hurriedly donned them and shimmied into her oldest pair of comfortable jeans. She ran her hand lovingly down her thigh. The jeans were soft and just perfect after several years of wear, but they also had a few holes in them and she couldn't wear them too many places outside the farm. Sighing, she found a T-shirt that was somewhat threadbare and could be sacrificed to the cause.
Airiana brushed her teeth fast, shoved her feet into her oldest, very cute combat boots and with hair still damp, ran down the stairs of her home, slamming the door closed behind her. The fog continued to roll in off the ocean, bringing a wet, cool feel to the air.
She ran along the path in the direction of the greenhouse. It was a good distance away, but all of them had resolved to walk as much as possible to help stay fit. She was nearly there when she had to stop. She couldn't help herself, she spun around in a circle, arms wide open, welcoming the sea air. She felt as if she was completely free when she was in the open air. She thought it might be a leftover need from those last couple of years in the government school.
As she turned in her circle, celebrating her freedom, it happened again, patterns moving in the dense fog. At once a heavy dread fell over her and she ceased moving abruptly. She lifted her hands and shoved. Nothing happened. Always when she gave a little push, the fog opened for her, but this time, the mist seemed locked in tight. Her heart gave a startled jerk.
She began to run again, along the path leading to the greenhouse. The trail was familiar and well-worn, but in the thick fog, she found it slow going. Her heart rate increased, her mouth going dry. Something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.
"Lexi," she called.
Sound was muffled in the fog when it was so thick, and she couldn't see much in front of her. For one moment she thought she heard the sound of male voices, and she stopped moving, holding herself very still to listen.
"I'm here. This fog is strange, it was thinning nicely and then all of a sudden it got like this again. It's weird, but I thought I heard a helicopter and then the sound was gone," Lexi added. She came out of the veil of gray mist and handed Airiana a thick sweater. "I knew you'd forget to wear one, you always do."
Airiana took it gratefully. Her body was shivering, but not so much from the cold, more from the muted voices swirling in the fog. Those voices were not a figment of her imagination--or in her head. She was certain. She caught Lexi's arm when her youngest sister would have turned toward the greenhouse.
"Let's get back inside," she whispered. "Into my house. Something's not right. Has Lissa already left?"
Lexi didn't argue. All of them had known danger and even if whatever Airiana felt was a false alarm, it was far better to be safe than sorry.
"I saw her car leave," Lexi said, dropping her voice to a low thread of sound.
Airiana tugged on Lexi's arm to keep her following. They moved in silence, trying to stay on the path leading back to Airiana's house. With each step they took, the fog seemed to grow thicker, almost as if it were deliberately slowing them down.
Airiana lifted her hand and waved it toward the fog in an effort to clear a space so they could see better and wouldn't have to move like snails. Her body was in full flight mode, fear clawing at her.
She could hear Lexi breathing behind her and knew she had to be terrified. Lexi had been through so much, and terror was never very far from her. She stayed on the farm because she felt safe there. Airiana felt the edge of anger, a slow boiling that started somewhere in the pit of her stomach. She might be afraid herself, but she was getting angry on Lexi's behalf. The farm was their refuge and whatever threatened Airiana had no business coming to their home--and she was certain the threat was to her.
Something moved off to her left, something large. Her breath caught in her throat, and she tugged at Lexi's hand hard.
"Move fast. Run."
She began to sprint, veering away from the left side but angling toward her porch. She couldn't even make out the house in the thick fog.
"This isn't natural," Lexi said as she kept pace.
No, it wasn't. The fog definitely pressed back at them, as if something drove it, commanded it to slow them down or stop them altogether. Her brain screamed at her to stop panicking and think rationally. Airiana took a deep breath and stopped running, dragging Lexi to a halt beside her. She leaned in close to her sister and put her mouth to her ear.
"Someone is influencing the fog. We've got to get off this path and then stay very still. We can't hear them, but that means they can't hear us either. They're expecting us to run for the house. If the air communicates with me, whoever is manipulating this fog is listening to it too. We can't make noise or disturb it too much."
Lexi nodded in understanding. They stayed very low to the ground, trying to slip through the dense veil as slowly and carefully as possible. Lexi touched her shoulder and indicated she would lead the way. She knew the farm better than anyone else, and she could find the best places to hide. She wouldn't get lost no matter how thick the fog became.
Airiana allowed Lexi to crawl past her and they stayed close together, crawling low to the ground until they came to a series of bushes that ringed Airiana's home. Where Judith's property was mainly flowers and carefully cultivated plants and Rikki's was all about fire safety, Airiana's property reflected her personality. She had wild bushes and grasses growing everywhere, a virtual sea of color waving madly in the winds coming off the sea.
Lexi moved confidently between the large wi
llowy bushes, weaving in and out between low branches. The leaves caught in their hair, and vines slapped their faces, but they kept inching forward as quietly as possible.
It was impossible not to disturb the fog. Airiana whispered to the air, asking for aid in keeping the dense mass of vapor as still as possible. She knew how to manipulate fog and even hold it still in one place, but whoever commanded the dense vapor was far more experienced than she was. Still, she kept the tiny droplets from displacing too much, enough, she hoped, that whoever was hunting them wouldn't find them, not without first thinning the fog.
Someone cursed, the male voice muffled, but his foul words still discernable. Beside her, Lexi winced and sat very still, pressing her hand to her mouth to cover her ragged breathing.
Airiana put her arm around her and pulled her close. Lexi trembled continuously. She had been taken as a child from her home, snatched right out of her bed at the age of eight, kidnapped and systematically abused emotionally, physically and sexually by a cult leader and his followers. She had worked on their farm by day and been forced into slavery at night by the male members. Airiana knew she had to be terrified. She pushed aside her own fears to try to wordlessly comfort Lexi. She felt if she conveyed absolute confidence, Lexi might not break down.
"Where the hell is she?"
Lexi shuddered and Airiana turned her into her arms. Lexi buried her face against Airiana's shoulder. She'd spent nine years in captivity, living under the threat that her captors would kill her family if she ever tried to leave. This had to be hell for her. She had finally found a way to escape the cult and had made it back to her family. Airiana imagined that Lexi had to hide many times on that farm out in the middle of nowhere.
Anger welled up that anyone would hunt them this way. She felt like prey for a large predator, huddled there with her terrified sister. Damon Wilder was coming around noon. There were far too many hours between now and when he would show up, and everyone else was out for the day.