Power of the 8 Elements

Chapter Three

Celeste POV:

"What brings you here, Cel?" My aunt asked.

"I want to know if...I'm pregnant."

She raised an eyebrow and spun around in her swivel chair. She snapped her glove.

"Uh...does your mom know about this?"

"No, not yet anyway."

"Well, did you have...sex...or anything like that? Or were you attacked?"

"I do have a boyfriend."

"Your mom told me."

"And we did get together last night, but I just thought it would be simple and all of that. I never thought it would have any results."

"That's where you're wrong, Celeste."

"Now have you experienced any symptoms? Nausea? Morning sickness? Cramping?"

"Have you been reading my mind?"

Apparently Aunt Sybil didn't get my joke. I tried to keep this light and airy since my greatest fear was becoming a teen mom.

"One of the most common symptoms is a late period? Has that happened?"

"No," I said.

"Alright," she said, taking out a needle.

As she stuck the needle into my skin, she began to talk.

"Why do you think you're pregnant? Have you told your boyfriend?"

"I did not tell Joe. I don't want to bother him not since..."

"Since what?"

"Have you heard about the murder of Gertrude Cassidy?"

She shook her head.

"Of course not, it probably hasn't gone public yet. A girl in my school was brutally murdered."

"Did the cops find out who?"

"No, but...I have a hunch people are going to start suspecting him. Dark ones have just earned a bad rep from the past."

"Hmm...now...can I ask why you two "got together"? Was it him or you? Or were you dared?"

What I liked so much about Aunt Sybil was that she got the current times. Whereas if my mom had found out about what happened between Joe and I, she would've gone on for twenty years discussing how inappropriate we'd been. It would compare to us being pressed for the charges of murder and being sentenced for twenty years—maybe that would've been better. (I'm kidding.)

"...I told him to."

"Celeste!" she scolded.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, your mother's gonna kill you!"

"She always finds some way to blame Joe for literally anything. It's like I'm the perfect child. I don't think she likes having him in the house. She's a hypocrite. She's married to a dark one herself when in fact we probably gave her the idea of it in the first place."

Aunt Sybil looked at me. She removed the needle and handed it to another doctor.

"We'll get the results in an hour to a day."

"What should I do if I'm pregnant?" I asked.

"Tell your boyfriend and your family. I suggest you gather them in a room during or after dinner. Break the news gently. If you show that you're not scared, they're likely to be calmer."

"Thank you," I said.

She smiled and hugged me.

"I'll get the tests," she said, leaving me alone.

She looked heavily distressed like something was plaguing her, and she wouldn't reveal it to me. I had a hunch that this thought involved children, and that might also explain why she became an obstetrician. Mom never talked about her sister. It was like they'd got into a big fight. Maybe that's what happened. Every family reunion, they'd gather in the kitchen with the rest of the adults while the rest of us stayed upstairs either playing Mario Kart or purposely singing discordantly during Karaoke. We'd leave the house with Mom muttering explicit language under her breath and avoiding making eye contact with anyone.

A lot of people had something against her in our family. All I knew was that she was unmarried, had had several breakups between boyfriends, and was once arrested for DUI when she was eighteen. It was kind of obvious why not many of our family members liked her. Us, light ones liked to and still want to keep a perfect profile. That's the personality associated with us. Light ones—perfect. Flames—rebellious. Fernials—shy. Aquarius—helpful. Terras—stubborn. Glaciers—bossy and bratty. Nimbuses—innocent yet naive. Dark ones—corrupt. The personality traits that had been given to the magic races were probably the reason why some felt pressure more than others. And why a lot of dark ones in the past got away with some unspeakable crimes. If you were called a monster, and no one would ever disprove that, you kind of had no choice.

3 HOURS LATER

I felt like I'd been sitting in the chair for weeks. The wait was killing me. I needed to know especially so I could get this off my chest...and rub it in Cheryl and Phoenix's face. We had murders to solve. That was already enough to carry on my shoulders. Murders were already big enough things to shoulder, and I didn't want to work with anything else.

Sybil Damarius

I entered the room, and before I could speak, Celeste began rambling.

"Thank goodness! I knew I was right. Phoenix and Cheryl, I get, they care, but they don't know me enough. Plus, it's kind of impossible for me to get pregnant. I mean-"

She continued speaking, and I looked back down at the charts. She wasn't going to be happy, I knew that. I looked up at Celeste.

"Um...Cel..."

"Yeah?"

"You're pregnant," I said.

And then she fainted.

'Knew it.'