elemental 08 - elements of war (6 page)

“I can take Leigh with me to the shops to get what we need; be better than guessing at what works best,” Dylan offered. 

 “How much do we trust her?” Aiden asked, glancing apologetically at Dylan. Dylan knew his brother and sister-in-law had reason to be cautious; he could only hope that as more time passed—without Leigh betraying them—that they’d come to accept Leigh, that they’d learn to trust her as he did. But then, he thought, he wasn’t even entirely sure of why he trusted the auburn-haired elemental. 

“I trust her enough not to use the opportunity to escape,” Aira said after a moment’s deliberation. “Amazing how quickly you figure someone out when everything goes to shit, isn’t it?” Aira gave him a smile and Dylan echoed it, reaching out to brush his fingertips against Leigh’s hand.

“We can keep working on intelligence while they’re out,” Aiden said. Dylan felt his brother’s gaze on him and met it. “I’ll check in if you’re out a bit long for comfort.” Aiden looked at Leigh. “And don’t go thinking that you can overpower my brother, either—Dylan’s stronger than he looks, even if his head is turned.” 

Dylan groaned. “I don’t need you to stand up for me, Aiden,” he told his brother; there were moments when he was acutely aware of the fact that Aiden was older—and never any moments when he delighted in that fact.

“Let ‘em go. They need some bonding time.” Aira rose from her seat and Dylan felt the pulse of intense energy between his brother and the woman Aiden had taken as a mate—and as a wife. He knew exactly what the two of them would be doing the entire time that he and Leigh were away; Dylan smiled to himself. It would be good for the world when they finally had the opportunity to be by themselves fully, to solidify their bond and celebrate their marriage, to fully satisfy themselves. Dylan was looking forward to the chance to spend some time outside of their intense ambience. 

“I’ll check in,” Aiden said, glancing sharply at both Leigh and Dylan before he turned to follow Aira back upstairs.

“You know,” Leigh said as they walked through the aisles of a health food store, seeking some of the components she would need to track the elementals they sought, “I hadn’t really formed an opinion of Aira before the wedding; or even at the reception.” 

“Makes you an ideal spy, I suppose,” Dylan said with a little smile. 

“I’m still not sure I entirely understand her relationship with Aiden. I mean, I can see it works for them. Obviously they’re very happy together … but it all seems so …” 

Dylan chuckled. “Fraught? There’s a lot of tension. I think—I think they both thrive on it. The constant challenge. The need to be better, to be more.”

“Is she the only person who can keep Aiden in line?” The prospect seemed to amuse Leigh, and Dylan considered the question.

“One of very few people. Mom … she’s a water elemental, like me. She could quell him, but not convince him to give up his will.”

“And Aira?” Dylan shrugged.

“Aira … She’s a match for anything he wants to throw at her. He can’t shout her down, he can’t intimidate her, he can’t coerce her. I think we both know she’s more intellectual—that’s in keeping with her elemental alignment—but he’s stronger physically, and he’s got a survival instinct that’s gotten us out of a lot of scrapes.”

“What about you?” Leigh stopped him at a bulk display of different grains, running her fingers over the bin labels until she came to one she wanted. “What do you bring to the team?” 

“I’m less volatile. I’m … calmer. I make the peace when things get out of hand. I help them settle.”

“Not much room for a fourth then, is there?” “You’ve seen them,” Dylan said, laughing. “They need way more grounding than I can provide.” 

Leigh smiled. “Do you really want me working with you? I mean … I know there’s … we’ve partly bonded. I wasn’t exactly planning that and I don’t think you were, either.” 

Dylan pressed his lips together as he thought before answering.

“A while before Aiden and Aira got married, my mom told me that I would find a mate,” he said slowly. “She’s great at reading the scrying bowl—way better than I am. She told me that I’d find someone, that I was on the point of it, but that there would be obstacles.” Dylan shrugged. “A war seems like a pretty big obstacle to me.”

“My parents won’t be entirely pleased that I didn’t let them … negotiate, or try and make the most advantageous alliance possible.” Leigh twisted her lips into a wry grin. “But I think they’ve always known I would go my own way. I’m more independent than my brothers and sisters.”

“Makes even more sense that they used you as a spy. Why exactly was that, by the way?” 

Leigh shrugged, tying off the bag of grain she had scooped and adding it to the basket.

“They wanted someone they could trust, who hadn’t already come to any conclusions about Aiden and Aira. Some of my siblings are excellent earth-aligned beings, but they aren’t exactly sharp. Before my cousins abducted me, my parents would have almost killed me rather than let me ally with you three.”

“Why’d they abduct you?” Dylan still wasn’t sure he was entirely clear on that detail. He had heard her explanation—that she had been informing the authorities of their world about the attack—but it still didn’t entirely make sense. 

Leigh sighed. “Well, partly it was to get me out of the way; I was a peripheral witness. I’d known who was involved. Partly it was because they wanted me on their side. As I said, not always the sharpest, us earth-aligned folks.”

“You seem plenty sharp,” Dylan told her with a grin. 

Leigh smiled slowly, the expression lighting up her brilliant green eyes.

“I had to separate myself from my siblings some way, didn’t I? So I studied lore, and I spent a lot of time with my grandmother—she was a water elemental, very much a supporter of Aira’s grandmother. She taught me to think critically, and well,” Leigh shrugged. “Here I am.”

“Here you are,” Dylan echoed. “Stuck in an enormous mess with your family at odds with itself.”

“Happens all the time in earth families,” Leigh said. “We play nice at reunions, but everyone’s always comparing wealth, prestige, things like that. Everyone wants to know who has the most money, who’s marrying the best. It’s exhausting in its own way.”

