Elemental Reality (21 page)

“What do you want, Layla?” Apryll said as she popped back into existence behind her.

Layla spun around. “Oh, Apryll, it’s just you.”

“Yes, it’s just me.”

“Have you seen those two conniving little Alkuaine Faeries?” Layla asked. “I owe them a beating.”

Apyrll turned pale. “No.”

“Wait. What are you doing here?” she asked, tone suspicious.

“The same thing you are.”

“You want to bring the Faeries back to Palon?”

“Yes,” Apryll stated.

“I’m impressed. And this whole time I thought you were a good Demon always sitting out on the sidelines as we brought carnage and death to those other Alkuaine Faeries,” Layla chastised.

Carnage and death? Oh my God. I wanted to whimper.

“Just leave, Layla. These girls are mine to kill.” Apryll’s voice wavered on the last word. Could she actually be telling the truth? We could trust her?

“Sure they are. I’ll tell Keaton you got it under control. See you at home. Oh, and bring proof that they’re dead. The wings off their backs, perhaps. They would make a nice display on my wall. Later loser,” Layla chided before vanishing.

Apryll waited seconds longer before speaking. “You can come out now.”

“They killed Faeries like us?” I asked nervously.

“Yes,” she said, hanging her head. “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

I approached her and gently stroked her arm. “It’s okay. Thank you for telling us to hide. You saved us from Layla.”

“Yeah, that was kind of awesome in a Demony way,” Lola said, smiling.

“Apryll?” She averted her eyes to me. “I actually used Layla and Mia’s fire against them.”

“Hold the phone. How exactly did you do that?” asked Lola.

“I think I might have been manipulating it from inside them. Their skin blistered. It reminded me of you, Apryll. When you told us what had happened to you.”

“Interesting,” Apryll said.

“Yeah, very. Was it killing them?” Lola asked.

“It might have been?” I asked rather than stated.

“I believe it was,” Apryll confirmed. “You said their skin was blistering? Our skin wouldn’t do that from fire because we
are
fire. You must have somehow added your elements in the mix.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s it. I felt it. When they raised their hands to start the fire, I felt it boil inside me and light my elements to mingle with theirs.” I smooshed my hands into a ball over and over as I explained. “I think I somehow pushed the strength of all the elements combined into them but intensified their fire in the process so it would literally scorch them from the inside out.”

Lola reached out and stopped my hand motions, a mixture of worry and amusement on her face.

“That-that sounds—” Apryll started to only be cut off by Lola.

“Sounds like we’re weapons of mass destruction.” Her voice was full of wonder, and it made a chill crawl up my spine.

Apryll chuckled lowly. “You proved me wrong. I now know you can handle yourselves against any Demon thrown in your path.

“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” I asked.

“No, I won’t. If anyone asks just tell them I was training you to fight.”

“Will you train us now? Prepare us?”

“For what? You’ve fought off two very powerful Demons already; I doubt you need my help.”

“How powerful?”

“As powerful as your Elders. Mia is Keaton’s mate. Layla is Keaton’s sister.”

“We’re screwed! See, we
do
need your help, Apryll. You’ll give us a taste of how they fight.”

Apryll contemplated for a second. “This is true. Well, if you’re up for it, we can train now.”

“Yes!” Lola and I said at the same time.

“Come,” she said as she led us away from the city gates. “Now remember, no holding back.” She turned around and whipped a fireball at us.

Lola jumped out of the way, afraid of being hit. I mentally thanked Oli for going over this part of the training with me. I never actually got to catch an element, but I still knew how to absorb it. It couldn’t be that much different. The fireball came barreling toward me. I stretched out my hand, ready to catch it. Once it collided with my palm, I held onto it instead of absorbing it. It was a cooling heat, if that was at all possible. As I held it, I felt my elements rush into it, making it larger and stronger. I flung it back at Apryll and it grazed her shoulder before dissipating. The ground under Apryll cracked and began breaking away. She fell through. Oh shit. What had I done? I looked over at Lola who shook her head saying it wasn’t her. Suddenly, Apryll shot out of the ground, riding a fountain of fire.

“Shit!” Lola muttered.

She ran next to me and we prepared ourselves for the ruthlessness that was about to go down. The ground all around us began breaking away as fire sprang to life, whipping around like snakes in the air. Lola and I thought alike at that exact moment as our entire bodies exploded like a busted water pipe. Our water sliced through Apryll’s fire fountain, making her fall to the ground. We fought like that for I don’t know how long. I felt bad because she was outnumbered in the elements department but she kept up with us and definitely didn’t hold back.

I was just about ready to cause a windstorm to blow Apryll away when she screamed at me in terror.

