DAMAGED - A Bad Boy Romance (42 page)

“I’m guessing they come in different forms?”

“Of course. You have the various types. Some never leave the water. The ones over there can exist out of water for long periods of time. Then you have the mermaids, which can never leave the ocean, the Lorelei that only live in mountain streams and the sirens that lure men to their death through song. The sirens are the most dangerous ones, but I don’t even think the sprites, which have very little interaction with humans, are safe. All of them resent the way humanity have manipulated the waterways and ocean to their advantage. I always find a way to warn people away from them if I see any around when I swim or even use a boat. You can’t allow yourself to get too close because they will become infatuated with you and won’t leave. If you spurn one they will find a way to do some harm. Too many people every year become involved with water elementals and fail to realize what they’ve done.”

“Always women?” Lilly asked further. “If they’re supernatural, why couldn’t they assume any form they wanted?”

“One of the great mysteries of the universe. I’ve only seen water elementals manifest as women. Same for the air elementals. Something to do with generative powers, but I don’t really know. I don’t think anyone does. When you work with elementals, there are things you don’t question so long as they give you the results you want. Since you need to be very careful when manipulating them, it doesn’t pay to toss the rule book away.”

“Since we know they’re elementals and not human,” Sean said, “we’ll be safe and not have to worry.”

“Not for the time being… “ Dion said. “Now we have to figure where the Water Elemental Grandmaster is located in this part of the mall.”

“You sure know a lot about them,” Lilly said.

“I was raised by water elementals until I was five.”

“What? I thought you had normal parents like the rest of us.”

“I did, but they needed help to raise me. Mother was busy typing up all of dad’s material and she didn’t have time to watch me all the time, so she found some water elementals to look after me until I was old enough to leave unsupervised for more than five minutes. At least that’s what they told me.”

“I thought you just said water elementals are dangerous,” Emily spoke up.

“They are to most people. But mother had two elemental manipulation powers: water and fire. She was able to bind some of the higher elementals to work for her for a limited time. When you do that, you have to give them something in return, but I don’t know what she traded to get help. All I remember are three young girls who looked after me day and night. Every time I woke one, would walk me to the bathroom or get whatever I needed. I was in the hospital when my tonsils were removed and they took turns in shifts watching after me. Mother didn’t have them out of the house much because she didn’t want the neighbors to be suspicious. We were in a middle-class suburb and no one had servants. If they saw three young girls supervising me all the time weren’t family, people would have asked questions.

“It was nice because I didn’t have to worry about ever being left alone. There was always one of them on stand-by. I dropped a crayon and one of them would pick it up. They don’t get bored and lose their attention like human girls, so there was never any worry they might ignore me.

“It’s a wonder you ever learned how to do anything on your own,” Sean said. “Did you learn to tie your shoes?”

“Yes. Mother had them show me how to do it over and over again until I got it right. As I said, water elementals don’t get bored. They took one of them to the store a few times and it turned out not to be such a good idea. They would ignore everyone else in the place except me and my parents. For some reason, mother decided they would blend in better if the ones she chose appeared to be cute, tiny little girls about sixteen to eighteen years of age. They had to be careful if they took them out because every young man in the store or restaurant would find a reason to come talk to them. They would ignore the guys, but even then, I can remember how irritated it would make the men. Plus, if I asked for something, they would get it for me. It didn’t matter if my parents had the money or not.”

“You parents took them all out at once?” Lilly asked. “I can imagine the looks all of you got.”

“No. When they did take them out, it was usually one at a time. They had a big pool in the backyard and it was alright to leave them in it. I don’t know where mother found them, but she mentioned one time they were causing a problem in a neighbor’s Olympic-sized pool at one point.

“Did they ever spank you when you did something wrong?” Sean laughed.

“No, discipline was something my mother handled. I couldn’t get away with anything because they would let her know right away.”

“So what ever happened to them?” Lilly asked.

“My parents had to get rid of them when I turned six. They tried to attack me.”

He could see the eyes widen on his friends.

“I was at the beach one day with them, playing just like we always did. Never had much trouble from the locals once they realized they wouldn’t take their attention off me. I was splashing in the water when an older woman came up and talked to them. I thought it was a little odd because even if they acknowledged someone else, one of the three had their attention focused in my direction. This time they all listened intently to what she had to say.”

“When I came out of the water, they turned and started to walk in my direction. I was scared because of the look on their faces, it didn’t seem normal and I ran. They chased after me, but a man driving a delivery truck saw them and called to me. He raced them off and they didn’t follow. He went right away to a pay phone and phoned my dad. I still think he was another element worker who recognized something. My parents came and took me home. The next day mom told me the girls were gone and would not be replaced.

I remember my parents having a big fight over it and I don’t think it was just because of the three water elementals. There was more to it and I’ve always thought it was strange the delivery truck driver, whom I never saw again, was there when it happened.

Anyway, that is my story about being raised by water elementals. I think they are unstable when it comes to humans. Too much unpredictability to make good use of them. They might look to be all happy and free, but they are still wild at heart.”

“That one beat any bad story about growing up I ever had,” Sean said. “My mother was a little nuts, but I never had to worry about a killer babysitter.”

“I’ve carefully worked with water elementals because of what happened. I still don’t know who the woman was that talked to them. I don’t know if she had some way to control them and why she would want them to harm me. I was afraid; certain they were going to kill me.”