“Sometimes,” Dylan admitted as they turned towards the cash registers. “Sometimes I find myself wishing I had what Aiden has—not Aira specifically.” He glanced at Leigh to make sure he hadn’t offended her; she still smiled complacently. “But that level of passion, devotion.” 

Leigh looked him up and down, and reached out to touch his arm. Dylan felt the quiet, steadying pulse of her energy flowing through him, cool and somehow reassuring.

“And sometimes you just want someone who can help you rest, right? You’ve got enough passion and devotion for both of us—but if … if things work out …” Leigh glanced around them to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “I could very easily love you, Dylan. Maybe not with all the fireworks, but with plenty of steady, restful … God I’m making it sound boring.” 

Dylan laughed. “Trust me,” he told her, reaching out to brush a lock of bright red hair away from her eyes. “Living with Aiden and Aira, I can definitely use steady and restful.” 

Leigh’s cream-pale cheeks lit up with a pinkish blush.

“Your brother will start worrying if we don’t hurry back,” she told him. 

Dylan let his hand fall to her waist, and held her close as they walked towards the registers. He hoped at least that there would be enough time for them to get to know each other better.

CHAPTER SIX

DYLAN WATCHED AS LEIGH ASSEMBLED the components of the tracking spell she was putting together. It was entirely different magic from what he was used to—Dylan had never known any earth elementals very well, and he could tell by the murmuring of Leigh’s incantation as she poured the salt that it was based on lore; this was no simple tracking enchantment. It was something deeper, more closely aligned with the element itself. He was fascinated by the slow, graceful movements that Leigh made, the green glow that came over her as she prepared her spell. She had moved the stones into place first, arranging them in a circle with points implying a pentacle. In the center of the circle, surrounded by the jade, she began putting together the other elements—the oak branches, the lodestone, and finally the salt. 

Dylan was interrupted by the sound of Aiden’s heavy, quick tread on the stairs. His older brother appeared at the landing, and Dylan met his gaze; it had been clear from the moment that he and Leigh had arrived back at the apartment that Aiden and Aira had been spending their time more on refueling their energies than they had been investigating—but since they had a solid lead on half of their targets, it wasn’t the kind of thing that Dylan would have reproached them for. For the duration of Leigh’s magical attempt, Aira would have to stay upstairs, in her room—the energies that Leigh’s spell would call in, untampered by Dylan’s or Aiden’s essences, could weaken her, and there was no justification for that when they knew they’d need to all be at the height of their power in a day or so. 

“How long is this going to take?” Aiden asked, turning his gaze up the staircase for a moment. Dylan knew that above them, Aira was pacing; she was no better equipped to deal with the enforced idleness of waiting than his brother was. At least Aiden could be present and watch what Leigh was doing—get the first flush of information from her. Aira was forced to wait to find out what the earth elemental had gleaned, to turn her agile mind onto a strategy to put it to its best use. 

“Once everything is set up, probably only a few minutes,” Dylan replied, keeping his voice low so as not to break Leigh’s concentration. He could feel the energy flowing through her, sense its growing potency as she brought the elements of her spell together. The kinds of magic that Aiden managed to perform so well was much more spontaneous—creating objects out of fire, igniting things; even the more involved spells were little more than manipulating fire energy, or putting fire to use. It had always been difficult for Dylan to explain to his brother that his own magic took more time—and used more accessories. The water-based spells he knew varied, but they were all very involved. 

“Let’s get this show on the road,” Leigh said, looking up from the middle of her circle. She gave Dylan a quick smile and then took a deep breath. “The sooner we can figure out where they are exactly, the sooner we can take them in, right?” 

Aiden nodded quickly and carefully crossed the living room, avoiding the circle.

Dylan took up his own position, stepping around the five-point circle and sitting down in his accustomed chair, watching as Leigh shifted in her spot. She began to chant slowly, in a low, near-whispering voice, words that he couldn’t hope to comprehend. Leigh’s brilliant eyes slowly fell shut, and Dylan saw the green glow radiating from her skin once more. He held himself silent, and glanced over at his older brother to make sure that Aiden was doing nothing that could possibly interfere with the spell that Leigh was casting. 

She went silent after a long time, and Dylan wondered—how would any of them really know what she was actually doing? He shook his head; it wasn’t the time to doubt the woman he was falling in love with. He had to trust her—he had to believe that she was doing what she said she was doing. He had all but decided to bond with her, to make Leigh his mate. If he couldn’t put his faith in her ability to track, and her willingness to find Hestia and Aidan along with their underlings, then it didn’t make sense to continue working towards the bond. Dylan took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. After a few more moments, Leigh began to speak.

“Mountains—deep mountains, Aidan isn’t happy about it, but it’s at least secluded. Somewhere in the Appalachians. North … not quite the top end of the range, but isolated. Safe house is small, but well-equipped. Painted blue.” 

Aiden was writing down the details as Leigh spoke, watching intently for the next bout of words as she sorted through the impressions. 

Dylan felt the energy intensifying and knew that Leigh was battling—that she was working against a charm meant to repel any attempt to track down the members of the group. There was a minute shaking of the building—Dylan glanced around to make sure it wasn’t just him. Leigh’s green glow turned darker; it was almost a forest green, enveloping her as she pushed past the barriers.

Her words came to a stop and Dylan watched as Leigh brought the spell down gradually, murmuring foreign whispers that weren’t quite words but something more basic. He and Aiden both waited until the glow dispersed, until she opened her eyes and looked at them. 

“Was that enough?” Leigh asked. 

Dylan couldn’t judge—he would refine any plan his brother and sister-in-law came up with, but the first impetus had to be theirs. He glanced at Aiden.

“That’s enough, for sure. Clear it all out, put it in Dylan’s room where it won’t do a job on Aira.”

“I have to scatter the salt,” Leigh said, gathering up what she had poured. “Return it back to the earth.”