“Callie, behind you!”

I was worried because I thought Lola was being controlled again but I turned around and instead came face-to-face with a very pissed off Mia. She lunged for me, wrapping her hand around my throat—always my damn throat—and tightening it. Her fire started and I swore she was charring my windpipe.

“Payback is a bitch, isn’t it?” she growled.

I wrapped both hands around her arm in the hope I’d be able to zap her off or manipulate her fire again but it wasn’t working. She was weakening me.

“Leave her alone!” Lola screamed as she jumped on her back, trying to throw her off balance. Mia’s fire engulfed Lola and it threw her to the ground.

I heard Lola growl and Mia’s grip on my neck loosened. I looked at her face and saw pain. Was Lola actually controlling Mia’s fire? Tears flooded her eyes but her grasp was still on my neck. From the corner of my eye, I saw Lola begin to glow. Mia dropped her grip and fell to her knees screaming. Blisters and fire burst through her skin.

“Stop! Please stop,” she screamed.

“Lola, stop. You’re going to kill her.”

“So? She tried to kill you. If Apryll hadn’t warned you, she would have killed you while your back was to her. That doesn’t fly with me.”

“Think about the repercussions of this decision. If you kill her we’re all as good as dead.”

“If I kill her, they’ll know not to mess with us.”

Mia screamed in torturous agony as she hunched over on the ground. She clutched at her blistered and burning skin as if that would ease the pain she was enduring.

This isn’t right.
“Lola, we’re not killers. No matter what Mia is or what she tried to do, she doesn’t deserve this. Just stop.”

Mia screamed louder.

“Lola, please!” I begged.

She screamed until her vocal chords were raw. Her mouth hung open, letting her silent screams escape.

“They’ll read our threat and leave us alone. Maybe it’ll even get Mom back because they’ll fear us.”

I was exasperated. “Think logically. If you kill her, you might be killed in retaliation even . . . Mom. Do you want that to happen?”

Lola wasn’t listening to reason. “They won’t kill Mom because they’ll know we’ll kill them. And they won’t have a chance to kill me because I’ll get to them first.”

Mia fell to the ground, writhing violently. Her skin bubbled from the fire being manipulated in her veins. She began glowing in patches. It was off though, instead of being a fiery color, it was bright white. Suddenly, the white glow consumed her entirely and shined brighter. I had to shield my eyes—the light as bright as if I was looking directly into the sun. As quickly as Mia lit up it dissipated just as fast, leaving behind a pile of white ash. She was gone. We were going to be in trouble.

26

Pressure

Lola killed Mia. I stood there in shock. What had she done? She stood motionless and stared at the pile of Mia’s ashes with a blank expression. Had it even fazed her? Was she completely devoid of feelings now? Had she gone completely mental? I had to know.

“Lola?” I said softly so I wouldn’t frighten her.

She stiffened and glanced up at me cautiously. The look on her face was not what I was expecting after this catastrophe. Tears brimmed her wide eyes, threatening to spill over any second. An audible gasp escaped her throat as she ran and flung herself at me. She buried her head into my shoulder and sobbed.

“What have I done?” she cried, her voice muffled. “I couldn’t stop myself. The power was too much for me to handle. It took over, Callie. Oh my God, I’m going to be in so much trouble.”

“
Shh
, we’ll figure something out.” I soothingly ran my hand over her hair. “Thank you for saving me, sweetie.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Lola. I’ll tell the Demons it was me,” Apryll volunteered, her tone sincere. “I never liked her much anyway.”

Lola lifted her head from my shoulder and wiped her eyes. “You’d do that for me?”

Apryll nodded.

“Why?”

“I have nothing to lose, unlike you.”

Lola glanced between us. “It wouldn’t be right. This was my doing,”—she sniffled—“and I have to deal with it.”

“Don’t be foolish,” Apryll scolded. “They’ll seek retribution for her murder. Punishment will be less severe for me than for you. You must save your mother, and let me deal with this.”

“But—” I started.

“Tell your father if you must, but do not boast or brag about your kill,” Apryll demanded, cutting me off. “It’s best if the Demons don’t know how strong your powers have become. Keep this secret. Now I must go. I wish you luck.”

“You’re not staying?” I asked, suddenly feeling like this might be the last time I see her.

“I’ll be here, waiting for the Demon who will come looking for Mia. Now go before you’re discovered.” Then she vanished.

“I know you feel guilty, but don’t be rash, okay?” I asked Lola, my voice demanding. “Remember what Apryll said. Are you ready?”

Lola nodded, but her eyes were huge orbs of distress. “Definitely not, but we have no choice.”

“No, we don’t,” I agreed.

