elemental 06 - the best man (5 page)

“We need to hit the road,” Aiden said, looking around with regret. Dylan knew that Aiden was well aware of the difficulties they would face—their mother would have warned him as well, knowing that Aiden’s alignment with fire would make him doubly protective of Aira. Dylan hoped against hope that he wouldn’t make his protective feelings too obvious—Aira would not respond well to the imposition of too heavy a guard. 

“I hate to see you all go,” Jessica said, smiling sadly. “But you’re doing good work and I can’t keep you to myself forever.” Dylan stood in the same moment that his mother did, and watched her hug Aiden quickly; he could feel the pulse of her energy flowing into him. “Don’t lose your patience, son. Everything will happen in its time.” Dylan thought that advice from his mother was a little ironic—she was clearly impatient to see him married—but he knew what she meant underneath. Aiden’s short temper had been diffused somewhat by his association with Aira, but he was still, at heart, impatient and quick to anger—especially when it came to defending the woman he loved. Jessica hugged Aira next, and Dylan looked away, knowing she was open to Aira’s mind and energy, trying to sense the possibility of a child, trying to read her. “You can come here any time you want—you’re always welcome, not just as my son’s mate, but in your own right. And you will always be safe here.” 

Finally, Dylan wrapped his arms tightly around his mother, burying his face against her shoulder. “Remember what I told you,” she said quietly. “Don’t let the melancholy freeze you. You have a life of purpose, you have things to do.” Jessica kissed him lightly on the cheek and Dylan felt her energy flowing into him, steady and strong, cool and tranquil, like the slow sluice of snowmelt. He kissed her cheek and broke away, taking a deep breath. It would be back to work, and back to the sub-rosa task of keeping Aira safe in the midst of an upheaval in their world without offending her independent spirit. 

CHAPTER FIVE

DYLAN GAZED INTO A SILVER bowl filled with water, concentrating on the slightly rippling surface and clearing his mind of everything going on around him. Aira and Aiden were doing investigative work of their own—out on the streets of Kyoto, talking to people, trying to understand what was going on, trying to get a lock on the elemental who they were after. There was a fire elemental whom the Elders insisted was dangerous; young, coming into his full potential before he reached physical maturity, his parents deceased. Dylan wasn’t trying to track the individual down with the scrying bowl—with a fire alignment, it would be difficult to get a psychic lock on the boy himself. But he could use the natural clairvoyance that came with his elemental energy to discover what he could about the incidents the Elders had mentioned. If Aira and Aiden could locate the elemental, Dylan would be of use in subduing him—but they had to get a lay of the land first and understand the situation as best as they could. Aira’s air-aligned facility for languages and her innate ability to compel answers out of people she spoke to had been a big benefit to his and Aiden’s work.

Dylan closed his eyes for a moment. He was starting to get better at divination, using the right tools for his element and practicing the methods that Lorene’s books and her own lessons had given him—but it was sometimes easier for him to follow his empathetic senses rather than his clairvoyance. He focused down, opening his mind to the flow of water, slipping his fingers into the bowl and stirring the water around as if searching for something sliding and slithering in the liquid. He felt a frisson of cold fear and opened his eyes, looking down into the bowl. He saw a house in flames, people screaming in terror—the fire had erupted seemingly from nowhere, the old material lighting in the middle of the night. It was clear to Dylan in a flash what had happened: The boy, coming into his powers, had fallen asleep in the old building, curled up somewhere he thought was safe. Power had surged through him—just as it had surged through his older brother during Aiden’s adjustment to his abilities—and the boy had not known how to contain it. 

Dylan sighed sadly, withdrawing his fingers from the water and sitting back. The boy would be just as terrified as the people who had to hastily evacuate. He would be a difficult elemental to track, running constantly. But if he was trying to avoid sleeping, he would be easier to flush out when they did locate him; and Dylan thought that if he’d started more than a couple of fires in his sleep, the boy probably was trying to avoid going to bed, terrified that he would do it again. Fearful elementals were dangerous in their own way—but they were much less dangerous, typically, than those who delighted in their excessive, uncontrolled power. 

It had been a month since the visit to his mother’s house. Dylan had plunged himself into his work, strengthening his abilities, preparing for the day when he would come into his own inheritance. His birthday—the magical one, the important one—would be arriving in less than a year, and he wanted to have as good a grasp as possible on his energy. Seeing what Aira had gone through, what his older brother had endured, and hearing about other coming-of-age experiences of water elementals, Dylan was determined to keep the people around him safe. It was one thing to accidentally flood a house in the days before widespread electricity. It was quite another when flooding a house might mean electrocuting someone on accident.

Dylan had also observed the changes in the relationship between his older brother and Aira. They still fought—they bickered as fiercely as they ever had—but the topics of their arguments had an underlying tension that Dylan could read as easily as a river’s flow. Aira was slowly but surely coming around to the idea of marrying his brother; their arguments were her final attempts to enforce her freedom and independence before she gave in. Dylan thought wryly that if Aiden’s destiny in this life was to learn patience, his choice of mate had definitely enabled that lesson. The engagement ring had remained hidden, and would continue to be unknown to Aira until Aiden felt confident that proposing wouldn’t result in her absolutely rejecting the idea of marrying him. It traveled with them everywhere—Dylan felt almost certain that Aiden had started actually carrying it on his person, concealed in a pocket—but it was not to be mentioned in Aira’s presence until she was ready.