Dion pulled the map of his jacket and began to look at it. It should tell him where the elemental grandmaster was located; he only needed a few minutes to consult it. As he began to go over the parchment and look for the location, Emily and Sean went to one side of him, right next to one of the support pillars while Lilly stayed by his side.

They obviously needed to talk.

“I don’t like it when you are looking at other girls,” Emily told Sean. “If we’re going to be together for a long time, and last night you told me you wanted to be with me, you need to give me some respect.”

Sean was silent. He didn’t know what to say. Women were such a mystery to him. Most of the time girls just avoided him. To hear one tell him that they wanted to be with him all the time was a new experience. He tried to remember how his dad met his mother and decided it wasn’t a good way to judge Emily. Instead, he tried to hug her without the rest of the mall starring at them.

Emily couldn’t understand why Sean was acting in the manner he did. She had talked to him the entire night on the way home to his house in the back of Dion’s van. She assumed he was like her dad: suffering for attention. She was ready to give it to him. Having Sean taken away as Dion dropped him off at the house was almost too much. She watched him go inside and felt part of her heart removed. It was a new sensation to be so close to someone. She knew he must feel the same way.

So why had he been so cruel and made those comments about the other girls? All right, maybe she didn’t resemble any of those bikini models, but there was nothing wrong with her body. And none of the boys she’d dated ever complained about her appearance. Emily knew how to look good. Today she’d even worn a pair of white pants because she felt Sean would appreciate it on her with the silver streaked top she’d bought last week. He should appreciate what he had by his side.

What neither of them could see was the whole person they’d melded with for a few hours the day before. Eventually the union would be gone. There would be no memory of the way both of their inner minds merged together for a brief moment when the cheerleader elementals had captured them.

But the memory of yesterday was still strong inside their hearts. Sean could still feel the loss of her mother and she the humiliation from his. They shared some pain, not a lot, but enough to bond. For a few hours after they awoke, they were ready to be married. It faded over night, but not by much. Each still felt the other close and couldn’t put a name to the sensation. So they called it love, which, given what happened, made sense.

Dion looked up from his map and saw Sean and Emily in a deep conversation. He’d expected something like this. They’d been in close proximity to the elementals yesterday and it meant their hearts merged for quite some time. At least he was able to get them away from the sylphs in time. People who were in the same situation for days could go mad as they lost sense of who they were. The ancient Greek and Roman legends were filled with stories of people who spent too much time around elementals and were never the same again. He hoped they would be able to get some perspective on what happened over time.

Poor Sean had to deal with a girl who really cared for him and had no clue how to take care of her. Poor Emily had to work with a boy who had no sense of worth and didn’t understand how she would react to his idle comments. It would be difficult, but in time, they could work it out on their own. In a small way, Dion hoped they would find the strength to stay together. So much dissolution in the world these days and it wasn’t good.

“I’m sorry if I offended you,” Sean told Emily. “I just never seem to be able to say the right thing. How can I make it up to you?”

“You will,” she said and gave him a pinch. “Just don’t do it again. My mother left because she liked the attention from other men better than the home my father provided. I guess she’s doing fine now, but it was hard for me to take. It was hard for my dad to take and he still has me around. I worry about him when I leave for college.”

“I know,” Sean said, “you still can’t get him to consider other women. I saw it yesterday and I know how you want him to get out. I guess he’ll never get back with your mom.”

“Not a chance. Just as if your mother will hound your father until the day he drops dead. I don’t know what the problem is, we seem to have endured bad mothers, but have you ever considered it wasn’t their entire fault? You blame your mother for a lot, but she did raise you to do good the best way she knew how. What do you expect from someone with her background? I’ve come to terms with my mother and her issues, you should do the same.”

The two of them held each other tightly for a while. It seemed to release much of what had happened a few minutes ago.

“Third day I’ve seen you here, Dion,” a voice said to him. “I think we have a pattern developing.”

Emily and Dion looked up to see Detective Jones from the Scipio Police standing next to them. His investigations into Dion’s uncle, who owned the mall, must’ve born some fruit if he was there already. The previous day they’d discussed mutual help, as Dion knew his Uncle Seth was behind the construction of the mall. His uncle was the one who held his parents captive inside the clock tower in the center of it. None of this information did him any good if he couldn’t find a way to use it when he found the other elemental grandmasters.

“I wish I had more information for you,” Dion told him. “But there isn’t much I’ve learned in the past twenty-four hours.”

“I’ve had some interesting developments on my end,” Jones said. “I pulled a rabbit out of the hat, so to speak.”

Jones liked to think of himself as an amateur magician. He used his tricks to build confidence with suspects. Dion had shown him a small sampling of what he could do with his abilities and they immediately struck up a friendship. Now he was investigating Dion’s uncle and wanted Dion to help. Dion was doing his best to keep the exact nature of what he knew about his uncle private.

“Is there anything you can tell me?” Dion asked. “I’m headed to a showdown with him very soon. I can’t promise when it will be, but very soon.”

Lilly stood next to Dion and didn’t say a word. She’d known Jones a long time. She knew about the investigation and how Jones wanted Dion’s help.

“He does have the federal boys interested in him,” Jones said. “I was in touch with some friends in the FBI today and they’re watching him closely. Could be very serious, this one. There is a definite link to the jewel theft I told you about yesterday. They lack evidence to pin it on him. This is why I need you to give me more information if you can find it. The thing is, I just can’t figure out why he built the mall here of all places. This area has the interstate, it’s good for traffic, but it’s still a haul for most people. I don’t see it as really turning over for another five years. He might be a big picture guy, but he doesn’t strike me as the type.”