In the city the streets were empty and felt like a ghost town compared to what I was used to back in Ardmore.

“Hey,” I said, “I think we should find our trainers. They wanted to help, now here’s their chance.”

“I was just going to say that. Head over to the field then?”

“Yeah. Let’s just hope someone is actually there. This place is starting to scare me with how empty it is.”

“I know.” Lola sighed. “I wish we could just go back home with
Mom.”

“This is your home now,” said a scabrous voice from behind us.

I knew that voice. I turned around and made sure Lola was behind me—yeah, she’s nineteen, but I still wanted to protect her. “Mace.” My tone held all the pleasantries of a criminal cursing a cop.

“No need to use that tone with me, Callista,” he scolded with a malicious lilt in his voice. “I know what you’re planning, and I approve. I don’t know why your father didn’t try to rescue Scarlett sooner. He’s always been a coward.” The last was said under his breath, and wasn’t meant for our ears. I thought the Elders were supposed to be leaders and kind. So far they’d only treated us with disrespect.

“My father isn’t a coward,” I snapped, my fists balling at my sides. “The only coward I see here is you.”

“Touchy, touchy,” Mace reprimanded. “You should be nice to your Elders, especially when they are doing you a favor.”

“Which is?” I retorted.

“I’ll allow my two best guards, Thane and Timber, to escort you on your journey.” He grinned vindictively, but just like always his voice was sweet. Kind.

“Out of the evilness of your heart?” I asked crossly.

His eyebrows rose. “Now, now, Callista,” Mace admonished. “You better cool your temper. I see living outside the city has left your manners wanting.”

“Cause you’re so delightful to be around,” I grumbled. I so wasn’t in the mood to deal with this crap.

“If I remember correctly it was your family who fled the protection of the city,” Mace berated. “We didn’t kick you out. Your parents are to blame for Scarlett’s capture, not me or anyone else in this city. I only want to protect my people, but I can’t do that if you leave the city, now can I?”

“So you’re telling me that if we stayed you would have protected our mother?” My tone was full of disbelief.

“Absolutely. Of course, she wouldn’t have been in any danger if she had stayed. Now I have no idea what kind of lies your father has been feeding you. Because of that I ask, politely of course, that you only leave the city if Thane and Timber are with you. Just a precaution to make sure you return to T. City.”

“And you’ll stop us from leaving without them how?” I asked, knowing I was playing with fire. It was like I could see darkness floating in his eyes. Was he possessed?

“Oh, don’t you worry. I’ll know.” His smile caused goosebumps to trail up my back and down my arms. “Guards, over here.”

He snapped his fingers. Two men walked past us and stood on either side of Mace. They were gargantuan, body-builder type men with muscles upon muscles and veins poppin’ on their necks and arms.

“Gross,” I whispered.

Lola rested her chin on my shoulder to get a better look. “Damn, they’re huge,” she said quietly in my ear.

They were insanely intimidating and had a savage gleam in their eyes. The elements swirled around me automatically, ready to protect me from these beastly men. I could sense something off about them. Something dark and evil. What was up with the feeling clenching my stomach sickeningly?

“We don’t need these frea—” Lola started.

I hushed her with a look and glared at Mace. “Why wouldn’t we come back here? Haven’t we already made it clear we’re here to stay?”

“Like I said, it’s a precaution,” Mace said, almost convincingly sincere. “Your parents left once, and I refuse for it to happen again. Our community lost too much when that happened.”

Great. We were stuck with these two freakazoid guards. Unless . . . unless we ditched them outside the city gates. “We have no choice, do we?”

“I’m afraid not,” he confirmed.

“Then might I ask that there be some conditions?” I could play civil. Mace held out a hand for me to proceed. “As long as we stick with our journey to find our mom, I ask that they not interfere. They only follow us as silent observers.”

“Of course,” Mace agreed easily. Too easily. “Only if you fail to return afterward will they interfere.” He was up to something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“What are the conditions?” I had read enough faerie folklore to know that making a deal had to be done delicately.

He thought about it for a minute before finally answering. “This is your fight; no Faeries or Conjurors in my city are allowed on this journey,” he said flatly. “Your family may go. No one else.”

“What about Oli? He’s my soul mate. And Lucy and Joey? This is their fight too; they lost my mom just like I did,” I insisted.

“Very well, but that’s it. No one else.” Mace was growing angrier, and I knew we needed to leave before he lost his temper.

“Will the guards help protect us in Palon?” I asked, changing the direction of the conversation.

“No. They’ll watch for entertainment, but that’s all. One Faerie life isn’t worth so much death among our kind. And Thane and Timber do enjoy a good battle.”

