Page 6 of Bound By Earth (The Nature Hunters Academy 1)

“That’s boring,” Shelly said. “Toodles!”

Tara took a deep breath and pushed away the guilt at having been rude to one of the only people who’d taken the time to get past her walls. Shelly understood why Tara was that way. She put in the combination to the locker and then pulled up on the latch. Opening the door slowly, she tried not to cringe. Thankfully, nothing exploded or started playing music. Instead, there was simply a card and a box on the topshelf.

Tara picked up the envelope and pulled out the card. She bit her lip to keep from laughing. The card read,Wishing you a wonderful day on the anniversary of your epic vaginaldescent.

Tara could admit that Shelly, while annoying, was one of the funniest people she’d ever met. Tara opened the card. In Shelly’s handwriting it read,Happy Birthday, female canine. I’m glad you were born and all that stuff. Oh, and sorry you can’t be number one because I was born before you. Love, Your BFF, whether you want me or not.Tara didn’t understand the reference to number one. The answer was in thebox.

Next, she picked up the small box wrapped in striped black-and-white paper with a tiny lime green bow. Tara unwrapped it and opened the box. Inside was a slender gold chain bearing a charm in the shape of half a heart. The inscription read Weirdo # 2. Also in the box was a small folded piece of paper. Tara pulled it out and unfolded it.Yes, you have to wear it. Just quit your moaning and put the freaking thing on. It’s not anoose.

Tara rolled her eyes, but she pulled the necklace from the box and dutifully put it on. After having been a bit of a butt to Shelly this morning, she owed her friend that much. But Tara did slip the charm beneath her shirt. No need to advertise her weirdness any more than she already did by simply just beingherself.

* * *

Five years after the accident.Presentday.

The water acolyte watchedas the two girls skipped off to the fieldhouse housing the soccer team’s locker rooms. Their soccer game wasn’t for a couple of hours, but he knew they’d have to begin getting ready. As usual, Shelly was talking nonsense, and his Tara was rolling her eyes. Shelly. The acolyte imagined himself spitting the name. He didn’t like the girl. Not because she had gotten in his way as he tried to court Tara. Quite the opposite, actually. Several times he’d heard Shelly encouraging Tara to succumb to his advances. Had Tara listened, everything would be fine. No, it was Shelly’s unwavering friendship and support that was the problem. If Shelly wasn’t such a good friend, Tara would be adrift and alone. She would be vulnerable. She would need someone—someone like him—to lean on. She would trust him. Then he would haveher.

But because of her self-confidence, most of which was found in having such a supportive relationship with Shelly, Tara kept him at arm’s length. The previous day, he’d asked her again to go out with him. She’d been noncommittal. Still, the young acolyte was far from giving up. He would have Tara eventually. And not just because he’d been assigned to the task. No, since he’d been stationed at Buffalo High School and ordered by his master to gain the girl’s trust, the young man had become fascinated withher.

The acolyte hoped the team won today. If the girls won the soccer game, they’d be going to the playoffs. Tara would be excited. Her adrenaline would be pumping. She might be euphoric enough to do something reckless, like finally give in to his charms. Or maybe it was better if they lost. She’d be dejected, dispirited. She’d need someone to console her, someone who could understand how tough it was. He could put his arm around her, pull her close. He could seduce her. Sometimes, he wished he was an air acolyte. They had it so easy with girls. They could waft pheromones about with ease, practically have women eating out of their hands. His water powers were useful, of course. The acolyte could control standing water, bending it to his will. The man could even make it rain when he needed to. But that didn’t necessarily help him right now. He’d just have to watch and wait. The acolyte was sure an opportunity would present itselfeventually.

* * *

“Did you take off your necklace?”Shelly asked as she and Tara pulled on their cleats. They were getting ready for potentially the final high school soccer game of their senior year, and they were both feeling the anxiety and pressure of the moment. If their team won this game, the Buffalo Lady Bisons would make it into the playoffs. If not, well, that would be it. Their teammates were all chattering around them, and the excitement in the air wastangible.

“I always take it off for a game,” Tarasaid.

“I’m just saying if you lose it, I’m not buying you anotherone.”

Tara smirked. “Really? Because you’ve replaced it twicealready.”

“Becausethosetimes when you lost the necklace, it wasn’t your fault. The first time was because she-who-must-not-be-named ripped it from your neck, and then never returned it, even after you punched her in the face. And I still can’t believe you didn’t bust your knuckles open overthat.”

Tara ignored the last comment, as she often did when Shelly almost noticed something weird about her but didn’t quite stop to think about exactly how strange the situation was. It wasn’t the first time Tara had been required to nonchalantly play off an awkward occurrence that should have caused her an injury. But she’d always somehow managed to brush it off and distract her friend. Tara had no idea why she was impervious to any sort of wound. It was just how it was. She’d tried to find out why through research in the library and on the internet but hadn’t discovered anything. Tara had never actually asked anyone about it. She already felt separate from others because she was “that girl whose parents had died,” complete with unresolved anger issues. She didn’t need any more things to set her apart from the rest of the students at herschool.

The strange part was Tara remembered getting injured as a child. She’d always had skinned knees and had even broken her arm falling out of a tree once. But after the car wreck that took her parents’ lives, Tara had inexplicably never sustained any sort of injury. She’d been sick, yes. She got colds, the flu, and strep throat just like everyone else. But she never got hurt … not so much as apapercut.

“I wasn’t going to let her win,” Shelly said, drawing Tara from herthoughts.

Let who win?Right. She-who-must-not-be-named was what Shelly called Lindsey Ellis. Lindsey was the typical mean girl: spoiled and pretty. But after the little tiff she and Tara had had back in tenth grade, Lindsey had pretty much avoided them. Sporting two black eyes for the better part of two weeks tends to teach a girl alesson.

To this day, Shelly still thought Tara had punched Lindsey because of the necklace, but that wasn’t the case. Tara had actually punched the girl because she’d said something nasty about Shelly—that Shelly’s birth had been a cruel joke played by God and that her parents probably regretted having a child who looked like a spider monkey. Tara might have begrudgingly accepted Shelly’s forced friendship, but she’d never met a more loyal person, not to mention genuine. Hearing someone like Lindsey say something so cruel about the only other person Tara cared about besides Carol had fanned a flame inside her. The fire was always there. Tara knew that. If she wanted to be honest with herself—which she didn’t—she’d admit it was probably bitterness left over from the death of her parents. The fire normally simmered like hot coals buried deep within her. But hearing Lindsey’s words poured gasoline on the fire. Tara’d unleashed that rage on the girl, tearing her apart verbally and then causing damage to her prize possession—herface.

It was the only fight Tara had ever been in—well, besides on the soccer field, but those didn’t count. After that, most people decided she was unhinged. Apparently, being crazy made people too scared to mess with you. It was a win in herbook.

“And what about the second time?” Taraasked.

Shelly huffed. “You lost it on a roller coaster ride I forced you to go on. So it was mostly myfault.”

Tara shook her head at her friend. “You have some strange logic. And you’re too nice for your own good. I would have kicked me to the curb a long timeago.”

“How do you know that my niceness isn’t just a front, and I secretly have a voodoo doll made out of your hair that I’m saving to use when you finally push me toofar?”

Tara laughed. “That sounds strangely accurate for something you might do to get revenge. Remind me to search your room the next time I’mover.”

“Whatever, lady of theevening.”

“Or you could just sayhoe.”

---