Aira was changing as well—not in a way that was alarming to Dylan, but in subtle ways that showed him that she was beginning to settle into her role as Aiden’s mate. She had gained patience, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths rather than shooting out the first irritated retort that flew to mind. She was keenly aware of the fact that whenever she and Aiden became too passionate—whenever they allowed their tempers to feed into each other—the result was a lightning storm, or a spontaneous blaze, or a gale that would be difficult for the news to explain. If she was found to be unfit as a ruler, too unstable in spite of the measures she had taken to satisfy the Elders, she could be deposed. And if she were deposed, she would be a target; although she was an air elemental, whoever replaced her would not want such a strong power to contend with. Dylan had also seen the way that Aira looked at children; with a veiled eagerness, an interest that she hadn’t had before. Her alignment gave her a youthful, enthusiastic outlook that made it easy for her to bond with children, but her fascination wasn’t just that of a kindred spirit anymore. “I think you’re wrong about Aira having kids,” Dylan had told Aiden one night, when his brother’s mate had gone to bed early, exhausted from double duty as a ruler as well as a bounty hunter.

“What do you mean?” Aiden’s brow had furrowed in concern.

“I think if you can convince her to marry you, you’ll knock her up in a matter of months.” Aiden had rolled his eyes.

“She won’t want the restrictions having a kid would put on her.”

“She’s starting to get baby fever. I don’t care what you say; I can see it in her. She wants kids to raise. She wants to watch someone develop into an adult.” Aiden shook his head, but he was smiling.

“If you’re right, she’s almost ready to get married.”

“Oh man, it will only be a few more weeks. Get ready.”

Aira and Aiden came in while Dylan was still contemplating what he was able to discover in the scrying bowl. “I think I know where we should look,” Aira said, depositing a takeout bag on the table and sitting down. 

“He’s running scared,” Dylan said, sighing. “Can’t be older than about fourteen.” Aiden grimaced.

“I was able to get in touch with some of the fire elementals here,” he said, digging into the bag and taking out an order of curry. “If we can track him down, they’ll smooth the way for him to leave the country so he can be judged.” Dylan knew that his older brother was only too aware of what it was like to come into the full flush of fire energy; even with preparation, even in a supportive atmosphere, it was frightening. How much more difficult, how terrifying would it be for someone who had no support, who was alone in the world?

“I found his school; we should check there tomorrow morning, see if we can find him. It’ll need to be all three of us.” Dylan nodded. His energy would suppress the burgeoning elemental’s defensive magic, while Aira could use her persuasion to smooth the way, and Aiden’s fire alignment would give him the ability to corral the kid. In their previous job, tracking down a powerful earth elemental, the final take down had been performed by Aiden and Dylan, with Aira waiting out of the line of fire. She had argued the point, but deep down she had known that the elemental would have every reason to try and neutralize her first.

They discussed their approach; Aira and Aiden had found out that the boy they were tracking had somehow managed to keep the fact of his lonely existence secret from the authorities, providing story after story of where he lived and who supported him. It would be tricky to get into the school, but between the three of them, it should be possible. They knew the kid’s name; they could get paperwork easily authorizing their custody of him, once they had him. “I really hope we can get him some help, get him some support,” Aira said, chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully. “Based on what we’ve heard—and what you’ve seen—he’s only a danger if he can’t get the help he needs to mature into a stable elemental. He’s not trying to hurt people.” Dylan nodded. “If they alienate him though…” 

“The thing to avoid will be a preemptive decision to put him down,” Aiden said. Dylan grimaced. 

“Yeah, that will be the trick.” Part of their process of apprehending elementals for the Elders was to evaluate their level of risk and submit their own reports. The Elders made their decision, the rulers weighed in—but the first line of defense was a good report: reasonable, accurate, and considered. Even the best report couldn’t save an elemental who the Elders and the elemental rulers both decided was simply too unstable or too potentially dangerous—elementals like Alex, the air elemental who had first tried to subvert Aira into bonding with him, and who had then poisoned her to try and get rid of her when she was called upon to judge his fate. 

They talked well into the night, working out and rehashing their strategy, tweaking it for the specific issues that Japanese culture would impose. Dylan smiled privately to himself as he noticed Aiden deferring to Aira on issues of culture—his stubborn, bull-headed brother was learning to appreciate Aira’s nuanced understanding of people and how to manage them.
It was only a matter of time
, Dylan thought, with a mixture of satisfaction and sadness.

CHAPTER SIX

AIDEN’S ARMS TIGHTENED AROUND AIRA’S waist as he came out of a deep doze. They had made love, over and over again, for hours—to the point of bone-deep exhaustion and complete satisfaction, heedless of the lightning their passion created. Aira made a sleepy sound, shifting in bed until her body was pressed fully against his, and Aiden smiled. “Aren’t you glad you said yes?” he murmured, kissing her with his eyes still closed, uncaring of where his lips fell as long as it was somewhere on her body. 

“Shut up,” Aira replied, but he could hear the smile in her voice. Aiden reached blindly for her left hand, found the hot-and-cold hardness of the ring on her finger, and reveled in the fire-aligned energy that crackled within. Two months after their visit to his mother’s house, he had finally shown it to her—and proposed. Aiden had been nervous in spite of being as confident as he possibly could be that she would say yes, that Aira was ready to contemplate being his wife, as well as his mate. Aiden opened his eyes. For a moment, he had no words; Aira was so beautiful, her dark hair flowing across the pillow, her face softened by the languor of pleasure and exhaustion. He watched the rise and fall of her chest, played idly with the ring on her finger, smiling to himself at the significance of it—the ring proclaimed that she belonged to him, that she was his and he was hers. He had contemplated getting a ring that would suit both of their elemental natures—combining metals, or choosing stones with an air alignment that would complement the ruby he knew he wanted to take precedence. But in the end he had settled on materials aligned firmly with fire, wanting the whole world to know that she was the mate of a fire elemental.