“You can’t be serious?” Lola said in shock.

“Oh, but I am. I’m sending them as supervision, not as help. You’re on your own.” Mace appeared pleased with himself.

I groaned in frustration. “Whatever. Are we done here?”

“I believe we are. Have a wonderful day.” He gave a sinister smile and left with his minions in tow.

“I don’t like him, Cal.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

“Where do you think they’re going?”

“Probably have a poker game with the devil,” I quipped. They were walking toward the main gate. “Let’s get out of here.”

Before we had a chance to move five steps an explosion erupted behind us, shaking the ground beneath our feet. Lola and I both jumped and whipped around to see where it had come from. A huge plume of smoke rose into the air directly outside the city entrance. My stomach tightened in fear when I noticed Mace and the freakazoid guards acted as if nothing had happened. No alarms sounded, no guards were called. Nothing. That’s when I saw the Demon Layla immersed in fire and hauling ass through the gate.

“Hide. Hurry,” I shout-whispered to Lola.

We dove behind the closest shrubbery, praying we wouldn’t be spotted. Fortunately, we were able to peek through the leaves to watch what was going on. The elements called to me, staying silent before the inevitable storm.

“Where are they?” Layla screamed to Mace who didn’t seem fazed in the least over the Demon.

His reply was too low for us to hear.

“Why did you let them leave?” She panted, pausing for a second to catch her breath. “Mia is dead, Mace. Those bitches killed her.”

Lola and I exchanged a knowing, frightening look. Yes, we knew there was something off about the Elders, but I never would have thought they’d go as low as this. Fraternizing with Demons? Mace surveyed the area, and when he turned enough that we could see his eyes, we gasped. They were completely black, not even the whites of his eyes were left.

“He’s possessed,” I breathed.

“We have to tell the others,” Lola whispered.

“I know.” My chest heaved with the thought. How corrupt had the community grown? How alone were we? This place didn’t feel safe anymore.

We crouched and waited. Layla wasn’t screaming anymore so we couldn’t hear her side of the conversation, but I desperately wanted to know what they were talking about. I wondered if he was telling her our plans to rescue Mom. Maybe that was why he wanted to have the guards tag along. I knew he was planning something else, I just didn’t know what. Mace gestured for Layla to leave. She flipped him off and stomped away. Once Mace and the freakazoids left we rose.

“Let’s go,” I said.

We ran and didn’t stop until we reached the training field. I was elated to see Erika training teenage Faeries and Conjurers. We sprinted onto the field and interrupted Erika’s lesson.

“Erika . . . we need . . . to talk,” I said between breaths.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, pulling us away from the prying eyes and ears.

“Something terrible has happened,” I gasped out. “Can you round up the other trainers and meet us at our house?”

“Of course.” There was worry in her eyes. She turned around and shouted to another Faerie trainer.

Back at the house, Dad, Joey, Lucy, and Oli sat in the living room. Oli jumped up from the couch and ran to me, pulling me into an embrace.

“Where have you been, Kitten?” He sounded panicked and relieved all mixed together. “I was worried sick. We all were.”

“It’s a long story.” I sagged in his arms, and Oli held me even tighter. Our elements mingled together, greeting each other.

“Callie, what’s going on?” Dad asked after hugging Lola.

I pulled away from Oli, immediately wishing I hadn’t. For the few seconds he touched me, my dread seemed to ebb away. Letting out a sigh, I opened my mouth to speak when Lola cut in.

“It’s all my fault,” she said, a sob caught in her throat.

“No, it’s not,” I disagreed. “You had no control—without you I might have died.”

Everyone looked confused and horrified over our vague statements.

“Might have died?” Dad asked, latching onto the one word.

“We’ll explain in a minute. Erika and the other trainers are coming over,” I said ambiguously.

Oli wrapped his arm around me again and rubbed circles into my back. I took comfort in his touch, but it didn’t ease the fear inside me. The fear that started to consume me like a fire would. Oli caressed my cheek like he was trying to erase the tension here. I stared into his emerald green eyes, wishing I could get lost there.

“Whatever it is, Kitten, she’ll be apples.” If the moment hadn’t been so dire, I would have been amused over his Aussie slang. “Means it’ll be okay.” His voice was soft. Tender.

“I hope you’re right.”

“I know I’m right,” he said.

Someone knocked on the door, and Lola answered it. She returned with Erika, Kat, Bri, and Trixie—the trainers.

“Where are Jennie and Noelle?” I asked.

“They flew home this morning to be with their families. Tensions are high and many are nervous,” Erika answered.

“They should be with their families,” I agreed. “It’s the best place for them right now.” And the best place for me, except there was a crucial member of my family missing.